polrant--If being a decent human being was easy, the reichtards would have figured it out long ago

Merry Christkwannukahnaliativus--you can figure it out.

2011-12-25T08:09:00.000-05:00

So, here it is, Christmas, AGAIN!

It's been a wild and wooly (well, wooly for me is considerably, like, thinner than it used to be) year. Lotsa good stuff has happened, but I can't remeber what it was!

Life here in Upstate NY is interesting. We had a late start to summer and then a long, lingering fall. We've had less than 2 inches of snow the last I heard. Usually by this time we're up to our butts in the white (well, okay, gray) stuff and not having picked up all the junk in the yard doesn't seem like that much of an issue. It's been pretty warm (relatively speaking), only getting as low as the single digits once or twice--it's currently about 30 degrees @ 7:45 AM.

The house is slowly getting to the point where it looks like a house. I could show you some pikchoors, but I don't want to scare anybody!

Buddy The Wonder Dog, my new roommate is currently sleeping under a nice warm fleece, on the rocking chair which is about 3 feet away from the pellet stove. He's snug as a bug in a rug and I'm sure he's dreaming about the squirrels that he can never catch in meatspace. Pretty soon, we'll go out for a Christmas Constitutional and he'll be checking every tree, shrub, utility pole and guy and any people moving too slowly to escape, to see if his property markers are still in good order. Then we'll come home and he'll have his breakfast of roast beef, sweet potatoes, rice and green beans while I enjoy my special Christmas Gruel ( the same ol', same ol', oatmeal with craisins, pecans & maple syrple). Then we'll sit around till lunchtime when I will have some roast beef, sweet potatoes, rice and green beans AND some more special Christmas Gruel (but in honor of the day, it will be flambeed with a cup of Everclear and a soupcon of Dr. McGillicuddy's peppermint schnapps). Buddy will be havin' teh kibble.

In years past I have written "humorous" Christmas letters, chock-full-o-nuttiness, about the fictional goings on of various celebrities and politicians. I was thinking about doing that this year, but due to a shortage of the Rumnog and my Muse's having run off with the UPS guy, I was unable to conjure up the requisite imagery. I suggest, instead, that you simply google "GOP primary" or watch a marathon of those "Hollywood" exposee thingies. I cannot (at least in the last 30 years) take enough illicit substances to conjure up the sorts of fiction that is, in fact, fact out there in LAlaland and down in D.C.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas (if that's what floats your boat) or other holiday festiveissnees. I look forward to visiting as many of you as possible in the next year--and I WILL be travelling with Buddy (he's got an Amex Black!) so get out the guest waterbowl!

Cheers and warmest regards from your favorite uncle/peace loving dope.

Me and Mr. Picasso and, um, Klaus Barbie

2011-10-25T10:27:00.000-04:00

As of today I am on the gummint teat and it is sweet! That's right, allayouyoung whippersnappers, I turned 62 at 5:sumpin,sumpin this morning. I want all of you to have a piece of birthday cake, tell old fart jokes and GET THE HELL OFFA MY LAWN!

2011-10-21T07:48:00.002-04:00

This:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-ford/ayn-rand-and-the-vip-dipe_b_792184.html

is almost a year old but I just saw it.

Ford's article highlights the hypocrisy of one of the many instances where conservatards say one thing for the soundbite and say/do something entirely different when the klieg lights are turned off.

A number of my friends think I'm just too damned nasty to people with whom I disagree, that would be their perception, not reality. I am perfectly happy to debate the merits of laissez faire capitalism v marxist run GODless nannygummint. Or, I would be, if there was a marxist run GODless nannygummint in place in the U.S.

What we actually have is a fairly right of center executive branch, a very right of center judiciary and a legislature that is divided into a very right of center Senate and a batshit KKKrazzeeHouse.

Many of the freshman class of SKKKrotalMurKKKinPatriotiKKK legislators spend taxpayer money to flit about he countryside encouraging their constituents to vote out the wasteful liebrals who are throwin MY MONEY away.

Teabaggists are using government to try to abolish same--except that where fuckin', druggin', drinkin' and gamblin are concerned. they're all for draconian laws, lots of enforcers and hard time.

More later, I gotta go do some scullery work for a fundraiser tonight--

The fundraiser was a success, lots of good food and happy people.

This evening I was talking to someone who tried to tell me that Obama is the worst imaginable president and that he's done nothing and doesn't know how to lead. When I told him that approximately half of the U.S. Congress has a scorched earth policy concerning governance his counter was that a good "leader" would not let that happen--as if there is fuck all that any president can do about congress. Then he made a comment along the lines of the WSO protestors being a bunch of fools. I will admit that got my blood percolatin' a bit faster. I told him that the difference between the WSO and the SKMPF* (other than the fact that WSO seems to have some idea what the term "coherent" means) is that the Kochsuckers aren't funding the WSO,. and, oh yeah, the Teabaggists are, in far too many instances for it to be a coincidence, racists.

He then said that all Obama wants to do is bring bands to the WH to play. I then told him I was done talking to him because I won't debate with people whose arguments are racist. It's not what I really wanted to say. I wanted to tell him that he was a complete fucking asshole. I did tell him that he was a racist, which he denied. I am really amazed, sometimes, at the level of cognitive dissonance on the right.

* SKKKrotalMurKKKinPatriotiKKK Front

2011-10-10T09:42:00.001-04:00

Hank Williams, Jr. be ridin' in the Whaaaaaaaaaambulance; St. Sarah, the Impalinator of Wassilla be griftin' her indignorant supporters and the GOPinheads' candidates be implodin' on themselves. The true tragedy in all of this is that the aforementioned will simply be rebranded or replaced in the hearts and mindlessness of the SKKKrotalMerKKKinPatriotiKKK Front. At best we will wind up with some piece of shit like Mittunswillard Romney doin' backflip-flops to convince the FarsideRight that he's oneathem, while, simultaneously trying to convince those of us with brains that he is oneaus. At worst, well, fuck it, I don't even want to think about what sort of slime coats the bottom of the cesspit that the GOP has become.

The "Party of Personal Responsibility" has become almost incapable of self-grooming. The "Base" whether it's 2.6%, 26% or 62% of the electorate is demonstrating a level of teh batshit KKKrazzee that is beyond self-parody.

If it's not the fact that the talking shitheads parrot the demagogues' "liberals control the media" or "George Soros is buying the MerKKKin political process", it's their reporting* with a straight face that people like Missy Bachman or Herman Cain actually have, y'know, some fucking clue about governance. Meanwhile the protests on Wall Street and other financial centers--worldwide--, the continuing financial daterape of the middle class by those who are in the buildings on Wall Street and other financial centers and a host of other genuine issues are conveniently ignored by the corportatist controlled media**.

The American middleclass, with whom I swam from 1998--2005 (a period when I had semi-decent pay, health insurance and some sort of retirement/pension plan) is being decimated. This is not being done with gunz or goosesteppin'hobnailedjacknannies but, rather, by habitat destruction.   American small business is being extirpated in its natural range; not by taxes and regulation but by increasing corporate hegemony.

The small city I live in has many of the same names on the front of the stores that I would see in San Francisco, San Antonio, Des Moines, Chicago, Boston or Tampa--and a thousand or more other cities and towns.

When I go shopping I sometimes ask why I can't find an item at the local big box (yeah, I shop there when I have to) only to be told that they don't move enough units to make it profitable to stock the item. I'm not talking about exotic shit, I'm talking about a plumbing fitting, electrical connector or piece of builiding hardware. The big boxes have run the smaller stores out of business, one way or another, and they simply don't have to worry about competition. The local Wal-Mart and the local store of regional grocer both charge more for their products than other stores in the same chain that are 10-12 miles away. Why? because they can.

I belong to the local Chamber of Commerce and they work their asses off to promote local businesses. What's really bizarre is that he U.S. Chamber of Commerce does exactly the opposite.

It's sad that, for those of you with children, the odds are not in their favor. They will not enjoy an ever expanding economy. They will not be able, in many cases, to live the "American Dream". They will be living, instead, with a crushing burden of national debt that constrains or prevents economic expansion. Jobs which used to be done by well paid U.S. citizens are now being done by people who are paid much less, people who have no unions, no labor friendly legislators, no government controls to speak of on their rapacious and insatiable employers and no benefits worth mentioning.

It seems that the Kochsuckers and their ilk have a plan to return the U.S. to the days of the Johnstown Flood when 2,200 or more people lost their lives after a "disaster" at a privately owned dam inundated the city of Johnstown, PA; the days of the Shirtwaist Factory fire when over 125 women were incinerated in a NYC sweatshop; the days of the unregulated trucking, mining, telecom and manufacturing industries when money spoke louder than any other voice. They wish to return us to a time when governmental social welfare was virtually non-existent and public monies were spent, primarily, to fund fire and police departments, build roads and other public infrastructure--to and from the corporatists' business properties and damned little else.

Elections are coming up. Once again, the DNC is dancing as hard as it can to the right, attempting to emulate the heartlessness and obdurate, willful ignorance of the GOP. I have no particular hope that this will change. I do, however, intend to do what I can to slow the cancerous advance of rightwing wrongheadedness. One of the few things we can all do is to contact our pols and the media and demand that they be engaged in and honest about those things that are truly important in this country. I wish us well in that endeavor.

*       Read, "mailing it in", "lying" or other suitable word or phrase.

**     Which seems to be most of it, above the level of your "Weekly Shopper" publication.

2011-09-17T12:59:00.000-04:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhh, ssweet suffrin' 900' JESUS with the frikkin' laser eyes on a pogo stick!

This is NOT the post I wanted to write but there you go.

On Thursday last, I left the house in a bit of a hurry and, in so doing, donned a pair of shorts that were comfortable in a previous, less adipositive existence. I went to Fulton, the next town over, did a very quick chore at a friend's commercial building, stopped by his office and dropped off the keys and then went home. Gone from the house an hour, tops.

By the time I got back to the house, it was all I could do to hobble up the stairs, shuck the uni of the day and get prone. Sciatica, for those of you who have not been unfortunate enough to have it is probably second cousin to waterboarding in the torture department--except when you're being waterboarded you don't WANT to die.

On friday, after a truly miserable night, I called the Syracuse VA ER and asked them what the protocols were for coming there. They told me I had to speak to my PCP, first and follow his directions. I put in a call to the PCP (talked to the nurse, a very nice and competent young woman) and told them what had happened and that I needed two prescriptions, one for Peroxicam and one for Lyrica or something else that would attenuate nerve pain. This was at about 8:30 AM. Finally, three phone tags later, at about 4:40 I was told that the doctor would write a scrip for Meloxicam (a better version, so they say, of the Peroxicam formulation) and 5/500 Hydrocodone tablets (they're sort of like white M&M's except they don't taste good and they lock up my guts like a bag of Sakrete). Well, what're ya gonna do? Okay, so when will I get the meds? 8-10 days.

Well, that sorta sucked, but I used some leftovers from other bouts (never sure about the efficacy of three year old pharma) and got through the weekend. Monday, I went to the local clinic to plead my case, talked to the same nurse (whose only the messenger--I blame her for nothing) and told her I had a history of sciatica and not one, but two, MRI's and a four yeart old x-ray, plus the radiologists and surgeon's notes to back it up. I asked could we not just do a CT scan (quicker and cheaper, though not as definitive as an MRI) to see if there were significant apparent changes in my S1-L5 spine. I was told that they would schedule an x-ray and go from there.

To get the x-ray I had to go Syracuse VA, unless I wanted to pull several non-existent Benjamins out of my pocket for the local hospital to do it. So, I drove to Syracuse, hobbled into the medical center, had a nice lady force me into a wheelchair and push me to the Imaging departrment and got maybe 5 views. At this point I was in enough pain to want other people to suffer with me. But, instead I went down to the ER and sat there for about three and a half hours while they took care of other folks. Now, sitting under a sign that says "Triage" and watching them take people with a fucking headcold in ahead of you, who are pretty much writhing in agony in a wheelchair, is somewhat ironic to say the least, but I'm nothing if not fucking POLITE, so I writhed more or less quietly.

Finally, I got wheeled into the treatment area and put on a gurney. After the preliminaries I got an ER doc (Oh, yeah, they asked THREE times if I had an x-ray, an x-ray which the nice lady in the imaging unit told me would be there in about twenty minutes from the time she took it--digital, cool!) who checked me for a hernia (Okay, I admit it reminded me of HS--or maybe it was from when I was an Altar boy, I get confused, sometimes) had me do some range of motion stuff and a couple of strength tests and then announced that it wasn't sciatica but, instead, a groin pull. This was determined from the fact that I was experiencing pain similar to someone having shoved a piece of re-bar through my groin/hip area at approximately the mid-lines of the x-y axes of a line between my pubic bone and the outside of my hip bone and a line between my femur cap and my rib cage. This was also determined in the absence of any bruising, swelling or localized tissue heating. He intimated, in so many words, that I had given the PCP incorrect information and that I had reported a symptom as if it were a diagnosis, confusing the issue. So, in other words, I was wasting the time and resources of his unit by being a crybaby and (just my opinion here) shopping for meds.

I told him that I needed something for the pain and that Lyrica was the best thing that I had ever tried, as if killed the pain without any significant side effects for me. He explained that they could not write that scrip as there is a continuum of pharma that they must adhere to and that the ER does not write for that medication. So, of course he gave me 5/500 of oxycodone (the bitter white, M&M's), enough to last four days, supposedly and--thank CHRIST, he at least got this right--, 10 x 15mg of Meloxicam. It only took me about twenty minutes to make the four minute walk to my truck in the parking lot.

Wednesday morning I called the VA clinic, here, and told them that I had gone to the ER and was still in a lot of pain as the Oxycodone does nothing for nerve pain (in my experience) unless I take about EIGHT times the dose they have me on. Well, the doctor, whom I have not seen or talked to, does not agree with me. So, I ask if they want to see my MRI's and maybe, y'know, get a new one. They said that would be a good idea, so I spent a painful hour or two moving things to find them (full disclosure, I am not a housekeeping sorta person) and drove them over to the clinic. I ran a couple of errands, socialized (no alcohol) with some friends for a bit and then went back home and spent the rest of the night horizontal and feelin' shitty.

On Thursday, this is after 7 days of suffering,I got a call from the doctor, at 8:06 in the morning. I could not reach the phone from my bed and by the time I got it, it had gone to message. He said I should call himn back, which I did immediately. Still no return call from him. I then went online to check the status of my prescriptions that had been written last friday. They had been cancelled. It seems that the pharmacy in the VA hospital had "filled" them by processing the ER scripts. I laid around the house in various "twister" poses trying to find one that hurt less than others until about 4:00PM. The nurse called me back to tell me that the ER doc's report says that I am dealing with "spinal arthritis and a hip sprain"--not 'zacky what he told me--and that they would not be scheduling an MRI because it wasn't indicated. I was also told that I could try six weeks of PT--in Syracuse--and if that didn't work that they would then schedule further tests. I explained to the nurse that I could not afford to drive back and forth to Syracuse 3 times a week. Okay, they said, well, there you are. She agreed with me that my meds should not have been cancelled and that she would rewrite them and have them sent overnight (that would have really been nice LAST week).

Thursday night; wow, just not something I want to dwell on, or all day yesterday. At about 1:30 in the afternoon I called the clinic and told them that the meds were not doing jack and that I was going to see if I could find somebody to drive me back down to the ER--me knowing and her agreeing that it might not do any good. As it turned out that didn't happen and I spend last night wishing I had some heroin. I did take a double dose of the Meloxicam (a very strong NSAID--the usual dose is 7.5mg/day) and crawled back into bed. After another night of laying flat on my back, doing a lot of whimpering, I finally got to sleep around 5:30 AM. While lying in pain I managed to find an ESPN broadcast of the Sox/Rays game (Sox WIN, Sox WINNNNN!!!!) and I think it did as much to alleviate the pain as the worthless oxy dosage. When I got out of bed this morning, fully expecting to have to crawl to the bathroom, I was surprised to find that the incredible pain I had experienced when simply standing up had abated. It's still sore as hell, but that I can live with.

Now, the part that is interesting is that the "groin pain" and the "hip pain" just don't exist, this morning. A mystery of modern medicine, you say? A miracle of modern pharma, you say? Or is it that the "hip" and "groin" pains were symptoms of a diagnosis of sciatica? Gosh, I wonder if any of the people who never looked at me or never looked at my history or the imaging that I offered them will admit that maybe, just maybe, I DID know wtf I was talking about--Nah, that wouldn't be the AMAway.

This screed, btw, is not an indictment of the VA in particular or the medical profession in general. It is just me kvetching that healthcare providers in general and doctors, very much in particular, don't fucking LISTEN to their patients when their patients' "self-diagnosis" offends their sense of medical sciency knowing-it-alliness.

I just took the dog for a walkshitmarkin'therealm and he's all, like, "Man, are you over the screemin' shit--I worry about you when your eyes roll back in your head and you start talkin' in tongues. Makes me think you might go all KKKristian on my ass!". It's good to know that his perspective on what's important in life--water, food, shelter and layin' around sleepin' with his little doggy legs pumpin' while he growls and woofs--does not change in a world gone mad.

2011-09-02T08:34:00.003-04:00

Over the last two years and eight months, approximately, a number of people whose blogs I spend time at elected to eschew "politics" as a divisive and, ultimately., fruitless endeavor.

We all need to do what we need to do, but when we stop blogging about politics (and politicians) we cede that "marketplace of ideas" to those who are committed to forcing their agenda(s) on the rest of us.

I've been accused of being a marxist (yesterday, by someone who thinks my "belief" in evolution--I don't "believe" in evolution, I accept that the facts of natural history are best explained by the Theory of Evolution--is trumped by his belief in CretinIDiocy). I've been accused of being a liar, a communist, a liberal, a GODhater, an anti-gun crusader and a number of other things, none of which I am.

I am someone who does not believe in allowing people who cherry pick their facts; use the Big Book of Celestial Fantasy Beings; repeat--without the least bit of research--ridiculous assertions, intended to demonize their opposition to do so without opposition.

You disagree with me? fine. You disagree with me and use lies to support your assertions or simply make assertions with no support? Uh, fuck you.

The Democratic Party is in disarray, that's sort of the nature of democracies. The GOP is in disarray as well, but their disarray has more to do with cognitive dissonance, dog whistles pitched too high for any but the SKKKrotalMurKKKinPatriotiKKK Front to hear and long suppressed but never eradicated racist, homophobic, xenophobic and outright paranoic tendencies in the aforementioned SKPF.

If the history of politics in the USA over the last 40 or so years has taught me anything, it is this. Playing nice with assholes will not make THEM better people. It will make the nice people less likely to get what they want in the process of their governance.

Whether it's economics, fiscal policy, race relations, national security, social support for those less able or unable to provide for themselves, voting rights and a host of other concerns to ALL of us--letting the bullies lead is a horrendously bad idea.

You don't gotta be like me and pick fights with almost everybody you disagree with, but you do have to show some sack, unless you're willing to give the other side everything they want--regardless that it will never be enough.

A coward and his lunch are soon parted.

The edumification of Missy Bachman & Reason takes a long fuckin' weekend.

2011-08-19T08:49:00.000-04:00

It appears that Congressstepfordwife Michele Bachmann is aiming to be SP-Mark II* and St. Sarah the Wasillabilly has, AGAIN, quit her job--in this case the further cheapening (if such a thing is even possible) of the GOP's current campaign to regain the WH in 2012.

I was talking to a friend of mine, a genuine republican, who told me that his business is almost back to the level it was at before the Obamacession of 2008**. He said his business was on track to equal its revenues for 2008--if the politicians quit fucking things up. He was not talking about the democrats.

Meantime, between the Religiotards and the Gunzloonz we have more than enough of teh Batshit KKKrazzee to last through this century, never mind the current election cycle.

MissyB has said, publicly, that she WILL do what her husband tells her to do. Considering that her husband is a quach who MADE her become a tax lawyer and who also runs a "Gay reparative" MH practice, well, it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me if she gets in the Oval Office.,

When this:

"And it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,"

was said, by then Senator Barack Obama, it was decried by the Reichwing as a slam against the "average man". Well, I suppose that's true, if you think of the "average man" as being a mouth-breathing troglodytic, superstitious, religiofanatical 2nd Amendment fetishitst.  Average men, regardless their religion or political persuasion, accept that the world is NOT modelled for them, by their favorite diety--as much as they might like it to be.

Average men (and women, as well) know that this world may be depended upon, to be undependable.

It is a mark of one's intelligence to know that, "Shit happens!", it is a mark of one's wisdom to know that "Shit doesn't happen to me because bad people are fucking with GOD.".

Now, then, to the gunz thing. After months of reading posts and comments at Mikeb302000's blog I have arrived at the conclusion that for a certain subset of MurKKKins, gunz ARE religion. They are both a tool to achieve salvation and, in some cases, salvation itself.

I will admit that I have NO FUCKING IDEA how that conflation takes place in the heads of the gunzloonz, but that it happens is pretty damned obvious.

Seeing gunz as the tool for achieving justice, equality , security and self-respect is a lot like having nothing but a hammer in one's "toolbox". When all you own is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When your only tool is a gun (and not just a hunting weapon but something like an AR-15 or a Desert Eagle) than every "problem" starts to look like a would be strong-armed robber or home invader.

I will admit that I finally got a "home defense system". His photo is at the top of my last post. Buddy has exceptional hearing, an incredibly sensitive nose and a good set of lungs. He is my first line of defense. If someone breaks in the house--or stands on my porch, he's gonna make da noize and alert me. I'm then going to dial 911 and take my chances that the door and mattress will slow down any but the most dedicated assassin until the jackbooted Officer Friendlies show up.

I could say a lot more on this subject but why drain the boil with a single lancing?

Besides, buddy just read this and said,"Yeah, right, that;'s great. demoDUDE, throw me a bone. No, I mean, it throw me a frikkin' BONE!. Let's do "walkies", you know what a babemagnet I am?"

*      Sarah Palin, The Re-tread

**    Oh, yeah, go ahead and ACT surprised that the Uppitykenyatalizaridiantimetravellin'
      plot to wreck the MurKKKin economy was uncovered--I'm pretty sure it was in the
       Whirled Nuts Daily.

Buddy's new home

2011-08-15T22:38:00.000-04:00

This is "Buddy". Some of you may remember his photo from my christmas missive of two seasons back, or not.

Buddy is a mixed breed, approximately half dachshund and half gesundheit! You're welcome! He's convinced that he's a Rottweiler but I don't let him tangle with the big dogs, wouldn't want him to embarass them. He's also approaching middledoggieage, he's about seven. He was a rescue, by the lady who I got him from.

He's living with me because the nice lady who had him for two and a half years is terminally ill and she wanted to be sure he had a good home (her son has 3 chihuahas and Buddy, he don't play dat) I told her that if she couldn't find anyone else to take him, I would. I'm pretty sure she stopped looking after that. The good news is that Buddy is housebroken, loves people and doesn't smoke. The bad news is he drinks my beer, cheats at cards and farts, OMFG does he fart. I mean you'd swear that no 15 pound dog on earth could make that much noise and stench, I mean you'd prolly guess it was the work of someone, like, my size.

I caught him messing around on the computer yesterday, so if you get any weird anti-cat screeds, I'm not the one sending them, capice? BTW, he might be checking my references and credit rating. Ixnay on the ruthtay if you get my meaning.

Apocapolitics Now

2011-06-03T08:51:00.002-04:00

I remember when I saw the movie, "Omega Man"*--back in 1971--thinking that the crazed, photophobic followers of "John Matthias" were, fortunately, nothing but a SciFi author's nightmare of post-apocalyptic mankind.

Then, along came the SKKKrotalMerKKKinPatriotiKKK Party (know to some as the the Tea Party) to dispel that notion.

The current crop of GOP cant'idates stoking the fires and stroking the egos of their credulous and often viciously racist followers is truly awesome--and not in a good way.

Bachman,Bush,Gingrich,Huckabee,Palin,Pawlenty,Perry,Romney,The Dongald and others who are running, exploring, definitly not running (but exploring), definitely not running or exploring (but, curiously, still raising money, just in case!) and just sorta y'know battin' the idea arouind with a few friends and overpaid "conslutants"* make me long for REAL conservatives like Goldwaterr, Romney "Origins" or Al Haig--no, wait, fuck Al Haig, that bemedaled fop.

I mean, holeeeeeeeeeeeeee shit, is that the best that the GOP can come up with, the list of braindead or teh dogwhistling Batshit KKKrazzeefucks that are out there now? These are, as a group, the worst slate of potential CinC's I've ever seen. We're talking orders of magnitude. Teh Burning Stoopit that is emenating from this crowd rivals the flash that consumed the dinosaurs when that giant meteor was lobbed into the Gulf of Mexico by a vengeful GOD 6,000 years ago***.

If this was a movie, I'd rate it right down there with "Cabin Boy", the worst movie I ever sat through. But, it's not a movie, it's a glimpse of a future I won't really have to deal with for too long. Today's youth and their fresh-faced 'rents, otoh, will have to deal with it and what's genuinely puzzling is that they don't seem to give a a shit. Or, at least they don't give enough of a shit to actually educate themselves about the Fuckapalooza that the GOP's primary process has turned into.

If only that phrase, "eating their own", were true then the GOP would solve the problem they have created. I am saddened to note that it is not.

* The movie in which Charlton Heston, pursued by a horde of murderous fiends may have received his epiphanic moment of clarity re: guns are THE problem solver.

** No, it's not misspelled.

*** Okay, now you know what REALLY caused "The Flood".

2011-05-28T21:41:00.002-04:00

Blogger seems to be completely fucked lately. I am unable to leave comments at any blogger spots that I frequent. Might be time to move on.

What we need

2011-05-22T23:16:00.002-04:00

I just finished watching the first episode of, "The Meaning Of Food", which was on PBS at some point. Not having a television or cable leads to me not knowing a lot of stuff about "popular culture"--something that doesn't always feel like a loss--and I have no idea when the series originally ran.

It was quite an interesting program and I watched the whole thing even though it was very hard to watch at some points. There was a lot of emotional upheaval for some of the people who were in the program and their pain was palpable, as was their joy when they were happy. The process was quite affecting, actually. It made me realize that there are a few things besides flaming trolls and tilting at every form of power that is not supplied by wind, solar, sun or other natural processes that I care deeply about. One of them is food and feeding people.

One of the things I've missed most these last nearly twenty years is not being able to have people over for food and drink and conversation. It's been that long since I've lived in a home in which I could cook the way I like to or enjoy the freedom to ask whomever I want to invite to come, sit and share food, drink and conversation.

