Blacklidge

Building a Fountain

                                                  My husband and his cousin, Terry are working on Terry's new fountain. They love a big, hot, sweaty project more than just about anything! It is really beautiful and it's been keeping them busy for quite awhile now.The flagstone that he got for this project is some of the prettiest that I've ever seen. Veins run through it and it is extraordinary, some long dead animal or big, old tree lives in there! He tried to buy more later and there was none to be found so he got lucky the first time.  

From Cellar Image of the Day-Saturday

August 30, 2008: If Michael Jackson had aged gracefully

Our old friends at Neatorama pushed this one recently; apparently somebody used aging software and techniques on a childhood picture, to "guess" what Mike would look like if he hadn't pursued plastic surgery.

RetroLife, Cool Site

http://www.billsretroworld.com/RETROLIFE.HTM

Look at the first picture of the old, downtown area. Do you think that is Leadville, CO? That old hotel looks likethe one on the main drag. I wish they would label the towns they show.

Crazy Baby Maker on Dateline Tonight

That woman who had the eight babies last week is on Dateline tonight. She is a total nut case, but she sure thinks she's cool! Could it be that what she really wants is publicity? Yeah, it could be. How can a woman who doesn't have a job or any visible means of support afford to have a full set of fakey finger nails, perfectly (read recently) done. How is it possible that she can afford to have these kids and why feed her publicity desires on every channel and all over the blogosphere? If it comes out that the public, now in the deepest recession in modern history, has to cough up one red cent, they ought to find some way to take it out of her future book earnings or something. Of course they won't. That would make too much sense. She says she was living on disability and school loans. Hello? How can a woman even think of  raising 14 kids with that financial set up? Am I right? You know I am!

New Photos

I mislaid my camera just before Christmas and just got it back. Here are a couple of photos from the week before I lost it.

Ahhhh, Family

Now, my family is normal. At least, when I compare it with others I get close to. Of course, if you take any family and put it on a chart, with the perfectly normal family on one end and the schizophrenic family on the other end, most of us would lie somewhere in between. I have been watching one section of a family with a small tie to us, I can't figure out if they think they are the Rockefeller part of the clan or if they think we are the Ma and Pa Kettle part. Hard to say. For one thing, it isn't just my husband and I that they avoid like the plague but another couple related to them seems to be anathema to them as well.We,(the Kettles), all live in the same town and seem to be ostracized as a bunch. For the most part, they, (the Rockefellers), never enter my thinking at all, nor really my husband's.  The other couple though, would like to see them and be part of their group.  The poor guy tries and tries to get them to come around and participate in his life. Would it be that hard to include him in a dinner or lunch when they come to town? The answer there is "no".They come every year for the Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson, so we know they are here. I  think they think they are being "cool" to avoid us. Well, for myself and my husband, we have plenty of nice relatives and friends, so phhht! to them! Our in-town relative feels the shunning a bit more because his partner's relatives seem to overrun his life, most of the time. He wants some nice relatives, too! Well, I guess he is stuck with us. Maybe some of the other cousins will come to town some time and visit. Maybe an aunt or uncle. Maybe even some who aren't small and petty, hopefully! It could just be that they are jealous of our cousins. After all, they built a small empire and employed a couple dozen people and won awards and sold their business for a tidy profit. For folks who work for others, who will always work for others, that may be a trifle intimidating. Especially when the "Rockefellers" had deliberately and with malice, tossed him to the curb many a long year ago! He bears no ill will, in fact, a man with less rancor would be hard to find. Oh well, I guess I won't be solving anything today, but they surely must think they are cool. Hey, more power to them! Rock on! Enjoy your trip.

