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.