Saw this butterfly near the cornfield next to the airport at Wamego, KS. We were waiting on a plane to reach a high enough altitude for the parachute jumpers. Later we captured some shots of the folks floating down from the sky.

Dogs Looking For Homes(DLFH).
Copyright © 2008 by Preston Surface. All Rights Reserved.

My hometown, once a place where a family could earn a decent wage and live fairly well, has been in an economic slump for a couple of decades now, and nothing seems to snap the city out of it. It was an oil dependent town. Much, much drilling going on around the area. Then the bottom fell out during the oil crisis. People who couldn't find jobs to sufficiently support themselves left. Other businesses closed. The Tradewinds plant closed. The Beech Aircraft plant closed. All that was left was the meat packing plant, with its lower wages and dismal working conditions. There was a small glimmer of hope a few years back when Trailmobile expressed an interest in locating a plant there. They told the city fathers they'd come, if the city would, in effect, 'sponsor' them. They did. Trailmobile came, there were more well-paying jobs (though still not nearly enough to support the entire populace, but it was a start) and things were looking up. Then, Trailmobile left, suddenly, just closed their doors and snuck away, almost like sneaking out in the night, and the city got stuck holding the bag of a huge plant - now empty.

Drilling goes on around there still - but even with the price of oil climbing upward - meaning more drilling - the oil industry around there never seems to have been able to fully recover from the fall it took way back when. It's far too unstable anymore as well. Workers can (and are) laid off on a regular basis, depending on how much drilling is going on at any particular time.

It's isolated, with the nearest city of any population being either Wichita or Amarillo, both a 3-1/2 hour drive away. There's no arts to speak of, no culture, nothing to attract the best and brightest of people to our town with their businesses. The educational system is a joke, and restless young people with bad home lives, which abounds there, have nothing to do save join gangs. Funny how gangs are everywhere. Even in small town rural farmland America.

It's ugly there. There's no scenery pleasing to the eye, to speak of, save the beauty of the wheat fields as they grow and ripen. It's hot, dry, barren, and run down. There's no foliage to speak of, no water, no ground cover save bermuda grass and goatheads. Every time I go back, it's like culture shock, and I can't imagine I was ever even momentarily content to live with such... disrepair, filth, ugliness... surrounding me. There's empty buildings in various states of disrepair.. homes that are run down as well. Graffiti is king. It's surreal to go back there now and see the deterioration time and change has wrought when I still have the town of my childhood in my mind's eye. I'm not so sure it was ever more pleasing then than it was now, or my child's innocence never saw the ugliness of it all..
The major shopping place is Wal-Mart. That's it. Wal-Mart. There's a Dillon's Food Store, a few dollar stores, a Hispanic market, convenience stores out the wazoo, but the granddaddy of them all in the shopping department there is - Wal-Mart. There used to be a K-Mart, a Gibson's Discount Center, a Homeland Foods, a Food Bonanza... all run out by Wal-Mart's rock bottom pricing. I honestly don't see how Dillon's has remained. The Food Bonanza building still stands empty, after a number of years. The most growth they've had since I've left is a new apartment complex, an Applebee's and a new Walgreens. The one redeeming quality in this arena is - they do have a Sonic.

The weather is horrid. It blows. And it blows. And it blows some more, till you think you will literally go mad. There is no pretty, gentle snowfall there. It blizzards, with a fierceness that threatens your life. It rarely rains, but when it does, it floods, and the unprepared streets flood over, often throwing parts of the city into crisis. The heat is brutal and dry, sucking all the moisture right out of your body and leaving you suffering from heat stroke very quickly if you're not careful.

