Elton John - "Border Song"

Even if you're not a die hard Elton fan, you should check out this video for "Border Song". In my humble opinion, he is one of the best singer/songwriters of all time, and this song is one of my favorites. I hope you like it.

Also, if you are in the mood for some good 80's music, visit the video bar on the right to see some videos by Mike & The Mechanics. Paul Carrack had an amazing voice, it's a shame he died so young. Such great songs!

The heart wants what it wants.

Four baby hedgehogs are being raised by the staff at New Forest Otter, Owl and Wildlife Park in England. Mary, Mungo, Midge and Slappy take comfort by snuggling up with a cleaning brush. The brush has been used to sweep a yard, so it smells like the great outdoors, and the bristly texture may be reminiscent of their mothers.

Where is momma hedge? At least she gave them cute names before she left.

Photoshop Face Transplants

Now THIS is crazy. Each photo is actually made up of two different celebrities. I think you can tell who the photo above is, but some of them are pretty tough to figure out. I picked this one because the arms really freaked me out. If you stare at them too long you become hypnotized. I swear I saw L. Ron Hubbard appear and ask me for money and a personality test. Dang aliens.

Sometimes you need a hug

Where my dogs at?

I think this should clear things up...

Gorgeday

Written by special guest blogger Erik.

Well Monday was Amy's birthday and for her surprise we went to Canon City and took the Royal Gorge Train all through the mountains of Colorado and under the Royal Gorge Bridge, the largest suspension bridge in the world. On the train ride we had lunch and then took to the open air car where we saw a real live in the wild Black Bear looking for food on a nearby ledge. That sent the train into a frenzy on the return trip, cause no one was really concerned about scenery anymore, it was all about the bears. It was really the highlight of the trip and easily the best train ride we've ever had.

Next we went to the Royal Gorge bridge and walked across. Amy was quite nervous which I felt was odd since she loves roller coasters and I don't at all. To cap off our trip we drove in the mountains to Cripple Creek to do some Casino games. I didn't lose more than 20 bucks. I think the most I won was $10. We left there at 11pm and it actually got really cold and rainy on us. The drive back which we thought would be all highway turned out to be an hour drive in the pitch black mountains with rain. We were so nervous driving that we took turns. Tuesday we got up and drove from 9am to 11pm back to Texas. I had a great time with Amy celebrating her birthday, it was the most relaxing and fulfilling trip in a long time. And best of all it was with my girl!

Check out all the new photos that Amy added to the gallery:

CLICK HERE!

Come back to the Blog premiere of our vacation video about Pike's Peak called, "PEAK" !

Arcades, Caves, and Corgis

Word from CO again. We are having a blast in Manitou Springs. Yesterday we got up played some basketball. Amy made 15 shots in a row! Impressive. I was hitting from long range pretty well, but I am quite rusty. Broke in a virgin ball that my cousins gave me for a wedding gift. NBA regulation ball too. Anyway we went to eat at a place on the river for lunch and had an open faced turkey sandwich with brown gravy. Then we walked the shops of Manitou Springs and found the most awesome arcade we have ever seen. It's about 5 or 6 different buildings with games from the 40's all the way up to present day. They even had those deals where you put in a penny or a nickel and watch index cards with photos on them flip by as you crank them. We played the original Asteroids, Donkey Kong, and Tron. We also witnessed some bad ass folk drumming at the local music festival. I took this on my cell phone for all of you to jam to:



Next we took a drive up a very large mountain with no guard rails and at the top we explored The Cave of the Winds. The cave itself is pretty worn out and small, but it was a nice 50 degrees in there. Amy found a Corgi dog she liked tied up to the bleachers, and since we could not take him we ended up at Petsmart later so Amy could see some cats. We then went to Old Colorado City and walked around for a while before eating dinner at the Mason Jar. (A kind of Cracker Barrel type place.) I thought food here would be pricey but so far its not bad at all. We drove over to Colorado Springs so Amy could buy a non headache inducing pillow. We then returned to Old Colorado City so I could get my annual vacation chocolate covered frozen banana at a chocolate shop.

Everyone here is very friendly. There are dogs everywhere. It seems like dogs are more prevalent than children here. The weather is great. We have not had to turn on the AC at all. Its cool in the mornings around 50ish. Today we take the cog Railway to Pikes Peak, and tomorrow is Amy's birthday surprise trip. Here is the link again for more updated photos:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS!!!

Garden of the Gods

Friday night, we went to check out Garden of the Gods and take some photos. This morning we got up early, shot some hoops (Erik's getting better, is jealous of my skillz), and now we are off to grab some lunch, visit the Cave of the Winds (haha) and check out some of the local shops. One thing I've noticed, is this is the place to be if you want to buy art, get a massage/acupuncture/aura cleansing/etc..., or buy art. I'll report back with more observations later on. It's fun so far though!

