Got a New Camera

A video camera that is, a cheapie but a nice one, sort of. A Flip. I saw one my brother had and the videos looked very nice. Mine look nice but not as nice as his, so I don't know what might be wrong.

I had some complications when I hooked it up to my computer. I didn't have my I Tunes hard drive hooked up, which MUST be labeled Drive F, so when I hooked up the Flip camera, it took Drive F and wouldn't let go. From that point on, anytime I plugged in the hard drive it went to Drive G. No good. So I had to figure out how to change that, which meant looking on the internet for the information.

Something went wrong with my volume controls next. Which never happens. There was suddenly no volume whatever. Then no controls. I had to look it up on the interest how to fix that. Then it couldn't be fixed, because nothing showed up as a device on the volume menu. Till I plugged the Flip back in. It's working now.

There was some other complication, which I can't remember now. Suffice to say, it hasn't been entirely smooth sailing.

Palin Can't Name A Magazine or Newspaper

I was interested in the story about Sarah Palin, a journalism major in college, who couldn't name a newspaper or magazine that she ever reads. She generalized that she likes "all of them," but asked to be more specific, chose not to hurt anyone's feelings by naming particular ones and possibly leaving someone out.

Really, though, if it seems like a test to prove that you have at least the intelligence of a moron, it seems like you would risk hurting someone's feelings by naming a few of the more well-known publications. You know, you might say, Time or U.S. News and World Report -- everyone's heard of those. Maybe Wasilla has a local paper, a weekly shopper, a school newsletter, something. It seems, you're the governor of the state, the capital city probably has a major daily, which perhaps you read once in a while.

Then there are the rather obvious newspapers across the country. One notable one, from a swing state no less, would have to be the Dacron Republican-Democrat of Ohio. Just say you read it -- you prove you're well-informed, you make the folks of Ohio happy, they vote for you, you're president! (Statistically speaking, that is, she would likely be president sometime in the next eight years.)

Rush Can Dish It Out But He Can't Take It

Big crybaby.

McCain's "My Friends" Tic

I think I could get used to John McCain's "My Friends" tic. What I'm trying to say is there's nothing wrong with friendship. You need to be a friend to have friends. And clearly John McCain has friends, so he must be a great friend.

I was just at an event this weekend where the main speaker had another tic, the repeated and prolonged "uhhhh" and "aaaaa," and when he was really searching, it was "aaaaa-aaaa-aaaa." It was all I could do to sit there. I was thinking of some of those videos -- kind of like this "My Friends" one -- and in the primaries someone did one of Fred Thompson doing that dullard kind of "uhh" over and over. It'd be boring to hear this speaker on one of those videos, just like it was terrible to hear the first time.

But if he would've said "My friends," even an occasional "Uhh My Friends" or "AAAA My Friends" that might not have been so bad.

I've heard preachers use the "My friends" phrase, but of course only occasionally, when they're trying to pull in and make a really good point. Not as a nervous tic. You could stretch it out in a nice way, like, "My friends -- and you are all my friends --" then go on to make your point.

Does McCain Lie All The Time?

Did Obama call Palin a pig? I didn't think so. The context didn't show he did. The words weren't there. The intention seems to say no. OK, he didn't.

But now the big liar John McCain says Obama didn't do it, didn't call Palin a pig.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Did Barack Obama really call Sarah Palin a pig, as a John McCain ad leads people to believe? "No," McCain said Monday. The Republican presidential nominee defended the ad anyway, saying Obama "chooses his words very carefully."

The quandary I'm in is McCain lies about everything. And now since he says Obama didn't do it, maybe he actually did.

Palin Billed Taxpayers For Nights She Stayed Home

This is how the modern fiscal conservative, Sarah Palin, works:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

That really could be called dishonest. You know, it seems like billing the state for expenses would be for actual expenses away from home, not paying yourself to stay at your own home.

Something's rotten in the state of Alaska.

Actually, how can I get in on a deal like that? I'm staying home tonight, as every night, and if the state would like to pay me for it, so much the better!

Save the Last Dance

You can dance every dance with the guy
Who gives you the eye, let him hold you tight.
You can smile every smile for the man
Who held your hand 'neath the pale moonlight.

But don't forget who's taking you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be.
So darlin', save the last dance for me.

From The Drifters, Save The Last Dance For Me
Songwriters: Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.

Republicans Party Hardy During Hurricane

You've got Hookers and Blow, lobbyists, lavish parties, pig roasts. The Republican "party" goes on, even while they hid behind the mask of caring about the troubles of Hurricane Gustav.

Purity Rings

I've read several of the reviews of the Jonas Brothers' new album, which I think is great. It seems obligatory to mention that they wear "purity rings" and don't drink, smoke, do drugs, or eat crackers in bed.

Hey, if they want to live their lives like that, I think that's a great idea. I can't think of very many positives having to do with teenagers (and anybody) doing drugs, smoking, drinking, and being promiscuous.

We all know about hormones, of course, so eventually nature will take its natural course. But there's nothing wrong about having some willpower and trying to do the right thing. They can be a good influence to other kids.

As for their album, maybe it's so good because of pent-up hormones. I don't know but the idea of compensation and trade-offs, energy channeled into something else, might make a difference. That's what the yogis say anyway.

Kid Rock's "All Summer Long"

I hate the song "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock.

It seems so contrived it's not funny. One, the combination of "Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama" is bad. Then the lyrics tell the story of I don't know what. Some people getting drunk and high in 1989.

I'm not going to listen to it anymore. It pops up on 20 on 20 (XM) every few minutes. I hope it's gone by the time the leaves start to fall.

How about instead of all the sampling and mashing-up people just write their own songs? When it gets this bad it's a lot like vandalism.

Bigfoot

They discovered Bigfoot the other day. It turns out he's just a guy who wears a hairy rubber suit. All these years he's been jumping out, scaring people, and somehow just managing to have every photo of him be blurry and indistinct. (The way you do that is a lot of side to side action when they're taking the picture, or just be super nervous.)

Some other guys, it appears, must have chased him down and stripped him of his suit. At least I heard it the other day, that they turned it in for a reward and were keeping it in the freezer so it wouldn't -- I don't know -- be any warmer than necessary.

As for the Bigfoot guy, now stripped, we're picturing him as a lonely hunter in a cabin in the woods, using this Bigfoot disguise to keep the forest all to himself. But now that we know it's just him, we can take over his forest, let the heavy equipment raze his shack, and develop it as a housing project or a new mall. Progress must go on.

I didn't catch his name. But whoever he is, he had a good thing going for a while. But as with everything, eventually you get caught. The really good news is we have nothing left to fear from Bigfoot. And that's one big step forward for the rest of us.

We'll Stay On This One Forever

National Enquirer Executive Editor Barry Levine says of the John Edwards story, "We'll stay on this one forever." Great, they should. What John Edwards did to the Democratic party was despicable and he should be pursued until he comes completely clean.

According to the Enquirer, Edwards bought Ms. Hunter a $1 million house and spent $150,000 to send her to some undisclosed place. If true, this doesn't sound like the actions of a man with nothing to hide. "She was moved in the middle of the night. Lots of money is being spent to keep her happy and away from the media."

They want him to admit paternity:

"We have exclusive photographic evidence, pictures, videos, hard proof to further incriminate Edwards. He doesn't at this point know what we have, which is why I'm asking that we don't reveal too much yet. And which we will use unless and until he acknowledges paternity.

I'm not even slightly bothered by this. But I am bothered by what looks like true corruption on the part of Edwards. The election of 2008 was too important for him to be mucking it up.

Stay on it forever!

Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family, which claims to be some kind of Christian organization, is always doing something stupid. It's the organization run by James Dobson, and I think their stock in trade is snake oil of some sort.

