Coincidental Juxtaposition
One more part of the rich tapestry of life as she is lived in these United States. My doctor's last name is Horne. He is a wonderful doc but that's not the point. The point is how some office form coding leads to strange results. First his name is shortened to the first two letters and the office visit was a follow-up which is shortened to the the initials of the type. So my visit to the doctor, on the office form, was "FU HO."
Unnh. Same to you fella!

My First Neflix
"The Ice Harvest." Actually much better than I expected. John Cusack is one of the better actors of this generation and does a great turn as the half-addled, half-brilliant lawyer behind a rip-off of his mob boss. Billy Bob Thornton plays his type (I think he's a wonderful actor but c'mon - you know what Billy Bob character is going to be when you see him cast, don't you?) and plays it well. What is not to be missed is the "outtake scene" in the special features. He replays one scene as his immortal Karl Childers characater from "Sling Blade." Oh fer fall down funny!
Really it's Cusack's worn-down, world-weary but gamely hoping for the big score to work out character that makes the movie. The moviegoer has to have someone to like in movies like this and Cusack's Charlie Arglist is that person. Besides, is it really morally wrong to steal from a criminal? Forget all the killings and the divorced family and the tawdry Christmas presents for his kids bought in a filling station's convenience store in the wee hours of Christmas morning.
On the other hand, Connie Nielsen plays the femme fatale Renata and I just don't find her so overwhelming that I bought her devasting effect on the Cusack character. If you look at her face closely while she's speaking, you see the lines gather around her lips which always puts me in mind of little old ladies in retirement homes whose lipstick bleeds off the lips into those lines. Eeesh. Just accept that as my pathology but I don't plan to see any movie in order to see Ms. Nielsen.
The movie struck me as very much in the vein of the Coen's brilliant "Fargo." Very black comedy and a lot of dead bodies by the time the credits roll. One thing I must mention, though, is the commentary by the screenwriters and the writer of the book on which the screenplay is based. Richard Russo (also the author of the bestseller "Empire Falls") has the phrase "As Witchita falls/ So falls Witichita Falls" appear several times in the movie. In the commentary, he professes to not know the source of the words. He needs to review his music collection for Pat Metheney & Lyle Mays's "As Falls Witchita, So Falls Witchita Falls."
This may be a little toe dipped into the big pool but my first Netflix was a winner.

If You're In New York
The incredibly beautiful and amazingly talented Tania Eshaghoff is putting on concerts of music from her disc "A Road To Tehran - Journey Home." Click the link for her website and further details of the concerts on June 17 and 22nd.
Tania was one of the featured performers at the Benefit for Interstitial Cystitis and she is a superb pianist and composer. Were I to be in New York this month, I would not miss at least one of her shows. She describes her sound as "Persian melodies composed to powerful modern sounds." I'll second that but my musical knowledge is limited to the point that I can only say from experience that her music is beautiful and rare. Please go see and listen if you have the chance.

Now I have to track down the new CD to add to my collection. Perhaps I was a bit hasty in getting this month's music.

So, Here Are The Plants
An annotated picture from my deck. The tomato plants are easily twice as big now as they were when I got them. The nascent buds are hanging to the left of the top tufts of leaves, not really visible in the picture but I saw yellow in a bud today. I suppose they'll actually open this weekend. And much thanks to Kris from Gradual Dazzle for the advice to tap the flowers to insure polination. Will do. (click pic to enlarge)
I have set up the next Earthbox for the green peppers but I think I over wetted the dry potting soil going in. My roll-your-own fix: I've dumped water out of the reservoir and once the storms have passed, I'll take the cover off to let it dry out a bit. I hope to plant the peppers by Monday at the latest. Mmm! Fresh green pepper!

This Month's Music
See the "longings" section of the sidebar. I'm sure my good friend and aesthete the Enigmatic Misanthrope will appreciate my adding another disc o' Queen to the collection. Really. "Under Pressure," "Bohemian Rhapsody." These are songs required in a modren song library. I also bought the DVD of "Raising Arizona" which is one of the classics of moviedom. The Coen brothers have made more great, quirky movies than any other ... do I say producer-director? Writer-director? Writer-producer-director? Kinda narrows the praise, dunnit? Well, they're damn good and "Arizona" is one of the funniest movies I've ever laughed through. "Gimme that baby you warthog from Hell!" Heh.

Coming Shortly
As soon as I set up the next Earthbox (and a few of those other things life requires like grocery shopping), I'll have pics of the tomato plants. My examination of them this morning seems to show that they're setting flower buds already. (happy dance) For someone who doesn't like tomatoes, I am getting way too into this. Also coming this afternoon, a pic of my beautiful cousin's newest goatlets. Having had a "pet" goat when I was but a yute, I love the fact that my cousin keeps them. And she makes the best fresh goat cheese! If she weren't my relative, I'd propose.

This Makes No Sense
I SO want banana pancakes this morning. I don't recall a jonesing like this for a while. This may require medevacing to IHOP (Irrational Hospital of Pancakes) STAT!
ON THE OTHER HAND: The iTunes just shuffled up one of the greatest songs ever - Chick Corea & Return to Forever's "Spain." Even though the Enigmatic Misanthrope might be tempted to assail Mr. Corea's honkingly unattractive looks (just leave Pete Townshend alone!) or his adherence to Scientology (sigh - what a pity), the RTF "Light As A Feather" disc has got to be one of the top five jazz-fusion discs of all time. Right up there with Weather Report's "Heavy Weather." Holy something! That disc is $8 at Amazon! Fearfully cheap for great music.

It's Not So Late But I'm Tired
But I wanted to say: tomato plant pics tomorrow. The Erfbox appears to be doing its job. Still no sprouts on the cumcumber side but a couple more green pepper plant sprouts than I'll need for the next Erfbox (I'm starting to run out of ways to say this). I wonder if I can still find cuke plants for sale to save the attempt at sprouting again. But, as I said, more later.

So What Does One Do?
When one is feeling blah and wrung out. My answer: join Netflix.
Now to put about half a thousand movies in my queue and watch them all in the next two weeks, cancel and pay nothing! Ha ha ha! Joking. Joking, people. I think divids will be the cure for no new te-re-bi on the broadcast medium. A medium that, when well done, is rare.
UPDATE: Oooh. "Hell's Kitchen" is coming back. One night a week a week I won't have to watch the discs.

Light Days
Not a measure of distance. Not a reason to use only a pad. Just a lack of inspiration for blogging. The weather has turned hot. My aches and pains are pretty much constant now. I'm not ready for Jesus but I wouldn't shut the door on him either.

Why? Oh Why?
Julie Bowen is a lovely, lovely woman. Beautiful. Wonderful smile. Good actress. loved her to death on the late NBC show "Ed." She even played a good part in "Lost." And she's from Baltimore. Nice to have a (fairly) local on the national scene. Now I see she's doing ads for Neurogena sunless tanning products. (sigh) Julie, doll, I hope the money's good because they've made you the color of a mutant tangerine on my TV.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go over there and be sad a while.

Kevorkian Shows Up Again
I saw in my noisepaper last Sunday that Dr. Jack (not Happy Jack by any account) has some tsooris in his incarceration. His attorney (I will be quoting from a USA Today link which may expire) "said the assisted-suicide advocate will probably not survive another year if kept in prison, as he again asked the state to grant his client a pardon or commute his sentence." Mouthpiece Mayer Morganroth is seeking "pardon, parole or commutation" based on the Kevork's declining health: "'Kevorkian has become increasingly frail and has fallen twice, injuring his wrist and fracturing two ribs,' Morganroth said in a statement. His blood pressure has gone 'through the roof,' the lawyer said Saturday."
And in one of those twists that O. Henry used to love: "Kevorkian has said he assisted in at least 130 deaths, but has promised that he will not assist another if released."

