Obsessively Weird about Dirt: Reverse Graffiti

Reverse Graffiti: Cleaning Without a Permit

The New York Times interviewed the British artist Paul Curtis:

The British artist Paul Curtis is not sure what to call his version of vandalism. "People call it ‘reverse graffiti,' " he says, "but I prefer something less sinister: ‘clean tagging' or ‘grime writing.' " Curtis (a.k.a Moose) selectively scrubs dirty, derelict city property (tunnel walls, sidewalks) so that words and images are formed by the cleaned bits. "It's refacing," he says, "not defacing. Just restoring a surface to its original state. It's very temporary. It glows and it twinkles, and then it fades away."

Critics have accused him of breaking the law, but for what? Cleaning without a permit? "Once you do this," he says, "you make people confront whether or not they like people cleaning walls or if they really have a problem with personal expression."

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Reverse Graffiti: Cleaning Without a Permit

Reverse Graffiti: Cleaning Without a Permit

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information to hike in the morning. I haven't done this mountain in years (late teens or early twenties) now I'm 40+ and not in the best of shape or health. I had to do this for me. Molly(a 4 months old Golden) and I left Sebec about 7:00 and we got to the trail head after a few stops along the way at about 8:15. Yea, we were the first car in the lot so it could be a quiet hike up. She was all excited and some water to play and lay in as Goldens do while got my gear on. So we headed out ... The grade is a little steep and muddy right from the parking lot. After a distance the trail connected to what looks like the old road. And that was pretty good walking and a few split log bridges. Molly was doing great with her long leash and playing in the mud and water. Saw some moose and deer tracks, song birds and a couple of frogs. I was working up good sweat already (my whole was wet) and I had taken a few short breaks. The trail turn into a series rock steps. Can you just imagine the time and talent it took to build this trail for us to enjoy. I remember reading a few web site that said that the old Ranger's cabin was the half point. I was thinking I should be there, right??

So we kept climbing and hike up. We could hear moving water in the distance. We made the curve and saw a blue tarp in the distance. I was thinking who start up big blue tarp... did a group stay in overnight?? As we got closer it was the ranger's cabin. Well now we are half way!!! But that was the easy part. Had a drink and rested for a few minutes and enjoyed the sound of the water rushing down the mountain. We used the split log bridge to cross the stream and one of the first ladders of the day.

Next came the series of rock steps and that was a steep climb for this old guy but Molly was doing great but she does love to stop, smell and rest with me. I'm really enjoying her on this hike just like when I had my golden Syl. We continued on for a while taking breaks when needed. We haven't seen a

soul. Just us and nature!!!

and we can rest for awhile too. We got to the outlook and I tied Molly to a tree for own safety and my piece of mind (I know I don't have alot). I took a drink of water and start taking a few photos. I'm using my old Sony camera because the Olympus is having problems. And look at same of the photo the poor Sony was having some troubles too. Here is one of the photos and will post all the other photos in my web site www.mainesbestweb.com in the future. After enjoy the views, we started to head for the summit --- Thinking it was just a few steps more.... ha - ha ...

goldens too. They must have passed us when we went to the outlook. They were in better shape. From the trailheadto the summit at the fire tower took us a little less than three hours with all the stops. I wished them well on their hike down and we walked over to the other end of the summit. Enjoyed the view and took a few more photos it has been hazy all day but the breeze felt great. We walked backed to the helipad and had lunch of roast bbqchicken on wheat with swiss chesse, water, a few corn chips and rc square plus Molly had her food too. But she liked the shade from the heli-pad best. We walked back to the fire tower and took some more photo. Enjoyed the view and be the only one on that part of the summit with the sound of the mountain and nature. About Noon, we packed up and started down the mountain. Just as we were starting down the trail met an old couple with a dog. This was the begin of the heavy traffic flow going up the mountain and it did stop until we got to the trailhead and even then people were pulling. We talked to many people on the way down. We stopped at the stream and ranger's cabin to took a closer look. Molly found a pool to lay in as goldens do best. Molly made many new people and dog friend along the way. Several families and a couple dad &daughter teams, some people had poor choices of foot wear for the hike up like the slip on sandals (like slippers) and one large group about 15-20 adult and kids. They didn't know of or didn't care about the basic hiking rule of moving as fast as the slowest member, they were spead out about a mile or so. It took us about two to come down wilth our stops and waiting for people going up the trail. It was great hike for me and Molly. I was sore and wore out. Molly stopped by the car to use the grass and then climbed in the back seat crashed. We use the car to ride to Notch Pond and Molly was too tired to get out. We headed for Mom's and Dad's in the big city of Blanchard coming from Shirely.

