the floaty blob photos--August 2006

Washington--July 2006

More pictures from Idaho-July 2006

Pictures from Idaho--July 2006

tot wheels

the cousins stare

jeo and da da near Hayden Lake

Past the Dim Haze of Media Distortion

This isn't one of my usual sorts of posts as I'm letting my Dada write it. I don't really understand what its all about since it concerns events prior to my earthly visit. Dada does ensure me, however, that the content herein is of utmost importance to myself. I guess that will remain to be seen.

JEO's parents just finished watching Flight 93. Though cinematically unlikely to win any awards, or for that matter any acting or dialogue awards at the Academy Awards cermonies - if for no other reason than for not towing the Hollywood leftist party line of tolerance and misinformation, I found this movie to be like a crisp, cool, clear day after walking though the fog of media disinformation on all fronts - left, right and rear. Though that was a poorly worded sentence, I do believe it gets the point across.

This film was good because it wasn't preachy and it didn't try to show a side of Islam that talking heads always seem to want to insist exists but to which even anti-US media seem to have great difficulty in showing. It seemed to be just a portrayal of the events that occured from the central vantage point of UAL Flight 93. This produced a much more sound and amazingly powerful message. We all know how it ends but I kept finding myself rooting for the passengers as they struggled to take over the plane. I even found myself hoping that they would gain control and somehow find a safe place to land the plane. But my wishful thinking is based upon fantasy, much like the wishful thinkers that put a happy face on Islam, and the truly evil actions of the adherants to the "Religion of Peace" were the reality that day. For those who believe that the core teachings of Islam are that of peace, they may wish to read a searchable translation of the Quran which I have linked here for your convenience: http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/

I marvel at how I have become numbed these 5 years since that surrealistic day. New York is a long way away from the West Coast. Though I have been in the World Trade Center towers and the subway station below it, it is difficult to place the gravity of those tumbling towers and the thousands murdered that day into a physical framework other than the synaptic, etherial one that exists in my head and in print. It is strangely difficult to accept that those landmarks no longer exist even though I have seen the photographic evidence which merely shows a gaping hole. I have gone my way and continue life much unchanged from what it was before 9/11. I don't think of fire raining from the sky on the little hamlet which I live.

A film like Flight 93 is good in that it is a clarion call to never forget what our enemy has done and will likely seek to do again. I was skeptical when such a bit of national outpouring towards never forgetting 9/11 gushed forth. I have little faith in our ADD culture as to our ability to remember anything that takes more than 1 hour to resolve. But there is the ability to remember if we are reminded. I would say that hardly anyone who lived through the event or has some education doesn't remember Pear Harbor. I didn't even have to be there to remember it - we are reminded through our culture in the movies we watch, the books we read, the hours of the History Channel that we watch. There was no doubt as to who the enemy was, that they were a threat to our country and way of life, and that every effort needed to be expended to defeat that enemy - whatevery it took. Sadly, we are up against an enemy that can hide at will and does. One of their greatest offensive weapons against us is our own ADD. I guess the second would be the irrational hatred of any President Bush initiative which is often successful in dividing us as a nation and our response to the threat. That translates to a reluctance to acknowledge that we have a definate enemy and that they are a threat to this country which leads to a diminished will to do whatever it takes to win the battle against a slippery but dangerous enemy. It would seem that to really truly feel that we are in a battle for the very existence of our society is either hyperbole or an exageration only to be entertained by right wing extremists such as myself. Easier to go with the media flow than to observe fact and make informed choices based upon those facts. The Quran is a good starting place. This picture is another:


Perhaps our pluralistic culture would like to cut throught the haze with this fascinating on-line media gallery and ask themselves whether all world views are equal. Do you hear that? Yes - it's the cliche response "what about the Spanish Inquisition?" A bad time indeed. Or wait, how about The Crusades? What were Christians thinking? Well, those were bad times. Those keen debate club members and media pundits who like to bring up these historical events might be interested to know the context of those terrible times and about the men in power who used those events to their advantage and what was going on in Christendom that led up to those despotic episodes. Oh, and I was wondering, whatever happened to mostly Christian North Africa after the 8th century? Oh well, no matter. They probably got lost in the media haze that blew in with the "Religion of Peace."