The man pickings are slim for a single woman my age. Most available men wear jeans that show the crack of their ass when they bend over, even slightly. Scrumptdillyicious. Before I left, I had dated both a truck driver (the upside to that was that he wasn't home very often) and a farmer, both of whom suffered from this denim derriere affliction. Think Gomer Pyle - dressed badly. I needed more than that. I needed someone who stimulated my mind, my heart, my soul, my every essence, fed me, nurtured me, cherished me, challenged me. My last husband - he never could 'get it' when he'd shower me with some expensive trinket, then turn around and belittle me on the same day, then wonder why the baubles he draped around me meant nothing to me. A distant and closed man who always kept me at an emotional arm's length, I'd tell him - "things do not matter to me - I don't need things, I need you!" Exasperated, and never understanding, he always replied "What are you talking about? I'm right here, aren't I?"

My sister lives there. I cannot abide her for any great length of time at all. She's pompous and pretentious and has designs on running my life whenever the slightest opportunity presents itself. I find her comical and pathetic since I've moved away. All her putting on of airs while she lives in the one 'nice' section of town, surrounded by squalor...

The rest of the town is like her - unmasked.

I only go back there to see my daughter and grandchildren. I am anxious to get there all during the trip, but the closer I get to my destination, I am already getting that restless, anxious, desperate need to get the hell back out...

before it sucks me in again and sucks the life out of me.

Festive sailors in a decorated boat in the boat parade for the Fourth of July celebration at Lake Wabaunsee, Kansas.

Copyright © 2008 by Anna Surface. All Rights Reserved.

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Anna and I spent a nice afternoon/evening at Lake Wabaunsee.  Everyone was having a fantastic time and all the boats were all sported up for the Fourth of July. I took the video footage and Anna took the still shots within the video.

Dogs Looking For Homes(DLFH).
Copyright © 2008 by Preston and Anna Surface. All Rights Reserved.

For the July 4th celebration at Lake Wabaunsee, Kansas, there were many different crafts and people upon the water zigging and zagging, and having fun. A young couple spotted us taking photographs, and they put on a little show.

Copyright © 2008 by Anna Surface. All Rights Reserved.

To view more photos from today's parade--check out the neighbors photostream.

The District Attorney told the Wichita Eagle, "After six months of conducting an investigation … this Grand Jury has not found sufficient evidence to bring an indictment on any crime related to the abortion laws." The grand jury investigation had previously come before the Kansas Supreme Court over its attempts to subpoena confidential patient medical records.

Dr. Tiller is one of only a few late-term abortion providers in the country. According to Kansas and federal law, an abortion can only be performed after the 22 weeks if carrying the fetus to term would cause the woman "substantial and irreversible impairment," according to KWCH News. Dr. Tiller has consistently been targeted by anti-choice groups.

Media Resources: Wichita Eagle 7/3/2008, KWCH 7/3/2008, Feminist Daily News Wire 7/6/2007, Feminist Daily News Wire 5/7/2008

This story was taken from Feminist Campus Daily News Wire

In the past month and a half I have been to:

• Kansas to visit the parents
• Texas for the Release Technique - did I mention this is how I know Z?
• A villa in Florida - Z was involved in that part also
• Los Angeles for a super cool gorgeous wedding, plus some of the debauchery I mentioned before, and to visit my brother..... oh and Z was involved as well

So...  debauchery and change I'm all set on, the part that has been missing is Boston.

To get the picture you want can be risky for the photographer. You could fall off a cliff, fall from a bridge, get bit by a snake, twist an ankle, or questioned by a Kansas State Trooper. I saw some orange Lilies growing off the side of the road. Had to get the picture. With our truck pulled off the side of the road, and me laying in the ditch to get a picture caused concern for a passing State Trooper. Once he saw our cameras he figured out the situation and told us to have a great day.

Orange Lilies growing wild. I've seen them for several years now. Decided to capture the image so I can enjoy them during the bitter cold winter.

Dogs Looking For Homes(DLFH).
Copyright © 2008 by Preston Surface. All Rights Reserved.