Now, today, there was a video calling on the true believers (in the obviously Republican God) to pray that Obama's speech in Denver is rained out by a rain of biblical proportions.

This seems wrong at so many levels. Set the politics aside. It's a trivializing of prayer, which actually has great great value. Later in the day they claimed it was all a joke, which makes the trivialization of prayer even more blatant.

Lord, save us from your "lunatic fringe" disciples, our brothers and sisters in the faith who still do not have a clue. Bless them in all the right ways. Amen.

Edwards in 2012!

If Barack Obama loses this year -- which we're not expecting to happen -- we already have our candidate for 2012. It's none other than John Edwards!

One, he's completely vetted now, with nothing left to hide (we hope). And, second, wearing nine or 10 wedding rings as he will be doing by then, there's no way he'll forget his sacred vows again.

John Edwards has pledged to "spend the rest of my life" working on the issue of poverty, and that's one affair we believe we can trust him with. So, now that he has thoroughly disavowed an agenda of sleeping around we think it's time to give him a second chance.

Go, Obama, go! But if he doesn't make it, we'll see you in 2012, Mr. Edwards!

UPDATE: Something to crow about: I checked around, and Pimp My Skivvies is officially the first blog to endorse Edwards for 2012! If you click this link you'll see where we did it, which happens to be the very page you're looking at now.

Precious CDs

I went to a garage sale today. I like to look at CDs. You can get some decent albums for next to nothing, a dollar, 50 cents, sometimes a quarter.

At this garage sale there was a little stack of CDs, like maybe seven or eight. And a sign under them said something like, "CDs in the house. Ask to see them." So I thought they must have boxes or shelves of others in the house that they didn't want to bring out. I asked to see them.

The mom sent a little girl in the house to get them, and it was a small stack of CDs out of their cases. Then it dawned on me. These were the CDs that should have been in the cases there on the table. They had taken the CDs out and kept them in the house for whatever reason, apparently so no one would steal them.

OK, they were 50 cents each, not exactly a big moneymaker for them anyway. And they were really hot titles, like "Lilo & Stitch" and some kind of generic kids CDs, along the lines, I'd say, of Kidz Bop. There was also "Now That's What I Call Music - 14" but it didn't have a case. Real precious stuff, well worth keeping out of the reach of a sneak thief and a burgeoning black market for stolen goods of this value!

Yeah, Hey! How Do They Know!

Here's a valid comeback on the issue of tires being inflated or not:

August 5th, 2008

9:46 pm GMT

How does Obama or McCain know our tires are not inflated properly. I haven’t seen them checking my car. Proper inflation isn’t some new concept to the vast majority of us. Maybe these Senators just found out about this.

- Posted by Jim H

That's from the comments on the Reuters article. Jim is obviously on to something here. He hasn't seen Obama or McCain, either one, checking his car's tires. So how would they know if they were inflated properly or not?

I guess they must come over sometime when he's asleep.

McCain Wanted to Enter Cindy in Topless Contest

Here's how ESPN describes the Miss Buffalo Chip contest: "It holds a Miss Buffalo Chip contest every night, which is essentially a topless beauty pageant. And occasionally bottomless, too."

Republicans: Pro-Flat Tire!

For those who might have been afraid they'd seen everything, this year takes us down an even sillier byway, thanks to the Republicans and John McCain.

They've long been deniers of reality, of course, but this year they're outdoing themselves, suggesting that it'd be more efficient in terms of gasoline costs if we just drove on flat tires!

All these years we've thought that air in tires was our friend. It turns out to have been a two-pronged deception: 1) it's been a waste of air; 2) it's used more gas, not less!

It's true, you know. Think of all the rubber we've wasted by making tires and putting air in them! (Hey, Ohio, are you listening? The Republicans are now against tires!)

We'll let John McCain himself explain, "If you'll look closely, my friends, it's only flat on one side. Our task, our goal, will be to make sure it's flat all the way 'round."

McCain Angers Hilton Family

McCain is in trouble with the Hilton family, after recently drafting their family member, Paris, into his political ad as some kind of celebrity airhead.

Turns out the Hilton family is a big contributor to McCain's cause. Or was.

Change We Can Believe In

Hey, it's a great ad. John McCain's floundering around with charges that are demonstrably false. Barack Obama lets him thrash about hopelessly, then kicks him in the jaw. McCain mcCain't tell us what he wants to do as president, just "Be very scared of the other guy." Obama cuts through the crap and gives us a hopeful message, promises of change we can believe in.

What have you got, John? "I got nothin'" Then go away.

Lysol South of the Equator

Check out this 1950s ad for Lysol, to keep the lady's "hoo-haa" sparkling clean and fresh. Is va-j-j what they're saying these days?

This is a link to The Gina Monoblogs.

Lysol, as in the industrial strength disinfectant of the same name...

Click the first link for the full ad. It's strange.

McCain Campaign "Schizophrenic"

Washington Post: "One GOP strategist with close ties to McCain's campaign said the new line of attack reflected the operation's "schizophrenic" nature. He said that tendency was also on display last week, as McCain spoke at length about media coverage of Obama rather than sticking with his plan to focus on the economy."

The strategist said, "They couldn't help themselves," adding that McCain's ad about Obama's visit to a hospital was "churlish and unlike McCain, and hardly will resonate with the swing voters who are going to decide this election. They're doing it because the candidate, and the campaign, is not happy with where they are and they're lashing out."

Oh, I don't know know. Angry, abusive old men need love too! Look, McCain's doing just fine. Everyone lay off McCain. Didn't he get pretty good coverage at the Sausage Haus? And his tour of a grocery store seemed to go fine, or at least it would have if all the apple sauce hadn't fallen off the shelf. There's nothing wrong with his campaign.

I might suggest some other activities to keep the old guy busy for the next couple weeks. Maybe a checkers tournament somewhere, schedule that. He could find a factory somewhere where they make shuffleboard equipment and go there. He'd look great in his hardhat, playing shuffleboard with some of the employees after the tour. And to brush up his "common man" bonafides -- for which the grocery store visit was a good start -- maybe let him visit a gas station or a laundromat.

Churlish. That's a good word for McCain.

Streaks

I'm currently on an exercise jag, meaning I go to a fitness place everyday and do something. Usually the elliptical. It's like running but your legs are doing banging against the ground all the time.

I was very unfaithful to going for a while. But then my doctor was asking me about it, and I said I was aiming at four days a week and not making it. He said aim at seven days a week and if you can't make it for something reason, that'd still be plenty. So I'm aiming at seven days a week, literally seven days a week without fail. He said to set a time, like treating it like an appointment. I haven't done that precisely, and the time varies, but I've "found the time" everyday since, which was almost three weeks ago. So that's pretty good.

This is a streak. Streaks and I don't always get along too well. It might be better for me to miss once in a while -- and I will have to, because I don't stay in town 365 days a year. But if my streak gets to be too long, then being out of town I might be looking around for a place to exercise to keep it going.

I've been going like crazy, though, and like anything the more you do it the easier it is. Shooting for a mile in the first eight minutes. Today I did it in 6:50, which I know is not Olympics speed but pretty fast on an elliptical.

The Anatomy of a Lifeguard Incident

I went to the pool last night, all by myself. So, being without anyone to talk to or hang out with, I mostly did a lot of standing in one place, exercise/dancing to the music on the loudspeakers. It's a fairly decent workout, I guess. But it's hard to work up a sweat with the water level at your neck.

While standing there, virtually in line with the high dive, I had a lot of time to think. Jumping, dancing, and thinking. One thing I always think about is the lifeguards. If I see an especially bad dive, cannonball, or bellyflop, I look over to see what the lifeguard thinks. Usually they're non-responsive. If I am on the diving board, I'm thinking of the lifeguards. Because there are rules. You're supposed to wait till the previous person is all the way out of the pool before climbing up (hardly anyone does). You're allowed one bounce. You're supposed to make a beeline for the ladder after you've gone off. And so forth. So it's hard to think of anything else except whether the lifeguard thinks there's a problem with you keeping the rules.