I have no doubt that there are many peace-loving and peaceful Muslims living in our world today. But could it be because they are nominal in their faith that they are such? I mean, when someone threatens your life, the lives of your family members, and your means to make a living unless you convert to Islam, does that motivate someone from their heart to be a Muslim? Perhaps I am ignorant on this point. When someone really believes in something to the very core of their being they are able to exhibit it when faced with great peril to their person or the threat of loss of life. The people in Islam that seem to believe this way are busy strapping pyrotechnics to their bodies, flying planes into immovable objects, and generally causing great hate and discontent. The Muslims that aren't doing these things are being persecuted and exterminated by the heart-led ilk of their brethren.

It is the same with Christiandom. Many nominal Christians don't hold to the core teachings of charity, fidelity, selflessness, humility, the acceptance of Jesus as God and Lord of their lives. But they, like nominal Muslims, do not know what the written word that they have been given says about these things and the preeminence they are to take in the life of the believer. I know I am crazy, but given freedom of choice and knowledge of the authorative written word of the "Religion of Peace" and its true teachings - few but those who thought that they could be the power brokers in that religion would choose it willingly.

We are in a war which is a clash of world views. One has freedom at its core the other submission. I want my child to live in the one where he may choose the path he is to walk - freely. This, by definition, means that I must allow him to make his own choices in life. It is the choices that he makes for himself that will be the choices he will be willing to die for - if they are good choices worth dying for. That carries a bit of risk with it as I am not assured that he will choose the God of his father and mother. I pray that he will and I will teach him that way but in the end I have no guarantees. I will fight for that right with whatever tools are placed at my disposal - even if it's just a rant on this little read blog. I will fight to prevent any religion from forcing me or my family to choose it or death. Melodramatic perhaps, but may we never forget the reality of the world that we live in today. Not the wishful world that we want to live in that hasn't existed since long before 9/11.

I don't know about you, but when I look at the picture of my son, the haze lifts and I can see quite clearly.

Me and My Ride

A couple of weeks ago I went with the Dada and Maeeiee to a place where we built a new home out of material similar to my pooh pants - or so it seemed to me. This place was very cold and we never saw the shiney, bright, overhead orb thingy. Not to mention that the sky was always spitting on us. Anyway, here is a picture of me with my chariot. If I was into girls I would consider pimping my ride but as it is I am content with the way it's tricked out now. I pretty much have everything I want in a chariot except the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Voyage to the Center of the Earth

In my never ending quest for adventure and to seek knowledge I took it upon myself to have Dada carry me into the earth. I think I've seen everything there is to see on top of the earth, now I want to see what is in it. My theory is that it was filled with yummy, all-you-can-eat buffet kind of stuff. I was sadly mistaken.

Apparently this is where they store cold. Also, the big, bright, shiney, overhead orb isn't a part of this dark place. Combine that with scary miniature flying dogs and you have a recipe for, well, for a place I wouldn't want to live but a great place to visit. On the whole it was quite fun, especially the part where I got to pull Dada's hair and scratch his neck.

This particular dark, earth mouth seemed very large and as Dada was porting me along its length it came to places where the shiney orb was present and then went away as we went into another big mouth. But it came back.

JEO is describing an ice cave that we hiked through in Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California about two hours from our home. The cave he is describing is the remnant of a lava tube which, at various points, has caved in, giving to large open spaces of light. The cave then continues on the far side of the cave-in to the next cave in. - Editor

JEO Unsure of What to do With the Yellow, Floaty Blob

I got to experience two very large back to back family reunions. The first was in Oakley, Kansas where my Grandma's side of the family gets together every year to eat food, visit, etc. I met a lot of Great Aunts/Uncles and Second Cousins. As I really haven't even learned how to talk yet I don't think I'll be able to remember their names - but I was cute so I think I did my part. We didn't stay for the beer soaked corn, potatoes, and sausage. Uncle Bernard gave me my first beer and showed me how to argue. Again, not knowing how to talk I don't think I will be able put that valuable skill to use in the foreseeable future.