I look around my house as I write this and am amazed that after three and a half years I still have not achieved the level of "livingness" that I desire AND I am amazed that I still look forward to getting there. My kitchen is such that I can actually prepare food at this point. My downstairs is sheetrocked, largely wired and plumbed and almost suitable for human visitation. I have oodles of cookbooks, lots of cookware, kitchen gadgets and a genuine love of food--not just the eating of it, but preparing and reading about it, discussing it with other people and learning more about what makes good food great.

I lunch with a good friend from time to time and he always asks where I'd like to go. I always tell him that I don't care, the food is not the reason I'm having lunch with him. The food is the excuse to spend time together. Now, if I can get my kitchen in running order THEN the getting together would be an excuse for doing food!;)

2011-05-09T08:14:00.000-04:00

Good Morning:

I've been riding my bike of late. Not because I want the exercise, but because I keep finding shit wrong with my truck.

So, the other day I pick up my brake drums after having them turned at the parts store (this is fast becoming a lost art,btw) and am on my way to the nearest non-hydration liquids dispensing emporium. I'm going uphill against the wind with 30 pounds of steel in my backpack when a gust of wind pushes me to my left. With all of the weight that was on my back I couldn't stand up fast enough to jerk the front wheel off the pavement and right the bike. I tried going a little left and looping back and a car with three young ladies in it (that was probably going at least ten miles over the posted limit) was suddenly about ten feet off my port bow. She was standing on her brakes and I was going all ahead starboad rudder but it wasn't enough. I ran smackydab into her passenger side just ahead of the passenger door, bounced off, went to the ground and AMAZINGLY stood up, picked up my bike and got out of the road (a four lane state highway at rush hour) without getting run over.

The young lady driving the car was, to put it mildly, freaked right the fuck out. I was a bit abashed, m'self, but, other than a few sore spots and a massive case of "Jeezlouise, you stupid old coot! (sotto voce)" I was okay. My hip and knee did hurt the next morning, but I'm fine. I had a helmet on which certainly would have made me less uglified if I had whacked my head on the pavement and I was wearing a very slippery nylon windbreaker with a thick sweatshirt under it and dungarees with decent shoes. The factors of speed, weather, pavement conditions, etc., were not going through my brain in the seconds before impact. Nor was I "afraid". Most of my brain's activity was focused on my hands and feet. What little wasn't being used for motor control was involved in, "WTF!!!ing".

I don't believe in anything but statistics/statistical anamolies as an explanation for why some stupid things that folks do result in them being able to write about it later and other stupid things, being done, lead to closed casket funerals/Darwin awards. In the instant case, a statistical anamoly allows me to be able to sit here, typing, instead of being involved in some rather unpleasant alternative scenarios.

I have no words of wisdon on this. I do have a few suggestions.

Always wear a helmet when on a bike (people or ponypowered).

Call a friend and have them pick-up the brake drums for you.

AND

Live long enough to develop a sense of humor about making bad decisions.

2011-04-25T13:35:00.001-04:00

I had a conversation with a relatively sane republican* the other night.

After listening to him complain about how much teachers get paid and how dictatorial unions** are and how only people like him who worked hard all their life deserve ANYTHING and, oh, yeah, 2 MILLION ABORTIONS A YEAR--you democrats want to kill everybody except the people on welfare (while his wife, who seemed like a very nice lady, looked on with a somewhat pained expression) I was allowed my rebuttal.

I told him that I'm an independent who will NEVER, EVER vote for a reptilican. I also told him that my politics are sorta "pragmatic socialism"***. I agreed that teacher's unions are powerful and that too many cities' and towns' school boards have caved in to them for about a zillion fucking years--because they're spineless milksops who haven't got the balls to say, "No."****

"So,", I said, "We've got, what, about 10-15% of the population (not including the OBVIOUS bad, mostly colored folks, who are in prisons) who don't pull their own weight and just suck on the gummint's teats*****? Let me know when you think we're ready to start euthanizing them. He laughed, not because he thought I was being ridiculous; it was just that he was surprised that someone who doesn't march to the Bekola Bullshit Ballad actually KNOWS what will solve MurKKKa's problems.

Since starting this I was "treated" to a viewing of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77rtyQf6Hwk&feature=player_embedded#at=38

from a SKKKrotal PatriotiKKK Rally a few days ago. One of the criticisms I read on the blog ("Dispatches from the culture wars") was that the video was composed of nothing but "soundbites" and had no real "context". Well, I'll call bullshit on that. People that think, seriously, that The Donaldfuck would make a good president or good anything--other than the butt of a lot of combover jokes--has established the "context"--the "context" being that they're frightened, confused and angry and willing to accept any sort of "fix" for their problems, real or imagined, that doesn't involve their being inconvenienced. Either that, OR, they are racist, RWAD******, morons and assholes.

Some folks have opined that I'm a bit harsh in my assessment of such people. They are correct, I am harsh; and the Teabaggistas deserve that and worse for what they've been doing. I'm fed up with the horseshit that these babbling buffoons regurgitate after having it pounded into their otherwise empty cranial cavities by Rushbo and the rest of the talking shitheads on their AM/FM manure spreaders. I'm not interested in listening to idiots spewing talking points that have have no factual basis for what they assert.

Many of them are from the "Greatest Generation" and many, far too many, are from my generation, "Baby Boomers". While they caterwaul about cutting entitlements and social programs to the marrow they are taking billions of bucks for themselves from SS, Medicaid, Medicare and a host of other gummint funded programs. They all want "states' rights" until such "rights" include popular votes or legislative acts that go against their desires. They want the gummint outta their lives; until they need help after an "Act of God" picks up their doublewide and tosses it towards Kansas, floods their low lying beachfront condos or affects THEIR health, welfare and property.

They want the gummint outta their lives; except for picking up the trash,. policing the streets, repairing the roads, inspecting the food they eat, confirming that their meds won't, in fact, just kill them and a host of other services that THEY are entitled to.

They want to stop the gummint bailing out failing businesses and hurting profitable ones with "needless regulation" and gummint red-tape.. Of course, if they had any fucking inkling of what their retirement funds and stock holdings would be worth, without the bailouts and no regulation, they might be singing a different chorus.

They want small gummint, but they want it to be big enough to ensure that they can make other people do what THEY believe is right. They don't want anybody telling them what they can or cannot do--that's "socialism"; they for shitsure want the gummint to tell them durned fags and sortabrowns and poor people (poor people other than themselves) and non-believers (any sect that is not theirs) what they HAVE to do and what they CAN'T do.

They want to stop the "baby killers" from snuffing "2 million" unborn babeez a year. As soon as the fetomerKKKins become living, breathing, dependent children, however, they don't want to pay for anything that those children need, 'cuz that'd teach those kids that they can always get a free ride.

They want smaller gummint, just long as it's big enough to keep all of the badperpz in jail--4EVAH!--and just so long as it's big enough to take care of THEIR needs AND keep everybody else under control.

They want their gummint to stop wasting time and money on meaningless hearings and programs, yet they are perfectly happy to have their elected representatives go on endless witch hunts re: MurKKKa's mooslim 5th column or the president's providing proof that he's a REAL American.

IOW while they're busy protesting the greed, selfishness, stupidity, duplicity and generally "unchristian" behavior of everyone who is not them, they are at least as greedy, selfish, stupid, duplicitous and unchristian as they accuse those "others" of being. I'm an atheist, but I know, from having been raised cath-o-lick, that christians and KKKristians alike claim to be followers of JESUS. If the stories of his time on earth (which, most of them insist, are true) are to be believed, then they are NOT his followers except in the pious, empty-headed sanctimony of parroting his "words". The hell with them.

* The "relatively sane" standard keeps moving downhill as the "Overton window" moves farther to the right.
** He used to sit on the local schoo board but he quit because he couldn't "Walkerize" the PEU in NY State.
***Basic, affordable preventive health care instead of extrtavagant and useless end-of-life or publicly (not government, but you folks that buy insurance) funded emergency medicine. Other stuff like that.

****Oh, wtf was I thinking! Only "first responder" unions (Hi, Gov. Walker, you cowardly piece of shit!) have pay and benefit packages that are sacrosanct.

*****I'm pretty sure that the latest figures I've seen say 150% of the entire U.S. Budget is being given to the poor, so's they can buy Cadillacs to drive to the liqour store and use their food stamps to purchase Patron, Skye, Johnny Walker Blue, Cuban Monte Cristos and grosses of rubbers which they then punch holes in so's they can make the babeeeeez for welfare and then abort the rest for fun!

******Right Wing Authoritarian Dickheads

Ho, ho, humbug!

2010-12-25T12:33:00.001-05:00

Happy Holidaze to all:

I've been working up to my Christmas letter for this year, by fits and starts.

I started some things but found out they didn't fit.

Such as:

Imagine, you find yourself in a place where magical, non-union elves toil ceaselessly for12 months a year, just to satisfy the egomaniacal, self-aggrandizing, paternalistic impulses of an overweight and jolly (but he's crying inside) workaholic who spends HIS time keeping tabs on billions of little children, violating their Constitutional rights as casually as he flogs his overburdened and underfed (you don't think they're tiny just because of some genetic malfunction, do you? C'mon, how long you been out of school? Wake up and smell the balsam!) beasts of burden the endangered North Slope caribou. Hell, I suppose we should be grateful that at least a certain "outdoorswoman" hasn't just whacked 'em with her Bushmaster, from a low-flying helicopter. "He know's if you are sleeping, he knows if you're awake; he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!"? Our children is already having enough trouble learning without they gotta worry about bein' spied on by "Big Father Christmas", this affront to our 4th amendment rights...Yeah, that wasn't going to end well.

Then I was thinking about the movie "A Christimas Story", a perennial favorite since shortly after it tanked in the theaters back in 1983 and caused the recession that began in 1982. The movie has nearly everything a good ol' redblooded american--like, well, somebody besides me—would like.

Anyway, it's a great storyline. Young boy gets his ass kicked by bullies on a regular basis, has a crazy dad and ditz for a mom. The only objet d'art in the house is a lamp that's shaped like a lady's nylon clad leg (it sorta reminds me of the Guinness logo--I can't imagine why). The kid's only friends are even bigger looozerz than him and his little brother is headed for a bad end. With alla this stuff going on, the only thing our hero, Ralphie (it'll have to be "Rafe" in the remake) can get his head wrapped around is that he wants, no he craves and he GOTZ to have, a genuine Red Ryder BB gun to make him a MAN! Yowsuh!! Well, I ask you, is that lame or is that like just plain "teh HALT"? I mean , fer cryin out loud, a BB GUN. Nah, what this kid should be finding under the Christmas Tree is a .50 Cal. Barrett MRAD with the BORS integrated optics and ballistic computer. With that puppy he can take out Scut Farkas and his toady, Grover Dill--if they will simply stand in line-- with one well placed shot...hmmm, there seems to be some sort of a "trend" here.

Okay, so, once more into the breach.

Rudolph the rednosed reindeer was pretty much "the black elk" of his family. He never got invited to play the other reindeers' games. He performed beneath expectations in his lessons for “Spreading Christmas Cheer”, rooftop landings and “in flight incontinence”. An early and devastating “jones” for the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) -- the one with the white-spotted red cap that garden gnomes like to sit on* made him prone to flights of fancy. He had a honkin' schnozzola and looked like ye compleat dork whenever he got put in harness. Rudolph was pretty much reduced to being the butt of jokes (among them, a sign slapped on his withers that said, "Quirt me! ") by the varsity reindeer and hauling carts full of crap from one workshop to another while listening to the chief elf give him grief. It wasn't that he was lazy or stupid, it was more about being an "out", in a world of "ins"--hey, that's the way the snowman melts!

So, along comes Christmas Eve, a Christmas Eve like all the others when the A-Team goes out and hauls the swag for the fat man and then gets to spend the next month at an all inclusive stable in Southern Cali, lollin’ on the beach, chasin' the does, lappin’ up the cerveza and hangin' with the Claus.

But, this particular Christmas Eve was different. It was stormin' and foggy, visibilty was zero and the Santageeze was frettin' cuz he had signed some contracts with "performance guarantees" and it looked like he was gonna lose his shirt.

Rudolph was mopin' around his crib, playing with his Xb0x (“Wolf Whacker—The Reindeers’ Revenge) when all of a sudden the door flew open and the Boss stormed in. He said, "Rudolph, I'm told you can navigate in this crap--is that the straight skinny?". "Well," said Rudolph, "I might be able to, what's in it for me?". Claus thought about it for a moment and said. "Get me through this delivery situation and you can go on the "retreat" with the rest of the guys.". Rudolph pressed his advantage and said, "Okay--and I want you to fly in that hot little doe that was Bambi's BFF friend before he got whacked by that poacher.". "Done and done" said his Crimson Corpulence, "Now c’mon, son—lets fly!". As the bewhiskered one ran out to the sleigh, Rudolph took out his new I-Phone, looked it right in its touchpad, and said, "Your battery AND that navaids app, better last, or we're toast, hombre!"…

I think next year I'm gonna have to get the Coen Brothers to help me out; this storyizin' is hard work!

Hey, who likes cheesecake? Yeah, me too, here's a couplea recipes (sort of).

Chocolate cheesecake:
Crust :

6 oz Graham Crackers
4 oz Chocolate morsels or shaved chocolate
½ tsp Cinnamon
2 Tsp Butter (melted)
Break crackers into small pieces, place in bowl of food processor. Add chocolate morsels, sugar and melted butter. Pulse all ingredients in food processor until the mixture is like coarse, damp sand. Pat into even thickness in 9" springform or other pan (On pan substituions, you do the math, it's not my strong suit). Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, remove and set aside.

Filling:

1 ½ lbs Cream Cheese
¼ pt Heavy Cream
6 oz Good quality chocolate
3 ea Eggs
½ cup Sugar
2 oz GOOD Rum (dark or blonde)**
1 tsp Allspice

Pour cream into heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat until near boiling. Add chocolate (shaved or grated) to hot cream, stirring until smooth consistency is reached.

Put one pound of the cream cheese in bowl of food processor, pour hot cream/chocolate mixture over cheese and pulse until smooth consistency is reached, add remaining ½ pound of cream cheese and then three eggs, one at a time, along with rum and allspice. Allow food processor to run until all ingredients are well and uniformly mixed.
Pour cheesecake mixture into pan with pre-baked shell, pick up pan and tap on counter to level mixture (it should be fairly stiff, but not such that it won’t self level this way) and place in 350 degree oven. Bake until instant reading thermomter reaches 160 degrees (eggs will be cooked at that point). Depending on how “stiff” you like your cheesecake you may want to bake it for about 15 minutes longer. I find that it usually sets up pretty nicely if it is refrigerated for several hours.

Pumpkin Cheese cake:

I use the same chocolate crust for this. Chocolate and pumpkin are like chocolate and peanut better—only more betterer.

Filling:

1 ½ lbs Cream Cheese
¼ pt Heavy Cream
1 can Solid pack pumpkin (not that sweetened “pie filling” glop)
3 ea Eggs
2 Tbs Rum (as for chocolate cheesecake recipe)
1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, I think)
¾ cup Sugar

As for chocolate cheesecake, heat cream in heavy bottomed saucepan, add pumpkin, stir to thoroughly combine ingredients. Use same steps, as for chocolate cheesecake mixture, to combine and blend remaining ingredients into a smooth and even consistency.

As for the chocolate cheesecake, bake in 350 degree oven and, again, insure internal temperature of at least 160 degrees is reached before removing from oven.

Either of these cheesecakes is enhanced by serving with a hard sauce, raspberry for the chocolate and fig or fig and chocolate for the pumpkin.

* Hat tip to Mr. Michael Heath for his research and publication of this information.
** Rum may be omitted. If it is omitted, use at least one teaspoon of vanilla in its place. If you decide not to use the rum (Flor de Cana, 7 Year Old is an excellent choice) buy it anyway and send it to me—no, better idea, send me $35 and I’ll buy it myself. See, it’s win/win!!

The real news for this past year is that it was great to see many friends and relatives at family events and while visiting their homes. As for MY home; Tim Anderson asked me in a recent e-mail if I had before/after photos of the house. I replied that I only had before/during photos as I have not yet reached the “after”—and I’m not sure I ever will, c’est la construction.

I’m pretty happy, and I hope all of you are as well. Life has some ups and downs, the trick is to ride them both out and remain on as even a keel as possible—something I hope to learn to do sometime soon! I wish you all a very happy holiday season and a stupendous 2011.

Peace and Love, from your favorite dope.

Terry

2010-10-18T05:53:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm up early, absurdly early, so I have a few minutes to ruminate and what I want to ruminate about today is teh GAY. I can't imagine what it's like to be gay, any more than I can imagine what it's like to black. I have a number of friends who are gay and "out", I have a number of friends and acquaintances who are not "out", although they are not exactly "closeted", either. I have, to my knowledge, no openly gay relatives; then again, I don't spend a lot of time with my relatives as the nearest of them live about 500 miles away and most live a good deal farther away than that. I was born in 1949 when Jim Crow was the law of the land in the South (and, in practice, in many northern states as well). Black americans were presumed to be inferior and expected to be subservient and respectful of their "betters". People may well argue that this is not the case, they are wrong. When I was in school, at a catholic school with a very low "tuition" (about $12 a year when I was in grade school) there were few if any blacks in our student body--despite the fact that there were many blacks living within walking or busing distance. The church I attended had few black attendees, I don't know if there were any blacks who were parishoners. When I worked at one of several jobs I held as a teenager I worked with whites, almost exclusively. The only blacks I worked with were, in all but one instance, lower on the totem pole than I was--even if I was a new hire. Bigotry and prejudice were common and unremarkable amongst my classmates, my co-workers, my superiors, teachers, public officials and even my own family. I was made aware of my own bigotry when, while riding a public bus, I told a racist joke to some of my companions. They didn't laugh and I turned around to find a large, angry black woman looking sternly at me. She said, "Your mother would be ashamed of you for telling that story.". That was it, she turned away. I felt terrible, initially for being chastised and then, later, for having said what I had said. That incident took place just about 50 years ago and I've been working on acceptance, true acceptance of "the other"--to the point where there is no, "the other", ever since. Gays, or "queers", "homos", "fags" as we called them when I was younger, have had on the one hand, an easier time of "passing" than blacks--so long as they lived in denial of their desire to be genuinely who they are; on the other hand, they are still viewed by many people to be sick, aberrant, immoral or inferior. Gay bashing, literally, was a rite of passage for some jocks when I was in school, as was picking fights with the jewboys down at Central HS (oddly those same heroes rarely went down to the ghetto to look for trouble). Like blacks, gays have contributed much to our society. In the arts and sciences, public service, private business and education many inventions, innovations and improvements in processes have been the work of gay men and women. Like blacks they have often had their contributions downplayed or even ignored. When they have been recognized for their achievements they have often been unable to act as role models for other gays, without there being a backlash from the bigots and they have, in many cases, been subjected to verbal insults and physical threats simply because of their being gay. There is a tendency among us humans to look for a scapegoat, someone to bear the blame for the ills of our society. Down through the years it's been the easily identifiable "other"; the one with the funny name, odd speech patterns, strange customs, "wrong" faith or different skin color. Gays have had to deal with all of this; they have also had to deal with being misunderstood and hated for their sexual orientation--and, when being "out" for that alone. The RCC, many fundamentalist christians and muslims that preach a message of love and tolerance are intolerant, to the extreme of killing in the name of GOD, of those who are openly gay. The same is true of some governments that purport themselves to be inclusive. I am not gay, I'm fairly certain I would not enjoy having sex with a man. That I am not gay and don't think I would enjoy having sex with a man does not mean that I think someone who is gay and enjoys having sex with someone of the same sex is wrong. Consensual sexual relations between two willing adults is fine with me. So is a living arrangement, including a marriage (or a civil union--with exactly the same legal underpinnings) between two willing adults. I don't care what people do when they are in private or public as long as what they are doing is not a violation of the law for one group while it is acceptable for another. The whole DADT thing is, in a nutshell, bullshit; if you can fight and die for your country what difference does it make what you do on your downtime? I've been propositioned, sometimes rather forcefully, by gay men and my thoughts were "Man, what an asshole!" not, "Oh, noes, icky buttseks!". As a gay acquaintance once said when I asked him why the other guy just didn't get that I wasn't gay", "He doesn't care, to him, you're just a piece of meat." . In other words, he was just dealing with me the way a lot of guys deal with women--he didn't care about anything but his own wants. I got it. This piece is not intended to sway those who are afraid of, and therefor hate, gay people. They need professional help. If it makes those who already "tolerate" teh GAY move a little more in the direction of genuine acceptance, that would be a good thing.

Another, "What, me Racist?", kinda moment for Teabaggism

2010-09-16T14:50:00.008-04:00

This story (http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/local_news_articles/20100915/Naches-Tea-Partier-defends-float-deamed-%22racist%22) watch the video was one I originally read about over at our stalwart commander Jesus' General's blog but I just thought it belonged here. I posted the rather lengthy, spittle-flecked diatribe (but no 'backy juice stains, momma!) at ScienceBlogs after sending the note to Massa Groening. _______________________________________________________________________ Excerpt of original post at JG: I sent Mr. Groenig a note (which follows) in an e-mail. He has not had time to answer, as yet. "Kirk: It’s terrible that the Organs of the Security State came and shut down your tribute to MurKKKin values and beat you and your fellow parade goers before throwing you into the oubliette of picked on, upstanding KKKristians whose only REAL crime is not that they exercised their 1st Amendment rights to portray their abject ignorance and racist hatred--no, no, that's the Teabaggist Way--their only crime is really more of a dress code violation. Nobody in the video (or at least the 40 or seconds that I watched) was wearing a pointy hood or a "Backwoods Burqa"... no style, my man, no style at all. Oh, wait! I just heard that the Obamagoons DIDN'T attack the parade ala Bull Connors and the Selma police. Damn, ain't that a bitch, here you go to alla that trouble to try to be a martyr and the MAN just ignores your ass. What's a bigot to do? Oh, noes, according to a wire story out of Yakima, WA, which I saw in the Boston Herald (a liebral piece of crap rag, if ever saw one) you said, "'"It’s ridiculous when people say it is racism. I reject any of that,". Of course it's not racism, anymore than slavery in this country was anything but a jobs training program for those poor, iggerant darkies. Keep it up, dude, you and your fellow patriotesticles are showing the way to better gummint and, as a byproduct, closing the gulf of misunderestimating the genuine rage over nonexistent or manufactured problems that your corporate overlords have directed you to protest against. Hey, I notice Hanford ain't but a tactical nuke blast zone or so away from Naches (I admit I thought it was "Nachos" at first and couldn't figure out how them Obamexicans had got all the way up there), you're not drinking the local water are you? Just wondering." And, because I DO learn from reading the comments here (well some of them, anyway) I had to tack this on. "General, Sir: Per Kirk's (did you know, Sir, that "Kirk" is a germanic name based on the word for "church". Hmmm, y'know who also had a German name? Yep, Adolph Hitler) Facebook page, he's got something called "safemoneyguy.com." that he prolly makes a lotta money at." Additional diatribble from ScienceBlogs: Michael Heath: Are you auditing a 5 or 600 level "Snark" course. Your knowledge and scholarship are still showing but the invectiveindex, while still on the civil side of the "fuckyouasshat,shutcherpiehole!" red line it is trending up and the slope is getting steeper. Good show, my man, good show! Mr. James Hanley. You seem to keep better tabs on the "Internets" award program than other people here. Has Michael Heath ever won one? Cuz, if he has I should get a piece of it--and if he hasn't, he should win one or, maybe 11, and I should get at least one whole one for guiding him into snarkitude. Fuck getting those neo-nancyboys laid--I haven't met a woman (including the three that threw me out of their houses) that I dislike enough to wish that on them. Well, I mean there are Mickey Malkin, Little Offend Annie Coulter, Lowrent Ingram, Dr. Loudrant Schittslinger, Phulla Shitfly and the rest of the FauxNews Babes and the GOP's Batshit KKKrazzee Female AuxiliaryShit, but: A: I gotta pretty strong feeling they wouldn't take one for the "Heimmannschaft" (there are other german words for "team", but this one was too unintentionally risque to pass up). B: Neo-nazis, even AryanZona neo-nazis--bloody hell, even ILLINOIS neo-nazis!! have some standards about who they'll have sex with. Oneathesedays, I gotta getta life. _________________________________________________________________________ Groening IS a racist--perhaps unconciously, but a racist, none the less--and a typical Teadouchebag. I'm not a democrat so I don't gotta wail and gnash my teeth too much about their complacency, stupidity or moral cowardice in this situation or the hundreds of others like it that have played out since the inmates took over the asylum that is the RNC. It is certainly apparent, if it wasn't before, that governance is not the goal of the GOP; the goal is to win an election, any election, at any cost.

Special needs, special people

2010-09-12T14:14:00.002-04:00

I spent a large part of yesterday afternoon, at a "backyard barbecue for the families of special needs children. At around 2:30, after I had been coaxing smiles out of kids--kids whose entire thought process is a complete mystery to me--so we could have some photos for the folks, we took a group photo. Fifty or so Special Needs kids and about an equal number of siblings and parents. I'm on a stepladder yelling that they all need to "LOOK AT ME!". I shot maybe 20 frames. Initial inspection tells me I got a few good ones. Several of the organizers and volunteers said they were quite surprised at my being able to get the majority of the Specials to even face me, never mind smile, or give me "thumbs up". I was not. Those kids, for all of their difficulties in communicating, functioning at a level deemed "societally" acceptable, learning or even, in some cases, feeding themselves are reachable and teachable. I wish I could use one of those photos, take it to some of the other "group" shoots I do and show it the people that are pissing and moaning about having to spend a moment or two getting the photo done for whatever purpose. Show them the picture. Tell them that those kids, stranded somewhere that I can't go, are doing better than they are at this. Not to shame them, but to make it plain that there is such a gulf between those of us blessed with "normalcy" and these special people--and it's a gulf across which they can, in most cases, only gaze, if they even notice it. We can cross it, even if they don't see us or hear us--they know we're there. They CAN feel love. I can't use any of those photos, issues of privacy and my own sense of fairness prohibit that. The other thing about the event was that it was held at the estate (and I do mean estate) of the local political kingpin's family. They are old school Republicans and I saw them as humans, something I was not prepared for. They didn't merely open the gates and provide some space. They worked the event and spent time with kids, parents, staff and volunteers. I'm fairly certain that the assemblyman knows my politics and I very definitely know his. But, he and I share the notion that it's not just about controlling costs, it's about serving those who need help.

John DeNugent--Racist without a clue.

