Walking trees are another story, though.

I love a storm. I love the texture of it, the taste, the energy. Nature unleashed to remind us who’s really in charge around here.

But I got my fill when the remnants of Hurricane Ike roared through Indiana on Sunday. The wind began to freshen at around 11:30. By 1:00 it was too late and too risky to walk the length of the driveway and take down the flag pole. 75mph winds tore up everything it could grab.

There was corn in my front yard. Corn! Where did corn come from?

Above the constant roar was “Crack! Pop! Pop! Crrrack! Screeee…booom!” Over and over. I’ve never seen trees walk before. They’re not very good at it, and kept falling over.

Sustained hurricane-force winds are unheard of in Indiana, and if this was just the last echo of what a real hurricane is like, then I don’t ever want to be caught anywher near one. This coming from a guy who has always wanted to be a storm chaser and take pictures of a tornado.

We were lucky to only have a mess to clean up and nothing poking out of the top of our house.

Category: Stuff  

Scarecrow in Taipei, Taiwan

Something creepy about this guy. Like, if you walked up and swiped his hat, there would be a three-second Samurai Jack blur, then you’d be on the ground looking up at the headless remains of your body for about another second before it collapsed into the grass.

I love the undefined suggestion of a face. Blind, but all-seeing. Silent. Implacable. The Grumble would love him.

Source

Category: Stuff  

They’re firing up the Large Hadron Collider over in Europe on Wednesday.

The LHC is over 16 miles in circumference. According to their website, “The results of LHC experiments will probably change our fundamental knowledge of the universe.” However, it also mentions that particle accelerators are used to dry the paint on soft drink cans.

So, when they hit the button and open a black hole, maybe we’ll all instantaneously flip inside out or get absorbed into some supra-reality, but probably not. If we do, then it’s been fun.

But on the off chance that we’ll live to see Thursday, here are some freshly baked, pleasingly yucky 4-H blucky corpses.

Two adults and two teens put these together in about three hours. Not bad. Not bad at all. Thanks, Josh, for the pics!

Category: Stuff  

“Sellersburg Celebrates” is one of the many carnivals that pop up in late summer and early fall around these parts. This hay field gathering of succulent fair-food vendors was held over the weekend, and Saturday did not disappoint as it was, by tradition, hotter than hell.

Does Wisconsin ever see 95 degrees? Mrs Spookyblue says fuggedaboudit. Anyway, the corndogs were excellent.

Category: Halloween, Stuff   Tags: Carnvial, corndogs