The next day was another family get together of gargantuan proportions. My mum's side of the family congregated in Garden City, Kansas for some sort of celebration for my mum's mum and dad. Something about 50 years of togetherness. I have no idea what "Anniversary" means but it seemed to be a big part of the hoopla. I got to see all my cousins, aunts, and uncles in the same place at the same time. All except, of course, those living in Idaho. They were all unified in their subjugation to my charm - is that not one of the necessary first steps to world domination? At any rate there must have been 10 - 20,000 people there. My mum has a big family. At the event I was set on the big shiny floor and given a floaty yellow blob on a string. It was neato though I didn't quite know what to make of it as you can see by my expression in the photo above. Below is my mum's family.

Mum's Family - All But One

The Big One that Got Away

My highlights, in contrast to Auntie Linda's were:

1. Keeping everyone awake on the second floor with my royal displeasure while my parents were off reading down stairs in the big meeting room
2. Crawling around the big meeting room with the dirty floor
3. Eating shoes and untying family members' shoe laces
4. Being told I was cute and being adored
5. Fishing

By the way, it should be noted that I did catch a fish that was twice as big as the one that Spencer and Levi caught but, as I did not have a net to haul it out of the water I had to release it.

Jonathan bringing in the Big One and impressing the girls

Jonathan's Blue Period

JEO is going through his own Blue period. This blue period should not be confused with Picaso's Blue Period. In the pictures shown below he shouldn't be mistaken for Thomas Gainsborough's Blue Boy (shown below). It is distinctly his own and an artistic phase that he is going through in which he demonstrates himself in shades of blue. It is melancholic and cool for him to be thus displayed. He had no comment as to how long this period might last or what brought him to this phase in his career. Indications of more recent depictions would seem to indicate that it will be a short lived period.

JEO Jail Break

Yummy Strap

I'm an Engineer!

Jonathan and Cousins Caught Lapping

This was a July 4th picture that was snapped of my cousins from Agoo's side of the family. They were lots-o-fun and not all that much older than I. We got to play a bunch even though I didn't get to join in on the water fight. The satisfier (though not mine) to the left of Agoo goes by something that sounds Gyff. The one to the left of him goes by what sounds like Shteeb. I'm the cute one close to the middle.

Hiatus and World Domination

I have been experiencing writers block lately. Perhaps my lack of writing is a kind of catharsis that is necessary before writing some magnificent tome. Or it could be that I've just been working overtime being cute. It is an activity that I am quite skilled at. Everybody says so.

I have been working on how I can use my skill for good in the world. I believe that if I could out-cute everyone I could some day rule the world. After all, looks are really all that matter when it comes to fame, fortune, and power. But looks don't buy you love. That's where my secret weapon comes in. I am cute not only on the outside but on the inside as well. Not only could I rise to fame, fortune, and power but I could also be quite lovable. Look at my pictures and see if you don't agree at least with the cute look factor. My satisfiers will attest to the second part.

My goal is to meet as many of you fans as I can before I am 18 so that I will have a broad base of supporters and be well established in the public arena for my run for political office. I need to hear what matters are closest to your hearts. What can I do as your beloved, humble, incredibly cute public servant? Let me know. This is the forum to do so.

Good night and God bless.

JEO

Photo shoot with Dillon (+Riley)

the missing shot

pictures no captions

boy with a mission

Incentive to Move to Oregon

I uncovered this news article that, though it is a couple of years old, should still apply. It allows for a $200 per person to move from Kansas to an urban area on the Left Coast. I think that in addition to moving to the Left Coast I could guarantee that you would get to see a lot more of me - which should be incentive enough.