Erik's set up a photo gallery on iWeb. Click here to check it out. We'll be updating it with new pics each day. Holla!

Amarillo by Morning

They took my saddle in Houston, broke my leg in Santa Fe. Lost my wife and a girlfriend somewhere along the way. It's been a busy trip.

Here are some pics from our morning in Amarillo. We got in last night around midnight, and got up early to eat at the Big Texan, which seems to be the main attraction in town. If you haven't heard of it before, it's the home of the 72oz steak dinner, which is free if you finish it in under 1 hour. There's even a raised area in the middle of the restaurant with a table and a digital clock, so everyone can watch as you attempt to finish your mammoth steak (including baked potato, salad, dinner roll and shrimp cocktail). We settled for the breakfast buffet, which was just as impressive.

After our scrumptious breakfast, we practiced our shooting skills, and checked out the rest of the place. Erik was quite the sharpshooter. I held my own. I rang some bells, and knocked down some cans. It was a proud moment.

Amarillo was fun, but Colorado was calling. Let's get this vacation started.

Trains & Automobiles

Won't be too long now, and I'll be in Colorado, hugging trees and riding cog trains. We have already scheduled a train ride to the top of Pikes Peak, and I am looking forward to it. I am also curiously excited about the meals we will be having, prepared by our guest vacationer and avid hunter, Jabella. I'm not sure if it's even possible, but eating elk and muskrat every day might wear out my trusty taste buds. Maybe he'll mix it up and serve up some chipmunk croquettes or bear skin tartlettes.

So much fun to be had! But first, a day full of fall designs, joyful smiles, hugs and Chris-quotes. Does the fun ever start?!? Yesss.

Gettin' his Guns Up

You are looking at the largest hand in the world, though it's from a rare condition called macrodactyly. It does appear that he is either supporting the great Texas Tech University (Go Red Raiders) or he is showing us how the shocker is really done.

Either way, he had surgery to fix his crazy hand, so he's just normal hand guy now. He can wear gloves and stuff now, and his high-fives don't knock people down. Yay for Handy!

Strong Winds?

Pretty clever. Pants that withstand even the strongest toots.
Must be Lycra. (insert Chris noise here...)

H-O-T

Teeth jewelery. Human teeth jewelery, from a dental clinic in China. I don't have any other details, but I picture that clinic looking like a scene out of Jacob's Ladder. Something tells me the Hot Topic kids are going to be all over this. Just a hunch.

It's the perfect height!

Check it out, a VW Bus made into a pool table:

The owner paid $8,000 for this Ohio-plated Volkswagen pool table bus with integrated storage area for balls and other supplies beneath its engine flap.

It's cute, kitschy and has a storage area for balls. :)

My Mornings (the video)

I told you my mornings were crazy. And yes, I used to have
darker hair, and speak French. Get to know me.

Dan's Weekend Job

Gotta make that paper.

Toilet Fish Tank

Finally, someone discovered a way to make going to the bathroom less boring! I will have to find something else to wish for when I blow out my birthday candles.

Liquid Kiss

The name of the sculpture is 'Yuanyang II', by Tsang Cheung-shing, a ceramic art tutor and product designer. Beautiful and clever, to say the least.

Creepshow Redux

Mark Voegel, 30, was found dead in his Dortmund, Germany apartment. His body was draped in spider webs and more than 200 spiders, several snakes, thousands of termites, and a gecko were feasting on his corpse. Proper authorities were alerted when concerned neighbours noticed a horrendous stench emanating from the apartment.

His black widow, Bettina, is believed to have administered the deadly bite.

Voeger's apartment has been described as both a "zoo" and a "jungle" by authorities. He never let people visit.

A police spokesman said: “It was like a horror movie. His corpse was over the sofa. Giant webs draped him, spiders were all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth. There was everything there one could imagine in the world of reptiles. Larger pieces of flesh torn off by the lizards were scooped up and taken back to the webs of tarantulas and other bird-eating spiders.”

The spiders and termites managed to escape when the heating elements exploded and opened the lids to their tanks. The lizards were allowed to roam.

Voegel also kept a pet boa constrictor and several poisonous frogs.

He was dead for somewhere between seven and fourteen days when his corpse was found. Enough time for the creepy-crawlies to make a new home out of his apartment.

I wonder if he heard 'Dream Weaver' playing softly, as the lizards and spiders had their way with him? Inappropriate, my bad.
Good song though.