Viewmont Class of 95 Reunion

Well I've finally tracked down info regarding the upcoming Viewmont High School Class of 1995 Reunion. My good buddy Shane directed me to a Yahoo! Group maintained by the Class of 95 presidency. They mention in the group page that only about 84 member of the class have joined the group, comprising roughly 12% of the class. In an attempt to spread the word, I am placing a feed window here that will track the messages form the Yahoo! Group. If you're a member of that class or if you know someone who is please pass along a link to my site or the Yahoo! Group and help gather in the masses.

Puppies and pictures

This piece is titled "Olivia and Friends." It's acrylic on canvas and the artist is Paige Pooler. I have mentioned before that blogging about blogs seems to be a sign of the times, and when you find such cool stuff as this, it's natural to want to share your discovery with others.

I found Paige's blog while I was sick at home and reviewing the Blogger "blogs of note" and when you check out Paige's blog and portfolio site, you can see why it's noteworthy. Paige's art is appealing to me on a number of levels. I like her bold colors and defined lines. I also like the proportions of her subjects, just real enough to seem natural, but surreal enough to be whimsical and iconographic.

I instantly fell in love with "Olivia and her friends" as it reminded me of my daughter Emma who loves dogs (and cats) so much and sadly lost our family dog just a week ago. "Olivia" was commissioned by a father and another of Paige's works I really enjoyed was also commissioned by a father and husband as a gift (you can check it out here.)

So if you're looking for some fanciful artwork to brighten your day, I suggest you drop in on Paige Pooler's web site from time to time. Also, check out her blog "Eye's wide apart" where she posts a new illustration nearly every Friday. Lastly many thanks to Paige Pooler for granting permission to use her images on my blog.


Images owned by Paige Pooler (www.paigepooler.com) used with permission.

There's no crying in battle!

Hmm. I better memorize this for the next time I ride into battle...

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Zang! Who is that, skulking over the candy store! It is JeepCruzer, hands clutching a meaty axe! He grunts thunderously: "Hail the blood-letting! I bring annihilation and cheap beer!!!"

Find out! Enter username: Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings : powered by monkeys

An Exercise In Futility

Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize just how futile the civil law system can be? I had such a moment a couple weeks ago when my wife recieved a check from a class action law suit we joined against a credit card company. The check came to a grand total of 41 cents. So if we figure that postage costs somewhere around the 37 cents for standard postage, it was almost a wash just to get a check at all.
© Douglas Ingram

The Title of Liberty

We went to a birthday party a while back at an old Latter-Day Saint chapel in Salt Lake City. The building had a lot of character, they don't build them with that much character any more. One of the neatest features of this church (along with the stained glass windows) was this painting depicting Moroni raising a freshly inscribed standard of liberty over the city of Zarahemla. (See The Book of Mormon, Alma 46:12-13)
© Douglas Ingram

We'll miss you Mooshie

This is my dog Mitzi. She passed away a few days ago after a fast moving cancer took over. I thought it would be nice to take a moment and releflect on what a great dog she was. Truth be told, she really hasn't been "my" dog for a long time. I am the oldest child in my family and therefore the first to move away and first to get over not having a dog. None the less she was tons of fun to have around and when we visit Grandma and Grandpa, my daughter loved chase "Mooshie". So I'm not going to get mushie on you, but I thought the ol' dog deserved a short mention at least in the blog about my life.
© Douglas Ingram

As my 10 year high school reunion draws near I find reflections of the past almost everywhere I go. I bumped into an old friend on the 4th of July and then a few days later I was at a church we used to go to and found his name on the wall signifying the receipt of an award. Just down the hall was another name, that of my friend in Northern Iraq with the Utah Nat'l Guard denoting his receipt of Eagle Scout. Kinda cool the way the past keeps coming back.
© Douglas Ingram

We've reached Mach 1

Went to lunch with mom today. As we searched for a parking space we passed this AWESOME Mustang. I think it's a '73 Mach1 (I'm not a mustang aficionado, my neighbor just has a mustang like this and I think those are the details he's shared with me.) It looked so good I had to snap a picture. It was still there when we left the restarant so I drove by to take another picture from the tail, I think I made the guy nervous 'casue he came out to move his car while I was snapping the photo with my camera.

