SMOKE

The smoke you are smelling is from a HUGE forest fire in northern Minnesota way north of Duluth. it's BLUE here in Columbus.

This morning I was outside and the sky seemed weird, no clouds but weird hazy. Then about 10:00 I start smelling smoke and look outside - BLUE, wind from the north. Word is for a few days of blue-ness - you know what that means? AWESOME sunsets!!

Hey - you have to look at the bright side of things.
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Football - last year opening weekend in football there were three 300 hard passers. This year? Thirteen 300 yard passers. Plus three kickoffs were returned for TDs. Most ever on opening day.

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Going to Milwaukee for some photos Thursday, I hope the smoke helps (as opposed to hurting).

I did not have anything to say but felt I should spread the word that if you have breathing problems in the past - JUST WAIT until this smoke hits you!

Just found something - since March 1st

I have and 1891 visitors (not page hits but actual bodies)from California read this blog - the 3rd most of any state.

582 from Germany
15 from Iran

Wyoming is the least amount from one State 19 (and I like Wyoming) I get more from Delaware then from Wyoming. I had more from Esfahan Iran then from Wyoming!

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This site really makes me want to take Amtrak cross country!

Lee Rantz Photography



Cheers!

Rod

The Aba Daba Honeymoon

So far the featured games of the year (Monday Night football on Thursday and Monday Night Football on Sunday Night) have been outstanding nail biters. The Dallas game last night was SWEET. Even my Dallas friends say Dallas has great talent but STILL are dumb as doorknobs! They continually shoot themselves in the foot and once again - BAM.

Camp Randall 1914

I know nothing about the Wisconsin game this week but at the Art Fair people were telling me I MUST get photos of Camp Randall (did you know that Camp Randall was named Governor Alexander Randall, who later became Postmaster General of the United States.

The photo on the right is Camp Randall in 1914 - I'm pretty sure "Jump Around" would have been frowned upon.  (The "Jump Around" tradition started on Saturday, October 10, 1998). 

I believe on the photo they are all singing the 1914 hit song by Arthur Fields "The Aba Daba Honeymoon" the words are below:

’Way down in the Congoland
Lived a happy chimpanzee,
She loved a monkey with a long tail,
(Lordy, how she loved him!)
Each night he would find her there,
Swinging in the cocoanut tree,
And the monkey gay, at the break of day,
Lived to hear his Chimpie say: 

“Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab,”
Said the Chimpie to the Monk,
“Baba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab,”
Said the Monkey to the Chimp.
All night long they’d chatter away,
All day long they were happy and gay,
Singing and swinging in their hunky, tonkey way.
“Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab,”
Means “Monk, I love but you,”
“Baba, daba, dab,” is monkeytalk,
means “Chimp, I love you too,” 

 WELL - I can see how that would put the crowd in a frenzy!!


I'm pretty sure it was not thew other hit song "Back Back Back to Indiana".

Funny thing about  "Jump Around".  On September 6, 2003 UW officials decided to cancel the "Jump Around" and Stadium security and the local police department had been informed of this decision. Yet no one told the students.  When the 4th quarter started the students realized that there was no "Jump Around".  Then the entire section sat down in protest, raises their middle fingers and started chanting "FUCK THE SOUND GUY FUCK THE SOUND GUY" Chanting and booing continued through the majority of the fourth quarter. (oh those crazy kids)

Two days later when engineers confirmed that the stadium would suffer no structural damage and after a huge petition was circulated the Chancellor announced that the "Jump Around" tradition would resume and all, once again, was right with the world.

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Then there is the Brewers - never fear.  The only thing to fear is the fact that against powerhouse pitching they have problems, but look, the Phillies did not really do that well either.  All the games against the Cards and Phillies were low scoring.  The Brewers will win the division and then in short 7 game series anything can happen.

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Art Fair in Sun Prairie was very good.  25% better then last year in sales (same weather, same spot, same Badger game, everything was the same).  Oddly and ONCE AGAIN, what sold in Fitchburg (Vince) did not even get glances Saturday.  I wonder if everyone was in a Badger mood.  Another thing I have noticed is that strangers are knowing how I am. They come up and call me by name and I don't have a clue who they are.  Anyway, all is much better then good on the Art Fair Circuit.

Another surprise was the submarine photos  - who knew they would be an attraction.  I did know that I was probably the only artist that had WWII Sub photos!  One guy purchased a print and told me he was stationed on a Boomer in the 60s (I thought that was WAY WAY awesome. . . a BOOMER.  Boomers were the nuke subs that could take out a nation . . as opposed to Hunter Killers that could only take out Boomers).   Another old guy was the radio man in older subs.  A tattoo artist loved the forward torpedo photo and purchased one saying it would make an outstanding tattoo.


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I don't think DJ will win money this week on her awesome $20 football pool put on by a church (there were legal problems with "pool" and the name is now a "sweepstakes"!  Each week she gets 3 random NFL teams.  Add all the points scored and she COULD winn $500 a week.  This week she had Houston (34) which seemed promising but then she had San Diego and Carolina( 24 & 21).  Not going to make the cut.  MAYBE 5th place but the Dallas/NYJ game hurt her.  There has to be a TON of people in this pool, 17 weeks, 3 random teams  $1000 a week given away.  All for $20.

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Have a great week and get those fire places ready - high Thursday will be in the middle 50s  BRRRRR!

Rod

WOW

What can you say about last nights game - amazing. Not just the final minute but how the Packers REALLY were tough in the red zone!! And Cobb, pretty sure he is the 1st player to get fined for tying an NFL kick-off record! He said God told him to take it out. What would happen if you did not listen to God. What if God said take a knee. "God told me to take a knee". Well, God WOULD be the best offensive coordinator the Packers have right? And . . . .LORD KNOWS the Pack need help on Special Teams.

Brewers? Yea - why is it all the clips I have seen I see the back of Gomez's jersey! Seriously - you rarely want to see the back of a center fielders jersey.

Today is get the final things ready for the Sun Prairie Art Fair tomorrow - problem is I have to pick up 12 large canvas images and put the hardware on AND pack the UHaul and make sure everything is ready. Man I wish I had those canvas YESTERDAY!!!

The interesting thing about the Art Fair is that this will be the 1st time I've done a fair twice. I have the same spot, the weather is exactly the same, the Badgers are playing at home against a bad team (just like last year). It'll be nice to compare.

Then after being on my feet for 12 hours and setting up and down a pretty sturdy canopy I have to wake up Sunday early for 18 holes of golf for the leagues banquet, FORGETTING that I'll miss IRONMAN AGAIN. No league banquet for me next year - I have to get shots of the IRONMAN competition - ching ching!

Sunday is 911 and one thing that I have been hearing about that time was how sports were so so important to Americans. After 911 Americans needed some sort of normalcy and it was sports that help a lot of people.

I do not have a lot to say but felt I needed to say SOMETHING - now I'll get back to moving stuff into the garage.

Have a great weekend!

OH - this is so funny! I had tears in my eyes!

Louis CK Punches Dog In The Face To Save Her Life



Rod