Tonight I got a call from Bonnie Scharnbroich who has a sister that lives on our street.  She said there were two newborn calves who were still damp yesterday sleeping in the yard, two houses down from us.  Wow.  I've only seen three other moose in recent memory and ever since we've had the boys I have not had the time to case out any wildlife for any stretch of time to speak of.

It was time for bed so I went over there with my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS, and my 100-400mm  f/4.5-5.6 IS.  Sure enough there was  a very tired looking cow moose and two newborn twins there who could hardly stand up! 

They were just lying up against the alders at the edge of the lawn minding their own business.  To view them perfectly, you could just go out on the porch and look at them.

At one point, when we had about four people out on the porch and there was a bit too much talking, the moose had the hair on their backs bristle up and they tried to get motivated to stand up, so we went inside. 

After seeing how calm and serene the whole thing was, I went around to the side of the house that face ours and I could hear what I thought was Holly talking to the boys out on the porch, so I got out the cell phone and invited them over.  Holly and the boys got really excited to come over, so they got on their shoes and walked down the empty lot down from the road to the porch.

Of course, it's always cool to get to see newborn animals, but it's especially cool to see them in the wild, and doubly cool to see them from the safety of a civilized porch.  We made sure not to bother them.  Any time it seemed like they were even the slightest bit bothered, we went inside and gave them some space.  Of course I couldn't help posing the boys in a picture with them!  At two different times, the little once stretched out their legs and once it looked like the nearest one was trying to stand up.  But it was only a half-hearted attempt.

Here's a shot of Mark posing for a shot backlit by the setting sun.  I like backlit shots like this.  At first he had on a huge smile, that wasn't really a smile,  but actually an attempt at a smile, so I asked him to smile with his mouth closed.

To me, the mother looked pretty tired and was breathing in a rather labored fashion, in my not so humble opinion.  I think we can all cut her some slack though.  I imagine that giving birth to twins, naturally, while all alone can really take it out of you.   I suppose this is another good argument for birth control.

Actually, I have to admit that I know almost nothing about the proper resting breathing rate for a moose who has recently given birth to twins.  I do know that it is very common for moose to give birth to twins, and that it's not uncommon for only one of them to live to be fully grown. John Caleb really enjoyed the evening too, although I'm not sure he understood much of what was going on.

However, it crossed the road back and forth a couple of times as we approached. I could tell it was definitely a moose. We slowed and I got out my small camera, stopped and took a couple of shots. We thought the moose seemed a little agitated, then noticed a calf on the other side of a fence just past the ditch that ran along side the road.

My windshield was pretty dirty from bugs, but it's a good enough shot to see her looking at her calf. Couldn't get a shot of the calf though, and then the cow crossed towards her calf, hopped effortlessly over the fence and disappeared into the woods.

We had the grandchildren in the back of the van so they got a good view of the moose, so it was a special moment for all of us!

So Grand Teton National Park is immensely awesome. While in the park we went on three hikes.

A short four mile hike to Signal Mountain which overlooks the Snake River. There are two paths to take on the hike, one featuring ponds and the other ridges (but also having beautiful meadows). The second hike we went on was the Taggart Lake/ Bradley Lake hike. The hike was about seven miles and actually didn't offer access to Bradley lake... If you happen to take this hike I would recommend hiking boots...

The second day we were in the park we had the opportunity to see a full size adult grizzly bear on the side of the road.