2010-09-12T08:49:00.003-04:00

I decided to just cut'n'paste another piece of my own from elsewhere because although it's parody I think most individuals with a brain will understand that, and will also understand that I actually am not a racist. I do however concede that some readers and unwelcome commenters here seem unable to grasp the concept so I just felt it necessary to state this upfront. Before we get to my autoplaigarized work, I need to tell those who don't know about this fella, John DeNugent, a little background. He has been a white nationalist for at least 25 years. Stormfront used to "heart" him big time for his Aryammering. He don't like him some ("all" would probably be a fair statement) juden and "mud people". He does go on about how countries like France are being, well, fucked out of existence the darkones. He's a loon and so of course, some folks like him for president! The following was originally a comment on this thread: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/09/de_nugent_continues_his_idiocy.php#comments over at ScienceBlogs. Dear Mr. deNugentodemento: The democommie family traces its proud lineage back to William the Conquerors little known adopted halfstep-brother, Baldric the used longboat salesman (a hint for longboat buyers, don't pay any attention to that prat who's keening about the beautiful new, 100% irish linen sails, or the nifty little "cap'ns sauna" on the fantail. Look at the tholepins and you'll know just how many laps around the Baltic this puppy's run!). The family tree, rather gracelessly referred to as a "weed, a weed what needs rootin' out, guvnor!" by some detractors, includes many branches, some burls, a few gauls (or galls?) and beautiful blonde leaves--but with very dark roots. We are of all three Irish colors, green, orange and black. There's a couple of welshmen and at least one alsatian in the mix (a nice granny lady, not the horrible guard dog of so many WWII Stalag films) so we are, generally, of pure british stock. However, careful and wishful genetical research leads me to the inescapable (as well, unprovable) conclusion that at least one of my forebears was a Kenyalizardofascist--quite possible Obama's father's great-great to the nth reptilodaddy. Me and Obama aren't just homies, dudes, we're brothers! And, since the presidency will now be an hereditary post--I could be next in line!! Dude if you think those muslimofascistkenyalizardo people are a bitch to deal with, wait until you have me, a pudgy, KKKrackerKKKrazee (just not racist)-- whiter than the insides of an Aroostook County spud--telling my fellow Murkyones that it's not just okay to messugahnasty with all hues and colors, but their patriotical duty, as well, too. Bring it on, you albionalbinoasshole git! Posted by: democommie | September 12, 2010 8:29 AM BTW, I love GAY people AND your general run-o-the-mill religionist or atheist a whole lot more than I like gunnutz--and in pretty much the same way that I love my brothers and sisters. That is to say that though I may disagree with things they do and say, I heartily support their right to do and say them--as well as their practice of doing so--as long as it is legaln(assuming "legal" to mean "constitutional") and ethical.

From me to you.

2010-09-03T08:30:00.004-04:00

Happy Labor Day. I wonder if the Reichtards understand the meaning of the holiday. They like to shout that "Freedom isn't free", but I wonder if they know that they have commies like Samuel Gompers and the rest of that commie cabal that formed the first labor unions in this country to thank--for getting them the day off.

The new Selma

2010-08-30T08:20:00.003-04:00

At some time over this past weekend (8-28/10--8/29/10) heavy construction equipment which was parked on the proposed site of an Islamic Center (not just a "mosque" as it seems to have been characterized by opponents with the full compliance of the SCLM) in Murfreesboro, TN was doused with an "accelerant" and at least one vehicle burned. Google Maps says that from 51 Park Place (not Hallowed'n'Holy Ground Zero--H'n'HGZ), Borough of Manhattan, NYC, USA!USA!!USA!!! Zip Code 11llty1!, is 886.03+/- from Murfreesboro, TN. So, it seems that while we may not know how far away from H'n'HGZ a MOSQUE has to be in order to not OFFEND the sensibilities of KKKristian MerKKKa we do know that a bit under 900 Googlemapped miles is just not enough. I am beginning to wonder if Memphis, Egypt UAR is far enough away from Memphis, TN or if Mecca and Medina (both in Saudi Arabia) are far enough away from their namesakes in CA, NY and Ohio to not cause offense--those filthy ayrabs want to steal our country--they already done stolet the names of our cities. Oh, shit, I almost forgot about Cairo, IL ('sides they pronounce it KayRo down there). It's just too much to expect that the poor, persecuted WhiteMerKKKans will not rise up and cast off their chains of bondage, rout the infidel and carry this Holy Crusade to the very gates of--oops, 'scuse me, I was speaking raytorikly. Anyhow. I just think that it is a very good idea and a civic duty to remind the folks who see the Mooslims as the OTHER (and an other that has a big shiny sword, a big hooked nose and a few "dirty" bombs secreted about his person and in his hollowed out Koran) that they are carrying forward the good work done by the likes of Bull Connor and those brave citizens and auxiliary members of the KKK who "terminated with extreme prejudice" those three commiejewoutsideagitatin' n*****lovers before they could ruin a century of amicable, separate but equal (har, har) law for blacks and real people./s Seriously, I am at the point where when people say "those people" I gotta ask them if they slept through history class or their own pre-1964 life. That we, a nation (supposedly) of laws, should think that others, with whom we do NOT share common religious beliefs, should be deprived of the freedom to practice theirs is morally reprehensible--as well as the fact that it stands the first amendment on its head. One more thing to note. This guy: http://www.nndb.com/people/936/000031843/ is listed as being a Roman Catholic. His occupation is "terrorist". He blew up a building filled with, afaia, 168 people who were NOT muslims. I guess that's why it's OKAY to have a statue of guess who? "On a corner adjacent to the memorial is a sculpture of Jesus weeping erected by St. Joseph's Catholic Church. St. Joseph's, one of the first brick and mortar churches in the city, was almost completely destroyed by the blast. The statue is not part of the memorial itself but is popular with visitors nonetheless." But is JESUS weeping for all those killed by Timmy or is he weeping for Timmy, himself?

If it's your own work, is it still "cut'n'pasted"?

2010-08-07T09:14:00.005-04:00

Happy Saturday, Dear readers: I been spending way too much time arguing with GODbot boneheads, but the following comment to a gent who signs as "oitotheworld23" (and people think I have a weird handle?) is representative of what's in this comment thread: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/08/terrible_arguments_against_pro.php over at SciencBlogs. Have a great weekend. @ comment 117 Dear OinkyoinkRevelations3:5-16: Well, when you put it that way... Scuse me for being rude, asshole. The problem with GODbots like you is that you make a special pleading, based on YOUR particular idea of what YOUR sects superstitious belief in an invisible SkyDaddy wants the world to be like. You might take a look at any law, ordinance passed or ruling handed from ANY U.S. legislative body or court* and see if you can find a phrase, "Wherefore, it being the WILL OF GOD...". I'd wait for you to do some research, but research seems not to be your forte. The result of your search would be fruitless. The reason for that search being fruitless is that the U.S. Constitution prohibits such nonsense in fairly clear language. Not that you'd agree with it, but I am not seeking your agreement. One of the things that fairly clearly illustrates the lack of critical thinking in the minds of dolts like you is that your GOD is on the one hand the "GOD Of The 3 O's"** who can AND will make the world in whatever image he deems appropriate (reserving the right to capriciously change his own "perfection" at times and places of his choosing) and YET you insist that he needs YOUR help in getting it right! Talk about hubris. Man if there was such a place as hell, being ruled by a being known as Satan (or any of his other labels), based on the way you and folks like you disrespect the wisdom of your GOD's actions, I'd suggest you all get your coffins with air conditioning and make sure they're fireproof. You don't like teh GAY? I got no problem with that. I heartily dislike KKKristian assholes like you. I would prefer not to hear, see or read about you and your ilk's nonsensical bleating on such subjects as gay marriage, the imminent demise of western culture via gay marriage, abortion, duckass haircuts***, engineer boots with metal cleats****, pegged trousers*****, halter tops, women's suffrage, etc., ad nauseam. So, as you can see (or, quite possibly, you can't) we all got us some differences of OPINION with each other. My differences with you do not make it legal for me to discriminate against you and deprive you of your right to be a clueless moron on the subject of other peoples' rights, under the U.S. Constitution. I realize that you have a hard time understanding this line of thought--your previous comments have made that fact abundantly clear. I DO sincerely hope that you live your life according to whatever marching orders you are given by your minister, priest or whatever middle manager your faith employs to bullshit the rank and file into submissiveness. I also sincerely hope that you stay the hell out of meddling in other peoples' lives (a forlorn hope, I'm fairly sure) and confine your attempts at eradicating "sin" to your own dark and twisted psyche. If I thought for a second that saying, "Fuck you, your church AND your precious GOD!" would make you go away and quit wasting the time of those who read your idiotic, logically fallacious and hatefully sanctimonious comments--while you, in the best tradition of "True Bleevers(TM)" refuse to actually, y'know, educate yourself instead of regurgitating the "received wisdom" spewed from the pulpits of your churches, the pages of your "newspapers" and the pieholes of Rush, Sean, the FauxNewsTeam and the rest of the reichwing disinformation apparatus. I suspect, however, that saying, "Fuck you, your church AND your precious GOD" will only further energize that fevered little brain of yours--so I won't say that. Since you did call me a "bigot" already (although I think you are not clear on the meaning of the word) I guess I should say, "Go fuck yourself!"--although I have to admit that saying it like this robs it of most of its immediacy and makes it less pungent and smackalicious. But, hey, if you're gonna be called a sinner, you may as well do the sinnin'. What is it that they used to say in my church? Oh, yeah, "Ite in pace", in english (the original language of the Wholly Babble) "Go in peace". Well, I certainly hope you'll go, in peace or not, just fuck off, m'kay? * Any, that is that has not been or will not be judged unconstitutional. ** Those "3 O's" = Omnniscient, Ompnipotent amd Omnipresent. Personally I subscribe to the theory of the "GOD Of The Three I's", the "Three I's" = Inscrutable, Invisible and Imaginary. ***,****,***** Okay, those three were only part of the dress code at MY Cath-O-Lick HS--eventually they got us all in to uni's. There were other rules about conduct that were equally nonsensical, but I digress--MAN, do I digress! Posted by: democommie | August 7, 2010 9:06 AM

2010-08-01T10:35:00.004-04:00

Good Morning: I was trying to decide on what to write about, there is just SO much that is fucked up and so little that I can do about most of it. I spend a fair amount of time at "Dispatches From The Culture Wars", Ed Brayton's site at ScienceBlogs and there's been a thread running for two days under the headline, "Sign at NOM Rally; "Kill the Gays". In that thread a number of bright, articulate, humorous and well read commenters have said their piece--I have also contributed.--and then, of course, the usual "defe nders of the faith" and an assortment of fuckwadtrolls have put forth their arguments, some coherently and some in the "Crayon on butcher paper" style of debate. It's a long thread, but it has some great stuff. This one, from earlier this morning, is as close as I get to the "polite discourse" of behavio, which I find so sadly lacking in our fucking culture.

(@ comment 253)
James Hanley:
This is from Wiki:
"Intellectual dishonesty is dishonesty in performing intellectual activities like thought or communication. Examples are: the advocacy of a position which the advocate knows or believes to be false or misleading the conscious omission of aspects of the truth known or believed to be relevant in the particular context. Rhetoric may be used to advance an agenda or to reinforce one's deeply held beliefs in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence.[1] If a person is aware of the evidence and agrees with the conclusion it portends, yet advocates a contradictory view, they commit intellectual dishonesty. If the person is unaware of the evidence, their position is ignorance, even if in agreement with the scientific conclusion. If the person is knowingly aware that there may be additional evidence but purposefully fails to check, and then acts as though the position is confirmed, this is also intellectual dishonesty. The terms intellectually dishonest and intellectual dishonesty are often used as rhetorical devices in a debate; the label invariably frames an opponent in a negative light. The phrase is also frequently used by orators when a debate foe or audience reaches a conclusion varying from the speaker's on a given subject. This appears mostly in debates or discussions of speculative, non-scientific issues, such as morality or policy." Not that Wiki is the most authoritative source, but I think it's close enough for what I think of Christian Cynic's style of debate on issues re: christianity. That I see it in that light certainly doesn't mean I'm correct, but it is, as is your opinion of the man, one I see buttressed by his words in the comment threads. I will also note that Christian Cynic does not spend a lot of time on the comment threads unless the issue in the thread is christianity. I defer to others (occassionally;)) in the face of superior knowledge. When it comes to factually deficient, woo based nonsense--whether it's flat earth theory, ID, other religious based foolishness or religions themselves I am firmly in favor of people holding whatever views they like (while I am NOT interested in reading/hearing them, generally). What I will never be in favor of is having arguments from those defending such things allowed the advantage of not having to admit that NONE of their precious religions (or those religions tenets, laws and practices) are justified by anything other than their own dogged belief in a supernatural agent--on (or more) who is invisible, unknowable and, apparently, irrationally capricious. I think that the majority of the non-trolls here understand that Mosaic Law was probably of some, or a great deal of, importance, in a time, the "Bronze Age", when rough justice and arbitrary rulemaking by those in power might well make the difference between a society thriving or dying out. That is no longer the case. When people like heddle and Christian Cynic defend the Wholly Babble as a masterwork by an omniscient GOD, while simultaneously saying that, of course "reasonable" christians don't follow the admonitions of The Book of Leviticus it rings hollow. Science is, and must be falsifiable; religious faith is not and cannot be falsifiable. To allow those whose arguments are "faith based" to act as if they are based in fact is unfairly advantageous to them. Most commenters here would laugh and point their fingers at anyone whose sole "evidence" rebutting the theory of AGW, the germ theory of disease, theoretical nuclear physics or any of a host of other real world fact based "theories" was that "GODDIDIT"--and we can't, by our nature, know his mind. This is exactly as it should be. I have no complaint with heddle, Christian Cynic or even the more than slightly deranged mroberts and his ilk holding onto and cherishing any beliefs that do not threaten me or the rest of society in their application. I have a huge problem with such beliefs when they are used to justify the withholding of rights from or the persecution or exclusion of other members of our society. I don't cut Republicans or Democrats slack when they say that folks like Sarah Palin or Charlie Rangel are outliers and, anyway, they would never act on any of their idiotic sociopathic ideas. When christians, other religious types or, indeed, unbelievers don't denounce the douchebags in their midst--particularly when said douchebags are well funded and have the tacit support of media or governing bodies they are being -best co-opted and, at worse, accessories to the acts of those douchebags.
Posted by: democommie August 1, 2010 10:11 AM
And that, folks, is the way I genuinely feel about those who stand mute in their churches or political meetings (at any level) and do not question or disagree with the elements of their congregation or caucus that are hateful, wrongheaded, deliberately indignorant "true believers". If there was a GOD, I would pray that he educate, elevate OR eliminate his most credulous followers--and the lying sacks of shit that egg them on. '

Is there a stronger word than irony?

2010-07-11T07:46:00.004-04:00

I was talking to someone yesterday afternoon, someone who had a lot of teabaggerist rage against the Obamachine. He was a veteran, as am I; he remembers when the USofA was a "REAL" country and he hates the way money is wasted by the idiots in Washington and how we can't just "walk into any country with our heads held high" (because we can't kick everybody's ass, all the time?). It was not a lot of fun to listen to as it was a.) somewhat unhinged ranting and b.) devoid of any substantive argument. Nothing but Rushboist talking points and credulous boobery of a very low order. I try to be polite in these situations--particularly when I'm standing in someone's dooryard trying to get a piece of information. However, when I have some snopesian derelict, living in a singlewide that, quite honestly, is NOT suitable for human habitation--unless, perhaps, the resident's last home was one of the Rio Favellas--telling me that my country has "lost its way", the Iron-O-Master just gets fuckin' smoked, knowudimean? It is a fact of life that each and every generation sees that preceding it as too dumb to grasp the obvious and the one succeeding it as lazy, shiftless, disrespectful and incapable of changing those qualities in themselves. I certainly have to cop to some of those thoughts when I look at the world around me but WTF? Barack Obama, warts and all--and he seems to have a new one every day--is, after 2-1/2 years in office looking like a genuine leader. I disagree with many of the things he's done and am quite pissed off about a number of things I wish he WOULD do and that he hasn't. The notion, however that the country is in a death spiral because of his mistakes/crimes against teabagmanity or any of the other bullshit that I hear from the deliberately uneducated fools or, frankly, flat out lying bastards who simply hate that they didn't win--and a BLACK man did, is just that, bullshit. I proposed, in a moment of lighthearted cynicism (now THAT'S an oxymoron) some years back, that we should have a third party. That party, the "Thin The Herd Party" would be made up of really, truly, serious, dedicated, no nonsense, rock ribbed pragmatarians--like me--who would adopt as their one and only campaign plank, the following: "That each of us should--to the desired and necessary end of providing for a civil, educated, intelligent and reasoned discourse between genuinely committed and concerned individuals on the MERITS of prospective policy, procedures, appointed officials and politicians to both represent and legislate in we, the peoples' best interest--strive to eradicate, at a rate of one per party member, per week, those useless idiots who clog up the machinery of polity and impede a just and hardworking populace from achieving true freedom, fraternity and eqaulity." As you might imagine, this platform would be opposed--by those same useless bastards that we seek to extirpate throughout their range. I knew that the process would be quite painful for some of us, pitting brother against brother, sons against fathers, daughters against mothers, cousins agains...well, you get the picture. I must admit however that I was a bit unnerved when the friend to whom I suggested my brilliant plan, looked at me and said, "What if you're someone else's USELESS bastard.". So, okay, it needs work....

Travellin' man

2010-06-26T20:57:00.004-04:00

I've been visiting my brother in Colorado this week. It's always nice to spend time with him and his family. He's a considerate and generous host (I belong to the "skipped sibling" group in that situation). I arrived on monday afternoon and we spent the afternoon and evening shooting the shit and relaxing. Tuesday we took care of a few chores and then a couple of my other siblings arrived and it got much louder (these two make me look like a monk who's taken a vow of silence). Wednesday we did some more chores and then drove down to Littleton, about 40 miles of bad traffic from Longmont, to partake in a short wedding rehearsal and a longer rehearsal dinner. We got back to my brother's house at about 10:00 PM and there were more siblings and in-laws there. Everybody else sat around yakking for a while but I was feeling out of sorts and decided to go to bed. About fifteen minutes after I got in bed I was offering obeisance to the circular file and then the porcelain god. First time I've puked since my thirties, but my belly was trying to make up for lost time. Food poisoning, for the second time, at a family wedding. Last time I wound up in the hospital--the night before my goddaughter's wedding--and missed everything. That was not an option this time as I was the photographer of record. Thank the universe for immodium and GatorAde. The wedding was wonderful--two nice kids getting married, tons of screaming little ones, lots of nice adults, a notable absence of fuckheads and assholes. I was feeling pretty crappy but it all worked out. Lots of fun, some great photos and family time with everybody. Yesterday was a 65th b'day party for my sister, Fran. That was majorly fun, too, as my sister Pat is the MC (Mistress of Ceremonies) and that girl likes to engineer the fun. I woke up this morning feeling a bit better and spent a lot of the day burning a bunch of CD's and DVD's for all the sibs and other interested parties. Then I took a short ride up to Estes Park, looked at the mountains, watched a variety of ground squirrels and chipmunks scamperingf around--while thinking truly evil thoughts about them and their treerat brethren and came back to my brother's place. Another smaller gathering just got going here (only 25 people) and I gotta go mingle--more later... The photos of the pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding festivities were a hit with all parties concerned, which makes me very happy. These family functions are always "pig out" events but, due to my recent technicolor yawn experience I looked at each piece of food before I put it on my plate, thinking all the while, HWJFIHHTWTCBU? (How Would Jesus Feel If He Had To Watch This Come Back Up?)--rimshot! Hey, I'll be here all week, try the veal--but make damned sure it's been cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, capice?

The reading list

2010-04-22T21:28:00.001-04:00

I have been reading myself to sleep for years and I also have books stashed all over the house and in my car for those moments that I don't have something else requiring attention. My current reading list includes the following: "The Eighth Dwarf " by the late Ross Thomas. I recently finished his "Cast a Yellow Shadow". His stuff is fun to read; interesting characters and semi-believable plots. "Pretty Boy Floyd" by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Just started it, but it already feels like McMurtry. One of my favorites by him is "Roads--Driving America's Great Highways". "Emperor Of The Air" by Ethan Canin. It's too early to say what I think about it. "Comfort Me With Apples" by Ruth Reichl. I used to read Ruth's stuff when she was at Gourmet magazine and always enjoyed it. The book is the literaru equivalent of comfort food. "Hardcore Troubador--The Life And Near Death Of Steve Earle" by Lauren St. John. Talk about suffering for your art! "The China Lover" by Ian Buruma. An historical fiction about a Japanese woman's life from being born in Manchuko in the 1930's through the turbulence of WWII and the postwar period in both Japan and the U.S. There are several other books that have disappeared for the moment, buried under a pile of the detritus of construction. I'll find them when I sweep! Nothing I read is particularly literary, but then I enjoy conversation more than any other activity so conversational books are fine with me.

The world, as small as it has become, is far too big to paint.

2010-04-19T20:39:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to keep up with things and it's a losing battle. It seems as if I can't spend enough time working, playing, drinking and blogging to get everything done. Well, the working and playing I can live withuot but the drinking and blogging are IMPORTANT. It seems that some folks (Aaron Kinney, you asshole) don't really understand that their opinions, to which they are most certainly entitled are not the great, fundamental truths that the rest of us live by. Aaron fancies himself to be some sort of rugged individualist who knows how the world should really be run. In that regard he is no different than I am. Where our paths diverge is in our method for illuminating those truths for the rest of mankind. I do so on my blog, in posts, and on other blogs in comments. In the event that the blog's author disagrees with me I will either argue with him civilly, or make fun of him. When said blogowner has made it plain that he will simply delete my comments, I stop leaving comments on that blog. Aaron, whose blog I had never visited prior to this evening, has decided that he will continue to put comments here--comments which I will delete as quickly as I see them. There are a few other folks who think like Aaron and their comments are also deleted as soon as I see them. I don't go to their blogs, though, because I have no desire to drive up their stats. I think in Aaron's case I will make an exception. Now, Aaron may actually give a fuck what his readers see on his blog--I, with my few loyal readers, don't really worry too much about that sort of thing. This isn't really what I thought my next post was going to be about, but, wtf, blogs are life in electrons.

You want someathis?

2010-02-10T20:43:00.004-05:00

The "Super Majority" never existed. Okay, we got that out of the way. I have been busy. What with working on my house, doing some pro bono stuff, taking a class (okay, it's only 5 hours on saturday, but it's SCHOOL!) and banging heads with idiots on various blogs, I been bizzzzy. Now the GOP is saying that if the dems cave on everything they will be "bi-partisan" and work together with them to fuck us some more. I am sick to death of the democratic leadership not being able to understand that they can either play the game the reptilicans play or go home at half-time and watch the rest of the game on the teevee. The "loyal opposition" (boy, is that an oxymoron) has demonstrated that they have zero interest in doing anything that won't benefit the people who own the HMO's, insurance companies and Big Pharma. Meantime they have managed to morph the failure of Bushco into Obama's problem. I used to blame this on the pols, but I can see that it's got at least as much to do with the idiots who watch and listen to the talking heads and form their uncritical opinions from the sound bites they get from those folks. I talk to a lot of people who tell me that they don't want to do politics because it's too nasty. Well, fuck that. Yes, it is nasty, but it won't get less nasty because you don't participate. The gunnutz like to make a big deal about how the German people were unable to resist Hitler because he took their gunz away. The reality is this: Hitler took the guns away in 1938, from SOME of the people (jews). The German citizens gave away their rights to self-determination when they failed to resist Hitler's criminal manipulation of the electoral process--between 1929 and 1933. If you don't fight you still lose when the reactionaries take over the government. Be loud and impolite, the GOP has shown that it's a good strategy. BTW, there's apparently a push on by the NRA and it's sturmabteilung to make sure that Starbucks welcomes gun toting latte drinkers into its shops. I think their coffee sucks anyway, but if I liked it I would be in favor of not buying it to see if their support of the rights of a vocal, petulant minority will supercede their desire to make a profit. the gunnutz say a boycott would never work. Maybe, maybe not, I'm not going to be one of their customers.

Christmas for me

2009-12-24T22:48:00.018-05:00

First of all, Season's Greetings to all, regardless the specific holiday you celebrate. It matters not what day you celebrate or for what reasons, just celebrate! As has been the case for the last couple of years I have been too busy in my head to sit down and make up the usual tissue of lies and unverifiable "facts" which were the substance of my Christmas letters of years past. It's not that I don't enjoy doing it; it's just that it requires a trance like state that I rarely achieve since I left my last job. Boy, those were the days! I remember getting up at an uncivilized hour, driving 15 miles to the commuter rail and then riding the train into Boston to earn a good wage, mostly for putting up with a ridiculous amount of crap from people who were even more unhappy than I was. In the evening I would reverse the commute, come home, eat, complain, go to bed--rinse and repeat. Taking leave of that job, despite the loss of the income and benefits was one of the happier days of my life. I have been busy for the last three years with finding and working on my house. It is an ugly beast, still, but it's my own home--something I never thought I would have. I've not been as happy with life in general as I am at this moment. I spend my days ripping old work out, measuring for new work, cutting things to length, throwing them away and measuring carefully, this time and repeating the process until I get it right (or close enough!). On the days when my gimpy leg and aching left shoulder are being less quarrelsome than usual, I do things like hanging sheetrock, wrestling a pellet stove into position (eight times, two different stoves--first one didn't work properly) making dump runs and so many trips to the local Lowe's that most people who work there know me well enough to greet me--or run to hide when they see me coming!

I've met a lot of good people and some jerks. I am fairly well known as the "guy who takes all the pictures". The camera has been a great tool for breaking the ice with folks--most of them, anyway. I now do some photography for the Chamber of Commerce; I volunteer at the local non-profit entertainment venue, The Oswego Music Hall , photographing musicians and I do pro bono work for any other non-profits that I can help out. I intend to open my photography business in the coming spring and hope that the visibility I've gotten from doing the volunteer work will be my "advertising budget".

As John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans.". I'm not sure what might have been, but I'm grateful for what is. I was talking to a gentleman, not too long ago, who is a world traveller and has been to some very exotic locales. He and I often chat about geographical, scientific or philosophical esoterica--both of us read omnivourously--and have some fine conversations. When I told him that I had not had the pleasure of traveling as widely as he has he said, "That may be true, but you notice things. If you went down to Minetto (a village five miles to the south of Oswego) you would see something that other people, including the ones who live there, missed.". I think that's fairly accurate. I travel pretty small but I try to see pretty big.