All right then. Here's the deal: You save the taxpapyers of Michigan a big old butt-load of money by assisting just once more. Kill yourself now you son of a bitch. You didn't seem to have any trouble with it before. What's stopping you when your "quality of life" is failing?

Some Real Guitar Playing
If you want to see someone make a guitar sing - just watch "Mary" on the Pete Townshend Music From Lifehouse DVD. Wow. And later on he even does a few good old windmills on "Won't Get Fooled Again." It's not as great as Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" (now there's a party I wish I'd been invited to!) which is simply the best concert DVD ever. But it's damnably good for a slobbering Townshend fan boy such as yours truly.

The Nike iPod Connection
What sort of music do you listen to on your Nike iPod?
Sole music of course.

Update On The eBay Guitar
Scoll down to it.

Today I Am Seven Squared
Old. Getting older. I never thought I'd get this far. When I was young my parents told me that I'd never make 18 so I guess I've been living on borrowed time for the last 31 years. Of course one day I'm going to have to pay back all this borrowing but it would appear that it won't be for a while. I'll put off the reckoning for a bit.
But for now, Potlatch Baby! Two Lileks books (opened earlier), Pete Townshend's Music from Lifehouse, the Mel Brooks Collection (eight movies! woot!), the Griffin Tech iPod connector cables, Griffin's GarageBand guitar cable (so now I can plug directly into the iMac) and luxy all-weather floormats for the Outback. And some other things I suppose that haven't reached me yet.
Now, I'm going to make myself two eggs over easy, two slices of chewy natural bread to go with and about three cups of coffee. I'll read the paper. I'll plant out my tomato plants, shower, spend about an hour with the guitar and by then, it's off to dinner with friends. There are worse ways to get old.
Tomorrow it's another Atlantic Cycling day. I'll point you to pics when they're post on the AC website. Cheers, y'all!
UPDATE: Earthbox The First is now all packed with soil and tomato plants are mashed into the proper places. Fingers are crossed. And, happily, I see sprouts in the green pepper side of the seed starter kit. Perhaps the cool weather has slowed down the germination. That's my story for the nonce.

Wherein I Channel Joe Sherlock
I saw two Toyota FJ Cruisers today in my driving about. Remarkably cool looking. One was yellow, the other silver. Yellow was a bit garish for me but not so over the top that it would be a deal-breaker. I'd be interested to see some specs like interior comfort, exterior size (my garage wants to know!), mileage numbers and ... no, I guess that's what I'd like to know. I'd take a test drive if I were in the market. Maybe in another five years or so.
I think the design cue of the down-sloping of the roof line at the rear seems to work spectacularly well. And Toyota just doesn't make bad cars. I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota becomes the number one car-maker in the world ere long.

Doesn't This Speak For Itself?
I love creme soda. That intense fake vanilla is just soooo good. I bought a four-pak of Boylan's at Trader Joe's the other day and thought the highlighted incongruity might be worth noting. I know that the package copy is pretty much boilerplate but they might want to think about which soda they're putting their words on.
The soda itself is great. And I even dig the retro packaging. It's the Lileks in me.
Click the image for better view.

I'm A Paul Reed Smith Guy
But have you ever seen a $100,000 guitar? Possibly even a $200,000 guitar if the bidding keeps up. (Hat tip to Billy Beck.)
UPDATE (Monday morning): The price has indeed gone over $200,000 and not even reached the reserve yet. It will be fascinating to see not only the final bid but what the reserve price is. This gitbox is reaching the price of a house in some markets. Can't live in a guitar and with a museum piece like this, I don't think you can make a living from playing it. A least a $200,000 car you can sleep in!

Things Pile Up
I hope to be putting up a whole bunch stuff (read: krep) that has been accumulating but that means I'll have to dig the scanner out from under a pile of papers and ... well, you get the idea. But my intentions (gorramit) are good.
But the nub of my gist in this little jet of vented bile is return address labels. Many years ago I got a program called Silicon Press for my old Mac. It did labels. It did labels with flair. Labels with graphics. I made great labels for the mailers of the book club I was in. And, of course, I made return address labels for myself. Silicon Press went the way of many digital lives to an ignored but not unlamented demise. And I began to use SuperPaint for my address labels as it was the first program that allowed me to combine a paint (bit mapped graphic) layer with a draw (vector graphic) layer in one file. I did Christmas labels, I did labels with a leading graphic initial. They weren't earth-shaking but they looked good and I spent an unGodly amount of time tweaking the placement so that they would print out -just so-.
And SuperPaint died with System 9. I still have a bunch of old files that I created in SuperPaint that I'd love to futz with again but no program, despite the crunching power and ability of modern programs like Photoshop and InDesign, allows me to create like I did in SuperPaint. But I digress. It's the address label thing.
I can not believe that in this day and age any person would need to create an address label for him or her self. I must get at least one begging letter a month that includes a guilt gift of mail labels. I laugh Ha! Ha! For I am not swayed by guilt and use the labels with abandon. Specifically, abandonment of the beggers who sent me the letter in the first place. Now, most of these labels do advertise the concern of those who sent them but the careful use of an X-acto knife and I'm good to go.
Am I the only one who has an envelope full of address labels sent by alleged charities? C'mon. Fess up. I'm not judging. I just want to know.

Conspiracies Afoot
Still watching "Lost." Still wondering why. No. It's gotten better of late. But I was struck by the recent killing of characters. Both the chicks who are played by actresses who have been caught drunk driving lately. Hmmm. Don't drink and drive - it'll kill your pretend self.

In The Words of The Late, Great Walt Kelly
As expressed by Mam'selle Hepzibah, "Reciprovocation is the spites of life."

Woot!
The tomato plants arrived from Burpee today. I'm following directions which means I should be planting them out on Sunday.
It's a curious thing. I am not a fan of raw tomato. A slice thereof, however, on a burger or a sandwich is purely delightful. And cooked tomato in many forms can be quite delicious. So I decided to go ahead and grow them in the possibility that my tastes have changed. But what I forgot was the smell of a tomato plant. I can't describe it because I know of nothing that shares that smell. It's a bit spicy and I love it. An added benefit of having the suburban equivalent of a garden. I'll post pics when I start to get fruit of my labor.

Whoof!
My iMac, which once had a problem with not ejecting discs, has now taken a turn for the more enthusiastic expulsion of discs from the load slot. Wheee! A CD can bounce a couple of inches after a fall of just about a foot. Hmm. Good to know.

Just Rude
Appropos of my good wishes to Kris (below), I am reminded of one of my old jokes. You know you've got a real cocaine problem when you pick your nose and someone else asks, "You gonna eat that?"

A Few Bits & Pieces
I've fallen behind on my book reading partly because I've started using LibriVox to listen to H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines." It's got to be the laziest way to get audiobooks ever but hey, that's right in my wheelhouse. Necessity is not the mother of invention - sheer cussed laziness is.

I haven't been keeping a daily eye on my seed plantings but I haven't seen much effort by the green spring that drives the vital force. And the tomaht plants haven't come yet either. Very frustrating to read of Acidman's garden starting to run wild when I've got nothing going here. Next year it's going to be all plants and no seed starting.
UPDATE: I just got notified that the chirpy Burpee folks (OK, I don't know if they're really chirpy but it rhymes - work with me here) have shipped my tomato plans. All right!

Recent movies rented: Aeon Flux, Mrs. Henderson Presents and The Baxter. All have some good though Mrs. H is the best of the lot. More punchy depth and pithy analysis to come on those. Some would say very pithy.

