Update on Bonnie

Welcome news!  Bonnie looks to be far less of a threat to Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes than it was only 24 hours ago.  It is presently only a tropical depression after having passed across Florida.  Because of how fast it is traveling, and given its present trajectory, it will likely just barely return to tropical storm status before making landfall again.  It is now projected to make landfall at the Louisiana/Mississippi border.  We may get a little extra rain out of this storm system, and that's about it.  It remains to be seen how the oil remaining in the Gulf is affected by this storm.  Even though the storm is now projected to go north of the original source of the spill site, it really depends on where most of the oil is located as to whether the storm will help or hurt the situation. 

The big local story is that there will be a benefit concert on the Grand Isle tomorrow (Saturday, July 24), rain or sunshine, in lieu of the Annual Tarpon Rodeo (fishing event).  This alternate event will be huge for the beleaguered Grand Isle residents.  Too bad Lori and James couldn't be here for that.  They would have loved it.

My Bonnie lies over the ocean

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea

I can tell by the path she's a takin'
She wants to come visit me

The good news...Tropical Storm Bonnie will not likely reach hurricane status.

The bad news...Bonnie will disrupt oil cleanup operations, and may inflict further ecological damage beyond that which has already occurred as a result of the Oil Spill, if it continues to follow its projected path.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has already declared a state of emergency in Louisiana in preparation for the storm.  He is urging everyone in Louisiana to visit www.GetAGamePlan.org ASAP to make a game plan for their family.

Kitty sprouted wings, another kitty in the wings

Less than a month after I posted an upbeat blog about Kitty (4/19), I let him outdoors one early morning...and that was the last time we ever saw Kitty.  We have no idea what his fate was, but assume that he has gone on to kitty heaven, given his advanced age.  Judy even suggested that maybe he was translated. 

Fast forward to about two weeks ago, when we had a sad looking bob-tailed kitty approach our house.  Judy took mercy on the poor animal and gave her some of Kitty's cat food.  As Judy puts it, this kitty quickly adopted us, rather than the other way around, and at this point, appears to be a permanent fixture at our home.  There are two things this kitty needs.  One is a name (Lori suggested Bobby Sue, considering where we are moving to).  The other is for this kitty to get spayed before we become the owners of not just one, but a whole litter.

On another topic, I took the time to consolidate the labels used in all previous blogs, replacing all single-entry labels with more comprehensive labels that are displayed in their entirety on the home page of my blog.  It took most of the afternoon to do boil the number down to about 50 labels.  I've been wanting to do it for some time, and finally got around to it

Passing of Arnold Friberg an American Treasure

It is only fitting that American artist Arnold Friberg, who passed away on July 1, is remembered during weekend of the 4th of July.  Probably his greatest and most widely distributed work of art was that of George Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge in behalf of our fledgling nation in a time of desperation.  I took the following from Deseret News:

The painting "Prayer at Valley Forge" is based (as per Arnold Friberg) on the following story by Isaac Potts a resident of Valley Forge:

"What was that?" I inquired. "Do you see that woods, and that plain?" It was about a quarter of a mile from the place we were riding. "There," said he, "laid the army of Washington. It was a most distressing time of ye war, and all were for giving up the ship but that one good man. In that woods," pointing to a close in view, "I heard a plaintive sound, as of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling and went quietly into the woods and to my astonishment I saw the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis and the cause of the country, of humanity, and of the world."

Both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush had this painting and took inspiration from it.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will best remember Arnold Friberg for his series of Book of Mormon paintings.  They illustrate the significant events in the Book of Mormon.  There is a very good chance that anyone possessing a copy of the Book of Mormon with illustrations, is familiar with Mr. Friberg's work.

Arnold Friberg was commissioned by Cecil B. DeMille to make a series of conceptual paintings in the development of the "Ten Commandments."  His work influenced the costuming of the actors and development of the sets used in the "Ten Commandments."  Cecil B. DeMille had developed a close friendship with Bro. Friberg and with President David O. McKay in the course of the production of his epic film. At the invitation of Pres. McKay, DeMille spoke at BYU in May 1957, where he rather surprised the student body by delivering a masterful address on the purpose of God’s laws.  It was at this forum that DeMille declared,“We cannot break the Ten Commandments. We can only break ourselves against them.”

A list of some of Friberg's better known works can be found at Wikipedia.

Deep Horizon Oil Spill following Hurricane Alex

Even though Hurricane Alex was over 750 miles away, it had a substantial impact on the weather, the wind, and the wave action in the Deep Horizon Oil Spill-affected area of the Gulf.  I pulled up a map of the oil spill on Intellicast around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon (see pic) and noticed that the spill has moved onto the beaches of all four affected states.  On the Louisiana side, the spill has moved beyond Grand Isle toward Cocodrie.  Workers are doing everything they can to prevent the spill from going into Lake Bourne between New Orleans and the Mississippi coastline, then Lake Pontchartrain, the very large lake north of New Orleans.  They are doing everything they can to minimize impact to the Barataria Estuary on the other side of New Orleans.  The challenge has been the wave action and the storm surge of over six feet that Alex brought...as far away as it is.  If we have a hurricane season like 2005 or 2008, heaven help us.