When this time of the year rolls around I do miss my family. It's not that I'm lonely, I don't mind being by myself for a lot of most days--and, yes, I do enjoy the company of friends or friendly strangers--it's more about not seeing and spending time with all my wonderful siblings and their children and grandchildren. I am so happy to be around all the little ones (even though I'm a terrible curmudgeon) and see them and their parents having a good time. Of course being the, now, elderly uncle, I don't gotta worry about changing diapers, although soothing an unhappy baby is something I'm fairly good at doing. The outings and parties with a trainload of sibs, neices, nephews, in-laws, outlaws and scads of kidaloos are really what I enjoy most about going to visit family. I hope that, one day, when my home is habitable--for those with more conventional ideas and traditional notions of what constitutes "suitable for habitation"--that some of you will come to visit, during the summer months when we often have long and lovely days of sun, mild temperatures and friendly breezes off Lake Ontario--a mile or two to the north of my house.

Now then, to the subject of Christmas. This Christmas season has been a good one., thus far. I have gotten some lovely swag from a few friends and a very nice gift or two from some of y'all. The goodies are greatly appreciated, but the cards and letters about what your families have been doing for the last year are what I truly treasure. For those of you who may not have my current snail mail and e-mail information, I'll include it in the copy of this that is e-mailed.

Gosh, I guess it got to be long winded, meandering and full of the usual sort of non-sequitirs--in other words, Mission Accomplished!!

May you all enjoy a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy and hopeful 2010. Merry ChrisKwanukahnalia!!

N.B.:

About the photos: Some of you will, no doubt, recognize the signatures/card motifs/photos; thereby knowing that your Christmas missives have been entered into the Frigidaire Photo Placement Contest. There are two rules, as per last year, for the contest.

Rule 1.) Cards will be advanced per a very complicated formula (including but not limited to such criteria as: child cuteness, family grooming AND--this is a big one--everyone looking at the camera at the same time! ) at the discretion of the sole judging authority (that would be me).

Rule B.) Inclusion of pictures of deceased American notables, printed in that delicious combination of black, green and now, colored inks on Crane's very best currency paper will, as always, exert some considerable influence on the judge. In the event of a tie, in terms of the more subjective criteria listed in Rule 1, likenesses of Ulyssess S. Grant, Benjamin Franklin, William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, James Madison and Salmon P. Chase will weigh, in inverse order, heavily on the judging authority.

N.B.P.S., too, also:

The doggy card is from my pal, Buddy, the around the corner Dachshund/God knows what else mix who spent his summer holiday at my home (he loves a place full of nooks and crannies to explore) and his mom, the nice lady who needed cataract surgery, thus necessitating Buddy's stay during her convalescence.

N.B. , Oh, yeah, one more thing:

Those yellow and shiny refrigerator magnets are my nifty german precision levels. They tell me, among other things, how far off plumb and level my finish work will be!

BULLETIN, BULLETIN, BULLETIN--THIS, JUST IN!

Many of you already go to "The Coyote Chronicles" . Those of you who don't had better do so. The subject of today's post is easily the best Christmas song I've heard in years! Happy Holidays, Mack!

Tolerance is sometimes a vice

2009-12-21T08:48:00.002-05:00

Tolerance is sometimes a vice? When I put something up on this blog, or read posts on other blogs, and the comment threads are filled with comments that run the gamut from humorous to toxic--that's okay with me. What's not okay is when threadjackers descend on blogs to push their own narrow agendas and try to turn someone else's platform into their own bully pulpit. Anyone who disagrees with me, here or elsewhere is welcome to do so. When their disagreements are based in honest argument I will either agree, disagree or ignore them. When they are obvious trolls I will do what I can to chase them off. By "obvious troll" I mean those commenters who have no desire to do anything but disrupt the thread to the point of having other commenters give up and walk away. Many of the trolls have their own blogs which, of course, they invite people to visit. This particular bait is not tempting to me. If they had a legitimate point I wouldn't be calling them "trolls" in the first place. Since they are trolls I see no reason to advance their hit counts. Occassionally, readers of my blog will notice that I have deleted a comment. Those comments are deleted because the people who have made them have been told that they would be. So, here's the short rules list. Say what you like when you visit my blog. Profanity, obscenity, personal insults--all fine, as long as you have a legitimate point to make. Personal threats--not so much. Those get screen capped and sent to other folks so that there will be a record. What prompts this post is my visits to a couple of other blogs. Both blogs are written by very intelligent and high-minded ladies who encourage diversity of opinion and do not simply excise those comments that they disagree with. Both of them also allow commenters who are, imo, trolls of the first order. I have no problem arguing, or even being wrong, when arguing with someone who is better prepared and relies on incontrovertible facts to buttress their arguments. When the arguments are based on opinion, anecdote, quote mining and cherry picking there is no point in arguing as they already "know" the truth and are attempting to convert people. That's all I got for the moment.

This Old Hovel

2009-12-10T05:39:00.003-05:00

Well, we broke a record (at Syracuse Airport) recently for the most consecutive days without at least an inch of measurable snowfall--something like 285 days. It appears that we will be getting more normal weather for the indefinite future. The current weather forecast for Oswego, NY and its environs, courtesy this site: http://www.findlocalweather.com/radar/ny/oswego.html. Today...Some snow showers early...Then lake effect snows drifting south into northern sections this afternoon. Blowing snow. Accumulation 3 to 6 inches in the most persistent snows across the northern part of the county. Very windy. Early morning highs in the lower 30s...Then temperatures falling into the mid 20s. Southwest winds 25 to 40 mph...Becoming west with gusts up to 60 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent. Tonight...Lake effect snow and blowing snow. Snow May be heavy at Times. Additional accumulation 9 to 17 inches in the most persistent snows. Very windy and colder with lows around 20. Southwest winds 25 to 40 mph...Becoming west. Gusts up to 55 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent. Friday...Lake effect snow. Areas of blowing snow. Snow May be heavy at Times. Additional accumulation 8 to 16 inches in the most persistent snows. Windy with highs in the mid 20s. West winds 20 to 30 mph. Gusts up to 45 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent. Friday Night...Lake effect snow. Snow May be heavy at Times. Brisk with lows in the lower 20s. West winds 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent. Saturday...Lake effect snow. Highs around 30. West winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90 percent. Saturday Night...Mostly cloudy with a chance of flurries. Lows 15 to 20. Sunday...Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s. Sunday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s. Monday...Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 30s. Monday Night...Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Lows in the upper 20s. Tuesday...Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow and rain showers. Highs in the upper 30s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent. Lucky for me I live at the SW end of the county, where we might only get a dusting to a couple of feet, depending on which street you live on! The snowfall amounts measured at the weather observatories are often wildly at odds with what is experienced in areas that are quite close to those sites. Hey, I got my pellet stove (actually the second one, the first one didn't work and I had to swap it out for another unit) and if my back of the envelope math is correct I should be able get the first floor up to a tolerable temp. I'm closing off the second floor to both conserve energy and to keep from having the roof get too warm and have melting snow forming ice dams up there. I think I've got a little record of my own going. I'm approaching a year of having my house be treerat free. I am sitting here listening to some Suzy Boggus and Leonard Cohen. I am also listening to the wind howl. I think the house is finally stiff enough to stop rocking in anything like normal wind. Last year when the wind was blowing this hard I was reminded of that nursery rhyme, "Rockabye Baby". Some fair sized beams, lots of framing connectors and let-in steel wall bracing seems to have helped immensely. Life is good, as long as one doesn't weaken.

Poor, poor, pitiful preachers.

2009-11-07T09:21:00.003-05:00

Mr. Jon Swift had a post on his blog (http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2006/06/warren-buffett-turns-against-god.html)--go visit and leave some love. I wrote a comment and realized, after it posted, that the post was done in June and that the most recent comment on the thread was a week old. Hey I ain't wastin' this (it's been edited to be more profane)! Dear Mr. Swift, Sir: This is my first visit to your fine KKKristian KKKonservative blogplace (that would be YOUR fault for having a link to this place at "Jesus' General"). I think some of your commenters are nervous nellies. They think GOD will get umbragificacious with Warren B.? Nothing could be further(farther? whatever) from the truth. Warren is doing GOD'S work. Every dollar that he shifts to Billzebub Gates for doing satan's work is one dollar more that has to be offset by the righteous fundraising apparatus of Mr. Reverend Robertson, et al. GOD'S just havin' hisself a little fun with his peeps' is all. Why look at how he got Oral Roberts to go all jiggy, back when he said, "Oral, son, GOD gots to have some benjamins; 'less of course you wanna get benched." The man worked miracles--IN JESUS' NAME!! Yeah, OL' YHWH is just sittin' out on the glider on his paradaisacal porch, sippin' some fine sacremental Pinot Noir, and havin' a time with Moses, Leviticus, Abraham and the rest of the GOP (GOD'S Own Posse) while David (another oneathem "1 Name" artists) plucks a mean harp--is that "Stairway to Heaven" I'm hearing or just the music of the spheres? Oh, btw, that bit of scripture? It really said. "I'd rather stick needles in my eyes (something JESUS would do from time as a party prank, like changing water in to wine or healing lepers, etc.,.) than be caught smokin' a "Camel Frost". Dudes, it's like kissin' Mary Mags. Gimme oneathem straight, high tar Luckies or, better yet, a Fatima." Those Essenes, what a bunch of kidders

A good cop

2009-11-02T21:15:00.008-05:00

UPDATE 11/12/09 4:14 PM EST Brad has informed me that the town has reversed itself and will be granting him a hearing. Notice: My blog's timestamp is screwed up. This is actually being posted at 9:43 PM (EST) on Wednesday, 11/04/09. I have mentioned to a few folks that I was going to put up a blogpost about an issue that I feel is important. That it involves a young man I've know for his entire life, the son of one of my best friends makes it much more personal than most of the things that I talk about here. I've known Brad Jardis' dad about 40 years, and I've known Brad's mom for something like 35 years. I have known Brad Jardis since he was a very young boy. In the time that I have known Brad he has gone from being a curious and very determined child to a smart, hard working, honest and very courageous cop. He's a good son, from a good family, who has always acted as a professional in his LE capacity and who has always been cognizant of the fact that he is first and foremost an officer of the LAW. Brad has been a police officer since he was eighteen years old. He graduated the NH State Police Academy before he was 19. He has served ably and honorably on three different departments. In the ten years that he has been a uniformed officer Brad has worked his share of petty and major crimes, domestic disturbances and drug busts. He has also volunteered his time as a counsellor for crime victims. Brad is currently at loggerheads with his employer, the Epping, NH PD because of his integrity, honesty and outspokeness. He is a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) an organization that is made up of law enforcement professionals who believe that the current policies of most law enforcement agencies, re: criminalization and prosecution of drug use is misguided and counter productive. His public stance on this issue is amply documented and it is a major reason, if not THE reason, that his employer is attempting to deprive him of his livelihood and his good reputation. Suffice to say that Brad is being "railroaded" by his department and his union. The charges are trumped up and Brad is fighting them. As is usually the case with fighting city hall, they don't bother to post the rules in a concise and clear way, so that gets added into the mix. Following the links at the bottom will allow you to familiarize yourself with the situation. Brad is a bright, energetic and earnest young man. He and I have had some fairly "energetic" discussions in the area of politics. We don't always agree, but we always respect one another's viewpoint. His positions are never based on anything but logic and his reading of the U.S. constitution and the laws of the United States. He's the only guy I ever met who actually keeps a copy of the constitution on his Blackberry. More to the point, he understands it as well as--and often better than--many people who are older and have made the study of that document a passion of their lives. I have suggested to Brad that going back to school and working toward a degree in law would be a great way to channel his energy and passion about justice. Whether he ultimately remains as a police officer or moves on to another career, he has my total support as my friend and my "nephew". I would be quite happy if any of my readers want to take this post and re-post it. It would be a nice if it went viral and brought the sort of attention to his employers that they are most certainly trying to avoid. Links: http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Epping+officer+suspended%2C+alleges+harassment&articleId=8738624e-5502-4f5e-9bb3-0bc45f22549b http://gamma.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Selectmen+deny+Epping+officer%27s+bid+for+public+hearing&articleId=e99f3b6d-556a-4a1b-9e1b-890912a46d06 http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2009/10/leap-speaker-in-nh-legal-battle.html http://freekeene.com/2009/10/30/free-keene-hits-the-raw-story-via-heroic-cop-brad-jardis/ http://rawstory.com/2009/10/claim-cop-turfed-pot-legalization/ http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Wrongful+death+suit+to+go+forward&articleId=89ae4274-a613-421f-a106-fa3fad3486e9 http://forum.freekeene.com/index.php?topic=1786.msg21054#msg21054

2009-10-24T23:48:00.003-04:00

Good Morning: For those of you who might be unfamiliar with my vital statistics, suffice to say that today has been a long time coming. For the rest of you, I have officially crossed the line; I will be, henceforth, a curdmudgeon, fogie, old fool or whatever it is you're calling men who are the over 59 in your neck of the woods. I share a birthday with some notable folks including Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (can you imagine what his fucking driver's license must have looked like?!). There are others, including--but not limited to--Georges Bizet, French composer; John Heisman, American football coach; Richard E. Byrd, American explorer; Minnie Pearl, American comedienne and singer; Klaus Barbie, Nazi war criminal; Billy Barty, American actor; Marion Ross, American actress (Richie Cunningham's mom); Bobby Knight, American basketball coach; James Carville, American political operative; Mike Eruzione, American hockey player; Nancy Cartwright, American voice actress (the voice of Bart Simpson); Pedro Martínez, Dominican Major League Baseball player;Midori, Japanese violinist. Now then, with the exception of Klaus B., Bobby Fucking Knight and James Carville, that's a pretty good group. I thought of the accomplishments and achievements of that group of people and thought I could best express my feeling about turning 60 this a.m. by quoting one of them. For those of you who think that just by getting old I will be forced to grow up--"Eat my shorts!". I'm going to boogie till I party and puke like it's 1999.

2009-10-13T08:17:00.004-04:00

For your edification, a recently discovered fragment from Genesis. Mr. Snake: "Honey, I'm home!" Mrs. Snake: "Oh, good, dinner's nearly ready; I just have to constrict a couple of more voles. How was your day?" Mr. Snake: "Oh, you know, same ol', same ol'. I slithered around in the garden for a while, curdled the cow's milk, scared the poop out of Eve--that kind of stuff. Oh, btw, if you haven't already done those voles, hold off. I had a late rat and I'm not terribly hungry." Mrs. Snake: "Oh, that's alright honey, we'll just have them for breakfast (if you don't mange them during the "Survivor--The Neolitihic Dinosaur Era" marathon, tonight). Say, did you take a meeting with the creator and straighten out that whole talking thing?" Mr. Snake: "Yeah, that was a waste of time. He says that it's just not part of the gig. It was a "one time" event, he got what he needed and we get the shit end of the stick. He says that although the downside is that we are feared, reviled and extirpated by those idiot Two Leggers--and have no way to explain what happended-- that there is an upside. We'll never have to tithe OR pay taxes. He thought his little joke was pretty hilarious, what a prick! I just wish I had hands for long enough to flip him off, the asshole!" Mrs. Snake: "Oh, honey, don't do that to yourself; YWHW kicks your ass around enough as it is (it's just an expression--snakes don't have asses). Hey, how about I fix you a nice V&A (Venom and Antivenon), light on teh "A", you kick back and watch some of those cobra/mongoose pornos and we just kick back and twine our brains out? The voles aren't going anywhere."

You can please some of the people all of the time...

2009-10-12T22:55:00.006-04:00

This post was written in reply to something someone said over at ScienceBlogs re: the Nobel Peace Prize. The general public seems ambivalent about Mr. Obama's having been awarded the prize and the GOP is of course making hay out of it. I am just weary of it all: Nomen Nescio: The nature of the Democratic Party has always been to fracture into a lot of different, competing groups. The nature of the GOP (at least in the last 40 years) has been to place party unity above principle, integrity and honor. that "nature" has proven to be a game winner, if winning elections is all that one cares about. I accept your criticisms of Obama and the dems as valid. I'm an independent and always have been. I'm left on social issues and centrist on most other stuff. I don't vote democratic tickets because I like them. I vote them because I perceive them to be the party that will do the least damage to my country. I know a number of republicans who told me that voting for Obama would not change anything. I told them they were wrong, because, I said, if Obama got elected my nation would die more slowly. Most of them laughed at my joke; I wasn't kidding. There is a shitload of anger (rage, actually) in a lot of peoples' hearts these days. People who don't know a fucking thing about the process of governance talk openly about killing the man they say is ruining the USA. What would be funny, if it wasn't so tragic is that they are being played like fiddles by the reichwing and the people who stand to profit most by the continued divisiveness. We expect Mr. Obama to be someone who is different from his predecessors, someone who is better than other politicians. We are disappointed that he is not--and we should be. That is OUR nature, to be disappointed when promises are not kept, when we feel we have been lied to and played for fools. Perhaps our disappointment will be fleeting, perhaps it will be profound. Maybe Mr. Obama will suddenly make a momentous change, as did Mr. DeKlerk upon becoming the leader of South Africa. Who knows? Not me, certainly. All I can do is all I can. I will continue to believe that there is purpose in this presidency, even though I don't understand what that purpose might be. I do wish Martin Luther King, Jr. was here to help, to lend his counsel. I won't be around twenty years from now (miracles of modern science notwithstanding) but I'd like to think my country will be. Is that an odd notion for someone who doesn't open his mail because it might hold bills?

Bounty

2009-08-30T11:36:00.007-04:00

Well, I finally got my kitchen sink installed (temporarily, anyway) in my kitchen island. I was looking for something to do with the produce that I had piling up in the fridge and I thoughgt to myself, "GigundaSalad". Starting with the incredibly sweet heirloom, organic tomatoes I picked up at the Oswego Farmers' Market, a couple of days ago. These tomatoes are old europe at its best. IIRC they are called "German Stripes". They are as sweet as a peach. Chopped them into largish chunks. Then I added about half of a red onion (approximately baby's head size), a pair of cukes, 2 ribs of celery, a handful of calamata olives, 1/4 cup of capers, 1 nice braeburn apple and some frozen corn and peas. Then I opened a can of black beans and a can of garbanzos (drain the garbanzos, RINSE the black beans--unless you like very dark salad). After a thorough stirring of the ingredients, I let them rest in a 4 qt stainless bowl. I then made a dressing with OJ, cider vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, canola and hazelnut oils, GARLIC (yes, that much!!) salt, black pepper, powdered ancho chilies, basil, oregano, a tablespoon or so of brown sugar, about a 1/4 tsp of curry powder and a healthy pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg--quantities are all "to taste". Total volume of dressing was about a pint. It's macerating in the fridge for a few hours. Four days later: Ummm, umm. Good Salad. I ate about 2/3 and gave a couple of friends some to try. It was a little on the sweet side of sweet/savory. Next time I'll use less OJ or no apple. Wasn't it nice that I wrote a post with no overtly political stuff in it? Oh,yeah, fuck Glen Beck.

Compare and Contrast

2009-08-28T07:46:00.003-04:00

Ted Kennedy will be laid to rest tomorrow, near the graves of his brothers Jack and Bobby. While I don't believe in an afterlife, I do believe that all three of Joe's boys, each with foibles of his own, did perform heroic service in their duties to their country and deserve to be laid in the hallowed ground of Arlington. Senator Kennedy's life, warts and all, has been thoroughly examined, for at least the last 41 years, so I won't be doing that. What I will say is this. Ted Kennedy has been criticized as a drunkard, a murderer, a serial philanderer, a "limousine liberal" dilettante, a fellow traveller, a terrorist appeaser and a traitor (and that's not an exhaustive list, by any means) by the reichwing idiots who are rejoicing at the news of his death. It is ironic, imo, that so many people who hate the late senator (and, yes, "hate" is the correct tense) are alive because of his tireless advocacy for those who needed help and whose voices could not be heard. So many social welfare programs, which many of his critics benefit from, were championed by Ted. If there IS an afterlife, Ted must be chuckling to himself as he listens to their insults and whining. I look at the role models for the fundies and reichwingers: Frist, Reagan, Falwell, Nixon, Gingrich, North, Dobson, Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, Palin and the "Plumber"--a melange of self-absorbed, paranoic, manipulative and delusional opportunists--and all I can think is "give me a boozy womanizer who actually gives a fuck about somebody else, any day." Rest in peace, Ted.

A new Jason Appuzzo film in the works.

2009-08-23T10:05:00.004-04:00

What should be in the works is a new Star Trek movie where they go back in time to the mid-21st century where The United State of Godmerica is waging endless war against the Islamosecularists and surviving on Soylent Grayishbrown (having finally settled both the illegal immigration and care for the aging problems--um, hmmm--tastes just like chicken!) to do battle with the Baseborg. I have a great idea for the "deafers" too. They can have this really cool video where a granny, surrounded by her loving family is getting ready to blow out the candles on a birfday cake, while a hearse glides silently up to the curb--a hearse with the logo of the Dept. of Health and Human Services/FDA, Soylent Green Division. We see granny, a surprisingly spry looking 80 year old, with a nice rack, nary a wrinkle and no glasses, preparing to blow out her candles--all 80 of them, by herself. In the background "Happy Birthday" plays; and then, strangely, it morphs into Mozart's Requiem (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkT07TP-mo). We watch in horror as the whitecoated, jackbooted thugs of the SEC (State Eugenics Collective) use a battering ram to gain entry and start to drag the "surprisingly spry granny" (that will be ad copy for the trailer) towards the yawning maw of their shining, black BFI/Deathstar 666, Mark 2 combination ex-sanguinator, eviscerator, compactor and mulcher. We are resigned to defeat; but, wait! The dining room table suddenly rises from the floor to reveal Numchuck Norris in his best "Braddock" headband with his trusty belt-fed M-60 machine gun(call him old fashioned, he goes with what works), dealing death and scowls with equal effect. At this moment, the rest of the family deploy a virtual arsenal of weaponry, ranging from a flintlock rifle to a shoulder launched Stinger missile and annihilate the anti-KKKristian merchants of death as the sound track once again changes to a medley of "Stayin' Alive", "The Electric Slide" and "God Bless th USA". As the dying "Angels of Death" bleed out on the lawn, and their vehicle blazes in the background, granny gathers her brood and says with a smile, "THANK GOD, we clobbered those bastards. Let's go eat some cake." And her grandson says, in pop-eyed wonderment, "Gee, gran, do you think you can blow out the hearse after you do the candles?". Much laughter ensues. I've updated my "deafers" slogan: "You can have my self-determination when you can pry it from my cold, dead--because of being denied coverage/necessary procedures--fingers."

Recycling an old joke & the prescience of good Science Fiction

2009-08-21T09:16:00.007-04:00

The "birfers" and "deafers" are beginning to become the blackhole of batshit KKKrazy in our nation. The pull of teh Stoopid is so great that no light--of either scholarship or humor--may escape. To recycle an old joke: So, Satan takes a meeting with the entire GOP leadership and the reichwing's talking shitheads. He shows them a powerpoint of the world gone amok; war, pestilence, famine, endlessly proliferating tv reality shows and says: "This can be yours--and it can be very, very profitable. The only thing I require is the blood sacrifice of your entire base of useful idiots--AND your souls." Newt Gingrich, the group's spokesslime says, "What's the catch?" ----------------------- Watching these people, or reading their rants, is alternately hilarious and disheartening. I recommend reading C.M. Kornbluth's "The Marching Morons" (1951) @ http://www.wattpad.com/111513-Th...M-Kornbluth? p=1 Which includes this Palinesque line: "the broadcast drama about you and your neighbors, folksy people, ordinary people, real people!" useful idiots, indeed. I added this link: http://www.sacbee.com/static/newsroom/swf/april07/mother/ (Thanks to Mack @ Coyote Chronicles--http://coyotechronicles.wordpress.com/) This is a difficult thing to look at. It is about love and pain and the hell of losing one's child to a devestating disease. What strikes me is not just the emotional aspect but the obviousness of a cold hard fact. The young man in the photographs had what must have been exceptional medical care and still was in agony from his treatments and died far too young. I can only imagine what it would have been like for his loved ones to go through this with no help from the government or (oxymoron warning) a compassionate HMO/Insurer. Please forward this link to everyone who tells you they don't think we need to overhaul our healthcare system.

Who says honesty is the best policy?

2009-08-17T23:08:00.003-04:00

Well, it looks like you can fool way too many people, way too much of the time. It appears that without having any verifiable facts on their side, the Liars for Freedom of the GOP, paid industry shills and the credulous boobs who are their useful idiots have scared the president and the U.S. Congress into making healthcare reform as big a failure as possible. I'm not hearing shit from my Senators as a result of sending my letter last saturday; my congressman is someone whose help I would neither ask for, nor expect. I am, quite simply, stunned by the lack of concern on the part of most americans in reaction to this issue. To put it bluntly, most of them just don't fucking care. They don't write letters or have public rallies or DO anything, except complain. Most aren't even doing that. The topic of discussion, in most places I go, is NOT the healthcare crisis. Well, I'm still going to give a fuck, and I'm still going to get all pissy and nasty with assholes who try to tell me that "we can't afford" change. I've coined a neologism (I hope!); "Indignorant". It's for the idiots who rail against a healthcare plan that is not only NOT intended to take away their rights, but is intended to operate in a better way than what we currently have. They're totally pissed and yet have no idea why they should be. Nobody I've talked to who is totally opposed to the plan really has any cogent arguments. It's a lot of hand waving and word salad--they're indignorant, AND DAMNED PROUD OF IT!!

More "I'm mad as hell, and I got a friggin' puter, so there."

