We’ve had something of a member explosion this week over at the Order of the Fez. Hmm, let’s make that “membership” explosion. Phil Powell is Fez #9 (Last of the Single Digits) and hails from the UK. Like Howlin’ Hobbit (Fez #8), Phil is a ukuleleist, and shares my appreciation for the Laurel and Hardy. Welcome, Phil.
The ranks of the secret (some would say cult-like) Order of the Fez have swollen to eight with the induction of Howlin’ Hobbit:
“Attached you will find a picture of me performing at The Pink Door in Seattle’s fabulous Pike Place Market. This was several years ago and I was part of the Lucky Devil Girly Show, a burlesque troupe.”
How could we refuse the application of someone that had been part of the Lucky Devil Girly Show? No way. Don’t miss the link to Howlin’s music.
In March of this year, I posted audio of a speech by Jan Hindman, author of “There Is No Sex Fairy. For 34 years, Ms. Hindman studied and researched the problem of sexual abuse, working with both sexual offenders and sexual victims through mental health endeavors, the educational realm, as well as private practice.
She was a keynote speaker at a conference organized by one of our clients. I was so impressed by her intelligence and wit that I posted the audio here at smays.com.
Today I received an email from her niece, letting me know that Jan Hindman passed away suddenly a few days ago. She found my post (and the audio) with a Google search:
“…it has been very comforting to hear her voice. It made me smile to hear her wonderful messages and her great sense of humor one more time. She was so very special.”
This kind of thing happens more than you might expect. And it’s one of the things I like best about blogging. As far as I know, the speech I posted might be the only one (by Ms. Hindman) online. I hope other friends and admirers find –and take some comfort– from it.
A woman/man/boy takes my picture at a crowded sidewalk cafe. I object and the woman/man/boy runs away. I give chase. The mysterious photographer dashes in front of a bus and is killed instantly. I look down and see the camera at my feet. I pick it up and walk away. A couple of blocks away I go into a bar and turn on the camera, looking for a clue to the identity of the photographer. There are just 12 images on the camera, the last one being the one just taken of me. The story unfolds as I attempt to unravel the mystery, searching for clues in the twelve photos.
To put some meat on the bones of this story, I really should come up with interesting photos. For example, let’s say one of them is crash scene of Princess Di (time stamped 5 seconds after the crash, before anyone else arrived).
And maybe one is a shot of Lee Harvey Oswald posing by the window in the book depository. (A digital image before there were digital cameras?)
If we want to take a spooky tack, the first image could be the crushed body of the photographer under the bus.
You get the idea. Would this make a better TV series than feature? You could post the images online and invite fans to help solve the mystery. Hmmm.
Comments/ideas are encouraged. And if this has already been done, please let me know.
In an elaborate (and secret) ceremony, held in an undisclosed location, the newest member of The Order of the Fez was inducted last night. John Wells became the sixth member of the recently formed order and you can read his rambling, semi-coherent application statement here.
Got back from weekend in Las Vegas, then down to the Lake for an off-site planning retreat. Playing hell with the blogging. Barb’s are sure to be better and I’ll add them when we can find time to coordinate. She’s been busier than I. And, yes, I know I haven’t captioned or titled the flickr images. I’ll get to them eventually.
I also grabbed some video but that’s gonna have to be a weekend project. Gonna try to give the new iMovie another try. Watch this space for big announcement on Friday. I’m all tingly.
Fake waterfalls, fake grass, fake tits. Las Vegas is city of illusions. If Branson is Las Vegas for people who don’t haved teeth… Las Vegas is Branson for people who do. In fairness, Las Vegas is for people who like to gamble and shop. I don’t care for either.
Nice wedding on Friday and a great show on Saturday. Cirque DuSoleil’s "O" is amazing. Beyond description. The O Theater (The Mirage) seats 1,809 and the show has been sold out every night (2 shows) for years. Tickets range from $85-150. Let’s call ’em $100, or $180,000 per show…$360,000 a night. And the show is probably a loss leader to get folks into the casino.
Took some pix and video and will share those when time allows.
Now I’m about to check email for first time since Thursday. This won’t be pretty.
But these days it seems
Nowhere is far enough away
So I’m leaving Las Vegas today
It’s the first day of anatomy class and the med students are being assigned cadavers. During the dissection process, one geeky but brilliant student discovers that his guy didn’t die from natural causes. He was, in fact, killed in a highly sophisticated manner that could only have been murder. The kind of high tech death that should have been undetectable.
We all know the next part. He takes his discovery to his professors, the cops, etc etc. Nobody listens.
The med student can’t find the dead guy’s name because the records have been erased. But his geeky-yet-adorable former girlfriend matches the face with images she finds online and discovers the guy was a blogger for the last ten or twelve years of his life.
The plot unfolds as our two protagonists dig back through the dead guy’s blog, looking for clues to who killed him and why.
Regular readers know this is as far as I get with my plots but, in a few days, Kay Henderson will come up with a thrilling conclusion.
If you can’t come up with a killer (snicker) ending, feel free to suggest a title.
Two men, driving the same pickup truck, have been cited for driving drunk in central Wisconsin. Police stopped their truck in Abbotsford recently and found 43-year-old Harvey Miller was steering the truck. Miller has no legs. Officers say 55-year-old Edwin Marzinske was operating the gas pedals and brake.
The police report says Miller admitted he was too drunk to drive, but argued he wasn’t actually operating the truck because he couldn’t push the gas pedal. Officers disgreed and cited him for drunken driving, third offense.
Marzinske was cited for his second drunken driving offense. Both men were also cited for operating a vehicle after revocation.
— WCCN
For those who missed it, I wore my new leopard skin fez all day on Monday. It created a bit of interest (fez buzz). The most common question? “Where can I get a fez?”
My answer? “That’s what separates the fezz-less from… those with fezzorocity. If you’re not resourceful enough to acquire your own fez, you don’t deserve to wear one.”
Dear readers, I give you Bob Hague, Supreme Potentate of the Badger LaFolette Chapter of the Order of the Fez (Fez #2).
Bob and I will be drafting by-laws and deciding on The Secret Grip in coming days, and if you’d like to join us (throw your fez in the ring, as it were), just email a photo of yourself wearing a fez. (Word of caution: No fez sharing. You must own your own fez to a member in good standing)
Don’t delay. The highly prized LFN’s (Low Fez Numbers) will go quickly.
If there’s an amusing story behind your fez (“I mugged a Shriner and have the video”), please feel free to share it.
On behalf of Supreme Potentate Bob, I challenge you to get your fez on!