The Onion newspaper and website have been around for a while and they are a particulary good source for humorus material.
Here are a couple of particularly good videos linked directly from theonion.com

Anonymous Philanthropist Donates 200 Human Kidneys To Hospital

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas

Victor Olivia's The Absinthe Drinker featuring the Green Goddess

Speaking of Lucid (NOT the dream state)

Absinthe, is a highly intoxicating spirit that has been vilified in the United States since 1915 when it was outlawed here. It is a very potent spirit traditionally made from an herb called wormwood. It is then distilled to a very high proof (~125 proof or 62 percent alcohol).

It is commonly served in a glass specialized for Absinthe drinking.

First pour a shot-or-so of Absinthe into a glass then place a spoon over the top and place a sugar cube on the spoon. Then pour ice cold water over the sugar cube and into the glass. The mixture forms a cloudy fluid as some of the herbs in the Absinthe come out of solution and form a Louche. The aroma and taste of Absinthe is very licorice like in its flavor and carries a huge punch.

Absinthe has been the subject of much lore and was greatly appreciated by 19th and early 20th century artists and writers.

Frequently refered to as the Green Goddess, Earnest Hemmingway, Pablo Picasso and Mark Twain were notable absinthe drinkers. Oscar Wilde went one step further and was reported to write several works while in an Absinthe induced drunken state.

In 2007 the United States lifted the ban on Absinthe and several distilleries started domestic production of this wonderful spirit. A widely available import, Lucid brand, is a very well crafted French Absinthe that is made in the traditional method and has no added artificial oils or flavors.

Mark

Zak Evans, Couchsurfer from UTAH!

Recently a friend of mine turned me on to a site called couchsurfing.com. The basic idea here is that you register your couch or spare bedroom as a place that fellow travelers can ‘crash’ when they are in your town. You register on the site and can immediately start searching for places to surf. To increase your chances of being accepted as a traveler you need to get verified (a painless one time procedure).

I used couchsurfing.com to arrange a place to stay in Indy on a recent trip. I located a place for the two nights I was going to be there, found a person to host us in a spare bedroom and was all set. At the last minute my stepfather decided to go on the trip as well and he got a hotel room instead and we all stayed there.

Last week I received a request for someone to surf my couch on Friday and Saturday in Des Moines. It was a 21 year old guy who is traveling all 50 states. He is about 6 weeks and 17 states into it at this point. He stayed Friday and Saturday and it was a blast. I learned so much more about couchsurfing, and he had a great time partyiing in Des Moines until 4am!

My plan is to do a bunch more couchsurfing this summer. It is very affordable (read –free–). Meeting new people and seeing a city through the eyes of a local is a great way to travel.

LINK TO PICTURES FROM THIS GREAT WEEKEND

Mark

Lucid dreaming is not hard to do. A few simple tricks and most people have a lucid dream within the first few days of trying. One of the best methods to induce lucid dreaming is the reality check. The link below is a well written page describing the reality check method of lucid dream induction. It describes techniques to help your mind actually realize that you are dreming while you are in the middle of it.

By the way, I described my lucid dream from three nights ago. I did NOT have a lucid dream the last two nights. 🙁

I am reading a very long biography of Benjamin Franklin. My next lucid dream I am going to talk to him. (obviously I will be talking to me, but talking to dead relatives or important people from history yields very surprising results.)

Lucid Dream Induction Tips

Good luck lucid dreaming, and write to me after your first dream!

Mark

Throughout my life I have had many dreams where I was conciously aware that I was dreaming.  In a very small number of these I was actually able to take control of the dream and do what I wanted.

These were very few in number and at random intervals. A couple of years ago I found some information on the internet with techniques for increasing the number of ‘lucid dreams’ that a person has. I played with it for about two weeks and actually had three lucid dreams in which I had control over the direction and characters in the dream. Busy life took over and I kind of let the subject fade.

 Fast forward a couple of years. I am at the Des Moines Public Library a few blocks from my apartment and there is a poster with an announcement of an ‘author’s talk’ coming next month. The author is Robert Waggoner, and his new book ‘Lucid Dreaming, Gateway to the Inner Self’ is being featured.

I purchased a copy of Mr. Waggoner’s book on Amazon.com and I am currently reading it. I am only two days into the book and I made myself have a lucid dream last night. (I say ‘made myself’, but you can only suggest it, it may or may not happen). Lucid dreaming is just about the coolest thing that I have ever done. (and I have done some things that I think are cool). Last night I had a dream that I was in St Thomas, and in the middle of the dream I looked at my hands to see if it was a dream or not. ( A common technique for making you aware that you are in a dream while you are in the middle of it is to look at the palms of your hands. ) I looked at my palms and thought, wait a minute, I am not in St Thomas, this must be a dream! I was at some business in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. The business opened onto a dock on the water and there was a screen door from the business onto the dock. I decided I wanted a blonde woman to come into my dream. Oddly, the next women who walked throgh the screen door was a brunette who was not attractive. I asked her “why are you here” (a question that you are supposed to ask of people in your dreams) She did not answer me, she just looked at me funny and kept walking. Then I noticed a blond woman about 27 or 28 years old over in the corner of the dock next to the water. She was very seductive. I went over to talk to her. I asked her, ‘why are you here?’ She said that she had come to St Thomas with her boyfriend and that he was on the other side of the island. She stated that they fight a lot because “he is always looking at other women, like they were an anatomy lesson”. I asked her if she or her boyfriend came to the island first. She said that they came together. I then noticed that she was naked from the waist down. I took off her shirt and bra while kissing the back of her neck. We had crazy sex and then I woke up. (details omitted, have your own damn lucid dream!)

My plan for my first lucid dream in a while was to go in a sexual direction. I certainly did just that. I made that decision before I went to sleep. I also know that my next lucid dream will be different. Some of the things they recommend doing are flying, talking to dead relatives, talking to famous people from history and just generally exploring your dreamscape. You can also just fly around and see what your subconcious cooks up for you. You can direct the dream and will things out of thin air. It is very very real while you are doing it. I am excited to take my next lucid dream in a less hedonistic and more reflective direction.

TIP! Do a google search on lucid dreaming. There are many sites with great techniques for maximizing your lucid dreams.

Eugene, looking like the Nick Nolte Mug Shot

Eugene is a two-year-old Ragdoll cat with a wonderful personality. This photo makes him look like a bad-ass (he’s not). He is a very good cat who spends a good portion of his time hanging out on my computer desk while I edit photos and write.

This tree is from a single nef file. Photomatix one exposure HDR settings were used to make the image. This is also the first post using Blog Desk. The post was separately edited on my laptop and then uploaded as one file to make the post.

Mark