But standing there as I was, examining the situation with every person who dove or jumped off, I noticed the lifeguards aren't thinking of the rules unless there would be something very egregious. One guy did such a wild jump that he ended up over where you'd end up if you were jumping off the lower board. I glanced at the lifeguard and he said nothing. There was one kid who apparently couldn't swim, but she jumped toward the edge and friends were there to pull her out. The lifeguard didn't say a word about it, and this happened several times. So it's a little hard to get in trouble.

Plus, I'm seeing people running, which isn't allowed. No one said anything about that.

I saw two infractions of the rules that were addressed. One, a lady maybe in her early '50s was in the deeper water, very far from the diving boards, yet within that area, leaning against the side of the pool, at the edge. The lifeguard motioned her to move over to the shallower (nearly 5 foot) area. She's all like, 'Who me?' Yes, you. She saw me looking at her, I turned away. She came by me madder than a wet hen, certainly wetter than most wet hens are. "I hate it here, I'm not coming back. Spent $15 in gas to get here. There's no place to swim. I hate it," etc. I'm looking like I'm commisserating with her, and I said a couple things by way of commiseration, mostly just not to start something. Plus, I'm a sympathetic guy by nature. But when she got near the edge, still complaining about hating the place, I'm moving farther the other direction. Then when I turned again I didn't see her.

The other infraction of the rules went on for quite a while. It was 5 or 6 or 7 boys horseplaying, pushing each other off, pushing their heads so they'd fall back in the pool, just generally roughhousing with no sense that what they were doing might be wrong or dangerous. The lifeguard, way over there, is yelling at them, but they can't hear him. So they keep it up. I'm wondering why he doesn't blow his whistle but he didn't. There they are, still doing it. Still doing it. Still doing it. Still going at it. Finally, he gets in a huff and walks around the pool quite quickly. I move in a little closer, and still can't quite hear his reprimand, but he looks upset. He's flashing a "one more time" sign, probably then you'll be tossed out. And as far as I kept track, which was somewhat, they quit doing it.

I myself don't get entangled with the lifeguards. But I did once or twice last year. There's a section where you have innertubes and I jumped on the innertube butt first and plopped right in the middle of it. That turned out to be against a rule, probably not a written rule but just common sense. I've behaved ever since. I said "twice," but I can't think what the other one was. Oh, wait, I climbed up and got out of the water via the wall and not the stairs at this one place. I haven't seen anyone else get in trouble for that, and can't believe it's against the rules. Probably isn't. Just a Barney Fife lifeguard, overeager, that time.

McCain's Extremely Lax Work Schedule

If a guy's a senator and the Senate's in session, that would be a tough job, right?

Not if your name is John McCain!

This post from "number nine dream" at Kos:

McCain has been at work 6 days in 2008. 2/7, 2/12, 2/13, 3/13, 3/14, and 4/8. The Medicare vote was the 76th consecutive tally McCain has missed. He leads the Senate in votes missed in the 110th Congress with 61.8% Yet he wants a job promotion. Call his office and ask whoever answers the phone, what would happen if they only showed up for work 6 days this year.

Wow! Six days for the whole year, and we're over halfway through July! How do you like the representation, Arizona? How do you like McCain's work ethic, America?

Great Comedy: McCain=Bush

McCain is pulling out the stops to do the impossible, to distance himself from Bush.

The cock hasn't crowed, but McCain has denied his Master. Except, as with the Apostle Peter, the rest of us recognize his accent and conclude, "Surely you were with him."

"I tell you, I do not know the man!"

Ha ha. Would you sell your birthright for a mess of presidency?

McCain may be confused and may have forgotten his support of Bush -- it was unwavering. But he need not be under delusion that we have forgotten. He supported Bush 99-100%. And when he was criticizing the Iraq war, its handling -- mildly, I might add -- he was criticizing Rumsfeld by name, not Bush.

McCain=Bush.

Disgraced Senator Joe Lieberman

I think from now on when I refer to Joe, it will be with the lamentable phrase, "disgraced Senator Joe Lieberman."

He has gone off the tracks, he has veered into the ditch, he has crash landed. Someone put a pod next to his bed and he woke up looking the same but he was a different person.

He was his party's VP nominee, for crying out loud! How could he betray us like this? So now he's disgraced.

"In other news, disgraced Senator Joe Lieberman called for 'a surge' in red states to get John McCain elected." Like that.

Celebrate the Bush Presidency?

Cough cough spit sputter hack ptew!

Excuse me, there, I just had a personal problem. I read a little bit about the plans they have for the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

However, the George W. Bush Presidential Center will come with a catch. It “will also feature an institute — independent of academic governance of the university — to sponsor research and programs designed to promote the vision of the president” and “celebrate” Bush’s presidency.

"Celebrate" Bush's presidency? Is this like when you have a ten-car pile up on the interstate and you celebrate it? Or like when you're in a serious chainsaw accident and become a paraplegic and you celebrate it?

There's nothing worth celebrating about George W. Bush, of course. The man's a disaster and his presidency was worthless.

McCain Wants to Be Erected

Source.

The Tornadoes - Take 2

Here's an interesting description of The Tornadoes' situation. I had no idea of any of this when I gave my description of their song "Telstar."

It just goes to show that there's a ton of drama in everything. It was a number one hit but didn't turn out to be all that happy for the main guy, Joe Meek.

Other than his personal tragedy, the article has some interesting things to say about his recording techniques and innovations, and why the record sounds so strange.

The Tornadoes - Telstar

Check out that great picture at Amazon.com! LOL. It's put there by someone selling on Amazon, of course, since it's just an old 45 and someone's selling it. Nice quality photo, huh? (By the way, the seller there thinks it's an "LP." And nothing's stated as to its condition.)

This is a post about the 45 rpm record called "Telstar" by The Tornadoes. I'm thinking of this record tonight because I saw it on top of a stack in my room here and decided to listen to it. For anyone who's not up on my recent record purchases, which would be anyone who didn't read this post, a copy of "Telstar" was in the mess there. I think I already had a copy of it, probably somewhere in my 45s in the basement. But I hear it on the radio maybe once or twice a year and that's good enough.

But tonight there it was, top of the stack! (Stacks get moved around from time to time.) Really nasty looking condition, really dirty. I played it through dirty once, thinking to myself, this is the song that goes, "Waaaa, waa wah," some nasty dirty organ sound, that sounds something like a warbling alien death beam. And sure enough it was. Played dirty, it didn't sound too bad. This is a 45 that was in a sleeve, but the sleeve is open on all sides by one, so it's not a good one.

I took a rag and some water and cleaned it for a couple minutes and it doesn't look new by any means, but not as terrible as I figured it would. It's worn but still plays sort of clean. But it helps that the song is so dense, thick, and generally dirty sounding. It masks what would have to be vinyl problems, like if there were some really soft parts.

The song starts off with some rocket sounds, distortion, like an aborted take-off. But then it builds in that weird wacky organ thing, with such a memorable melody. (I'm listening to it again here.) It doesn't sound extremely clean. But it doesn't really matter. Simple tune, with a space age flavor. Then a guitar takes over in the middle, and it has a spritelier feel. Now back to the organic madness. I'm definitely hearing some wear on the record, now that I'm really paying attention. The guitar tops it off after the organ. And we're up in the upper stratosphere, hobnobbing and conferring with our brother satellites. I hear some "ahhs" being sung. At the end, it does this building thing, then gets sort of stuck, like a breakdown, with a bunch of rocket distortion rounding off the record.