There has been quite a range in the ideas from humorous space opera to medieval fantasy to alternate histories. I hadn't worked on the novel for ten years and knew I had huge expository lumps. But I was getting mired. I had to build a complete world, including geography, races, culture, religion and rulers. No small feat and it's still evolving. I was told to get rid of the first two chapters and simplify the information. I also had to drop the meddling gods back.

The more I thought about it, the more relieved I was. I have so much information to impart and I was getting mired. After we went for BBQ (where the food was okay and the waiting staff terrible) at the Vermont, I think, we went back to the dorms. Most nights people sit around and talk and write, to varying degrees. There's a quiet room if you don't want to be bothered by the chatter. I was working on my outline and chatting with Eric Warren from the short fiction workshop.

He had sat in one day on our workshop and had read the two novel bits so he could see how the process went. It's not round table like Clarion and is a more gentle, more brainstorming style which I quite like and find useful, not to mention you learn from the other people's novels too. We ended up discussing my novel and it was really useful. Eric gave me a very cool idea for the second novel and I got to bounce my changes off of him.

What this outline has given me that the first didn't is a jumping point to a second novel. I had only thought in the vague terms of "there will be one" before this. Kij has made me cut down to three viewpoint characters. Because of the races and plot, I can't really go to fewer. But this leaves room for different character viewpoints in the second novel. One rule was that two of the three problems must be solved by the end of the novel. I've done this (at least in the outline), and leaving one unsolved problem leaves room for that problem to flow into the next novel and for joining them.

The outline gets turned in next week and taken through the process. I think it is stronger and kind of exciting. I also wrote up story arcs for each of the four characters, which definitely helps in plotting the outlines. I hope to have most of the outline done by tomorrow.

Eric A. Taylor, 27, Bridgeport, had worked for the sheriff's office for two years, but Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said he did not believe this had been a pattern of behavior.

"As far as we know, this was a one-time event," he said. "It's something that should never happen, but it happens."

Kochanowski said the three inmates were housed together. Taylor allegedly touched them in a sexual way June 24. When the sheriff's office received information about the allegations, an internal affairs investigation and a sheriff's office criminal investigation were launched simultaneously.

Kochanowski said the information about what was alleged to have occurred did not come from the inmates, but he refused to identify the source of that information.

Although Kochanowski had not talked to the women involved, he said that, in general, inmates tend to fear retaliation if they share information that might reflect poorly on a corrections officer.

"When you're incarcerated like that, you always fear bringing something forward that gets someone else in trouble," he said. "Inmates are no different than anybody else. They're just people. They may wonder, 'What are they going to do to get even?' "

The internal affairs investigation, conducted by Lt. Alyssa LeClair, showed that Taylor had violated in-house policies and procedures in ways that were grounds for dismissal, Kochanowski said. Taylor was fired at 11:30 a.m. Monday.

The criminal investigation, conducted by Investigator Matt Fischer, concluded that there was probable cause to arrest Taylor on three felony charges of unlawful sexual relations by a law enforcement officer with an inmate over the age of 16, Kochanowski said.

Taylor was taken into custody at 4:40 p.m., when he drove to the jail and turned himself in. Taylor immediately posted bond and was released, Kochanowski said.

According to the Bureau of Justice National Inmate Survey for 2007, about 1.6 percent of inmates in county jails -- 12,100, nationwide -- reported inappropriate sexual contact with another inmate, and 2 percent -- 15,200 -- reported an incident involving sexual contact with a staff member.

source: http://www.salina.com/rdnews/story/deputy-touch-7-1

We start today with Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius:

Robert Bowen:

Pro - She’s a fairly liberal governor of a conservative state. Sam Brownback anyone? She clearly knows how to speak to moderates and average, blue-collar Americans that Obama has struggled with. She might make Missouri closer but I don’t see Obama winning there.

