Thursday, January 29, 2009

Things are "Looking Up"...
This is a photo-posting. Click on the photos and they'll get really, really big.
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You might remember that I posted a photo recently, which looked STRAIGHT DOWN a cliff, as it dumped into the ocean...well, here's the opposite of that...I was standing at the bottom of a cliff that didn't tumble into the water, and it looks STRAIGHT UP to where the vegetation at cliff's top is...
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It was my mission, yesterday, to go Witness A Sunset...like so many other days, it was cloudy all day, but the clouds gave way briefly in the evening. I made my way down to Cape Arago as sunset was drawing nigh, and took a shot of what I like to call "The Cape Arago Tree"...this is where I took a picture of an artist actually painting this tree...seems so long ago. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Cape Arago Tree in the evening. Note the rock outcroppings far below and the waves crashing upon them. It was windy out there...
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...and finally, the Sunset itself. The sunset was actually pre-empted by a cloud bank on the horizon, which is about 28 miles in the distance; had it not been for those clouds, the sun would've remained visible for another 5 or 10 minutes. Still, I had to take what I could get, so here 'tis...another Cape Arago Sunset...if you look really close, you can see where the cloud bank meets the ocean...
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What a nice way to end the day...right after this, though, 'twas time to scurry down the winding, twisty, narrow road before the residual sunlight disappeared altogether. It's nice to know, however, that the days are getting longer; this sunset photo was taken at about 5:30pm. So, I guess things are...looking up...

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

A Blogging Smorgasboard...
...something for everyone. Step up and help yourself...

Another gloomy Business Page in today's paper...This layoff stuff is Beginning To Get Scary. Are we in a depression yet? As far as I can tell, this all started when Gas Prices went up so drastically last year, making everything more expensive. And now, gas sales are down, 'cos no one's got as much money as they used to have. Maybe it's like my own situation; I got hit with a double-tax payment late last year, and I paid it off, and it's taken me a while to get to the point where I have disposable income once again. So maybe Fuel Prices hit the country so hard last year, that everything got thrown out of whack, and it's been all downhill from there. Is there any validity to this idea? Will the economy recover? Circuit City stores going kaput? Starbuck's having to lay off? For heaven's sake, MICROSOFT is cutting back! Gosh. I'll know things are really bad when Wal-Mart begins laying off. Can you imagine a Wal-Mart 'going out of business' sale? They'd have to 'roll back' their prices even further; who knows, maybe some items in the store would be rolled-back to a 'negative' value, which would mean, that I, as a shopper, could take something off the shelf, go through the checkstand, and then the cashier would pay me to take it out the door. Things aren't that bad yet...or are they? Maybe Wal-Mart is hoping someday they won't have any competition, and they'll be the Last Existing Retail Chain in the Country. (The 'Cockroach' nuclear-survival theory as applied to Business...) So, how will businesses continue to cope with The Sluggish Economy? By resorting to measures like this...?



He Says he's not a crook...lately, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (did I spell that right?), has been all over the news. He's in the process of getting impeached for trying to recoup vast personal benefit for giving (or in his case, selling) someone, anyone, the Senate Seat which was vacated by Some Guy Named Obama. "Bloggo" hasn't been attending his own Impeachment hearings. A Narcissist like him would hate to Look Bad in front of a Jurist Panel. So, instead, he's been going all over the place, appearing on TV, trying to prove to Everyone that he's not a crook. He went so far as to say he was the "Anti-Nixon"; it turns out 'Bloggo' was captured on tape trying to hammer out a deal for the Senate Seat! He later intimated, on network TV, that he wanted Good Things done by whoever he appointed, and said he wanted the tapes heard, so people would know How Good He, "Bloggo", was...yeah, rrrright...but promising a Senate Seat for anything, even something 'good' is just plain-old "Influence Peddling", and it's WRONG. And of course, I'm sure 'Bloggo' had his own 'angle', maybe something along the lines of, "hey, if I appoint someone who does good, the voters will like ME...or at least not hate me as much as they do." With the help of various MSNBC talking heads, I finally understand this. Except, I don't. How do these corrupt CLOWNS get elected in the first place? Wait, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton got to be Prezzident, so neverrr mind....) I guess we shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore. So, everything we know is wrong; when a politician says "I'm not a crook", that obviously means, "I AM a crook".


Obviously, King Bloggo's appointment wasn't going to cost an Arm and a Leg, but he was hoping for at least one limb...

Update on "Bloggo's" dilemma...it turns out he WILL go to the Final Day of his Impeachment Hearing tomorrow, when The Vote Will Actually Be Taken to run him outta town. He's gonna state his case, having practiced his statement many times on TV this week. "Bloggy" was so DESPERATE for exposure that he appeared on "The View", f'cryin' out loud. You know, the "hen party" of sorts that features 'Baba Wawa' from time to time (heck, she owns the show, so she can appear...or not...any time she wants to...or not...)

What goes up...must come down...and then back up again? Even though I bought $15 dollars worth of gas last week, and even though I still had just under half a tank-full, I bought gas again today. After seeing gas go down to $1.40 a gallon, and seeing it go back up again (to $1.95 last week), I drove past the friendly fill-'em-fast today and saw that gas had gone down AGAIN, this time, to $1.84 a gallon. I had stuff to do, after which I read in the nooz-paper, over breakfast, that gas prices were Set To Rise Once Again. And immediately, I thot of the $1.84 gas back at the fill-'em-fast, and it's happened, it actually has, where gas prices can go UP mid-day, if the fuel supplier's quick enough to jack things up rapidly. Had that happened at the fill-'em-fast? On my way home, I saw that the 'fill-'em-fast' sign still read "1.84", so, SCREECH!, I pulled in and got another twenty-dollars' worth. That just about filled up the tank. My car musta thot, "What? A Full Tank? I'm not used to this". So what'll happen now? Will gas rise tomorrow...or fall further (as usually is my luck when I get gas these days...)? Who knows? Of course, no matter how low gas goes, in this economy, it's still hard to cough up the bucks needed to fuel the car, prompting responses like this...


What's sad about this is that the poor lady probably wasn't joking at all...

And they called him Mellow Yellow...Some of my old favorite pop stars have really aged well, while some look pretty shaky. I guess we all "age" differently, and that there are genetic factors involved, in addition to what chemical substances one might have ingested over the years. Some people are just prone to high cholesterol or heart attacks, or, like me, The Gout. Of course, Decreased Visibility is a factor in our perception of age. For instance, it seems like the gray-short-haired Eric Clapton is all over the place on various Musical Programs, so I'm used to the way he looks these days. Other Old Rock Stars are seemingly ageless; Stevie Winwood (He sang on Spencer Davis' "Gimme Some Lovin" back in the '60s) looks like a kid, even though he's gotta be part of the over-60 crowd these days. Paul McCartney also looks dapper, even if he annoyingly wears tennis shoes with his suits; does anyone else besides me think that's ODD? A while back, I found a contemporary photo of the '60s singer, Donovan, who was once a big pop star. The last time I saw a contemporary picture of him was some Thirty Years Ago, so I wasn't prepared for what I saw...now he's just old, sorta like the rest of us. In one of his songs he wrote, "Electrical Banana, bound to be a certain craze; electrical banana, bound to be the very next phase"...huh? what? No one cared if it didn't make sense, tho; it sounded good. Hey, it was a Number One Song, after all. Anyway, while surfing the web one night, I ran across this picture of Donovan...it kinda shocked me a bit...


