SIGNED UP FOR BLINGO YET?

SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAPERS

Dilbert rules!, originally uploaded by indsight.

My sorry local paper runs Dilbert only on Sundays. To get my daily fix, I visit Yahoo. Its virtual Funny Papers are free! All your favorite comics are there. Which strip will you read first?

MAKE YOUR OWN COMIC AT COMEEKO.COM

Originally uploaded by Tinker*Tailor.

New online toy ALERT: You can easily make your own photo COMIC STRIP at Comeeko.com. Once you've tried it, good luck getting anything else accomplished for the rest of the day: Addictive fun at it's best.

Don't feel like making a comic? You can view and rate ones that others have posted at the site.

To read my 1st comic, just left click it and follow the link to flickr. And check out the new flickr group I formed for Comeeko fans.

Speaking of addictive. I've lost track of how many flickr groups I formed in the last year. There's a group for just about anything already, but occasionally I post a photo that needs a group and find I'll just have to create the group myself. Some still only have a handful of members, but others have really taken off. Either way, it's one of my favorite things about flickr.

Now if I can just get a nickel for everyone who visits my photo stream...

TIME FOR A HAIRCUT?

Time for a haircut?, originally uploaded by Tinker*Tailor.

What's your verdict?

BOWLCUT

5 years old, originally uploaded by Tinker*Tailor.

I'm digging out old photos again and posting them to flickr. I ran across this one. Looks like Mom used an actual bowl for this haircut.

GOOD CLOTHES

J.C. Leyendecker Kuppenheimer Ad - Diver, originally uploaded by Mamluke.

Ties in with that last entry. In Heaven, I'll be able to draw like Leyendecker. He's awesome!

SOMEWHERE IN TIME

tailor, originally uploaded by D'Arcy.

My parents and I live examples of the generation gap on a daily basis. Sometimes the ensuing tension proves frustrating, but most of these incidents are just harmless reminders that times change. For example, I overheard Daddy talking about Mars Robert the other day. That's ancient-speak for (Master) Robert E. Lee for all you non-Southerners. He's always using archaic colloquialisms. And then today he asked me if it's time to take his shirt to the tailor to have the collar turned. He was dead serious. Do tailors even turn collars anymore? I told him he should just throw it away.

There was a time when my family had a lot of their clothing tailor-made. They picked out the pattern, fabrics, buttons, and trim. Why don't we do that anymore? When we crossed over to wearing retail, I was too little to understand why we started buying off the rack. I doubt it was economics, as Dad's income increased through the years. Maybe society as a whole changed and we blindly followed.

Over Easter weekend, I visited Samantha & Steven - married friends of mine. On the way to the seafood place for dinner on Saturday, we passed a Seamstress Shop and I marveled that she could stay in business in this day and age. They testified that her workmanship was excellent and that she always stayed busy. I have a few dress shirts with overly long sleeves that might just need to pay her a visit. I guess having something altered is the next best thing to wearing custom-made, and I like the idea of supporting a local entrepreneur rather than buying from a big-name chain. Maybe I should bring Dad's shirt and ask her to turn the collar.

APPLICATION

My Classroom, I, originally uploaded by Robert Pollack.

Looks like I'll be a classroom teacher again soon. (I hope.) I turned in my application last week and confirmed it with the District Office today. Now it's up to one of the principals (and God) whether or not I'll be working in that district next year. I'll keep you posted.

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter!, originally uploaded by Patrick Q.

Don't eat too much candy :0)

ADMIT ONE

Audio Adrenaline, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

The year I turned sixteen, Audio Adrenaline started singing songs about Jesus. Somewhere along the line, I stopped listening to them, but last night, I ended up at their show in Laurel, MS. It's their farewell tour, so they sang a lot of old songs. It made me feel melancholy. I sat way in the back, never danced, and barely even clapped. I just listened and sometimes sang along. And I remembered.

Audio Adrenaline was never my top choice in music. But they did find their way into the mix. I suppose I started listening to them because all my friends did. But I got burned out on them. I remember throwing Bloom and Underdog in the trash.

Hearing them again and watching them tell their fans goodbye allowed me to revisit and release a lot of old memories. I can't exactly say I had fun at the concert, but I was glad to join in on the goodbyes.