Toto

I'm once again joining Erika, Bio Art Gal, our host this month at Art Journal Journey with her themes In the air/In the sky.  Today I've once again chosen In the sky.

SHHH!  Don't tell Bleubeard, but I've called on Toto (the adorable Cairn Terrier from the Wizard of Oz) for help today.

"Toto, I don't think

we're in Kansas

anymore."

Although the picture is filled with sunflowers, the state flower of Kansas, there are mountains in the background, a dead giveaway this is not the flat lands of Kansas.

There is, however a tornado and a flying house.

There are also our signature sunflowers, since Kansas is known as the Sunflower State.

Look at the veins on that leaf and the tiny spikes on the stem.

The mountains simply look out of place, however.

This page came together quickly after I found a very old calendar page.  I tried to create the tornado in the clouds, but the gloss on the page didn't react well with the colored pencils I was using.  In desperation, I created the tornado on a sheet of card stock.  I did the same with the house.  Instead of going to my computer for the text, I created it by hand and outlined it using a gel pen.

I lamented on Saturday how I had tried to repair my lawn mower.  I said I wasn't sure it was fixed.  I gave it a good workout on Sunday and I was so happy I had fixed it.

Of course, this is the mess I see when I sit in my craft room.

My neighbor to my north is pouring a new driveway.

In my opinion, it was a poor time to do this.

Note how the water has receded and it is now dry.  However, before I could mow the back, the rains came.  So did the hail and tornadoes.  It was a scary night and it isn't over yet. 

The rains returned and left lots of run off, as can be seen from my driveway,

under the neighbor's vehicles,

and in his driveway.  At least he managed to cover the work he had already hired before it rained.

Thanks for joining Bleubeard and me today.  He finally got over being mad because I called on Toto for help.  Your visit is greatly appreciated.  I hope you didn't mind me showing my flower bed and my neighbor's mess I see each time I look outside.  Bleubeard and I also hope to see you at Art Journal Journey with your own art inspired by In the air/In the sky, too. 

Sunset

I'm once again joining Erika, or Bio Art Gal, our host this month at Art Journal Journey with her themes In the air/In the sky.  Today I've once again chosen In the sky.

Once again I called on a used security envelope to be the backdrop for my spread.

This explains why we perceive the sky as blue. 

It also explains why we see both sunrises and sunsets as red.

Today I have chosen to share a sunset with you.

You can see how

the reds and blue interact

to create our atmosphere.

For  this entry, I began with the blue security envelope, then, using variegated thread, sewed a different security envelope to the back after hand printing the word Sunset, the title of the piece.  I found the information on the atmosphere and the sunset in a book on the cosmos. 

Thanks beyond belief for joining me today and I also hope to see you at Art Journal Journey.

Saturday afternoon at the movies: Olympus Has Fallen

My internet friends CJ and Kathy are part of this meme where you post your all time favorite films.   I'm not sure I have more than about FOUR favorite films, but I have films I have seen that I can share.  However, unlike CJ, who says the meme cites there is no need to explain why you like the film, I prefer the way my internet friend Birgit reviews films (often hilarious, usually irreverent).  Her synopses are not to be missed. If you aren't familiar with her movie reviews, please check out her blog.

I'm trying to get back to my true choice of films because one thing you should know about is my choice is you won't find any "chick flicks" here and any romance is simply a side effect of the major overall film.  In this case, there is more action than anything else.  I could have reviewed White House Down, another film also released in 2013, and I will probably do that in the future, but I have seen Olympus Has Fallen more times.

  Here's how Rotten Tomatoes describes it:

When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our national security team scrambles to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning's inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger crisis. Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) directs an all-star cast featuring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Ashley Judd and Rick Yune.

IMDb isn't quite so kind:

Disgraced Secret Service agent (and former presidential guard) Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack; using his inside knowledge, Banning works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers. 

IMDb reviewers were kinder:

While "Olympus Has Fallen" is an entertaining and thrilling movie, it does however run on stereotypic fuel; one man who save the day and saves all of America.

The story is compelling and fast paced, right from the very beginning. And it keeps its high tempo right up to the end. Sure there were some very predictable moments and situations that even a blind man saw coming a mile away. But despite that, director Antoine Fuqua managed to put together a wholesome entertaining movie.

The action sequences are good and well executed, coming off as believable, despite it being one man against 28. And the way that these sequences were filmed just puts you right there in the action.

You can rent this on YouTube OR watch it on Netflix or watch it free by following this link:

https://www6.putlockertv.to/watch/olympus-has-fallen.63z7/rlw748y

I couldn't figure how to load the film in my blog post, since it wasn't a YouTube video.  The link did work when I tested it.