The present-day, sorta-frail-looking Donovan...ohhh, he's so mellow...

You've probably heard of Donovan's other Number One hit, "Sunshine Superman"...well, I always wondered where the title came from, and one day after about the 10,000th time I heard it on the radio, it hit me...the first verse of the song says, "SUNSHINE came softly to my...a-window today..." while the second verse starts out thusly: "SUPERMAN and Green Lantern ain't got...a-nothin' on me..." so now you know. And of such things, number one singles are made.
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Finally, I've often wondered about this...a Full Gas Tank weighs more than one that is three-quarters', or half, or quarter-full. So, if you fill up your tank, which increases your car's weight, does that mean you get less miles-per-gallon? And if there is an optimal amount of gas you should have in your car, how much gas would that be? Will you go further on two half-tanks than you would on one full tank? Has anyone ever researched this?

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Unsinkable Rock And Roll...
...created by Four Norwegians and an Englishman...

I've always made it a point to, when I go to record shops, to look for odd or obscure records, but since my favorite musical era is from about 1968 to 1980, the greater part of my record collection involves groups who made records during those years. For example, I bought the first "Boston" album long before "More Than A Feeling" ever hit the airwaves. It just 'looked' like it would be a good rock and roll album, and boy, was it ever...I bought it, and, wow. I like that kind of rock and roll, that has some 'flavor' injected into the proceedings; bands that make great use of guitar and keyboards have always scored highly with me.

One such band was a group called "TITANIC", and yet, they only had One Song released in the U.S. That's right, One Song, which was included on a various-artists compilation issued by Columbia Records in the mid-1970s. The group had basically No Success in the U.S., but they were one of the more famous groups in Europe. And their label, CBS, was related to the Columbia Records label over here in the States. So, "Titanic" was poised for stardom. Of course, they were one of a legion of bands who were playing it heavy and loud back in those days. Remember those days? Groups like Deep Purple, Humble Pie, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep and others really blasted away, and I loved 'em. "Titanic" was every bit as good, but with all those other bands out there, it was probably tough for a European group to gain much of a foothold waaay over there in North America.
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Actually, "Titanic" had an ace up its sleeve, which would've allowed them to compete for fame here in the U.S. Most of the European bands I've heard have singers, who, when they try to sing in English, wrestle with the English Language, and come up with some fairly awkward phraseology in trying to put over a lyric line. That's not their fault; I sure couldn't sing or write in French or Russian, and even if I learned how to pronounce words in those languages, I'd probably sound really primitive to residents of those countries. But, "Titanic" had a special something going...they had an English Singer, Roy Robinson, who wrote most of their songs and sung 'em...and so Titanic, with four Norwegians and an English Chap, recorded some very heavy music that sounded totally 'English'...and given a chance, I think they could've been big over here. Oh well...
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There were so many great bands out there back then, that Titanic was destined to, well, not be famous in the USA or anywhere else in the western hemisphere. When I found a copy of their first album, which is a made-in-Holland pressing on the CBS label, and played it, I was blown away. On one song, they sounded like Deep Purple in hyperdrive. On another, they sound spiritually fatalistic on an eight-minute tune that sounds more like Procol Harum than Procol Harum ever did. On still another tune, they rock harder than Black Sabbath Ever Did. I tell ya, the group could play in Almost Every Style. As a matter of fact, one of their biggest hits (in Europe) was a song called "Sultana", which was an instrumental that sounded almost exactly like the ultra-percussive sound of, you guessed it, Santana...
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It's so difficult to hear everything, and, no matter where you are in your Musical Universe, there's great music that you're probably never gonna get to hear, 'specially if you're "stuck in your era" like I am. And when you've heard all the music made here in the States, well, there's lots more coming out of places not really noted for a great music 'scene'. Such as Norway, or Czechoslovakia (or whatever that country is called these days...) or elsewhere. I'm still finding records by obscure artists I've never heard of, and I'm happy if those artists are even Half as good as, say, Yes, Kansas, Genesis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Nazareth, or any other of the famous groups from back then. I've indeed heard it with mine own ears; "Titanic" played at the same level as those more famous groups. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present...Titanic, the Band...
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The plain-looking album with the green cover is Titanic's first album, from 1971, which has some really mindbending music on it. This is the one that has songs which sound like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Procol Harum, et al. That long, slow Procol-Harum-ish song is titled, "I See No Reason"...and is every bit as gloomy as the title suggests; the song is over 8 minutes long, and is a (depressing) masterpiece...The album next to it is their second, "Sea Wolf"; it came out a year later and contains their big hit, "Sultana" (a hit in Europe, not over here); this album has a bit more of a smooth pop sound, and isn't quite as earth-shattering as their first one...
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...and that's why I was surprised with Titanic's 3rd album, (below) from 1973, "Eagle Rock" (No, it's not about bald eagles dancing in the streets; the title song is actually "One Night At Eagle Rock", which, in this case, is a 'place', not a bird.) And "Eagle Rock" is hard, tough and heavy just about all the way through, and it's very crisply engineered, so the keyboards, guitars and tortured vocals come shinin' through, and it is a Very Good Album, on par with their First Album, and that's saying a lot, because their First Album is one I'd want with me if I was marooned on a desert island. If anything, "Eagle Rock" is HEAVIER than their first album; albums like that force me to sit still in front of the turntable, watching the record spin 'round like an idiot for the better part of an hour...
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The Black Album next to "Eagle Rock" came out in 1975; it's titled "Ballad Of A Rock And Roll Loser", which veers away from the heavy bombastic approach, and is basically a concept album about the Trials and Tribulations of a Rock Star, and sounds more like Mott The Hoople or Bad Company, perhaps, in that the instrumentation isn't really all that fancy; it's closer to basic unadorned heavy rock, well done, but without some of the "ear candy" that's featured on their First and Third albums (see above). It's more of a 'narrative' album than others of theirs which I've heard, and Roy Robinson certainly worked hard on the album's lyrics. It shows. It's a good album, although really different than the others I've featured here.
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Titanic's music is hard to find; their CD's are fairly expensive, if you can find them at all. So how did I come by all this music? I'd found their first album, long ago, in a used record shop. Some twenty-odd years later, I was surfing around in Ebay when "Titanic" crossed my mind, and that's where I found the other three albums described above. I'd thought they'd recorded just the one album and then split up, as groups do. They actually had a long career, and put out quite a few records. All of my Titanic records are foreign pressings, and I'm proud to be (probably) one of the few people in the USA that's heard even One of their songs, let alone several albums' worth.
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Below, you'll find a YouTube thing which features "Something On My Mind", a truly amazing piece of work from Titanic's first album, and this is some of the Very Hardest Rock I Have Ever Heard. You've just gotta hear it...go ahead, try it...you'll like it...oh, and in order to fully appreciate it...TURN IT UP...