The next day we took the Cascade Canyon trail to Solitude Lake (Ben and I are in picture above with Solitude Lake in the background). The hike was 14 miles... The first 4.5 were on an incline and we assumed the next 3 or so would be less steep. Not true. The remaining 3 were actually completely covered in snow as high as my waist. The hiking was grueling and only after we decided to continue did we hear that ice picks were required. We were two of about ten people that made it to the lake. I am pretty sure I pulled my groin and my whole body hurts but I felt SO badass. On the hike up we saw a grizzly cub and immediately ran back on the path about 1/4 mile. We then proceeded with caution because we all know that grizzly cubs mean even bigger, badder grizzly mammas... not something we wanted to see. The trek down the mountain was obviously a steep decline, we sledded down the steep mountain edge right beyond Lake Solitude (which was completely solid) and then slid and walked the rest of the way. When we were about two miles from the beginning point we ran into a male moose in a lake. Eventually he began splashing at which point we noticed a female moose. We were lucky enough to catch their courtship ritual (ON VIDEO!)- I will work on posting it. Right when we thought the two would fornicate, the female moose took a look at me and decided to charge... also on tape.

I freaked and shuffle-ran to a high rock.

It also made me feel terrified/badass.

The boys did an admirable job. It was their first real time canoeing after much practicing in a local lake.

While we were there, we stumbled quite by accident on an excellent Thai restaurant in a quaint town called Rangeley Maine, which is equi-distant between the equator and the north pole.

Thai Blossom Restaurant has some awesome Thai food and I highly recommend it to anyone who is in that area or anywhere near that area since there are long stretches of nothingness that is supposedly inhabited by Bullwinkle and Company, but none of them saw fit to saunter out of the woods for us once we were there. The restaurant was pretty much store front chinese takeout style restaurant but with the best Thai food and an owner who is truly a one man show. The day we were there he was running the entire place and I do mean the entire place solo. He was chief cook and bottle washer. He took our order, brought our beverages, cooked our food, served it and cleaned up after us. We learned that there was a death in his family and his family members that work with him were all in Thailand and had been for 3 weeks. Admirable and delicious!

Speaking of the moose, we did get a glimpse of a cow and calf in the woods only because it had literally caused a traffic jam on the roadway on our way into town. About 25 cars and a bus were stopped with people all over the place sporting cameras to photograph the moose. Coming from Jersey, all those cars stopped on the roadway with people milling about could only mean one thing, dead bodies! But no, no traffic fatality, only a moose mommy and baby.

Now, only a day in and back at home (oh, in Dorothy's words "there's no place like home") we are off at the crack of dawn tomorrow to NJ to see Emily for the first time! While we are really quite content to lounge here, everyone's schedule and the upcoming holiday don't permit much rest, so we have to take advantage of it now.

Off we go............

Thanks for helping me clean up, Snipe :).

Thanks for the stuff and everything, Celery, Carrots, Snipe, and Comrade!

psst.  Carrots.  Not to be selfish, but...  How much is that gift card that I found?

Part 2: Family!

I was forced to wake up hours before I would have.  We went to Church "late", but we were actually early.  Anyway, at around 2:00 my grandmother (mother's side) came and brought potato salad and a present.  And coming late was my grandfather (father's side) and step-grandmother(is that a word?).  He brought a present.  We watched the storm approach, but it started pouring and they fled.  For dinner there were hamburgers, pickles, a bunch of condiments, and potato-foods.  I wasn't that hungry from eating all that cheese and popcorn.  But I had one.  Then I opened presents!  I opened my parents' first.  Speakers!  Then my grandfather/stepgrandmother's...  Civilization IV!  And $20!  Then my grandmother's...  a graduation-dog!  $20!  A razor!>$>:@:#>:$> :$>"$>":>":>":@>:>:">:@"$>":>":F>:"#>>RGF>V.rE>RE|3|)Ii,\3.lplLO_@%OL%G<KO)IG%I)<CTMKCITKI)CTKS)C)KICKICGKI)CHGKIW)H{)IHIGIMCi5gtr54ikt2g4i[tritch[ICmiCm[g542{Ocho{T%C<gogtrwoi!