Con - Did anyone see her rebuttal to the State-of-the-Union? She is one of the most boring and uninspiring speakers I have ever heard. This is in addition to the fact that she’ll lose her home state (the polls from that will be embarassing to the campaign in the last few weeks). It will also do nothing to unite the party because moderates who supported Clinton will be pissed that they picked her and not Clinton. That will be true no matter who Obama picks, but especially if she picks another woman. Furthermore, she has no supporters nationally. I honestly don’t think she changes the electoral math at all (not the sign of a good VP candidate).

The Veep Value: 38

Matt Cavedon:

Pro - As a white woman governor of a red agricultural states, she could help get Clintonistas back in line behind Obama. She is known as a moderate, and is well-liked by independents and moderate Republicans, meaning she could bring Missouri, Iowa, possibly Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin into Obama’s column.

Con - She brings absolutely nothing by way of extensive federal experience or foreign policy expertise to Obama’s campaign. Given that she is a socially and economically liberal governor of a moderate state, that doesn’t mean she can do anything in the highly-populated industrial and military swing states that will determine the election.

The Veep Value: 65

Ben Goodman:

Pro -  She’s white. She’s female. She brings executive experience as a governor of a red state, and could help secure a state like Iowa and help in Missouri.

Con - If Barack Obama is going to pick a woman, it needs to be Hillary Clinton. HRC supporters will see a Sebelius addition as a slap in the face. She’s not even likely to net her home state of Kansas.

The Veep Value: 53

Tom Dec:

Pro - Woman. White. Bi-partisan attitude/appeal.

Con - She won’t win any states - I think Barack Obama can win MO and IA without her - and I agree with Ben that if it is a woman it must be Hillary. She would be a poor choice.

The Veep Value: 42

Josh Lambert:

Pro - White woman.

Con - Who is she again? That’s what people will be asking. She’s a no namer everywhere but her state and outside the realm of political intellectuals, no one else has really heard of her.

The Veep Value: 39

Overall: 46.4

According to ACEEE, energy consumption for home air conditioning accounts for almost 5% of all the electricity produced in the U.S., costing homeowners over $15 billion. It also producing roughly 140 million tons of fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions per year.

And according to every utility person I have ever talked to, summer is a time of peak load when everyone has the AC running, and this draw is a big part of why additional fossil fuel burning power plants are still on the drawing board.

All this totals up to one really horrible fact - an environmentally responsible homeowner should strive to use their AC as little as possible. You can do this in several ways:

- Seal and weatherstrip your home
- Install a programmable thermostat to raise the AC temperature when no one is home, and to lower it before you return
- Only run the AC when the temperature is over 90 degrees, or later in the summer when it doesn't cool off at night
- Install an energy-efficient AC, energy-efficient windows, and insulation
- Use fans instead
- Sweat it out.

Or... you can accidentally do as Maril and her husband did. You can start remodeling your kitchen in late June, realize that the whole ceiling (drywall, insulation, the whole schmeer) needs to go and really, you might as well rewire ALL the ancient wiring while you're at it (firefighters tend not to like bad wiring, there was no hope of just covering that stuff back up) ....

... and then you are living in an uninsulated shell of a house (more like a barn, really), and what's the point of using your AC then? Why air condition the great outdoors?

And then it becomes July. And then your drywall guy flakes on you and there's the July 4 holiday and the other folks can't get to it until afterwards. And then oh yeah, you and your husband both work outside the home. Remodeling when day jobs are involved is not the easiest thing. And did you know that an attic fan doesn't really work well when there's no attic? Not kidding.

Thus for the past week or so we have been exploring the sweat it out option.

The good news - you adjust. I'll admit it, I'm normally a wimp. Usually our AC solution is to keep it at 78 degrees, just to keep the edge off. It's been a bit above 78 degrees in Kansas lately, you may have noticed.

However, since it's always cooler outside than inside now (until about 8:00 p.m.), we're spending lots more time outside. Gardening, walking, messing with the biodiesel, whatever. This is has got to be healthier than sitting around on your rear indoors in the AC, I figure. And you end up actually talking to your neighbors. Imagine.

