Good Grief, Oct. 10!

I hate the thought of my blogs dying one by one. But, hey, time goes by, interests change, you forget, you go on. I have several others, not just with this posting name. They're dead and gone, because I'm not returning to them. Maybe BOY LEG deserves a slight continuation.

I saw some months ago -- then was reminded of it while wandering the women's clothing aisles at a local store -- that Boy Leg is a term that describes some sort of women's clothing thing. What, precisely, I don't know. It's a good thing to look up next time interest in it hits me.

Last posting on Oct. 10 means I skipped Halloween, Fall in general, everything of November, Thanksgiving, everything leading up to and encompassing Christmas. Probably just as well, since my opinions on those subjects fall solidly in the mainstream. Halloween, I never dress up, nor do I have a lot of interest in it. Thanksgiving has to be the major holiday of which there's the least amount of stuff to say about it. Something nebulous about being thankful. Christmas has lots of points of interest and personal stories.

We have invested Christmas with so much meaning that any little slight, any little family squabble is greatly magnified. Don't mess with Christmas. You can't get depressed and skip it, because if you do, forever after that's the year you got depressed and skipped Christmas! You really can't do anything out of the ordinary at Christmas, because it's a matter of family legend and lore that you won't escape ever. Christmas is really a time for being middle of the road, in what you say, in behavior, in attitudes, everything.

There was one "Christmas From Hell" when I was a kid, of which I shall not relate any details. It was over 40 years ago. I ignorantly tried to tell someone about it the other day and broke down in tears literally 5 seconds in, and I am not a crier. That was a Christmas that got messed with, and you don't forget.

I was involved in a family squabble of sorts this year -- this very year -- a few days before Christmas -- then it spilled over into an argument the day after Christmas. Long story short, it's not resolved yet. I was partially to blame on this deal, and I have no doubt whatsoever, this Christmas, insofar as it's remembered at all, will be remembered for this one incident. And I'm the one guy in the world who knows better.

Anyway, we'll leave it there. This will be my post for December. All the best to everyone around the world for a Happy New Year. We're getting rid of Bush so it has to be happier than the others.

Myrtle Fargate Dies

Eileen Herlie.

I've been a big fan of All My Children over the years. Not so much these days; I only see 10 to 15 minutes a day. But over the years I watched it pretty faithfully.

Myrtle Fargate, the lady who played her, passed on, at the age of 90.

Myrtle has to be one of the most beloved characters on the show. An ex-carny, she knew all the ropes in dealing with people, making friends of good and bad people alike, and always held her own.

Myrtle had a boarding house, which allowed a lot of interaction with the various characters as they moved into town.

The storyline that I remember earliest in my time of watching the show involved Langley Wallingford, who Myrtle knew from their carny days. He was a pretend professor and married into money with Phoebe Tyler. His real name wasn't Langley, but a much less classy, Lenny. I can't remember the details of how it worked out, but they had some great scenes together.

The strangest storyline involving Myrtle that comes to mind was when she had a kind of romantic relationship with a guy named Red, who turned out to be Kris Kringle, Santa Claus!

Everyone loved her, that's for sure. And she even had a kind of playful sexuality (not consummated of course) going with younger men, who treated her as a very knowing equal, kind of a partner, like an appreciated broad. One man that comes to mind, Zack Slater. She also acted as a trusted confidante in many many scenes.

I always loved seeing Myrtle Fargate whenever she was on.

Jesus' Return in 1988

I meant to have a really good internet observation of the 20th anniversary of Jesus' return in 1988, as predicted by Edgar Whisenant.

I remembered it was September 1988 but didn't have the dates clearly in mind after all this time. Now I look at Wikipedia and the dates were between Sept. 11 and Sept. 13.

I do remember this part, that he had a book (two books combined), 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988 and On Borrowed Time. I am virtually 100% sure that there was an edition of the book that didn't have the word "Could" in the title but a more definite word, which I think was "Will." What other options could there be that would be definite?

They have a quote by Whisenant that I also remember, at least a variation of it: "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong; and I say that to every preacher in town."



I went to one of his meetings in 1988. And I have tapes of several of his radio shows that were broadcast on KAAY radio from Little Rock, Arkansas. My collection is a hodge podge and I don't have them catalogued well. The shows were repeated from time to time, so what dates they were presented is unknown to me. He wrote another book after the Lord's coming didn't happen in '88, predicting it for '89, basing this revised theory on the fact that he felt he was mistaken in having considered the year 0 an actual year, or something like that. In other words he was off by a year, making '89 the true year. This book had a title something like "The Midnight Call" or "Midnight Cry," just going by memory.

His co-host on the show was named Greg Brewer. So ... 20 years have passed. And Jesus still hasn't come. Wikipedia says Edgar died in 2001.

It is up to D.B. Kundalini to end the war

OK, I hereby end it. Done.

The headline is the headline of an email I got, putting the ending of the war right in my personal lap. I like that, being a man of responsibility and action. I really don't mind. If it is up to me, I will end it, and herewith do end it.

But then the body of the letter isn't specifically on my personal power to accomplish this task. It says, "Our leaders in Washington aren't going to end the War in Iraq unless we make them." So there's a "we" that need to make the "leaders" end the War.

Then it goes on to tell me that knocking on 5 doors or 50 will have something to do with this.

Signed, Democracy for America.

Cindy McCain

In the spirit of Cindy McCain's speech, I will try to type this post very slowly, very deliberately, with a good helping of lethargy. If I can draw it out, make it fairly dreary, and even stilted, I will know that I captured the sense of her presentation. But it's hard to do, since I've been a pretty good touch typist since 8th grade.

For the first time for me, she really looked like another Cindy, Cindy Brady. That was distracting to me, because I was thinking of the Brady Bunch most of the way through.

Besides that, the difference between Cindy's soft-focus, cliche-packed presentation and Gov. Palin's was stark. The crowd was into it, of course, but you couldn't say she blew the roof off the place, or she hit it out of the park. She hit a pleasant double and finally stood on base without scoring. She even used the baseball metaphor, about her husband, saying, "I hit a home run with John McCain," in snagging him away from his first wife. That's what I was thinking of, then as well when she got into his honesty and integrity and in what a superlative father he's been. I suppose if you have enough families you eventually get it right!

For the most part, it was a thoroughly Republican presentation. Puffy, bloated, riddled with chromosome-challenged moments.

Getting a Urine Sample from a Dog

Have you ever tried to get a urine sample from a dog? It's very hard.

Our dog was sick one time and the vet said to bring in a urine sample. So you take the dog out, and it's unpredictable when she's going to pee. You're there with a little plate, trying your best not to freak the dog out, who of course has no idea what's going on.

Then when she drops down to pee, you can't see what's going on down there because of the overhanging fur, so you try to shove the plate in, further confusing the dog who instantly quits peeing.

By now she's looking at you with a mixture of confusion and distrust. "Are you angry at me for some reason?" she's wondering. So you say, "Good girl, everything's good." Finally you win back her trust long enough for her to try to pee, and you shove in the plate, which this time comes up with a dribble, probably not enough.

Your temper is rising because we could be doing this all day, squat and shove in the plate, and it's not going well. The more you do it, the harder it is.

Finally we got several more dribbles, enough for a microscope, I guessed. And the vet said that was enough. Good job.

A Snake

My dog and I saw a snake today when we went for a walk at the park. This is the first time I've ever seen a snake there. It's a "freak out" moment when you look down and see one.

It happened like this. The dog was a little ways ahead of me and I saw her jump funny, and I immediately thought that might indicate a snake. But when I got there there wasn't a snake. So I thought she must have been freaked out by something that she wasn't expecting, like if she hit a stick with her back leg or something.

And then we walked on another 10 feet and 15 seconds later, the dog jumped again real funny and I looked down and jumped too! There was a snake. It was wriggling, but then came to a stop and was just looking up. I was able to snap the picture.

I'm thinking that the first time she jumped that there must have been a snake that time, too, going into a hole, which would explain why I didn't see it.

That is such a weird thing to see, freaking out both man and dog. Something very primal going on there.

Carter: McCain "Milking" POW Story

Jimmy Carter is a wise, wise man. He declares that McCain has been "milking every possible drop of advantage" from his time as a POW.

This has been obvious, but it's great to hear someone as wise as Carter saying it.

