Category Archives: SuperPizzaBoy

Lomographic Oops!!

As some of you know I have been experimenting with a Diana Mini 35 mm camera. I’ve had a lot of fun with it but sometimes I struggle.

(I’m sorry I love my boys smile.)

Sometimes I screw up. A roll of film takes about 24 photographs in the standard mode. The last roll of film I put in seemed to be taking lots and lots of pics. Apparently the film wasn’t in the sprockets quite right so it kind of “slid” along. The negative strip looks like a continuous exposure.

(I love pumpkins and all things Orange in the Fall, no I’m not an OSU fan.)

When I picked up the photo cd from Walgreens and looked at the index print it seemed like I had about 60 photos on the the roll. They were all jammed up together and partially double exposed. Most of the result didn’t look too good (although the Lomography folks love mistakes. The encourage the practice of double exposure where you take pictures with a roll of film and then give it to somebody else to take another set of pictures with the same roll and then see what you got.)

As I looked at them though I thought there were a few that were not half bad. Like the top pair of photos of SuperPizzaBoy on a fishing trip. The next pair are of a pumpkin town near our house. I liked the one above. I cropped it because the edges didn’t fit the sun on the river.

The above is a mash up of SuperPizzaBoy swinging. I intended to do multi-exposure but on three different pictures so I have about six images superimposed on the one frame. Full confession, the frame was so overexposed I used Picnick.com to increase the contrast. I think the Lomo police are going to come take my camera, do any of you care?

I’m going to continue experimenting. I love the old timey feel of the photos. I know it doesn’t make any sense.

Do you ever do anything that doesn’t make any sense?

Lomography: A world of film and plastic cameras (framework.latimes.com)

Baseball and Fireworks

Friday night the Yogi’s went to see the Tulsa Drillers play at ONEOK Field.

What we didn’t count on was hot hot it was. My car thermometer said 109F when parked at the stadium. I don’t think the official temperature was that high, but it was hot. There was no breeze either. This is Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping through the plains darn it.

Even the umps were hot.

The opposing pitcher spotted me eating ice cream. I thought he was going to come up in the stands and take it. He’d of had a fight on his hands.

We smiled in the heat, and perspired. Sweetie perspired, SuperPizzaBoy and I sweated.

Keep him fueled on pizza and ice cream and SPB is ready to go.

Seventh inning stretch so we sang “Take me out to the Ball Game” and of course “Oklahoma.” If you live here you better learn that song. As far as I’m concerned, its the best State Song in the whole country.

And then we had a Fireworks Show!! The Drillers often do that on Friday nights.

Have you been to a baseball game lately?

Open Range Shakespeare

You know, it is 106 degrees out here, if there were any shade, and there isn’t. Lets get this show on the road!

The audience has had all the refreshments that they can stand. Nobody has shown up yet.

Well finally, is that him, the critter in the white coat?

Look, both of them are coming, we can finally get started!

Isn’t Juliette just the sweetest girl that you have ever seen?

Truthfully though, Romeo is such an ASS, if you ask me.

Oh Romeo, you big baby. Get back here.

Sorry guys, the big whiny baby has walked out. The show is cancelled. We have free treats for everybody. Check back tomorrow!

My World

Check out the 7MSN Ranch for a patriotic donkey parade.

Summertime Blues

We got the Summertime Blues but we are pretty happy right now.

Have you ever had the Summertime Blues?

I like the Alan Jackson version

Alan Jackson – Summertime Blues (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: Alan Jackson

But I LOVE Blue Cheer’s version from the mid 1960’s. I couldn’t get enough of it. One of the early heavy metal songs. Love the drumming action, love the hair. It was all so shocking back then, now its funny. It is still a great song.

Lomographic Triple Trampolining with my Diana Mini

What is Lomography?

What is the Diana Mini?

Wordless Wednesday

Challenged Rider Lead Line Event at the Pinto World Championships

The 2011 Pinto World Championships are being held in Tulsa this year. It consists of over 450 events and has over 7000 entries. It is really a big deal for the Tulsa economy.

(Do you think this kid is an Okie?)

This year SuperPizzaBoy participated in the event called “Challenged Rider Lead Line” at the show. It is for riders who have special needs and participate in a Therapeutic Riding program. SPB has been riding with the Bit by Bit program based out of Rogers State University.

We were very proud and appreciative that SPB was selected to be one of the riders. We were there with our video camera.

The riders rode into the arena one by one. Each horse is led and in addition there are two sidewalkers. There is a big emphasis on safety. The lead and sidewalkers are all volunteers. They are very dedicated. They have to be as during a 30 minute therapy session they get a pretty good workout going around and around the arena with the riders.

We got a big thrill when SPB came around to our side of the arena.

We had moved from where we were sitting and you can tell that he was looking for us. When he saw Sweetie he broke into a huge grin.

The finished their circuit and lined up. The judges went from rider to rider chatting them up a little bit. The announcer gave a little bio for each rider.

The judges talked to every one of the 15 or 16 riders and then conferred.

Everybody was trying to figure out what they were conferring about.

They decided to award all the riders a World Championship Belt Buckle.

The horses that the kids rode and the belt buckles were provided by Ford Farms of Whitesboro, Texas.

The judges and one of the owners went to each of the riders and gave them their belt buckles.

And then the riders left out of the arena.

Many thanks to the staff and volunteers of Bit by Bit, the Pinto Horse Association of America, Ford Farms, and the Judges. We are very grateful for the experience they provided our son and the other kids who participated. We appreciate you very much.

Camp Grey Squirrel

Our son, SuperPizzaBoy, attended Camp Grey Squirrel this week. Camp Grey Squirrel is Oklahoma’s first resident camp for children with autism. It is located at the Methodist Boys Ranch near Gore, Oklahoma in the Cookson Hills near Lake Tenkiller. Sweetie and I wanted him to have a good time at the camp and this is the first time he had been gone from family for more than an overnight stay with friends.