The other side is "Jungle Fever," which I never heard till tonight. Of course it plays cleaner. Some jungle growling and noises, and an African kind of vibe, with a pipe in there. African space age? Simple little melody with the pipe. The growling tiger noises are cool. Now there's a voice sounding like an organ, the same little melody. We're bopping along. Nothing too great here, not like "Telstar." But it takes up side B and probably was a good payday for "Goddard."

This record is London 45-LON 9561. "Telstar" (3:14) is written by Meek. "Jungle Fever" (2:10) written by Goddard.

So Which Party Knows How to Handle Money?

Source. Click graphic for bigger version.

"Those darned big-spending Democrats!" (Crazy old man shaking fist at the sky.)

No More "My Friends"?

Oh, there's very little I like about John McCain. But there is one thing I like, and that's how friendly he always is. He's always saying, "My friends," this -- and "My friends," that.

It's like he's the world's most personable guy, a guy who really knows us, each one, as the friends we all are or potentially could be.

But -- say it ain't so -- McCain's receiving "speech coaching," leading me to wonder if it's true what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks. In this speech coaching, one of the things they want to accomplish is for him to rely less on "his favorite semantic crutch — the phrase 'my friends.'" Semantic crutch? This is the good part. You cut out the good part what have you got left?

We shall see what we have left when the friendly bits go. I would like to see him expand on it rather than cut it out. Such as this, accompanied by a very expansive sweep of the room. "My friends -- and you are all my friends -- let me tell you..." If he could just add that, a sincere inclusion of all of us as his friends, I think he'd be on to something.

The July 4 Parade

I went to the local July 4 parade. This year I remembered to take my camera. But I did forget a couple of things -- a hat and my phone. So I was out of touch with the outside world for over an hour and the sun was shining on my head.

I like the parade, but I'm always looking way down the street for when the end is going to come. The end is given over to fire trucks and emergency vehicles, flashing their lights and blasting their sirens, so it's easy to spot.

The parade is always good, though, with the usual assortment of things: flags, veterans, a marching band, and various merchants and churches advertising their services.

I was right at the curb for the most of it -- and wasn't diving for candy being tossed out -- but a few pieces landed at my feet, and those I took. So that was a little extra bonus for my trouble.

It brings a good feeling of patriotism, even in these cynical times with corrupt leadership, to stand up for the flag when it comes by, to applaud the veterans, and to feel proud when the Air Force planes streak over the whole thing. It takes about a second for them to come into sight and earshot, and about three seconds for them to be out of sight!

Bob Barker For President?

Someone told me Bob Barker was running for president as a Libertarian. I said he wasn't but I didn't really know. I knew he retired, but he was off for golf, not politics. And yet, could it be? I received the photo on the left. If that's Bob Barker, it's clearly doctored. That's definitely him on the right. There is a resemblance, but the mustache is the giveaway. It's a mystery.

McCain Side Attacks, Demeans Clark's Service

Ooopsie! If you're trying to say any questioning of military service is "an attack" and "demeaning," they you ought not be doing it yourself.

We all know -- those who understand the plain meaning of words -- that General Clark did not attack or demean John McCain's service to the country. To say he did is simply the lying spin of the McCain campaign.

But now it comes out, in a conference call the McCain campaign held, that Orson Swindle, a fellow POW of McCain's, said, "General Clark probably wouldn't get that much praise from this group. I can't speak for them, but we all know that General Clark, as high-ranking as he is, his record in his last command I think was somewhat less than stellar." Clark's last service was as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.

That is an actual attack on General Clark's service, no two ways about it. More McCain hypocrisy.

Steven Hatfill

If you recall the government's "person of interest" in the anthrax attacks, you might recall his impassioned presentations with his attorney in 2001-2002. He always seemed pretty sincere, and truly bewildered about why the government was putting him through such an ordeal.

I remember watching him and feeling sorry for him. It seemed like they should either put up the evidence and arrest him or leave the poor guy alone. They badgered him mercilessly.

Well, now it looks like he -- Steven Hatfill -- has the last laugh. The government settled with him and he's been awarded $5.8 million for his trouble -- the trouble they put him through.

The government's incompetence in the Bush years has been staggering. Really, aren't we all entitled to a few million bucks for what Bush and his incompetent Administration have put us through? I'll consider my stimulus check a down payment.

But it's a happy ending for Steven Hatfill, who apparently didn't deserve any of the grief they put him through.

McCain Confuses His G.I. Bill Stand

Just the other day, John McCain was against the G.I. Bill of Rights, giving better benefits to veterans. That's against, in that he opposed it, didn't think it was a good idea, said no can do, it's no good, should not be done under any circumstances.

But now that the Bush-McCain opposition has been overcome and the bill made it through Congress, sailing through, McCain is taking credit for it. Is that unbelievable or what?

"I'm happy to tell you that WE probably agreed to an increase in educational benefits for our veterans that not only gives them increase in their educational benefits, but if they stay in for a certain period of time than they can transfer those educational benefits to their spouses and or children." (My exasperated emphasis.)

I'm going to be charitable and suggest maybe he's just confused.

The Great Movie Shorts

The other book I got today at the library, off the discard table, is called The Great Movie Shorts -- Those Wonderful One- and Two-Reelers of the Thirties and Forties by Leonard Maltin.

It was published in 1972, Bonanza Books, hardback, 236 pages.

This was before videos were available, just TV, and some of the episodes -- maybe most of them -- were seen there whenever they happened to come on.

I remember on one of our channels at the time, Sunday mornings I believe it was, they featured Laurel and Hardy films, the shorts, which were very enjoyable. We made a point of watching it.

The biggies for me that are in this book are The Little Rascals and The Three Stooges. The Rascals were on TV once in a while, and it seems like they had a dedicated time for them too, but I don't remember seeing them in an orderly way, like, "Hey, let's watch the Rascals." I remember later on there was a time they were on and I saw them occasionally. The Three Stooges are the real biggies. And still are. At my grandpa's place we had two basic shows to watch, the news and the Stooges. Now I have an assortment of Stooges from over the years, videos taped off TV, a few videos purchased, and more recently, the collected, in-order sets that present the shorts in remastered form. These are fantastic. Vol. 2 just came out in the last month, and I finished watching them (the first time through) this morning.

But back to the book. The book tells of the various studios making short films. Then it gets into the various actors and acts, in a section called "The Series." These include, and my list is not exhaustive by far, Charley Chase, W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton, and others. W.C. Fields, I was surprised to see, only had five short films, talkies that is.

A real good thing about the book is that it gives a little synopses of each film from the actors and acts. The episodes are numbered, etc. Also there's lots of good black and white photos, and a good index.

Gargantua

I should be thinning down on possessions -- books -- but I'm still fattening up. Anyway, life goes on...

I got a couple books today at the library, off the close-out, discard table. I was looking at the table a couple days ago and this book about Gargantua wasn't there then. So it's a newbie to the discards!

The book is called Gargantua -- Circus Star of the Century, by Gene Plowden, published by Bonanza Books, 1972, hardback, a slender book at 96 pages.

According to the blurb, once upon a time, Gargantua was a household name throughout the country. Millions paid admission to see "this ugliest member of the ape family ever seen outside the jungles of Africa." From chapter one: He was "The mightiest monster ever captured by man."

The book is a biography of sorts and tells of Gargantua's handling and his career with the circus. I've only been looking at the pictures and reading a few snippets here and there. And there are lots of pictures.

There's a few pages in color. First is a circus poster from Dec. 1937 that shows an African warrior in Gargantua's clutches. Second, Gargantua with M'Toto (another gorilla) who were "married" in Feb. 1941, then billed as Mr. and Mrs. Gargantua. Third, a rather touching Christmas sentiment, with Mr. and Mrs. Gargantua framed inside a wreath, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, in 1941. Fourth, a general publicity poster of the gorilla couple, with Mrs. Gargantua holding a "Buy War Bonds" sign. (The illustration on this blog posting is from the Google somewhere, not a graphic in the book.)

