The Sunday Morning Muse, October 30, 2011

He puts the Goober in Gubernatorial. Rick Perry. A bad debater? Hell, just skip the debates. Notices Cain's 9-9-9 plan get's a lot of air time and thinks maybe some similar gimmick like this will pull in votes. Well-- just pull out a card...any card...step right up. Put your name on it, write a check and thar ya go. That's MY tax plan. And if you don't like it...well, uh, just keep doin' what yur doin'.

-

Are there no credible Republican candidates out there? This whole debate thing has become reality television, in the sense it is something to make fun of rather than consider part of a deliberate political process. The world is watching now. Fledgling democracies out there.

-

Bachmann is a joke, Cain isn't educated about politics enough to understand the very nuances that everyday bloggers understand simply by paying attention to what is going on. In his blunders this past week he doesn't seem to "get" you can't court the far right prolifers and at the same time say it isn't government's business what a woman decides. Huh uh. Doesn't fly. Both sides end up thinking you are against them. Or a complete imbecile.

-

Mitt. Seems like a nice guy with a lot of money but he is like this straw man....bending and changing his opinions as he is called down on them. Don't get me wrong, I actually hate the word flip flopper. I personally think that when people learn and grow and find out new things they OUGHT to be able to change their opinion. I just know that whether it is on healthcare or union rights or any other hot topic out there, we need someone who at least understands what is at stake on all sides of the argument. And not just shouting out what the fringe people want to here. What I hate about past Republican leadership (or lack thereof) is that sense that everything is black and white...for us or against us. How they have tried to make compromise a bad word. It is disgusting, and very low minded. Not to mention unproductive. You guys can do better.

-

I wasn't even going to mention Rick Santorum, but I must- just incase people aren't paying attention out there. He is so far out there in the planets that he doesn't "get" we have 7 billion people on this earth already. Many of them starving, or without access to clean water. The last thing we need is a nutburger trying to keep people from using contraception.

-

First Snow and Other Thoughts

The state is getting it's first snowfall today. I have my thoughts on that, which anyone who knows me will likely be able to guess. But I'll not whine and drink wine instead. Later because it is still morning.
-
Mum turns 81 years old today. Survived one year at home on my cooking. I looked up the newspaper from her birthdate, and must say the local paper was far more diverse and entertaining back then. On the front page the headlines ranged from WORKMEN INVADE SILENCE OF EMPTY CLOCK CHAMBER IN STEEPLE...to KIDNAPED(sic)BANKER RETURNS HOME.Also on the front page is a list of "Old" people who got hunting licenses. Among them a 90 year old man.It could be a record, but the paper didn't go as far to check. Just pointed it out to people that it might be so. They also list the "tallest" hunter being from Ellwood. (You had to put your height on your application.)Under a separate heading of GIANT GETS LICENSE we find that the poor gentleman was 6 feet 5 and a half inches tall. "Several" women got licenses, too and that was a big deal because all of their names were printed.
-
The clock story is a gem. The biggest church in town got their new clock on this day in 1930. It can be seen from Everywhere.....it's still there. Now I have to see if it is still keeping good time...It cost $5000 dollars back then.

Vincent

Jump into the Stream of Consciousness Again

I just don't get enough of the fall air. Outside. I just want to take it all in before the dark, cold miserable winter is upon us. The neighbor shook one of his trees to get the leaves to fall faster today. I wasn't here to see it, but I can imagine it was an odd site. Today was his day to rake. He couldn't wait anymore.

-

I went on a bulb frenzy. I knew I would. My mind is wired differently than most. I have no idea at all now where anything is planted. I just have vague recollections of "most" pale Easter tulips are over there...some red ones are over here...behind those...no wait...in front, I think are the daffodils...what was left of them except for what I put in the side garden.... etc. and so on it goes.

-

Getting close to a news black out again. I've gone through this before. Too damn depressing. At least Coffee is on the good list of studies this week. Two cups of coffee helps to fend off some kind of cancer. The other bright spot was a vaccination for HPV that prevents some cancers in men as well as women now. I wish the damn right wingers would give up on their crusade against these shots. They are really getting tiring. It is a shot. It's not a license to go have sex. And...duh...at some point your kids are going to have sex anyway. Ask Sarah Palin. Two of her kids so far did the dirty deed before marriage despite her ravings.Get over it. Get the shots, I say. Cancer is a terrible, horrible thing.

