Larry Craig Casting Call

So, Larry Craig is back in the news. The round-the-clock news loves playing that clip of Craig claiming that he's "not gay" and every time I've seen it, it's reminded me of someone. And yesterday, it suddenly hit me who that somebody was:

Two significant events today...

It's been a while since I've had a day when I could just putter about. And putter I did, with two big accomplishments:

1) I burned a home movie to DVD. The analog ==> digital conversion project has finally begun. It'll probably last all fall, but that's ok, because it sure is fun to see video I haven't looked at in 10-20 years...

...and 2) I ran 5K. It was just on the treadmill, because it's too freakin' hot and humid to do anything outside. But I'm thinking about running a 5K at the end of September* and I wanted to see if I could do it. I'm pretty new to running -- I've only recently discovered the secret to running without pain and injury (one of these days I'll do a post about the benefits of barefoot running!) -- so I've never run that far before.

For the record and the curious, a 5K = 3.1 miles, and it took me less than 45 minutes.

*If anyone has a pacing device/HRM/Garmin thing that I could borrow for the run, I'd be ever so grateful! I mostly use the treadmill, so I haven't invested in that sort of tech. Yet...

Images of Protest

Of all the pictures I took, I think this photo best conveys the energy and joy of the people who participated in today's protest as Bush visited Chattanooga. Note the little girl in the lower right, covering her ears.

And here is a short video clip of the crowd enjoying the right to free expression. It was a great group -- both respectful in dealing with the cops and boisterous in expressing opinions. I was very impressed.

Friday Creature

Back to the birds of the lake! This week's creature is a mystery bird -- I hope someone here can help me identify it. This picture was taken back at the beginnning of March at Fall Creek Falls Lake. It might be a juvenile duck or goose -- it is definitely a diving (as opposed to dipping) bird as the video below demonstrates. Also, a few more photos follow after the jump if you want to see another view.

Have a happy weekend, and don't forget about the Friday Ark!

Some goofiness for the weekend

It's almost Friday! I put this up on youtube this past weekend, but have been so busy since I forgot about it. It's just a silly little thing, but it cracks me up...

Friday Creature

This is another creature from my weekend in the woods on the lake. I'm sure you all recognize the very distinguished Canada Goose. These birds winter in Tennessee, but I think they head north for the summer.

BONUS: click on the video below to hear this bird's honking song (this is the debut of my home movies here on the blog -- can you handle the excitement?!?!)!

Enjoy this first weekend of spring, folks! Critters are waiting over on the Friday Ark!