Country Music collection of two

I have created a set of "Statues of Grand Old Opry Members in front of a Tennessee County Courthouse." The set is now up to two entries, which is where I figure it will stay. The first piece of my collection is the Minnie Pearl statue in front of the Hickman County Courthouse in Centerville, TN. The second piece is the Dolly Parton Statue in Front of the Sevier County Courthouse in Sevierville, TN.



Minnie Pearl grew up about 5 minutes away in the Grinder Switch area and is perhaps the only famous person out of the small town. The Dolly Parton statue was probably built to commemorate years of service of her encouraging millions of vacationers to come to the Sevier County vacation destinations of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg to spend all of their money.
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My rabbit has been painted!

Recently, I got an email from Melinda, who goes by the Flickr username of Geek_chic. Her hobby is painting portraits of rabbits. She asked for permission to paint a portrait of my pet rabbit, Ifurry as seen in this picture (which I titled "I know I Look Cute!"):



I am not certain if this is the final work, or if it is still a work in progress, but check it out.

Ifurry painting after 1 day
Originally uploaded by Geek_chic.

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Local News Briefs

In the news...

Local sailor Popeye has been hospitalized this week with an unknown Gastrointestinal illness. Olive Oyl, speaking on behalf of Popeye was quoted as saying he has been suffering with symptoms of stomach cramps, diarrhea and kidney disease. Police have questioned a local man, Bluto, who is a known enemy of Popeye, but has continually denied any wrongdoing.
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Local Muslims are critical of recent remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI, which some feel portray Muslims as a violent religion. "Islam is a religion of Peace!" said local Muslim Achmed Mohammed, while burning an effigy of the pontiff.
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City Policemen have been told this week that they may no longer use tazers to subdue unruly suspects. Even though they are effective, use of tazers have, in some cases, caused short-term harm to individuals, such as minor burns. The cops have been requested to instead shoot and kill those who still attempt to evade the police.

2006 Tennessee State Fair

Click on any picture to enlarge

I'll start off by saying That I didn't spend too much time on the midway because it started raining, but the lines for every ride were packed. The first photo is an inflatable dinosaur with a backdrop of the Ferris wheel. The second picture is the "Big Ben" Freefall ride.



Things to see:

Tennessee record setting pumpkin: 1,078 pounds by the Lawrence County 4-H Giant Pumpkin Club, who have certainly fulfilled their dream.



Keith King BMX Bike Stunt Show



A decent Model Train exhibit: (Located in the Exhibitors Building)



One of the buildings had displays from High Schools Future Farmers of America organizations. This one was from Mt. Pleasant and is a 10 ft Styrofoam Pizza.



Other things to see include African Acrobats, Racing Pigs, a not-as-exciting-as-you-think-it-would-be Shark Exhibit, Tigers of India.

Animals:

These were at the petting zoo: A long-haired Scottish Highland Cow, a Llama and a camel. There were also goats and pigs. You can also purchase a $1 bag of carrots to feed the animals.



The following are "Show" animals. By the day you get there, if you choose to go, they may have been taken home or in some cases sold. More animals will be there the earlier in the fair you could get there. Shown here include a pig, a goat, a horse, Black Angus Cows, a cavie and a rooster.



Something I thought I would never see, which I did see at the fair was a man vacuuming his cow.

I have extra fondness for the rabbit barn, as you see so many varieties that are typically not seen as pet stores, such as extra large rabbits.



One popular attraction at the fair is the "Freak Show" but it usually isn't called the freak show anymore. At the "Museum of Wonder" these are signs for the two-headed turtle, Kid with 2 bodies and 1 head, and the Snake Girl.



Finally, along the midway, there is a small tent for the "World's Strangest Horse" and admission is 50 cents. This is a Zebroid: Half-Zebra, Half-Horse. Also in the tent is the elephant-skinned Dog.



I Feel sorry for the zebroid. I really have nothing to justify this statement, but of all the animals at the fair, this one might be treated the worse. He spends his whole life just standing here.

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Bellsouth Irony

"You really should upgrade to our Caller ID Plan," said the Bellsouth representative with a thick foreign accent. "That way you can see if a telemarketer is trying to call you while you are busy." She said while I was getting dressed for work.

Since I added my name to the national "Do Not Call Register" it seems that BellSouth is the only company that calls me anymore.

random stuff: cute baby outfit + The Beatles

This is the cutest baby outfit I have seen in a long time:



This is Emma, the daughter of My Wife's cousin Jason, and his wife, Jana.

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This was the first beatle album I ever owned. (well, actually an 8-track.) I bought it at a garage sale for a dime. The odd thing is, even though it said The Beatles on it, I wasn't certain of that, since I didn't recognize ANY of the song titles. The Cover also looks different than the Record or CD version.



Do you recognize it? This is one of their original albums and not a best of or rarities album.

Fun Camera Trick: Tilt Shift Miniature Fake

There is a new Digital photography trick I have been playing with that, so far, has been more enjoyable than HDR. People with expensive cameras can buy a camera lens called a "tilt shift" lens which will blur portions of the image. Based upon that idea, people have gone into Photoshop (or if you are cheap like me, GIMP) and add blur to a normal photo. What happens is that when you look at a photo that has a blurred foreground and background, but a clear subject in the middle, an optical illusion occurs that tricks your mind into thinking you are looking at something small, such as a toy. First, we will look at some samples I have created and then we'll check out some of the best ones I have ever seen.

Here's mine: (click on the thumbnails to enlarge.)



Picture 1 is of the Duquesne Incline. My first try might be my best to date, as this photo got 170+ hits in a week. One person commented it looks like something from Mr. Rogers. Pic 2 is from Baltimore and was a boring picture of some Inner Harbor Yachts, but they do look like toys. Pic 3, also in taken from the Baltimore World Trade Center is of the Power-Plant-converted-to-a-tourist-trap. Of note here, I un-blurred the top of the center smokestacks and Hard Rock Cafe Guitar Sign. Pic 4 uses a similar effect from #3 of a church in Pittsburgh.

Now, here are some of the best ones from people that actually know what they're doing: (from the online Flickr photo community)

mini multnomah falls
Originally uploaded by pforbinesque.

Construction site miniature
Originally uploaded by asthmatic.

These construction vehicles really look like toys.

Fenway Tilt-Shift Collabo
Originally uploaded by girlzone41.

Home of the Boston Red Sox

minitower
Originally uploaded by plaggenplei.

The BMW building in Munich

Fake Tyne Bridge
Originally uploaded by duality.

Want to see more? Look Here.
Are you comfortable using GIMP and want to try it on your own? Here's how.