I love the old science fiction movies from the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. It was when I grew up and there is no argument that some of the best Sci-Fi movies ever made came from then. Conversely some of the worst Sci-Fi movies ever made also came from the same era, which gave rise to Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Frank Zappa also weighed in on the some of the movies created then with his song “Cheepnis”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VBb2pCAnZE
If you so desire, follow the link and you’ll get some insight into my past as well!

So last week on a day off I settled in to watch “War of the Worlds,” the original from 1953 with Gene Barry. It was great to see, it’s been years since I’ve watched it. So when I got up the next morning I was quite surprised to see this guy across the street, staring at our house, I was pretty sure that he had arrived from some other planet during the night. I think his name is Clawd…..





Once I got brave enough to venture out though, I was pretty sure that he came in this, it must have been dropped off somewhere by the mother ship.



I'm going to be keeping a close eye on the sky, I don't know if more of them will be arriving or not. Summer sure is strange in the desert...

Happy July 4th!

We just finished celebrating the 4th of July not with quite as big of a bang as the folks in San Diego, but a great day none the less. We’re still enjoying some time off. It’s rare that my wife and I get two days off together, let alone a holiday, so we’re making the most of it. My wife’s niece is in town with us and enjoying not only the holiday, but our unseasonably cool weather.

Yesterday started off with a neighborhood parade, complete with horses, pygmy ponies, dogs, golf carts, motorcycles, bikes, ATV’s, a multitude of families and a Bald Eagle. Kid’s had their bikes decorated, adults had their horses decorated and some guys were passing out free flavored water. It’s the small things like this that help me remember that the U.S is still a great country.

Going through the list of what makes this such a great country brings me to this morning, and the Sci-Fi channel. Our movie line up started with Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus, followed by Mega - Python Vs. Gatoroid, next there was Mega Piranha (Vs. no one, just a big, mean fish) and topping off the days scientific explosion was Piranha - Conda! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to watch all 8 hours of this, but thanks to a DVR I have access to them. This trumps the old days when I would set the VCR and end up with 8 hours of the TV guide.

What also gives me hope for the future was seeing that both Debbie Gibson and Tiffany have been able to make career comebacks from the Mall concert days of the ‘80’s, and gain the success they deserve as multi-talented entertainers. It also makes me think that I do have a real shot at being a successful screen-writer.

The afternoon was spent BBQ’ing, pool time and rocking out to classic American Rock and Roll: the Beach Boys, Bob Seeger, Grand Funk Railroad, the Eagles , Dick Dale, and of course the King, Elvis.

To top off the night we blew off our fireworks (see San Diego and YouTube), which is really very interesting. Arizona is about as dry as anyplace can be and still sustain human life. A couple of years ago our state legislators legalized certain fireworks. No bombs or flying explosives or anything dangerous like that. But, we can purchase various types of Roman Candles,smoke bombs and fireball generating missiles. To counteract our elected officials every city in the state has banned the use of fireworks. We can buy them at the grocery store, which I find very convenient, but we can’t use them, legally. We used them, and I’m not in jail today, so again, it’s great to live in a free country! It really is….Happy Independence Day!

Story Tellers

We camp often to relax. Camping is a great way to unwind, it also gives us time together and it disconnects us from all of the technological marvels that can become strings. Imagine if you can, complete absentia from, cell phones, lap tops, I pads, Blackberries, GPS and e readers, voice mail, answering machines and social media! It’s a slice of heaven.


Now I’m not against technology at all, in fact I, like most of us enjoy the benefits of it, but it is great to take a step away from it for a while.


It’s hard to beat a day sitting under a tree reading, reading a book with paper pages. I’ve struggled with getting an ereader of sorts, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had it “in the cart” and not been able to press the button. I’ve tried to justify buying one with various rationalizations; the house won’t be cluttered with books, I won’t need a separate bag to carry them in when traveling, they’re cheaper to download than buy. But, I’m still haunting the used bookstores, which are getting harder to find also.


There is one concession I make to electronic communications while camping, and it has become not only a ritual, but you could almost say an obsession, Prairie Home Companion. When I’m home, I can (using technology) listen to it at my convenience by downloading it. When we are camping it is a different story.


I get the radio out, warmed up and tuned in. Wherever we go I check ahead of time so see what station, and time it is on. I’ve been fooled a couple of times, and as The Who say, “We won’t get fooled again.” Once the radio is in place, I also place a can, or glass bottle if I can find one, of Coke, in ice. It’s got to be extremely cold to really be enjoyed and plastic bottles just don’t cut it.


Next, I pull up a chair, hush the camp and turn on the radio. When the familiar opening strains announce the beginning of the show I sit back, open my soda, take a long pull, and relax. I love listening to stories and I’m surprised that there aren’t more story tellers like Garrison Keilor around.


I hope to be a story teller someday.

Winter Solitude

Without a doubt one of the best channels ever launched on TV is the Weather Channel. I love the weather and that can be a challenge living in the desert. Our forecast for about 350 days a year is “sunny, warm and clear,” kind of grim for a weather junkie. So it was with great delight when a cold front was moving through, promising us clouds and rain here, and snow in the mountains.

I eagerly tracked the system, checking weather television, weather radio and internet. With a day off in the near future my wife and struck a plan for the winter storm. We were going to drive north to the Mogollon Rim (home of the rarely sighted Mogollon Monster) and enjoy a day in the snow.

Expedition day arrived, sunny, warm and clear in the desert, but it didn’t slow us down. We had packed our snow gear and clothing the previous night and hit the road to adventure. Driving north I became a little concerned with the weather, you guessed it, sunny, warm and clear, the promised desert storm and rain hadn’t materialized. As a matter of record not even the clouds had made an appearance. We stopped in Payson for sustenance and struck out on the final drive, elevation change from 5,000 feet to the top of the Rim at about 7,500 feet.

Even at this point our drive was still a matter of concern; the best we saw was patchy snow in some shaded spots. Rounding the last curve on 260 we were rewarded: as soon as we hit the top there was snow everywhere!

Parking at the entrance to Willow Springs Lake we geared up and struck out. It’s been years since I’ve hiked in snow. Growing up in Chicago I was in the Boy Scouts, in a troop that did year round campouts. Winter campouts were scheduled at places that had cabins. As I got a little older, my friend Bob and I elected to shun the cabins and camp in the snow. We had it down to an art, being able to keep warm in Midwest winters, before the miracle fabrics and gear of today.

We could hear the snow crunching beneath our boots, the wind whipping swirls of snow into phantom patterns, a crystal blue sky and not another soul in sight. Sometimes we were on top of the snow, sometimes it was to our knees. After about 40 minutes we made it to the lake.

Windswept, white, deserted and cold, the only thing we forgot was to bring a thermos of hot chocolate to enjoy once we arrived. Next time for sure. We enjoyed the quiet, cold, beauty and solitude, but alas, had to turn back and return to the desert that day.

Three cheers for weather!