On Holiday

The Satisfiers have taken me in the moving room to another room that has various things from the rooms of the place I spend almost all of my time and am, thus, most familiar with - all in one room. I slept most of the way in the traveling room. I've been so busy lately, it was great to just detox, kick back, and catch some z's.

Lately I've been practicing my rolling technique. I especially like to roll from my back to my tummy. The Satisfiers get a kick out of it and think that I'm so great. They're so easy to please. I can see where rolling will be a good skill to have as I grow older. For instance, if the circulating blade thingy on the ceiling were to fall while I was on my back and staring at it all I would have to do is roll to my tummy to get out of the way. Another good use is if I was on my back and needed to make a refund, I could to so by quickly rolling to my tummy. Much more pleasant than letting it "bubble up" or being a "super geyser."

Speaking of the Satisfiers, I don't think the name I have been using is quite right yet. When referring to themselves Satisfier 2 seems to prefer "da da," "daddy," "fodder," "moogie," and some other ridiculous names that I won't bother to list here. Satisfier 1 seems to predominantly use "mummy," "mudder," "mum," "ma ma," etc, etc. I don't know that I like any of these names so I am going to choose my own. I will now refer to Satisfier 1 as "Myooga" and Satisfier 2 as "Agoo." Much easier to say and understand than the other names they like to use.

My incident with the scarry stuffed animal thingy that jumped on my back and attacked me has left me very wary of other animal friends. Some of you have suggested that the story of the attack was a complete fabrication by Agoo. I can assure you that I have the emotional scars that say otherwise. For those of you who have been enjoying my first CD, thank you for the nice feedback. I may release a sequel to my first one sometime in the future.

CD's Are on the Way

For those of you who posted to "Looking for Posters to My Blog" your CD's are on the way. Thanks for being such good fans.

JEO

Rogue Toy Incident Leaves Jonathan Wondering "Why?"

Medford, OR - It was a day like any other. Jonathan's parents awoke at their normal time. His mother, whom we will call Olga, got up as she usually does to feed him. His father, whom we will assign the alias of Fritz, went about his normal morning tasks as he prepared for work. Olga and Fritz asked that their real names not be used as they are litigants in a civil suit pending at an appellate court in Oregon. Though the routine was normal, the day would turn out to be somewhat extra-normal.

"I've been selling stuffed animals and infant toys for 63 years and I've never seen anything like what I saw at Olga and Fritz's that morning!", exclaimed Herb Frondenmeyer, an international toy expert and personal toy consultant based out of Andover, MI. "Toys don't normally attack in broad daylight. They're more nocturnal and even somewhat shy of people," he went on to explain.

In a 2002 study conducted by the American Toy Foundation (ATF), research showed that 98% of store bought toys were benign in disposition, whether during or after daylight hours. Of the remaining 2%, an overwhelming 99.9% showed no aggressive characteristics even when stimulated with a cattle prod. The 0.1% remaining did show odd behavior but nothing in the realm of what could be called dangerous or harmful. "Unusual toy behavior has been difficult to observe because the toys seem to know when you are watching," explained Sarah Greshenko, Director of Research at the ATF labs located in Boring, OR. "Additionally, all incidents have occured at night. Not once has their been a daytime recorded episode." In discussing some of the data that ATF has compiled, Greshenko went on to state, "one interesting anomaly for which we have no explanation is that home made toys or toys purchased at garage sales appear to exhibit more aggressive behavior. Though the percentage of aggressive, mal-adjusted toys in the second hand or home segment is still low at 3.8%, it is statistically significant due to the complicated mathematical equations that we use to prove our research. Also, that 3.8%, though of a much smaller total population than the store bought toys, is on a whole, 92% more aggressive - showing strong anti-social and violent behaviors," Ms. Greshenko went on to explain.