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One of the Titanic albums I don't have shows that the group has a bit of a sense of humor going for it...you've heard the phrase, "Raise The Titanic"...with that in mind, they released an album called "Lower The Atlantic". I've never looked at the Ocean quite that way before...

Friday, January 23, 2009

Of Baseball and Dentures...
...The Seattle Mariners have brought it all together...

Would you shell out Mega-bucks for a lemon? Of course you wouldn't. And if you've got a car that keeps breaking down, time after time, and it begins to become a headache, at which time you've spent more money on aspirin than the car's worth, you get rid of it, right? Well, I'm thinking that Baseball Pitchers should be purchased in much the same way a CAR is. Especially if that Pitcher is Eric Bedard of the Seattle Mariners. He's signed a one-year deal for 7.75 MILLION dollars. Plus, additional monetary incentives kick in once he pitches 150 innings. This is the same Eric Bedard who removed himself from games last year because he was TIRED, the same Eric Bedard who was on the Disabled List much of last year, and who basically had a lousy attitude all of last season, the season in which He Was All Set To Make A Difference, except that he didn't. He sat out most of the games last year. And the M's management is paying him $7.75 MILLION DOLLARS to at least do what he did last year, which was basically NOTHING. If he gets a blister, or maybe a sunburn, if he suffers 'dry-eye' on the mound, if a hangnail hampers his pitching, all he has to do is say "Coach, take me out; I can't go any longer". If he only does THAT, he'll make the better part of 8 Million Dollars. And you wonder why fans are growing more and more disillusioned with the Seattle Mariners. They won't break .500 again this year.

True, the M's need pitching; I've always said that. What they don't need is a bad pitcher with an attitude problem, such as is the case with Prima Donna Eric Bedard. And you wonder why the little baseball near my blog profile (down a little ways in the left margin) looks like a Mister Yuk Sticker with Stitches. Bah. I just don't see the M's assembling something looking like a winning season anytime soon. On the bright side, young pitching ace Felix Hernandez is also coming back, although ironically, he, the better pitcher, is making substantially less than Eric Bedard this season. The M's are also trying to turn Brandon Morrow, he of the flaming 100mph fastball, into a Starting Pitcher. In short, Morrow has to learn to throw more different kinds of pitches, develop the stamina needed to go 7-plus innings, and pace himself, for, unlike being a closing pitcher, a hotshot starting pitcher Cannot Throw Every Ball As Hard As He Can or he'll exhaust himself and throw out his elbow or shoulder (or both) seriously out of joint. So, the M's pitching staff is full of possibilities, but...the same could be said for this team at this point LAST year. Hmmm; if Brandon's shoulder goes out of joint, that'll match Eric's Nose...out-of-joint. Should be an interesting '09 season. So now, at least, you know why I haven't installed some Really Clever Baseball Picture into this post. The 'Frowning Baseball With Tongue Sticking Out' in the lower-left margin of this blogsite will, again, sum up The Seattle Mariners' Baseball Season. Harrumph...
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I almost freaked out: This week, I had five more teeth pulled, my gums stitched back up, and "doink!" an immediate temporary lower denture plate was popped in my mouth, and now I'm sitting here trying to get used to it, which is a tall order, 'cos I'm still not used to the Uppers I got LAST month. All that remains of my own teeth, two, will serve as fenceposts that my lower denture is fastened around. I told the dentist I almost freaked out at the prospect of getting my lower teeth pulled, to which he quipped, "Worry is the interest you pay on tomorrow's problems". That's all I need; a philisophical dentist when I'm looking for sympathy. Nope, none of that to be had. And it's the price I'm paying for not listening to my Mom when she told me to brush my teeth. It's my fault. I know that. The anticipation of it all was worse than the actual teeth-pulling; it was the realization that I would be losing all but Two of the Rest Of My Teeth, Forever. And with that, I've passed a stage of sorts...

I Am Now Officially Old. I'm now at the age where I can Flap My Gums. Guess I'd better put Poli-Grip on the ol' shopping list. But in the aftermath of it all, I'm glad to have it all done. Well, almost all. Those two remaining teeth need to be Crowned. Gold Crowns, maybe? With Gold Prices as high as they are, it's too bad I won't be able to pop my remaining teeth in and out of my mouth I could take 'em to the Pawn Shop for a loan whenever I need the money. And I bought Denture-Cleaning tablets for the first time. When you pop one into the Denture Water, it sort-of explodes, kinda like when someone feeds an Alka-Seltzer tablet to a seagull and the bird explodes mid-flight. "SQUAWK!" No, no, no, I'm not advocating violence towards animals. No creatures were harmed in the posting of this blog. Finally, before I to end this post 'cos if I keep going, things'll get any more ludicrous (if that's even possible), one more observation:
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For a moment there, I was wondering what each of the two subjects in this post have to do with each other. And, lo, yea, verily, I found they were cosmically conjoined thusly: Watching or Listening to the Seattle Mariners slog their way thru another losing season...is gonna be like PULLING TEETH...

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Go Get 'Em...Make Us Proud...
A New Presidential Administration...

The Inauguration of President Barack Obama was held today, and from what I saw, it, was A Large Event Indeed. And We Now Have A New Leader. And there is hope. Hope is a fragile thing, yet it is one of the human race's strongest instinctive attributes. The Hope that things will get better, whether in government, our own personal lives, or whatever else, keeps us going, gives us a reason to get up every day. Look, I don't expect miracles, not at all, from this New Administration. Our form of government is monolithic, and it takes ages to get things done. For instance, Hillary Clinton's Secretary of State has been held up by one, that's ONE member of Congress, and these things happen. Eventually, (or sooner) a decision will be made on THAT, and Things Shall Proceed.

You know, I don't see 'Black' when I watch President Obama (how strange it is to actually type 'President Obama'); I see a President who may just be capable of being a President for All of us, regardless of race. Maybe some good can come of this; maybe our country will get less ignorant and more tolerant. Certainly, no one can be forced to approve of another's race, orientation, belief system or cause, but we can certainly do a better job of Respecting Each Other, and I really do hope that happens in our country. So how about that...I'm at least faintly patriotic.