On the other hand, think of McCain. He had 5½ years when he wasn't able to milk things, so maybe he does have a right to milk it now.

But as for the benefits McCain's getting from the story, let him milk it because that old teat's going dry!

Overheard Retail Grousing

Walking out of a hardware store, overheard comments, someone grousing like this, "Have a nice day." The other wondering why she said that. Because, she says, I was in retailing myself, and a checkout person is supposed to say, "Have a nice day." Apparently the checkout person didn't say it, and this was a cause for some mild anger.

Not Rich Till $5 Million Income

Here's our first kick rating. We could pick no better (worse) a recipient than the always deserving John McCain.

We're going to be merciful on this one because there was an element of joking in his answer. But he probably deserves an extra kick simply because of all the joking, since these are serious issues and serious issues ought to be addressed once in a while in a serious way. We're quite sick of McCain joking about everything. When does the guy get serious? Oh yeah, when Georgia's in trouble. But if America's in trouble, he's nothing but laughs.

Yet mercy shall prevail on this, our first kick rating. McCain, in a question on who's rich, expressed his opinion that you need an income of $5 million to be considered rich in America. So $4 million wouldn't qualify.

OK, how can the average guy relate to McCain, since we all know average incomes are well below $2 million a year? With an answer like this, McCain shows himself to be an out of touch elitist. For that reason, we approach McCain's wrinkly butt and swiftly apply three well deserved kicks. Count them as the foot makes contact with his bottom: 1 - 2 - 3. Not one over, not one under. Justice deserved, justice served.

The Leg's Still Kickin'

What I need is a blog gimmick. Such as with Boy Leg, obviously the gimmick could relate to kicking. Put up a story that's outrageous, such as McCain questioning Obama's patriotism. That gets five kicks. The big difference with stars is that the more stars you get the better it is, but the more kicks you get the worse it is.

Kicking, that's about all I can think of relating to legs. To "knee" someone is a little farfetched. You can't give someone five knees to the groin. One, it's very limiting, and even though five knees to the groin would hurt anyone, it's more gender specific as to who would receive the most damage.

The downside of a kicking gimmick is that what if it was a story that wasn't outrageous, something to criticize. To give them one kick is still a negative response. But what response could a leg give that would be positive? If you went with 'playing footsie' that's getting away from the overall theme.

It could be -- and would likely to have to be -- that the kicks are reserved only for outrageous things deserving a kick. But that puts me in one major rut, in that everything I judge would have to be negatively rated.

Mamma Mia Soundtrack

I got the Mamma Mia! soundtrack CD today. I don't usually buy soundtracks, maybe especially, not that there are so many cases of this, where the movie stars sing the songs.

But this time I really loved the film and thought the songs were great. Still, I'm thinking, it's almost 15 bucks. But I took the plunge anyway. I'm glad I did.

The songs not only recall the film, and that's happy, but they're really good, nice sounding. They sound better on the CD, maybe because there isn't all the other sound effects and things from the movie. The vocals are nice and punchy, very well done. And the instruments of course are crystal clear and lively, great.

My only complaint is that in "Honey, Honey" they have Amanda Seyfried laughing some of the lyrics, as in the film. I would have preferred to have a straight version without those laughs. One other note, which isn't really a complaint, is that they left off "Waterloo," but it was a kind of bonus in the film and wasn't part of the film proper.

Feingold Praises McCain

Come on, Russ Feingold! Get your head out of there! It's bad for your posture, and, anyway, toilet paper's not that expensive.

Hate Stopped at Border

The Westboro "church" protest of a Canadian funeral seems to be a no go.

Canadian border guards are under orders to prevent members of a fundamentalist American church from crossing into Canada to protest at the funeral Saturday of a Winnipeg man brutally killed on a Greyhound bus last week."

Entering Canada by a U.S. citizen isn't an absolute right, and if you're coming here only to disrupt the social order and to promote what we consider to be bordering on hate crimes or hate language, they shouldn't come into Canada," [Winnipeg MP Pat] Martin said.

So, see, once in while there's good news to report!

Who's the Elitist?

Good quote from Ed Rollins on McCain's attempt to paint Obama as some kind of elitist:

"It's a nice try, but he's not an elitist. That's not a sustained campaign tactic. Here was someone who grew up with nothing versus the son of four-star admirals. It's a nice try and a good diversion in the first part of August, but painting him as an elitist is not a winning strategy going into the fall."

Someone who grew up with nothing ... versus ... the son of four-star admirals.

Republicans Claim Congress Stunt Lowered Gas Prices

Maybe you've heard that Republican members of Congress have stayed around after the recess, talking, apparently, maybe hooting and hollering for all I know, about gas prices and offshore drilling. The stunt of course coincides with an election year.

An apt question for these losers might be ... Why in all the years that the Republicans controlled the House and the Senate and the Presidency didn't you do anything about this problem that is now so all-important a few months before the 2008 election? But I'm afraid they'd give me an answer, a lot of hot air, talking points, in a spin doctor voice like Foghorn Leghorn.

One might sit back and ponder, Is this the best the United States of America can do, is this the best we can hope for? Government of special interests, by special interests, and for special interests? A lot of halfwits who don't have a clue what to do except they get their talking points and spin from somewhere on high in the party? A party that will simply lie to your face and act like that makes them patriots? I have a feeling criminals are running things, but, hey, that's just me.

As we all know, gas prices have gone down 10, maybe 20+ cents or so in the last few weeks. Well, guess who's taking credit for this? (In addition to the prayer group praying for lower gas prices at the pump in St. Louis.) That's right, these same Republican representatives in Congress! They have been there talking away and coincidentally the prices went down. It was not just a coincidence!

There's a great paragraph in that article: "The Republican members did not answer questions about whether they would take the blame if gas prices go up again." I can answer that question by posing another question: When's the last time they took the blame for anything? They never have, so the answer is no.

Anyway, we welcome their great help! Keep talking, Republicans, and if gas prices keep going down, we'll let you talk all day, all night, everyday till the election. Keep up the good work. Then those of you who are booted out will have to go home, or perhaps find a place near to the Capitol for rent and keep talking. Do your civic duty by helping me fill up my tank more cheaply.

Talk is cheap. Gas isn't. So keep right on talking!

Flat Tires: This Is Too Easy!

We've died and gone to Gaffe-Heaven today, thanks to John McCain.

The McCain campaign (seriously) has come out in favor of flat tires for greater fuel efficiency. All these years everyone's had it wrong, thinking that the manufacturer's recommended air pressure in tires was the right way to go. Barack Obama, along with others, pointed that that fuel efficiency is dependent on proper maintenance of your car, including tires.

John McCain begs to differ. He ridicules the idea that air in tires is necessary at all. And he should know, having been there when they invented the wheel. The wheel back in those far off days didn't have any air at all, being a stone. Like in the BC comic strip, perhaps it was a unicycle, or as in the Flintstones, perhaps it was a wide design. In each case it was unmistakeably stone. No air.

How did we get so far from "the old ways?" John McCain properly laments. And this is true.

What is called for now is obvious, that we should let the air out of our tires and drive on them. The principle has been stated. All McCain supporters should follow this advice immediately. If we see you driving around with air in your tires, we'll know you don't agree with him. Let's see your support!

Image by Phrenry

At least the caption is, by phrenry at Daily Kos.

Presumptuous Messiah!

If I'm McCain I'm not going there. Setting himself up as a new Messiah and belittling Obama as some kind of Messiah-wannabe.

McCain needs to cut out the attacks on religion, his mockery of religion. We know that McCain has called religious leaders the "agents of intolerance," that he is having a hard time getting the enthusiastic support of people of faith, and that he himself doesn't go to church. (Although, it seems, he, at the impressionable age of 71 or 72 was thinking about getting baptized! How convenient to wait till an election year to "get religion"!)

Who can look at this presumptuous picture and not see what he's suggesting? Perhaps something touching on the Rapture doctrine. Help from Heaven in him. John McCain as the second coming, the Prince of Peace!

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2,6)

John McCain is treading some dangerous ground, holy ground, when he starts ransacking the religious traditions to make his cheap political points. He is not the second coming, mark that well! He offers peace and suggests staying in Iraq a hundred years and more wars. That's "peace, peace" where there is no peace.

McCain's Vacuous Support of Britneyesque Policies

Great minds think alike!