 Thanks for joining me today with this action packed story.   If only we had such brave people in our current "Olympus."

Friday Smiles 321: Back to the Museum of World History

First, did you notice how much quicker my right sidebar loaded today?  I moved the top five bloggers who visit and comment to the last entry.  It was definitely slowing the sidebar down.

I'm joining Annie (at A Stitch in Time) and the ladies at Friday Smiles.  But first, here are a few funnies I found in my office when I cleaned it last year.

A fire started in the grasslands close to a farm. The county fire department rushed to the scene, but the fire was more than they could handle. Someone suggested calling the volunteer fire department. Despite some doubt that they would be of any assistance, they were called.
      
The volunteers arrived in a dilapidated old fire truck. They rumbled straight towards the fire, drove right into the middle of the flames and stopped! The firefighters jumped from the truck and frantically started spraying water in all directions. Soon they had snuffed out the center of the fire and leaving two parts which were easily put out.
       
As the farmer watched all this, he was impressed and grateful that his house and farm had been spared. He quickly got his checkbook and donated $1000 to the volunteer fire department.
       
A local news reporter asked the volunteer fire captain how they planned to use the funds.
      
The captain replied, "The first thing we're gonna do is get the brakes on our fire truck fixed!"



Leaving Miami for Ft Lauderdale, I decide to stop at one of those rest areas on the side of the road. I go into the bathroom. The first stall is taken, so I go into the second stall. I had just sat down when I hear a voice from the other stall............
      
 "Hi there, how is it going?"
      
Okay, I am not the type to strike up conversations with strangers in washrooms on the side of the road. I didn't know what to say, so finally I say:
      
"Not bad............"
      
 Then the voice says:
      
"So, what are you doing?"
      
I am starting to find this a bit weird, but I say:
      
"Well, I'm going to Ft Lauderdale.........."
      
Then I hear the person, all flustered, say:
      
"Look, I'll call you back. Every time I ask you a question, this idiot in the next stall keeps answering me!!!"


A new clerk was hired in a supermarket. A customer asked him if she could buy half a grapefruit. Not knowing what to do, he excused himself to ask the manager.
      
"Some nut out there wants to buy half a grapefruit..." he began, and, suddenly realizing that the customer had entered the office behind him, continued, " ... and this lovely lady would like to buy the other half."
       
The manager was impressed with the way the clerk amicably resolved the problem and they later started chatting. "Where are you from?" asked the store manager.
      
"Lancaster, Pennsylvania," replied the clerk, "home of ugly women and great hockey teams."
      
"Oh, my *WIFE* is from Lancaster," challenged the manager.
      
Without skipping a beat, the clerk asked, "What team was she on?"




Now we're heading back to the museum.

We are nearly finished in the Crown room.

Once again, I got turned around

then found myself in one of the World Wars.

I know you are thinking these are horrible photos, but the images bouncing off the glass were overpowering in the small room.

Here we are at the end of WWII and in England.

Many of you will recognize King George VI, who reigned until his death in 1952.  He was Elizabeth II's father.

We have seen the Hall of Presidents, Founding of America, the American Civil War, and Creating the Crown (in the exact middle of the map).  I left the room and, since I was turned around (again), I headed to WWII.

This was something I was truly interested in.  Too bad this photo was not crisp.

I never use a flash, so this was from a light in the room.

This represents Americans in WWII.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this photo in my browser.  I apparently caught the image just right and saw how the mannequin was put together.

I tried to find out more about these operations,

as well as the instrument the soldier was using.

One thing I recognized was the "flak" jacket the pilot was wearing.  I've seen several documentaries that show the same gear.

This apparatus, however, defied all my internet searches, although I was sure it had something to do with maps for pilots.

Now you may read these next plaques (or skip them, if you wish).

Americans on the beaches of France.

Why would ANYONE want a souvenir like that swastika?

Next, I walked into a small, narrow hallway.  It was nearly impossible to turn around in there, much less take decent photos.  However, this was the most interesting of all the exhibits I've seen so far.

A letter from a prisoner of Auschwitz is shown in German.  Apparently, this was a very important political prisoner, and not one headed to the "showers."

I read about this horrendous event when I created an article on what led up to the Japanese invading Hawaii.

I read about the tunnels where mainly Jewish prisoners worked on the V2 rockets, when I visited the Cosmosphere a few years ago.

Thanks as usual for joining me in the museum today.  Please don't forget to start your weekend off right by visiting Annie for a few Friday Smiles.  We would love to have you join, also.