And really. You do adjust to the lack of AC. You may not be happy about it but you adjust. I had a friend give me a major reality check the other day, too. I griped, and the response was: "Oh yeah? Well right now in Iraq it's about 120 degrees in the shade."

I said, oh. Well. I do believe you are right. Gulp.

Then someone else pointed out that when the families started to return to Greensburg after the tornado last year, about that time Kansas would have been heading right into summer, and there sure wasn't any AC there then. And do you think that everyone in Chapman has AC right now? Probably not.

So! Yeah. What are we griping about, again?

--- Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org

Rolls of Hay for cattle. Depending on the type of grass, the rolls go from $35 to $50 each.

Dogs Looking For Homes(DLFH).
Copyright © 2008 by Preston Surface. All Rights Reserved.

The Vines - Ride
System Of A Down - Angels Deserve To Die
Story of the Year - Until the Day I Die
Puddle Of Mud - She Hates Me
Godsmack - I Stand Alone
Forthrite - Substituting_The_Silence
Ember_Sky - Silence_Breaks
Blur- Song 2
Trapt - Headstrong
Westside Connection - Gangsta Nation
White Zombie - Feed The Gods
Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music
Yellow Card - Breathing
Aaliyah -_Miss You
Thrice - Silhouette
Three Days Grace - I Hate Everything About You
Super Troopers - Shenanigans
Stone Temple Pilots - Dead and Bloated
Scotty Doesnt Know - Lustra
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
Ra - Do You Call My Name
Rage Against The Machine - Guerilla Radio
Ramstein - Du Hast
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl
Saliva - Always
Sheryl Crow - Soak Up The Sun
Slayer - Bloodline
Slipknot - Duality
Smashing Pumkins - Zero
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Power Man 5000 - BombShell
Puddle Of Mudd - Away From Me
Pantera - Walk
Papa Roach - Last Resort
Ozzy Osbourne - Ironman
Nirvana - Lake Of Fire
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
Megadeth - Shadow Of Deth
Limp Bizkit - Faith
Lost Prophets - Last Train Home
Korn - Got The Life
Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son
Kid Rock - Cowboy
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Godsmack - Voodoo
Green Day - American Idiot
Godsmack - Bad Religion
Devo - Whip It
Disturbed - Dropping Plates
Dope - Debonaire
Dropbox - Wishbone
Daniel Lioneye - King Of Rock And Roll
Dark Lotus - Pass The Ax
Blink 182 - I Miss You
Alice In Chains - We Die Young
Alternative Switchfoot - Meant To Live
American Hi-Fi - Flavor Of The Week
AFI - Total Immortal
AC/DC - TNT

The wildflowers are growing in wild abandon and abundance in the Kansas prairies this summer.

Copyright © 2008 by Anna Surface. All Rights Reserved.

The Goo Goo Dolls at the House of Blues in Atlantic City on Dec. 31. Pre-sale tickets begins tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. and goes to July 31 at 10:00 p.m. General public on sale is Fri. Aug. 1 at 10:00 a.m. $52 - $67.

Indigo Girls at the House of Blues in Atlantic City on Thurs. Sept. 25. Tickets on sale this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. $32 - $41.50.

Apocalyptica will be at Nokia Theater on Fri. Sept. 26. Tickets on sale now. $20.

Lindsey Buckingham at the Nokia on Sun. Rocktober 19. Tickets on sale next Sat. July 12 at noon.

Dion at the Mohegan Sun Cabaret on Thurs. thru Sun.Aug. 28 – Aug. 31. Tickets on sale this Mon. July 7 at 10:00 a.m. $40.

Wingstock 2008 at the First Energy Park in Lakewood NJ on Sat. Sept. 13, featuring Peter Wolf, Kansas and a “Huge Act” to be named later. Tickets on sale Mon. July 14 at noon. $35. Eight ticket limit.

