All kinds of everything.

Hey Blogger Folk,

I am still alive and kicking down South. Winter arrived here in full force this morning. The day started at around 17° Fahrenheit this morning. Very cold for this time of year in these parts. It does make me wonder just how cold winter is going to get. The sun is bright and the sky a crisp African Blue. An invigorating kind of day in my books. All it lacked was a big cuddly bear to wake up next to ;-). Hey a man can have a fantasy can't he?

I did have an awesome weekend, on the back of a horse with a life long friend (and long ago lover.) and his lovely wife. He grew up straight, ............I did not. It was a little like being a kid again and playing cowboys. Talk about acceptance, his wife knows my history with him and still absolutely loves me and accepts me just as I am. I would have understood had she treated me like some kind of leper. If I could bottle the joy I felt with hem this weekend and sell it, I would be a wealthy man. It did highlight again for me how frienships truly are priceless.

In othe news, I recently got into one of those, "God does not approve of Gays and we are all going to burn" debates. A waste of time really, but one of the points raised was that you don't find Homosexuality in the animal kindom (It's not natural). I was quite surprised to learn humans are not part of the animal kingdom (Boy, I am gonna give my biology teacher a piece of my mind) ;-).

Seriously my only response to that was you have not spent a lot of time in nature. There are millions of recorded cases of homosexuality across pretty much the entire range of species. Anyway, catching up on the news this AM, I found an article that was kind of touching. Not only is it about queers in the animal kingdom but OMG, Gay Adoption as well. Please check out the story of Carlos and Fernando Here. This story does the same for me as a Spider Warm and Fuzzy Friday.

Anway the Salt Mine Beckons. In closing though see if you can spot a subtle change in my blog? I am contemplating prize for the first reader to spot it ;-).

With Much Love
a not woeful
Anthony

The meme was irresistable

Thanks colaboy.

If you read this consider yourself tagged, unless of course you really don't want to play ;-)

Go to Wikipedia, and type in the month and day of your birth (no year). Then list 3 events, 2 birthdays and 1 death - I have added some commentry to my results since they seemed pertinent.

The Events
37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
Caligula was one of the first, "educational" films I watched ;-)

1776 - Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
I could not resist the San Francisco link.

1994 - In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths.
This particular event had a big impact on me. I was an eyewitness to this event. Seeing a man die being hacked to death with a panga (Farming implement with a large blade) less than ten metres from me has left some scars. The gun fire, the violence, and the terror of the people fleeing for their lives is etched deep within my mind. The event is recorded in our history as the "Shell House Massacre".

Needless to say I did not celebrate my birthday that year. Remarkably just less than two weeks later South Africa turned the corner in its political strife and had it's first truly democratic election. It has been my privlege to have lived through some of this country's most monumental moments. By a twist of fate I was employed by an international news agency at the time and got to experience a lot of the buzz at very close range.

The Births
1941 - Alf Clausen, orchestra conductor and composer.
He gave us theme tune for, "The Simpsons"

1973 - Eddie Fatu, Samoan professional wrestler
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Not quite the Tattoo daddy I think about ;-)
The Death
1943 - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer and pianist
In my dreams I can perform his third piano concerto.

Love
A not woeful woe.

Two blogs in just over a week. Will this madness ever end .........?

I have included two Memes here. Thanks Spider. You are very much in my thoughts always.

Time Passages Meme’

1AM In which time zone do you live?
GMT +2:00

2 AM What time do you get up in the morning?
I used to rely on an alarm and wake up at 6am. Of late with the insomnia that came with the turmoil in my life, I opted to rather sleep in until I wake up naturally. Thankfully I have a job that allows for some flexibility in starting time.

3 AM Is there a time of day that is your favorite?
I am a night person - I love it when the sun goes down - I feel safer and more secure in the darkness. Sorry I stole this straight from Spider. Otherwise I like the morning before the day gets hot or the late afternoon when it cools down. If I am on horseback at the time, so much the better.

4AM A ‘waste of time’ for you is…
Time spent arguing over trivialities. I try and pick my fight carefully as a result.

5AM Do you have a favorite timepiece?
A small silver Fob Watch with a cracked face that was bequeathed to me. One Hundred and fifty five years old and it still keeps time faithfully. I doubt they make them like that anymore.

6AM What has been the best time of your life so far? For all it's ups and downs these moments I am living now have to be it. I am comfortable in my own skin for the first time in a long time.

7AM If you could save time in a bottle, you would….
Keep it to use for outdoor activity.

8AM I have no time for….
Predjudice and religious intolerance.

9AM This takes you more time than the usual person to do…
My Job. I procrastinate a lot . ;-)

10AM What time in history would you go to visit?
Ancient Greece.

11AM What was the worst time of your life?
Probably the last two years. To Sound like Charles Dickens though, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.............."

12PM For a good time, I do the following….
Take a day in the country on Horseback .

Imagine…

1. Live anywhere in the world, where would it be?Here in Africa on a farm.

2. Have any job, what would it be?
Trail rider. Yes, it's a cowboy thing.

3. Have a date with any actor/actress, who would it be with?

George Clooney. In his batman outfit preferably

4. Who would you want to look like?
Just me.

5. Whose brain would you like to have?
Just mine

6. Would you rather be a famous Singer, Author, Actor or Artist(painter)?
Author

7. Have a farm, what five animals would you have on it?
Horses, Dogs, Cats, Ducks and swans.

8. Own a famous painting, what would it be?
I had to think about this. My final pick was Ivan Aivazovsky's Moonlit Night. It would work so well with the colours in my bedroom.

9. Have your dream wedding, where would it be?
On a mountain top looking down on the mist below.

This mountain in particular. Table Mountain - South Africa.

10. Have your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A croissant with rocket, proscuito and emmentaler cheese on it with hot chocolate made the way it should be with a bar of chocolate melted into hot milk.

11. Afterthought!
Be any superhero, who would you be?
As long as he has a six pack and a bulge I don't really care :-). Okay I confess as a kid I was big on Captain America.

Feel free to do one or both memes.

With Love

A not woeful woe.