And while they are at it, make them wear seat belts and no texting and driving. Period.

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 23, 2011

Putting up Holiday lights in October. I suspect there will be a few others out there doing that today. Why wait till the snow flies? Other decorations will wait, though. We still have to get through Halloween.

-

Driving around yesterday, I couldn't help but notice all the houses covered with spider webbing with ghosts dangling from porches and pumpkins everywhere. It seems despite the bad economy the poorest of neighborhoods manage to be festive for Halloween.

I don't get any Halloweeners, and it is kind of sad. When I was a kid we all went around here....hitting all the local streets and trying to make it up the big hill after that to even more streets before "time ran out" and Halloween was over. Porch lights went out, and you had to go home with your flashlight lugging a pillowcase or plastic pumpkin or whatever you had to put all the candy in.

-

Now parents drive kids to better neighborhoods for better candy. I know people in the city who get hundreds of kids....from all over the place. It has become a financial burden if you want to have enough for everyone. That was never what it was about. It was about having FUN. See your friends and neighbors...sharing a good time. And Aunt Millie was always the last house when all the porch lights were going out. Because she wanted the kids to come in and sit down, have a treat, something to drink, and get out of the cold for awhile. She always made cookies. And you had to take your mask off if she couldn't guess who you were. Because she wanted to know...in a friendly way...so she would know that Frankenstein was so and so's kid, or perhaps

she wanted to know whose mother could sew that impressive bird costume.

-

And safety is much more on the minds of parents these days, too. Can't really let the kid go out alone with other kids in the dark to roam the neighborhood anymore. Megan's Law Sex Offenders, meth houses and gun totin' drug dealers get a lot of publicity these days. And some communities just do away with trick or treating hours altogether in favor of a neighborhood or church party instead. Which is nice..... but...it can't match the Halloweens in my mind...back when the neighbors and I would run house to house in the dark with flashlights and pillowcases...casting furtive glances around us to glimpse other kids dressed as zombies or hobos...and little witches with green faces and long underwear under their clothes.

-

T.E.A.

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 16, 2011

I feel bad for people who don't have a dump. I have a nice one, as dumps go. It's not a dump in the sense of a garbage heap. It's just woods with a low section that we constantly fill in. I can put leaves, weeds, brush, old flowers, crass cuttings and just about anything back there. It is really great when you have to clean the yard and you have carts full of leaves and yard waste.

-

I would hate to have to bag stuff up or depend on others to haul crap away. Yesterday was a blustery day. Leaves everywhere.

When I was outside debating whether to wait till ALL THE LEAVES fall, or get a start on things, a huge bird flew over head. Could be a turkey buzzard. It was huge. Bigger than a hawk. Unfortunately the camera is an older digital one with a very long shutter click time. Let's just say turtles can be a blur if they were walking past....so when a bird soars overhead and I click the button...It took three shots just to get the bird in the frame for Pete's sake.-

Anyhow...

-

Oh, I know this does the bird no justice. For all you see here with no perspective at all it could be a black bird. But no. It was huge. And he is around here somewhere. I'll catch him again someday in a better photo, I'm sure.

Caravan Palace - Suzy

My Imaginary State Dinner

Michelle Obama really made a splash at the State Dinner this week. She has such a fashion sense. And I love the way that she is able to uplift the career of a new or less known designer just by wearing their clothes. Instead of going with the "big names."

-

I never get to go to state dinners so I decided today to pick an outfit I WOULD wear if someone asked me. Blue is a great color. Simple, understated...but perhaps if I could use some fancy jewelry on loan from Cartier's...sparkly. But less is more. Think Audrey Hepburn. A few good pieces. Bangles and diamonds.

-

I probably wouldn't eat much, packed into a dress like this. But it would be worth it. There is always ice cream in the fridge when I get home.

The American Dream

What would George Carlin think about the Occupy Wall Street people?