For the first time in my life, our nation has a President who's younger than I am. Now I feel Really Old. But I hope he does well. I hope the Presidency is treated with reverence and respect, not only by the public, but for the person who holds that office. All indications right now say that's possible. Of course, the post-Watergate media will be seizing and magnifying every little thing the best they can; in this age of 24-hour news, I wonder just how much of it I should take seriously. Most of all, I want President Obama (still feels weird to type that) to do well. I really do, especially after the last Eight Years...

So what if he doesn't succeed at everything he tries to do; isn't that what Life is All About? I'm all about seeing 'Effort', a 'Willingness' to Change An Approach when Said Approach isn't working. There's certainly a lot of fixin'-uppin' that needs to be done, already, and some of that's being done. The whole Gitmo thing's being re-analyzed, and a sort of 'Halt' has been applied to some things President Bush tried to do in a last-minute-before-leaving-office sort-of way. This should be a very interesting ride our country's going to be taking these next few years. As Tim Russert might've said, "Go Get 'Em...Make Us Proud". Mr. President, I wish you all the best. Just don't let Joe Biden speak out too often on anything; I kinda shudder whenever he opens his mouth (I think that could be called the 'Palin Effect'?).


Make Us Proud, Mr. President...

Look at the Prezzidential Countdown Clock off in the left margin of this blog; it was my idea to insert the words "Bush Term Ends", back about three years ago. I didn't know what would happen when it expired. Someone programmed-in the word, "YAAAY!" I was surprised to see that. I do wish Mr. Bush all the best in his retirement...but it was time for a change. It really was.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Lookin' For A Leader...
A New Administration, a new hope...

Words by Neil Young; a song from his 2006 album, "Living With War"...

Looking for a leader to bring our country home
Reunite the red, white and blue before it turns to stone
Lookin' for somebody young enough to take it on
Clean up the corruption and make the country strong

Walkin' among our people there's someone who's straight and strong
To lead us from desolation and a broken world gone wrong
Someone walks among us and I hope he hears the call
And maybe it's a woman or a black man after all



President Barack Obama takes over tomorrow, January 20th, 2009. You might notice that I'm actually using the correct spelling of "President" for a change. The best way I can explain that? It's a respect 'thing'. Obama will be Our President. George W. Bush was a 'Prezzident'.

At this writing, the question's being asked, "Does Obama's Presidency mean that Martin Luther King's dream Is Now Fulfilled?" Of course not. No, it isn't. But it's a step in the right direction. There's a lot of wrongs which need to be righted in this country. But for now, yes, there's hope.

Good Luck, Mr. President.

Friday, January 16, 2009

A Little Good News...
So good, it's almost unbelievable...

...but Believe It Indeed. A big plane goes down in the Hudson River after taking off from New York City's LaGuardia Airport; the Pilot touches down softly on the water's surface, and only one passenger was injured. Quite amazing. Barely a week into the New Year, we've already got a Highlight Item for "Best Stories of 2009". That happened the same day George W. Bush gave his farewell Prezzidential farewell speech, and he didn't mention the Airplane Incident at all. That resulted in MSNBC pundits accused him of living in a glass bubble, vacuum, birdhouse, or whatever. Although one of MSNBC's pundits was right-on when he said, "as much as American wants George W. Bush to get out of Washington, HE wants to get out sooner"...it's gotta be hard to be George W. Bush these days. I'll bet Texas never looked so good to him as it does right now.


I'm pretty sure this wasn't part of the flight plan...

Just now, on Keith Olbermann's program, footage was shown of Vice Prezzident Cheney almost falling asleep during Bush's Tuesday night farewell address. This was a 12-MINUTE address. Twelve minutes. Much shorter than, for example, your average Graduation Address. I should know; I've sat thru three of 'em. Bah. AND I DIDN'T FALL ASLEEP DURING ANY ONE OF THEM. C'mon, Mr. Vice Prezzident. Your pacemaker will still keep ticking for a while; this ain't the time to be asleep at the wheel! Actually, I saw the back of Cheney's head as he was sitting in the front row while Bush stammered and prodded his way through his semi-unintelligible remarks to the Nation. And I thot, perhaps, that Dick Cheney was holding Bush's CUE CARDS. ZZZZzzzzzzz...or...and this is scary...maybe Cheney Wrote Bush's Farewell Speech, so he already knew what was coming...either way, ZZZZZzzzzzz...

Anyhow, getting back to the Airbus Incident in the Hudson River, it was pure genius, how that Pilot took 'er down for a little bit of airliner jet-skiing. Quite marvelous, in fact. Allegedly, the mishap was caused by Canadian Geese who flew into two of the plane's engines. Them geese ain't small birds, either. Ka-CHUNK! BONK! Grind, grind, grind; you get the idea. I have an idea on how to prevent such things from happening in the future. The geese flew INTO the plane's engines, right? Well, maybe, if the plane had been made to look like a giant goose, then perhaps the geese would have flown AFTER the plane, thinking it was the Leader Of The Flock, or perhaps a prospective mate, or whatever. And then there'd have been no splashdown incident (unless all the geese following it tried to mate with it at once).

What sparked off this idea? Certainly nothing of my own creation...I Googled "goose plane", and here's what I found...the world's biggest decoy...



Honk!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

ONE WEEK INTO THE NEW YEAR...
...AND I'VE ALREADY FOUND STUFF TO GRIPE ABOUT...

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know it's improper to speak of Things Religious in such a blatant wrong-headed manner, but I can't help it...whenever I see those TV commercials for "Snuggies", a body-blanket-with-sleeves that's supposed to keep you warm during those long winter nights, or whenever I get an ad in my in-box with pictures of Actual People Wearing Snuggies, all of a sudden I hear Gregorian Chanting in the background...



Yeah, I know it's a practical idea, and those who wear these things probably do stay really, really warm. But I wouldn't be caught dead in one. I think they look really, really Creepy. A totally misguided Fashion Step Backwards. These things are Absolutely Hideous. In conclusion, if I wanted to look like a Monk, I'd join a monastery. You know, the place where Monks reside, who supply residents with Free "Snuggies".
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Oh, great. Now that I've focused my attention on these "Snuggie" Monk-like garments, all of a sudden I'm hearing that old chant from the original Wizard Of Oz movie..."oh-EE-oh, OH-oh", over and over and over. Talk about being infected by the wrong earworm!
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READER ADVISORY: THIS NEXT SECTION OF THE POST CONTAINS A WEE-SMALL BIT OF NON-THREATENING PROFANITY...YOU'VE BEEN WARNED...
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I'm just about ready to mutiny here; it's computer-related, and it's just happened to me for the three-millionth time. My computer got taken over again by Microsoft. Periodically (well, way more than Just Periodically) Microsoft wants me to download "important" updates. They always say I can keep working while the downloading is happening.
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Then, I'm forced to have my machine automatically re-started so the download can take effect, so what the heck's the use to "keep working" when Microsoft commandeers my computer so I can't work? And you know, these Microsoft-forced Computer Shutdowns Really Tick Me Off. I absolutely HATE being interrupted. Maybe they should revise their logo thusly:
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Oh, can't you tell this New Year is getting off to a Really Rosy Start?

