A hot and busy July

-
July proved to be a firecracker this year and I was outside on each scorching day and I was also sick for a third of the month. Therefore blogging diminished a lot. Here's a list of things I had hoped to blog about but alas did not:
  • Saluting the weatherman. Former FOX News weatherman and associate bid farewell to the Go early in July. I drank with him and others and even baked him a cake. Surprisingly he moved to the Grove.
  • The Festive Fourth. After a night of mayhem I decided to stick in town for the holiday before doing a bike adventure. I was surprised nobody wanted to celebrate with me. My roommate was content with painting somebody else's walls.
  • Pain. A niggling upper leg injury has left me partially lame. I have not been able to do much running but by some grace I am able to play soccer once a week.
  • More holiday. I made a yearly appearance at Breezy Point again and did some of the things I enjoy doing- watching cable and biking. I got to see some great programs on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. I especially enjoyed The Deadliest Catch, a reality show that follows the lives of crews of Alaskan crab fishing boat. I caught the last episode of season 2 and the 1st 2 episodes of season 3. So far 3 men have died. I also enjoyed MythBusters and American Chopper. I biked the Paul Bunyan trail to Brainerd and back.
  • At the source. Bookended on that holiday is time camping at Lake Itasca State Park. Unfortunately I did not see the source this time but I did swim in the lake and hike roughly 7 miles.

Well, I hope there is more to write about in August.

Comments

Post a Comment

Notable Posts

So there was this zombie party

-
Image
It was a quiet weekend up here. Well, maybe. Depends on how you appreciated the sound of moaning zombies all over. They can be rather noisome. Fortunately there are guys like McGjervold who can take out a dozen or so of the troublesome undead minions. Went to a party and sure enough, there they were- zombies. Real crazy looking zombies.  And there was the food too. I sampled the fare before I called in McGjervold to clear out the joint with his array of weapons and zombie whooping devices. McGjervold doesn't back down to zombies or their ilk. Afterword we played pool.
Read more

Back to 50s photos: Pontiac Chieftain

-
Image
I n its earlier days, Pontiac featured a Native American on its logo. It may have just been a representation of the famous chief himself, Pontiac although no authentic images of him are known to exist. In the center background you may be able to see a Pontiac Chieftain under a large tree. Pontiac ceased production of the car sometime in the late 1950s. In 1956 they also changed their trademark from the Indian head dress to something more akin to an arrowhead.
Read more

Gumby, Google, Clokey and Hastings. Oh My!

-
Image
This title sounds like a band from the 70s. However, Google has a great interactive doodle today in honor of Art Clokey , creator of green guy Gumby. Clokey would have been 90 today, but he passed away last year. But did you know that the Gumby came from my hometown of Hastings, MN! Indeed I thought this odd too when I saw this fact on a map of Hastings that has hung in the family home for years. Clokey was Californian and seemed to have no connections wtih the North Star State, so I thought this incredulous. I did a little digging and then found my answer in an article in the Star Tribune from October 20th, 2003.  Dick Parker and Heron Marquez Estrada did a the hard work and re-discovered that Echo Plastics of Hastings manufactured millions of Gumby and Pokey toys up to about 1971. So I guess Minnesota can claim the green guy and his red pony after all. Perhaps the state quarter would have been more collectible if it had Gumby and Pokey on it. [I did find a possible Minnesota
Read more