Other items:

John Mayer has released “Where the Light Is- Live in Los Angeles.” This guy is growing on me. Great guitar player and nice vocals. He does a real cool version of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling.” Check it out. Supposedly Target is the place to buy it. You get both CD and DVD for $17.99.

My new favorite song of the week is from a Country Band called The Lost Trailers and the song is “Holler Back.” These guys have been around for a long time, they sound good- check them out.

My two favorite “old school” songs this week are “Mr. BoJangles” by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “On and On” by Stephen Bishop. The Nitty Gritty Band re-recorded this hit with Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley but I like the original better. Jerry Jeff Walker actually wrote the song but I like this version the best- it’s been covered by many artists, including John Denver and Bob Dylan.

LL Cool J has released a new single called “Baby” featuring The Game. Very disappointed in LL, this song is juvenile and a big step backwards at this point in his career. I don’t know if he’s trying to get “street cred” but the cursing and the lyrics are laughable.

Fans of Little Feat, myself included, will be glad to know that 14 of their greatest hits have been re-recorded by various artists which include Dave Matthews, Chris Robinson, Jimmy Buffet, Vince Gil, Brooks & Dunn and Bob Seger.

Caught some needling on why no review of Motley Crue’s new release “Saints of Los Angeles.” I’m almost there. I don’t want to piece-meal it from I-Tunes and then realize I want the whole CD. The first five songs sound awesome. I’m a huge Crue fan so I most likely will take the plunge. And I totally agree that the video for “Saints of Los Angeles” is real cool, this is the way a rock band is suppose to look and sound like. Excellent song and video.

I have now solidified my favorite track on “Evil Urges” by My Morning Jacket and the honor goes to the “Librarian.” This song is phenomenal. Again, I can’t say enough about this album but if there is one song to get- this is the one. On another note about this album- you had to see the faces of my boys when I played “Highly Suspicious” for them. Talk about priceless. They hated it.

And not for nothing I am real close to getting “Real Animal” by Alejandro Escovedo that was just released this past Tuesday. Last week I mentioned his new single “Always a Friend” and as I listen to the 30-second previews on I-Tunes- it sounds like a smash hit!!

This week’s I-Tunes shuffle landed on “You May Be Right” by Billy Joel, so of course I had to go back and listen to my one and only album by Mr. Joel- “Glass Houses.” This was his seventh studio effort, which was released back in 1980. I know this album alienated fans from his first six albums but you know what? - it dragged me in. Now for myself back in 1980, it was not cool to own a Billy Joel album, so the people who knew me back then- probably never knew that I bought this. (I had a metal image to uphold). Now I recognize Mr. Joel’s space in American music history and he can’t be denied, but I was never a real “big” fan. I like a lot of his stuff but again this is the only album that I have ever purchased from his extensive library. And yes I have seen him live and have to admit I liked the show. He has earned his place in music history.

Now for me, the opening breaking glass sound on “You May Be Right” symbolized that he was shattering his image of just being a piano man and was ready to rock and roll. Say what you will about this song but when it’s cranked up loud (as I have it now) this is a fun rock and roll song. “Sometimes A Fantasy” is a cool song and I love the hook. With a good set of headphones, the background vocals come through great. I love the drum parts to “only you can give me satisfaction.” Again play this loud. “Don’t Ask Me Why”- well don’t ask me why but I love this song- I know its soft but there is a soft side to me. “Don’t wait for answers, just take your chances.” Sort of reminds me of something Paul McCartney would sing. OK now I know you have heard “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” over a thousand times, especially in the summer of 1980 but you know what? It’s a great song.