The Commander in Chief Test

John McCain doesn't pass the test. Not even the laugh test. This is a funny video, with insights!

Mamma Mia!

Very good, sweet, funny, nice movie. I loved it, loved it a lot.

We have a lot of imagination when it comes to songs, don't we? I'm not too sure this has been true for all generations, or even recent generations, you know, the '30s and '40s. Songs were identified with the events of life, but I'm not too sure they were so closely intertwined as the soundtrack of people's lives.

This one does exactly what we all do with songs, which is identify with them so closely that sometimes we're married to songs and sometimes divorced. You hear a song at a funeral and it ruins it for you. Or there's some social awkwardness involving music, let's say, and suddenly certain artists have to be shelved for a few years. The sadness of life as well as the happiness, and where we were at the time, is tied in with albums, CDs, and singles.

I've had some warm fuzzies for some of Abba's songs over the years. I still have my original 45 of "Mamma Mia," which song I loved from the start. I wasn't much of an album fan, but that would be just because, no good reason. I'm sure I would love every album by them.

I saw the film tonight and to me it was great. It does with the songs just that very thing, uses them as a vehicle for the story. There are other musicals of course but this is a solid piece with one source of music. Very nice.

At first when the daughter busts out in song, it seems disorienting. But you quickly love it and think that's the way life should be. Everyone singing, running, frolicking, jumping off docks, just generally going nuts.

John McCain's in the Store

Joe Average carefully puts on his suit before heading out for grocery shopping. He wants to look his best because you never know when a photo op might break out.

As he walks the aisles, he's amazed at everything he sees, and comments on it, "This is like an entire building full of food." Everyone does that, right? "So this over here is the fruit and these are the vegetables? Interesting."

Then Mr. Average notices another average family out to do their shopping. Instead of ignoring them, he sidles up to accompany them through the store. They're OK with this bizarre behavior. Except in the picture it looks like she's hoping to lose him somewhere near the mustard and relish. But he hangs on.

There's some friendly chit chat, very small talk, perhaps comparing prices and the sizes of the items, looking out for cameras. Just keeping it real.

Ernest Tubb

"I'm just driftwood on the river floating down the stream."

We have movies now that are centered on the music of a particular artist, the Beatles, of course, and others, including one now with the music of Abba.

But I don't think there's been one yet for the music of Ernest Tubb. In the mainstream, the place we're all "floating down," Ernest Tubb seems to be about forgotten. I don't listen to country radio, but I suspect he's not on the average station's playlist. Ernest was definitely old school, and his school let out a while back.

I used to see him on some great Grand Ole Opry reruns on PBS, I think it was, some shows from the '50s (in color) that used to be on. He had a real simple style. Songs usually have a basic format, and with some of the country stuff the song's skeleton is obvious, even poking through. That was true of Ernest Tubb's songs.

On the show, he had a guitar picker named Billy Byrd. And you knew he was Billy Byrd because in nearly every song there was an instrumental break, and Ernest always called Billy forth with a lazy drawl, "Billy Byrd."

Country artists back then had almost a country preacher style about them. They were used to being around country folks, who liked to be thanked and assured that you were all friends and neighbors. There was a lot of this sort of talk between songs.

I used to have several Ernest Tubb 78s, some 45s, and an album or two -- I probably have some of them still, but who knows where. I think I even have an Ernest Tubb songbook somewhere; that one I believe I could lay my hands on. I used to have a cassette of his greatest hits, but I'm sure that's gone.

There was an Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville. And maybe it's still there.

From One Whiner to Another

McCain thinks we're "a nation of whiners," as in 'that's a bad thing.'

So what's he doing whining about the coverage he's been getting the last week? Yes, Obama is overseas doing the whole world tour thing, which McCain and the Republicans wanted, if you will recall. He's probably going to get coverage.

John McCain, resigned to what an adviser memorably called “table scraps” of news coverage this week, has blasted a fundraising e-mail to supporters arguing that the press has “a bizarre fascination with Barack Obama.”

Oh, please focus your attention on McCain! Who has nothing to say and nothing to promise, unless you consider a continuation of the Bush years a promise. More like a threat.

Catch This -- McCain on Birth Control

He's in something of a bind, I would guess. He doesn't want to cheese off the radical right by seeming to support birth control. And he doesn't want to act like he knows too much about Viagra (heh heh). And yet obviously birth control and reproductive choices are of interest to Americans. So he plays the old "I know nothing" card, and looks positively clueless in the process!

And how do you like the uncomfortable rocking back and forth? The man's body language is screaming.

A McCain Victory No Matter What

Hey, you remember how we had the Iraq war going along? Lots of senseless violence and terrible misery all those years? And our government was telling us it was going great? Then when it came time for "the surge," suddenly they admitted that it hadn't been going great then, but now with "the surge" a lot of important benchmarks would be met and we would make progress. But then, as before "the surge," when the benchmarks weren't met they told us again that things were going great. That's where we are today.

Back before, things weren't going great but they were. And now things aren't going great but they are. (Caution: If you choose to believe these people, don't be surprised when you later find out they were lying.)

John McCain is banking his presidential hopes on this very thing. Even if the war's not going great, he's going to say it is. No matter what. And by the time everyone realizes he was wrong again (or lying), you see, the election will be over.

So here's the point of my post today: Let's say John McCain loses the election by five points. Because he sees everything as going great even when it's not, he will think he won. You see? If he wins, he wins. If he loses, in his mind he still wins!

Eli's Comin'

I just heard the song "Eli's Comin'" again a couple days ago, by Three Dog Night. It's a Laura Nyro composition. It's the theme song of this Boy Leg blog, so of course its infectious tune is very close to my heart.

I've always wondered what this song was about and I still don't know! But I listen to it with a lot of interest. There's some interesting interplay in the vocals, and the intensity about Eli coming and the girl needing to hide her heart is really something.

I don't know the point of the song, really. Is it romance? Is there something menacing? Does it have some religious significance? I've never known! You better, better hide your heart...

Philosophy of Divine Revelation

Here's an interesting blog. It has to do with theology and philosophy, studying words, phrases, and the forms of things in spiritual literature. I just happened on to it nearly at random. There's some interesting things on the Bible and biblical texts.

Philosophy of Divine Revelation.

He says, "I am a philosopher working at the P. P. Hungarian Catholic University. My interests are philosophical theology, the history of philosophy, phenomenology, and Plato."

New Nietzsche Lecture Series

If you like Nietzsche, there's a new lecture series (MP3) over at bcrecordings.net. (I'm not associated with this website in any way and don't have any financial interest in it.)

The series of lectures over there are numbered and this one is 5003, with the six lectures in this particular series being then, 500301 through 500306. Once you get there, just search for Nietzsche and it'll come up with a list of titles, with those six numbers! Simple, huh?

These lectures, and the other lectures at bcrecordings.net are by Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller, who speaks at some kind of Gnostic gathering in Los Angeles. I've been downloading his lectures on and off for a number of years, and I believe there are some free ones over there. He is an expert on all sorts of what I'd call alternative streams of spirituality, psychology, and esoterica. He's an authority on Gnostic teachings, Madame Blavatsky, and really anything that is Jungian or off the beaten path.

He has a very wry sense of humor and seems like a lovable guy. But some of the things he says show him to be a piercing critic of the human condition, of some religious folks (fundamentalists), and of keeping company. I just heard him extolling introversion and solitude -- which is fine by me, to tell you the truth! He also seems to be a contrarian when it comes to being politically correct, although he's still pretty sensitive.

I just got this series last night, so I haven't had much of a chance to get to it. But I have listened to a little more than half of the first one. He's working on the prologue of Zarathustra, and goes about it in a very deliberate way, reading enough of the text to have a setting for good commentary. Each lecture is around 80 minutes, and the price is only $4.95 per.

The titles in the series are: Prologue of Zarathustra; Passionate Wisdom: Zarathustra, Part One; Scholarly Poetry: Zarathustra, Part Two; Visions and Longing: Zarathustra, Third Part; Zarathustra, Early Portion of Part Four; The Drunken Overman: Latter Portion of Part Four.

Dr. Hoeller has written a few books, including, The Gnostic Jung, in which he gives the text and commentary of Jung's Seven Sermons to the Dead, Jung writing as Basilides. There's a whole fascinating prologue of how Dr. Hoeller, as a young man in Europe, was able to copy this rare book, written in 1916. Oh yeah, Dr. Hoeller is Hungarian, and has a great accent.

A Hush Puppy Day

This is a fuzzy feeling day, and I wish it could stay like this forever. Maybe it will.

It's a day for listening to smooth soul music, like L.T.D., and treasuring fuzzy things. I don't have very many fuzzy things to treasure, no pussy willows, no peach fuzz, not even any actual Hush Puppies.

Hush Puppies were a very soft show. Maybe they still make them. They weren't especially resilient to rain or puddles, but great on a dry day.

Remembering the Bush Years

The Bush years are almost over. I saw a countdown widget the other day that at that point had 202 days left, and it was keeping track to the last second.

All we have to do is hang on another six months or so and we've made it. Not everyone is surviving, though. All the guys who went to war who've fallen, for one. The people in other countries who've fallen, the ones we don't even keep track of. And then there are just those people dying of average everyday things, not yet traceable to Bush himself. You've got to figure there are the Unknowns, those who've had depression, who've been discouraged, and yet have suffered in silence, and then one day -- pffft, dead.

I'm like everyone else, I'm hoping to make it. I wanted to live to see 2000. One goal met. Now I want to see the Bush years ended. And I'm doing what I can to make it happen, including regular doctor visits, daily exercise, and plenty of sedatives during the news.

But they haven't been all bad years, have they? OK, they have. But they're almost over. Then we'll look back and maybe get wistful, thinking, "My God, how did things go so wrong?" People actually voted for this cretinous dullard. He happened to be named George Bush, famous father, the whole thing. I like to tell people -- I go around and give talks in nursing homes and schools on this very subject -- that if his name had been Joe Smith he'd have been a ditch digger and would've been a failure at that! For the most part, the people nod, always a nod of recognition and appreciation that someone's finally putting into words what they've always thought. Ah well, we're just about through with the chimp.

You know, speaking of being wistful, I think a lot of us like to idealize our lives and memories. Like this, that someone someday's going to ask us about it. We've heard the question of the child to his grandfather, "Grandpa, what did you do in the war?" Well, it's a fantasy. Children never ask. They're outside playing, the house is noisy, and they don't care anything about the war. So, in relation to Bush, I can picture myself someday, the grandchildren coming up and saying, "Grandpa, how'd you ever survive the Bush years?" Then I get misty-eyed and I'm real hesitant to say anything -- no teeth at this point, just chewing my gums in a deliberate, thoughtful way as I'm very reluctant to talk about anything so unpleasant -- then I launch into it. "Billy, it was hard." Then I rattle off the canned talk I give at homes and schools mentioned above.

The way it will actually be, of course, is nothing like that at all. The grandchildren won't care. That's not the way life works. Again, they're out playing, the house is noisy, the TV's on, they're playing handheld game systems, they've never heard of Bush. Plus, I'm in my chair, old and dozing, waking up with a bunch of weird twitches, swatting the air and scratching my head. My wife rubs on some Scalpicin and we go home.

But I will definitely remember the Bush years. His idiotic phrase, "The homeland." His moronic words, "The Axis of Evil." Everything the blithering idiot said or did that I was conscious enough to witness in those pre-sedative days will come to my mind. And I'll look at the grandchildren playing, and I'll think to myself, "This is the way it should always be -- the innocent little rascals living free and not thinking about Bush."

Face it, friends, the man's a rat.

Sex in Space Inevitable

Here's an interesting article, Sex in space is inevitable, say experts.

It seems that with many more space missions planned, and some geared up to last quite a while, scientists are starting to give thought to the idea of sex between astronauts.

Someone who studies the psychological effects of long space missions, Jason Kring of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, says, “To say that astronauts are some superior beings who cannot have interests in any kind of sexual feelings for three years … I just don't buy it."

As for myself, I've never ever studied the psychological effects of long space missions, and I could've told you that! Three years? After three years the little green one-eyed women of Mars would look good. "Take me to your leader." "Hey, baby, let my leader fend for himself. Come to Poppa!"

The article goes on to say that space agencies are inclining more toward sending mixed crews of men and women in space. Studies suggest this is a good idea because of their better ability to perform tasks assigned to them. A NASA spokesperson said, "They're mission-oriented. They're very focused on the task at hand.” Right, for three years at a time, no hanky, no panky.

Kring, however, does see hanky panky a'brewin' and waves a cautionary flag, stating what any "armchair astronomer" might guess, that sexual frustration could ensue. Could ensue, as in would ensue. Kring again: "Human sexuality is a basic need and now you're trying to tell people, 'Hey for three years, you can't do that.' They're going to figure out a way to do it.”

The article from this point on gets unnecessarily graphic -- including something from a book that mighty truly be subtitled Cosmic Sutra, concerning "positions that might work during cosmic copulation, ranging from the modified missionary position to seated with 'interlocking Y legs'.

But we shall conclude before mentioning any of that.

Note: Spaceship graphic is by zerohdog at flickr.com

Great Obama Energy Ad

Taking the fight to Bush -- er, I mean McCain. I keep getting those two guys mixed up. Weren't they like joined at the hip till just recently?

Roxette - Look Sharp

I need to say something about this CD, since I almost have it played out.

First, it's a great one. I'm about 20 years behind everyone else, I know. But I am not always paying attention to what's going on musically.

So it is with this one. In 1988 I was busy with something else, getting CDs, but missing plenty of others. And I definitely wasn't listening to the radio very much.

I got this one used a couple weeks ago. Adding it to the pile of other CDs I get used. This was one I decided to give a chance. And I'm glad I did.

This is one fantastic CD! It has 13 songs and I love every song. Some of the songs were already 'familiar,' in that sense of 'you heard them at the grocery store at some point over the last 20 years.' Such as "Dangerous." And "Listen To Your Heart" was remade a couple years ago and was on the radio. "Dressed For Success" is another that had that grocery store familiarity. But for the most part, these are songs that were new to me. They're great.

"The Look" gets it started off. This is an exciting song, followed by 12 other very good tracks. Some of the ones that didn't sink in at first -- like always -- turn out to be good favorites, like "Paint" and "Cry."

I've listened to the whole thing maybe 25 times, and I think I've about heard it all. It's probably about time to put it away, or listen less frequently. But if you don't have it, let me recommend you get a copy. It's definitely a lovable album!

"Oh! a Syring-ee" (in my Curly Howard voice)

I'm now in the whole system of having regular doctor visits. I didn't go to the doctor literally for yeaaaars. Like if I needed a physical for a job, something like that, I would go. Otherwise, I avoided the whole thing and, consequently wasted away to the near lifeless form you see today.

But then, with deteriorating faculties and the onset of McCainness (meaning seriously advancing age and mental decrepitude), I decided maybe, perhaps death was a worse alternative to going to the doctor. So I eased into the system, and now I'm up to regular shots, a prescription, and scheduled visits every three months.

Today I had to have two separate needle events, blood drawn and a shot. This is historically up there on the list of stressors for me, along with waterboarding and listening to Republicans give speeches. I'm one who tries to avoid all incidences of unpleasantness -- whether it's being stabbed, poisoned, or subjected to the Animal Planet channel.

But now I've gotten almost to the point where I can go in and do it in a fairly fearless way. It's happened enough for me to realize by now that it's never quite as bad as my imagination says it should be. Last time, three months ago, I was looking at it from an alternate psychological point of view -- which I know will sound weird -- as some sort of shadow compensation, necessary pain for balance, to give the devil his due, as it were. But then it turned out the pain didn't seem enough for an enterprise that serious. The self-abusers are actually right on this: If that's what's going on with you it needs to be more painful and more sustained.

In the meantime, since three months ago, I've lost that whole emphasis. So today I went in with nothing. I'm just there like a big kid who suddenly realizes this is going to hurt, so now what do I do to contextualize it? I didn't have anything to eat last night except cake, nothing to eat in the morning, so I was slightly queasy. And it didn't help that the woman ahead of me in the shot chair was taking extra long. So I kept hearing whatever it was she was talking about, of her problems with ambulances, calling 911, and her husband's illness. It's a small hallway and I felt suddenly faint.

But I can't say to the shot lady that I feel faint. She's heard that before. And she'll know that I'm a wuss, or will suspect it. So I'm thinking... 'it never hurts as much as you think it will.' And sure enough, I get to the chair, I turn away, the deed is done, and I'm holding the little cotton piece in place.

Next is the doctor visit -- which doesn't amount to much. Except it involves a prostate check, which is never pleasant. But then he thinks I need a tetanus shot! Oh no! So I calmly say, "OK."

Of course it takes the nurse an extra long time to show up, giving me plenty of time to imagine faintness paying its next visit. I'm up on the table, no arms to hold on to. I could just leave but they'd track me down. There's no escape but to sit here and let her do it.

Conclusion: She shows up, asks me if I'm right or left handed, meaning this is going to hurt. I get the shot. Indeed, it isn't as bad as imagination says it has to be. Only now I have that gnawing, low level, radiating pain in that place, which isn't so bad. It might be worse tomorrow; at least that's what I hear. I haven't had a tetanus shot since 2001, so I don't remember.

Taking Dogs Out

If you share a home with pets you find that you have to take care of them. For the cats this means keeping their cat box relatively cleaned out -- once a day at least -- so they can be in there going to the bathroom about every time you're in the room.

To keep our dog from stealing the cats' food, we keep the cats' food container up on the cat box. So one of the worst things for me to see is one of the cats eating and the other cat's head sticking out of the cat box as he or she goes. That would do something to my appetite!

As far as the dog goes, this means going outside several times a day. Dogs have a whole tribal, instinctual thing about going to the bathroom. They can't just go. There has to be a lot of sniffing around, finding just the right spot to let it go. I've seen our dog really hone in on a spot many time and didn't know what was going on. But then in the fall when I saw squirrels burying walnuts, it occurred to me that our dog was discerning those spots and peeing there. So what happens? The squirrel digs up his walnuts and wonders 'Why does all my food taste like pee?'

It's about time for me to take her out again, which is why I'm thinking of this topic. Usually the last time out -- now or a little later -- is a quickie, just to take one final or two final pees before bed. She's pretty fast for the last outing. Some of the other outings through the day, though, can be very time consuming. This spot isn't right, this one has something wrong, this one is so so.

But, if we're at the park, that's a different story. Then it's pee pee pee, poop poop. Sometimes I keep track, just to see the big difference between park and home. The other day it was 6 pees and 2 of the other. That's quite a few, but they have that tribal, social, instinctual thing that's going on with various smells. It seems crazy to me, but there's no changing them now!

1960s Psychedelic Hippie Culture and Music

There's some nice things at 1960s Psychedelic Hippie Culture and Music, album reviews, articles, and so forth.

Now that the '60s has basically slipped into faded memory mode, we can put some of our disagreements behind us and enjoy the music. Myself -- a right-winger if ever there was one, obviously preferring the records of The Spokesmen, Sgt. Barry Sadler, and Victor Lundberg -- have learned to like these other artists of the era, druggies and slackers. Just kidding.

The blog has a track by track rundown of Revolver. It gives some basic trivia, mostly familiar to Beatles' fans although I hadn't heard that bit about Paul doing "Good Morning Sunshine" inspired by the Lovin' Spoonful. There's a lengthy post on Electric Ladyland, which I didn't read. I love the album, of course. I remember reading a guy's "desert island" picks one time, which I believe was in Discoveries, and Ladyland was, I believe, his top pick. It's quality, plus, if you're going to be on a desert island you naturally want longer albums!

There's lots of albums! Lots of possibilities for this guy's blog. Check it out. I know I will be.

(Concerning Barry Sadler, his track "Ballad of the Green Berets" actually was pretty great. Number 1! It's corny, but still good. The only track by Victor Lundberg I have is his "Letter to My Teenage Son," which has to be one of the worst things ever recorded. It's corny in another way. The Spokesmen's "Dawn of Correction," I have never actually heard (unless I've heard it on the radio unknown to me or have completely forgotten it), although I've had the 45 and just got a nice copy of the LP a couple days ago. I still haven't gotten around to it. "Eve of Destruction" has good meaning, in my opinion, and I'm still reluctant to listen to these "me too" guys. They seem to me like musical Freepers, even though I read the other day there's some connection to Danny and the Juniors, songwriters, whatever. I've gotta go!)

Child of Illusion Blog

Really good one. Good comments on politics, with cartoons.

Interests of the blogger, Ellie Finlay: meditation, music, politics, vegetarianism, animal rights, walking, feminism, yoga, religion and philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, Episcopal Church, humanism, psychology, counseling, theology, spiritual direction, the internet, blogging, my animals, coffee.

There's some great interests!

The Creation Process

This looks like an intelligent blog. New in June. Observations on the creative process.

Are We Really This Stupid?

Are we really this stupid, that we believe random emails smearing someone about what their religion is, whether they're a patriot, etc., over what the person himself says and what verifiable facts prove?

You'd like to think democracy has something to do with a well-informed electorate.You'd like to think that facts have some standing versus smears and lies. You'd like to think that people know enough to check out the information they're fed. You'd like to think that people are thinking.

The things we've heard of the last few years haven't given us much confidence. A big example was that a large percentage of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11 and no amount of proof to the contrary was able to sink in. And another example would be the 23% of Americans who still think George Bush is doing a good job.

What causes this? We have a pretty good educational system, I guess. It seemed OK when I was in school. And everyone's supposed to go to school. We hope they pick up something there as to how to reason for themselves.

Diary Rescue

Being ever on the lookout for really funny things, occasionally our vigilance is rewarded. I want to recommend this diary at Daily Kos for fun reading.

It's called "Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable." By its title, the author seems to be suggesting that people can disagree without being disagreeable. But that's not what you get once you get into it. The tone is quite disagreeable!

There's some strange assumptions and quite a bit of disputing that make it very humorous indeed.

Beyond Shame

This is hilarious. Two of the most disgraced lawmakers in history in terms of sex scandals and violating their own marriage vows, Larry Craig and David Vitter, co-sponsoring the so-called "Marriage Protection Amendment."

You really have to admire the brashness, the courage. These losers would've been sent to Exile Island and shunned forever in a bygone era. And not that long ago they would've slunk off -- kind like Mark Foley -- never to be heard from again. But not today. They're very much "in your face," with zero shame.

The amendment, by the way, would amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit homosexual marriage. We'll excuse Vitter here and train our focus on Larry Craig: That's right, we're looking right at you, Stupid.

Public Urination

I haven't seen this in a while. We're getting in our car after being out to eat. We're sitting there for a minute before taking off. And a guy with no shirt and about half a beer belly walks by in front of the car. I'm saying something like, "Welcome to civilization, dude," and my wife is saying, "No shoes, no shirt, no service -- oh, I see you've got shoes," because we thought he was about to go into the store there -- Dollar General.

But instead of going into the store, he went merrily up to the bucket in the corner by the door -- the bucket where people are to put cigarettes -- unzipped his pants and stood there and peed!

We're back here not believing it. He's not looking around. He appears to be right at home in the privacy of his own bathroom. That takes guts.

John McCain "Aware of" Internet

Anyone remember George Bush the First's experience at grocery stores? He went there for a visit and was amazed that food was sold, that it was stacked on shelves, that people came through with carts, then purchased it. He was dizzy from excitement, actually, when they showed him that items could be scanned as they were being rung up for the total bill.

Our current president, George Bush the Second, had some of the technical details messed up -- another intelligence failure -- when he spoke of The Google and the internets. He had a good excuse, though, living in a bubble. When you're in a bubble your biggest concern is with the bubble bursting and letting in whatever you're trying to avoid in the first place.

Now we have John McCain. McCain might be our last dinosaur, so I suppose we ought to treat him nicely. He's from a bygone era, recently wheeled out of a nursing home somewhere to make mischief for the country. And of course he has that whole throwback feel, like Gnarls Barkley's song "Crazy" or that great new song by Duffy, "Mercy." I'm not saying McCain is "crazy," but I am saying I don't plan on showing the old duffer any "mercy." Yee hah! You goin' down, boah. We don't much like yer kind 'round here!

John McCain was asked recently the most important question in the world, whether he's a Mac or PC? He took the middle course, saying, "Neither." Then he begged off on the question, saying he was illiterate in these matters. "No speak techese."

Well, nothing can be left alone for five seconds without an aide jumping in to defend the boss. You see this in saying what they really meant, how, yes, Poland was still an iron curtain country and Mr. Ford knew that all along.

The McCain aide of the day was Mark Soohoo, who gave this reassuring comment, "John McCain is aware of the Internet. This is a man who has a very long history of understanding on a range of issues." I don't suppose there's much skepticism over this comment. I'm willing to accept it as a fact that John McCain is "aware of" the internet.

This just in -- other things that John McCain is "aware of":

• Walkman cassette players
• Color TV
• Running boards on cars
• Automatic transmission
• Eight slice toasters
  

What Is Life?

Milwaukee Anthropologist - blog link.

The Magazine of the Liberal Arts for General Audiences

Contents: Life demands reconsidering physicalism as dogma by Louis Berger; Creating a formula for an efficacious life: A view of a cultural anthropologist by Jill Florence Lackey; Life has purpose by Christopher Poff; Life offers us opportunities by Greg Bird; Fascinating by Michael Timm; Musings on information, a speculative essay by Michael Timm.

Warning: Has lots of big words, but it also has some small ones.

Free Quarters

I haven't been to Quiznos very much, two times in my whole life. So I don't know the way it is there exactly all the time yet. But I was there last night and I was surprised by something by the cash register.

You know how there's a little cup up there, various places, pretty often, and it has pennies in it? Well, this is the first time I've seen quarters in the cup. A few pennies, a nickel, and three quarters. I'm thinking various things about that. Who are these generous people who just toss their change in the cup? How much money seriously can you withdraw from the cup? If there's enough in the cup can I pay for an entire Flat Sammie out of it? What is the cup/change code of honor in all round terms? Should I check my pockets for change before concluding I need to go to the cup?

If we have another couple years' inflation, can we expect to see dollar bills in the cup? Fives? Tens?

If someone takes too much might they not have to put the cup over on the shelf? And eventually have a robber come in and say, "Just gimme the penny cup, and be quick about it!"

Compare McCain and Obama's Responses to Disaster

Lashe, posting at Daily Kos, put together a very telling photo essay on our two main choices for president.

John McCain clearly made the better choice. As Hurricane Katrina raged and the government sat idly by, he knew that it was President Bush's birthday and that a birthday is best celebrated with a nice cake. McCain is a wise man, and, as we see here, very generous.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, when faced with massive flooding, took a shovel and pitched in, helping fill sandbags. But, we ask, what are a few sandbags in the face of such a great challenge? Clearly, very little.

Look at it in perspective: A presidential birthday only comes once a year. But we have so many disasters we don't know what to do with them all; we have to give them names to keep track!

John McCain for President. He doesn't forget birthdays.

By All Means, Don't Drill

"President Bush called yesterday for lifting the 27-year-old ban on U.S. offshore oil drilling, joining Sen. John McCain in endorsing an idea that Republicans hope will gain traction in Congress and on the campaign trail as the price of gasoline soars." Link.

If Bush is for it, there must be something wrong with it. It'll be a disaster whatever it is. By all means, please do not drill!

Duh.

In the beginning the word was "Duh." Duh was in the beginning when we didn't know anything, couldn't put two thoughts together. They said, "Is your didy dirty?" And you bore witness to the truth with a simple "Duh."

This brings us to Tennessee Democrat, former state Rep. Fred Hobbs, who thought Barack Obama "may be terrorist-connected." He has now apologized for his statement, and said his comments "did reflect questions I had after what I had seen reported on Fox News, but I should have taken some time to check the accuracy of what I saw on television before speaking publicly."

Duh.

Links: 1 and 2.

Sorely Tested

I had the pleasant experience of standing in line today. Not long lines, just being behind others who took longer than usual. Twice in a row. And in each case, once I got to check out myself I was able to proceed through quickly as normal.

This is something I try to be philosophical about. I've got this thing I keep thinking of, which is a variant of "Enjoy your depression." But apply it more broadly to all pain, suffering, inconvenience, etc. It's tough, but if you're mindful about it it allows you to have a pleasant look on your face, an attitude of patience. My only qualm about is that it might just be a variation of "Serenity Now," which, as we all know, means Insanity Later.

So there I am, la la la...at the thrift store as someone checks out with a few clothes items. This is one of the more complicated things to check out with, as prices vary, and no one is quite sure they want everything they've selected. It might be in the sack, then out of the sack as minds change. Plus, for some unknown reason, each item needs to be carefully folded by the check out person and lovingly put into the sack. Hangers removed, all that. Then slow chit-chat, then going for the money. And finally that person is through and I'm able to proceed through.

Next I'm at the video store to get a couple things. And I'm directly behind another person, whose situation is a little more complicated than mine. First, the check out person is on the phone with someone who must have a DVD out, has late fees, and it's gone to the collection agency. That is about over with as I'm getting to the check out. But the woman ahead of me, with a couple of sons, is wondering about her Super Saver Membership that she purchased a while back. It turns out it's expired, bringing up a debate about whether she should get another one for this year. She hems and haws about that for a while. Then it's time to check out her DVD. After she's done, one of the sons also needs to check out something. But he's not on the membership files for the store. So we need to get him entered into the computer and spell out the terms for him. And while you're at it, put my other son on the membership file too, so he can rent movies or games. "But he won't be able to charge things to me, will he?" No, but he'll be able to rent things as he pleases, and late fees may accrue, but he will have to pay for the things he rents at the time. Such a deliberate process!

Now they're gone, and finally it's my turn. Which is a normal transaction. Whip right through, a few seconds.

I'm busy thinking all this time about the whole philosophy I mentioned above. It's sorely tested but still intact as I pleasantly leave.

Childhood

Do you remember your childhood? I have several real memories of childhood that show it was a truly magical time. It's hard to explain, except you probably had something of it too. There was this persistent feeling, in certain places, that could be summed up like this: "It's always been like this. It'll always be like this."

There was a hill near my grandparents' home that had a little trail through some small trees, maybe 15 feet, then a part of the bank was caved in, leaving a gap of about five feet, then after that the trail continued for maybe another 10 feet. We would go through that path with every aspect of it memorized, slick spots on the trees from where we grabbed, and we could hit that hill part, grabbing a branch and propelling us on. Never an accident. When I think of that childhood thought of "It's always been like this. It'll always be like this," that's the first place I think of. I can still almost do it in my memory, but it's more vague.

It's a stretch probably, but if you've ever read Robert Johnson's book "He," (I think it is) this is almost one of those magical grail moments he mentions that you have as a child. I would like to bottle up that trail, that hill, and the rest of the trail and have it under glass. But, alas, it's gone. I've driven by there and it's definitely not there anymore. So the truth is, it won't always be like this.

Maybe someday when I'm being "drawn to the light" the path will be exactly like that!

Four More Years!

George Bush, er, I mean, John McCain gives Iraq a blank check in terms of money and time. If it takes a hundred years, that's OK. It's "not too important" if we ever bring the troops home and end the war. Four more years! 100 more years!

Goodbye, Lieberman

I hate long goodbyes. Make it fast, don't look back. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Like that.

I think we've found the mole!

This guy -- Joe Lieberman -- trusted enough in 2000 to be our vice presidential candidate (!) -- has shown his true colors by a sufficient enough revelation to be shown the door. The one we hope doesn't hit him on his way out.

We gave him the benefit of the doubt in 2000 when he appeared to be Dick Cheney's best friend forever at the debate. It was a sit-down, gentlemanly affair that left us wishing for a fighter not a lover.

But it was after the election of George W. Bush that Joe's true political feelings started coming out. No Republican is too bad for him. No Democrat is good enough.

Now he's against our nominee and supporting John McCain, and I believe I heard he's planning to speak at the Republican convention, out-Zelling Mr. Miller! What's next, a duel with Chris Matthews?

To the extent that we actually need him in the caucus, perhaps we need to keep him around. But let it be that at the earlier possible moment -- when his limited services are no longer needed -- that he is gone, kicked to the curb, sayonara, and don't write.

Worst Person? How About Best Person?

I thought Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" was a headscratcher tonight. Neil Cavuto of Fox, the worst person, because he thinks it would be good for John McCain to explode and show us a real honest-to-God temper tantrum.