We walked in the door and we both could tell from the look on his face that he had a wonderful time. I have to admit that it brought tears to both of us. He was really happy.

We could tell that the campers and staff had bonded very well. They were a happy group.

Key to the success of the camp were the buddies that each camper had. The buddies were teenagers from Four Winds Church in Conway, Arkansas. Kudo’s to Four Winds Church, and to the buddies, is what the Yogi’s have to say. Here is SPB’s buddy, J from Four Winds Church.

The buddies help the campers stay organized and on task and help them as needed. They are all volunteers overseen by adults. The buddies even paid their own expenses. They were really a blessing to all the campers and the parents of the campers. We are very thankful for J, her fellow buddies, and the adults that accompanied the buddies.

The Camp is not a religious camp per se and no religious instruction or presented. The young people from Four Winds provided a powerful witness to their faith.

Of course, we peppered SPB what he did and he was long on adjectives and short on information, “It was great.”

Fortunately, he took his camera along and even participated in a photography class. So the following are SPB’s pics.

The above is not at the camp but is a pond near the swimming pool they used.

And of course a picture of dorky old dad.

He made lots of self portraits,

He and his friend found a dead bird so they buried it. SPB told me that it was bloggable.

The swimming pool,

No modern day tweenager is ever very far away from Legos.

The camp was electronics free, thank goodness!!

They went horseback riding. He tells me that he took this pic during his photography class. I kind of like it. But I’m biased.

Not a half bad reflections shot.

This is what it is all about.

We are big fans of Camp Grey Squirrel. He is going again later this summer. If you know somebody who might be interested send them the link to the web site.

A New Teenager

Who is this sharp dressed man? He had a birthday recently.

One of the world’s newest teenager that’s who. Sweetie and are not sure that we are ready for that. Too bad, time marches on. SuperPizzaBoy has had quite the year.

He discovered that he loves singing, not so much the dancing, and improv.

He got his Legoland driver’s license. (Three more years until he gets his real driver’s license, tell me that it cannot be!)

He fell in love with the Pacific Ocean.

He has had lots of talks with his Mom.

He has tried some new things he really didn’t care for.

And other new things that he loves.

Whatever he tries, he swings for the fences.

He has always got time for one more photo, even when he is busy.

He’s learned to not run quite so fast from the girls.

He is starting to appreciate art a little more.

He still loves his Mom.

He got to know his Uncle Bob a little better this year.

He had a great year in his spiritual life learning about his faith. He had a great year at school also. In middle school the academics stepped up quite a bit and he responded. The dynamics of tweenager social drama were not so much fun. But he is getting through it.

He is still a fun loving, active, social, curious, interesting kid.

Who falls asleep exhausted every night.

We love you very much son.

We are really looking forward to the coming year. Happy Birthday!!

Colorado Road Trip

The Yogi’s got back Sunday from a weekend road trip to Colorado. We went there mainly to see my lovely young niece Jillian get married to a very nice young man, Brian.

(More on these two in a later post.)

On our way out there Sweetie let me take time to find “Mingo.” It is the oldest active geocache in the world. Now I can die fulfilled. I have not brought peace to the world, but I found Mingo.

We also drove through some funky weather. We had rain, fog, mist and hail on the way out.

SuperPizzaBoy got some major video game play in during the trip. In fact, he got to where he was playing video games, listening to an audio book, and eating Fritos at the same time. Awesome.

Near where my sister and her husband live we saw longhorn cattle.

Of course we got to the wedding

And did some dancing to celebrate.

SPB had a great time.

Then we came home,

We saw some oil wells in Kansas.

And some motorcycle riders on the Run For the Wall.

No, these folks aren’t welcoming the Yogi’s home. They are cheering the motorcycle riders on. We were cheering them also. They, and their “Road Guards” were causing havoc on I70 so we were glad to turn off. I like your cause guys, but you almost caused a bunch of accidents!!! Convoying can be dangerous even if you know what you are doing and you guys don’t.

Anyways as we got closer to Tulsa we came up on the back side of a series of storms that stretched clear across northeast Oklahoma and Arkansas.

We were glad to be home. Our prayers are with the people of Joplin, Missouri.

I’ll have more on the wedding later.

That’s My World

Proprioception, Vestibulars, and a Trampoline

Our Son SuperPizzaBoy has a form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. He has not only social issues but issues involving where his body is in space, (“proprioception“) and his vestibular system. You can check the links out for more information because I’m not sure what it all means except that SPB loves to jump on his trampoline and he wore it plumb out. It makes him feel better and he jumps a lot and he jumped on the trampoline so much that it just wore out.

So Sweetie and I had an emergency consult. I was at work, so we agreed that I would stop at Academy on the way home and get a new mat for our trampoline. I mean the frame was good but it is cheaper to buy a new trampoline than it is to get a new mat, new springs, and new spring cover. So that’s what I did.

Son liked the way we were thinking.

He even helped by taking the old springs off. I mean the dude not only wore the mat out, he wore the springs out also!! That kid is a serious trampoline jumper. You see it makes him feel better, it helps him organize his thoughts.

We got the new mat and springs going. He kept asking if it were done yet. “Not yet son, I’m still working on it.”

Of course, you have had heard the old joke, how long does it take Yogi to change a light bulb? All day, that’s how long.

The next day he was giving it a workout though.

He jumps almost every day if the weather is good.

He loves it. Jumping helps him organize his thoughts.

Do I understand it, no, not really, I just know that it works. Sweetie and I will do what it takes to keep the young man jumping for as long as he wants.

I’m sure you understand!

YogisDen.us

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