So they played Wii bowling and I played Civilization IV until 2:00 in the morning.  I'm still very tired!!  And my nose still hurts a little.  But it was fun!

AJ pins Creed after a Styles Clash.

JB comes out and tells AJ that Kurt Angle is waiting in the parking lot for Karen.  AJ runs to the parking lot.

Backstage, security is seperating Kurt Angle from AJ and Karen.  AJ says he'll protect Karen Angle.

Brother Ray vs. Christian Cage

Johnny Devine runs in and tries to hit Christian with a kendo stick.  Cage catches him and tosses Devine out of the ring.  Brother Ray uses the kendo stick on Cage, leading to a disqualification.  Ray and Devine beat on Cage.  Brother Devon and Tomko bring out a glass topped table.  Ray power bombs Cage off the top rope and through the glass table!  The heels pose, then leave when the EMTs come out to check on Christian.  Eric Young and Kaz come out to check on Christian (a little late, guys).  The EMTs place a towel on Christian's back to "soak up the blood".  Nice touch.

JB interviews Kevin Nash.  Samoa Joe interjects.

The Awesome Kong $25,000 Challenge:

"Danielle" signs up to face Kong.  During the match Shantelle Taylor shows up again.  Taylor yells at Kong, Kong shoves her.  Kong beats the hell out of Danielle until the merciful pin following the Awesome Bomb.  Taylor jumps into the ring and brawls with Kong until security seperates them.  Jim Cornette tells Taylor that that's not how we do things in TNA.  Taylor asks to fight Kong, or Saed, she just wants one more chance.  Cornette brings her back to the office so they can talk about it.

TNA Knocked Out profile on Angelina Love.

Frank Trigg comes out and calls out AJ Styles.  AJ is backstage with Karen, who is trying to calm him down (and for some reason JB is there).  AJ leaves to go after Trigg.  AJ gets to the ring, Trigg leaves, and AJ sees what has been happening in the locker room.  Backstage, Kurt Angle confronts Karen.  He says he won't lay a hand on Karen, but someone else will.  The Beautiful People attack Karen and put the paper bag on her.

World X Cup Tournament first round match.

Team International and Team TNA come out to watch the match.

Team Japan - Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino vs. Team Mexico - Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucannero

Rey and Ultimo pin Naruki after Rey jumps off the top rope and hits a top rope corkscrew senton onto Naruki who is placed accross Ultimo's knees.

Lauren interviews Jay Lethal and So Cal Val.

Sonjay Dutt wants Val to be "set free".  Val comes down to the ring to yell at Sonjay.  Jay Lethal runs down the ring to brawl with Sonjay until Dutt runs away.

JB interviews Booker T in his new "star" dressing room.

TNA Rough cut feature on Matt Morgan.

Tomko and Kurt Angle (and JB) talk backstage.  Tomko tells Kurt he's gone too far and needs to get over Karen.  Team 3D show up and set Kurt up on some blind dates for next week.

"Knockout Bimbo Brawl" - a no-DQ, weapons are legal match.

Moose vs. ODB

Moose hits a double arm DDT onto a chair for the pin.

Kevin Nash vs. Booker T

(Samoa Joe is sitting at ringside)

Booker T pushes over Samoa Joe to take his chair.  Booker then hits Joe with that chair.  Joe gets up and goes after Booker.  Joe is in the ring and attempts to kick Booker, Booker moves and Joe hits Nash instead.  Booker tosses Joe out of the ring and pins Nash.  Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe have dissension in the ranks.

Show ends.

The performance of the team has been directly linked to its starting pitcher.  In game one against the Pie-rats, Darrell Rasner got mowed down for seven runs in five innings, and the Yankees lost 12-5.  The next start, Joba pitched 6 and 2/3 innings of shut out ball, and the Yankees won 10-0.  Moose pitched 4 good innings, but that doesn't count, so next up was Dan Geise.  He gave up six in four, also walking four.  The Yankees lost 15-6.  Finally, the Yankees turned to...  Sidney Ponson.  Six shutout innings later, the Yankees were on their way to a 9-0 victory.