And the very, very deepest PoW wishes to Kris over at Anywhere But Here for speedy return to full and glowing health, finding the right teaching position (I favor standing and glowering at the pupils personally) and taking the Blues Challenge all the way to Memphis! Gots to love me dem blues!

Ain't It A Day?
I have a post about my fargin' plasma TV all stored and awaiting completion (picture the TV lying back asking, "Was it good for you too?") but suffice it to say, for the nonce, that a replacement set was delivered today for the one I physically purchased. We shall see, we shall see...
But what fun otherwise! Two packages on my doorstep (probably delivered yesterday and I didn't look) - the four CD package from Daedalus music of which "Black and White Night" is now iTuned and playing through the good, albeit not fantastic speakers on the iMac. Wow. It's such a showcase of Orbison's best that I can't think what took me so long to get it. I'm not the biggest RO fan in the world but his place in modern music can't be underestimated even if just by the number of people he's influenced. And for all the big hits, listen to "Leah" and chills will play tag up and down your spine. What a voice. I repeat: Wow.
And I have the Al Petteway CDs lined up for ripping after I've listen to B&WN a few times. My iTunes Library is now up to 3365 items, playable for nine and a half daysand using 18.64 GB of storage space.
Plus! Lycurgus has begun the process of the transfer of goods in conjunction with my natal anniversary. Potlatch baby! I now have the Lileks books I previously did not: "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" and "Interior Desecrations." The man may well be the funniest daily writer in America. He has already surpassed Dave Barry with his invention and wit. Can a "humorist" be brilliant? Oh hell yes.
What further delights will my ripening to the seven squared bring me? At the very least a visit from my best friend of the Duke years next week. (insert happy dance) Such a mensch he is!

Yes, I Know She's Gay
But I think Mary Cheney is very cute. And not dogmatically left-wing as many gays are. I'm not sure that I'll buy her book but I may when I clear out the half dozen I have stacked up now. For all the crap the left spews about "speaking truth to power" and being "courageous" when they're only being politically correct, Ms. Cheney is braver than the lot of them for supporting her father and the administraion he helps run.
God bless her and I hope she sells a buttload of books.

Not Dead Yet
Sorry to have been so silent for the last few days but I've been feeling increasingly dyspeptic what with jackassery of such major proportions as David Blaine's idiotic and ultimately pointless use of two GOTDAM hours of American television time. "Or die trying." You useless sack - live up to your billing and do the world a favor.
More posting should be in the offing as I finish up a few projects.

Dear Comcast
Hi. You don't know me but I run my home wireless LAN off a Verizon DSL connection. I don't have cable TV for several reasons that aren't really germane to this letter. What is germane is that I recently got a new big plasma TV. A 42 inch plasma TV. Wow. It's amazing. So amazing that I decided that I really do need to get a source of programming that does away with the vagaries of the broadcast signal.
I'd like to thank you for making my choice easy. I've seen your ads in TV feauring a pair of talking turtles oh-so-amusingly named the "Slowskys" who use DSL. Obviously. you think so little of me who uses DSL that I am just a dumb turtle who likes slow internet access. Screw you. I will be getting DirecTV or Dish Network, basically anything but Comcast cable service.
Please do me the great favor of imagining what I think of you.

Superman? I Think Not
When you're stunt riding, don't lose your grip. Link goes to video.
It's not funny. But I'm still laughing.

It Was In Sunday School
Little Bobby was tasked, one Sunday morning in the church basement with drawing a picture about religion. Nothing specific, just something he'd heard or thought about. So after about ten minutes he brought his picture to the Sunday school teacher. "Oh how nice!" she said as Sunday school always do. There was a big sort of yellowish blob on one side, a big very yellow blob in the upper right corner and in the middle were some four-legged animals with halos. "Bobby, I don't understand what's in your picture. Would you tell me?" asked the teacher.
"Well, duh!" said Bobby. "It's the fodder, the sun and the holy goats."

This Month In BlogDog Music
Oh frabjous day! Just when I thought I'd have all sorts of trouble in picking this month's month's music, I got the opportunity to buy two month's worth in one swell foop. The Daedalus music catalog arrived and had three (count 'em ->3<-) Al Petteway CDs at sick prices (i.e. $5.98 each). Scooooooop. and let's throw in "Black and White Night" for good measure. If you click the "three" link, you need to click on the "Jump to Music" link and the three top CDs are what I got: "Caledon Wood," "Midsummer Moon" and "The Waters and the Wild." Emmylou will have to back into the queue. She can chat with Karen Carpenter there. Yes, I know! I'm being metaphorical.
Having seen and heard Al with his equally talented and much lovlier partner Amy White at the Cooldog concert back in February. This guy (OK, both of them) is a superb musician. Click on over to his site (the link on his name above) and wander around a bit. You'll be impressed, believe me. And, as part of my continuing mission to spread joy, please do acquire Al & Amy CDs. Their artistry deserves support and you'll be doing yourself a favor as well by adding beauty and brilliance to your music collection.

So now I have to re-do the links in the sidebar. Shouldn't take but a few moments.

Emmylou
Do I need to add a last name to that first name? Of course not. Emmylou and Mark Knopfler have released a new album "All the Roadrunning" which title song you can listen to in Real Audio if you visit the first link in this post. I'm very upset. I like the title song. A lot. It's not as overwhelmingly stunning as ... I'm thinking of the Carpenter's "Goodbye to Love" but that may be just due to the coincidence of the finest female vocals ever. I haven't decided to buy the CD yet (and I'm peeved at Amazon for not having the Roy Orbison CD in stock since March - now canceled though I'll get it elsewhere) but I probably will. The problem, what leaves me upset, is that I was reminded that I have so little of her music. In fact, on CD, I only have "Red Dirt Girl" (which, by the way, is just a fantastic, great, amazing disc). I'm going to have to start accumulating Emmylou CDs to catch it all up. So maybe this month my music acquisitions will be "Black and White Night" from Daedalus and one of Emmylou's. Perhaps "Wrecking Ball." I'd be interested in feedback from readers. Is there a better Emmylou CD to get into the stack first?
Also, please go visit her site (the first link above). I have always considered her to be a gorgeous woman (even without the voice she would be exceptional) but she now has the most amazing mane of snowy white hair and such eyes - to die for. The picture on her site is just stunning. I am in love all over again.

Upcoming At The Flickers
I just watched the trailer for the new Pirates of the Caribe movie over at Tyler Durden's place and it looks amazing. I won't spill anything (because you have nothing to spill having only watched the trailer?- Ed.) Shut UP Ed! But yeah, pretty much. So, know what I know - go and watch the trailer. This, to me, looks like the first "must see" movie of the year. No, "Flight 93" is a must see as well.

I'm Getting Better At This
Honorable Mention in the Wizbang caption contest. Wheee!
And by the way, I detest Jenny McCarthy so this one was easy. Skank.

Naming Names
All my guitars have names. All three of them. My first guitar, the Santana SE is called "Carlito" after the great, great Carlos Santana whose name is affixed to the production model. He is my only guy guitar. Then came Holly, the Hollowbody II. That name is almost self evident. And now, the blue Swamp Ash Special is living with me and her name is "Julie Ocean." Why? First because that lush deep blue color with the distinct swamp ash grain makes me think of ocean waves and secondly becuase of Emm Gryner's beautiful cover of the Undertones song of that name. Her name might change as I get more comfortable with her but for now, she is Julie.
A friend suggested that she's a Duke blue color but reaching for a name to go with that (Debbie With A Blue Dress On? I don't think so) involved too much stretching. Things could change.
As for Julie herself - I'm quite remarkably happy. She's heavy, heavier than Carlito who also has a solid body. But she holds the music like a miser hoards money. I strummed once across the strings and held the neck to see when I felt the vibration die out - 12 seconds. And bolt-on neck guitars are not renowned for their sustain. I've also played with the tonal settings and I'm impressed -the tonal variation is hugely evident even to a neophyte such as myself. In short, I am liking this guitar. So much that I'm not even looking at Paul Reed Smiths on eBay anymore.
For the downside, there is kind of a funk coming off the interior of the case (sort of a chemical smell) which I don't much care for but someone coming into my home may find a pong that's not their cuppa either. Not a big deal - I've left the case open for a couple of days and Febreezed the room a couple of times. It's pretty much solved by now. And I do need her checked out by my gitbox man. The fretboard needs cleaning and I'm unwilling as yet to de-string it to do so.
It's just so great to have one more beautiful PRS for the love of music.

