Happy Birthday Ron

SOFTWARE [Photoshop,Flash 8, Bryce,3DSMax,Audition]EMPHASIS[discovery] TIME TAKEN[6 hours]


Click around the photo to discover meaning of objects and other surprises.
When my friend Ron was born at the Eunice LA hospital on the 23rd of February 1947, our family lived in an unfinished house in Valleyfield QC.

My father Albert had put all 6 of us in the concrete basement while he was building the first and second floors after work at night with a flashlight attached to his hat. Ron and I only met fortuitously 47 years later over a lot of beer, so I consider him as part of my family. He is now in Texas and me, in Baja. But on his birthday I think of Lousiana and I am sure he does too. This year I forgot to send him this card(!!!), derived from a similar one I had made for my sister Lise also born in 47. But then the BP oil spill reminded me of him, of Lousiana and all the good times we had. So I found it and published it here for all to click around to. Happy Birthday Ron.
J.

J.

Hot Use For An Old Beloved PC

This one had a glorious recent history As it's unsuccessful 'older" repairman, it is my pleasure to send you to this other video blog.



Autumn Nostalgia


Nikki and our older dog Sesame, when both were 3 years younger and the weather was at least 30F colder at this time of the year. This was taken in the Adirondak Park's residence of my sister Yvette. Fall is a time when gentle cooler weather changes and rotates the tires of our minds. There is a stimulating newness, like a trip to Norway. We certainly miss that in Mexico. When a cooler breeze greeted me this morning and I rushed to the stove, it occured to me that in one hour the sun will be up and it'll be 75F. So I went back to my regular threadbare summer tires and put on a light shirt. Maybe I'll book a flight to Oslo. As for Nikki, she's online selling throws woven from photos of autumn leaves sent to us by clients. Sesame, sporting brand new cataracts, sniffs around fallen leaves (yeah!, palm tree leaves!).

My mother's family circa 1996

He was short in stature and his first name was Napoleon, but my grandfather N. Joseph Bernard (1896 photo at left) had 18 children most of which are visible in this family reunion photo taken in 1996. The family tree today has over 300 twigs of all sizes. Contrast this with the descendants of Ciras and Beaudrys.
Click in it to silence animation below

Happy Birthday Geraldine

.
For your birthday, mother of mine
I caught a fish at sea today
Then I ate him with a good wine
So now in me I feel him play
And swim around my DNA
















You dead and gone for all these years,
You still frolic around my brain
All your stories, laughter...and tears
Still rumble like a distant train
Somewhere in New Brunswick or Maine

The fish, the train, the thoughts of you
Give my life all the vitamins
I need to work and play...THANK YOU
You were and are...and I don't mince
my words...the greatest gal of all.

Jacques
(Jimmy)

Cleaning Monitors (on the inside!)

Most of us never consider cleaning the glass from the inside of our monitor like we do for an aquarium. It's essential, especially if your eyesight is failing. This advice is equally valid for portables where the plastic film quickly clogs up with micro-dust. It takes 2 seconds to start the utility below. Once started, with your mouse stroke the window repeatedly from left to right, then top to bottom. We clean for the fishes yet we tolerate grayed out screens for our own usage.

Click below:
FREE_MONITOR_CLEANING_UTILITY
It works instantly, with no download time

Catalina


Quicktime needed to play tune. Lyrics below, in lieu of silly 'Happy Birthday'. Sing to the top of your lungs as it's also Mark's 42nth.

Nikki's Birthday Cake



Nikki got these beautiful flowers from Lupe, our new maid (see previous post about our first encounter with Lupe)
I never got around to buy flowers myself...what a shame!
And then disaster struck! I could not find the candles to put on a cake. Seems they sell those in 'Farmacia' and not grocery stores here in Mexico. But the cake! completed with 5 leftover strawberries....
This is my first cake ever, at 65. Pillsbury, I love you because you are user friendly! And it tasted good too.

Real Color Photos of 1903 Paris!!!

Our friend Luc Piché sent us this slideshow from the Paris City Hall, REAL COLOR PHOTOS of early century Paris, a color process called Autochrome and involving potato derived dies. Those are truly amazing, revealing a Paris that only writers and painters had captured in color. Luc was rewarded by finding his own grandfather with US troops at the Paris liberation, having a beer in a café (last slide). Check this out here

Petite Fleur by Sidney Bechet and a bunch of Carlsbad CA flowers.

SOFTWARE[Audition,Photoshop,Flash CS3]Emphasis[Music integration]Time Taken[too much!]

Sidney Bechet gave us that beautiful melody years ago. I was humming that tune as I was walking the dogs around Carlsbad CA the other morning. Took some pictures and put together this Flash document recently, and I apologize for its awful size (11MB). If you don't have DSL please dont bother waiting waiting an hour for it to play. But then maybe it's entirely worth it to hear the 'All-Time King Of The Soprano Saxophone'play one of his best melodies.