I hope I'm not the only one who's wondering where some of this run support was earlier in the season.  I recall at least one gem pitched by Moose and one by Rasner where they lost 2-0 or 2-1.  Now, it seems like they've found ways to score a lot of runs and still come up short.  They scored at least 5 runs in all four games (plus four in the one that didn't count), but won only two of them. In case you didn't know it yet, this game is all about starting pitching.

Admittedly, the bullpen appeared to give up after being handed the bad outings to salvage and appeared to coast through the easy ones.  They pitched well in the good blow outs and poorly in the bad ones.  As usual, it all comes back to starting pitching.  Now let's see if a rotation boasting Joba, Moose, Pettitte, Rasner, Geise, and Ponson in some combination can carry the team to September.

In other news, Hideki Matsui was placed on the 15 day DL with a sore knee.  As much as I hate to see him go, I believe its better to be safe than sorry at this point.  Justin Christian was brought up to cover for him during the Pie-rats series and has done a passable job thus far.  The thought was (I'm guessing) to bring him up instead of Brett Gardner because the Yanks were facing 3 lefties in a row and Christian's a righty.  Better luck next time, Brett.

Also earning frequent flyer miles from Scranton to the Bronx (or spending a lot of time on I-80) are Ross Ohlendorf and Kei Igawa.  Ross pitched poorly in the first game of the double header and was immediately told to pack his bags as Not O-Kei was on his way.  Actually, I'm sure it was planned before that, but Ross didn't help his cause much.  Kei pitched the 9th in the last game of the double header and gave up two hits but no runs, cutting his ERA down to 13.50.  Let's hope that we don't have to see him much longer.

Back to Sheaat 3:55 PM, true believers!

• "Moos" is an Algonquin word that means "twig-eater".
• The Algonquins say that if you dream of moose often, you will live a very long time.
• One of the biggest racks of antlers ever found was 81 inches across!
• One of the heaviest racks of antlers ever found weighed 77 pounds!
• A bull moose looses his antlers each and every year!
• A moose can dive up to 20 feet under water!
• A moose can run up to 35 miles an hour!
• A moose can swim up to 6 miles an hour!
• A moose can run as far as 15 miles without stopping!
• A moose can swim as far as 10 miles without stopping!
• Moose only have front teeth on the bottom.
• A full-grown adult moose only has a 3 inch tail!
• Moose have hollow hair which helps them to float.
• The same animal which is called a moose in North America is called an elk in Europe and Asia.

reversegraffitiproject.com

What a really great concept of something large we do on a small scale while thinking, siting in a dirty diner, shower, or car...or is that just me again?

:)

-Cara

BEHOLD:

Snipe made the first, and I made the second :)

*Impact opens with AJ Styles and Karen Angle in the ring. AJ challenges Kurt Angle to come out and face him but Team 3D attack him. Before they can put him through a table, Rhino makes the save and challenges Angle and 3D to face he, Styles and Christian Cage to a Full Metal Mayhem match at Victory Road.

*Don West and Mike Tenay interview LAX via satellite. Robert Roode and James Storm come out and rip on LAX. This sets up Roode and Storm vs. The Motor City Machineguns....

*Roode and Storm lose to the Machineguns, then handcuff and lash them. The referees and security try to stop them and get lashed as well. They drag Dave Penzer into the ring and lash him Jim Cornette comes out and says he is going to find the two angriest and meanest guys to face Storm and Roode.

*Moose defeated Roxxi, who was busted open around her eye during the bout.

*Rey Bucanero pinned Alex Kozlov in a World X Cup Match.

*Milano Collection AT pinned Curry Man.

*Kurt Angle comes out and complains his blind dates were horrible and calls out Team 3D Brother Ray says he lost his little black book so he used Devon's and apologized. They bring out a hot girl named Sandy but Angle says all women are pieces of sh** and the Beautiful People attack her. Karen Angle comes out and tries to protect Sandy but gets surrounded. AJ Styles, Rhino, ODB and a few others make the save.

*Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash teasing dissension, defeated James Storm and Robert Roode. Sting's music played and the lights flickered.