Getting toward the end, there's two pages that show the front pages of newspaper from the time when Gargantua died. The Miami Herald from Nov. 26, 1949, has him on the front page, and headlines it that he was "happy" to the end, dying "With A Snarl On His Face." The other page is from the Miami Daily News, Nov. 25, with a big black headline, "GARGANTUA DIES" and a picture of him in his cage. This news article beat other news that day in significance, including "Mad Dog Killer Loses Last Plea," with a federal district judge refusing to intervene in the scheduled execution of James Morelli, "mad dog" killer.

Page 94, the last picture page, has Gargantua's stripped-down skeleton hung on a wooden frame, with a guy assembling it for putting it on display.

John McCain's Unwanted Iowa Visit

John McCain, being the maverick he is, thumbed his nose at Iowa officials who pleaded with him not to campaign in the state during flood clean-up. Barack Obama had scheduled a visit in Iowa but canceled it at the request of state officials.

The concern had to do with diverting law enforcement resources from the recovery effort to security for the candidates. But John McCain, a maverick, a loose cannon, perhaps suffering from confusion over even a simple request, ignored basic decency and bulled his way into the state anyway.

Patrick Dillon, Iowa Governor Chet Culver's chief of staff, said, "As a courtesy — and as we did for Senator Obama — we privately made an effort to make sure that Senator McCain knew that state and local resources were still being deployed to support the flood fight and that now may not be the best time for a campaign trip."

Dillon's comments came as President Bush was touring the state, also craning his neck, rubbernecking, gawking both to his right and left like a busybody fascinated at so much suffering. Officials pointed out to the leader that the water stretching out for miles was no longer in the river channel and that this was a problem. For Bush's sightseeing vacation hundreds of law enforcement officers had to be diverted from flood recovery to provide security.

In a related story, John McCain last year opposed legislation that included money for flood control in Des Moines. McCain spokesman, Jeff Sadowsky, responded: "We do not need to play politics with flooding that has brought so much harm and pain throughout the region." There is no mention in the article whether he said this with a straight face. Our own surmise is that he was probably fidgeting nervously, rocking back and forth on his heels, daubing his forehead with a tissue, and hoping no one would call him on such a blatant crock of crap.

In the end, John McCain's intrusive, foolhardy event began, then finally, mercifully, ended. He was last seen paddling his "Straight Talk Canoe" off to somewhere he is wanted, wherever that may be.

Misremembering Lyrics

I just had a piece of a tune and lyrics pop into my head, but I couldn't place it. Mind wracking. I could get a few words then a piece of music. But the Google couldn't help. I thought it was "Janey was in pigtails, back in 1965," but nothing in that brought up any answers.

Next step, go look at my CDs and try to jog my memory while going over the snippets. Finally I thought of the next bit, "Bring back the Boston rag," so that answered it that it was Steely Dan.

But when I checked out the lyrics, there was nothing about Janey in pigtails. It was "Lonnie was the kingpin, back in 1965."

So here I sit with a great lyric about Janey in pigtails in 1965 and nothing I can do about it.

His Head's Shaved

The guy at Every Time I Poop got his head shaved.

It's worth taking a look, but please don't blame me if (or when) you disagree.

Cindy McCain Plagiarizes Another Recipe

Link. Maybe the McCains go out to eat all the time and Cindy doesn't actually have any recipes. And so she needs to lift them from websites and claim them as her own, or the recipe of "a friend."

Here's a couple:

BOILED WATER

Put water in a saucepan. Choose a pan that will hold the quantity desired. Set pan of water on turned-on burner. Leave alone and do something else because a watched pot never boils. Return in a few minutes. If you see bubbles bubbling up, it's done. Serves four, serving sizes each a fourth of the water in the pan.


POACHED WATER

Same as "boiled water," just a different name.


SALT SANDWICH

Two slides of bread per sandwich, sprinkle salt to taste, put one slice on top of the other. Serve.

Tim Russert

I saw that Tim Russert died and I thought it had to be a joke, a bit of blog snark that wasn't going to be funny. But the context and the links checked out. And so it turned out to be true.

That's unbelievable. He never really looked like a "candidate" for a quick heart attack where they'd be unable to help him. But we only see the outside and he had a moderately vigorous look. And there's no way for us to know how he took care of himself. But it can happen very quickly.

I had a hard time liking his style on "Meet the Press." He'd get someone on there -- if it was someone I liked -- and invariably go for the "gotcha" stuff. "You said in 1992...but now in 2004 you say..." And in the Democratic debates he was relentless with that same stuff.

But a couple times I caught parts of his program on MSNBC that obviously had a more laid-back vibe, everyone very casual, a totally black background, laughing, camaraderie, telling stories, seeming to enjoy politics as a thing with a heritage to appreciate. He was more likable in that setting, that's for sure.

Tim Russert was definitely knowledgeable and made an impact in politics and journalism.

Desi is God

The blog of a young teenage woman, Desi, who says she's God.

Her grandma got her a pink Bible, not a gift she liked.

She has a music player, which is cool. I kept it on because I love the song by One Republic, 'Stop and Stare,' but since I haven't had the radio on much lately, and I hate to buy tracks at I-Tunes, I haven't heard it much.

There's a lot of these kinds of blogs. But this one has a few little cool things about it.

The Year of a Million Words

Here's someone with a goal of writing a million words in 2008. I've had that goal before, at least conceptually. But I always thought if I were writing about my writing of a million words, eventually the commentary on the act would overwhelm the output of anything interesting. And at the end I'd be saying something like "A thousand to go, and I just did four more there, but with that last phrase and this one, I have 17 or 18 more, depending on whether numbers count as a word, and in saying 17 or 18 I hadn't counted on these last couple of clauses." So you can see the conundrum. But if you just write, write, write, blather on endlessly, I can see how you could do it quite easily.

How to count your words, though, I suppose put the whole thing in Microsoft Word before posting, because it the number of words...

His blog is at this link.

Here's a piece of a post from today:

This is what I did tonight when I had the room to myself:

Watched Portugal versus Czech Republic, y’know, to unwind after work.

Checked my emails, check my statcounter, read a few other blogs.

Opened a blank document.

Went and looked in the fridge. Decided I’d cook tea.

Ate tea in front of the TV.

Did the dishes.

Decided I should also make my lunch for tomorrow.

Opened an existing story which is missing its final scene.

Checked my emails again.

Lattice of Coincidence

A funny Photoshop picture of Lou Dobbs in full Mexican regalia, with a very cute little dog on his shoulder.

A Fairly Erotic Picture

Quite a photo, no nudity, so you won't get in any trouble clicking it.

Barack Obama's Afro

I'm not going to post the picture, but it's cute.

An India Blog

I'm not too sure what this blog is about yet. But it's about India, and it's in English. Just glancing at it, it has some nice graphics. Part of it looks like fiction, or folk tales, or something. I need a nap, but it's getting too late in the day for one.

Written by Dr. Manoshi Bhattacharya.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fifth Term

We've been saying that John McCain is running for George W. Bush's third term. That makes a certain amount of sense for these reasons: 1) It would be a continuation of the Republicans holding the presidency; 2) John McCain has been very supportive of Bush's policies on the war and on the economy, Bush's two biggest failures; 3) A Republican win would be a vindication of George Bush, since he has such a low approval rating in the country. What he started would continue. It's really nothing against McCain; it's just the facts as they stack up.