Woo Hoo!
I made the list on Wizbang's caption contest again! Yay!
Yes, I do seek validation for the slightest of reasons. Why do you ask?

More PRS Lust
That would be a Swamp Ash Special in Blue Matteo with rosewood fretboard and Paul Reed Smith bird inlays. I love this guitar in a natural finish to show off the grain of the wood but this is just the prettiest dang blue I've seen. Looks like an ocean. Should I get it? I'm leaning hard toward "yes."
The SAS is an interesting guitar. Here's the PRS page on it. The upper and lower pickups (bass and treble) are fairly PRS-usual but there's a third pickup in the middle ("Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails" pickup) and the electronics allow the player to pick and choose amongst which pickups will be in use. My understanding is that this allows the SAS to switch between a more Fender sound and a more Gibson sound as desired. I ain't that good. Another year or so and I'll have a much better understanding of it all.
I'll tell you this though: Holly certainly sounds as sweet and clear as fresh spring water. I figure a Swamp Ash Special should have its own charm. Also, "Swamp Ash Special" - how cool is that? Sounds like something John Fogerty should be playing. Or singing about.

UPDATE: Oh yes. It will be mine. Possibly as soon as Thursday. And one thing I forgot to note - yes, that is a tremelo bridge. And to clarify something, my guitar hero (and PRS addict) friend 'splained it to me a little bit. One of the pickups gives the guitar a Stratocaster sound (not a generic "Fender" sound) and the other gives it a Les Paul sound (not a generic "Gibson" sound). It seems a lot of owners use their Swamp Ash Specials for gigging just because of the versatility. Neat. Unnh. I mean "Cool!"

Oh The Things You'll See!
I had a fun time this weekend for a few reasons, all revolving around the 85th birthday of the patriarch of an extended clan of mixed Norse and South American blood based in western Maryland. 85. I wished him welcome to middle age - as long as he was planning to live to 170. But that's not the fount of the fun.
He is still true to his roots in his love of pickled herring (something I enjoy but not as much, I think, as he does). I also learned that his favorite dessert is ice cream. So (you're getting ahead of me here aren't you?) I made him herring ice cream. And he was game enough to eat a scoop. What a hell of a guy.
Now, I have to say that I didn't spring this without trying it myself and truth be told - it's not a vile as you might imagine it to be. If you really like pickled herring, you wouldn't be gagging at the ice cream. In fact, it's based on herring in cream sauce so it's a lot like cold, sweetened herring in cream sauce.
I Googled "herring ice cream" and references to it have been made on the interweb but no one seems to have actually made it. I have. File it under "Small Claim To Fame."

Two Bit Reviews
First, "Narnia." Good. Not great. A good rental which I'm glad I didn't have to spend more than $3 to see. Effects were uniformly excellent - there is a moment when the faun Tumnus walks into his house and chatters his hooves to knock snow off that is just perfect. Cute kids pretty much. Though I was often put off by the British spade-y toothedness of them. I loved the beaver couple - they were cute and just delightful. Problems abounded though. Aslan, the Christ figure of the show was voiced by Liam Neeson. I have nothing against the rangy Irish thespian but if you're going to image Our Saviour, use a voice talent whose face we don't picture every time we hear the voice, eh? And the grand battle to save Narnia just doesn't come across as grand. "Lord of the Rings" is one of the few movies where the grand battle with evil really felt like the Grand Battle With Evil. Finally, I can't imagine anyone other than Tilda Swinton to be cast as the White Witch, she of the bleached out appearance (see her in "Constantine" for another perverse performance) and seemingly translucent skin. And yet there is something about her that makes me ... I'll use the word "desire" her in lieu of admitting to perverse impulses of my own. I look at the White Witch and want her as I hate myself for wanting her. I don't think that's what C.S. Lewis had in mind!
I also watched Mr Potter's movie with the Giblets of Fire. What can one say? The kids are growing up handsome or pretty so good on them. The effects were less "real" than in the Narnia movie but very effective nonetheless. I liked the lake sequence a lot - fresh water mer-people with salmon or cod-like tails was a very smart touch. But it strikes me that the actual goblet of fire is a pretty small part of the story. Yes, yes, it sets it all in motion but it isn't a big deal in almost all other ways. It does, I suppose fit with the naming convention of the books though. I really liked the blue hats of the French girls - kind of sexy in a haute coture kind of way and distinct from the Gothic style of Hogwarts. Harry really should stop being such a clueless tool though. That's Voldemort Harry! Kick his ASS! Whew. Talk about not getting into the spirit of the series! Good movie. I'm somewhat sorry I didn't see it in the theater.

Getting It Wrong
Sometimes, you don't listen hard enough. Or you don't hear quite right. I sat down for a nice long conversation with who I thought was JoJo and come to find out - her name is Holly. Sorry darlin'. My mistake. You are Holly now and forever.
You realize of course that I am talking about my guitar, don't you?

I Wonder...
As I was reading the title of the Narnia movie again, it struck me: This is awfully close to the description of the scumbaggery of the Clinton Administration and its revelation due to the blue dress. That would be "The Lyin', The Wench and The Wardrobe."

New On The Rental Block(buster)
Since there is crap all on TV on Monday nights (until 10 pm - CSI:My-yummy Calliegh Duquesne ... unnhh I mean the Miami CSI show), I hit up my local vid rental place with my $3 per rental card. "Narnia," "Walk The Line" and the latest Harry Potter. Yeah. I'm so far behind the times that the movies have beards on 'em but I watch these things on my own time.
Also, still haven't gotten Roy Orbison's "Black & White Night" CD from Amazon. Surprising that they haven't had it in stock or whatever. At least they sent me the Fagen discs. My thoughts for April involve Jake's new disc but so far his web site hasn't given up any info about a release date. And for that matter, his MySpace site seems to have been deleted. I'm starting to worry 'bout the lad. I may get myself a sort of "best of" disc of Brewer and Shipley. There are at least three songs I'd really like to have. The rest is a wonderful artifiact of my yute.

I Love Pugs
But this is wrong in oh so many ways. (Warning: dogs dressed as people)

Heartbreaking
The Enigmatic Misanthrope this morning directed my attention to a report in the Rocky Mountain News of the wake held by the Oglala Sioux for one of their own fallen in Iraq: Cpl. Brett Lundstrom. Read the report but do not make the mistake of missing the slide show in the "Story Tools" box. If this does not bring a tear to your eye, you have no soul.
May God bless Cpl. Lundstrom, his family and the nation of Oglala Sioux for their honor to this fallen warrior.

And One More Thing
No, I've not become Steve Jobs. I just thought I'd post my latest home improvement project - a curved shower rod in the guest bath. While on my latest trip, I noticed that the hotel had one of these and was surprised at how much more comfortable it was. OK, I can't say that it was this particular one but that's the one I bought and just finished installing. It is remarkably easy to install, all the mounting hardware is included. I'll provide a report when I have a guest stay and give it the pH-balanced test. (I'm pretty sure my shower water is not acidic!)
Generally speaking, I have never been a fan of shower curtains. As an Adipose-American, I find shower curtains to end up stuck to me instead of to the side of the tub. As the ad copy at the link says, I am tired of "cling-ons."