Today's Thought

“When my cats aren't happy, I'm not happy. Not because I care about their mood because I know they're just sitting there thinking up ways to get even.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Black Cat Blues

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 9, 2011

7:22 AM as I start to write this. Looking out the window the sun hasn't come up over the east side hill yet but there is a hint of orange and I heard it is going to be another perfect fall day. Sunshine and warm temperatures...leaves just turning. I found a lot of great spring bulbs at Lowe's so I need to find space for over 70 more tulips and another 50 odd daffodils and mini irises and crocuses. And I'll probably pull up all the old gladioli bulbs in the rock garden and put them in the basement. Last year in the garage they went to mold and I lost a lot of them.
-
As usual nothing is organized.I found about 30 bulbs in the garage I dug up when I planted annuals this year. I pulled out 50 ferns in hopes of freeing up space for them. I figured any old bulbs I have laying around will just go there. Willy nilly. Hope for the best. It will be a suprize. But I suspect there will still be ferns. You never get rid of them. Or ivy. That is another story.
-
Thinking ahead till spring gets me through the dark, confining, and unreasonably long winter. I have gotten to hate snow and cold more and more each year. There have been years where I tempered my remarks about winter (oh it can be pretty sometimes, or snow is nice on Christmas, etc.)...but last winter's heavy snowfalls and horrible ice accumulations turned me off to it completely. Bah. Winter is a barrier to everything I do, making for extra work I don't want. Period.
-
But for now the sun is up, the temperatures are warmer than normal and all is well.

A Little VM for an Autumn Saturday

Nice...If You are a CEO

The Centrist View has a great post on this. Here's a snippet.

Well, the greatest thing the republicans ever did was to convince 14% of the american population that protecting the rights of the rich was somehow good for poor and middle-income people. The reason I say 14% is that one-third of eligible voters (33%) actually vote and one half of them ( 16% or so) vote republican. Take out the top earning 2% and you’re left with 14% of the population that have been brainwashed into protecting rich people contrary to their own self interest. It’s like these people are saying to themselves, “Maybe I’ll be rich someday so I’m not going to vote for things that are against the interests of other rich people.”

Obligatory Steve Jobs Post

Too young to die. We hear that phrase all the time. Somehow it means more when applied to Steve Jobs. If he had lived another ten years...another twenty? What crazy/practical/fun/innovative/marvelous things still in his head would the world see?

-

The future doesn't seem "safely dreamed of." People with great imaginations are the energy that propel us all forward. Now we have this great technology thanks to Steve, and hopefully more people can share their great ideas. I see him as someone, like the story, who didn't give us fish, but taught us how to fish. His creations will enable humans to expand knowledge exponentially...

-

And it sounds all great. If all people had noble motives. Therein lies the problem. The technology that brings together great minds and caring people, also unites the ego-driven idiots and zealots.

-

But it all comes down to this. We either fear the world or embrace it. There is no other decision, really.

-

But Let's Not Get Too Cold Yet

Governor Bacala

I think it's time for you to start to seriously consider salads. -- Tony Soprano

Abigail Washburn

Watch the full episode. See more Sound Tracks.

The Sunday Morning Muse, Oct 2, 2011

Sunday morning...again. 'Tis Gandhi's birthday today, and thus people will celebrate Non-Violence Day. Funny but the people who probably do know this are the people who aren't going to be violent today anyway.
-
Ran into a guy who had a cow valve put in to replace his bad heart valve. He has lost 20 pounds in 4 weeks and cannot even look at beef let alone eat it. True story.
-
The first Peanuts cartoon ran in the Sunday Comics today back in 1950. I love them. Every fall who doesn't think of Lucy and Charlie Brown, who never gets to kick that football?

-

Tonight is Andy Rooney's final commentary on 60 Minutes. I always looked forward to Andy's segment on the show, especially when the rest of the show featured pretty "heavy" stuff, as the other investigative reporters tend to delve into. He has my ideal job. HELLO 60 MINUTES, I'M OUT HERE.

-

And I'm available for the next 40 years or so.

St. James Infirmary

Caught Hugh Laurie on PBS Friday night. Enjoyed every minute!