Giant Grasshopper

This massive grasshopper was hanging out on our screen a week or two ago.  Mean looking bugger.  Actually I have seen these before and read that if you see one, you should kill it.  It is a non-native Asian grasshopper that takes over an area, squeezing out native insects because of it’s size.  They are aggressive as well and will spit at you if they feel threatened.  I didn’t kill it, it moved on to greener pastures.

Here is a picture of the plane I used to take all of the aerial photos.  You can see the small Aiptek camera attached by the fuselage. 

You can see the rest of the pictures in the set here. They include a handful of blurry shots from the fireworks show and the cantaloupe and honeydew we got out of our garden before the caterpillars destroyed the plants.

I came across this video clip on PerezHilton.com.  It is Michael Moore ripping Wolf Blitzer a new asshole over CNN”S coverage of Moore’s new movie as well as their past treatment of Farenheit 911.  It is some good stuff.  Michael Moore is a bulldog and I generally agree with his stance on most things.  It’s too bad he is such a lard ass.  He represents the typical fat American that taxes the very health care system that he wants to turn into a free system.  Hey I am all for public health care, I just would like to see more people become responsible enough for their own health to not create an atomic bomb of obesity related illness that is hammering our health care providers.

While I am on a fat kick, let me mention one of my new favorite shows to watch, Biggest Loser.  I have been snaggin prior season reruns on the bedroom Tivo.  There are some amazing examples of people completely transforming their lives, which is fantastic.  I would really enjoy seeing a where are they now show, to see how many were able to keep up their healthy ways without being isolated at a ranch with a trainer to push them daily.  I always find it incredible when these people get on the scale for the first time and act amazed at the number that appears.  I can’t tell you how many times the phrase “I had no idea I was that heavy…” comes out of these people’s mouths.   How can they not know?  Obviously they never step on or don’t own a scale.  Perhaps they don’t look in a mirror.  Maybe they think that adults never stop growing and are supposed to get bigger each year they are on the planet?    Well I guess the important thing is these people at least are taking steps to fix it.  It’s much more than can be said than the majority of people in this country where gluttony is king.

Last night I finished up watching Rocky IV, I watched it over 3 nights.  I forgot how MTVish this one was, there are multiple sequences in there that remind you of an MTV video.  It came out during the absolute heyday of MTV when they were all about playing videos and not reality programming.  I enjoyed it of course but it seemed a bit cheesier than I remembered.  During my vaca I also watched Rocky III again, of all of them I have probably seen Rocky III and Rocky V the least.  Rocky III has one of my all time favorite lines.  It’s when they are interviewing Clubber Lang (Mr T) before the second fight and they ask him for a prediction.  He pauses and then simply says “My prediction?……..Pain…..”  It’s great.