Putting the "Mental" in "Environmental"
I ordered my vegetables from Burpee's today. No thanks to anyone expressing an opinion of my damader plants, dang yees! But that's not all. I've figured out how to cover myself in both environmental glory and join the exclusive club of having something no one else has. I'm going to get a stencil and put "HYBRID" on the sides and under the badging of my six year-old Outback. Bingo. A Hybrid Outback! Genius.
Yeah, I know it won't be a hybrid but it'll drive people who see it nuts thrying to find one for themselves.

Trying New Things
I am an inveterate try-er of new products. Within reason. I haven't found the opportunity to "try out," say, a Maserati Quattroporte for a reasonable price. "Hello? Maserati? My name is BlogDog and I run an auto-review website called 'Pugs of War' ... What? No. Explaining that would be a long and boring story. The purpose of my call is to ask about the delivery of a Quattroporte for a test drive sometime in the near future ... Hello? Hello? Dang."
But I have recently tried a few new things. Coke Blak for example (Flash site warning on that link). "Coke effervesence with coffee essence" to quote the Coke Flaks. Good things: cute 8oz traditional CoCola glass bottle, surprisingly creamy "mouth feel" for a carbonated soda, tastes pretty good in my estimation. Now for the downside: Price. I bought it using a steep discount with my Safeway card - $4 off a four pack. There's no way I would pay $6 for a four pack. I think it's definitely worth your giving it a try but I can't countenance Coca-Cola asking so much for what they're offering.
I tried the new Gillette Fusion razor too. Damn those Safeway discount cards! Again, the site is another Flash site with way too cute an interface. (Yeah "Cassandra" is the "director" of "Fusion labs." Oh fer insulting my intelligence!) There is no rational way I can justify the idea that a razor needs five blades on the shaving surface. Six blades if you count the singleton which is reverse-mounted to be a trimmer blade. And yet. And yet after one shave, I want to say that I got the best shave I've had in years from that damn thing. I get razor burn on the lower neck on either side of the throat. And after this shave, I can honestly say that the razor burn was not evident. I quickly caveat this by saying that one shave doth not a product recommendation make. But I am going to give this beast my full attention in future shaves. Right now, I'm inclined to spend the absurd amounts of money on cartridges for the Fusion if the shave quality continues to be this good.
Finally, a breakfast cereal - the new Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch (link goes to a review at Mr. Breakfast). Not bad. Not worth seeking out but not bad. I've had better granola-ish cereals. You could close your eyes and pluck a Trader Joe's cereal off a shelf and get a better, and less expensive cereal for example. But, again, not bad. Very different from original Grape-Nuts. (Which, by the way, is one of the name brands you should always buy as every store-branded version I've ever tried comes out as dust and grit, not leetle chunks.) I was two bowls in before I realized that the flavor I was tasting was the flavor of graham crackers. A good flavor but not what I expect from something calling itself "Trail Mix Crunch."
What new products have you tried recently?

The Wheels On The Bike Go Round and Round
Yesterday was the start of the '06 Atlantic Cycling season and I was there in my support capacity as is my wont. The day started cold and windy. Shiveringly cold. But as the sun rose, the wind scaled back and the temp came up to the point where the afternoon was really pleasant. Maybe more pleasant for those us with the thick layer of subcutaneous insulation perhaps. I sat, while cutting oranges and making PB&Js for the riders, facing the sun and today I have a nicely pinked-up face. Less, of course, the reverse-raccoon mask from the sunglasses.
We had nearly 150 riders (actually, I think, when you add in that Committee members rode, there were a few over 150 riders but don't hold me to that) and I got cleaned out of a couple of foodstuffs at the first rest stop (in lovely Lovettsville, VA). But there were other things for riders who missed the PB&Js. Plus, it was great seeing the AtCyc folks again after so many months.
I am actually going to try to ride at least a shortened course of next month's Blackwater ride and I'm definitely shooting for the full short course (start making sense please -Ed.) at the Easton, MD ride in August. Wish me luck - my bad hip joints are going to have to come through for me for a change. And, just to throw a bitch into the bucket - my left shoulder is killing me today. Maybe I mashed the joint when I lay on my side last night but I had to put some Biofreeze on it just to fall asleep. Getting old can not suck any more if it were composed of pure vacuum.
Well. Isn't that a nice way to finish off a pleasant post about another great Atlantic Cycling experience!

Let Me See Here...
Physical violence - check. Accusations of racism - check. Attempted coverup - check. Massive rowback - check.
Cythia McKinney could well be a member of the Duke Lacrosse Team.

InstaPundit Opts for the Black iPod Nano

And I dug and I dug until I found why!
I didn't even know there was a band called "Blue Osterizer Cult."

Just The Other Day
A friend of mine recently asked me about my religious belief. I told him that I worship Logy, the Norse God of Afternoon Lassitude.

RFC
That would be "request for comment." I've pretty much decided on getting the Burpee "Red Lightning Hybrid" tomatoes for my EarthBoxen. I'd be interested to see what you, the reader, might think of my choice. Or let me know what you think is a better bet. Please.
I'm also getting Burpee peppers and cucumbers for my other plantings. Depending on how well things turn out this year, I may be setting another two boxes next year for some additional veg - greens and beans perhaps.

New On The 'Pod
Donald Fagen's "Morph the Cat" (see the sidebar). Oh! So smooth! It's "Two Against Nature," "Everything Must Go" jazzy and it's like liquid ease. I actually prefer the rock-ier "Kamakiriad" but, allow me to repeat this, nothing Fagen does is wrong. Not ever. It may not be as good as something else he's done in one's own estimation but it's (damn, I'm actually going to say this) all good. There is something to like in every single song. From the trumpet solo in "The Great Pagoda of Funn" to the harmonica in "What I Do" there is something that makes each song special.
I could listen to this album for the next week and I just might do that. By then I'll know all the songs well enough to sing along. Maybe I can learn to play some of those riffs on JoJo. JoJo, by the way, just came back from being cleaned, adjusted and restrung and she's even more beautiful than when she arrived. My guitar hero friend even complimented her sound after he said that the PRS Hollowbody IIs tend to have too bright a sound for his taste. JoJo is supersweet.

Very Possibly The Hottest Picture On The Internet
It's Janet Leigh on Kim du Toit's site today. (scroll down to the bottom of the post) Whew!
I need a cool shower 'bout now.

It's April Fool's Day
And I'm not fooling anybody. But I hope your day is full of merry prankage.

Ripped From The News Of The Day!
I scanned this from today's Washington Times, "Weekend" section.


I'm thinking they meant "sambA." Click the picture to read the caption more clearly.

Brush With Fame
Last night I met E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post. It was a good scene all around. Perhaps I'll do details later. Perhaps not.

There Is Unrest In France
I'm sorry to report that there will be no end to the rioting in France (hat tip: Billy Beck for the link). Now that the French themselves are doing the rioting, there is no one to surrender to.

A Moment Of Foodblogging
I am not worthy to use the utensils of my fellow-blogger Paul when it comes to working the kitchen but every now and again I do something that I rather enjoy. Last weekend I had my friend Irving (see sidebar) over to help me with some tasks I was unable to handle myself. I mean, getting the new plasma TV onto the dresser was a two-person job I tell ya! And part of the process was having lunch eats.
I decided that the best bet was roll-your-own wraps. To that end I got the wraps themselves (square wheat breads) at Costco along with a roasted chicken. Laid out on the table, then were the following from which a hungry lad could assemble a meal: wraps, chicken, romaine lettuce leaves, hummus, olive tapenade, feta cheese, diced red onion, sliced jalapeno peppers and kalamata olives. Yum. You can make a damn fine sammich mixing and matching those ingrediments. And I have leftovers. It's going to be a week of eating wraps for lunch.

