Not a pleasant post...

Cindy, who is one of my longest and dearest friends lost her son Dustin yesterday.

I don't have any words to say. I'm very sorry for all of them in their grief and I pray Our God & Father is there holding her closer.

Now is not the time to post or share because I'm very saddened and worried.

wong shan fungshun

By DON BABWIN, Associated Press Writer Don Babwin, Associated Press Writer – Tue Apr 7, 5:11 pm ET

CHIGAGO – The auctioneer slides the steel door up, and a small crowd at the storage facility steps forward for a peek.

They are here to bid on possessions left behind when the people who rented the storage unit on Chicago's West Side stopped paying for it.

The bidders are barred from entering the garage or touching its contents, so they stand on their toes to see as much as possible. Some shine flashlights inside, hoping to catch sight of a plasma TV or maybe a leather recliner.

The scene is evidence of an unusual opportunity: Business is booming in the sale of belongings that owners can no longer afford to keep at the nation's storage units. For buyers, it's a grab bag that can yield either junk or the luxuries of a life left behind.

The troubled economy is reflected in the items being sold — trendy clothes, high-end appliances and other indicators that the owners were, until recently, well off.

"What we are selling now is indicative of higher-income people than what we were selling in the past," said Rich Schur of Schur Success Auction Services in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Clearly these are people who fell on hard times."

There's no specific tally of storage unit auctions, but auctioneers say they are busier than ever. Schur's company has seen the number of units it auctions jump from 950 in 2007 to 1,250 in 2008. In January alone, the company auctioned 250 units.

"We are hearing from auctioneers across the country that they are seeing an increase," said Chris Longley, spokesman for the National Auctioneers Association.

Wayne Blair said his Michigan-based business has seen its number of auctions rise about 10 percent in the last year. These days, he's selling off the belongings of customers who have rented storage space for years and until recently paid their bills.

Neither auctioneers nor bidders are allowed to inspect the items until after the sale, meaning they are often bidding blindly.

The reason is simple: Right up until the auctioneer says "Sold," the items are legally the property of those renting the space.

And with tougher times, it's easier to sell the notion that these units could contain what amounts to buried treasure.

"There's a flock of new bidders that show up that heard from a cousin, saw on the Internet that you're going to make a million dollars at auctions," Schur said.

In truth, the dusty boxes often turn up little of value: old clothes, worn-out furniture, worthless documents. Auctioneers continually warn buyers to bid only on what they can see.

Brook Snyder, the auctioneer at the West Side storage unit, said his auctions are typically over in a matter of moments, with crowds ranging from 20 or 30 people to as many as 80.

On one day, a bidder paid $10 for a unit containing a small, old television, a lamp and a few boxes. Another buyer paid $225 for a unit in which bidders could see a washing machine, dryer and lawn mower.

Once in a while, someone gets especially lucky.

"There was one where they bought the unit and moved the boxes and found a Harley," Schur said. "For $400 or $500, they got a unit with a $10,000 motorcycle in it."

Not that the bidders want anybody to know that.

Theirs is a secret society. They write their last names when they sign in for the auctions, but when asked, they are "just Curtis" and "Brian from Lake Zurich," "Rhonda Smith" and "John Smith."

Most bidders avoid looking at their purchases until they are alone. Instead, they slap their own lock on the unit and return later, sometimes covering items so nobody sees what they are carting off.

Many buyers are concerned about being seen with something the previous owner still might want.

"You don't want people to see what your wins are," said Tim Donahue, who followed Snyder as the auctioneer went to nine sites in one day. Donahue has heard of winning bidders who bring strings of large helium balloons to block the view of security cameras as they take their new belongings.

Some of the items can be intensely personal, such as wedding albums, baby pictures or even urns containing the remains of a loved one. Blair said some bidders ask the storage facilities to return sentimental items to the original owners.

"We found an old love letter, a card from 1902," said Laura Taylor, who drove from her home in western Indiana to Chicago for the auctions last month. "You cry."

Then there are instances when what appears to treasure ends up being trash.

Blair recalled one woman who paid $65 for a unit in which she could only see a printer, computer components and a few boxes.

