These two from Vegas are still living.

Teller, who talks a lot when he is off stage,


And he is damn tall!!

I don't care

What you say...this is some funny s**t...

Answering the age old question...Yes!!

Statues

I like statues. For some strange reason, I like to photograph cemetery angels, military generals, etc.

Here are few I like.

General Grant


Lewis
Buffalo Soldier Monument
Jefferson
Lincoln
Maybe they are the perfect subjects. Only thing we do is change the lighting. They provide the expressions. Like Jefferson and Lincoln were shot in the morning sun, while the Grant and the Buffalo Soldier were taken at the mid morning sun. Only Lewis was taken with a flash, and I don't like the effect it had. I am going to have to take that one again.

BTW, all these were taken on film, not digital. Old School rocks!

Pwolfman

While I was on vacation in Vegas, I met a lot of famous people and had the opportunity to interact with them during some of their performances. For instance:

Taking on Shaq


Posing with the Duke



Playing for Liberace,
Lining up with Arnold and Tiger

But my favorite Vegas Icon,

The Killer Rabbit from Spamalot



He was great and he only nibbled a bit...:)

Later

Okay, some pictures

Well, about time I post some pictures from Afghanistan.

These first few are on our first trip out of the wire in March of '07 in the mountain pass between Kabul and Jalalabad.




As every soldier knows, there is plenty of down time during the deployments, and here is one example of a friendly card game of officers versus non-comms. who do you think won? (hint: wasn't the officers...)

More later...gotta find the rest on digits.

Wolfman

Look what I found...

From a crazy blogger that I love to read...

You have GOT to love the internet and the crazy shit you find on it...like this that looks like a certain general in the Army I served under in Germany.


And he really did talk like that. One of his favorite expressions was "happy as a gay midget in a wiener factory." Hope I get to see him again before he retires.

Wolfman

Is this global warming?

This is not proof of global warming, but it just shows that the verdict is still out but possibilities exist. Anyone can pull out "my scientist says..." to back their claim. To counter that, everyone has to do their own research and make their own decisions.

Personally, I think there is nothing we humans can do that Momma Earth will not fix when our bones are dust and our cities are crumbling.

The Wolfman

Schools in session

Well, It has started. The start of a year of learning Army doctrine and culture. Yes, there is a big culture shift for someone that has not been in an operational unit for over three years. This is going to be a big shift in my thinking towards big Army operations versus small unit advising.

There is a big push by our commanding general to get out and talk to the public about our experiences and thoughts about what the Army is doing.

I will try to post more about this as I can.

More to follow, with more pictures...:)

In Flanders Fields...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— John McCrae

When we are charged with the lives of our soldiers in battle, this runs through my mind to ensure I do the right thing every time.

The most damning critique is from your dead...

The Wolfman

A sad tale of loss...you are warned

Well, where to start…

After spending a year in Afghanistan, living in a mud hut, I now live in an apartment that is slightly cleaner, but smellier then my hut. Eh, what do you want for cheap, a spacious, clean, and safe environment? Nah, not for me.

A big event happened in my life that affects everyone sooner or later. The wife and I lost a pet, a scruffy looking cat that meowed his way into our hearts. A little background might prove enlightening as to why it affected us so much.

Thanksgiving a year and half ago, the wife discovers a stray going through the garbage and scares it away. What she does not realize is that he has taken up residence under our porch and living in the cold and muck that accumulates under there. The kids scare it, we scare it by accident, but still it stays under the porch.

One day, the wife leaves some food out for the cat, trying to coax it out so maybe we could catch it and get rid of it. It has a bad eye and looks like hell, but we still feed it, and call it Mangy.

This is happening while I am in Afghanistan. The wife starts to like this pitiful creature and it even lets her get close and to pet him. He sleeps on the porch, she gives him blankets and towels to sleep on, and buys a space heater to help him keep warm.

I come home and Mangy is coming in the house, getting along (mostly) with our other two cats, lets us pet him, brush him, and even love him a bit before meowing to get back outside. The wife is even trying desperately trying to get rid of some horrible mats on this long haired wild cat, and making good progress.

Then, last Saturday, he starts to have trouble breathing. I actually call the vet at 1030 at night to ask what to do. We bring him in to the vet the next morning, but he stopped breathing on the way to the vet. Turns out he had a horrible infection and fluid in his chest.

He died there on the table.

So did we, a bit…Here is a pitiful creature that my wife took in, showed compassion and love, and we lose him. The wife is in tears, and I am thinking we should have brought him the night before. But I didn’t…and I regret it.

I saw horrible treatment of animals (dogs mainly) in Afghanistan. I almost drew my pistol on one afghan because he threw a brick at a dog, killing it. I vowed to help every animal I could, to show compassion, love, hope… I failed Mangy. That is weighing on my soul right now, and I can’t shake it…I hope I can make up for it in my life.

Mangy’s eyes still look at me in death, laying on the table. He did not suffer long, but it is little consolation. I can only hope that in the great beyond, we are judged by how we treat our animals, and how much we love them…

Gah…gotta get some tissue…

Good Gravy!

Has it been a year since I was on here? Amazing how time flies when your stuck in a combat zone with no good internet connections.

But alas, it is time to start writing again. I pledge to write on this blog at least 5 times a week, detailing my job, life, love, and heartache. Everything that pulls the head and the heart.

Let me work on something tonight and post it later...