Faux Mysticism
If one were to combine Oriental martial arts with voodoo, would the result be jujujitsu?
I like the mysticism!

Sweet Lego Awesomeness
A sports arena built by someone(s) with pure, unadulterated Lego GEEN-yus. The Washington Nationals should have something as good looking built in DC. Only bigger. Yeah. Bigger.

Why I Don't Believe In ESP
I can't even read my own mind.

Stuff 'N' Nonstuff
Here is a link to the Krispy Kreme-bunned burger being pushed down the well-lubricated arteries of the Gateway Grizzlies fans. With fotos! Only a thousand calories and 45 grams of fat for four bits under a fin! Buy two! That's only $9.00.

Much thanks to Denny for using my quick and dirty Photoshop of his very cherry Bimmer and throwing a link my way. And for commenting on the post below. PoW loves feedback. Almost as much as we love the feedbag. Especially if it has a few Krispy Kreme burgers in it!

Ain't She Sweet!
I think I'll have to give her a name when she arrives.
Details: 2003 Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody II, 10 Top, rosewood fingerboard on a mahogany neck, stop tail bridge, locking tuners with ebony knobs, abalone soaring bird fret inlays (a PRS trademark), nickel hardware (obviously) and PRS archtop pickups.
The back is just as gorgeously flamed maple.

I don't love my Santana SE any the less, but now I have (or, shortly will) a guitar that will play as an acoustic when I don't want to plug in.

UPDATE: I'd rather hoped to be getting her today (Friday) but the tracking page shows me that she's only left Knoxville, TN at about 1pm. Egad I love the Interweb! I'd said it before and I'll say it again. Has there ever been a chance in all the world and time to follow physical packages as they make their way to you in very nearly real time? We live in a magical time.

More Music
Jake has a Myspace page which, when loaded will play an mp3 of his version of "Graceland." Now, keeping in mind that Paul Simon so utterly owns the song that it's a risk for another artist to cover it, Jake does a very creditable version. It hews closely enough to the original that the listener is not left behind but he also very much plays his version of it. Damn Jake. Just really nicely done. Can't wait for the new CD next month.
Hmm. I think I may work up a post on artists whose covers I have liked. Or not.

Why Was I Not Imformed?
Donald Fagen has a new CD/DVD combo out: "Morph the Cat" (see the sidebar for an Amazon link). There are very few artists whose output is required to be acquired and Donald Fagen is one of them. Steely Dan, of which Fagen is a third, is also a necessary buy but, strangely, Walter Becker's solo output is not to my taste. On the other hand, Fagen's "Kamakiriad" is quite possibly one of the best discs of all time - top 20 if not top 10. On Steely Dan's "Alive in America" live disc there is a version Becker's "Book of Liars" which is, simply, superb. Yet when I listened to the original on "11 Tracks of Whack," I was not knocked out.
I also finally ordered the CD of Roy Orbison's all-star "Black & White Night" which is a staple of PBS pledge week programming. What can I say? It's the Ooby Dooby man at his best surrounded by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, T Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther and Bruce Springsteen. I think I can honestly say my musical tastes are eclectic.

One From My Files
Years ago in the NBA, one Yinka Dare left George Washington University to play pro hoops. At nearly the same time, Manute Bol, a Dinka tribesman from Sudan was playing the pro game as well. It's just too bad they never had the chance to play against each other because it would have been a Yinka-Dinka do.

I Want
I want to install a steering wheel on my computer but I can't think of what I want it to do. And don't say play GTA! Maybe it should have a horn button as well. I find a good Google or YouTube video and HONK! HONK! Yeah. That's what I want.

Just Sick Cute
The NMSE has sent another picture from Pug Acres North. And this on the day I found that new next-door neighbors have a pug. Her name is Lola and she's feisty. That makes two pugs in the 'hood. "Rabito" has a new friend.
Still and all - the pug at the bottom of this pic has a strange Shar Pei-ish quality. Or so it seems.

New Favorite Waste Of Time
Splash Back. Use water drops to pop water droplet blobs. Addictive gorram it. I've made it to level 23 at my best. Go. See what you can do. Report back.

This
Is not the post I meant to make.

Working On It
Blogging has been light what with the ACC Tournament 'n' all. Yeah, yeah, go Duke, whatever. But I am working on a lengthier post than those in my last few weeks as I read Virginia Postrel's "The Substance of Style." I don't yet have my thoughts in order but I can join in the praise for the book with pleasure. I am not so great a fan of Ms. Postrel's writing style (it seems a little too academic for a mass-market book) but the point of her book is spot on.
More later.

Wherein I Win A Caption Contest
At Wizbang. Sniff. I'm so proud. Clearly, I need to mention boobs more.

Holy Kwap
My weather widget says that the expected high today is 77º. Seventy seven degrees! Gorram (that's a "Firefly" reference for the good-watching impaired) it's hot in NoVa.

Sweet Mother Of God
"Baseball's Best Burger" as brought to you by the Gateway Grizzlies and (wait for it...) Krispy Kreme. I think you can figure out the lay of this land before you even click the link.

Making You Hate Me Just A Little Bit More

Sometimes You Wonder
I will admit to many things - not the least of which is a case of sexual confusion. Not about my orientation of course, just about some objects of ... well, I can't call it "lust" because that's where the confusion lies. The point in this case being Suzy Kolber. She does TV ads for Chevrolet and at first her voice just grated on me. Then, after I became accustomed to that, I kept looking at her and I'm left flummoxed. I can't decide if she's just totally annoying or if she's actually turning me on.
I dunno. It is sort of pointless to wonder about such things since I'm never going to meet her, much less paint any part of a town in any shade of red. But since she keeps popping up on my screen (hell yes I'm watching the ACC Tournament), she nags at my increasingly feeble mind.
Anyone else care to comment on this particular sports chick?

Wherein I Channel Cletus

A Dash Of Morning Bile
In my morning surfing I got a pop-under window advertising Netflix. I was seriously considering getting Netflix as the Blockbuster thing is becoming increasingly lame. But screw Netflix if they buy advertising with sites that do pop-unders. At least opo-ups are more honest.
Secondly, I'm glad that "Buttcrack Mountin'" (Jeebus! how many differernt ways can that title be altered?) didn't win the Oskie and that "Crash" - well reviewed on this very blog - did. Ha. I didn't bother to watch the Oskies since I just got my DVDs of "Firefly." I didn't "get" Firefly when it first broadcast because the first episode aired was not the pilot. Fox, for some reason, thought "The Train Job" ep should lead off. Survey says ... BZZZZT! Wrong answer. There was plenty of chewy Joss Whedon goodness in that episode and much slam-bang action. But introducing it without the back story was moronic. Now I understand why the crew of Serenity acted as they did and it's a good show. I thought it was terrible when I first watched it.
A couple of things bear mention in regards "Firefly." First Morena Baccarin who plays the courtesan Inara is a very pretty woman (would have to be for the character, eh?) but more than that, she has just a most wonderful voice to listen to: sweet and soothing, very feminine. And Jewel Staite who plays Kaylee the ship's engineer is just adorable. When she smiles, which she does a lot, she just lights up. And when she feels hurt, it's like you've seen your favorite puppy yelled at. I just looked at her photos on the IMDB and I am struck at how much more attractive she is when she's not overly made up.
After such extravagant praise for the chiquitas of Serenity, I must say that you should at least rent the DVDs of the series and watch them as the makers meant them to be watched, not as they were broadcast. Also, the theme song ("Ballad of Serenity") is much better than I realized when you understand the back story. "Burn the land and boil the sea/You can't take the sky from me..." Lyrics here and listen to the mp3 here.