Had Olga and Fritz been regular readers of the professional, peer-reviewed journal, Sociological, Mathematical Constructs of Child Diversionary Devices and Hormesis, they would have known that the toys they had given their son Jonathan, a 3 1/2 month old infant, might have presented a serious danger to him. But, like most parents, they believed that the innocent stuffed lamb named Dimitri was just that - a stuffed lamb. In reality, Dimitri was a pathological toy with a vendetta.

After Jonathan had enjoyed his early morning, morning, mid, and late morning meals, he was set down on his favorite quilt and given some of his favorite toys to play with. In the meantime his mother, Olga, went downstairs to finish some chores, taking her baby monitor with her. "Normally there is some background noise from Jonathan when he's alone. That's when I know everything is OK," Olga explained. "When things became quiet I thought that perhaps Jonathan had gone to sleep. When I heard muffled cries and struggling sounds - that's when my blood turned to jam and I knew there was something wrong." According to Olga and Fritz's testimony in their civil suit against Dimitri and his makers, Benign Fluffy Animals, Inc, it was when Olga heard the struggling sounds that she rushed upstairs to investigate the situation.

What she saw defies belief. "Toys just don't normally crawl on your back and wrestle you to the mat!" stated Mr. Frondenmeyer incredulously. "Toys want to be loved and played with. If you play with them, they'll be there for you. It's just unbelievable!" In a split moment Olga raced to the digital camera, snapped a picture of the lamb attacker and then tore Dimitri off of Jonathan's back. She then flung Dimitri across the room where he hit the wall and slumped to the floor where he lay until authorities came and incarcerated him.

"That a store bought toy would show aggressive, anti-social behavior in broad daylight is a near statistical impossibility," said Ms. Greshenko. "We believe that Dimitri may have been obtained second hand and/or that he had an episodic manifestation of Post Interlinear Traumatic Toy Syndrome or PITTS. Dimitri is really not to blame - his environment has caused him to interact in the way that he did. You can only suppress a psychological neurosis for so long before you have an episodic outbreak," Greshenko stated.

That may be so, but PITTS is so rare that there have not ever been any case studies conducted to determine its causes and effects. Additionally there appears to be some evidence to suggest that Dimitri did not act alone. "We do appear to have an accomplice in this case," answered Sgt. McCloodle in a phone interview. "The photographic evidence shows another toy standing watch while the perp executed his dastardly plan." That accomplice is known by the name of Plastic Bird Thingy but beyond his name it is only known that he was purchased at a garage sale. "We are canvassing the neighborhood to get more background on Plastic Bird Thingy but I cannot comment on what information we have dug up thus far," stated McCloodle declining to answer any more of our questions.

This incident has brought forth public outcry against unregulated toy manufacture, selling, and exchanging. Legislators are in the Senate are drafting legislation which would seek to establish an toy enforcement arm under the Department of Homeland Security. SB-357 would seek to fund this new agency at a level of $2 billion in the first year, increasing by $600 million per annum throught the year 2012. "We believe that terrorists may be targetting toys as the next wave of domestic terrorism," stated Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas. "Most toys are imported from China but you have no idea what the original country of origin was. We have no means to track that. Al-Queda could be purchasing toys at garage sales all over the world, sending them to Al-Queda toy terrorist training camps, and then smuggling them into China to be sent to the US." The problem is potentially enormous with $4 billion in US sales of toys alone, not including the unregulated garage sales and black market sales. President Bush said that he will sign the bill when it gets to his desk. The White House Chief of Staff has only stated that it is an issue of "grave concern." Legislation still needs to be hammered out with the House bill, HR-1025, which is not expected to happen before the Summer recess.

Fortunately Jonathan was not physically harmed in the incident though for monetary expediency it is safe to say that he may have some psychological damage. "One thing's for certain," stated Fritz, "you won't be seeing Jonathan alone with any garage sale riff raff from here on out." One can only hope that the store bought toys are statistically well adjusted.