2009-08-14T13:35:00.002-04:00

This is the text of the letter I sent to the NY Democratic Party's HQ, and my two senators. My Congressman is Rep., John McHugh, who is Obama's pick for Sec'y of the Army and someone I've not got much use for. I realized, after sending it, that I had typed one sentence twice, in different parts of the note. I decided to leave it in, as these people, obviously have very short attention spans. Feel free to use all or part of it. --------------------------------------- Dear (Scumbag congress critter of choice): This oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.", if I have it right, is the one that all members of the U.S. Congress swear to when they are seated. Many of your colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, are derelict in those sworn duties. It is becoming apparent, once again, that the congress, one that is--theoretically, at least--controlled by your party is about to roll over and beg. Instead of doing for your constituents what you have promised, in taking your oath of office, to do, you are simply caving to public opinion, threats from the GOP and parties whose only intent in attending your "Town Hall Meetings" is to disrupt them. Stop it. Stop acting as if you don't know how to fight. Stop allowing paid health industry shills, agents provocateur and credulous dupes to dictate the rules of your conduct. Stop acting as if what they are saying has ANY merit whatsoever. Stop conceding defeat to the judases of the GOP and some in your own ranks that are, again, willing to screw not only their constituents, but yours, for their own political gain. Do what is right. Tell the American people, your supposed bosses that you know that they need and deserve a genuine healthcare plan, not some cobbled together piece of useless verbiage that is filled with new ways to squander OUR money while doing nothing to alleviate the suffering of millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans in a time of great need. Stop wasting valuable time by allowing the "deathers" to derail the agenda of a meeting in order to keep any discussion, about the merits of the plan, from being pursued between you and those of us who want to know what the plan is and how it will be implemented. That the GOP is like an asylum being run by its most dangerous inmates is glaringly obvious. I do not expect the party that voted in lockstep for virtually every boneheaded, illegal and immoral provision of the Bush regime's legislative agenda to change their ways; but, you people? For the sake of your constituents, if not your own self esteem, begin acting like men and women who have some faint notion of what true public service is. Stop looking for favorable poll numbers and listening to consultants tell you how you can weather the storm and get re-elected. You know what the truth is and you know what needs to be done. Find your self-respect, your courage and your integrity whether you've lost those qualities, sold them or you have simply discarded them. Earn your goddamned pay and a measure of genuine respect for your party and your office. Do what is right. Help the American people, your supposed bosses; tell them that you know that they need and deserve a genuine healthcare plan, not some cobbled together piece of useless verbiage that is filled with new ways to squander OUR money while doing nothing to alleviate the suffering of millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans in a time of great need. I will not apologize for the tone or the content of this letter. It is the truth and it is indicative of my anger at your party’s abandonment of their principals and their failure to uphold their oath of office on this issue. Don't bother to tell me what you are doing, just do it. Deliver to us, your employers, the service which you swore an oath to perform. Nothing less is acceptable. Good day, to you, Sir.

Enough of this shit!

2009-08-11T22:27:00.002-04:00

According to recent news reports on Yahoo! There have been more confrontations at "Town Meetings" on the proposed healthcare bill. One congressman apparently had a swaztika painted on his door. I assume the painting was done by one of the zealots who are led by the people who are insisting that Obama is a nazi. WTF? Instead of standing around and wringing our hands about it, we need to be showing up--in huge numbers, to support the process and let the thugs that are there to shout down the congressmen (almost exclusively democrats) have a taste of their own poison. I'm not advocating violence. I am saying that all polls indicate that there are massive numbers of americans who are anxious to get some sort of program in play, while the far smaller but obnoxious and threatening crowd of idiots who have been raising all the hell at these meetings are doing everything in their power to dreail a process that they don't even begin to understand. This IS the sort of tactical and strategic action that was carried out by the nazis as they rose to power. When they finally controlled the organs of government, including the military, all such activity ceased and was outlawed as traitorous. That we should stand by and watch this happen is just utter fucking nonsense. I really am at the point where when someone starts to tell me about how they're going to resist the Obamasocialization, I have to tell them that they are clueless dupes. I have no problem with doing that; it needs to be done by ALL of us, until this foolishness stops. I am sick and tired of listening to the talking heads--on both the so called "liberal media" and the obvious propaganda outlets like Fox--talk about the disruption of what are supposed to be informative meetings about the healthcare crisis as if they are a genuine groundswell by a sizable portion of the american people. Go to the meetings if there are any near you, take as many people as possible, make placards, SHOW UP AND BE NOTICED. No violence, no confrontation, just a display of solidarity. It worked to help get the Rovistas out of the WH, it can work again, for this. If this is my "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" so be it. Feel free to use this, with or without attribution. Do it.

Meet the new boss.

2009-08-06T07:50:00.005-04:00

Good Morning: Meet "Bud". He's about five years old, almost that many pounds and as ferocious as a wolverine, in a five pound ratdog sortaway. His full-time attendant is down for a couple of weeks, recovering from cataract surgery. Since she can't bend over until after her follow-up with the opthalmologist, caring for Bud was out of the question. As aesocial as Bud is with other dogs and some people, I don't think he would have done well at the kennel. He and I went to a concert at the park last night and had to come back home as he was being very disruptive. What the hell, he's a dog, he's gonna act like one I guess. If he was mine, I would train his bad habits out, if possible. Then again, the look he gave me when I had to "dominate" him to get him to stop barking was "Hey, see how much you like it if you go to sleep a guy and wake up without no balls!". He's a lot like a toddler. As long as he can see what's going on around him, he's a lot happier. So, I put his little bed on a bench that gets him about my level when I'm working on the computer and I try to keep track of him when I'm using power tools. He has "food issues", as in he won't eat most of his dogfood. S'okay. I made some grilled chiken with steamed broccoli and brown rice and mashed some up for him. He went to the bottom of the bowl on that one! I'm actually hoping my two weeks with Bud will convince me that I should not have a dog around the house or that I should. Either way, he's having some fun and wondering who the hell the strange "mom" is. UPDATE: Bud no longer has any food, pooping, chasing the ball, barking for no apparent reason, chasing the ball, honking the squeeze toy, chasing the ball and chasing the squeeze toy issues. I on the other hand have taken to laying in the corner on my people pad and snorting from time to time and licking my--oh, never mind. We're fine!!

We are what we buy

2009-08-05T14:56:00.006-04:00

Hey, who's up for buying some shit from Amway? I used to just laugh at the credulous boobs who did business with/engaged in their pyramid sales schemes; then I found out that they were up to their asses in republican politics. That made me think I didn't like them. In the news today, along with the story about another piece of shit coward gunning down unarmed victims in a PA health club and the ongoing mass delusion that is the "birfer movement", there was information about Blackwater (Killers-R-Us) and some really nasty shit they've been engaged in against their own people, as well as Iraqis and other less than good, white american people. How does this tie in with Amway. Well, Erik Prince's sister is married to the daughter of Ralph DeVos, Amway's co-founder. When it comes to cults Amway lies somewhere between Opus Dei and the Church of Scientology, imo. I really, really don't care what anyone BELIEVES; I care a great deal when their beliefs offer, for them, a justification to commit illegal acts. Amway, a major supporter of the GOP since way back, has been involved in shady marketing practices for their entire existence. They are closely held, therefor they have no need to answer to any public, outside organizations. They are aggressive and deep pocketed when fighting legal challenges and have survived numerous investigations/prosecutions for their underhanded sales and marketing tactics. Now, it appears that Eric Prince may have (it is alleged in court documents) ordered or pariticipated in the murder of Blackwater employees that were co-operating with DoJ investigators into the conduct and operation of Blackwater, Inc. Both Amway and Blackwater are aggresively "USA, USA, USA" American, in a reptilican sortaway and dedicated to the preservation of America's (non-existent) CHRISTIAN Heritage. Luckily, for me--and them--, I haven't had to deal with Amway reps, Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons missionaries since I moved to my "dream house". For those of you that do, you might want to remember that these folks aren't just selling snake oil or laundry products, they're using the proceeds to push this country farther and farther in the direction of a theocratic nation. That cannot stand.

My dinner with me.

2009-07-08T18:34:00.004-04:00

So, this is tonight's supper. Tuna was on sale ($4.99/lb) and I got a mucca slab. I sliced a zuke and a summer squish into thirds--lengthwise--sprinkled on some salt, pepper and italian seasoning, spritzed 'em with olive oil and put 'em on the Forman. I took the tuna out of the fridge, mopped up the leftover olive oil and seasonings on the veggie plate and put that on the grill as well. I'm sure I overcooked the tuna (I want to make sure if I get sick from eating undercooked fish that it happens in a restaurant, so's I can sue somebody!)--it was better than delucious. The veggies were gooey-crisp and fab-U-licious. If I hadn't seen "Big Night" a few years back, I woulda put a few shavings of Parmegiano on the veggies AND the tuna, but as per Tony Shaloub's crazy chef from the aforementioned fillum, no cheese with seafood. I threw a lump of butter on the fish, veggies and rice (I loves me some brown rice that has overcooked just enough to have a nice little crust on the bottom--yum,yum) and then poured the olive oil and red pepper flakes, what had been bathing the olives I had for an appie, over the veggies and rice. A nice glass of Aniston Bay, Cabernet (the one I mentioned last week) and I was a happy guy.

Them pesky furriners

2009-07-07T08:39:00.003-04:00

This is a comment that I posted over here: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/07/stalking_dr_isis.php#comments ____________________________________________________ Adrienne: You live in a housing development with lots of foreclosures, rundown properties and roach infestations. This is the fault of immigrants, legal or otherwise, who got mortgages from banks that they should not have been eligible for? Uh, you think maybe the bankers might be culpable-as well as the assholes in congress who gutted banking oversight legisation like Glass-Steagall? Why do you suppose "illegal day laborers" piss outside? Is it because they are not allowed in the library or are they animals? If it's because they have no manners than the most expedient course would be to arrest a few of them for public urination or provide some outdoor toilet facilities. You say you can't translate your housing boards documents into spanish? And you don't speak spanish, apparently. I don't know how large a community you live in, but if you've got enough "illegals immigrants", as you like to call them, in your area, there must be at least a few of them who speak passable english and can read same. Have you tried working with them instead of your stupid, lazy, filthy, unamerican neighbors? Actually, I think you do "viscerally" hate those immigrants that you think are somehow "less" than your grandparents were when they came to this country. It's not a reasonable reaction, it's a "gut" reaction and one that you buttress with your facts, figures and complaints against certain members of the group. You ask: "Pssst- here's a question for you. How do large numbers of people coming into the US from *one* area of the world and speaking a single language (not the English language)--and one country in particular--make the US more "diverse"?" Think Germans, Jews, Poles, Italians, Greeks, Russians, Armenicans, Serbs, Scandinavians, Vietnamese, Lao and Khmer (not an exhaustive list). Of course many of their children learned to speak english. In fact, quite a few of them have gone on to have children and grandchildren who are white enough, bright enough and speak the language well enough that they can get theirs and say, "I really, really don't HATE those ignorant, filthy, funny talking people; but none of THEM should be allowed in my country." You can cherry pick and quotemine all of the sources you like. I'm quite sure that if one digs deep enough they can find quotes by someone else with a pedigree of liberalism, like Barbara Boxer whose stance on immigration (as characterized by your quote) is in diametrical opposition to Ms. Boxer's. Cesar Chavez was a great man but hardly a saint. You say: "And yes, I will admit I first became interested in this issue when I started being negatively affected by it directly. But the more I've researched it, the more I've come to realize how deleterious large scale illegal immigration is...to the environment, to the native-born poor, to the economy...the list goes on and on." How, exactly, have undocumented immigrants affected your life? Please be specific. Speaking of environmental impacts; it appears that Mr. Bush's backyard fence is creating some horrific problems for various desert flora and fauna that had no idea that they were either mexican or U.S. residents. IF we could get rid of all the "illegals" then who would do the scut work that is so frequently their lot in this life? Who will clean the toilets at the ballparks, pick up garbage, work at the McDonalds in the "bad neighborhoods, fight our wars--today's native born, white americans? How much do you think trash collection, Big Mac's and tickets for sporting events and concerts will cost if we simply get rid of all of the "illegals". Working for lower wages, paying lots of taxes (sales, mostly) and spending most of their income--because they really have no choice, undocumented workers represent a huge cash bump in the U.S. economy. IF they could be magically swept off the board, do you really think that nothing else would change, and change in ways that you might term as "adverse"? When I worked in Boston, a local chain of coffee shop/cafes was staffed, almost exclusively by foreign born workers. Many of them were Guatemalan and Colombian. Most of them also worked as cleaners in the same high rises from which their clientele descended to get their bagels and coffee. They were unfailingly polite, generally quite cheerful and extremely industrious. I spoke to them (their english language skills were not always great but we managed) about their families and their living situations. They were so happy to be here, for the most part--and they seemed always happy to work on their language skills with me or others who took a moment to chat when their work permitted. One young man became a manager of another store in the chain and when he finished his shift, he would come to the store in my building, pick up his wife and then, together they would go and pick up their children who attended a private, catholic school. After that, they would go their second job, cleaning offices. Lazy, indifferent, uneducated or unkempt--they were none of those things. You seem to view the people you think of as "illegal immigrants" as a horde of invaders. I prefer to focus on the individuals that I meet and interact with. You say that these people have an adverse impact on your life. That has not been my experience in about 95% of the encounters that I have had. I wish I could say the same for native born U.S. citizens. I know you don't care what I think. Likewise, I don't really care what you think. Neither of us is ever going to convince the other that their position is reflective of anything except their own prejudicial thinking. My prejudice on the subject of immigrateion tends in the direction of inclusion, yours tends in the direction of exclusion. Posted by: democommie | July 7, 2009 8:36 AM ___________________________________________________________ I don't think that people really understand how much of a difference it would make if we had the lower end of our service economy jobs either paying much more per hour or simply not being filled. I don't think that most young native born americans are lazy--although they do seem to have a WEE sense of entitlement. I'm quite sure that most of the "illegals" are not lazy, stupid or criminal (aside from any immigration laws they might be breaking). Tell me I'm wrong, but please don't tell me I'm wrong because some of the "illegals" are not good people. We just went through eight years of having a complete moron run this country, a native born complete moron, along with his cabal of native born fellow assholes.

This is why I have a blog; so's I can do what I want.

2009-07-05T08:15:00.006-04:00

I decided to put a few photos up today, because I can. the photos are mine, they are copyrighted and you can download them if you like. Please leave the copyright info on the photos. The photo of the truck in front of the silo and the photo of the farmstead and the flag were both taken near my hometown of Omaha, NE, 3 or 4 years ago. The photo in the middle is one I took from a friends' back porch. He lives on a ridge, at about 1,800' above sea level, approximately 8 miles SE of Half Moon Bay, CA. When the "marine layer" is burned off you can see the town and the coastline going up toward San Francisco.

2009-07-02T19:59:00.003-04:00

That was my dinner. Some nice polenta with basil, peccorino romano, a little butter a little cream cheese, salt and pepper. Served with a saute of peppers, onions, 'shrooms and zukes, and some nice little strips of top sirloin in au jus. I'd suggest a Domaine Weinbach 2003 Gewurztraminer Altenbourg Cuvee Laurence or perhaps Domaine Tempier 2007 Bandol Rosé. In any case I had a Yuengling, that wonderful chinese sounding beer from Pottsville, PA--it was AWESOME!! For dessert? An ice cream sammich! Not too shabby for a single burner hot plate, eh?

I loves me some summer

2009-07-01T08:17:00.003-04:00

It's summertime and the livin' is, well frankly, life is a bit difficult, what with the economy, crazies running way too many countries and the continuing lack of any true governance by most of the government in this country--but I digress. I loves me some summer, because it's warm and sunny, first of all. Secondly, there are items of produce now available--other than cabbage, onions and assorted root vegetables--that were grown within a days drive of my local supermarket. The farmers' markets in CNY fall along an arc of pretty good to spectacular. There are, within twenty-five miles of my house, a LOT of small farms that have wonderful "truck" crops as well as a substantial number of medium to frikkin' huge orchards. Strawberries were slow in coming (both May and June were not conducive to them setting fruit, until about two weeks ago) but now they're being picked and I expect to see some excellent ones at tomorrow's market, after the warm weather of last week. Can the good sweetcorn and tomatoes be far behind? I loves me some summer, because it's baseball season and I loves me some baseball. My beloved RedSox contributed a bit to the history and lore of the game last evening, by blowing a nine run lead over the Baltimore Orioles to lose 11-10. On the one hand I think it's unsettling that the bullpen couldn't hold the lead, otoh, it's a GAME!! I know it's how the players, managers, coaches, agents, sports journalistas, talking heads (no, they are not the same thing), concessionaires, team mascots, souvenir hawkers, sports bettors, ticket scalpers, parking lot extortionists and sundry other professionals make their livings--but it is JUST a GAME!! But, hey, enought about my summerloves. Howzabout yours? Whoops, I forgot one. Al Franken IS the winner of the MN senatorial race.

GOPants around their ankles

2009-06-18T07:22:00.003-04:00

Good morning, my friends: It appears that, once again, we are being treated to an installment of the "I have sinned, been caught after lying about it, asked GOD's forgiveness, got it and moved on with my life" dog and pony and JESUS show of the Party of Hypocrisy. Now, now, I know what you're saying. "But, democommie, he's not doing anything that wasn't done by the likes of Bill Clinton, John Edwards or Eliot Spitzer." That is true, except that he is. I know that Clinton, Edwards and Spitzer have all done reprehensible things during their respective tenures in "public service"--that phrase has so many unintended meanings. However, none of those three were outspoken in defense of DOMA or other anti-gay rights initiatives. And none of them used their religiosity as a badge of honor. Oh, they may have crawled behind the Jimmy Swaggart cringingbullypulpit when they were on the meaculpa trail, but they didn't make a living out of publicly parading their virtue--while being cuckolding, lying, adulterous assholes. I feel like I need to keep saying this, because some people still don't get it. I'm an atheist, I'm okay with christians--and anybody else--believing anything they want to believe. I'm also okay with them being smug about me going to hell when I die--again, whatever floats their boats. What I'm not okay with is them getting in my face or trying to have their beliefs made into law at any level. Folks like that are not christian, they are KKKristian. And I mean that in the most insulting way possible. They are hate-filled, sanctimonious shitbags whose delusional thinking leads them to the notion that they can change me and who knows how many others in the U.S. to come around to holding their view of the world, by threatening, condemning and sometimes killing those with whom they disagree. Their precious time would be far better spent in correcting their own erroneous ways than in their attempting to change me or other people who, frankly, don't give a damn how they think or feel--until it impinges on OUR freedom. When Eliot Spitzer got caught with his hand in the nookie jar, I said, as soon as I saw the newsflash--"he needs to retire". I will admit to not following the Edwards saga as I have some other stuff going on, like trying to finish my house, but if he's unqualified for office--as the reptilicans say he is--because of his "sins" then I say he should resign on the same day as John Ensign. I must say again, though, that Edwards, IIRC, did not make the sanctity of marital fidelity a cornerstone of his political campaigns. With both McCain and Ensign proving that they are liars and scumbags it could be an interesting campaign in AZ, next go-round.

In memoriam

2009-06-14T10:09:00.004-04:00

It has been a pretty long and somewhat sad week for me and my family. My younger brother, Marty, passed on June 6, 2009 and the last week, the last several days in particular, have been filled with a lot of sorrow and the usual mix of the seven steps of grieving. I was not close to my brother (I'm really not close to most of my family) and of course I could never be as close to him as his wife and children are. I learned a lot about him in the last several days and I think, that as sad as his passing was, it was wonderful that all of his siblings, his large extended family and numerous friends were all able to get together to salute his life, share an incredible collection of humorous and heartwarming stories about Marty and bid adieu. My lack of closeness to Marty and to many members of my family has nothing to do with them--it is all to do with me. It certainly does not mean that I don't love and cherish every one of them, even those with whom I cannot spend much time. I am so happy for those of my siblings and their children have had successful careers and raised their children to be the outstanding people that they are. I also feel the sadness of those who have not reached their life's goals. Life is a process of growth and renewal, sometimes filled with joy and at other times so very painful. I do not, as many of you know, believe in any sort of saving god or in a life after this one. That is not to say that I KNOW this to be true, it's just what I believe. For those who believe and take comfort in their belief, I hope that they find solace in their faith in such times as these. I believe that we are, literally, stardust, and that we all live and die and live again in a multiplicity of combinations in the nearly infinite universe. I'm not sure where Marty has gone. If I am, in fact, completely wrong, and there is a heaven of some sort or a process of genuine reincarnation--well, hell, I'm screwed! I think, however that, if such is the case, Marty is with my 'rents and our dear sister, Anne Marie, doing his endearing, infuritating best to be a good brother, dutiful son, doting parent and the President of Huskers in the Hereafter. I'll miss you, little brother, and I'll hold you in my heart, you rascal.

Gutless Soldiers of KKKrist

2009-05-31T22:03:00.002-04:00

Today, while attending services at his church, Dr. George Tiller was murdered by a lone gunman. This is the lead paragraphy from the Wichita Eagle online edition. "WICHITA - The 51-year-old man arrested in the shooting death of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller -- a case that has drawn international attention -- could be charged Monday." "Wichita abortion doctor"; not Wichita doctor who performed late stage abortions, or Wichita doctor who bravely performed abortions that other providers had been frightened or hounded out of doing. Nope. "Wichita Abortion Doctor". Nice touch for the hometown paper of record. Randall Terry (founder of Operation Rescue),being the piece of shit that he is, issued the following statement: ""George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God."" By any measure that I would make, Dr. Tiller was a decent human being. He provided a service that is only being provided by two other doctors in the entire U.S. Whether one is a proponent, an opponent or an apathetic bystander to abortion, it is a legal medical procedure in this country. It is not murder, by any legal definition. Randall Terry is, of course, nothing but another liar for KKKrist. He has made himself wealthy and powerful by claiming to represent the unborn. He is lucky there is no GOD. If there was, he and the rest of his ilk would be in the deepest circle of whatever hell there would be. His former business, Operation Rescue, issued a statement of their own: "We are shocked at (Sunday) morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller's family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ." Lying fucks. They actively sought to demonize, terrorize, marginalize and persecute Dr. Tiller. They have achieved their goal of saving the unborn, by inciting hatred and violence against Dr. Tiller, his associates, his family and his community of faith. I am an atheist these days, not likely to change anytime soon, but I have no problem with people believing whatever comforts them--until it causes them to murder those with whom they disagree. Organized religions have certainly done a lot more damage than disorganized atheism, that's not even open for discussion.

2009-05-24T22:50:00.008-04:00

I woke up this morning, to a gloriously sunny, late spring day. Gentle breezes wafted through my open windows and the sounds of songbirds going about their daily business, raising their broods, helping to complete the cycle of birth-death-rebirth put me in a reflective mood. I thought a bit, about the events in the news of the last few weeks and arrived at the conclusion that I have been remiss in my duties. I have not been fucking with enough assholes or bitchslapping the incredibly stupid mofo's that inhabit that nether world of religious fundamentalism and lockstep, kneejerkoff "conservatism" with anything like the sort of frequency that they deserve. The furor over Obama's pending pick for the SCotUS has the senate reptilicans promising to keep the "filibuster option" open. They are saying that "emapthy" (read "reasonableness") is the wrong quality to look for in said candidate and that they want to make sure no "judicial activists" are appointed for lifetime tenure in a venue where they might vote an issue based on their personal feelings rather than relevant law. This, of course, ignores the fact that their darling "textualists", Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalia are all men who speak publicly about what they "feel" and, if one looks at the majority of their opinions, vote pretty much the way they feel. The funny thing about "textualists" is that they don't believe in parsing the "feelings" of the Founders, just the words themselves. As someone pointed out, in a piece I read last week, definitions depend on whose dictionary you use. To quote Bill Clinton, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is,”. So, I guess that means that the justices all sorta vote their hearts, depending on whether their "dictionary" of choice is Websters or Conservapedia. The healthcare "debate" is a fucking joke. Big Pharma, Big Insurance and Big HMO "pledged" to cut our costs by $3T dollars over the next 10 years by trimming their costs by 1-2%. Then several days after they made that pledge they started carping and whining about it, explaining why they couldn't really honor it. Of course most of the people I mention this to are against "National Healthcare" because it will mean everybody gets shitty medical care. Regardless of the fact that "Single Payer" is not "National Healthcare" they delight in regaling me with anecdotal stories about people waiting three months to get a broken leg casted or six weeks to get a flu shot (most such stories are, simply, bullshit) in Canada. Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps it makes sense to privatize some stuff that is currently handled by the organs of the state. Howzabout drivers licenses? Let's let the insurance companies issue those. If you're under 25, have been in an accident in the last three years or have defaulted on a scheduled payment--no license. That'll keep the riff-raff from getting behind the wheel; or, maybe they'll just drive without insurance OR licenses and let those of us who are paying for it pay for theirs as well. I hate to be the under-educated churl who has to explain this to people but having approximately 15% of our population uninsured and another 15% (or more) underinsured does not mean that they get free care or care that is subsidized by the skyfairy or Dr. Government. It means that the cost of their care is lumped in with other operating costs of the hospitals and the savings are passed on to us! More on this later. To quote a couplet I just wrote: Spring has sprung, the flowers are here. It's 8:16, I need a beer. Okay. So I got to work after breakfast and got caught up in sorting out 7 or 8 banana boxes full of books and throwing a bunch of the ones I don't want anymore into a box for the Salvation Army. Then I did some rip&tear on the second floor of the house and needed to make a run to the lumberyard for more 2x4's. After I picked up some stock, I stopped at the supermarket to make my weekly investment in the lottery. While I was scratching a "Cash Word" card (the only thing I ever spell is "loser") a guy at the service window was paying his utility bill. First he said that the bill was too high. Then he said that his cousin or someone else in his family lived in some other state in a house just like his and that their bill was, like, $88/month, while his was about $400/month. THEN he said it was because the Democrats and the unions are screwing everything up. Now, normally, I let this shit go--not today. I said "Right, it's all their fault.", with, perhaps a soupcon of snidelevity in my voice. To be honest I don't think I heard what he said next, but I said, "If it wasn't for unions you wouldn't get a vacation. You'd be working seven days a week." He countered with a remark that OSHA would keep that from happening (how the fuck he arrives at that conclusion is beyond my understanding). I let that obvious bit of foolishness go by, and I told him that without the unions there wouldn't be any OSHA either. He then walked away without saying anything else. Good thing, too; he was younger, bigger and probably more capable of kicking my ass than vice versa. I really, truly, find it hard to believe that people are so fucking stupid that they buy into that tripe, but apparently they ARE that stupid. After eight years of a vapid, incurious, dry drunk of a president all such assholes can think of is that it's the democrats' and the unions' fault? Goddamn those fucking fools and their idiotic adulation of the Limbaughs of this world.

