Keep those pics coming, J.R.. I love coastal and lighthouse pics. Good stuff from you.

Cali: No biggie, I forgive you for having horrible taste...

John Paul Strain was recommended to me initially from a guy who owned a shop that sold old military relics, art, miniatures, etc. He said of Strain, "he's on fire right now". When I started looking at his work I agreed. I don't just like it, I love it. By far my favorite of all the famous military artists.

Mort Kunstler is more famous, and I have one of his works on my wall too. "War is Hell" is the name of that piece. It's of Sherman and a burning city in the background. I have "Prayer At Valley Forge" by Arnold Friberg. .... Dale Gallon, Don Troiani, and Keith Rocco are some other big name guys. But for my money Strain is the best. I find his work more life-like. Almost as if I picture was taken instead of painted. And also, if I'm buying military art I don't want a close up. I want to see the whole field or scene.

I have purchased some western art lately too. A couple pieces from Andy Thomas. A piece from Lee Durbin, who I believe is from out your way. And a piece from Rick Reeves called "Thus Far and No Further" which depicts a scene from the Hancock expedition against the plains indians which has Custer and Wild Bill Hickok in the scene. A couple of my favorite guys.

Wife is from Glen Allen Virginia right next to Short Pump just north of Richmond.Their farm was divided by highway construction. That painting of Lee is almost considered a religious artifact in those parts. I like everything about it.

Beside Still Waters is from Rude Hill Va. Base camp of Stonewall Jackson.

I knew it was popular, Rusty. It is sold out and on the secondary market and I rarely see a copy of it come available. Same for the Stonewall Jackson work. But I have seen even fewer of the Lee one. That is why I was tempted to buy it now that it is available, even though I've probably spent enough on art for a little while. Especially for that price. $300 is real cheap for a print of Strain's work on the secondary market. Cheapest I had previously seen his stuff on secondary market was $425

http://www.johnpaulstrain.com/art/large ... -va-lg.htm


I found a site with a larger image available of "Never Against Virginia" than the version I found last night.

This one lets more of the light, color and dog symbolism work.

rocky raccoon wrote:
What a sound!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cd8NQmJp88

And remember, he borrowed his sound from Marty McFly.

Flickering images and thin sound, but oh the rock and roll:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR4sTUfhMNc

Spectacular lightning storm during the dog walk tonight.

My Auburn kid has a dorm friend out here staying with us now. My wife took him to tour a gold mine 1,400 feet deep near Sutter Creek yesterday. Today, I took him and my kid and my wife to San Francisco to get a little taste of The City mostly....in the sung words of Frank Sinatra... My Way.

I got him to the base of the TransAmerica Pyramid Building at sunset for the lighting and the fast moving clouds above the architectural wonder. He and my kid are in engineering, and their request for this weekend was "buildings and bridges."

We also did some fun touristy dining at Alioto's on Fisherman's Wharf, and then later at The Stinking Rose about a block from The City Lights Bookstore and The Hungry I in North Beach.


I tipped a couple of cab drivers well who drove us and them fast and furious on back streets on the hills of San Francisco, passing cable cars along the way.

He and my kid took a cigarette boat out in The Bay for a "rocket boat ride" with blasting classic rock. That's a recent tourist addition.

My wife and I tipped a piano player at Castagnola's on The Wharf who played and sung Nat King Cole's Route 66 for us.

We left them at an Improv Theatre off Union Square and then I took my wife to "The Clock Bar" in the St. Francis where Sara Jane Moore tried to end President Gerald Ford's life early and when where actor Fatty Arbuckle stepped into legal muck decades before.





Tomorrow they are walking the Golden Gate Bridge with me.

And touring The Disney Family Museum and The Presidio with us just before.

My wife refuses to walk The Golden Gate Bridge, so she'll drop us off and meet us on the north end on the entry point to Marin.

We might walk the new Benicia Bridge, but we might take a left and end up in Napa wine country. We'll see.

Best part of the day today was perhaps finding a new little bar on The Bay where I struck up a couple in their 70's who both earned single engine pilot's licenses in the 1970's. I loved their stories of flying around the country point to point, and they pretended to love my limited stories of same.

I never earned the license after some instruction and lots of recreational time with friends in single engines. I lost my urge for the license when I started flying commercially 40 weeks of the year. But I sure have been up in single engines a lot.

As pilots, they were stereotypically intrigued that I have jumped out of perfectly good planes at 13,500 feet.

Those were never single engines though.

rocky raccoon wrote:Spectacular lightning storm during the dog walk tonight.

Roy Hobbs might have been in the area...

Tribe Fan in SC/Cali wrote:

rocky raccoon wrote:Spectacular lightning storm during the dog walk tonight.

Roy Hobbs might have been in the area...

Not Roy Hobbs related, but Cali, is Momma's still on Washington Square next to the Church?

I am sure someone here has a Blackberry. On FaceBook, is there there a way to block individual games like there is on an IPad or regular PC? Sonny doesn't want to
block the individual just the games they play.

cid:2F393869-FE35-4819-82A0-07DC4323A854/Cutie.bmp

Hopefully this is a pic of my new great grandson or at least a link to it.

Copying and pasting from this IPad is a pain in the butt. I actually hate this feature.

Well, it doesn't appear to be working.

I give up. I may never post a pic again unless I get my desktop fixed.

I was hoping to post a pic of Anthony since you all should have the opportunity to see the cutest newborn in the world but right now you are just out of luck. lol!

Here ya go, DONNA: