Slingblade Karl Performs Wild Thing

The Mid-Week Video Muse is early this week. I really needed a laugh,and this did it for me. If you haven't seen the movie, it won't be as funny, but it's still worth a look.

Dean Martin's Version of Blue Moon.... almost

What a charmer....This song doesn't really end up like you think it will. Leave your mouse alone and just listen to it. Sweet.

The Sunday Morning Muse, April 27, 2008

I don't envy Governor Perry of Texas. I'm referring to having to deal with the situation involving the children and womenfolk dressed in their drab garb, the tears, the fears, the uncertainty of what will happen now that the government decended upon their closed little world.
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The last time I checked, even people on a remote compound in Texas have to obey the laws of the state and nation. Trouble is proving who broke which one. And I personally don't believe you can hide behind religion and let men impregnate little girls or take them as wives but, again, proving it is another story.
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I feel for the little kids. They did no wrong, and now they are away from their mothers. But what future will they have if they are put back?To continue to think the color red is the devil's color and you should fear it? That sleeping with a man old enough to be your father is normal? What else have they been brainwashed to believe?

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But... I am hesistant to criticize. I do so on such a slippery slope. My mom was taught in Sunday School that she would go to Hell if she ate meat on Fridays. Hell. You know... fire...suffering forever. As a little kid she "almost forgot" and had the meat in her mouth and it SCARED her..... she spit it out just in time. But she remembers how she felt TO THIS DAY.
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Fortunately the Catlicks changed the rules when I grew up. I think they just made it so you only "not eat meat" on Friday's during Lent.
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All these years later, mom still makes fish sticks most Fridays... just in case.

Hand Me The Frigging Broom

. . . It's Sweeps Week. That's the time of year when TV hype goes to an all new level. Networks air programs with all kinds of sex and violence and controversial topics. And they hype "new" programs, of which I can name none at the moment. (I'm smugly proud of that. I would gladly watch any PBS series, even the one about deciphering Maya Code, than watch any of the new shows on the other major networks.)

Even the reruns are bad. Everybody Loves Raymond last night just happened to be the one about Ray "holding out" on sex with Debra, because he wanted to have "the power." Yeah, that's emmy-winning TV. Lots of Debra in nightie scenes. The picture above is from the one where she decided to dress more sexy-- another comedy writing high.

Even the News programs get involved in the hype. I'm sure we'll hear more stories about the dangers of plastic water bottles or how school lunches are killing your children. I learned a new word yesterday. "Anticipointment." That's when you see a promo for a news story, like three times, and you sit through the whole excruciating hour of news, and the story finally comes on and its a big NOTHING. Similiar to the winter stories --- "how much snow are we getting this weekend? Will it set a record? Are the salt trucks ready? Do you need to stand in line and buy bread? And then..... the weather chick comes on and basically says we may get an inch. In the Snow Belt.

The Exorcist Versus the Quake of ' 08

I'm sure by now you've heard of the midwest Earthquake this past week. But I bet amidst all the accounts of cupboards shaking, and windows rattling, and folks who were afraid to enter skyscrapers you have not heard an account as thrilling as this one by my friend in Chicago. A stream of consciousness that would make the hardiest of beatniks cringe.

Too funny. Your first thought was Linda Blair?
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Graphic: (The Avatar I made of Suki in Chi-town.)

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She also got me started on Haiku this weekend. Now I'm addicted.

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Special Delivery

Present on the porch.

The cat ate the rabbit's head,
Left the rest for me.


Face in the Crowd

Without my glasses
I thought he was good looking,
Turns out he is not.

Happy Earth Day

The Sunday Morning Muse, April 20, 2008

Just driving around. That's what we did as teenagers. Five bucks was a lot of gas, and everyone pitched in.

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Parents hated this. Where are you going? Nowhere. Just driving around. Of course you didn't always tell them that. Going to the movies, going to get a hamburger, going to pick up so and so and hang out, going roller skating, going to play miniature golf, going to hit golfballs at the range, fill in the blanks.

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I feel bad for teens, heck, I feel bad for me. None of us can afford to just "drive around."

The Ultimate Steve McQueen Song

This is so cute I had to post it.

A Lesson for Concert Goers

In the spirit of wanting to learn more about Leonard Cohen's first concert tour in years, I went surfing around this morning and I stumbled upon this site.

Now, keep in mind that intelligence is measured, in part, by the ability to "classify things according to various attributes, and to see analogies and relations among concepts or things..." (link) .

Not only is there a primer on the similiarities between Springsteen and Cohen in concert but, just as funny, the visual notion that Cohen resembles Joe Namath. See for yourself.

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With concert tours in 2008 scheduled for both Springsteen and Leonard Cohen, how will you know the difference?
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Link -- A few excerpts.
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Born in the USA: Bruce Springsteen
Born with the gift of a golden voice: Leonard Cohen
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Countin’ On A Miracle: Bruce Springsteen
Waiting For The Miracle: Leonard Cohen
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Ain’t nobody talking ’cause everybody knows: Bruce Springsteen
That’s how it goes / Everybody knows: Leonard Cohen
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I’ve seen the future of rock n’ roll, & its name is Bruce Springsteen: Bruce Springsteen
I have seen the future and it is murder: Leonard Cohen
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Sings about a State Trooper: Bruce Springsteen
Sings about the Jazz Police: Leonard Cohen
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Kisses that burn or Kisses that used to turn [one] inside out: Bruce Springsteen
A Thousand Kisses Deep: Leonard Cohen
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Jesus Was An Only Son: Bruce Springsteen
Jesus Was A Sailor: Leonard Cohen
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Aint' Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)

From MJ's 45 Collection, does anyone remember Joe Tex?('I Gotcha') was his hit. This was 1970's "soul." Is the fat woman a male or female? Don't know.

Midweek Video Muse without Video of Bill Clinton

Sometimes you just want to live in the moment, and quit futzing with technology.

It is a rare opportunity to see a President up close, and I took advantage of it today. I'd love to say after seeing former President Bill Clinton speak in my hometown, that I took a wonderful photograph of him, something frame-worthy. One I could hang here in my room; admire it for years. Tell somebody's grandchildren about it someday.

Or that my short video clips are worthy of a CNN soundbyte... or at least a YouTube upfeed.

But this is about as good as it gets. There are many reasons why this isn't really a prize photo, but mostly it's because I just kept pointing and shooting without taking time to focus, not worrying about the horrible lighting. Then I tried to take video now and then and--- because I was actually trying to listen to what the man had to say, I was never really sure when I had the video ON or not. So I have these wild pictures of the floor and feet --and music blasting.... but actually very little of the man himself. I'm sorry about that.

But I did enjoy his speech a lot.

The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming

The Sunday Morning Muse, April 13, 2008

The Russians are coming
and they will lead us
into boxcars.

Aunt Millie worried
all the time
about them.

She kept an orderly house and
made pierogies on Fridays
during Lent.

Babushska around her head
and polyester pants
splitting apart in the back,
I saw her on the porch roof
painting the overhang.

When the Russians come,
she said,
They will say
Millie had a nice roof.

---
MJ Copyright, 1987

Aunt Millie would have been 98 years old this week. I wrote this as a tribute to her. I remember when I was growing up she took the Cold War seriously. Of course I always wondered where she thought the Russians would take us in those boxcars. Cleveland? After all this wasn't Nazi Germany.

The Crow on the Cradle

Crow on the Cradle, off of the No Nukes Concert album of 1980. It came into my head as I watched crows in the back yard, so I went on YouTube to see if I could find it. The concert featured Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt,CSN,James Taylor, The Doobie Bros, and many others.

The video someone added to the song is quite haunting. I don't suppose Charlton Heston ever watched this. Too late now anyway.

Fans: Baseball Been Very Good to Me?

It's baseball season again. I confess I watch very little baseball, but I feel for the fans who really want to go to the games and can no longer afford them. Or many just cut back the number of games they would normally go to. By the time you pay for gas to drive to the ball park, the parking lot cost,
the tickets, food, souvenirs, etc.... well... I don't feel like adding it all up here. And a draft beer at the park? 7 bucks?
What?