Now John McCain says that Barack Obama's presidency would be the second term of Jimmy Carter! That's a headscratcher. Why? There's no continuity, since Carter's presidency was over with in Jan. 1981. There are no particular Carter policies to be continued after all this time. And Obama's election would have nothing to do with vindicating, or in anyway impacting Carter's legacy. So, to me, this is just John McCain not making sense again. It'd make more sense to say Bill Clinton, at least in terms of the timeframe.

But if anyone can be fulfilling anyone else's term or continuing it, why not say Obama would have the second term of Kennedy? The living Kennedy brother supported him, and seemed to be "passing the torch." Obama seems to be the kind of guy who could be transformative to his generation in a way that JFK was inspirational to many in his. Or why not say Obama would have the fifth term of FDR. Or the next term of Harry Truman. Sure, there's no continuity, no vindication, no policies that are overtly being fulfilled. In the case of FDR, we had the depressing presidency of Hoover, kind of a parallel in a loose way to George W. Bush. We need to be lifted out of the ashes again, and there's no way McCain will do that. He's running for president to be president period.

Maybe we could see Obama as the next term of Lincoln. He freed the slaves, all that, and what could be more symbolic in those terms than our first African-American president?

As to who else's term McCain might be continuing, besides the obvious, George W. Bush, well, I already mentioned Herbert Hoover. But the only one that makes any sense is McCain and Bush, because of continuity.

Being Ourself

Beyond Mindfulness, Beyond Oneness

From that site: "This blog is an open discussion about living with the awareness that we are not merely "interconnected" but we are actually all one whole interacting with itself. How do we move beyond mindfulness into a state of action springing from the wholeness of the "now" (as Eckhart Tolle refers to it)? The site's founder is author Ty Clement, whose book Being Ourself (www.beingourself.com) is due for release in Spring 2009 by O-Books (www.o-books.net)and explores similar issues."

Open discussion...ABOUT...living with the awareness. So someone has the awareness and has been living with it, that we are not merely "interconnected" -- we being you and me -- but we are actually all one whole...interacting with itself. The first part of what we're aware of is that we are not merely interconnected. So we set up the thought of interconnection, community, joint-purpose, shared self-interest, while thinking individually, and say that's not it. Then we understand that we are actually one whole interacting with itself, live with the awareness, and openly discuss it. We need to assert and demonstrate that the one wholeness is true and what it does, interacts with itself.

Mindfulness in this case must be the awareness that we accept, then moving beyond mindfulness must be moving beyond the awareness, definitions, assertions, to...a state of action...living it...that springs from the wholeness of the "now." It's not good enough just to state things, but to get to a point where it's the real life now. Which I really agree with. I'm generally sick of the constant definition of things, introductions to more introductions.

It's no good to keep saying "life in more abundance" (John 10:10) without ever getting down to living "life in more abundance." Eventually the word has to give way to life, to the point that the page can be wadded up and forgotten. Why do you need a map once you're there?

So Many Records, So Little Time

If you like records, there are interesting blogs out there on the subject. I haven't seen many, but somehow I know they're out there.

Here's one I saw the other day -- and it's added several posts since then -- So Many Records, So Little Time. There are pictures (labels) of records by Inez & Charlie Foxx, The Move, Bo Diddley, Gloria Lynne, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Lonnie Youngblood, Brenda Lee, Georgie Fame, Buster Brown, and a few others. And also a player for listening to some of them.

I think I need one of those players.

The record pictured above is not from that site, but is one of my old favorite records. "Egghead" by Jill Corey. I've had an LP by her too, and maybe still have it somewhere. I've never heard the LP. The song "Egghead" is real cute. He's someone who is a brainiac, knows a lot, but not about love. "Egghead, you're such an egghead, you know an awful lot about an awful lot but there's an awful lot you don't know. You're a genius, you're a whizz. You can win most any quiz. But you're not so smart when it comes to the heart, you're the biggest fizz there is." But it has a happy ending, "Egghead, I love you so!"

So you can just embed songs, like videos. Oh, learn something everyday!

Franklin D. Roosevelt and The Three Stooges

I've been watching the episodes on the new Three Stooges collection, Volume 2 of their Columbia shorts. I've seen a lot of the Three Stooges films, but I've never seen them all, and I've never seen them presented in such a good way -- consecutive, digitally-remastered, all that.

Since I've never seen them all, today I saw one I hadn't seen before -- you know, not that I remember. We used to sit around watching them with Grandpa ages ago, but as far as keeping track at the time, I wasn't.

This episode, then, was a fresh one to me, one that ends up with the Three Stooges in President Roosevelt's office!

It was Number 25 on their list of Columbia shorts, called "Cash and Carry." Getting some info here from The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Released Sept. 3, 1937. Getting very specific there. A guy named Al Richardson played FDR, seen only from the back.

This was a cool looking episode coming on. The Stooges are junkmen and they have a shack in the city dump. I love the setting, the scene. Because, to tell you the truth, I'm a sucker for old time city dumps, love them! They arrive at their house and some kid is there, a boy. He figured no one lived there, so he's going to live there. Jimmy. They nearly throw him out, but they're softhearted, especially when they see he has a brace on his leg.

Then they're out at their heap of cans and they find some money in a can. It turns out this was put there for safe keeping by their mother, who is trying to save money to get Jimmy an operation. It's $62 and they need $500. The Stooges take the money to the bank, but they're swindled out of it by some con men, who give them a worthless treasure map relating to an old house, supposedly where Captain Kidd put his treasure.

They're digging for the treasure and, as luck has it, the U.S. Treasury has an office right next door, vaults. A little more effort and they're in one of the vaults, with all the gold and money sacks. But they get caught and are charged.

This leads us to FDR's office, in which they tell him the whole story, who sees to it that Jimmy gets his operation and the Stooges receive clemency, they salute the president, and that's it.

When I saw the boy with the leg brace, I thought, "ohhh no," I don't want any "touching" Three Stooges episodes. I want nyuks, slaps, shovels to the face, all that, no do-gooding. So, leaving all that out of my consideration, the episode doesn't focus too much on Jimmy. The Stooges are as hilarious as ever when they're digging, when they're in the mansion.

The part with FDR was a complete surprise to me, but a nice surprise.

The Joy of Sex, Sex, and More Sex

Last week I wrote about some boxes of Playboys at a garage sale, and I believe I mentioned how rare that is.

Well, maybe everyone in town is joining a monastery or nunnery, because I was at another garage sale, and there was a couple of boxes of Playboys there, too! But the ones last week were $2.00 apiece, and these this week were only 25 cents each.

The sale was about over with, and they hadn't been bought yet. The people were packing their stuff in totes for storage. So the moment of opportunity to get these was quickly passing.

But what I saw that really caught my eye was outside, a nice big box of sex manuals, like The New Joy of Sex, the original Joy of Sex, etc. I wish I remembered some of the titles, because there were quite a few, maybe 20 books all together with the common theme.

I thought about going back in the garage to take a look at the ladies in charge, and see what was on their mind. But as it turned out, I didn't.

We were talking about it on the way to the car, how unusual that is to see. They were either folks who've learned it all or have given up trying.

McCain Wants Hot Water for Dehydrated Babies

Hillary to Drop Out

I think of "dropping out," being a drop out, and it's not a positive thing. Like if you drop out of the presidential race, can you go back and "get your GED" and become vice president? We're going to find out.

The long race is over. I was a Clinton supporter, for the most part, up till a couple months ago.

I'm very pragmatic, though. I was not personally attached, overly so, so I have no disgruntlement whatsoever. I simply want the Democrat to win, and that's the way it's been all the way along for me. I flirted with Obama, but thought it'd be cool to have a woman president, plus I like the Clintons, even though they put us through some very rough patches.

But when Obama won everything there for a while, and he started looking more inevitable, definite, which was before Easter, I said, OK, Obama, fine with me. He's great. He can do it. At that point, after that somewhere, I wanted it to be over, and it was frustrating for most of us that it kept dragging on and on and on and on.