*Doug Williams defeated Masato Yoshino.

*Shantelle Taylor defeated TNA Knockout champ Awesome Kong in the $25,000 challenge to win the Knockouts title.

*In a World X Cup match, Kaz defeated Ultimo Guerrero.

*Booker T comes to the ring and calls out Samoa Joe. Booker says Kevin Nash is right and he can't beat him. Booker runs down a list of names he has beaten in the past. Joe says he will beat Booker in Houston in front of his friends, family and wife. Sting's music plays and he comes out and says he will be at Victory Road to see who wins.

*AJ Styles & Gail Kim & ODB defeated The Beautiful People & Kurt Angle. MMA star Frank Trigg attacked Styles. Kim got paperbagged.

Xplosion:

*LAX & Eric Young defeated Kip James & Petey Williams & Johnny Devine.

Youtube.

I was looking for more videos on break dancing and street dancing. There are some really nice tutorials out there. I wish I had a laptop so I could watch and practice in my kitchen since its the biggest non carpeted room in the house. I'll find some way to learn them. Heres another tutorial I found that might attempt to learn:

Eventually I got bored with even that so just as I signed off of Youtube I saw a featured video on the main page that caught my eye. I don't really remember why it caught my eye but I clicked it. I watched for a while as 2 guys were talking about how they couldn't end "it" like this. The boy looked very framiliar...I knew I had seen him somewhere. Another thing that made me curious was that the info with the video said that "Miley Cyrus and Mandy Jiroux tried to end it with their last video" and all I could think was WTF? Thee Miley Cyrus? Hannah Montana? No way, shes too busy to make Youtube videos.

The dancing impressed me so much that I decided to look at the other videos the user had uploaded. I watched some of them and I finally realized who the boy was! Adam Geliebter! Moose from Step It Up 2! He was my favorite character in the movie!! :D I was so excited! I didn't know he had a crew and made Youtube videos. I was even more excited to hear that him and his crew ACDC (Adam Chu Dance Crew) challenged Miley Cyrus, the most annoying girl on children's TV, and some friend named Mandy Jiroux, to the biggest dance battle in history!! Things just kept getting better too. ACDC easily OWNS Miley's M&M cru!! Stick to acting Miley! The next video is going to be a dance battle in person...I'm anxiously awaiting the new video.

I'm surprised that stars make Youtube videos...I thought they'd be too busy or their agents wouldn't let them or who knows what. I love how Adam dances. Him and his crew are amazing! I REALLY want to learn to dance like that. I'm tempted to buy an ACDC shirt from www.invisiblechildren.com . All proceeds go to charity too! :]

I can't wait to see Miley get seriously own. >:D You rock ACDC!!

BTW, this is the video I first saw:

I love the song in the video. Robot Rock by Daft Punk. Amazing Band!! :D

Watch all of them! :D

Dance Dance!

-M.M.

Regardless of whether or not it caused the term "shoegaze" to arise, the band started out with very awesome shoegaze effects, no doubt. Their first EPs Jack and Cool Breeze feature some absolutely incredible songs. After the debut of the EPs, as Moose moved into full releases, they began to gain an indie pop sound. Honey Bee is actually a very fine example of their poppy side. The band itself is highly underrated and seems to be passed over because of the notoriety of bigger bands like Ride and My Bloody Valentine.

Finding their EPs is hard work. I managed to track them down on OiNK of all places (I try so hard not to do things like that, but when things seem to be out of print, there's not much else left). I don't know if they're listed on iTunes or emusic now, but in the past, they were not. Emusic does have Honey Bee, though, and that is worth a purchase.

Here is an example of their shewgays side with the song Suzanne. It's a moody, gloomy song (not unlike most shoegaze), but one I have listened to over and over again because of its rather catchy, mesmerizing, dreamy sound.

Another great, perhaps even better, example of their shoegaze sound comes from the fantastic EP Jack. I adore the lyrics, "Just like a little boy, I wonder why," for some reason. I'm also somewhat jealous of the commenter who says he saw them open for Blur back in the day. Bastard.