Pretty Nazi update

2009-05-14T06:38:00.005-04:00

Good morning: It appears that things have worked out nicely for Carrie Prejean. Not only does she get to keep her Miss California title (courtesy of Donald Fucking Trump) but her nemesister, Shanna Moakler, has resigned. I think Keith Olbermann does a better job of deconstructing Ms. Prejean's tear streaked rant than I ever could: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwkTAzcToic And Perez Hilton says GOD made him do it: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/05/perez-hilton-god-told-me-carrie-prejean-did-not-deserve-to-win.html Donald Trump, scumbag that he is, simply overruled his underlings and said that Carrie Prejean will remain as Miss California. Why does anyone pay attention to Trump? He's been bankrupt more times than Liz Taylor's been married. I don't know who the current Trumptrollop is, but if I was her, I'd be watching my semi-nude back. The beauty paegant business, and it is certainly a business, is as corrupt and unreal as professional wrestling--and just as full of phonies. That's to be expected. After all, wherever there are people engaged in the business of exchanging cash for integrity and honesty, they will find a ready market. The thing that irks me is not that Miss California turns out to be a cheap, fake-boobed, whining strumptet. What irks me is the immediate 180 degree turn that her so called "christian" supporters can make in their own ethics and values. Not that I don't expect it. It has been a feature of the folks I call KKKristians for a long, long time. They can forgive anything that one of their "role models" does as long as that person says they have JESUS in their hearts. What a load of shit. As much as I expect it to happen, I still don't like it. I think the best way for me to deal with this is by doing the following: Whenever some KKKristian tells me that poor, poor, pitiful Carrie has been savaged for her christian values and honesty I'll just listen, nodding from time to time; and when they finish I'll say, "Yeah, I know what you mean. All that GOD given beauty and truth and wotta set of headlights!" "

No Whammy Bar or Effects Pedals

2009-05-11T05:09:00.003-04:00

Another in a haphazard series of non-inflammatory posts. Gentle Reader: I journeyed to Johnson City, NY on Sunday. The purpose of the trip was to meet a person I'd met on the blogs, William Yelverton, who was playing in a concert at an arts venue there. Bill is a progressive who is both passionate and articulate in his arguments and while he no longer operates his politics blog, I'm quite sure he's not forgotten what brought us to the present. I knew of him first as a blogger and, then, as a musician. He is a gifted (and I'm sure much practiced!) classical guitarist. I am a person who loves music, without being able to play much of anything--when it comes to the guitar I have the musical equivalent of Black Thumbs--or even read a score, so I enjoy it without truly understanding most of it. The pieces that were played yesterday were a combination of classical ,baroque, Latin American and one great Bluegrass inspired piece written by one of Bill's colleagues. It was all wonderful. Just the instruments and the players, no microphones, pickups or other electronic augmentation. Piano alone, guitar and piano, guitar and violin. All of the music was played in a room that held 125 or so people in a relaxed "Pops" concert setting with cafe seating, bevvies, little sammies and lots of desserts! The audience was engaged, attentive and appreciative. Fortunately I did not have my Bic lighter--and I remembered not to yell "Freebird!" when both Bill and the pianist returned for their encores! I am currently listening to one of Bill's albums, "Harpsichord Music On Guitar". The other album that I got is "Music of South America". All the information about the music and Bill's professional creds (as well as his thoughts on his current home in TN--and its environs) can be found at: http://tnparadise.blogspot.com/; give it a look. I think Bill is the seventh or eighth person that I've met on the blogs and, then later, in person. I have been told by numerous folks that I am courting disaster by agreeing to meet with people in this manner. That has proved to be a non-issue. I'm not saying it's impossible to get in trouble that way, quite the contrary. However, my experience has been that most folks I spend some time getting to know on the interntet (through blogs) are who they have led me to believe they are. Granted I have not been aching to meet the trolls, but only people with similar interests and views on important subjects like the arts, politics and food. We live in a VERY large world and it helps, imo, to have folks turn us onto things that they find interesting and informative amidst the plethora of experience that is available. So thanks to Bill, and Dave von Ebers, Claudia, Mack, Nomi, Reverend Jerry Gloryhole, Annti, Richard at "Everyone wants to read my blog" and the rest of the good folks that I've met on the blogosphere. And to those of you whose names are not in that list, or who are on the list but not yet had me "all up in your grille..", your time is coming! Oh, btw, if any of you are into "kink", just remember this--I am the REAL reason that the chicken crossed the road! I'm putting another of my poems on here, today, 'cuz it's my blog and I can! Enjoy. The Lesson From the street, I watched you. Through the window I could see the lyricism of you, the fluent dancer; and the hesitancy of the students, unfamiliar with the language of movement, afraid of uttering a mistake. I saw you standing at ease; in a languid, indolent moment. I saw you, in a moment, transformed, as you moved into a "frame" Silk and satin for the viewer: Whipcord and spring steel for the dancer. That look of effortlessness, that look that costs a thousand, thousand repetitions. The nights of standing in front of the mirrored walls, learning by teaching. making that same, perfect turn; over and over. Until it is no longer a conscious pattern, but, rather, it becomes, like breathing, intrinsic to your being. Giving to the students a way to find the metronome of their own heartbeat. Getting from the giving; the wisdom of experience. Learning by teaching. Learning that every step you will ever take is already in your soul. 7/20/01

There she is, Miss Intolerance.

2009-04-23T06:26:00.001-04:00

Good Morning: Well, in the midst of Pakistan being swarmed by the Taliban that's pouring over their borders from Afghanistan; GM's notice that it will be closing most--if not all--of its plants for two months and the ongoing financial/economic problems that continue to wrack our nation...we have the Miss USA dust-up. Poor Carrie Prejean--she LOST her deserved first place finish just because she admitted GOD's truth. HE don't want no GAYboy wives or GAYgirl hubbies. Shame on those nasty judges, especially that terrible Perez Hilton person, who attacked that poor girl just because she told him what GOD's whispered in her ear (and put in the bible, according to her) about how much he hates the idea of His & His towels. Tsk, tsk. And she is just such a bodacious KKKristian babe, too! I mean legs up to wherever, a nice rack, killer teeth and those beautiful (and eerily vacant) eyes. /snark. Ms. Prejean is not new to the business (and I do mean business) of beauty paegants. She's been at this for quite some time and knows full well what goes on at these events. She says she knew in advance that the question was one that she might be asked and that she prayed it would not fall to her to answer it. I have no problem at all with her wearing a push up bra and showing off her body to the admiring public. I have no problem that she is an idiot who, obviously, misjudged her audience. I'm guessing that, when she saw that she was not going to win the contest, she decided to get some "way of the cross" cred by being a martyr for the cause of anti-gay KKKristian bigotry. Fine. What I DO have a problem with is her and her idiot supporters thinking that her comment is somehow correct while the reaction to it is not. You want to express your opinion to millions? Okay. You wnat to not to have to own the fall-out? Sorry, that's part of the gig--ask the Dixie Chicks. Today's KKKristians seem to have this mindset that says that gays are sinners and abominations in the eyes of GOD. Otoh, it's fine with them that the likes of Carrie Prejean, strutting up and down the runway, being ogled by the audience of men who are not LISTENING to the speeches are disturbingly immodest WHILE they are espousing their KKKristian values. It boggles the mind.

No giant panda winners at the shooting gallery.

2009-04-06T07:57:00.003-04:00

Good morning: I think I like to type that because, that way, I can at least SEEM to be starting on a positive note, before descending into the stygian depths of inchoate rage that are stored in the cellar hole 'neath my hindbrain. So, okay, we've tried reason, we've tried accomodation, we've tried balance. Howsabout we try this: "Fucking moron with guns and an inability to deal with, or even articulate, his problems decides to be a coward and kill other folks so we'll all feel bad for him." I am getting pretty worn out reading about folks with histories of abusing others or mental problems, killing folks with easily obtained (legal or otherwise) weaponry that is, to "hunting", what dynamite is to sportsfishing. I don't HATE guns. I like guns. I like the way they look, I like the way they sound and I like the way they operate. They are great, as machines, or implements or whatever you want to call them. What they are not great at, in fact they are quite horrible at, is "getting even" with one's own demons. I know how touchy some folks are about their second amendment rights. I'm that way about the other nine items in the BoR and the rest of the U.S. Constitution, come to think of it. However, when some shithead's "right" to bear arms causes the cessation (with extreme prejudice) of another's "right" to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--well, for me it's a no-brainer. I'm gonna side with the poor, unarmed schlub, every time. I'm not suggesting confiscating anyone's guns. I am suggesting that current rules for gun ownership need to be reviewed. Current firearms ownership laws, particularly in some states like GA and FL are so fucking lax that people who have histories of violent, irrational behavior are able to easily obtain weapons that are equal to, or better, than those used by law enforcement agencies. Some folks have suggested that an armed populace would cut down on such incidents as; the three policemen murdered in Pittsburgh, the thirteen people murdered in Binghamton or the four police officers killed in Oakland--all within the last two weeks. In those three particular cases, it appears that the shooters were in two cases, duly licensed--the parolee in CA, obviously not. Weapons differed--not to the victims, of course; dead is dead; but, they all had in common, that they were wielded by people who thought that "might makes right". Re: the argument for arming the populace, if carried to its logical conclusion. During the Binghamton incident the police placed a number of individuals in custody while trying to sort out who were innocents and who might have been perps. Had those "suspicious" characters been armed they might have been mistaken for the shooter and been shot by the police. This idiocy needs to stop. Now.

Dance me to the edge...

2009-04-03T13:30:00.003-04:00

Good afternoon, music lovers: I've spoken in this space, a while back, about a coupld of Leonard Cohen tunes. I just happened to turn on NPR at noon, today, and was rewarded with a "Fresh Air" program that featured a 2006 interview, by Terri Gross, with Leonard Cohen. I recommend listening to it. Mr. Cohen is currently on tour, for the first time in 15 years. While I will not get to one of his shows, I listen to his music daily. I recommend listening to all of his music, here's a great place to start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtMFdBsWICs&feature=related.

Just like the third world

2009-03-31T08:02:00.002-04:00

Now that a judge in Spain (the same one who indicted General Pinochet a short while ago) has agreed to look at a prosecutor's request that six former Bushco apparatchiks be tried for (according to AP): (giving) "legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer in the case said Saturday." perhaps the Obama WH will be willing to something about it at our end. In South Africa, Rwanda, the Balkans and Cambodia--among other, mostly third world countries--there have been attempts at "Truth and reconciliation" style commissions. With varying degrees of success these commissions have attempted to clear away the deliberately obfuscatory layers of camouflage and unravel the reality of criminal or just plain bad government policy in those countries. Policies which resulted in much human suffering and lots of death and injury to those countries' citizenry. Can we do less? Can we fail to follow the example of a country like Rwanda and shine a light on the mechanisms, motivations and identities of those responsible for such horrific depradations? Admittedly, in the case of the U.S., from 2000-2008, most of the dying took place in yet other third world countries. Nevertheless, the people of the United States have suffered as well. Certainly we are not victims to the extent of the innocents of Iraq and Afghanistan, or the extra-legal "prisoners" that have been shoved into the likes of Gitmo. However, these actions were taken, like it or not, in our collective names. I am not suggesting the gallows (although I think it is actually an appropriate punishment for some of the people who were in charge during the Bush era), but if we fail to investigate the excesses; if we fail to identify--publicly--the miscreants; if we "sweep it under the rug", it will be impossible to expiate the collective guilt of our nation for what amounts to war crimes. I and most others were simply bystanders, witnesses to the depradations committed in the name of "The war on terror", but our guilt is, while diffuse, quite real in our own hearts. Without the truth coming out we cannot "fix the problem". Can we not do at least as well in this regard as Rwanda?

Deja voodoo vu

2009-03-25T07:06:00.007-04:00

Good Morning: I'd like to think that I'm a sane, reasonable guy (not saying it's true, just that I'd like to think that); the reptilicans make it hard for me to think that way. Between the list of Republican governors who are saying they will turn down stimulus package dollars (only, apparently, those that would extend unemployment benefits) and the likes of Rushbo Limpboy stating that they want the plan to fail I'm having a hard time retaining my civility. I say, fine, let those fucking douchebags do whatever they want to in order to boost their political fortunes. Then, take some small percentage of the money they turn down and use it to run some "public service" ads for their constituents--just so that they understand that it's only a portion of the stimulus money that was turned down. I think that would be appropriate. As for Rushbo? I wish I believed in hell. Unfortunately, I don't. However, if Rush were to contract some horrific disease or die of a self-administered drug overdose I would be less than bummed. It was bad enough when these opportunistic sons-of-bitches joined up with the fundies on the sex and prayer crap, now they're thinking seems to be that propsperity (other than theirs) is also a gift from THEIR GOD, and everybody who isn't in their small, select circlejerk isn't worthy of it. Well, fuck them and THEIR GOD. I don't believe in GOD anyway, but the version they hold in their heads is anathema to everything I've ever learned about a compassionate and loving deity. UPDATE: According to Yahoo.News via AP: "Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president at AIG's Financial Products division, said Wednesday he's leaving the company and will donate his entire bonus to charity." The story goes on to talk about DeSantis' anger at being lied to by his employers, yada, yada, yada. You can guess, perhaps, that I'm feeling no sympathy for Mr. DeSantis. He says he spent the last six months working to straighten out this mess. He says he was promised the money, and that AIG and the AG's of NY and CT are meanies. Why no sympathy from me? Well, because he had to know that the whole thing was a fucking sham--he was after all deeply involved in the ongoing ponzi scheme that began with Paulson's giving these assclowns the first $65B--and yet he acquiesced to doing his bit to keep it all a secret until now, in order to obtain a payout in the 7 figure range. Fuck him. He should have manned up back in September and went to DoJ and spilled the beans.

You CAN'T ever go home anymore

2009-03-16T15:28:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting at a Panera bakery/cafe at the moment. The spot where the Panera is, now, was, in my youth a sprawling lumberyard. Across the street, what used to "Houlton's Texaco, is now a Walgreen's. The Village Inn Pancake House (my first hourly wage job was there--I was the best fucking busboy in the WORLD!!) is still a block or so from here. But I found out a while back, from one of my brothers that the building, after numerous renovations was actually torn down and replaced a few years back. Omaha keeps molting like a damned lobster, shedding the old for the questionable new. You really can't go home, anymore; 'cause home ain't there. It's not enough that they've widened streets, moved whole neighborhoods and stopped selling beer at a reasonable price (.25/10 oz "draw"). I go into the bars I used to hang out in 35 years ago and all I see are a bunch of old farts--I wonder where my classmates went?

Addiction

2009-03-10T09:20:00.006-04:00

Good morning, Class: Okay, so here's the deal. Joe Biden said, within the last news cycle, that Afghanistan is getting worse, not better. I agree, completely. How do we solve this problem. A.) We shift troops from Iraq to Afghanistan and use all of the tactics that haven't worked there to the same effect--and, btw, afford the MujahideenAlqueTaliban in Pakistan a terrific recruiting inducement. B.) We kill all of 'em--all the sortabrowns, and let GOD sort them out. C.) We try using our heads. The taliban are very, very nasty people. They are just as nasty as were the Iriquois, the Mohicans, the French and the English (along with their new colonists) in the King Phillip and Revolutionary wars. They're fighting for something that a lot of them believe in--and the ones that don't are probably the top commanders who are your usual messianic, nationalist nutjobs. The taliban have instituted Sharia law wherever they are in control and it is pretty grim living under such a "legal" regime. They outlaw most music and dancing, women being seen in public--without a burqa--and all liguor and drugs. In fact, in areas they've taken over, which include some pretty notorious poppy growing areas, they have eradicated that agriculture and replaced it with the growing of food crops. Oh, what's that I hear? They haven't done that, exactly? Oh, that's right. They initially outlawed all poppy cultivation and processing until they found out that it was a lot better way, than holding flatbread bake sales, to raise money for buying arms and ammo. But why would they do that, don't they know that drugs kill people and cause untold misery? Well, yes, they do. In fact they count on it. See, they know that some Afghans will do drugs (they can be beheaded when necessary--or convenient) but the bulk of their drugs go to other countries and a lot of them wind up here in the USA, USA, USA!!! Due to our War On Drugs, which has even less to do with reality than our War Against Iraqis Who Had Fuck All To Do With 9/11, the street price for good smack is much higher than it used to be. Therefor they get double the bang for the buck. They generate a lot of cash to buy nice things like swords, AK's, RPG's and IED's (not to mention some "weapons grade" plutonium, if the intelligence guys are to be believed) and they get to fuck up our society and create a tremendous strain on already strapped healthcare resources, social services agencies and the legal system. Howsabout we try something really whack, here? I'm just spitballing, mind you; but what if we just decriminalized drugs and treated drug abuse like, oh, I don't know, alcoholism? We could make the drugs which are currently expensive and often very dangerous (no QA to speak of) and untaxed into a product that is safe, reasonably priced and a revenue enhancer. Now, I know that some of you are going to say, "Well, if we legalize drugs like that, everyone will turn into drug-crazed zombies who will steal, rape and kill for their next "fix""! Regrettably that is very true. Addictive, intoxicating substances ALWAYS cause that sort of behavior. Why, I can't even have a couplea brewskis without wanting to off my neighbors, murder their kids and rape their wives--never mind what might happen if I drink a little vino, do a shooter of herradura or smoke a ciggie. It's frikkin' scary what drugs do to folks. Of course the other thing is that, even if you make drugs cheap, legal and safe; the junkies will still want to score their drugs illegally because they're just scum and that's the way they like it. But, damn it, I think it's time we just said the hell with it and cast caution to the winds. I think it's time we started placing more emphasis on fighting the War Against the Drug Profiteers. Whoopsie, I hope that didn't sound like I have an axe to grind with Big Pharma or anything like that. Now, if we can only convince Joe B. that punitive measures against users and street level dealers are a COMPLETE FUCKING WASTE OF TIME AND RESOURCES then perhaps we can get on with doing something positive. I'm not holding my breath.

Addiction

2009-03-10T09:20:00.000-04:00

So, a nice light post about wonderful music.

2009-03-02T07:23:00.015-05:00

I saw the most amazing violinist over the weekend: http://www.dbrmusic.com/dbr.htm I do some photography (pro bono of course) for a couple of local non-profits and the gig this weekend was to photograph this amazing musician and teacher: http://www.dbrmusic.com/dbr.htm Daniel Roumaine is a virtuoso on the violin, no question about that. But, he is so much more. He is a thoughtful, humorous and gifted instructor. Watching him put on two workshops with young people (ages 5 through late teens) was just a joy. He never condescended. He always challenged. And the kids always gave him more than they knew they had to give. What this world needs now is exactly what he has, a love for the process of education and the skill to do the job in such a profoundly uplifting way. Mr. Roumaine is returning to Oswego for a concert on March 21. He and two other composers are going to be playing their works as part of a program celebrating the Hudson River. I look forward to seeing, hearing and photgraphing him again. My photography is not the best, technically. Shit, it's not even close. My favorite subjects are musicians and dancers and I shoot in available light about 99% of the time. What I get are, literally, thousands of out-of-focus, underlit, crappy images. But, on the rare occasion when the gods of chiara-oscuro smile on me; well that's what makes it worthwhile. I'm going to try and put a few photos up with this (none from this weekend--I don't have releases from anyone). They will not be problematic as they will be mostly close-ups of hands and instruments or so blurred that they won't be recognizable. But I just want you to have the idea. If you're subject to motion sickness, take some dramamine. Otherwise, enjoy. The photos will be forthcoming. NB: The second photo was originally on film and when I looked at it the first time I said, "Shit, it's out of focus!". Then I looked at it again and said, "Oh, the microphone is sharp, everything else is moving, COOOOOOOOOOL!" Photo 1: Drums Along The Oswego--The Oswego Jazz Project Photo 2: Jason Quinn, former frontman for the "Blue Hornets"--This band included Jason (who has got a new CD out) and George McCann, an awesome guitar player who, last I heard was playing with James Montgomery. Photo 3: A short, but fiery guitarist (name escapes me) at Glen's Cool Grill and Hot Bar, Newburyport, MA. Photo 4: The sizzling hands of *****, former guitarist with ***** Joel.

One more shovelful of shit

2009-02-27T09:21:00.004-05:00

Well, well, well: I actually had a really sweet post all set to go today. It featured unicorns--gay, pink unicorns--prancing about the blog and being oh, so droll. It was going to include a recipe for vodka enhanced buttermilk waffles with a belgian beer sauce. But, did that happen? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That did not happen. And, why, you ask, the hell not? Well, it's because the other Gucci loafer dropped on the Commerce Sec'y imboglio. It now appears that ASSHOLE Judd Gregg had a reason, besides his unwillingness to sully hid idiotological purity, for turning down the job that Mr. Obama offered him. Seems he was investing money in the Portsmouth industrial park which was a former U.S. Airforce Base (Pease AFB) and a superfund site when it was closed some years back. This was being done while he was helping to steer millions of dollars to the former AB. He has made somewhere between a quarter and three quarters of a million bucks from his investments (through his brother's firm). Of course he says his conscience is clear. I doubt that he has a conscience. In any case, fuck him and all of his lying sacks of shit reptilican cronies. The unicorn post is in limbo, now. I'm sharpening the knives.

Constituent services

2009-02-21T07:26:00.005-05:00

Re: My previous post on Assholes. The local paper ran an editorial on wednesday explaining why the GOP voted, in virtual lockstep, against the stimulus package. It was "partisan" of course, the author said, but it was more than that. In the finest tradition of representative government, the reptilican legislators were simply doing the job for which they were elected, voting their constituents' will on such matters. Now, aside from the fact that a lot of these ASSHOLES were elected by slim majorities--meaning that a lot of them were voting about half of their "constituents' will", there is another thing that needs to be talked about. That thing is that these ASSHOLES lie through their teeth. But, then of course, the credulous boobs that elected them in the first place always hear such lying as gospel truth and don't want the eeeeevil gubmint to confiscate their homes and businesses and send them all to labor camps so that the Obamanists can build atheist schools, open compulsory fetal abbatoirs, outlaw guns and make praying (not just in public, but privately) a felony. And they haven't even played the race card, YET. I was talking to a young fellow the evening before last, our local democratic party factotum. Nice guy, works for a living and does all the politicking on his own dime. He and I agree on one thing for sure; it ain't over. Folks who think that getting rid of Bushco was the "Win" are sadly mistaken. The GOP is a party that, at this point, is being run by a combination of political opportunists, corporatists and religious fundamentallyillists. They won't give up and there is nothing, no matter how foul, to which they will not stoop in the pursuit of their agendas. Am I paranoid? prolly. But that doesn't mean I'm wrong. A lot of people have been carping about some of Obama's appointments and also that Obama hasn't been reversing a lot of Bushco's policies. I'm not nuts about a lot of this stuff either. However, it's pretty plain to see that the GOP are willing to spike the stimulus package because it doesn't contain enough of the idiocy that got us into the situation we find ourselves in now. Of course, even though all but three of the GOP's members voted against the package they have been taking credit for "bringing home the bacon"--that's somehow different than pork? Lying fucking ASSHOLES. So, you know that the chances of making any substantive change in a lot of other stuff is going to have a snowball's chance in hell of getting done. I can't wait to see the GOP roll over on whoever Obama puts up for a SCOTUS seat. Oh, btw, Judd Gregg is still an ASSHOLE.

Assholes are as assholes do.

2009-02-12T21:39:00.003-05:00

So, Okay, I've been listening to the people who know it all prove they don't know their ass from their elbow for at least the last couple of weeks. The reptilicans want the dems to play ball or they're gonna gum up the works? Good, fuck'em. Just make sure that they're names are spelled right when the shit hits the fan. As of today, Judd Gregg decided he'd "made a mistake" in accepting the offer to be Obama's Commerce Sec'y. In the first place it would appear that he's not being completely honest about the situation, in saying that he was "asked" and didn't seek the position--Obama himself said that Gregg seemed "eager". Secondly, I wouldn't bet that he didn't have an epiphany and realize "hey, wadeaminnit, I could be like, y'know a Jen-u-wine contender for the front desk! but not if I'm seen as a "sell out" to the Obamafascists! Yikes!!" Third, and this is most important to me--I'm glad he turned it down. Judd Gregg is a fucking asshole. He was an asshole son of a former governor of NH, an asshole U.S. Representative and has, since 1993 been an asshole U.S. Senator. When I lived in NH it was often difficult to choose between him and John Sununu the younger as to which was a bigger fucking asshole. He's a lying whanker and I hope this comes back to bite him in the ass when he starts complaining about how he and his party are not "adequately represented" in the current administration's group of advisers. Good riddance to bad trash. In other news it was quite warm and windy here in upstate NY today. I went to a wonderful art show, drank a couplea Bud's and met some nice folks. None of them were fucking assholes.

2009-02-01T17:01:00.002-05:00

Since I don't got no teevee, I'm spared having to watch assholes like Tweety Matthews interview assholes like Mitch McConnell. It appears from the little intertubes synopses that I've seen that the GOP is going to do what they can to torpedo the stimulus bill. Well, anyone who expected them to do anything except continue to be the clueless fucks they've been since 1972 was in denial. During the eight years that Bushco had control of the WH and the six years that they controlled the courts and the congress the democrats were demonized as being unpatriotic, unamerican and uncaring for not voting for every bill that the reptilicans pushed out of committee. They were demonized for filibustering judicial nominees. Now, it appears those are exactly the strategies the GOP will employ to derail the stimulus and to stop Obama appointees from reaching the bench. Lying, fucking sacks of shit that they are the reptilicans of course are saying that this is all about "unnecessary spending" and not giving enough tax cuts to those who need them. It's past time for these scumbags to be pilloried for what they are. Traitors, plain and simple. They work against the interests of the United States and they should be called out for it. Roll call votes are necessary on every piece of legislation these assholes try to stop.

Things that spring, unbidden, into my head

2009-01-29T08:43:00.002-05:00

Well, here it is almost 10 days into the Obama presidency and he has not been impeached--will wonders never cease. Between the forged birth certificate from HI; the deliberately botched oath of office (which was repeated, in secret--except for the reporters that were there), and the whole "Beyonce" thing, I would say that any credible news organization (Cue "FoxNEWS" music) will have more than enough ammo to bring down this "uppitelitistofascist". I hate to have to say this, because it seems so patently obvious to me, but this is not the time to stop worrying about the marginalized fuckheads who elected Bush to two terms. Some suggest that we should engage the members of the GOP who are reasonable. Sure, go ahead and do that. In the meantime do not let the asshats that equate Obama with the anti-KKKrist get a pass. Fuck "Kiss and make up". I wanta do a Norquist on the crazy bastards.

Delousing the White House

2009-01-20T08:14:00.002-05:00

There has been a fair amount of rather dispiriting news over he last several weeks. Among other items, the nearly three week rampage by the zionists in Gaza, leaving destruction, death and hundreds or thousands of newly minted jihadists for Hamas and Al Queada to use as willing tools. There has also been a disturbing trend on the part of the democratic leadership in congress to say that now is not the time to investigate Bushco's eight year abuse of the powers of the presidency or to seek out and punish those guilty of crimes in that regard. Despite these and other items I remain hopeful that today's inauguration of President Barack Obama will signal the beginning of a return to something like sane foreign and domestic policy in this nation. One can only hope.

MLK, Freedom, democracy and FGF.

2009-01-16T12:53:00.003-05:00

Next monday is MLK Day and the inauguration is in the same week? I'm surprised that the WH didn't try to move one or the other. I'm gonna try embedding these videos, if not at least the links. I guess it's gonna be the links. U2's "Pride" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56mjwycKuXA&feature=related Leonard Cohen's, "Democracy" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OETwbVBPI1U and "Everybody Knows" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h27HRNm_r4U Well, maybe it ain't FGF for you, but it will sure as hell feel good when Bush has been consigned to the dustbin of history. Fuck Bush.