How does that make him worst? I think that should make him best. Because I can't think of anything I'd love to see more than exactly that, John McCain uncorked, John McCain unplugged, John McCain melting down. Except, in all truthfulness, I don't want it to come in time for the Republicans to substitute another candidate in his place. Maybe just a few eruptions of a milder sort, then some positive strokes to him for those, then when it's too late let him go totally ballistic, the China syndrome of tempers.

We need to keep John McCain in the public eye as much as possible. Of course his handlers want to keep him in the green room, backstage somewhere, put him out there for events and get him off stage before he goes red, steam out the ears, teeth asnarl, and losing it. I want him to lose it, to lose it good, to lose it big, simply to explode in such a way that he ends up a smoldering ruin.

I hate Fox News, but today's best person in the world is Neil Cavuto!

Where Whispers Linger

Also on that list, my last post, there was one called "Where Whispers Linger." That sounds pleasant enough. The guy seems to post frequently, approximately 350 posts since last year. And just glancing through it seems thoughtful, interesting, very stream of consciousness-like, a little scattered, which is OK. It's everyone world, everyone can do their version of whatever.

I'm looking for the basic point of view, actually wanting to find out the guy's experience in church, since that's what he starts with. But he never gets to it. But no matter, advance, go on, skim, scan, let my eye race down, here, there, landing where? That Al Gore is an eco-terrorist? And the Democrats are somehow responsible for high gas prices? That's far enough. The Republicans have a hand in it because they act like Democrats?

Whoa. Let's see, we elect an oil man president ... and we elect an oil man vice president ... they have secret energy meetings with the oil companies ... and we're surprised that oil prices go up? It would be similar if we elected the guy who invented the sno-cone for president. Suddenly sno-cones are 30 bucks apiece. Who knew that could happen?

What I know about the environment is very limited. But I know garbage-in, garbage-out. And I know Al Gore is no terrorist, but is working with some sanity to make things better. Whether he achieves anything or not, it's good to know someone cares. When the last arctic ice cap floats by my window I'll say a little prayer of thanks for Al Gore.

This reminds me of the first episode of Superman. We've got Superman's father foretelling troubles for Krypton. The whole planet is about to explode. But the counsel of elders are laughing, saying, "You're mad!" Pillars are falling in the palace, mountains are spewing forth lava, their table's on the opposite side of the room from when the meeting started, yet Jor-el is mad -- the very idea! That we would need to build spaceships to fly somewhere else!

Boy Leg Avoids Dumpster Sluts

There I am after my post on "The Nashville Sound" record album. Just glancing through the list of other blogs updated at the time, I'm noticing that there's a lot of people out there -- maybe machines -- doing some posting at the same time. Trying to make a buck.

You'll notice 7288, posted at the exact same second as mine, "Dumpster Sluts Celebs & Free Porn." That sounds pleasant. 7291, "Shut up and Get Rich" might be a money maker, for someone. 7296, "Make Money Ebook," ugh, sounds very spam like, without opening it. I guess we're all at the same second. I hadn't noticed that.

7284, Free Site Pays You. I'm seeing a theme here.

If you look at the whole list, it's depressing. One thing like that after another, including some that don't even put in the effort to use actual words, just names like, "qpwijwxyd." Exactly how desperate you need to be for reading material to go there, that would be worth getting help for.

My mind keeps thinking of those poor Dumpster Sluts. I hope they're able to get out of that life.

The Nashville Sound

My picture isn't very good, not square, but it's good enough for today.

That is an album called "The Nashville Sound," an LP on Design Records, DLP-634. I saw a couple Design discographies online, 1 and 2.

This album has been in my room here for quite a while, unplayed and ignored. But today I noticed a name on it that sounded interesting, "Rocky Bill Ford," and wondered who he might be. I looked him up, and sure enough, there was some information on him. And there's even a CD with his complete recordings, which, who knows, I might have to get someday.

It says over there that "Little is known of William A. Ford whose prime income came from his work as a barber in Houston. He met Peck Touchton and his band as a place called Betros’ Dine and Dance on Studewood and asked to sit in, saying he was looking for a band to back him on some songs he had written." One guy remembered that on his left hand, he’d injured his index finger, couldn’t use it at all. So he played guitar with three fingers, open chords all the time. "He was easy going; ambitious, but not too ambitious. He knew that nobody could make a living playing music…None of us quit our day jobs.”

And yet here a couple tracks from Rocky Bill Ford have been there on my floor, maybe a year! Never heard by my mortal ears!

I'm about to listen to this album...

1) Patsy Cline - A Stranger In My Arms -- Nice, slow swinging country sound. "We have lost the flame that warms. Though I hold you while we're dancing, you're a stranger in my arms." She goes on to say that every story has an ending, and this is it. And once it's over it's over, because lovers can never be friends. Having said all that, she'll still dream about him. But she knows he'll never want her, because...he's a stranger in my arms. Sad song, nice clear sound, good band.

2) Patsy Cline - Dear God -- She goes to church on Sunday and makes vows that she breaks on Monday. The rest of the week she does as she pleases, then on Sunday she prays on her knees. She's not worthy, but she prays, to turn back from the path she's trod. "You'll never be sorry, dear God." There's a mournful steel guitar on this one, and an accompanying fiddle. Slow, sorrowful song.

3) Carl Belew - Too Much To Lose -- A real sweet sound to the instruments, also a slow, sad sound. Carl's voice is very silky and touching. The woman he sings to is "Too Much To Lose," and he'll never be free. He's hoping she doesn't grow tired of him. He'll love her forever, "How can you say that we're through. Can't you see that I need you? And you're too much to lose." Nice, simple country track. Very pretty vocal and instruments.

4) Carl Belew - A Wasted Love Affair -- A rockier song, more nasally, rockabilly vocal style, traditional country though. "I'm wastin' my time with a wasted love affair." Mid speed, not too fast. Good guitar after the first verse. "I know I was untrue, dear, I know I made you blue, and all the happiness I've ever known was when I had you. Now you're gone and it's no use dear, to ask if you still care. I'm wastin' my time with a wasted love affair."

5) Rocky Bill Ford - At My Expense -- "You've had your fun at my expense." Generic country, with an interesting voice, mildly nasally but maybe his normal voice. The instruments are a lot like your average Ernest Tubb song. He has a nice voice, a soft edge, some reserve. "You can shed a tear, or you can shout for joy, but you have seen the last of this foolish boy." He can't forget the mistakes, since first they met. Good workaday kind of country song.

6) Hank Locklin - I Always Lose -- "I'm all alone, I always lose." Sorrowful song, a path that leads to ruins, hard luck is waiting. Each time he tries, he always loses. Good strong voice, again, a workaday song. Some of these songs sound very tossed-off, a good excuse to do a song. This one has an extensive instrumental mid-section, with a good full combo. Then here he comes again. "Deep down inside old dreams still linger. They haunt me so, I keep the blues. All through the night, I wake up crying. I can't go on, I always lose." Not a real slow song, but mid pace and marching alone. Hank has a pleasant voice.

7) Hank Locklin - It's So Hard To Say I Love You -- Fiddle introduction, then a little falsetto by Hank. Quicker paced song. He's loved her since he first met her. Instrumental middle, quick finger work, I think that was a guitar, then snappy fiddle. "It's so hard to say I love you, it's so hard to tell you how I feel." It seems his dreams will never turn out real.

8) Ferlin Husky - Road To Heaven -- Slow song, not quite as clean sounding a recording. Singing of heaven, can't be more than heaven as long as there's only one you. "Love is the highway to heaven," and it's the password to heaven, and she's someone he loves, and the password. I lost my train of thought. The road leading to his love is the only road to heaven is the upshot of this. The recording quality on this track is below the others, a muddy road to heaven. But it's good. It sounds like a message from somewhere beyond.

9) Ferlin Husky - Holy Not A Holiday -- Bemoans that Christmas has gone from "holy" to a "drunken holiday." It's holy, holy, not a holiday. It's sad that children have to watch their parents get drunk. He wonders how his Savior feels when he looks down and sees people fightin' and cussin' as they celebrate his birth. Because it's "holy, holy, not a holiday." Ferlin asks us to think what we're doing. Look to this day as a sacred one, not just another Christmas Eve. "So stop and think there, dear brother..." A mid pace, cool song, very sincere sounding, I love it.