Stupid Joke Of The Day
Why did the crow divorce his wife?
For caws.

And A Short One To Top Off The Day
There is one thing about my return trip that really must be mentioned: The GA Pig. If you ever are travelling along I-95 in Georgia, you will pass exit 29 (Brunswick). Do yourself a huge, no, a massive favor: get off the highway if it's after 11am. Go east and look for a place that looks like little more than a shack on the north side of the road just beyond the gas stations, which, just FYI, have the cheapest gas for untold miles along the superslab. You will find the GA Pig which has just the most luscious barbecue you could wish to pass across your tastebuds. I can't say that the sides are exceptional but Oh Lord such Boston Butt pork barbecue is what God designed the pig to make.
I usually prefer "Carolina-style" pulled pork barbecue with a hot, vinegar-based sauce. Not any more. While I was getting my "to go" sammich, a couple was buying their lunch and since she was getting the same order I'd chowed down, I talked with them a moment. The male half of the couple told me that they were Carolina residents who regualrly travelled the highway and always stopped at the GA Pig. They too had been turned away from the Carolina barbecue by the seductive wonderfulness that is the product from the GA Pig.
Oh for God's sake! Just go there! Eat! Buy a pound or two to take with you. It's good. I'm only sorry that I didn't get the Brunswick Stew as a side. I will next time though. Oh yes. Yes. I will.

Loose Ends
Well, not really loose but part of the little dailiness of life that regular clogs up the blogs of piffling writers such as ... I keep coming back to "me" to finish that sentence. Dang.
File this under "love that interweb thing" or "this doesn't entirely make sense to me." I have a battery back-up for the base station of my house phones. You know the type of phone where there's one main base and three "satellite" phones that only plug into power. I figured it made sense to have the base station on battery back-up since each phone would run on its internal battery in the event of power failure. Of course, after the passage of several years, the battery in the back up device slipped into beeping senescence. Bargle flarg! I have to replace the internal battery. My first try, having found the dead cheapest replacement on the web, funked out as the battery I got was a two-cell version when I needed the one-cell version. But the return process was painless and I was out only the shipping.
Today I finally decided to get the right battery. I checked the manufacturer's website but found the proper battery to be just a wee bit more expensive than I preferred. So, of course, I checked Amazon. Heh. Bezos Inc. not only had it cheaper than the maker, but it was available at a few bucks less from Office Depot via Amazon. But (lotsa buts in the story), after setting up my order for the Office Depot version, I double checked and found that it was actually cheaper to pay Amazon more for the battery itself and opt for free "Super Saver" shipping. That just so rocks. I also bought the DVD of "Firefly" having become a slavering fan-boy upon seeing "Serenity."
Also, I recently ordered one of these headlamps. I gave one to Lycurgus for Christmas by using his wish list. I hadn't seen one in person before. It's the sweetest little four LED headlamp ever because it has an integrated headband. Most headbands are just that - big, bulky bands. This one has a retractable headstrap so you could put it on your wrist just as easily as on your forehead. Damnably clever. My bedside lamp is not really enough to read by but with my cyclopean book light .... Life could be a lot worse.

The Obligatory Sports Post
Oh fer wasted time. I watched a fair amount of the O'limp'ics and a good bit of basquetbol in the last fewweeks and feel compelled to make at least some comments. I'm a Duke fan so it's actually obligatory, right?
I'm so over the Winter Olympics. There was Bode Miller who was a world-class jerk (gold medal in assholery) and skater Johnny Weir who's "diva attitude" made me hate all male skaters just a little bit. It's a sad day when the American makes me applaud the grace, elegance and ability of the Russian fer crissake. I saw, incidentally, in a local paper that Weir is going to skate in some show in the DC area and I said to myself, "Not for a dime of my money." Hey Weir! I hope you marry Tonya Harding! Except I'll bet you're waiting for the defeat of "traditional marriage initiatives." I'm not a homophobe but I hate you.
The women, on the other hand, were wonderful. Kimmie Miessener was a delight - glowing smile and bouncing enthusiasm. I hope she vacuums up many medals and lots of money in her career. I applaud Sasha Cohen's performance but I just can't warm to that bobble head of hers. It's Alexis Bledel Syndrome all over again. But congratulations nonetheless for the silver. And it's impossible to leave off the women skaters without mentioning that for men, there can be no greater thing than a hot-looking figure skater who actually has the word "slut" in her name. And then I immediately apologize for saying such an ugly thing.
I don't ever recall seeing ski courses with sidelines before. Not that it's a big deal but it seemed new to me. Best not say anything more about the skiing except I hope Lindsey Kildow recovers fully from her nasty spill. It hurt just to look at it. Snowboarding. I dunno. Is this really an Olympic sport? Enh. Why not. And let women compete in the ski jump! Dammit. The sliding-down-icy-tubes-on-things events (luge, skeleton, bobsled) also don't do a hell of a lot for me. When you have to measure time in thousandsths of a second to get a winner, we've reached a point where the technology surpasses the human element. The only thing I really liked was a report on an Italian bobsledder who won gold in the previous Italian Winter Games (I think) who was the very essence of sportmanship. When in a previous Games the British bobsled team broke a bolt and had no spare, he, after his run, took a bolt off his sled and passed it along to them and the Brits then won. That is class beyond measure.
Finally, the speed skating deserves mention. Nice to See Apollo Ohno win a good, clean gold. He's a sportsman. And how sad to see the foolishness of Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick. My sympathy is a bit more for Hedrick but both played divo games when they should have sucked it up and skated for the team. Grownups probably would have scored a couple more medals for the US. Oh well (shrugs) whadda ya gonna do?
The best news out ofthe Winter Olympics? That we have four whole years before the next round! Hmm. I guess I went on longer than I intended. The basketball post might have to wait a bit.

Going Back In Time
I do have things to blog about that are slipping into the past a bit now that I'm home and getting onto other things. My trip had several wonderful things about it that deserve sharing (preëmptively: shut up Ed!). First, Lycurgus flew up from Florida to come in to Washington Dulles Airport. He departed from Tampa which airport, he discovered, offers free Wi-Fi. Logon was quick and painless so he e-mailed me that his departure was on schedule. I love it. Cheaper than using the cell phone if roaming is involved. Yet we decided that when he arrived, he'd call my cell from his cell to let me know what was up. I was then delighted by something I found at Dulles: a "cell phone waiting lot."
Not a place to put your cell phone while waiting but a parking lot for people who are to be notified by a call when meeting arrivals. Perfect! I wasn't sure how much time it would take me to get from the waiting lot to the arrivals portals so when I got the call I proceeded directly only to find that it took me less time to get there than it took brother to get out of the terminal. So I circled a couple of times, we met up and headed out. I think the cell phone lot is a feature at a lot of airports now. I recall Lycurgus saying that he saw one at the Tampa airport. Really, every airport should have one.
After a too-brief visit in my domain, we hopped in the Outback and scooted south. And not a minute too soon. The morning we left, the snow (predicted at 12 inches) began to fall. We drove through a dusting of snow for about an hour and then through rain down into North Carolina and then clear skies for the trip into Georgia. A car trip goes exceedingly easily when good conversation flows. I so oftern travel alone that having Lycurgus in the car was a treat. We'd solved most of the world's problems and very few of out own by the time we made our exit from I-95. And we went directly to the Randy Wood shop to pick up the tickets before even finding a hotel. We ended up at the Comfort Inn in Pooler. The room was fine (more free Wi-Fi) but the gratis breakfast was awful. As close to inedible as any meal I've ever been faced with. Unfortunately the new Holiday Inn Express which was cheek-by-jowl with the Comfort Inn was full to the point that all the non-smoking rooms were taken. Oh well.
It is startlingly ungracious of me to complain of something given away but it's also the truth which I think needs be told. I would gladly pay for a better brekkies than was presented. But it was no impediment to getting back out on the road. And so we rolled out in the dewy morn for the remainder of the trip.
We did stop a couple of times on the way down. Once at the Orange Shop in Citra, FLA where I acquired another gobbet of orange blossom honey and I couldn't resist buying a jar of "Key Lime Marmalade" because of its violent green coloration. Mistake. I tried it and it could not have tasted more like lime Jell-O if they tried. Bummer. I left that behind for someone else to deal with. The honey is good.
We also stopped in a town whose name I don't remember because there were tiger cubs beside the road. Some people who were invloved in animal rescue were selling Polaroid snaps of "you with the tiger" for $10 to support their cause (or just make money, whatever). So we stopped, Lycurgus got snapped with the kitty and we gassed up. If you've never seen a tiger at close range, it's a treat. They are singularly beautiful. I want the genetic engineers to snip out the tiger's skin and fur coloration genes and put them in other animals (like, say, goats) so we can start having "tiger-skin" fur coats again. Without, of course killing tigers. I'm all in favor of charismatic megafauna.
And thereby hangs a trip. I'll ask Lycurgus to scan in the photo of the tiger so I can post it. I'll probably give him the benefit of visual anonymity so his mug isn't palstered on the blog but it would be fun to have the pic for y'all's perusal.