Now, though, with the official magic number finally attained, and the coming dropping out finally to occur, we can step back and say, "Good!"

Obama's amazing. And it will be in Hillary's mind now and forever of what could have been. Because it is crystal clear to me that she would have been the nominee if Obama hadn't run. The rest of the competition wasn't competition at all. Without Obama, Edwards might have been more of a contender, but I think 2004 sunk him, along with all of his switched positions. It was like he didn't really have a history to go by. Hillary would have been the inevitable candidate, would probably have beaten McCain, and would have been the first woman president! That's really something to have in your mind, thinking, "But for this one guy!" I'm thinking of something I heard that Bing Crosby said about Frank Sinatra, and I don't have the exact quote, but it was something like: 'He's a singer who only comes once in a lifetime. But why'd it have to be my lifetime?'

All things being equal, from here on out, Obama ought to be able to put McCain away fairly easily. There are things about ageism I don't care for. I'm politically correct, all that crap. But there's something in the American psyche, I think it's there, that says we will not choose an old wasteland with young vitality staring us in the face. It's hard to say our best days are before us, it's morning in America, and then pick the Fisher King's sicker grandpa. So I don't see how McCain overcomes the mythology. You know he sleeps in a cryogenic tube. They pack it in a ton of ice every night. That's why the McCain expenses for ice is so high.

Bill Clinton built a bridge to the 21st century, George Bush built a bridge to Idiotsville, and now Barack Obama can get the bridge not only going the right direction again, but lead us to a better future. It's going to be 21st century--Take 2.

One of the Funniest Things I've Seen

Drudge and Obama

Today looks like the day for Barack Obama to finally seal the deal with superdelegates, to put him over the top for the Democratic nomination. Er, for President of the United States, in case you haven't been following it.

Hillary still has some moments, but the news is back and forth whether she will concede, suspend, or just what. The time has definitely come for something, and something's what we're going to get. Maybe later this week, one would assume, there would be a unity appearance with Obama.

There's a good story today -- I read a couple pages of it -- about Matt Drudge. He's really been no one's favorite on the left these years. I've basically avoided going to his site, not entirely, but I was only going there on occasion and with trepidation. The story is that he's been giving Obama pretty good coverage -- the positive spin. And not such great spin for John McCain. I'll take their word for it, and say, if that's so, hurray!

I don't know exactly what's prompted it for me, but I've been checking out Drudge daily for probably the last week. I guess I've heard some of this before, what the Politico story says, but haven't really checked it out to see if it was true. I used to watch his show once in a while -- this was years ago, back when I allowed Fox News on my TV. I thought it had a cool look to it. He was like a hardboiled 1940s character, with the old typewriter and hat. But since then, with the hyper-partisanship of the Bush years, anything that has a hint of the stink of neocons or Republicans, I avoid.

Here's an interesting paragraph from the Politico link: "Drudge-watchers noted that his traffic is increasingly international, bringing him an audience for whom a young charismatic and cosmopolitan Democrat who defies ethnicity is a fascination — unlike his opponent, just another white Republican male." I like that. And I think that says a lot about what we're in for if Obama can win the election. John McCain offers more of the same, and sorrow on the world stage. If McCain were elected, there would be such a loud, global sigh of disgust, it would make Perot's giant sucking sound sound like a dying man sipping on a straw!

But Obama, now there's a cool guy. Like the graf says, young, charismatic, cosmopolitan, defying ethnicity, fascinating. McCain, about to fall over.

We'll be back in business with Obama. We'd be down the drain with McCain.

Playboys at a Garage Sale

I was driving along and saw a garage sale yesterday. So I went over. They had all the usual stuff, books, some VHS tapes, and all the usual junk that people are always trying to get rid of.

But under the table, they had three boxes of Playboys. So I'm figuring they belong to the guy and not his wife. And the guy is maybe 75 -- 70s anyway.

And maybe it's just me, but I don't want to see that. All I can think of at the sale is the "enjoyment" he no doubt got from these magazines there, over a course of years and years, and it's a major ewww thing for me.

By the way, they were $2.00 apiece. But, you know, even if I were in the market for a box of Playboys, which I'm not, to have to drag three boxes up at a garage sale and have the old guy count them out, etc., would be way too much for me.

The small talk -- which is unavoidable at garage sales -- would also be too much. What memories he might share.

Rage

We've all heard of road rage. It's one of those diagnosed conditions that comes about in society occasionally. Like when anything comes along -- video games, cell phones, iPods -- there's some downside to it that shows itself. Kids with wrist problems, hearing loss.

Road rage has probably always existed. Two stagecoaches met and one driver was stabbed. Fortunately we're going fast enough now that it's hard to stab someone. It pops up most noticeably when the roads are clogged with people and we all want to get somewhere. I think driving wouldn't be half bad if it weren't for other drivers.

I was feeling a different kind of rage today, and watch for it, the designation is coming, as prices go up, as people try to do more shopping at one time because of high gas prices. You'll be in the check out lines in stores with people having twice as much stuff in their cart more often. Checkout lane rage. It's coming. I felt it today.

We went to one of the big stores. Starts with a W and ends with Mart. And for some unknown reason -- maybe something of what I just said above -- there were twice as many people there as usual, blocking up the aisles, kids running screaming, all those cash registers with their incessant beeping, old, coughing, slow checkout people. And you start thinking this is ridiculous. I can't make it through this line. Even the self-serve checkout stations -- which people used to avoid -- are full.

What would the rage look like? Well, I don't do anything like that. It's more just internalizing it, thinking I need to avoid this in the future as much as possible. But there are a lot of people out there who are already on the edge. I don't know. I can see them ramming a shopping cart into your back. Verbal abuse. Especially, let's say you have someone with a screaming kid in their cart, and they have a full cart, and they look up, and there's five people already in line. It could be we'll need some psychologists on staff out there, or turn up the soothing music, or hire more checkout people.

This is a rage that's coming. The real solution might be to get up at 3 in the morning and buy your groceries then.

Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

...but does this look like a guy who's going to take us beyond the Bush years? Or does this look like a guy who "embraces" Bush with his whole heart?

McCain's Abilities to Educate

I see the Republicans are in fine form so far this year, still insisting that up is down, wrong is right, and that they have some connection to reality, when in fact they don't.

When it comes to Iraq, it's been propaganda since before day 1: Weapons of mass destruction, we've turned every corner, we've endured the last throes, Mission Accomplished, victory was at hand before the statue hit the ground. Then long after the American people had had enough of the Administration's lies, spin, and deceit, John McCain decided to pin his hopes on stay-the-course, more-of-the-same, even if it took a hundred years!

Now he's taking on Barack Obama: "I would also seize that opportunity to educate Senator Obama along the way," he said, referring to a proposed trip together to Iraq.

That's a laugh for so many reasons. One, Obama was right about the war from before it began; McCain was wrong. The war was unnecessary, a pet project of Bush and the neocons. It has been a disaster on so many levels it's ridiculous. So, if anyone needs an education on Iraq, it's McCain himself. This is like Grandpa driving the family car in the ditch, then trying to tell everyone else how to drive. "Just sit back, Grandpa, we're almost home."

The choice couldn't be clearer -- you'd actually think McCain would try to be "against" the war instead of "for" it, for the sake of perception. But I guess once you've pinned your hopes on something, you may as well be all in. Either we want four more years of George Bush's policies of stay the course, up is down, being bogged down in someone else's civil war and calling it victory, or we want something better. McCain promises endless war, in Iraq and anywhere else he may choose. We need something better.

John McCain is the student who needs an education, because so far he has failed.

