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A new effort, the
a Better West Virginia Blog has started a new effort to highlight the great things about West Virginia in hopes of creating a new, positive image of West Virginia to counteract the negative stereotypes. I'd love to see as many bloggers take part in this event.

Here's the way it works: On West Virginia Day (that's Friday, June 20, tomorrow) write a blog post highlighting the positive about West Virginia. Then, post a comment at the A Better West Virginia blog (linked above). The owner will post a link to your entry.

Even if you can't participate, be sure to read the blog posts made by other bloggers.

I hope to read your work there!

Words I never thought I'd say

These words I never thought would be on my blog: "I'm voting Republican."

This video outlines all the reasons:



(and yes, folks, it's sarcasm, all around!).

A Cicada's Life

Cicadas in the Apple Tree
Originally uploaded by Happy Monkey

"Sure are loud, aren't they?" I said.

"Yep, and that's just he half of them, just the guys," My Honey said.

As we continued this discussion, we came to realize that cicadas don't have a bad life. Sleep for 17 years, and then get up, eat, and try to reproduce. Of course, that dying after only one summer of experience kind of sucks, but otherwise it sounds like quite a pleasant summer.

We also noticed that we could hear their song change. After a while, it reaches a crescendo, and then it dies down to just almost nothing. Kinda of like a football game right after a long, but not quite long enough, third down run when the stadium quiets to let the quarterback concentrate. After a while, we were calling plays based on the cicada song. "That's a first down, at least, and as they measure....YES! YES! TOUCHDOWN!!"

So the summer of the cicadas seems to be a lovely time. They eat, drink, and try to reproduce. They make A LOT of noise. Just like a bunch of 17-year-old boys at a football game. And as they have no fake ID's, they can't get beer either.