Marco Rubio's Kids

Don't Be Scared, It's Just All Hallow's Eve, That's All.

Why does one human being get jollies off scaring another?  Is this seen anywhere else in the animal world?

Then, let's film it...yeah, that's the ticket.  Scare the crap out of a loved one, and get it on video so we can laugh, not once, but whenever we're a touch melancholy.

But really, scaring someone, particularly our own family member, is only really funny if it's posted on the internet.  That way, the victim is not only scared, afraid, and humiliated once, but they can be embarrassed over and over again by friends and schoolmates and teachers and viewing strangers.

What does this say about mankind and society that we--you, me, us--would take jollies and feel all warm and fuzzy inside about watching a stranger get freaked out for no reason at all.  Especially a child.  An innocent child.


Thanks for joining me to laugh at people being scared and suffering.  Please tune in next month when I'll feature videos of people tickling other people until they pee their pants.

Bruce Watching Zena

Marco Rubio

Bruce Watching Gus Macker

Another Fun Look At Zena's Hand Made Glass Jewelry

And a fun day with the Rain Man.

Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Final Live Performance of Monster Mash

Bobby passed away six months later from leukemia.  This final live video is from 2006.  A Halloween classic.  Like Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, but for All Hallow's Eve.  Thank you, Bobby.

Sanfratello's Pizza

Up for pizza?  We can walk over to Sanfratello's.  I have a coupon.  What...you want to stay in tonight?  Okay, how about before you change to your jammies, you hop over there and grab us a hot pizza pie.  I'm buyin' if you're flyin'.

A typical conversation with my wife when my tummy growls.

Kelly's Amazing Photography

Kelly has taken her Nikon to levels that go beyond belief. She works, is a wife, and a friend to my wife, she's a scrapbooker/card maker, and she is a photographer. She takes it to amazing levels. These photos of real flowers from her garden are taken in her home light studio, and are a true "study" of macrophotography. Her latest photos, including still lifes of bread baskets and apples for her advanced photography class are mind-blowingly good. I'll see if she'll email me a couple to share on this website.

Kayaking With Tsunamichuck In San Diego, CA

Yours truly, kayaking on a super 65 degree day with friend Tsunamichuck in his black Nordkapp off the coast of California.  He took this shot  (you can just see the nose of his kayak, lower left).  Every time I think of this day trip, and of Tsunamichuck, I think of retirement.  When I finally get off the hamster wheel, I will take the time to travel the USA and see friends, reconnect, join my penchant for the ocean and the kayak, and finally be free.

I'm Doing NaNoWriMo 2010

I have made a Herculean decision to participate in National Novel Writing Month 2010.  It’s a writing endeavor with 160k participants worldwide that takes place every November, and within the 30 days of each November, the goal is to write one 50k word novel.  This is the same novel length as The Catcher In The Rye by J.D Salinger or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It will be the first time in my life that I have completed a novel. I attended the introductory session in Naperville, thanks to the encouragement of my wife Cathy, and I met some great young authors who have done this writing marathon—about 1700 words daily for one month—in recent years with success and poise. They were motivating to speak with. And I will be attending the Kick Off Party (I’m responsible for the case of water and cheese tray) this weekend. At least 35 writers will be in attendance; another shot in the arm for me to do this project.

I have two plot lines running wild in my head, and really could, as of this writing, go either way with them. One is about an old man that builds a seaside beach with two young teenage brothers in the summer of 1975, and their summer parallels that of the winning season of the Boston Red Sox. The old man, Delbert, unfortunately finds that he has cancer, and keeps his terminal diagnosis from the teens, but as their dedication to the project wanes, Del must coax them into staying with the task at hand so that the beach can be completed by the summer’s end.

I know, it sounds like a downer, but it will have many inspirational events that summer—the eldest brother Justin falling in love, and a fateful trip to Whalom Park—that tie in with the front story. I will keep it moving, and keep it twisting, but it is a work of literary fiction (as opposed to popular fiction, such as a thriller).

The other story idea has been floating in my mind for at least two years, and is about a twenty-something surgeon, Rick Spencer, and his new wife moving into the home of the late, beloved doctor in a small town. The young surgeon finds incriminating evidence that the deceased doctor may have had a hand in the deaths of some townspeople, children specifically. He’s morally torn between telling the town about the deceased doctor, or “letting dead dogs lie”. The ante is tweaked when the town begins to rally against Rick, for reasons he can’t grasp, until he finds that the entire town had a hand in the deaths of the children.

This would be a Stephen King meets Robin cook type story, with more plot twists than a black mamba. It sounds, if done properly, more intriguing than the beach building story, admittedly.

I’ll keep you posted about the final story in the days ahead. The goal, overall, is not only to prove to myself that I can do it with writing, but also to get a working base—the right plotting tools, software, typing skills, endurance and word-skills—to build a novel of true value.

Camelback Mtn., Scottsdale, AZ

A superb rendition of a sunny mountain, Camelback, that I have had the pleasure to climb a couple years back. This photo is by Julie at www.scottsdaledp.blogspot.com Lovely jolt of sunshine for a Midwest autumn.

An Alternative to Rabbit's Eyes For Dehydration If You Have a Camel Nearby

An Explosion Of Pus In My Mouth

A Simple Cure For Dehydration: Get Rid Of That Parched Feeling

The Loner-- How True

A Pet Cat Up For Adoption Castrates His Handler

RIP, Mr. C.

Reporter Harry, Cover The Story About Crosswalk Safety, Will Ya?

A Symbol In The Forest From The Blair Witch

Everyone Can Have a Bad Day. Just Don't Cry about It.

Al Fresco Dining on Third Street, Wildwood

Even Cripples Get Road Rage

No sound on this one. This electric scooter dude makes a real statement.

Bread And Wine, Third Street, Geneva

Yeah, I Remember The First Time I Backed Up A Car

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

How Soon Is Now?

This tune was "it" for 1984. Represented my college days. Loud. Brash. Shy. Groping. Newly minted. The Smith's with their hypnotic "How Soon Is Now?" Epic!

Rusted Stairs Revisited

Rusted Stairs

And an example of a photo that is mediocre in color, but would "pop" on monochrome black and white.

Happy Tenth Day Of The Tenth Month Of The Tenth Year Of The Decade

I know mommy and daddy say don't talk to strangers.  But I'm not a stranger...I'm Tip The Clown.  Now that we're friends, please...have some candy.  It's real good.

Not The Hair. Not The Hair!

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin: Did He Walk On The Moon? My Jaw Says "Yes"

Reporter Slams Kid

Oakley Monster Dogs My Favorite Sports Sunglasses

The Del Fuegos

I remember when the Del Fuegos were to be the next "big thing", national acclaim for this Boston band, heavy airplay on WBCN, hits singles. But, where are the Del Fuegos now?

Bill O'Reilly: A Retarded Oaf

The Waterboys

Jenga Block Tower World Record

Golf Anyone?

Are You An Air Supply, Or A Vacuum Sucker?

Hammocker Shug's Amazing Uni Ride In Minn.

How's he do some of that camera work?