I read in the Post Gazette that the Pirates started their All You Can Eat Seat section where you pay one price and your ticket and soft drinks, hotdogs, nachos, etc are all included. It's gotten a lot of attention from the 'big' fans who can really get their money's worth now. But Iron City Lite is not included of course, so I'm still an expensive date.



Photo Credit: Baseball Fan, Honore de Bumzac

I Hope that I Don't Fall in Love with You

Someday Hootie will be Gone

The magnolias are in bloom in Georgia, and it is time once again for The Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club. Hard to believe five years have gone by since Martha Burke led a protest at the 2003 Tournament to call attention to the male-only membership rules at the club.
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The controversy between Martha...and Hootie that incorrigible old coot who chaired the golf club... went on for months. It became fueled by thousands of newspaper articles, TV coverage, and even a book-- not to mention all the arguments in golf clubs near and far, of which I contributed to several. The issue continues to today, as you can read here, as five years has done nothing to erode rampant sexism.

To me, it's more than just about not admitting women as members to Augusta. It's personal. You can make all the arguments you want about it being a private club... and say men can have men only clubs just as women can have sewing circles or whatever, but---spoken as a woman who can hold her own with the men she plays golf with, I have come to expect fair treatment and respect. I earned it through practice and dedication to this sport. I can compete with average men golfers out there and I do. So when I hear that women at a local country club can't tee off until after 2pm on Sundays..... it sickens me. If it is a 'slower players hold up prime time' argument, then let golf scores determine who can play when. Not breasts.

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I think it applies here too. A beautiful club like Augusta National, with people involved in it who all have in common the love of the game... why WOULD someone want to exclude me if I had a lot of money and loved the sport-- only because I have breasts? I'm a lot of fun. And if I had a lot of money I would be EVEN MORE FUN. Someday neanderthals like Hootie will be gone and a new generation of golfers will replace him. Men who grew up playing with women like me on the local public courses--- and had a good time. Or men who took their daughters to the driving range and taught them the game. Until then, you men can come and join my 'sewing circle or whatever' anytime you want--- after 2 pm.

The Sunday Morning Muse, April 6, 2008

The Peace sign turned 50 years old this week. I wondered why more people don't wear peace symbols than those flag lapel pins that somehow have been perverted into a symbol of who is patriotic and who is not in political races. (see prior rant, or this one)

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We all want peace, right? (Unless you work for Halliburton... where there is money to be made during wars....)

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Snarkiness aside, the best advice I ever got to keep peace in your own

life, (which is all you can really affect anyway) is, that whenever you have the choice to be Right or to be Kind, always pick Kind. Something to muse about today. I'm not advocating a Pollyanna approach to life. Go ahead, pick your battles if you must, but as a rule, keeping your ego at bay is a surer path to a more peaceful life. And it is better for your blood pressure.

The No No Song

Maybe it's a holdover from my days in radio, but I still check the Today in History sites once in a while just to see what jumps out at me. (DJ's are constantly looking for what they call Show Prep...or stuff to talk about.) Ringo Starr topped the charts on this day in 1975.

Good Night Irene

There's a new study out that shows an extra hour of sleep each night may help you lose weight... Okay, I'll bite...


(link)

"More sleep could be the ideal way of stabilising weight or slimming," said neuro-scientist Karine Spiegel, of France's INSERM, a public organisation dedicated to biological, medical and public health research.

While poor eating habits and lack of exercise clearly play a role in the global rise of obesity, recent data indicates that lack of sleep may also be a factor, and one that is often under-estimated.

(snip)

Although I read the article twice, I didn't see what I believe to be the obvious reason for this link between weight loss and more sleep: YOU CAN'T EAT WHEN YOU ARE ASLEEP!!!!
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But I'm glad I found the study anyway. I'm going to bed early tonight. If I stay in bed all weekend, I figure I'll wake up on Monday a size 5.

You Can Never Hold Back Spring

It's Been a Dog Day and Afternoon

Stolen from Macyapper's blog, and God knows where he took it from. I'd credit it if I could. I'll give JohnnyMac a link and hope for the best.

Bulldog Reading Dylan Thomas

There is really nothing I can add to this.