As I'm searching the web to learn more about the Mach1, I've found a website that leads me to believe this may be a '72. On a Mustang enthusiasts web site there are photos of a '72 Mach1 that is identical to this one with the exception of this model lacking a spoiler.
© Douglas Ingram

God Save The Queen

After hearing of the terrorist attacks on London early July 7th, 2005 I was caught up in thought about England. My wife has visited the British Isles on several occasions. I've friends who have attended school there and in fact just returned from an English vacation in the spring. I am well indoctrinated in the beauty of the land and people of England from the White Cliff's to the Thames. I also thought about what a terrific ally England has been the The United States for so many years and how much of what "America" is, both ancient and modern, has it's roots in England. Most recently, as I celebrated the declaration of my fledgling nation that they were independent form British rule, I reveled in the way that two old enemies can become such fast friends. I thought of it as an exemplar to the world of what is possible when two peoples strive to promote solidarity.

This feeling of brotherhood prompted me to pen some sort of letter of support to the citizens of that grand nation. I want them to know that I stand behind them, their Prime Minister and government as they stood behind us almost four years ago. It is my intention to encourage my representatives in Washington to continue to stand fast with England, to consider an attack on England as an attack on the U.S. and I hope that the NATO countries as well as all other nations of the world will follow as such.
© Douglas Ingram

♫ Another day in the park... I think it was the fourth of July ♪

After leaving my wife with a stack of parade entries and a microphone I grabbed my daughter and began running up the street toward Founders Park. When the sidewalks became to crowded to walk on I started jogging on the street against the parade. It was all I could do to get ahead of the crowds decending on the park. I was lucky to get to the park just as the end of the parade was passing that point. I rushed to the stage and luckily found Hannah's aunt in the audience happy and willing to keep an eye on Emma. I had just enough time to tune up with the band and plug in my guitar before rushing on stage to start the show - more than ten minutes early! It was tons of fun though. We had lot's of family, friends and fans in the audience as well as a hometown crowd, but it seemed like we made a good impression and our classic rock ditties were well recieved.
© Douglas Ingram

Everyone loves a parade - even JeepCruzers

The Fourth of July holiday came quickly after an exhausting vacation in Long Beach (See earlier posts) but every ounce of energy expended returned a doubly pleasurable Independence Day. We started early to prepare to announce the parade entries at our post on Main Street. Emma woke up early with us and seemed to have a great time rockin' out to dad's patriotic music and dancing along with the marching bands.

The only trouble with the parade was that it was taking FOREVER! Sometimes leaving as much as 10 minutes between entries. This was not only bad for the audience but bad for me as I was scheduled to play with the band in Founders Park after the increasingly distant end of the parade. It ended up that I took off early, leaving the remaining announcing (the last third of the parade) in the hands of my wife. Turned out to be a good decision since the parade was just ending at the park (some 5 blocks from my announcing post) forty minutes late.

Barring the harrowing final minutes of the parade, I had a good time. I have felt invigorated by the experience as we've been involved for the past few years. I feel connected to the community, I feel like a contributor or even a benefactor. Yes when I consider how much fun it is to be there, to have something so memorable to share with my daughter and to have such a great outlet for a personal hobby, I think we'll be doing the parade as long as they keep asking me to be there.
© Douglas Ingram

I've Seen The Top Of The Mountain!

I just got back from a trip to Disneyland and one of the highlights was the opportunity to ride Space Mountain during a "soft opening." The ride has been closed for some four years now going through a re-fit. We were lucky enough to catch this sneak preview ride. I've posted about it on another blog and the typing was quite time consuming, so I'm going to avoid re-typing and use that time honored webmaster shortcut - the hyperlink. If you want to see pictures of the inside as well as some descriptions of the ride, check out my photo blog.