Cajun Colors

SOFTWARE[Photoshop,Flash CS3,Spectrum Analysis, Illustrator, Audition, Beer]EMPHASIS[ Wild Things]TIME TAKEN[ About 4 to 3 hours+]


WAD DAT 'CAJUN WAY TING' , BOUDREAUX ??? MAIS CHERE , DAT BE DEM COULERED TINGS DAT ALL GOOD COONASS BE KEEPING UNDER HIS CHAPEAU YEA!
This Louisiana game warden had been keeping an eye on the fishing docks, when after about a week he noticed that Boudreaux had been coming back every day with a boat full of fish. One day he starts to talk to Boudreaux as he's pulling his boat in. The warden says,'Boudreaux, I been watchin you. I notice every day dat you been comin' in wid a full load of fish. You must be havin some good luck? Eh?" Boudreaux answers, "May yah, dem fish is easy to catch." The game warden replies, "Well listen. I got me a day off comin next Saturday. I was wondring, maybe I could go an fish wid you?" Boudreaux replies, "May dat be no problem. Jus make shore you be here at dat 6 a.m. sharp. Cause I gonna leave dis dock wid or widout you." "May I'll be here, don't chu worry none about dat" answers the warden.

Saturday comes and the game warden is waiting at the dock when Boudreaux pulls up and puts his boat in the water. The game warden gets in and Boudreaux proceeds to drive the boat out to the middle of the lake. At this point, Boudreaux shuts off the engine and lets the boat glide to a stop. The game warden, who'd been curious anyway, says to Boudreaux, "May Boudreaux, I been lookin aroun dis boat, and I notice dat all you don brought was dis here ice-chest and dat little brown paper bag under your seat. May, you don't even got no fishin pole." Boudreaux answers, "May, dat be because dats all I need" And he proceeds to pull a stick of dynamite out of the brown paper bag, lights it, thows it in the water and watches it go boooom! All the fish in the area, being stunned, float to the top of the water.

The warden, by this time, can't believe his eyes. Half yelling, he says to Boudreaux, "May Boudreaux, I know we been knowin each udder for a long time, but man, you can't be doing dat, especially wid me being a game warden n all. May, dat's agin de law in a big way dat is." Boudreaux, without say a word, calmly reaches down into the bag (with the warden still rattling off), pulls out a stick, lights it, hands it to the warden and says, "You gonna talk, or you gonna fish?"

Sequel (sent by blawgger 'Coonass #1) thanks!

Boudreaux's wife, Clotile, went to the local newspaper and said she wanted to put in the Obituary Column that Boudreaux died.
The editor said that it would be $1.00 per word. Clotile said, "Here's $2.00 - just put 'BOUDREAUX DIED'."
The editor said, "Mrs. Boudreaux, surely you want more dan dat."
Clotile said, "Mais, no, just 'BOUDREAUX DIED'."
The editor said, "Well, Mrs. Boudreaux, I know you're a little upset. Bring yourself back tomorrow and you will probably tink of somethin else."
Clotile came back the next day, and said, "Yeh, I taught of somethin else, put 'BOUDREAUX DIED, BOAT FOR SALE'."

More Great Boudreaux Jokes Here-Enjoy!

La Gota Fria Music Video + Spanish & English lyrics


We need this for cold autumn evenings, right? . It's Carlos Vives doin' GOTA FRIA ...

The author of this famous song, Emiliano Zuleta, seems to have a fight with another musician, a certain Lorenzo Morales. On this song, Emiliano tells some not very pleasant things to Lorenzo . I understand that Lorenzo replied in his day with another song.

El autor de esta famosa canción, Emiliano Zuleta, parece tener un pleito con otro músico, un tal Lorenzo Morales. El esta canción, Emiliano le dice algunas cosas no muy agradables a Lorenzo. Tengo entendido que Lorenzo le contestó en su día con otra canción.

Acordate Moralito de aquel día
que estuviste en Urumita
y no quisiste hacer parranda.
Te fuiste de mañanita.
Sería de la misma rabia (bis)

En mis notas soy extenso.
A mí nadie me corrige. (bis)
Para tocar con Lorenzo
mañana sábado,
día de la Virgen (bis)

* Me lleva él o me lo llevo yo
pa' que se acabe la vaina (bis)
¡Ay! Morales a mí no me lleva
porque no me da la gana
Moralito a mí no me lleva
porque no me da la gana.

¿Qué cultura, qué cultura va a tener
un indio chumeca como Lorenzo Morales?
¿qué cultura va a tener,
si nació en los cardonales? (bis)

Morales mienta a mi mama
solamente pa' ofender. (bis)
Para que él también se ofenda,
ahora le miento a la de él. (bis)

Me lleva él o me lo llevo yo …

Moralito, Moralito se creía
que él a mí, que él a mí me iba a ganar,
pero cuando me oyo tocar
le cayó la gota fría, (bis)
Al cabo él la compartía
y el tiro le salió mal. (bis)

Me lleva él o me lo llevo yo …

Remember, Moralito, that day
that you were in Urumita
and you didn't want to celebrate (?).
You left early in the morning.
It must have been from the grudge.

My notes are extensive.
Nobody corrects me.
To play with Lorenzo,
tomorrow, Saturday,
the day of the Virgin.

Either he takes me or I take him,
to end this whole thing.
Wow! Morales won't take me,
cause I don't feel like it.
Morales won't take me,
cause I don't feel like it.

How cultured, how cultured can he be,
a Chumeca Indian such as Lorenzo Morales?
How cultured can he be,
if he was born in the cardonales?

Morales insults my mother,
just to offend.
So that he is offended too
because now I insult his.

Either he takes me or I take him

Moralito, Moralito, he thought
that he was going to beat me
but when he heard me play,
he felt a cold sweat,
finally he shared it (?)
and he misfired

Either he takes me or I take him (?) ...

Hard to believe a great song with such modernity was written many many decades ago. Emiliano you were a genius!