10) Rocky Bill Ford - Since You've Gone -- Clean guitar opening on a slightly slower song. "You'll never know how it hurts to see you go." This guy's voice is cool, nasally and about to lose control, pitch or something. It has a very loose feel to it, like a guy doing it on the first take to save money. A nice piano bit in the middle, then guitar fills in after that. The recording quality is mid level. Next verse: Speaks of his dreams and hopeless schemes, seeing her smiling face, and wondering why she said goodbye, if time could but erase, heartaches and sighs, and all your selfish pride, since you've gone there's nothing left for me. Another workaday country song from the output of Rocky Bill Ford!

Some of these budget LPs I've had around for years, but have never listened to them. I used to wonder where the tracks came from. But obviously they were just tracks like "Now That's Music," tracks someone licensed to put out budget LPs with. Maybe not top of the line hits. But really, how much could it cost to license a couple tracks from Rocky Bill Ford? You wouldn't think it'd be much. But Patsy and Ferlin were big stars, and I know Carl was fairly well known. Hank Locklin, I've had or have a budget record by him. He was probably best known in the strictly country realm, guessing.

Anyway, that was a fun listen. The country sound of that time is very simple, the guys playing the instruments know their licks so well they're asleep in the sessions, and there's nothing especially challenging to sing about. Man leaving woman, woman leaving man, crying, sad, wanting you back, that's it!

Missed Hillary's Speech

Among the things I don't understand is being late, or excessively so.

So I missed Hillary's speech today, because I can't sit around forever waiting. We have lunch things to tend to, other errands, other things in life than waiting, sitting, watching a motionless black SUV in a driveway.

Then when we got home it was all over.

Why was she late? I wonder if they ever said. I know if John McCain's ever late, it will relate in some way to his days as a POW, so he'll always have a good excuse. But what was Hillary's excuse?

The commentators said it had something maybe to do with building suspense for what she was going to say. Keith Olbermann used the term "Hitchcockian" a couple times. If that's so, please spare us the suspense. You say you're going to be somewhere at a particular time, try to make it.

Good thing she's not going to be elected president. We'd have the inauguration at noon and she'd still be at home, us waiting, she trying to "build suspense."

Punctuality is a virtue, and it's courteous. Being unnecessarily late is stupid.

Everything Zen

The blog's I've been checking out today seem to run the extreme of 1) being there forever, or 2) just being started.

I'm a sucka for anything with Zen in the title -- so here's one called Everything Zen. That's the title. I guess the blog URL is something else, absolute-zen.blogspot.com.

It's one that's just underway, with today having the first post, called, "From The Beginning."

From that: "Energy. Everything is energy. Everything passes along energy. Music passes energy from creator to listener, words from writer to reader. Our bodies create energy; so do our thoughts and actions. All that energy flows from us (ever wonder why throes of religious fervor - any religion - include hands in the air and head tilted back? It's the energy pouring out), and we can tap into the energy that surrounds us."

The writer, Brenda, offers this concerning her blog, "Where you'll find notes from my trip down the path of pagan faith and spirituality."

We'll check in once in a while!

The Stink of Bush

Link: "Barack Obama is fond of using a four-letter word to describe John McCain: Bush."

McCain has the stink of Bush all over him. But he's busy running around the country, his speeches for the most part consisting of this exact quote: "Me no Bush."

What will you do on foreign policy? "Me no Bush."

What will you do for the economy? "Me no Bush."

What will you do on foreign policy? "I said, 'Me no Bush.' Oops, that's five words."

But the truth is equally simple: "He am Bush." McCain and Bush are bosom buddies. This famous picture has been Photoshopped. Meaning he was even closer to Bush in the original, but they backed him up a bit in the edit.

Come on, the man had a 95% voting record in the Senate, with Bush's policies. And I heard that he has going this year a 100% voting record with Bush's policies.

"Me no Bush?" You too Bush! The stink of Bush is not something you can so easily get rid of. I went coon hunting with a guy one time, and his dog came out of the woods with a skunk. That dog stunk every time I saw him -- at least in my mind. I never wanted to get close to him after that, because stink has a way of abiding.

Hold your nose a few more months.

My Friends: John McCain's Speech

"My friends, I say, my friends... And you are all my friends... I look out over this great crowd, and I thank my loyal staff for showing up to support me. You are my true friends. And as I look out, I see you. And, my friends, as you look back at me, you see me, too.

"For those of you who are here this evening -- perhaps you don't know why exactly. You were simply on the street, maybe, and someone gave you five dollars and the promise of a free drink later... I also count you as friends. Thank you for being here.

"But let me quickly get to my speech this evening, friends. We're here in New Orleans. And FEMA will be holding a press conference in this hall in a half hour, so we need to hurry. On the other hand, my friends, they might not show up at all, in which case I reserve the right to extend and revise my remarks.

"First, let me say congratulations to Senator Obama. Congratulations.

"Second, let me say 'job well done' to my dear, dear friend, Senator Clinton. You fought a hard campaign, but because of the pundits mostly, with a slight assist from the voters, you were not able to prevail. You're still likable enough, my friend. To your very bitter supporters, Senator Clinton, let me say this: You are my friends. And as I share with you your feelings of profound disappointment, let me quickly turn it to my advantage, and ask you to overlook our vast philosophical differences, not to mention your obvious self-interest as Democrats, and ask you to vote for me.

"Senator Obama speaks eloquently of change. But it is not a change we can believe in. He offers hope, but it is not a hope we can believe in. He offers a new direction, he offers peace and prosperity, a partnership with the American people, a responsible presidency, an outlook for the world that is based in respect and mutual well-being. But it is not a new direction, peace and prosperity, a partnership with the American people, a responsible presidency, or an outlook for the world that is based in respect and mutual well-being that we can believe in. In short, whatever Senator Obama offers, it is something that we cannot believe in.

"My friends, you know me. You know my record, my character. You are well aware how when I came back from Vietnam, I found my first wife all crippled up, then started cheating on her within a month with Cindy, then divorced her and married Cindy. You know my character is good. You also well remember my part in the Keating 5 scandal. And you know that I am to be completely trusted, my friends, that I am above reproach. But, my friends, you don't know about Senator Obama. He might, he may eventually do something wrong.

"Senator Obama keeps repeating something about me, my friends. And he says it over and over, that I am running for George W. Bush's third term. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I spoke with the president today, in fact, and he says the same thing. And as we all know, President Bush is a man of his word.

"My friends, I see the FEMA people have arrived for their meeting, so let me close. I see they're bringing in several pallets of bottled water. Which, er -- I believe that water's been on order for three years, but it's good to see it showing up. That's the kind of leadership I hope to continue. Although I do believe that water is needed over in another part of town. But we'll get that cleared up, my friends.

"In conclusion, let me again say how much I respect Senator Obama. But let me hasten to add, my friends, Senator Obama is untested, offering what we cannot believe in, seeking to sell out America to the Muslims, and looking to appease our enemies. He's a good man. I, on the other hand, my friends, will stand tall, shoot first, ask questions second, and continue in the proud heritage of all of our great Republican presidents, Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush.

"Thank you, my friends, and God bless America."

The World's Upside Down

I was at a breakfast meeting today, and unfortunately the subject of politics came up for a few minutes. This can be tricky ground to navigate if you're part of an organization that wants to keep harmony and mutual respect alive throughout the membership. Like in families, certain topics need to be off-limits, such as almost everything, and certainly politics.

So with that in mind I didn't put up a fuss or argue any point, but just let whatever remarks there were pass like they were inaudible, like a fly buzzing in the next room.

But this guy -- a Republican, though level-headed in many other respects -- said something about Obama, that he didn't know anything; he essentially said Obama is stupid.

And so there I am, thinking, the Republicans gave us George W. Bush -- as incompetent and dopey as anyone we've ever seen on the public scene, but for this guy, Bush was someone smart enough, good enough, competent to be president of the United States. I've never heard a peep out of him about Bush's intelligence, curiosity, ability to color within the lines, anything.

Then we get a guy, Obama, who has been a professor in college, speaks in complete sentences, can propound an argument in such a way that you can see a logical train of thought, a guy showing thoughtfulness and insight. And this guy can sit there and say Obama doesn't know anything!

Like my title says, the world's upside down for a lot of people. Up is down. Intelligence is ignorance. It's maddening. Like, hey, "Reality called and it wants to get together with you sometime!"