Light and Darkness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Another great commercial. Who knew Canada had a sense of humor? Kidding, Carrie. I know.

The Milkman

I actually exclaimed at the end. Baaaad, milkman.

Bett's Pensieve

My friend Beth (Welcome to My Pensieve) is now housed here at Vagabond. Go ahead and click over and read. I'm importing (Rather, I'm old schooling it with copy and paste.) her posts from MySpace so entries will be be posting to her archives. Say hello.

Shakespeare Behind Bars

Five years ago I watched a documentary on PBS called What I Want My Words To Do To You. I watched a second documentary on prisoners today called Shakespeare Behind Bars.The two documentaries never try to condone the crimes of the prisoners. No excuses. And I don't think they even try to garner sympathy from their audiences. They are films simply providing us with a peek into the lives of others that we think are so very different from us because they are criminals. However, after watching them both, I find that I am no different than any of them. I make mistakes. I make wrong decisions in the process of living. And I am trying to accept the responsibilities of what is my life and how I've lived it.

Shakespeare Behind Bars is a program at Luther Luckett Correctional Facility where inmates under the leadership of a formally trained actor/director produce and perform a Shakespearean play each year. The prisoners cast themselves and these actors are far from innocent. It appears the majority of the cast have committed heinous acts of murder, pedophilia, and violence.

The film follows the progression of the production of The Tempest, with interviews with the inmates and their interpretations of the play as well as their back-stories leading to their convictions. A play about revenge and redemption, it seems fitting for a correctional facility to use The Tempest. Shakespeare's last play proves cathartic for its cast.

In our every day life, we regret. A past love affair. Words thrown harshly at another. Fights. Money problems. Unresolved issues. We suffer through the guilt and need to reconcile these. But when acts of desperation, rage and emotional fogginess land one in jail, can redemption be achieved? And does society embrace those that seek it?

Mourning Butch Cassidy

Paul Newman died yesterday at the ripe ol' age of eighty-three.

Movies and entertainment have alway been staples of my life. They were simple links that sometimes connected me and my parents. Those bonds were tenuous and any bit that could help was welcomed.

My mother would keep me awake into the dark hours of the night on the weekends watching old black and white films, especially the scary films. I remember playing the trivia game and my mother urging me to call and win the prize. I never got through and I don't recall the prizes, but I always knew the answers.

My stoic, quiet father became a social butterfly when we sat and watched the action and western films on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We would play a form of six degrees. He would ask me who played in what movie with what other actors. Until his death, he would still ask me such things.

And Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (as well as Paul's full repertoire) was a favorite of ours. Paul Newman represents all those moments with my dad. To see him pass saddens my heart. But again, the man lived a long life giving money and time to charities and causes. We can't be sad that a man lived his life fully.

Still....

Perhaps my Pa is up there having a drink with Cool Hand Luke.

Nick Veasey X-Ray Photography

Via Photojojo, I found Nick Veasey's photographic work using x-ray film. The massive size of some of his subjects is astounding...he has an x-ray picture of a Boeing 777! Enjoy.

You just have to stand back and say WOW!

Wanted to pass this on because it's fucking awesome. Thanks to MetroDad for the introduction to this video gem. The girl is in her groove. You can see it in her beat. Her brother does it like it's habit. One can imagine the practicing and his growing impatient with having to do it...like practicing his instrument instead of getting to go out and play.

Just amazes me.

Chule Covers Iron Maiden

Please watch the friend during the whole video. The poor guy hides as much of his laughter that I think is humanly possible. Also....I swear Chule barks somewhere around the 2:34 mark.

And you know you're thinking in that neanderthal, retarded cave man voice, "I, Chule. Music, I like. Mmmm. Good. Music."

Martina Looks Like Pam Anderson in Comparison

Found Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians by blog hopping again. The title says it old. Who you find on the list may suprise you though. Probably not some of their better photo-ops.

In your youth...

...did your imaginations run wild? Do they still in your adulthood?

Jan Von Holleben's does.

Think I'm joking about driving in Texas.

This happened on the interstate right in front of the theater and the restaurants next to us. MY GOD!

Oil Tanker Explodes

Why NGeo is the best!

If you haven't subscribed to National Geographic in your reader, you should. Wish I could embed the video but you'll just have to go and watch it for yourself.

The architect of the sea organ won an award for his design. Simple and beautiful.

Bad day at work? Bet it's nothing compared to theirs.

Seriously, I never want to bitch about work again.

Salt Mining in Uganda

Quick post before bed and that strange made up time thing attacks my senses

Wanted to share the following because the pages are funny. It's a lazy post because I have just arrived home from work. My body says it's 330a whereas the clock says it's 231a. In either case, I have to work at  noon (until 9p) and I'm unsure I'll be coherent enough after work to remember a NaBloPoMo post. So....let the lazy post begin.

Demonbaby: The Second Annual MySpace Stupid Haircut Awards. Check out the first one as well. I know the post is over a year old but the topic is still timely.

Have fun and I'll chat with you later.

All Saints Day

Whether you're Catholic or art lover or not, this site is good mind food. The Last Supper is deteroriating and with all the attention from The DaVinci Code, you now have the chance to get nose-close (hell, it's closer than that) to Leonardo's masterpiece. See if you can see details that the person on Jesus' right is his wife. If anything, it's an opportunity to see the state of that famous wall's mural.