Mental Cavitation
You're familiar with cavitation aren't you? Any submarine movie worth its saltwater will have some reference to it. In brief, if you set something in a fluid spinning sufficiently fast, the fluid can't keep up. Empty or vaporous voids are then formed which collapse with a sharp noise. Not a good thing when a metal tube full of ... no, I won't use that joke ... sailors is "running silent."
Well, my brain has been suffering from a sort of cavitation for the last few weeks. I've had so much on my mind that when it came to such things as blog posting, they became vaporous voids that imploded before escaping the wake I was plowing through the sea of cerebro-spinal fluid. Ouch. Plus, my bad joints have been giving more grief in the last few days than in any comparable period I can recall. Perhaps a 15-hour drive takes more out of me than it used to. In any event, I haven't kept up the flow of posting and I aim to change that in the upcoming week. I will be reporting on the trip, making up for music posts I've neglected (I've had a post in draft on Jake's house concert in January for at least a month now). I extend my thanks for those who keep stopping by to visit and my apologies for having made it less worth your time of late. There should be more substance, more gristly goodness, for you later today and in the days to follow.

Back From Eff El Ay
This is just a short one to say howdy to the PoW folks. Sorry to be so quiet for the recent days but I was enjoying sunny Florida just way too much. I return to the posting wold simply by noting my acquisition, on the trip, of three EarthBoxes which I posted about some time ago. I haven't decided what I'm going to grow but I'm definitely having cucumbers, bell peppers and possibly a tomato plant if I can get some seeds from ther heirloom tomato I ate while at my cousin's place in New Jersey last summer. Fresh veg. It's a good thing.

Regular Blogging Will Resume Shortly
I am in the bosom of sunny Florida, being gracefully accommodated by Lycurgus and enjoying fresh citrus. Oh yes. Key limes, blood oranges, tangelos and others will be consumed by me.
But that's not the big thing. If you read Acidman, you'll see he went to see Mike Cross at the Randy Wood Guitars concert space. He mentions (and links Gawblessim) talking with a fellow blogger which would be me. I met the Lord of Gutrumbles and he is as fine a human being to spend time with as I could imagine. He may show crust and vitriol on the blog but we, for Lycurgus was there as well, enjoyed the hell out of meeting him. Since I promised not to ruin his reputation, I have to say that there were moments of assholism but I just can't recall what they were.
Plus, Mike put on another great show. I was publicly cheeky during the show and got a laugh out of Mike and the crowd. It doesn't translate to the written word but I'll post my joke later.
Via candy ass con Dios friends.

Why Was I Not Informed?
Google Earth is now available for the MAc. It's been available for a month.
Jeez Edit', talk about bein' outta da loop!

Fun Stuff
One of my favorite things that the Interweb has made possible is the creation of custom stuff at CafePress. Yesterday I spent about three hours with a friend designing a custom image and having a few T shirts and a mug made. No details because the recipients get their stuff on the 14th (hint, hint). Still, my friend had an image in mind so we Googled up a base image, snatched a copy of it, opened it in Photshop, manipulated the bejabbers out of it and finally liked what we'd done. Uploaded it to CafePress and click, click, click (to quote Boomhauer), his stuff is on its way. I'll put up one of the images after the day.
I think I have to get on the ball and have that "Pugs of War" merchandise made up for the adoring public.

Rain Today
It's been warm here in the Doesn't Go section of the GCoV but today the rain is grizzling down and it's sleeping weather. But there's much to do even on a rainy Saturday. So what is it that crawls into my eye and sticks a toothpick in it? The early Sunday "B.C." comic strip. In the first panel a newly-emerged flower says to a rock, "Hi! How many light-years old are you?"
Oh ARG! I left a note for Johnny Hart at the Creator's Syndicate website (which opened a pop-under window so they can go directly to hell) to register my annoyance. A light-year is a measure of distance, not time. It is the measure of how far light travels in a regular old calendar year. Joan Baez made the same stupid mistake in an otherwise good title song on "Diamonds and Rust." In fact, if you go to the Amazon page for that disc, the sample prominently features the mistake. Serendipity do.

A Moment of Coffeeblogging
I grabbed a cup o' Joe at McDeath Burger this morning. Dang. It was good. Not just an-absence-of-bad good, actively good. Not the best ever but easily the equal of Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I was surprised. And I wouldn't have tried it had they not sent me some good brekky coupons in the mail.
Also, the coffee of choice for everyday consumption in the BD household is absolutely 8 O'Clock. Brilliant flavor and a very good buy. Safeway has a two pound bag for less than $12. Ahhhh!
And why did Dunkin Donuts do away with the "dunkin' donut?" It was a regular glazed doughnut with a sort of little dougnut handle on it. You held the doughy tab and then you could dunk the doughnut. Iconic. Why did it go away?

Since I'm Whingeing
I recently used some non-Epson branded replacement ink cartridges in my printer. I'm all for saving money but phew! The ink in these carts just reeks. I'll buy my brand name ink in three packs from Costco from now on. Only $11 per color cart and $25 per black. That's not too bad, really. The price may stink (a little) but at least the printed page won't.

Just Stick a Fork in My Eye
I have a new online massive annoyance: banner ads that have sound. I loaded a page the other day which had one of those "do this, get something free" ads. What you had to do was move a little cartoon guy to "catch" little cartoon hearts tossed from a little cartoon balcony by a little cartoon woman. And every time the guy catches a heart, he kisses it with a wet pucker and pop sound.
This is fine if you actually want to play the game. But the page I'd loaded had that ad below the displayed screen. And every now and then the guy caught a heart purely by chance. So what I was having was my computer making unaccountable noises for no reason. Can anyone see what's wrong with that? Anyone? Bueller...?
Thanks mutt-bunch (think Spoonerism there) for making me think something is going wrong with my computer. There's also a "cut your mortgage" ad which "features" the sound of an axe thunking into wood which also annoys the crap out of me. But I've only seen that as a top banner so at least I knew what was making the sound.

New Favorite Waste of Time
It only plays three levels but it's quite amusing for a while - Conan O'Brien the Barbarian.