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose.

2009-01-13T14:11:00.003-05:00

It's fixin' to get cold here in Oswego. The cold weather that's been freezing the mid-west is due to arrive here late today or early tomorrow. I'm doing what I can to keep my incoming water supply from freezing (I'm building a 5 x 10 room in that corner of the cellar) and stuffing more skwerls into any gaps I can still see daylight through. I had dinner with friends last evening who offered me a place to sleep if things got too frigid here. I'll be okay. I was listening to NPR a bit ago and there was a piece on "Tell Me More" about the jailing and deportation of undocumented immigrants. It focused on Central Falls, R.I. It becomes apparent, listening to the reporter speaking, that the major issue in jailing and deporting these folks is that it provides federal monies to the state of R.I. which in turn gives the monies to the folks who run the facilities. It's disgusting that this is happening. We have a big ICE presence here in Oswego, but they don't seem to do a hell of a lot. All of this stuff got me to thinking about the homeless. I've spent several years of my life living in some pretty strange situations, but I've never been on the street. I CAN imagine not having someplace to call "home", but I've never experienced that situation where there is, literally, no place to lay down that is at least out of the weather. Surely we can do better than this.

Abstinence only works--NOT!

2009-01-07T10:28:00.004-05:00

I don't have a lot of time to play with this at the moment, but the latest figures on teens having babies is showing an upward trend. This link: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/HOLD-RELEASE-UNTIL-830-AM-graphic-shows-teen-birth-rate/photo//090107/480/a1b8bc26badc48b892e2bed09c70df19//s:/ap/20090107/ap_on_he_me/med_teen_births is to just one of several stories out there, I'm sure. Of course the KKKristianreich is saying that the reason for the upturn is because of the fact that kids are still being taught about contraceptives. Sounds like bullshit to me, but then all of their other religiopalaver IS bullshit, so why would this be any different? People, kids especially, are gonna have sex, no matter what. If you keep them dumb, the barefoot and pregnant part are the other two legs of the KKKristian Population Outtacontrol Quiverful Program. I gotta run, more rant later.

a good profile, demo; now turn and face the camera--and hold the sign up so's we can read the numbers!

2009-01-05T11:32:00.005-05:00

I think this will be short. I am still somewhat incapacitated from a fall on New Year's Eve (not attributable to alcohol--damn the luck!) and have been spending the last few days trying to make some sort of order out of the 200G or so of photo files that I had on 4 separate hard drives. I was able to pick up a 250G Seagate Free Agent (my bro works in HD development there and he said I made a good score at $52.50). I've been moving files from the other hard drives and deleting the extraneous document copies, etc.,. I just wonder how much of the stuff that I keep on my "box" is attributable to a desire to save records and how much is attributable to the familial "packrat" gene. My dear mother used to keep a daily journal of what she did, where she went, how much she spent and so forth. She kept it longhand (beautiful cursive script) in steno notebooks. I have no idea how many of the things she went through but I do know that, for her, to throw anything away was next to impossible. I gave her a set of salt and pepper shakers in 1970 (I got them while stationed in Germany) and when I was eating dinner at her house one day, several years later, asked if she still had them. "Oh, yes," she said, "I treasure them." I asked where they were. She told me that she kept them with her fine china (she had a set of Spode and another of Limoges, IIRC) which she also, NEVER USED! She thought they were far too valuable to ever be entrusted to the grubby mitts of her brood. The summer before she passed, while I was home on a visit she told me that she had been putting things aside and told me the salt & pepper set was in a box with my name on it. I told her that I appreciated the gesture but that I woud prefer she give them to one of my siblings as I would simply lose them. She was okay with that. She also had a package for me, in a large manila envelope. It included photos of her and my dad on her wedding day, photos of my dad in India--and his unit patch, done on leather--from his days in the USAAF during WWII, my natal photo (from St. Joe's hospital), various photos of me and my older and younger siblings, my class photos from every year I'd had one taken, my AF photos and every single birthday card, letter and postcard I had ever sent her. It was not anything like the sort of pile that several of my siblings had, but I was astonished that she had kept everything for so many years. I still pull out that envelope from time to time and I feel her presence in those moments. Several years ago I wrote a song, "Kodak Moment" about the experience of viewing those photos and the memories that they awakened. I will share it one of these days when I have the time, energy and requisite knowledge to record it and put it up on this blog or elsewhere. Well, I guess it was not as short a post as I was thinking it would be.

Not quite the resume I was thinking I'd have

2008-12-29T22:14:00.002-05:00

So, I got tagged by no blood for hubris (http://nobloodforhubris.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-now-for-something-completely_29.html) and I am supposed to make a list of my jobs, all of them. I don't know how chronlogical it's gonna be, but here goes. paperboy (route carrier) Omaha World Herald. busboy. cook, prep cook KFC & Chicken Delight. warehouseman, Sears Roebuck. Inventory Mgmt Specialist, USAF waiter, bartender. counterman, power and hand tool sales and service. clerk, buyer and salesman, industrial supplies. inside sales, applications "engineer", power transmission components (bearings, belts, motors, etc. home improvement contractor. directory assistance operator. clerk, state regulatory activities, Verizon, Public Policy and External Affairs. working on my freakin' house. I've also been a photographer for about 25 years, but never really make any money at it (although it pays much better than writing poetry!).

12 Days of Christmas? Yeah, I got your 12 Days, right here!

2008-12-24T08:02:00.002-05:00

Good morning: Well, since I haven't had time to write my 2008 Christmas letter you'll be getting to read a retread. Maybe I'll get the other one done if some other projects get fininshed. If not, well, we'll always have 2002! ________________________________________________ December 19, 2002 Dear Family and Friends; Seasons Greetings. I know that all of you are doing last minute shopping and gift wrapping (a complete list of my sizes, color and fabric preferences and web addresses for all the gift registries I have signed up for is attached). I’m also sure that since you have families and invite people to your homes you’re stuck with having to do a lot of cooking, cleaning and decorating for the holidays. As for myself , I do my best holiday celebrating on the move: just look out your window, I’m pulling up in front of your house as you read this! I don’t even want to talk about politics this year as, well, we just got our butts kicked and can never hold our heads up again (oh, wait, that was my Cornhusker’s speech!). In any event I wanted to share with all of you a cautionary tale about how those who lose track of the true meaning of this holiday season will rue their bitter, empty lives. And so it goes… A Christmas Carol for 2002 (Ms. Stewart wanted to call it a Christmas Martha until we explained that it wasn’t named for a woman) We open on a scene of shattered domestic bliss in the master bedroom of a palatial Manhattan townhome, bedecked with every manner of ornament and decoration appropriate to the season. and yet, something is amiss. Martha lies abed, tossing and turning. Hers is a lonely life in these troubled days. Stock in her eponymous empire is in free-fall; a chorus of market regulators, congressional investigators, various state’s attorneys general, and the public-at-large call for her to be jailed, fined or; God forbid, forced to live in their meanly narrow lifestyles. Her old, dear friend, Sam Waksal (that rat-bastard, lying weasel) has involved her in his own contretemps regarding the Imclone scandal and has largely succeeded in deflecting attention towards her: she is such a convenient target! Finally, she drops off into a fitful sleep, filled with fevered dreams, nightmares of living like everyone else. Suddenly, at the foot of her bed, who should appear but the Spirit of Christmas Past (who looks suspiciously like Trent Lott!) to warn her of impending doom. Martha is carried back to her youth. Born Martha Kostyra to parents of 2nd generation Polish-Americans, she spent her early years in suburban Nutley, NJ (which exit is that?). The Spirit in a winding sheet (looking more like Trent with each passing moment!) invites her to stand at the table while her Christmas Past family enjoys their holiday repast of pierogi, guamki, red cabbage, bread with fresh lard and borscht—followed by Kolachis for dessert. This cheery scene is replete with evidence of Martha’s early forays into event planning and decorating. Working with pipe cleaners, egg cartons, dixie cups, paper towel roll cores and library paste young Martha could fashion an entire Christmas Scene right down to the baby Jesus giggling in delight as the Three Wise Men made Frosty the Snowman and Mary mixed up a batch of spicy Mogen David gluhwein for the festive occasion. We fast forward now, several years, to see Martha as a teenager. Already recognized as a prodigy by her High School Home Economics teacher, she is in charge of tree trimming, interior and exterior displays, gift wrapping, holiday communications (Christmas Cards, party invitations, Letters to Santa and thank you notes) for her school as well as catering several civic and private functions (once again library paste comes in handy—as an inspired choice for a last minute thickener for sauces and gravies). Additionally, as a volunteer consultant to the Nutley, NJ Department of Public Works, she assists in the planning, siting and construction of the Manger Scene (complete with paid actors and live animals) that is such a resounding success in downtown Nutley. Ah, but there’s a rub. It seems that Martha has, much as the cuckoo in nature, pushed her siblings out of the nest. Her five brothers and sisters have been put up with neighbors or relatives as one by one they are shouldered aside to make way for the various accoutrement of Martha’s chosen profession. In a final break with any semblance of familial conviviality Martha caters her own wedding, charging her parents such an exorbitant price (although it is, admittedly, a fair value) for the reception that they are forced to sign their home over to her as a means of payment. Her guide gazes at her dolefully, in silent accusation. “No, no!” cries Martha, “I was only trying to be graceful in a graceless world. Where’s the harm in that?”. The Ghost of Christmas Past merely shakes his head , sadly, and fades from view… Martha jerks bolt upright in her pencil-post, Gambian lacewood bed and shivers beneath her eider quilt. “Wow, what a wild, wild ride,” she thinks, “that’s the last time I have three eggnogs with Hennessy XO just before bedtime.” But then, just as she is ready to adjust her buckwheat hull pillow and drift back into dreamland, she notices a troll at the foot of her bed. “Who are you!!!?”, she shrieks. “I am ze ghozt of Chrizmaz Prezent.” murmurs the apparition, in a voice uncannily similar to Henry Kissinger’s. “But, But what are you doing here in my room?”, she whimpers. “Vell,” he says, “I vaz zuppozed to have ziz gig on a fact finding commizzion, but zey zaid I had a conflict of integrity or zomezing like zat. Zo, here I am, your perzonal imparzial obzerver. Let’z go for a ride” Martha makes a very short trip through time to four o’clock in the afternoon of the following day. It’s a huge party. No expense has been spared (it is, after all 100% tax deductible). All is in readiness for the fete. A beautiful Bristlecone Pine, named Methuselah, believed, at the age of 4,767 years, to be the world’s oldest living tree has been lovingly chopped down, flown in from high atop the Inyo mountains of California, festooned with garlands of cymbidium and onsidium orchids, draped with hand drawn sterling silver and 24 kt gold tinsel, lit with nearly a thousand beeswax tapers and covered with hundreds of blown glass ornaments and a stunning tree topper that utilizes in its design a recently discovered Faberge Egg. The linen is measured in acres; there are gardens of flowers; orchards of fruit; herds, gaggles, flocks and prides of various beasts, sizzling on spits, roasting in ovens, bubbling in stews. Sideboards groan with a surfeit of sweetmeats and tender victuals. Hogsheads of imported ales, casks of the finest wines, jereboams of Veuve Cliqout; dusty, dusky bottles of cognac and port that were laid down when Napoleon was but an overweening prat of a Corsican Corporal. All is in readiness: the doors to the great hall are flung wide and slam against the outer wall, creating a booming echo in the unpeopled silence. Martha is distraught, inconsolable. Does no one love her ? (Jeez, what an idiotic question—Hello!), will none sup with her on this blessed holiday? Has she been forsaken by all? (those same craven suitors who once longed for her merest nod, her benediction, her bons mots, “It’s a good thing”.) But no, what is this, the shade of the Nobel Whiner has pulled open a drawer to reveal the root of the travail. “It zeemz, Martha, you have forgotten to mail ze friggin invitationz. You vere zo caught up in your cheezy zhtock zhwaps and Imclone machinationz zat you committed a faux paz of epic proportionz”. Martha faints dead away. By now our heroine, having endured two horrific nocturnal visits is nearly out of her mind from sleep deprivation (it will takes weeks—and repeated applications of chamomile and lousewort masks to remove the facial puffiness) and scared nearly witless. But her ordeal is not yet at an end. Once more she awakes to find a fearsome specter at her elbow—this time it’s none other than Jacko, the Gloved One himself. The two moonwalk their way into the not too distant future where Martha suddenly finds herself in a shockingly loud, International Orange, “relaxed fit” jumpsuit and realizes that the room she’s in is not a closet, or a bathroom (although it does have a sleek, stainless-steel toilet bolted to the floor). It’s her home for the foreseeable future, a 6 x 10 cell in the maximum security block at Ossining, NY. Gone the toothsome viands of yesteryear, absent the sumptuous furnishings and appointments of her previous life. In their place, a rude, plebian table. A functional, unfashionable wardrobe. And there on the table, where the silver glove points, an oft creased and stained piece of paper, with that same precise, wonderfully cursive hand. A Christmas menu, to whit: Salsiccon de Bologna Fricassee au Pain Wonder, avec Pommes de terre du bebe et Legumes gris.* (Fried baloney sandwiches on Wonder Bread with Tater Tots and canned vegetables) “Is this my end?”, she shrieks, “Is this how it must be? Oh, please, I beg of you, just one more chance, just one more chance, just one more….. Slowly, as if rising from a great depth Martha swims to the the surface of conciousness; realizes she is still in her comfortable bed, in her lovely apartment in the Greatest City on Earth. She rushes to the window and flings it open. Drinking in the beauty that is Central Park West she spies an urchin walking with head down into the wind and calls down to him. “You there, young man. Go to Balducci’s on 11th and get me a 30 pound free range goose, some foie gras and a few bottles of Dom Perignon. We’ll have a wonderful Christmas dinner, just you and I and two or three score producers, prep and prop people, publicists and assorted hangers on. No, on second thought wait right there.” Dressing quickly in a well worn pair of keds, pedal pushers and a threadbare, “ I’M WITH STUPID” sweatshirt, Martha runs down the stairs and out the door past the startled concierge. “C’mon kid,” she says “I think today is a perfect day for a breakfast of Twinkies and RC Cola!”. Thus ends Martha’s plight as she returns to a simpler, less avaricious and less contentious lifestyle. In later years it is hoped that Martha will relax her standards to the point where she can retire to a double wide in a mobile home park in Dade County, Florida; fashion clothing, accessories and home furnishings from various food and beverage containers; spend her sunset years watching HSN, WWF and the Weather Channel; learn how to make a really tasty possum fajita and live happily ever after. There, now; that wasn’t so bad, was it? Actually, this idea was batted around by several of the cable channels, but Martha wanted to be involved in all aspects of the production—from storyboarding to smorgasbording and it just ain’t gonna happen. My life is good, I’m staying near the lifeboats just in case, but so far we are all still afloat here at the Real Phone Company (Verizon). I was able to get to my 35th High School Reunion this past summer. I think this will probably be the last one where we go up and down the stairs or wear shoes that aren’t white. I had a lot of fun trying to remember who my classmates were or where I live. Lucky you, I’m out of paper (print version). Happy Holidays, all the best in 2003. Love, Peace, Prosperity and Blessings * Okay, so my frenglish is tres excreable, sue moi.

First day of winter, my ass!

2008-12-21T08:51:00.003-05:00

Well, here we are, December 21st, the winter solstice when the weather turns cold and we can expect snow. That would be COLDER and MORE SNOW in my case. It's snowing sideways at the moment and the temp is hovering around 19 degrees. The forecast through tuesday calls for 14-27 inches of snow, depending upon how much you've pissed GOD off by being non-KKKristian. I think I'm gonna get buried. The news on the economic front continues to get worse. I'm almost thankful that I am not, statistically, unemployed. I'm less thankful that I am, not statistically but literally, not generating any income. Getting a job would be a good idea if there were any to get. The state of NY, just like every other state, is looking for ways to save money and increase revenues so they will be cutting school budgets and raising fees for all sorts of things. I think that the net effect of such measures is counter productive but they're not asking for my input at the Governor's office. Bush is just as clueless on the economy as he has been on the war and everything else. And yet, there are still people that think he will be remembered as a good president. That's not just a "Jones" that's a "Jonesville Jones". Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get my winter coat out of the traps.

The burning in the Alaskan "bush"

2008-12-19T09:03:00.002-05:00

Good morning: I have been busy trying to stuff newspapers in those cracks that were still letting in Ol' Man Winter (and were too small for the frozen squirrels that fit the larger openings) and in getting ready for the holidays--I'm working on a special "seasonal gruel" that includes some of those same critters! However, I have been absent from my duties here at the blog (your good fortune) and a week old bit of news has caught my attention: Now, I'm not a fan of burning churches (regardless how odious, depending on their beliefs or adherents, I consider them to be) but this particular fire, much like the one in Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps' garage seems deliciously ironic. Of course, since it was an arson job (at least it is being investigated as such by the local fire department) speculation abounds as to it's perpetrator(s). While various reichwing websites and blogs are pushing the meme that it was set by militant gays--It takes an army of village people to raze a church?--some other folks have suggested that it might be an act of GOD or maybe an act of Sarah the ImPalinator to extend her 15 minutes of fame. I don't know about any of that. But this was my comment over at Ed Brayton's "Dispatches from the culture wars" blog (http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2008/12/palins_church_burns_blame_the.php): _______________________________________________________________________________ Ed: There are times when the evidence is right there in front of us; to wit, the WSB's weekly schedule: Friday, December 12, 2008 5:00 PM--Potluck dinner (menu includes, harpseal terrine, narwhal tartare, saddle of airsniped wolf and lime jelloil mold) 6:00 PM--Witch Whackin' Workshop with the Rev. John Muthee 7:00 PM--Speakin' In Tongues Gospel Karaoke 8:30 PM--Joel's Army, Kristian Kadet Korps--an exciting demonstration of the U.S. Army's M2A1-7 flamethrower, bring the s'mores! ____________________________________________________________________________ Just to be perfectly clear, I don't hate christians, but I sure as hell dislike KKKristians and there are far too many of them using their "religion" as both sword and shield to push their fucked-up, hate filled agendas. They had better hope that the GOD they profess to believe in is a more tolerant deity than they depict him as.

Hubris has a new name, FoMoCo.

2008-12-10T12:03:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm a guy who owns a Ford Ranger. Almost 9 years of relatively trouble free service and I might be inclined to buy another one, if I had any requirement or money for one. Until today. That's when I got the following e-mail: ____________________________________________________________________________ Dear Member, I appologize for this email. I don't normally email the members but this is an emergency. Today, (December 9, 2008) I received a letter from the law offices of Howard, Phillips & Andersen that represent the Ford Motor Company. Ford is forcing us to surrender the name 'therangerstation.com' to them and stop using it. Ford states that using the name 'Ranger' when used in reference to the Ford Ranger is a trademark violation. In addition they are wanting me to pay them $5,000. As you may know, The Ranger Station has been around for the past 10 years and has been a valuable resource to Ranger enthusiasts. If Ford does this to us, where will they stop? I have 10-days to surrender the name and pay them $5,000. I'm asking that you contact Ford online and ask them to reconsider making us change our name and prohibiting us from using the word 'Ranger'. You can contact them at: https://secure.ford.com/footer/contact-ford/contact-us-email?contactMainTopic=PublicAffairs a sample of what one of the members wrote is: "To whom it may concern: I am writing concerning your recent legal attacks on various "fan" websites for vehicles such as the Mustang and Ranger. I am insulted by this careless misuse of our legal system and am reconsidering any further vehicle purchases from your company until you cease and desist from any further legal action concerning this subject. I have been a Ford owner for many years and I had hoped to stay that way. These attacks are morally wrong since they are geared towards your customers, and do not instill the least bit of confidence in your brand. For the sake of your business, I ask you to please reconsider immediately. Thank you." Thank you for your support and I applogize for this email. Jim Oaks TheRangerStation.com ____________________________________________________________________________ Jesus on a pogo stick aerating a golf course--is FoMoCo completely fucking clueless or what? a couplea couplets for the suits at FoMoCo. Brains of sawdust, ears of tin; Stupid is your major sin. hearts of stone and balls of brass. Mullaly, you can kiss my ass. Check this out, over at Jim Voorhies blog. http://jimvoorhies.com/index.php What a buncha fukin' idiots. Feel free to send any or all of this to your new, improved congressional delegations. UPDATE @ 7:43 P.M. 12/11/08 Jim at TheRangerStation informed me that he and Ford had reached an accomodation and asked that I put that information out here. Done. I hope he's through having ot screw around with those guys. Now if we could just have an effect on those assholes @ Sony and RIAA.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

2008-12-09T08:27:00.002-05:00

Yep; it's about that cold. It's not the cold so much as the wind and the "wintry mix" as they like to call it--snow, sleet, hail, drizzle, freezing rain, locusts, frogs, wombats and some other nasty critters from the Sargasso Sea--okay, I was kidding about the drizzle. Winter is getting an early start here in Oswego. We've had snow about four or five days in a row, now. With the sub-freezing (near zero overnight) temps of the last several days it's been nasty. I've still got part of the house that has no membrane over the sheathing--old, drafty, plank sheathing--and it's right on the wall of my bedroom. That would have been taken care of by now, but I've been unable to do a lot of physical stuff that I used to breeze through. That'll teach me to live a dissolute life while young! Fair warning, I'm working on my Earlywinter Feast Letter. Those of you to whom I haven't sent one in the past? well, your luck has run out.

One ringy-dingy

2008-12-06T08:08:00.005-05:00

Good Morning, Class: democommie is exceedingly pissed off at the moment, at AOL. I used their "free" intro period once, about a year and a half ago. I found out that it sucked and immediately discontinued it. Six months later I found out they were extracting money from my credit card account every month. I complained. Their response boiled down to "too fucking bad". No refund, a letter saying that, at my request they had closed the account. Now, admittedly, I'm sometimes not as diligent as I need to be, but here it is a year later and I find out they're still hitting me up for the monthly fee. Of course the letter they sent me is filed, somewhere in the storage unit, I hope. I called my credit card company and they said, "Well, we can cancel your card and issue you a new one, which you will receive in 7-10 business days." WTF? It used to be that if you lost a card or had it stolen they would have you a new one in 36 hours or less. So, my choices are to a.) dispute the bill every month or b.) take a chance on not having that credit card to use for two to three weeks (7-10 business days). The telecoms and internet providers, imo, are nothing but a bunch of fucking thieves (I'm talking about management, not the poor schlubs that have to work for the bastards). I currently use my fomer employer's services (they suck too). I was told, when I signed up for the service that the basic, basic, basic phone and DSL internet package would be $24.99 a month. Well, with the "taxes" and various add on fees, it's actually about $43. I was just looking at doing something different when this contract expires. TW wants something like $75/month and on Windstream's site it is practically impossible to figure out pricing. Is it just me or does something like $500-1000/annum seem like an awful lot of fucking money for phone and internet? Forget cable, it's through the roof. There is some talk that congress is going to look into cable pricing. I'll not hold my breath for that one. WTF is Ernestine (Lily Tomlin) when you need her?

If you kill it, clean it and cook it, I will come.

2008-12-01T19:54:00.006-05:00

I went to a "Hunter's Dinner" on saturday night. It was seven courses, as follows: Course One: Pan seared Grouper with curry sauce salsify and Jerusalem artichokes. Course Two: Sauteed frogs' legs with oyster mushrooms. Course Three: Smoked Pheasant salad with arugula and melon radish; lingonberry vinaigrette. Course Four: Ragu of Rabbit. Course Five: Grilled Wild Boar Sausage with onion and fennel confit. Course Six: Bison rib-eye with Enoki mushroom; poivrade sauce. Course Seven: Elk stew and celery root slaw. Each course was served with a different wine; four whites, three reds. It was a tasting menu, basically; and a good thing, it was still a lot of food. I tried to do like my friend Claudia over at "cook, eat, Fret" (http://www.cookeatfret.com) and take photos of all of the dishes; I failed miserably--well, not really miserably, I was quite happy to be derelict in that regard. I do have a few photos, they are in bass/ackwards order. The puff pastry encloses Elk Stew. The second photo is Ragu of Rabbit. The third is Smoked Pheasant Salad and the last is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than chicken. This evenings dinner was simpler fare. I made a nice stew with some top round, onions, carrots, celery, garlic (lots of garlic), diced tomato, some more garlic, black beans, corn, peas and acorn squash. Had that with some delicious Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay and the dinner movie is "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman". Now if only I had someone to rub my temples, peel me some grapes and give me an epidural cortisone shot for my sciatica I would be ever so happiery. Still, life's been good to me, so far.

Tis the season to be stupid.

2008-11-28T07:59:00.002-05:00

Good Morning: Now that I've binged and purged in honor of being thankful, I'm off to do some shopping. There are some special deals on appliances and I need to buy some stuff I can't afford. I will be most interested in watching the folks who are buying shit they don't need, probably don't really want (somebody told them they should have it or give it) and usually can't afford. Things like a second bidet for the double wide; or granite countertops. I think when I get my house finished ("when" sounds so much more "positive" than "if") I will have amassed a lot of stuff at clearance prices--no other way I could do this. Well, the sciatica is still beating me up, so I gotta be off and away while I can still motivate. I'll be glad when I feel well enough to be my usual, vituperative self.

YOW, it hoits!!