The End Of An Error...
...and he's got about a week to go...
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Look at the little 'Bush Term Ends' countdown-clock in the left margin. When I placed it there, long about three years ago, it seemed like we'd never get to this point. And here we are. George W. Bush is doing 'exit-styled' press conferences and interviews, while Barack Obama has basically Been President since he returned from his Holiday vacation. That's right, Obama's basically Been President for almost Three Weeks before actually doing the Swearing-In thing. And before that, we were just mostly swearing. ***&(&%@!!!
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All of the retrospectives on the Bush Prezzidency (and there's been lots of 'em) seem to revolve around two major points: The Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina. It's been documented that lies, half-truths and no-truths were employed to get us into Iraq, and Katrina was a major disaster all its own that Mr. Bush has tried to rationalize over and over again. It turns out he was doing a photo-op in Sunny Arizona with Senator John McLame when Katrina was raging away in The Big Easy. It took a lot longer than it should've to get any kind of assistance to the greater majority of people in New Orleans. Bill Clinton, a master of the Philander, was, in comparison, at Every Major Weather Disaster in America almost before it happened, during his Prezzidency. And in comparison, Bush was...'nowhere'.
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Anyhow, those two things have pretty-much Defined The Bush Prezzidency. If not for those Two Things, Bush would have just had a 'fairly lame' Prezzidency, which would have been compared to, say, Millard Fillmore's or Zachary Taylor's. And now, with our economy approaching Great-Depression-Era levels, Bush is being compared unfavorably to Herbert Hoover, whom many blamed for all kinds of nasty economic things in the 1930's. Personally speaking, I can sum up in one word what I've felt during the Bush Administration: NOTHING. No inspiration, no idealism, no believability, no personality, no communication, just plain old nothing. And now the aforementioned retrospectives on TV are making it ever more clear how bad of a Prezzident he's been. I'm still not clear how he managed to get RE-elected. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on ALL OF US. Or at least those who voted to get him re-elected.
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"Who Am I, and What Am I Doing?"
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He's probably a decent enough guy to have as, say, a next door neighbor, perhaps, and maybe he's looking forward to being a Private Citizen. And it's gotta be hard to be George W. Bush these days. He's leaving with an astronomically bad approval rating, which means, basically, No One Likes Him Or Wants Him...heck, that's gotta be quite a burden for him to carry. So, he's off to Texas, probably the only place in the world that'll welcome him with open arms. Or at least, welcome him somewhat. Still, he runs all kinds of risks there...say, for instance, he takes a walk in downtown Dallas...he's bound to hear people snickering, "hey, there goes that Lame Guy who Used to be Prezzident, ha ha ha..."
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So what's he gonna do, beginning January 21st? It doesn't look like anyone will be seeking the advice of Dubya, The Former Prezzident, once Obama takes office. I'm not sure anyone's going to tap into Mr. Bush's vast wealth of Prezzidential experience anytime soon. I'm fairly sure he'll not be giving $1,000-a-plate dinner speeches before various political or charitable organizations, and it sure doesn't look like any post-Prezzidential influence he may have is gonna work for him in any tangible way. He'll be lonelier than the Wichita Lineman (remember that old Glen Campbell song?). He can, perhaps, be Chief Curator of his Prezzidential Museum, which will house the most complete collection of comic books ever assembled...(okay, granted, that's a low blow, but I'd say right now his options are fairly limited).
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What's there left for Mr. Bush to do? He once said that he really likes to clear weeds on his Texas ranch. I guess he'll have plenty of opportunity to do that soon. Of course, he'll be living with the Missus in the Bush's newly-purchased home in Dallas. I can imagine, after 8 years of her husband's Prezzidency, Laura Bush shook George by the collar and said, "I'm tired of this Prezzidential thing! I'm sick of Politics! I'm tired of being the quiet First Lady who always tried to make you look good! We're gonna live in Dallas, not on that stupid ranch, and that's THAT". "Yes, dear..." So, there he'll be...George W. Bush mounting the rider mower, going 'round in circles, cutting the grass at his suburban Dallas home...after which he'll take his spray bottle of Ortho-Kill, taking Great Personal Pride every time he zaps a Dandelion into oblivion.
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But before I end this post, come along with me as I explore the Political Parallel Universe, in which things could've turned out much worse during the Bush Prezzidency. Indulge me here, please...imagine, if you will, how things would've been with Dubya as Prezzident and Sarah Palin as VICE-Prezzident? Now, that would've been the Classic Disaster Ticket. Bush and Palin...a really tragicomical political sort-of "Ships In The Night" scenario. Thing is, that's such a bad idea, it almost makes sense. After all, if George Bush goes fishing in the Rio Grande, he'll be able to actually See Mexico From The Other Side...ack...
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I'm not a Grateful Dead-head, but here's where I have to agree with that the sentiment in one of that band's songs: "What a long strange trip it's been." Enjoy your Prezzidential Pension, Mr. Bush...

Saturday, January 10, 2009


The Old Man and the Sea...
I'm sure Hemingway didn't have me in mind, but still...

Another Day when the Sun Was Out presented itself, and since Nature wasn't gonna wait for me, This Old Man went out to capture some of it. It's always a holiday of sorts when the sun's out on the coast; the sun seems to amplify all of everything that's out there. Of course, some are more eager than others when it comes to Actually Embracing Mother Nature so early in the year...below, two young surfer dudes, attack the surf...remember, this isn't California, it's Oregon, and it's also January 10th....Brrrrr.....I think these guys have thicker skin than I do...



While at the beach, I took some more photos of things which I've taken before, time and time again, but still, within each, attempts were made to throw in some creativity in image depiction. In the photos below, the first one shows Mr. Seagull striking a pose with the Coast Guard Station in the background, and Coos Bay (the Bay, not the town) behind. The next one shows the waves moving bayward, with the north spit (a spit is a really narrow promontory) in the background, while the buoy tries its best not to get uprooted by the wave action...




...the left photo (just above) was taken from a spot where I like to sit on the jetty; you get an idea of how high and massive the jetty rocks are, and to its right is a view looking southward along the beach, taken from the same spot...it being a Sunny Saturday, looks like everyone was thinking like me...go to the beach! Now!

Below are some more photos taken from that same spot. I guess I'm a lazy photographer; "perch high and shoot in lots of directions" kinda describes my technique. I witnessed a Sea Battle of sorts, watching a fishing boat, loaded to the gills with its catch, trying to get from Ocean Turbulence to Calmer Bay Waters...