Finally, a taste of their poppier side with I Wanted to See You to See if I Wanted You off of Honey Bee.

Please, support this band! They deserve it. It amazes me when I look back at old shoegaze videos like these and see that they were actually played on MTV -- you know, back when MTV played some unique, independent stuff. Too bad that seems lost. 120 Minutes is now featured late nights on VH1 Classic, for those interested.

Enjoy!

We have a garden in our yard.  It's become a backyard habitat.  It all began with a compost pile.  The idea was to provide nutrients for the garden's soil.  So all the household garbage went out to the pile, apple peels, carrot tops, cantaloupe rinds, pistachio shells, coffee grounds.  In they went.

Sometime later, my husband noticed strange worms wiggling around in the debris.  Not knowing what they were, he contacted the Agricultural Extension Officer of a nearby university.  "Don't disturb those guys," was the reply.  They're helping you out.  Eating your compost and turning it into soil.  They're grinding it away for you.

Soon birds started showing up.  Evidently the worms are tasty.  We were putting bird seed out into the yard already, but these new visiting birds were after the worms.  And they weren't the only new arrivals.  All kinds of birds starting coming.  It has become a game with my husband and daughter to figure out what kinds of bird visitors we've got.  Blue jays, cardinals, brown thrashers, starlings, doves came, even a Baltimore Oriole came. 

Then, there was a new development and a different kind of bird feeding event going on.  We had a hawk visit, who came to catch an occasional bird to eat.  We knew it was a hawk before we ever saw him because all that were left were feathers.  But of course some neighborhood cats showed up to hunt and do a little "bird watching."

Recently we added a bird bath and now there's a lot of exuberant bathing taking place, with chirping and splashing and thrashing about -- and not just on Saturday nights.

Squirrels have arrived in such numbers that I told the family that the yard was beginning to look like it's been carpeted.

My husband and daughter saw a opossum wandering around one morning, and we have a bunny who's a regular.  I expect to see deer and moose next.  If we put in a beehive, I'm sure we'll attract a bear (and this is 6 miles from the nation's capital!)

All we wanted was some fresh vegetables.  And we got all this.  Mother Nature -- you gotta love her.

[Top of the post:  My Backyard,  crayon on Nideggen paper, by Aletha Kuschan]

There were three main titles that I collected, all of them distributed by Marvel Comics. First was Iron Man, which makes it strange that I have yet to see the movie which is based on the comic. I'd like to see the movie, but Iron Man just isn't a priority any more. He'll have to make do without my support. I'm sure he'll manage.

Second was Power Man and Iron Fist. This comic gave you two heroes for your money, which made it extra economical. This comic teamed a street-savvy, super-strong black hero with impenetrable skin, and a mystically trained martial arts expert who could channel super-amazing power into his fist and knock people silly. Power Man was one of the first - if not the first - black superhero to receive his own title. Iron Fist joined him later and they became a duo. I loved Iron Fist's uniform - green and yellow.

The third was a super hero team consisting of Canadian heroes called Alpha Flight. Alpha Flight began their run late in my comic collecting life, and so I only have the first ten issues, plus, for reasons unknown, the 27th issue. Alpha Flight consisted of a diverse array of characters from across Canada who represented the major regions of the country: almost as if someone had planned it that way so that no area was left out and everyone felt included: a very Canadian ideal.

Here's a list of the team as they appeared in the first edition:

(Back: Sasquatch. Middle from Left to Right: North Star, Snowbird, Shaman, Guardian, Aurora. Front: Puck, Marrina. Picture found on ComicsVF.com)

Guardian: The leader of the team. He wore a red and white suit. He himself didn't have any superpowers but the suit gave him the ability to fly and shoot cool beams of death at enemies. He was also pretty smart. Eventually he died, and was replaced by his super-skinny wife. Super skinny? I believe that being that skinny must be a super power.

Snowbird: Part god, part human and all babe. The offspring of an Inuit god and a man, Considering that her mother was an Inuit god, Snowbird's human guise was very blonde and caucasian looking. No matter, she was pretty cool, and one of my favourite characters.