2008-11-21T08:52:00.004-05:00

I had some nasty sciatica once. It went away for about 3 years--it's baaaaaaaaack! I think that perhaps driving nearly 2,000 miles last week did not improve the situation but that was my choice--to spend time with peeps I like. I gotta go to the gym and see if I can "spin" some of this out on the recumbent bike. I got back here in Oswego and found about a foot of snow in my yard--and a nice "plow sundae" in my driveway. Moving that mess may have been contributory to my back pain as well. I think a snowthrower is on today's shopping list. I was sitting in my 44 degree bedroom yesterday, sending a rant to someone, when I noticed that there was tapping going on that was not a.) my fingies on the keyboard or b.) my castanet teeth. I went over and tapped on the freshly rocked wall and was rewarded with the sound a skwerl makes when he's feeling threatened (I've heard it a bunch of times now and, yes, they were right to feel threatened). I whanged on the wall with a piece of 3/4" plywood (so's I wouldn't screw up the shitrock) and cousin treerat vacated the premises. When I went outside a few hours later I saw the spot he had found to gain access; a never completed bit of siding by the previous owner. Of course it was 12-16 or so feet off the ground on a gable rake. So, after shoveling not one, but two, small roofs I got out my tools and started removing the builder's felt (tarpaper) to see what I needed to do and guess what--the bastard was home! I rousted him again and then put 16" x 30" 28ga sheet metal panels all the way up the rake to cover the gaps (no more than an inch or two, but those ratbastards are supreme opportunists). If he comes back he's gonna need goggles and a cutting torch. A friend I was chatting with last evening said that she was told by an environmental police officer (they have the death penalty for littering here!) that killing the squirrels will never solve the problem as they just keep making more and expand into the vacant territory--he sounds like a goddamned treeratofascist to me, I wonder if HE can see Russia from HIS house. I think I may have to start putting non-progress reports on the house in here, as well as photos--seeing as everything is hunky dory now that we have a sane president in the wings. Then again, I was just over at Ed Brayton's "Dispatches From The Culture Wars" on this thread: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2008/11/dunbar_tries_to_backpeddle.php Maybe it's not over even WHEN the fat lady sings or the "Rapchure" get's called on account of demand side lesberalism. Google "democommie" and follow the fun. There's over 330 comments and at least half of them are batshit crazy fundies and reichtards (is that a redundancy or cies) Another day, another poem or two. The following two pieces were written about the same time and I used to like having people read them back to back and watch their faces as they finished the "nice" one and then the "sick" one (their general take on the first and second, in that order). Well Mannered That moment when you touched him; I knew he was not your man. The touch was soft, yet, not tender nor, did it linger, for another moment's warmth. It was a simple courtesy, perhaps even a kindness. It was not the touch of a lover; not the touch of a true friend. It was a gesture of grace, a moment of thoughtfulness, one human aware of another. "Excuse me, please." not, "Hey, you!" 2/18/01 Unemployment This morning, like most, was a welter of confusion in the moment that I woke. Then, I sorted out the imagined and the factual. I realized I was alone, in the sense of not having you next to me. I realized my adventure had been milliseconds of REM. I realized I was still sleeping underground, a vampire in the cellar apartment. A vampire who had chosen unemployment over the bad job. You said I was sucking the life out of you with my nihilism, negativism and cynicism. I have to admit that I was being pessimistic, a response I thought extremely logical, given the state of the world and our relationship. I took the coffin of my self-hatred and went underground. I hunger for the warmth and sustenance of living in someone else's soul; I do not act on my hunger. I sit here, unemployed, looking through the employment ads that call themselves, "Personals" I read about a lot of rosy prospects, no mention of the work involved. I read about the rewards that will come from blindly answering an ad with a letter that has a code instead of a signature. They ask for a picture. I can't send one--they would see the fangs 3/11/01 Bear in mind, these were written when I had been living alone--and not dating--for about 6-1/2 years. I'm not sure if I owe my sanity to my celibacy but there are several lucky women out there who probably owe THEIR sanity to it.

I guess summer IS over.

2008-11-20T05:40:00.003-05:00

I got back from a week of visiting friends on the MA and NH seacoast and found a foot or so of wet heavy snow in my yard. Too.damned.early.for.this.shit. Oh, well. I had a a good time sleeping around and yakkin' with pals. I would have liked to visit some folks I keep meaning to spend time with, but there were certain things over which I had little or no control. I need to return a rental car, pick up insulation and get back to work. So, all you're getting now is this poem: Appetite When I was young I was so hungry, I had such a great hole in my soul. I gorged myself on hatred and self-loathing, feeding on the rage until my heart was as bloated and hard as a blood filled tick. I became so ill. I nearly died. People in my life tried to give me love, but there could never be enough, because I didn't know what "enough" felt like. It tasted so good, love did, that I wanted to take everyone's away; not leaving them any, I was so greedy. Too nice, too rich, too much. So I went on the "I don't need anybody" diet. It works pretty well, most of the time. I just keep telling myself that my hunger for love will pass; that loneliness is bearable, that the pangs of longing will fade, that I'm better off alone. Then I see you, we speak, I learn your name; I learn to expect your welcoming smile. It's like that old potato chip commercial one is not enough, I want them all I remember how good it felt to be a part of someone's life. I forget the sense of loss that came with partings. I feel like singing for my supper but, if I open my mouth, it will be to scream out my need. I must remember that hunger is not starvation; that satisfaction has more to do with restraint, less to do with gluttony. I want to taste the sweet, bitter, salty, sour, crunchy, soft and chewy that life offers. I want to know the difference between enough and too much. 12/30/00

Zoomin'!

2008-11-14T11:39:00.004-05:00

I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Newburyport, MA; buying some bad coffee to get free web access. As is the usual case when I come to visit it is hard to try to connect with all of the folks I want to see--I consider a .250 average to be very good. I read something the other day that spoke about relationships. I'm paraphrasing here, but the essence of the piece was that there are two sorts of friends--those who need constant affirmation of their status in word or deed; and those who figure a friend is a friend. I fall into the latter category. I have picked up where I left off with people after incredibly long layoffs (in one case almost twenty years). It's not my reason for being here, but I was asked to answer some interrogatories in a friends divorce proceedings. When I had finshed printing them out I had to get them notarized and the two of us walked to a nearby attorney's office to have that done. The nice lady who applied her seal and asked for my license to make sure I was me, finished the paperwork and said "you're welcome" to our "Thank you"'s. I then said "(her name); you don't remember me do you?" She looked at me and said, "No.", but she knew that she should. I laughed. She said, "NOW, I remember you!". She used to bartend for a friend of mine and I think it really took her back to see me after something like 7-8 years. I like my life and I like to be able to move around to see the people I love and care about. In fact, I'm sitting in front of YOUR house, right now.

The 1st an 2nd Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

2008-11-12T06:59:00.003-05:00

I pulled these from an online "Bill of Rights" website. Article the third [Amendment I] Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This says that we can say what we want to say to and about others. It does not say that we cannot be held responsible if our utterances are the proximate cause of a crime against a person or the state or if such utterance is a crime against sundry local, state or federal statues (libel, slander, assault--for instance) in an of itself. Article the fourth [Amendment II][4] A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. This says that we can all have guns (at least in the minds of the current SCotUS re: Washington D.C.'s ban on ownership of handguns in the District). Whether it means everybody in the country can have guns is not settled law yet. Our political opposites (and, in many cases, social and intellectual opposites--hint: smart and friendly, they're not) like to think that the 1st and 2nd Amendments are their exclusive birthright. They would have us think that, in light of their superior patriotism and obvious moral righteousness that they may decide who has the right to free-speech. In their minds that right is not universal; it is reserved for them and their fellows. They would likewise have us believe that they have an unfettered right to keep and bear arms, regardless their lethality or utility. When I have commented on other blogs that they might want to think about what that means in terms of the people they are so afraid of having the same rights they are silent or, more typically, abusive and dismissive. I often wonder at the apparent dichotomy of the pick-ups and other vehicles I see with bumper stickers that espouse anti-abortion views; the notion that GOD is actually driving/navigating the vehicle(it's often unclear which--although I don't believe GOD gets pulled over for DWI); that JESUS loves the occupant and it's reciprocal AND that GUNS are fun, necessary and BY GOD the vehicle occupant's until death do them part. I am pretty much an atheist these days, but I did spend 13 years in parochial school getting the lessons of Catholicism poured over me like the saving waters and I don't remember JESUS or GOD being Life (+eternity) NRA members. As is obvious from yesterday's post and the comments in the thread I have new readers. People like Serr8ball, who see themselves as the arbiters and guardians of MurKKKa do have those first and second amendment rights. They would do well to remember that WE ALL DO. I could simply ban the idiots but it is interesting, in the way that viewing a surgery on cable is interesting, to learn what they think. I've been invited, numerous times to various reichwing blogs. WTF? That's not an invitation any sane person who disagrees with such people would be interested in accepting--especially given comments to the effect that one would be assaulted at said sites. No, I think I'll stay here in my little blogtopia with my make-believe friends--at least they're sane and decent folks. Thus endeth today's rant.

Old POWARHERO's never STFU, they just become irrelevant

2008-11-11T07:10:00.008-05:00

You know, it seems like just yesterday I was lamenting the fact that I have very little charity in my heart for the unrepentant asshats that, now they have lost the election, want to make hating america a KKKristian virtue. Oh, wait, it was just yesterday. So, it seems that John McCain, fresh from his disastrous presidential campaign wants to go help Saxby Chambliss get re-elected in the runoff election down in Jawjuh on December 2 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-mcnay/max-clelands-chance-for-r_b_142365.html). I was all for poking him and likeminded shitheads with a sharp stick anyway, but now it appears that I would be justified in doing so. He is, he really is a p.o.s. of breathtaking stupdidity. I wonder if he and George The Worst have some sort of side bet going for who can lose the most stature in the shortest amount of time. I know Bushkins has an awesome early lead, but McCain is rapidly closing the gap. UPDATE: Oh, boy! I've just gotten my first real knuckledragger troll, Serr8d, whose blognomen is obviously sharper than his wit. It will be interesting to see how much bile he can spew. For those who remember Nashville is talking or MCB blogs, Serr8d and a few of his gang from Sickmeat buffet were startrolls over there. They all have their own blogs but they love to pollute others when they're not busy shitting into their own feed troughs. It will probably be getting nasty here, soon. Oh, dear!

My songbook don't got no "Kumbaya"

2008-11-10T06:24:00.003-05:00

Good Morning: Here it is, the beginning of the first full week of the brand new era (let's hope it's at least as long as the "Permanent Republican Majority") of the sovietization of America. Well, no, it's not, really; but, that is the way the reichwing blogospewers are protraying it. President-elect Obama (as differentiated from Pretendsident-SELECT or Pretendsident-RIGGED Bushkins) has been given, in the words of a blogger elsewhere, "a -77 days 'honeymoon'". He is being vilified at least as viciously and loudly as Bill Clinton was from the day he won his first term. There is a call to join hands with the opposition and work together to pull this country out of the Bushcomire that it was driven into. This is all well and good. We should welcome, allow and encourage those genuine conservatives who want a stronger, safer, healthier and fairer america into the fold, so to speak. For those, however, who are filled with hatred and misdirected rage we need to exercise vigilance and remain ready to refute their lies. James Dobson, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and the rest of that sick, twisted legion of perverts need to be shouted down at every opportunity. I have a new golden rule: Don't make nice with idiotic, hatefilled assholes. Keep your hearts, eyes and ears wide open.

2008-11-06T08:55:00.004-05:00

This will be like the "Rachel Ray" post; quickly prepared, nutrilicious truthiness in under 5 minutes. Obama got elected. Now we have to lay into OUR side to force them to do what's right for this nation, not their own interests. We need to make it safe for women, gays, people of color and those who differ (even with those of who are self-aware and awesomely enlightened) to speak, love, live and strive in ALL of our nation's cities and towns. We must cease to pretend that it's okay for some areas of this country to be run as if they were not subject to the same constitution as the rest of us. AND we must figure out a way for the GOD bothers to have their eucharist--and eat it,too--without imposing their beliefs on the rest of us. I'm done for today. I gotta get to work--and so do YOU! Violins con dios! S'okay, it was done, but then I decided to inflict a poem on you. I wrote it in 2004 and it's ostensibly about two people, but it's really about all of us. The Half-life of Intolerance The half-life of intolerance is a phenomenon of relationships. That which was a ripple on the fabric of love, Becomes the garment that chafes our hearts. What has been irritating becomes unbearable. It is not the thorn in our side; The burr under our saddle; The stone in our shoe. It is our fear; Of becoming irrelevant, Of becoming peripheral where we were epicentric. It is the fear of being once again, and forever, alone. Drowned in a desert; Starving in the midst of bounty; Dying of thirst in a river of your love. The more I dwell on this the farther I move from my center. I feel as if I’m the only one who is lost or hurt. Then I see the sadness in your smile. I hear the pain cracking the melody of your brave voice. I realize then that we are both afraid. I realize that it is, perhaps, why we are together in this place, now. We are meant to add the strength of two often enough to become one. 2/07/04

I'm singin' under the truck...

2008-11-05T08:07:00.002-05:00

We didn't just get a new president last night. We got. HOPE. Perhaps that Jackie Deshannon hit ("Put A Little Love In Your Heart") can be revamped. Think of your fellow man Lend him a helping hand Put a little HOPE in your heart You see it's getting late Oh, please don't hesitate Put a little HOPE in your heart And the world will be a better place And the world will be a better place For you and me You just wait and see Another day goes by And still the children cry Put a little HOPE in your heart If you want the world to know We won't let hatred grow Put a little HOPE in your heart And the world will be a better place And the world will be a better place For you and me You just wait and see, wait and see Take a good look around And if you're lookin' down Put a little HOPE in your heart And I hope when you decide Kindness will be your guide Put a little HOPE in your heart And the world will be a better place And the world will be a better place For you and me You just wait and see Put a little HOPE in your heart Each and every day Put a little HOPE in your heart There's got to be a better way Put a little hope in your heart Don't you think it's time we start Put a little HOPE in your heart

Happy Obama Day

2008-11-04T23:40:00.001-05:00

I think the title says it all. Now I gotta go work on my frikkin' truck!

Don't forget to vote todayt.

2008-11-04T07:14:00.002-05:00

VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE. I know, it seems redundant but I want to make sure you vote at least once!

HOPE, is not a four letter word

2008-11-02T07:13:00.004-05:00

Good morning, my preciouses: I went to a concert last evening and heard David Roth http://www.davidrothmusic.com/index1.html sing wonderful songs that were, by turns, silly and sublime. Gentle, kind hearted and uplifting music, performed by someone who cares, deeply, about the world that he inhabits and all of those in it, even those with whom he disagrees. His politics were no mystery to me; but, he never really mentioned them until just about the end of his set. When he did, it was not about red/blue; it was about me and you. I don't have that much equanimity and magnanimity in my heart, just now (if, in fact, I ever had) but I am grateful that someone like David exists to do the things that I am just unable to do in that regard. In three days we will know, hopefully, who our next president will be. Barring massive voting "irregularities" it appears that the winnners will be the Obama/Biden ticket and a largish chunk of the electorate. The GOP for whatever their reasons might be (they are opaque to me) have tried, since 1980--at least--to change this nation into something that is nearly unrecognizable to those of us who actually read and believe the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It's past time for a change, it's time for a paradigm shift. Let's keep our hearts and eyes open and our fingers crossed. UPDATE: Check this out: http://whitenoiseinsanity.com/2008/11/02/real-hockey-mom-kicks-sarah-palins-ass-video-included/#respond

Mmmmmmmmmmm, Stew

2008-10-30T07:40:00.005-04:00

Okay, so it's cold out this week. I took this opportunity to make stew: "Ragoút au Réfrigérateur avec trois saussice" (Three sausage refrigerator stew) Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a 5qt dutch oven. Saute, briefly 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (store bought or your own mix), briefly, to help release flavors into oil. Add; 2 oz thinly sliced pepperoni 4 oz grilled "hot" italian sausage 8 oz "hot" chorizo After sausuage is browned (3-4 minutes at moderate heat) Add: 1 huge or several smaller onions 2 Tbsp of minced garlic (unless you like more--there is no "less" button) 1 10-12 oz package of button mushrooms 1/2 oz sundried tomatoes (whole or hacked, up to you) 2 ribs of celery--roughly chopped 4 normal sized carrots--roughly chopped Continue sauteeing until mushrooms have gotten floppy and you want to start picking them out and eating them all by themselves. Add: 1/4 C Dry Marsala 3/4 C decent or better beer (retain leftover beer for chef) heat for a minute or two, stirring ocassionally, to avoid that raw alcohol taste we all hate in our food. Add: 1-1/2 to 2 qts or broth or water A healthy splash of EVOO 2 bay leaves fresh ground black pepper & salt (if you really think it needs salt, with all that sausage in there) Simmer for as long as you like (at least an hour) Add 1 can black beans, bring back to simmer. adjust seasoning and serve. I think I need to go have breakfast, now. Mangia! Next time I'll save the skwirruls! Ciao!

I'm dreaming of a white halloween!

2008-10-29T06:40:00.007-04:00

It's 37 degrees outside. It's 48 degrees inside. This is what happens when a bad knee slows down the renovation process. This project is taking longer than I would like it to for a number of reasons, but the knee is definitely an impediment. Oddly enough, I view this situation with considerably more aplomb than I do a lot of other challenges in my life. I also find that it makes me much more aware of the plight of the homeless and others who have somehow not made the $250K necessary to gain entry into the McMiddleclass. I mean I'm sitting here eating my Generi-O's with a banana and some raisins and drinking a nice hot cup of coffee, my jeans are heating up on the portable radiator and I'm waiting for 8:00 AM to roll around so that I can start making noise. I'm not toastee, but I'm okay. I have a full belly (well, maybe a bit more than that) pretty decent health (no insurance, though), relatively acute mental faculties and a shrinking but still visible cash cushion. On the one hand: I am not wearing $300K's worth of nomination duds or even $150K's worth of campaign couture; flying around on an executive jet; being courted by the movers and shakers of american business and religiopolitics or lionized/demcnized by the various news and fauxnews organizations. OTOH: I am not sleeping under a bridge; driving a busted down shopping cart; being rousted from a heating grate by the cops; being vilified/pitied by the various news and fauxnews organizations or being used as an object lesson/cautionary tale for the young and impressionable. Okay--I'm not so sure about that last one. But, hey, I'm a big boy, I'm doing what I said I wanted to do these last many years. As usual, per my brilliance, I have elected to walk the highwire, blindfolded, on crutches while someone shakes the pylons. But I CHOSE this. Many of the poor, the uninsured sick, and those yearning to breathe free (I'm speaking about non-violent offenders in overcrowded prisons,here) did not choose to be born into their situations and "fail" in life anymore than a gay person chooses to be gay; It just happened. So for that we should hate and fear them? Apparently so, if you're a reptilican. I am sick and disgusted to hear the GOP's candidates campaigning, as usual, with the only two tools which they seem to know how to use--fear and hate. I guess they are limited in their selection of tools by the fact that they have no coherent policy for changing the downward direction of the economy or the nearly eight year long train wreck of Bushco policy, both foreign and domestic. They hate "the other", they hate science (except that related to fast food and weaponry), they hate non-KKKristians and, it appears, they hate black americans with the temerity to run for the highest office in the land. Fuck them. Fuck their attitudes, their platitudes and their false "GODLY" gratitude. If Jesus were to suddenly show up at a mPALINccain rally and start preaching his gospel of love and forgiveness he would be evicted, arrested, beaten or worse. The GOP has been reduced, by it's association with the religionationalists to a shrill, keening shell of the party that once had room for Rockefeller, Goldwater, Eisenhower and a host of other men/women who actually cared about their nation and its people and not just fulfillment of their own delusional dreams of conquest and rapture. GOP, God's Own Phobics.

Never say never.

2008-10-28T15:24:00.005-04:00

Having finished the champagne and twinkies I am back to my usual churlish form. Some strange things are occurring the last few days. Game 5 of the WSoMLB (I think it looks cool that way, like SCotUS) was suspended because of inclement weather, rain. I think we are getting that rain in Oswego today. It's coming in sideways. Police in Arakansas arrested a pair of neo-nazi shitheads who were "planning" on beheading 14 african-americans and shooting 88 more. It was reported that these numbers mean something special to the white supremacy movement. A police spokesman said that the plan was not very far advanced or sophisticated. I'm still waiting for the reichwing to start blaming the liberals for this--I'm sure it won't be long. John McCain is trumpeting his abilities as a seer. He says the pundits are gonna get egg all over their faces when he and the McHuntress win the election. Two of the three of these I sorta understand--but that last one, wtf? Is McDivotface smokin' the same cigarettes as me? The "centrists" (so called) of the GOP are jumping ship in droves. It appears that the ImPalinator is bringing the Whackomoms (and dads) out in large numbers--and shooing the independents in much larger numbers. I honestly can't see how McCain could win at this point, but then again I didn't see how Bush could get one term, never mind two, in the WH. You all really need to impress upon your family and friends that nothing can be taken for granted. Every vote DOES count. I spent most of Sunday going up and down the ladder to plug holes in fascia that the squirrels were using to gain access. I caught one inside and trapped him out this morning (walnut oil and peanute butter is great bait). He is now communing with his seven squirrel brethren who preceded him in death. I hate squirrels, unless they are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out in the woods. I gotta get back to work.

2008-10-25T09:28:00.007-04:00

On this day in history: 1147 The Seljuk Turks defeat German crusaders under Conrad III at the Battle of Dorylaeum. 1936 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini create the Rome-Berlin Axis. 1938 The Archbishop of Dubuque, Francis J. L. Beckman, denounces Swing music as "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people", warning that it leads down a "primrose path to hell". 1944 Heinrich Himmler orders a crackdown on the Edelweiss Pirates, a loosely organized youth culture in Nazi Germany that had assisted army deserters and others to hide from the Third Reich. 1949 A major rent is torn in the fabric of spacetime or timespace (scientists are unsure of which) by the squalling of a red-faced infant democommie. 1962 Cuban missile crisis: Adlai Stevenson shows photos at the UN proving Soviet missiles are installed in Cuba. 1972 The Washington Post reports that White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman was the fifth person to control a secret cash fund designed to finance illegal political sabotage and espionage during the 1972 presidential election campaign (see also Watergate scandal). Born on this day, in no particular order: Klaus Barbie (The Butcher of Lyon), James Carville (political strategerist--Bill Clinton's Rove), Father Charles Coughlin (Roman Catholic priest and pro-Fascist radio broadcaster--Bill O'Reilly in a cassock), Bobby Knight (winningest coach in D1-NCAA Men's Basketball--Bill O'Reilly in polyester slacks and a sweat shirt), Ed Powers (porn star with a number of "rough" sex videos), Richard F. Syron (CEO of Freddie Mac--not no more!) Good managers, all! The following subversives were born on the same day. Max Stimer (Existential German nihilo-anarchist), Minnie Pearl (Cheap hat, great comic), Nancy Cartwrigth (the voice of Bart Simpson), Johann Strauss (composer, "Blue Danube" waltz), Bobby Thompson (1951 home run brought Giants to the Series), Richard Byrd (American explorer), Billy Barty--nee William John Bertanzetti (small person, american actor), Milena Roucka(Canadian former model current professional wrestler of Czech and Costa Rican descent), Pedro Martinez (Dominican Major League Baseball player, former BoSox). Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) was an Andalusian-Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. As one of the most recognized figures in twentieth-century art, he is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, Guernica (1937). And, of course, ME, YOURS TRULY; FUCKIN AY! I am happy to report that I'm typing this, which is a good thing. It means my arthritic fingers and my semi-nimble mind are still working, sort of. Unfortunately, I must also report that my character was formed more by those aforementioned subversives than by the true patriots and all around ubermenschen whose births I noted in the preceding paragraph. I will, somehow, live with it. In lieu of cards, flowers, candy, gift certificates, offers of whatever sort of sexual escapades you may be interested in--please simply send a small donation (a single Benjamin will do) to the address I will furnish to all who e-mail me. Your donations will help to defray the expense of my upcoming "OBAMAWINS,OBAMAWINS" party or, in the event that the GOP is able to engineer another electatheft, for funding my escape to Oz to live with a group of aboriginals who have maintained their culture (but DO think that cold beer is one white devil convenience that they can live with). I will be listening to jazz, by Matt Vacanti and ESP, this evening at Patz on the River in Oswego. If you're all going to come, I would suggest reservations. Tell them I sent you and maybe they'll give me a free drink or something. You know what I love, even more than my country? I love my friends--and that's really about all I need for my , your friendship. Well your friendship and some nice Dom, a couplea lobstahs, a few nice buds, the company of a winsome young lady (or one who thinks that way) and breakfast at Tiffany's. Ciao, for now. democommie

The Empress' new clothes.

2008-10-23T08:50:00.001-04:00

Let's see, John Edwards' $400 haircuts were "scandalous" to the reichwing of the KKKRepublican Partei and bHUSSEINobama's an uppitylitist. So, in an attempt to assuage the fears of Joe Six-Pack (no relation to Tupac Shakur--I can assure you) and Joe DePlumber that their candidate for the Vice Presiduncy is out of touch with the "common man" the GOP decides that it's not a good thing that Sarah Palin is a bit couture challenged, while Cindy McCain looks like a runway model (now I didn't say she had done a Kate Moss and become a junkie, did I? Prove it, I dare ya!). So, they sent a note to Mrs. McCain (2) to tone down her appearance and leave the pearls in the dresser drawer (right next to her "Lady Glock" Model 26, 9mm semi-auto--and to start wearing one of these (http://www.zazzle.com/pink_gun_lady_glock_shirt-235151653112786202). They did that, right? Oh, nos!!, they didn't. Instead, they sent Sarah to the clothing department at Neiman Marcus and Saks where she spent about $125K on a few nice things. Well, once she was Sarah, "Plain and simple"; now? She's still simple, but not so plain. No word on whether she got a few goodies from Victoria's State Secrets. In the same account where Sarah's clothing bill was discussed (http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2008/10/22/blog-buzz-sarah-palins-150000-rnc-shopping-spree-barack-obama-and-john-mccain-release-dueling-robocalls-al-qaeda-website-endorses-mccain.html) there was word the RNC also shelled out over $8,000 for John McCain's makeup artist (those necrocosmetologists do not work on the cheap--I'm sure the DorkLordCheney loaned McStain his rolodex for that one). It would appear that "lipstick on a pig" has gotten somewhat expensive. Okay, so you know what I meant, right? You know that I was dissing the "Cariboob™©®" and not the Extinguished Senaturd from Aritwilightzone? Yeah, so, sue me. Hey, I'm not even a republican and I wear plain cloth coats and pants and hats. They may be a little threadbare and frayed around the edges but I'm an American (cue patriotic music and flag waving--from a cruciform flagpole--over amber fields of grain, covering nu-Q-lar missile silos) and damn it, I have smallminded values just like Sarah and JohnnyPOW's supporters.

The choice

2008-10-22T06:10:00.002-04:00

Good morning, all you beautiful people: Jim Voorhies (http://jimvoorhies.com/index.php) posed an interesting thought over at his place. Who should we vote for, bearing in mind that the recession we haven't been in for the last year or so, will be found hidden in Nancy Pelosi's hard drive on 1/22/09? No, those were not Jim's exact words--I'm not sure if they're mine either--read his piece. Anyhoo, I think it makes a difference who we vote for(subliminal message:OBAMAOBAMAOBAMA) because of the following reasons (among others): A.) Getting our foreign policy and military readiness situation in order. B.) Watching the genuine conservatives (yes, the do exist) tell the talibanigelicals to have a huge helping of STFU hot dish. C.) SCotUS, SCotUS, SCotUS. Besides if Obama gets elected we might wind up eating dog food. If McStain gets the job, we might wind up eating the dog.