...almost makes ya get seasick just looking at these photos; a little old boat called "The Moss" is tossed around, undulating, rising & falling with each wave crest, and if that's not enough, it's also pitching right and left, and, ack ack ack aaaack. Reminds me of an amusement ride I went on once in which the passenger cars were spinning 'round and 'round on a track which also made said cars go up and down and up and down; 5 minutes of that and my complexion was green...why they call 'em 'amusement' rides, I'll never know...and the one time I went on a deep sea fishing charter, long ago, it was basically "heave-ho" all the way...
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Anyhow, all good things must come to an end, and so it was with this day...the sun was setting fast, and I was still half-a-mail away from the old jalopy, so reluctantly, I disembarked the jetty and began heading south, camera in hand...below, you can see the Cape Arago Lighthouse sitting on Chief Rock, and then, an attempt to depict a really gorgeous sunset...



...just above, a look back at where the waves crash, and I was able to nab one with the camera. Heading towards home, further up the road about four miles north, here's what the sunset looked like across the bay. 'Twas a nice day to be out; truly a day in which Mother Nature provides one with a natural buzz. Must be all that fresh air going to my brain...
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Soon, I'll be going up and down the South Coast, to find different things to take pictures of; Within 10 miles of where I live, I've taken almost every Coast picture that is possible to take. Still, they're views I never tire of. And hopefully these photos will tell all of you up in the Frozen North that indeed, There Will Be An End To Winter. Hang in there...

Thursday, January 08, 2009

CANCER CURES SMOKING...
...and if you're Patrick Swayze, you may find that out the hard way...

I was flipping around the TV channels last night, and accidentally stumbled upon Barbara Walters, that overpaid hussy, and she was in the process of interviewing actor Patrick Swayze, who's battling pancreatic cancer, the same ailment that killed Michael Landon. It's an especially tough form of cancer to deal with; difficult to diagnose, difficult to treat. During the interview, Swayze said that he was tackling the cancer head-on, aggressively fighting it, doing all he can to beat his cancer. He said that he doesn't want to consume 'too many' nutritious cancer-fighting nutrient-type things, because, the more you feed your body, the more you feed your cancer...I hadn't ever heard that twisted logic before, but it makes sense, if just barely...


Patwick Swayze, actor, and Baba Wawa, intwaviewer...
Then, the interview went in a different (diffwa-went?) direction...Babs began talking to Swayze about his smoking habit. That's right. His Smoking Habit. He Is Still Smoking. He Is Still Smoking While Battling Aggressive Pancreatic Cancer. What Is Wrong With This Picture? PATRICK, QUIT SMOKING! NOW!!! He has smoked tons of cigarettes for years and Years, and he admitted that. While I admire his candor, I was feeling really bad for him until that point. After all, A Typical Plan To Fight Cancer Doesn't Include Smoking. He would've sounded better if he'd LIED to Babs..."yes, Barbara, I am totally smoke-free". Then, he would have seemed at least credible in his battle against cancer. HOW CAN YOU FIGHT CANCER AND STILL SMOKE CIGARETTES? ANSWER: YOU CAN'T. And after I listened to Swayze say he's not ready to quit just yet, (in spite of the fact that Smoking causes an increased susceptability to Cancers Of All Kinds) (including his cancer), well, that's when I changed the channel. Bah. Good Luck, Pat, and I really mean that. But..QUIT SMOKING...NOW!!!

I remember back when I used to drive a Taxi, occasionally taking people to and from the Cancer Center at the local hospital. Invariably, I would see people with walkers or seated in wheelchairs, outside the Cancer Center, wheezing, hacking and coughing as they were SMOKING. Right outside the Cancer Center. Tobacco Companies of the U.S.A., I hope you're proud of yourselves. You've ingrained the American Smoking Public with a nasty and DEADLY habit that KILLS people. Sadly, it takes the Death of Someone Famous to focus attention--for a while--on the cigarette industry. The big "C" is out there trying to get All Of Us. So why tempt fate by smoking? My Mom died of esophageal cancer inn 2001. She had lung cancer surgery in 1989. Her surgery scar began at the right shoulder, diagonally down her back to her left side near the waist. The Surgeon went in from the back to remove Half of one of her Lungs. She and my Dad had tried to quit for Years. After The Surgery, Mom finally did. Dad couldn't shake the smoking habit completely. It's a powerful addiction. No Good Whatsoever Can Come From Cigarettes. Never Ever.
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Remember the old Saturday Night Live Newscasts, where Chevy Chase would announce every single week that France's President, Charles DeGaulle "Is Still Dead"? The same could be said for Elvis Presley, who was born 74 years ago today, if my math is right (which it seldom is). My two favorite "Elvis Eras" are, the '50s to the early '60s, and from the late '60s to the early '70s. He recorded an album "Elvis Country' in the early '70s which is an almost perfect co-mingling of rock and country-rock; Elvis' impulsiveness in the studio worked to a fantastic degree on that album. He also recorded great versions of "Big Boss Man", "Hi-Heel Sneakers", and Chuck Berry's "Promised Land". He had some really great musical moments. In my collection is a Jimi Hendrix album, "Loose Ends", which was never released in the USA. It features some great jams and rehearsal moments in the studio...and before launching into "Blue Suede Shoes", Jimi ad-libs the words to "Hound Dog" and "Trouble". "You lookin' for trouble? You Came To The Right Place..." Elvis inspired a whole lotta music people. He should be acknowledged for that.


He's still dead, yes, but when he was good, he was really great...
I don't go around admitting this to everyone I meet, so keep it under your hat: One of my favorite Elvis songs is "Do The Clam" from the movie, 'Girls Girls Girls.' And, yes, I know I should have my head examined.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Randomly Random Observations...
...stuff that I've always kinda wondered about...

The Internet: I've long wondered Where the Internet Actually Is. Does it have a physical Place you can go to? When you buy an address online, who gets the money? I sometimes see a page that reads "this domain for sale" when an old link doesn't work. Does someone own the internet? Can you drive or fly somewhere and actually go to the Headquarters of the Internet? And if Al Gore invented the internet, does he get royalties? I've always wondered about this. Whose web is it? And if someone pays space rent on the internet, who's the landlord? It's not Bill Gates' Web, although he'd like to think he owns it. Whether on an I-Mac or a P-C, you're still going to the same Internet. I think so, anyway...and we all know Bill Gates doesn't own Apple Computers. Yet...

Since when did a burger become a Sandwich?: It still sounds weird to me. Whenever I see a Burger King Commercial, they're always calling it a Sandwich. Is a "Whopper" a Sandwich? Maybe, technically...but Burgers are round, while Sandwiches are, well, shaped like a slice of bread; round at the top, with right-angled corners at the bottom. If you go to the store to buy outer coverings for your rounded meat patties, they're not labeled "Round Sandwich Bread"; they're called "Hamburger Buns", f'cryin' out loud. To me, a Burger is a Burger, not a Sandwich. And a hot dog isn't a "tubular sandwich", it's a hot dog! End of story. Although, maybe the descriptive term, 'burger', has more to do with what's in it. If you run out of Sandwich Bread, and spread Peanut Butter and Jelly on a hamburger bun, it's a sandwich, right? A round sandwich. Hmmm...I can tell I've gotta think about this some more...