The woman "reached in one box, popped the flaps open and there was $44,000 in cash inside," he said. "The problem was (the bills) all had the same serial number," meaning they were counterfeit.

She was not as rich as she first thought, but the discovery indicated at least one good thing: The printer probably worked.

North Platte FreeCycle or Free Trash Collection????

You tell me...

Click on pics to view in full or just read my post below the images.

I am ONLY posting this because I know group mod will kill this post anyway, but I want the mod to know it's still posted somewhere...

TY fer yer time.

Easy view:

Full view:

Old school text view:

Free trash collection;

I would like to thank the person that gave me, donated the water bed. My daughter loved it. She planned for four days her set up for it in her new bedroom. I gave her full support, even to the point of assembling the frame and preparing drop cloths to sand and refinish it to look fresh, clean and sweet for a 9 year old girl.

I finally got to the point of opening the mattress to spread it out and fill it and it had a huge ugly "OLD" rip in it and it was thoughtfully folded as to conceal the damaged area.

I admire you in your cunning ability to entice me to spend "only" about $40 out of my great amount of personal wealth, 4 hours of my time getting this nicely concealed damaged water bed. Then four days of planning out my daughters bedroom with her and I am grateful now also that now she gets a brand new mattress because she deserves one anyway.

Not a problem. I'll use my food money to buy it because I'm fat & stupid and needed the lesson along with the help in losing weight.

In the future however if you expect "free" trash collection to be provided by me please understand I will have to charge you 3 cents a mile to travel anywhere west of San Francisco, East of Providence, Rhode Island or South of Key West. I am not adding this additional cost for any other reason than I do not have access to a
freight liner yet and I'm sure they will charge me at least three cents a mile to haul yer trash out for you.

God Bless You, Peace Be Love and Honor Be Reasoning.
Your faithful subject Mister David King Rice Junior!

Aerosmith (first album) Happy Birthday Lori *Smiles

Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston"^[2] and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band".^[3][4][5][6] Their style, rooted in blues-based hard rock,^[1][7] has come to also incorporate elements of pop,^[8] heavy metal,^[1] glam,^[9] and rhythm and blues,^[10] which has inspired many subsequent rock artists.^[11] The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. By 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston.

They were signed to Columbia Records in 1972 and released a string of multi-platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 eponymous debut album. In 1975, the band broke into the mainstream with the album Toys in the Attic, and their 1976 follow-up Rocks cemented their status as hard rock superstars.^[12] By the end of the 1970s, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world and developed a loyal following of fans, often referred to as the "Blue Army".^[13] However, drug addiction and internal conflict took their toll on the band, which resulted in the departures of Perry and Whitford, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. They were replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay.^[7] The band did not fare well between 1980 and 1984, releasing a lone album, Rock in a Hard Place, which went gold but failed to match their previous successes.

Although Perry and Whitford returned in 1984 and,,, "blaa-blaa-blaa,,, read Wiki's full post [here]"

At one time these guys were just a neighborhood club band. I posted a story on them here in the archives, but this post is not about that.

This post is about their first album. It's blues, jazz and rock. It is by far their best and I hope you enjoy it in the fully remastered 20 bit version posted below. After that you better get yer lazy ass off the couch an purchase a hard copy for yerself.

Make it...

Somebody...

Dream on...

One way street...

Mama-kin...

Write me a letter...

Movin' out...

Walk tha dawg...



"Lori, this post was for you. I never listen to this album anymore because it makes me miss you but did today because it reminds me of you and I wanted to think of you today. Happy Birthday Hon and I love you so much... Can't say no more than that except that I'm truly glad I know you!"

Jack White & Meg White (The White Stripes) & the megalomaniac

I just "hope" this is a joke act, but somehow I'm not sure it is. It could be acted out & exaggerated and that would add humor to it. Still the mind is a greedy place that only leads back to reality. Every joke ever told, every trick ever played leads straight the fuck into it's originators reality!

Listen to every joke from all your enemies at least once, from your friends at least three times because they contain more honest realities then the confessions ever will.

Peace & enjoy because this is very funny...

Jack & Meg White in preparation for the show:
Part 1,

Part 2,

Part 3,

What's water but the generated soul?

I got this in my YouTube page mail account from girlqld.
I almost never get around to looking at my account in there but did tonight.