Bobby Kennedy -- Next President of the United States

Bobby Kennedy has been in the news lately, and will be again in a few days when the 40th anniversary of his death comes around.

I got this magazine at an antique store a couple years ago. At first glance, you'd think it was prepared for the 1968 campaign. But the term of office it predicts for him starts in 1973, and he will succeed President Johnson. So what is the copyright date? 1965. The publisher, M.H. Weston and the G.C. London Publishing Corp., of New York, was out there way ahead. At 50 cents a copy they were looking to make some money. The text was written by Bob Waters.

What follows is the main text from the last page, page 66:

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JFK 'lit a torch that spread across the world. We must keep that torch glowing . . .

As surely as this motion moved Bobby to his brother's side while Jack was President, as surely and securely as it moved him to the side of Jack's widow, and as surely as it moved Bobby to the Senate, that motion — the irresistible force — is moving him to the White House. All that remains is whether his foes in both parties can erect an opposition that will prove to be an immovable object for that irresistible force.

The 1972 campaign has begun. It is a strong, well-balanced and keenly-planned campaign. It must be strong enough to carry Bobby back into the Senate in the 1970 elections and keep his head high in the political heavens until the 1972 convention. But it has begun. The Kennedy touch is illustrated daily in New York's newspapers and wire service reports that touch across the land. There is Bob Kennedy with a son skating in Rockefeller Plaza (he's a very good skater), there is Bob Kennedy throwing snowballs, Bob Kennedy visiting a hospital for children and then one for the aged. Bob Kennedy is on the move and his moves are calculated and are being chronicled.

But the real ammunition for the campaign is still in the Kennedy armory. That will be used gradually but always effectively while he is in the Senate.

Every time Kennedy gets to his feet in that chamber it will be to add another plank to the platform he will present to that 1972 convention. Bobby will be 46 then. He won't be a callow rich kid running on his father's money and his brother's name. By 1972, the name "Kennedy" will be synonymous with blunt, aggressive, fearless utterances the world and nation will be familiar with. The legislation he will champion and fight doggedly for will endear him to minorities, working men and small businessmen. The word "Liberal," when applied to Bob Kennedy, will be spelled with a small "l." The Gore Vidals of the Liberals (capital L) will continue to dislike and distrust him. Bobby will want it that way. The plan says that the confidence of the people does not lie in either extreme, but the middle can be as wide as he wants it.

In his tribute to his brother which appears in the posthumous edition of Profiles in Courage, Bobby points out: "...There will be future Cubas. There will be future crises. We have the problems of the hungry, the neglected, the poor and the downtrodden. They must receive more help. And just as solutions had to be found in October of 1962, answers must be found for these other problems that still face us. So that wisdom (President Kennedy's) is needed still."

Kennedy's record in the Senate — the one he'll bring to the convention — will be punctuated with Civil Rights — his main course. He will strive for legislation to bolster both physical and moral strength, especially among the nation's young. Kennedy will champion the need of preserving natural resources and wealth — other nations will earn any U. S. dollar giveaways.

Bobby Kennedy already has a slogan. It was delivered by his brother Jack:

"We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans — born in this [century], tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage — and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world."

Bobby says, "What happens to this country, to the world, depends on what we do with what others have left us."

And Ethel says, "He's a doer."

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Note: In the quote from President Kennedy the magazine had it "born in this country" instead of "this century." And "Everytime" was printed as one word.

Garage Sales for McCain

There was to be a fundraiser for Sen. John McCain Tuesday in Arizona, but it was canceled after poor ticket sales, with no one wanting to come. The headliner at this event was to be the ever-popular President George W. Bush. (Pardon me, I need to scold the people of Arizona for a moment. Don't you know this is a man of history and destiny? He's president! He's going to be on commemorative plates someday. He'll be on that list of presidents your kids have to memorize in fifth grade.) President Bush has fallen on some hard times. 9/11 was the high point of his presidency, and from there it's been all downhill. He used to handpick his audiences, but I always thought that was more for selectness rather than necessity. Shame on you, Arizona!

The article about this says, "Tickets to the event were to range from $1,000 to $25,000 for VIP treatment. Money was to go toward McCain's presidential bid and a number of Republican Party organs." Organs? Are the Republicans looking for organ donors? I knew McCain was old and in bad shape, but I had no idea he was that far gone.

We must bring in money! Although the $1,000 to $25,000 stuff is probably out. My idea is how about garage sales for McCain? Like, if you're having a garage sale, direct the money to make up for the failure of his other fundraiser. Isn't it worth getting rid of some of your stuff for a good cause? CDs you don't want, old candle holders, trivets, pictures off the wall, that old sofa in the den, bars of soap from motels, whatever you can get together. Price it to sell, in the 25 cents to $1.00 range. And we'll have ourselves a president!

How Expensive Smoking Is

I don't smoke. So I don't usually keep track of cigarette prices. But the other day I was in line at Walmart, and it happened to be the line where the cigarettes are. The prices were scary!

Marlboros were in the $56 range for a carton. The highest priced ones I saw were Virginia Slims, which were just over $60 a carton. 10 packs to a carton.

I do see the signs also when driving by convenience stores, and it seems like I saw some advertised that were in that general price range, not quite Virginia Slims high but in the upper 40s or lower 50s.

That would be getting to be an expensive habit, say, if you were a 3-pack a day smoker.

John McCain is Bad

What a day it's been in the world of religion! The Republican candidate for president -- Senator John McCain -- has denounced, renounced, and rejected two of our most highly respected pastors. This from a supposedly conservative Republican. He just totally dumped on them!

I've heard of having religious doubts -- but I've never heard of this kind of wholesale rejection in such a sudden way. You know, it usually goes like this: fervency in the faith, then cooling off, then quietly picking at doctrine, then shopping around the different faiths, then dropping out of sight, then final rejection. The whole process can take up to a week. But John McCain got the job done in one day!

You're a well-respected pastor -- in this case, you are two separate men -- and John McCain is among your flock, milling around, asking polite questions about angels dancing on the heads of pins, and perhaps you're delving together into the end-of-days, when suddenly it's Apocalypse Now, not for the world, but for a very precious relationship, one you've treasured, the relationship of brothers in the faith. Finished.

Yes, this has been quite a day. Pastor John Hagee and Pastor Rod Parsley, both what I would call fairly moderate voices in the church (a bit liberal for my taste, if truth be told), were simply rejected, disposed-of, thrown under the bus by John McCain. You've heard of the kiss of Judas? John "Judas" McCain went all the way on the first date! This is a fickle, fickle man, even an apostate. A flaming apostate!

We've all heard some of the supposedly "radical" things that Pastor Hagee preaches. He called the Catholic Church the Great Whore. But really, who hasn't read Revelation and made that connection? Do you reject a guy for stating the obvious? And all that business about New Orleans destroyed because of a parade. I would have destroyed it simply for those Zatarain commercials, but, hey, that's just me. But the topper, the real biggie appears to be Pastor Hagee's assertion that God raised up Hitler to hunt the Jews so they would go back to the Promised Land. So what's the big deal? That six million were killed? OK, point taken, but it's easy to misspeak...

So one pastor down. Rejecting one pastor was a terrible thing for McCain to do. But then there was another. And I've seen this scenario play out time and time again: If a man sins once, it takes away his determination to resist, and subsequent sins are easier. Common sense. John McCain fell into that trap. He proceeded recklessly on the very same day to renounce and reject Pastor Parsley. For what? For saying that God established America in order to destroy Islam? Now, I am not going to say much about that; I'm not Salmon Rushdie here; I don't want to die.

All that aside, let me conclude. My point is that John McCain, if he truly respected these men in the first place and considered them brothers, would have sat down with them and resolved their theological differences, then extended forgiveness, and parted as friends. But he didn't.

Bottom line: John McCain is bad.