The Median Sib

I got my new camera - A Nikon D50 - and I’ve taken a BUNCH of photos.  However, I realized a little late that I did not have it set for automatic focus, and so most of the pictures were so out of focus I deleted them.  Here are four that survived the delete button…barely.

This first picture is of a hen turkey with two chicks (rather large chicks) who were in our front yard yesterday morning.

This next photo is of a deer who was on the hill behind our house Tuesday morning.  There were actually two deer and several turkeys - but they were too far apart to get all of them in the same photo.

And here, friends and neighbors, is the bane of my existence - poison ivy.  I took this photo last night when I was standing by this tree helping RT as he worked on the engine of the tractor.  I was VERY careful not to touch any of it.

And this is the second photo from last night.  Two blooming flowers - the background is one of the tractor tires.

Sometimes - no, make that MOST times - I am appalled at the news coverage of the situation in Israel and Lebanon.  How can the MSM be so openly biased and people don’t see it for the dangerous farce it is?  And I’m also appalled at the gullible (hopefully but doubtfully) or totally self-interested (probably) reaction of many (most?) liberals and democrats.  Do they REALLY want the Islamic terrorists to prevail in the middle east?  Today while surfing some of my favorite websites, I found this cartoon at Dr. Sanity. It says it all.

I hesitate to recommend another real-life drama book after being burned for my recommendation of A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (here, here and here).  Turns out the horrible experiences that Frey described in his book were “enhanced” for literary effect.  He lied, in other words.  Apparently he felt that the real story wasn’t dramatic enough for a book.  He even duped Oprah with his story.

I hope that the book I’m about to recommend wasn’t enhanced in any way.  Do you remember the guy a few years ago who was mountain climbing and a boulder fell and trapped his right hand between it and the side of a rock wall - and after a few days he cut off his own arm in order to escape?  That guy was Aron Ralston, and his book about the experience is Between a Rock and a Hard Place.  I finished reading it last week, and I keep going back to re-read parts of it.  Such a fascinating and horrifying experience. 

During his experience, Aron who had been traveling alone and hadn’t notified anyone of his plans, had his video camera nearby and he recorded his experience.  He expected to die there since he didn’t have the tools the cut through the bone in his arm to free himself.  And so he videotaped his last will and testament, scratched his epitaph on the rock wall next to him - until, in one shining moment of inspiration, he figured how to bypass cutting through the bone in order to cut off his arm and escape.

Absolutely fascinating.