Puck: The diminutive Puck didn't let his size stop him from kicking ass. Fast and strong, Puck was also smart. Lots of good stuff was packed into this small package.

Sasquatch: What Canadian superhero team would be complete without a Sasquatch? Not Alpha Flight. Sasquatch was a man who could change into a giant, furry, killing machine, when needed. He was kind of like the Hulk, except he could control the beast within, at least at the beginning, and maintained his human consciousness while in beast form.

Aurora and Northstar: These two superheroes were twins that had been separated at birth--mutant twins. They were able to fly at great speed and were able to blind opponents with a burst of intense light when the joined hands. Aurora was a woman, while Northstar used his powers to become a skiing champion and eventually it was discovered that he was gay.

Marina: Born from an alien egg imprinted with human DNA, Marina was an aquatic creature who could fly through the air on a spout of water, if necessary.

Shaman: Doctor by day, shaman by...well, whenever he needed to be Shaman. A native-mystic, Shaman used arcane forces to subdue the enemies of Canada.

Interesting group. Having read a couple of the comics since re-finding my collection, I realize, though, that the group was missing some very important characters. Below I list superheroes who should have been a part of the Alpha Flight team if comic book writers had any sense.

The Moose: The Moose not only looks like a moose, but he is, actually, a moose. The Moose has no special abilities other than the fact that he is a moose, and moose are very large, aggressive animals. The rest of the team don't really like working with The Moose because, being an animal, The Moose has difficulty distinguishing between friend and enemy. The Moose will often attack anything around him that moves, making life difficult on fellow Alpha Flight members. Unfortunately he is not potty trained.

Silver Blade: The Silver Blade wears hockey equipment and a special pair of skates. The skates are equipped with time-distorting, gravity-ignoring abilities (it's not sure whether it is through technology or magic that the skates work), and allow The Silver Blade the ability to skate over any surface, including maple syrup. The Silver Blade's goal as a superhero is to capture fifty criminals in a single season.

The Minister: The Minister is an atypical superhero, as she eschews the typical, sexy female hero suit and chooses to wear business attire and a sensible pair of pumps. The Minister spends most of her time skulking around hallways and culling favour from Canadian citizens, without actually putting much effort into making the nation 'safe' or 'secure' from evil. She talks a good game, though, and everyone believes that The Minister is at the forefront of the fight against super criminals, even though she hasn't been personally responsible for the capture of a single one.

Captain Beer Store: Captain Beer Store hails from Ontario. He started out as a Beer Store worker, but through a freak accident when a bolt of lightning charged with radioactive particles from the planet Nucleokill hit a case of Lakeport Ale that Captain Beer Store was carrying which caused his genetic material to mutate into the superhero that he is today. Captain Beer Store sports a gigantic beer-belly, which he uses to subdue evil doers by belly-bumping them into submission. Captain Beer Store also has the ability to out drink anyone, and will often challenge his enemies to a beer drinking competition: he has yet to lose.

Miss Toronto: Miss Toronto wears whatever the latest fashion is, while using her natural "talents" to good effect. What are her natural talents? Haughty self-loathing covered up by an air of aggressive superiority. Miss Toronto hates everyone, but also wants to be seen as a good person, therefor she only engages criminals in battle when there are members of the press or a large number of citizens with camera phones around.

What other superheroes do you think should be a member of Alpha Flight?

Seven games above .500 is a great place to be, but there's still a lot of baseball to play and a lot of decisions to make.  With Wang out for months, there's still a hole in the rotation, though the emergence of Joba and the resurgence of Moose has made it less of a scramble for a #1 and more of a search for a stop-gap while Hughes and Kennedy are also on the mend and adjusting to the big leagues. Also, the awakening of the Yankee offense has made the issue less pressing as well.  Earlier in the season, I predicted that Moose could win 10 games with the Yankee offense behind him, and I still believe that even a replacement-level starter can put together a few wins with that offense behind him.

The Yankees still have several games against weaker teams ahead of them to gain some ground, then it'll be time to grind it out vs the AL East!  Stick around as the Quest continues!