Tell me you don’t like “All for Leyna?” Oh man I wore this album out and this is my second favorite track. I love the piano work and the bridge of the song that takes it into “I’m failing in school, losing my friends…” is something that I can listen to over and over. If you have the album- side 2: track # 1: “I Don’t Want To Be Alone” is not only my favorite song on this album, this could very well rank up there in my top 20 songs of all time. Can you say “desert island” song? I have always wanted to perform this song a la karaoke style. How cool is this song? “She said she meet me in a bar at the Plaza Hotel, wear a jacket and a tie-eee-eye..” It has a funky stop and go beat that flows real well and Billy’s vocals are spot on. Perfect bar song. Then for all sports fans, “Sleeping With the Television On” starts with the National Anthem and then back in the old days the TV would turn off and you’d hear just a steady noise. “Your Eyes are Saying Talk to Me… This isn’t for me to say Dianne… All Night Long..” I believe this is one of his all time classic songs, I know a lot of folks out there probably think I’m sleeping with the television on right now. And how cool and rocking is “Close to the Borderline” – I love it- crank it up. How many songs by Billy Joel can you say “Crank it Up?” I love the guitar throughout. “A buck three eighty won’t buy you much these days… I don’t change channels, so they must change me..” How many Billy Joel songs can you “air guitar” to? Come on, this is probably the only one. The album closes with “Through The Long Night,” a great slow song and Joel’s vocals are top notch. It’s a sing along song for the whole family- take it on your next trip together.

Glass Houses spawned two number 1 hits for Mr. Joel: “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” and “Don’t Ask Me Why.” “You May Be Right” peaked at # 7. Now there is not one bad tune on this album and it classifies as a “desert island” disc. It’s short and compact- like many albums were back in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. At the time I bought it, I knew it was a classic but again wasn’t too vocal about it. But now I will tell all of you- run out and get this album now!!! And he also won a Grammy for this album “Best Male Rock Vocal Performance”- would I steer you wrong?

Remember the VH1 Honors show this year is on Thurs. July 17 at 9:00 p.m. and the only band being honored is The Who. Should be a great show.

Back on this day in 1971, Jim Morrison died of a heart attack in France at the young age of 27.

Today would have been Laura Branigan’s 51st birthday, she passed away in Aug. 2004. She was born in Brewster NY.

Back on this day in 1988, Cheap Trick had its only #1 song with “The Flame.”

Imagine if during the last century, farmers' co-ops had been able to build and control at least some of the railroads. Pretty cool, huh? Wind is a new resource, with new development patterns, and new social and economic organizations have the chance evolve as a result. Built on old ones, of course.

Kansans win EnergyStar awards. Emporia students build an EnergyStar rated home (Emporia Gazette), and the Koch Industries office building in Wichita wins national EnergyStar award (Wichita Eagle).

Midwest floods show signs of global warming. (Reuters) Quotable: "Floods like those that inundated the U.S. Midwest are supposed to occur once every 500 years but this is the second since 1993, suggesting flawed forecasts that do not take global warming into account, conservation experts said on Tuesday. "Although no single weather event can be attributed to global warming, it's critical to understand that a warming climate is supplying the very conditions that fuel these kinds of weather events," said Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist with the National Wildlife Federation."

Earth-friendly fuels station opens in Lawrence (LJWorld). The EPA, local dignitaries (politicians), Maril's biodiesel-obsessed husband, and hundreds more turned out for the grand opening of the new Zarco station in Lawrence. Pretty cool place. Currently only one of its kind in the nation - here in KS! We're so cool.

Some Suzlon wind turbine blades cracking (WSJournal Environmental Capital blog). Whoops. Evidently in their quick ramp up to get their blades to the US wind market, Suzlon did not do adequate testing for the U.S. grid, or for our gusty winds. The manufacturer is reinforcing the blades and making repairs.

Creation care (USA Today). 67% of Americans say they care about the environment because it is God's creation.

Wind and transmission in OK. Update on wind farms proposals and transmission line development in neighboring Oklahoma (Enid News). Lots of information about Lenexa-based Trade Winds, the corporation that owns the Lincoln County wind farm along I-70 in Kansas - for a photo essay on that wind farm (by CEP's Jason), see here.

--- Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org