What's In A Name? Brian Langenbach, Arizona

Years ago, a con man bought some land from my mother. It took me, my sisters and a very good real estate lawyer several years to get rid of him and get the land back. By then it was too late to help my mother at all. It was very sad at the time. Recently, my old neighbors in a small, Arizona town have run into the same sort of fellow. Third generation Arizona ranchers, this family worked hard all their lives, not for any particular goal but because that is what ranchers do. This guy, Brian Langenbach, has purchased their land and former life-long home, only to tie them up for the last two or three years, never making a payment, blocking all efforts to get it back. What sort of a person does that to old folks? Not only has he completely messed up their retirement, he has borrowed money and tied up other people,(retirees,also) with seconds and loans that will all be lost if he doesn't pay for the original loan. This man is easily Google-able, and with that, a pattern emerges of failed businesses, short and long cons and just plain low-down business dealings. Some of the stories about him show him to be vindictive to a disgusting degree. If someone happens to gain a judgment against him, he will go out of his way to trash the property that has been repossessed or just skip out, never to pay anything toward the amount of the judgment. Add that to what he has already done in order to get to that point, and an elderly, trusting person could easily have their retirement completely ruined. It happened to my mother, now to my friends, it must happen all the time. Of course, there was no Internet when my mother got fleeced. That is why Google can save people now. If ever you think of trusting someone with a glib line, or a winning personality, make sure you stick that name in the box and see what pops up! I know this guy will have a harder time, next go round!

This post is in reference to Brian Langenbach, Arizona citizen, former caterer, B & J's, not to any other person by that name.

Some Businesses Just Fade Away-Quit Giving Our Money to Banks!

Driving from downtown Tucson this afternoon, I noticed a business that was healthy 2 months ago, all boarded up. I was shocked, but then I realized that it was just another sign of the times. I heard today that Home Depot was laying off something like 7,000 people soon and closing stores. The business I noticed today was a smaller company. So, yes, we hear of huge businesses closing and cutting back every day lately, but we may not be hearing about the dozens of smaller ones. Closing and laying off they are, though, in every town and state, all across the country. Having just been through the job search from hell, I guess I am more sensitive to the closings. It is scary out there and the folks that aren't in the market for a new job probably don't realize just how bad it is. I read something today about how it is the fault of the union workers that the car companies are failing so badly. It was in the form of a mean, nasty email saying how awful the unions are. I don't really believe that but the guy brought up the point that a couple earning less than $50,000 a year shouldn't be in a $450,000 house. Now, maybe I wasn't paying attention but I don't think the folks who are in peril of losing their houses are there because they over bought by that much. The price of houses was up and the wave all across America was for home ownership. It seemed so do-able and the market was raging. The banks and mortgage companies were playing a shell game and we all lost on it. The Republicans go on and on about "smaller government" and then when they turn everyone loose to govern themselves, what happens? You got it! I don't feel sorry for those bank presidents and hucksters and thieves that made us run aground but the world is definitely going to change because of them and a lot of people who tried for a piece of the home ownership pie, are going to be not striving toward it but digging themselves out of the mess from now on. People who believed that they could afford a home, whether it was $150,000 or $300,000, are now in a position of failing jobs, losing the ability to pay for their loved homes and in no way able to sell it and start over. I say, no more bail out for financial institutions, at all. Help the folks who need it most, let the bankers help themselves. They helped themselves to massive profits and immense tragedy for whole swathes of ordinary citizens. I'm sure they have a stash somewhere for themselves, don't give them anymore of what we have left! Hell, if a person went to them for a handout, then or now, the bankers wouldn't be able to hold their laughter until we were thrown out the front door. You know it's true! So why give them any money?

Plant care, Through the Ages

 I'm not the best plant person but I have been able to keep some going for years. Cactus are even more tricky, water them too much and they die a horrible death, not enough and before you even notice, they are dried up little balls of stickers. So, anyway, this guy here has been around for years. Now it sits on my front porch and it really has grown some in the years gone by. Every year, it blooms, usually with more flowers each time. I love cactus and I'm living in cactus country, so they should all grow and prosper. That is, if you follow the rules. Don't water too much, but remember to water once in awhile. If only all the living things in our care were that simple!

Rasta Poodle Strikes Again!

  Obviously low on new material, I dug into the archives. I left my good camera in Phoenix on Christmas and I'm really missing it. I'm sure my 93 year old uncle isn't using it much but still, I need that back! I just wanted to have something to put on www.Alphainventions.com, anyway. That is, without having to think much!