So what the heck's going on with Gasoline?: A while back, I paid $1.59 a gallon. Then I paid $1.77 a couple weeks later. The next time, I paid $1.63 a gallon, and today I drove past, and gas today was $1.95! (all price quotes were on the readerboard at my favorite fill-em-up-fast Gasoline Station...) I 'spose I shouldn't complain, though; after all, it's not close to $5.00 a gallon like it was quite a while ago. And now the economy's so shaky that no one knows what to do. Gas is back down to the point where it's semi-affordable, and still, the automakers can't seem to get rid of their big vehicles...such as the Dodge RAM humonguous and highly arrogant-looking oversized tyrannosaurus of a truck. Maybe the economy will get so bad that the oil companies will pay US to put their gas in our tanks. SLAP!!! WHACK!!! OOF!!! I can't believe I actually typed that...I must be nuts. Quick...put a muzzle on me...

Is there someone lonelier than the Maytag Repairman?: Maybe soon. Most Ex-Prezzidents are admired after they leave office. To that you say, "Nixon". Well, okay, good point. But to bolster my argument, how about Bill Clinton? Even though, anymore, he's a joke, he gets paid thousands upon thousands of dollars giving speeches to various political sewing circles. Jimmy Carter has done more good since leaving the Prezzidency; he's something of a statesman, and look what he's done with the whole Habitat for Humanity thing. And, Reagan...he may have done some things wrong, yeah, but The Man absolutely Commanded Respect, and he'll always have mine. And then there's George W. Bush. Who's gonna even wanna be SEEN with him? Some newsreel footage I saw a while back was taken at some summit-meeting somewhere, with a bunch of dignitaries shaking hands with other dignitaries. And no one made a move to shake George W. Bush's hand. And, I actually felt kinda bad for him. I said, 'kinda'.

Why is no credit bad credit? Actually, this topic's been sitting on my back burner for quite a while. Last year, when I took my bird to the vet clinic, they either wanted cash up front, or they wanted to establish I had good credit. So they dialed up their bureau of administrative amalgamated conglomerate group of credit bureaus, which is hooked up to all kinds of nationwide credit union info databases, and, no, it turned out I didn't have good enough credit. I got a letter about a month afterwards, explaining that decision. The Credit People said that because I had NO credit transactions on my record, I Was Undependable. Huh? What? I didn't owe anybody anything at that point, and my credit is bad because of that? I pay my bills. But, in America, you have to take credit risks in order to have good credit. If you pay for everything with cold hard cash, on time, well, something major's just gotta be wrong with you. Okay, whatever...

What was the first-ever 45rpm record? Aha, finally, a question that I can Actually Answer. Way back when, Columbia records invented the 33 1/3 long-playing album. And, RCA Victor came up with a development of its own; namely, the 45rpm record. It was pressed on a really weird-looking shade of ocean-mist-green, and the label was printed with gold type that actually wore off the label after a few plays. (I've actually owned some Really Early RCA discs, but not the one I'm referring to here.) The catalog number of the record below is 47-0001 (no, I don't know what the '47 actually stands for; my guess is that it stands for '1947', perhaps, which might be the year 45rpm technology was invented?), and it's by The Tennessee Plowboy Himself, Mr. Eddy Arnold...a toe-tappin' song called "Texarkana Baby".



The Catalog Number is on the left of the label. So why is the plastic green, you ask? I can answer that one, too. RCA probably envisioned their profits going thru the roof; after all, 45's were tiny, less expensive to produce, more durable than old shellac 78's, and they were easy to handle. The Green Obviously Represents All The Money ($$$$) RCA knew it would make from 45rpm records. Follow the money!
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So what is the point of this post? It's designed to take up space and fulfill some sort-of quota I've imposed upon myself, that of blogging At Least Twice Weekly. Am I having a Happy New Year Yet?

Monday, January 05, 2009

I've Been To The Edge and Back...
...and I'm thankful for guardrails and digital cameras...

All right, all right, I know I sound like a stark-raving madman here, but I have a good explanation for all of this mayhem I've caused so far...for who-knows-how-long here on the Oregon Coast, it had been gray and rainy. And then, rainy and gray. 100% Precipitation a lot of the time. So, last Saturday, when the Sun came out, I dropped everything, taking the Digital Camera out for a stroll.

Back a couple of weeks ago, I went to Shore Acres State Park, and took a few rainy day pictures, and when I left, me, the photo-terminator vowed, "I'LL BE BACK...", and that's exactly where I returned 'cos there were some sections of the coast around here I've still not seen...and, yea, verily, I have Lived To Tell The Tale. I've been to the Mountaintop...well, clifftop...and have seen Into The Great Beyond.

Many trails criss-cross this part of the coastline, and some of the trails are even PAVED, which provides really great traction, because after all, a lot of rain falls down here. I went for a walk, heading south from Shore Acres, along a trail which led me to this viewpoint...



See the guardrail in the above photo? Well, that really came in handy. First, I determined that it was indeed mounted into the ground solidly, and then I leaned over as far as possile, extending my arms, camera in hand, and pointed it straight down...folks, here's what a sixty-foot dropoff to the ocean looks like...yeeks...I have a fear of heights, you know...ack ack aaaaack...



It's one of those moments of serendipity, where something Really, Really Works Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. I knew I was close to the edge, but I didn't know I was THAT CLOSE! And although the camera 'display' showed me what I'd just shot, I had no idea this picture was so drastic 'till I saw a bigger version of it. Egad; all I can say is, Thank God For Guardrails...
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The next photo shows Simpson Beach, and displays more accurately how high up I was when I took the previous photo. Simpson Beach is in a cove, and is quite placid most of the time, but a few weeks ago, two people were swept out to sea by a 'sneaker' wave from this beach; no wonder anyone going to an ocean beach is advised to "Never Turn Your Back On The Ocean"...
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This is probably as close to being a "thrillseeker" as I Will Ever Get. Some people walk on bi-plane wings; others hurl themselves in a barrel over Niagara Falls; me, well, this is as daring as I get. Still, taking photos has somehow become a really satisfying activity; it's as if I can actually Take some nature home with me. And it gets me out into the fresh, open, very clean Ocean Air. Ahhhhh....
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"So, if you went to the ocean", you ask, "where is the ocean?" Okay, okaaay, here ya go...I took one last photo from this place before heading northward to explore more of Shore Acres. And, here 'tis...
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Notice that leaning tree near the center of the photo; it's hanging on for dear life, doing all it can not to end up crashing on the rocks below. From up here, where I took the photo, the horizon is approximately 25 miles away. And, the water is Cold. Brrr.
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If you'd like to see more of the photos I took on January 3rd (I still find it fairly amazing to be Actually Relatively Warm when outside this time of year), all you gotta do is click on the little thing below and you'll be instantly teleported to a slideshow of sorts...title of the slideshow: "January At Shore Acres"...