This is to me a very interesting and colorful artistic expression of an underwater dance. I am grateful I relieved it and after I post this I'm going back to subscribe to her channel.

Hope you enjoy as I did...



Bonus: Oceanlab - Clear blue water

John Lennon - Meat city & Mind Games "73 vers*

Below is quoted as posted by [piggies1] on YouTube [here]

Early Take
Mind Games is John Lennon's fourth post-Beatles solo album, and was recorded and released in 1973. This release of the album marked the beginning of Lennon's fourteen-month separation from Yoko Ono and the end of his period of political activism which was prompted in part by the re-election of Richard Nixon. As a result of it being a purely solo release (with no involvement from Ono) and a return to relative normality after the politically-heavy Some Time in New York City, Mind Games was much more warmly received by the public and Lennon's critics, with the album reaching #13 in the UK and #9 in the US, where it went gold.

After Yoko Ono had completed her solo album Feeling the Space in mid-1973, and a few months after they had moved into The Dakota, she and Lennon decided to split for over a year in order to reclaim their individual selves and see if their relationship was strong enough to warrant a reunion. It was during the summer months when Lennon quickly wrote the songs that would grace Mind Games, recording them at New York's Record Plant Studios with the Lennons' assistant May Pang in attendance, acting as production co-ordinator for the album. Under the banner of 'The Plastic U.F.Ono Band', Lennon engaged the services of session drummer and friend Jim Keltner, young ace guitarist David Spinozza and the vocal backing of Something Different. With Ono's approval, Pang would become Lennon's lover during the sessions, both embarking that Fall to Los Angeles and into Lennon's fabled 'lost weekend' during an eighteen-month liaison.

The tone of several of the songs was mournful and even apologetic towards Ono ("Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)", "One Day at a Time", "Out The Blue", and "You Are Here"), while others explored Lennon's affinity for pure rock 'n' roll (the Tex Mex-like "Tight A$" and "Meat City"). In a surprising move, Lennon produced the entire album on his own, without Phil Spector's aid.

The title track with its "love is the answer" refrain and call to "make love not war" was Lennon's latest in a succession of songs for the good of humanity ("Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine" being its predecessors). "Mind Games" subsequently became a Top 20 US hit and an enduring Lennon favourite. "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)" and "Only People" were Lennon's only political moments on Mind Games, followed by the three-second "Nutopian International Anthem" - which is symbolically mute. Before the announcement of their split, Lennon and Ono had optimistically declared the creation of Nutopia, a country of no boundaries and perpetual peace, designating '1 White Street, New York, N.Y.' as its embassy.

In a moment of cheekiness, Mind Games's closer, "Meat City", contains a favourite Lennon curse, ("Fuck a pig!"), sped up and backwards-masked, while the mix used as "Mind Games"'s single B-Side gives the same treatment to the phrase "Check the album!"

The cover of Mind Games, designed by Lennon himself, was seen by many to represent his symbolic walking away from Ono and her apparent mountain-like influence on Lennon.

Due to its inconsistency in style and its pleasant and unprovocative nature, Mind Games is not considered as vital as some of Lennon's other solo releases (namely John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine) and has often been overlooked for these reasons. However, it remains a firm fan favourite for Lennon devotees.

In 2002, Yoko Ono supervised a remixing of Mind Games for its remastered reissue with three previously unreleased demo recordings. It was reissued in 2005 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on audiophile grade Gold CD and 180 gram 1/2 speed mastered vinyl. On this remixed version the title track is extended by a few seconds before fading out, and the last few seconds of 'Meat City' (constituting most of Lennon's spoken tag) have been cut. No explanation for these alterations has been forthcoming.

"Thanks for the Great Post piggies1".

Bézier curve

Bézier curve - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Bezier_4_big.gif/240px-Bezier_4_big.gif

I found this on FFFFound's site here [link]

Must Let the Show Go On "Circus version).

Imprisoned.

Living in the U.S.A.!

Beautiful Smile...

For only those I love to know...


Lord & Father please Bless?
My love, my heart, my greatest dream.
To see them all smile so bright.

I thank you Lord for this happiness.

thank you twice again...

This is beautiful beyond compare...