...and today, Sunday, it was back to winds and rain, but every once in a while, I'm rewarded for my patience whenever a day like Saturday rolls around...

Thursday, January 01, 2009

My First Posting of 2009...
...and already I feel like I'm an insensitive jerk...

I must admit that I experienced shock and awe as I was watching Dick Clark's "Rockin' New Years' Eve" telecast last night. I tuned in to ABC because I'd heard that Clark, who suffered a debilitating stroke a couple years back, is on the road to recovery, and maybe he is, but from this vantage point, it sure looks like he's got a long way to go. I can't help but think that ABC will, when Clark dies, continue to prop up his corpse in front of the camera with some radio-controlled device installed inside his jaw so he can continue to move his mouth while some offscreen modular voice synthesizer feeds us all that clear-as-a-bell Clark voice that we've come to know over the years.

That would be an improvement, actually, for when I saw Dick Clark on TV last night, I was literally aghast...the man can barely talk. He can barely move his right arm. His speech comes out in a low gravelly monotone, as if he has absolutely no control over his vocal cords. I don't mean to sound harsh and judgmental here, and I want him to recover and emerge stronger than ever, but I'm sorry, Dick Clark, physically, right now, is not fit to be on TV. It's almost as if he'd been picked up from the hospital, stuffed into a suit, and propped up behind the camera, and I think it's kinda cruel. Honestly, I wouldn't WANT anyone to see me if I was as disabled as Dick Clark Still Obviously IS. What advantage does ABC gain in continuing to roll out the shell of what was once Dick Clark? How does this make ABC look any better? Answer: It DOESN'T!

Dick Clark is an icon. I have the highest respect for him. Obviously, his brain is working like it always has; he was as spontaneous last night as any Stroke Victim who hasn't come back all the way yet has a possibility of being. But I was shocked, really shocked when I saw him last night. Does Dick Clark really WANT to be in front of the cameras in his condition? Is ABC-TV going after ratings here? ("Tune In and watch as Dick Clark Tries To Say Things On Our Network!") It's been, what, a couple of years since his stroke? Looks like his road to recovery is gonna be a long one. I hope you recover, Mr. Clark, I really do. 'Till then...do you really need to be on TV? Perhaps ABC continues to roll him out in an effort to keep their baby-boomer viewers? There's gotta be some kind of angle here...

One more beef about last night's ABC "Rockin' Eve" broadcast: As a part of the inane New Years' Eve programming, ABC featured a performance by The Jonas Brothers, the worst excuse for a musical act that I've EVER seen. The Jonas Brothers are the epitome of that musical phenomenon known as Manufactured Teel Idols. (Teen 'idles', maybe?) What's wrong with the Jonas Brothers? Simple. None of them can SING! They barely have a sense of rhythm, and the songs they do are awful. I listened hard, very very hard to what they were singing last night, and the performance sounded like no one could find the backbeat...or the melody...if indeed the song they were singing had a melody...which asks me to question whether or not they actually performed a "Song", since "Song" implies a melody is in there somewhere...



Now, you might think I'm a musical snob, but that's not so, not at All. I liked the Partridge Family, the Monkees, heck, I even liked the Archies; why? Because the people who made the music could Carry A Tune. Next to the Jonas Brothers, the Backstreet Boys sound like The BEATLES. I actually like the Backstreet Boys' music. The Jonas Brothers? In their case, where the HELL is their music? They are Awful. At least manufactured teen idols way back when had somewhat passable vocal chops. I wonder how much The Jonas Brothers' manager pays teenage girls to scream while the group tries to croak out another song. Simon Cowhead of "American Idol" would give 'em three thumbs down, if he had that many thumbs. (Maybe he does...) And if The Jonas Brothers had performed during the old "Gong Show", host Chuck Barris would've struck the Gong for half-an-hour straight afterwards! GONG! GONG! GONG!!!!!!! "GET OFFA MY STAGE!" GONG!!! GONG!!!!! GONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Okaay...here it is! And we're on top of it! Stay RIGHT THERE as Dick Clark counts down the new year!!! "T-t-ten...N-n-nnnine...E-e-e-ight..." Eureka! That's IT!!! Let's have the New Years' Big Metal Ball drop down on an oversized Giant Gong in honor of the Jonas Brothers...


HAPPY NEW YEAR...AULD LANG SYNE and all that jazz...
...Let me be one of the first people in my time zone to wish you a great 2010...
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I don't know what kind of a year its gonna be. Each year when I get a new calendar, I 'scroll'
through the months wondering what they'll bring. And ya never know, do ya? "Ridin' High in April, Shot Down in May", ol' Blue Eyes once sang. So, I'll convey this wish: If you do get shot down, I hope ya don't have to fall very far. I can hear the winds a-blowin' off the ocean out there. It would be a great time to fly a kite, but the sun won't be out for 7 or 8 more hours yet, and besides the wind is blowing so hard, you'd probably need a 100-lb. test kite string. Hard to find those on New Years' Day, when everyone...well, except for Wal=Mart, that is...is closed.
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Get used to writing 2010 on all yer checks, although if you're one of those who uses 'plastic', like me, I guess ya don't have to worry about that either. I'm on the 'debit' side of the plastic. No way will I ever get a credit card. I feel uncomfortable spending money I don't have. Gosh, I'm gonna be 56 this year. I'm getting so old and decrepid, and it's true...the face in the mirror looks stranger and stranger to me. Am I growing old gracefully? Well, I'm not very graceful, but I am growing old. I remember back to the days when I played drums on New Years' Eve, and I lead quite a few "countdowns" to Exactly Midnight, although I'm not sure my watch was ever that accurate. But I'd yell out over the mike, "Ten...Nine...Eight...".
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Hey, at least I'm in better shape than Dick Clark, who gets propped up every New Years' on network TV to try and say "Happy New Year" with even one-tenth the gusto he used to say it with in his pre-stroke days. But ya know, I'm not looking at this whole thing as "one more year"; it's just "one more day", followed by--hopefully--a lot of "one more days". I did play guitar with some people at a coffee-house New Years' Eve Afternoon. Does that count as a New Years' Eve gig? Probably not, since I did it for free. One time, long long ago, I played drums in a country band and made a hundred-and-fifty dollars for four hours' work...four hours, that is, unless you factor in the time it took to drive there, plus setting up and tearing down my drums. Maybe that wasn't such a good deal after all. But I'll always remember getting that sum for a New Years' Eve gig. It was back in 1985. I still have the tapes from that night. Talk about nostalgia...
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Well, I can see I've already broken one of my Resolutions, the one about "not being on computer so much"...well, that went down the tubes as I was online the the first SECOND of the New Year. Oh well...So anyway, just in case the blogging lines are filled up to the max, and someone else is waiting for me to end things here, I'll boogie-on-outta-here and wish y'all a Happy New Year...later, gators...