McCain Snubs Letterman... Then Shows up on CBS News
Last night, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain canceled a planned interview with talk show host David Letterman... telling him in a phone call he was "suspending his Presidential campaign" in order to rush back to Washington to help save the U.S. from economic disaster...
I thought, "Hey, maybe McCain is finally starting to figure out something he needed to figure out a long time ago... that he needs to stop opening his mouth... just stop talking."
Then in the middle of the show, with guest Keith Olberman, he was informed that McCain had not, in fact, rushed back to Washington, but just headed down the street to the CBS News studio to be on the news with Katie Couric, instead... They even cut to him, live in the studio getting his makeup done just prior to his appearance with Couric.
It's probably okay to snub Letterman in a time of true economic crisis... but I don't think it's necessary to lie to him and say you are "rushing back" to Washington when you don't really have the intention of doing so (I'm sure he knew he was doing the news interview)...
Just goes to kind of reinforce my "McCain's boat has sprung a pretty big leak (besides Sarah Palin)" theory...
Sunday, September 14, 2008
So, we've been getting some flow from Hurricane Ike here, today... Apparently, some pretty powerful wind... I wouldn't know, I was sleeping. I've always had the knack to sleep through the most violent of storms and such... Maybe that's why I love them, so much... Anyhow, no rain or anything yet, but a big ol' bunch of wind... note:
Yeah... that's a swing set (and not some cheapo one, either... we're talking municipal mega-pipe one)... and that's a GIANT tree limb on top of it... At first, I was just checking for little kid feet and stuff... after I figured out it was all safe... it was kind of humorous... in its awe.
Yeah... that's a swing set (and not some cheapo one, either... we're talking municipal mega-pipe one)... and that's a GIANT tree limb on top of it... At first, I was just checking for little kid feet and stuff... after I figured out it was all safe... it was kind of humorous... in its awe.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
I was sitting in a local family-owned pharmacy Tuesday with my friend Mike, waiting for a prescription... In front of us were a few spinning book racks with all the latest self-help and diet craze books... such as the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet book, herbal birth control and all that good stuff... and of course, the ever-present Merck Manual and "The Pill Book" (those of you from my neck of the woods will find that a bit amusing, I'm sure). I spin one of the rack-thingies and before my eyes comes a book... "What Would Jesus Eat?" I stood there for a second in wonder, unable to figure out if it was maybe a George Carlin book or something legitimately serious. I sat back down and considered it for a moment... What would Jesus eat? Unlike the book, that suggests that he was a vegeterian and all that, I figured if Jesus was around today, he'd probably eat a lot of fast food... I mean c'mon... he's Jesus. He's a busy man. He doesn't have much time to sit around and prepare super-healthy/holy meals... Filet o' Fish on Fridays at McDonalds and stuff, y'know? He's got a lot of people to see. I mean, there's a whole lot more people now than there was a couple thousand years ago... which means a lot more sinners to save and miracles to perform...
This also begged the questions of follow-up books/pamphlets/essays in the series...
"What Would Jesus Wear?" (a hoodie and Berkenstocks? Or a bomber jacket and Way-Farers?)
"What Would Jesus Drive?"
"What Music Would Jesus Listen To?"
and "Would Jesus Tell Al Gore to Shut Up, Already?"
This also begged the questions of follow-up books/pamphlets/essays in the series...
"What Would Jesus Wear?" (a hoodie and Berkenstocks? Or a bomber jacket and Way-Farers?)
"What Would Jesus Drive?"
"What Music Would Jesus Listen To?"
and "Would Jesus Tell Al Gore to Shut Up, Already?"
Monday, August 25, 2008
LOL
Well, sending email from my phone to here worked and all... but in the end, I didn't care... I was on "vacation..." and I didn't feel like talking about it while it was happening... and now that it's over, I still don't really feel like talking about it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good vacation... it was frickin' awesome... but there is so much to talk about, it would take forever. So... maybe in a few, I'll start breaking it down and talking about it, little by little, piece by piece, picture by picture and all that... but for now, I'm still taking it all in...
Well, sending email from my phone to here worked and all... but in the end, I didn't care... I was on "vacation..." and I didn't feel like talking about it while it was happening... and now that it's over, I still don't really feel like talking about it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good vacation... it was frickin' awesome... but there is so much to talk about, it would take forever. So... maybe in a few, I'll start breaking it down and talking about it, little by little, piece by piece, picture by picture and all that... but for now, I'm still taking it all in...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Teacher Sex Scandals
I was just watching CNN and they were talking about teacher sex scandals... The piece involved three teachers arrested in the past few days for having sex with students... you can see it here (I don't know how long they archive video on CNN, so if it disappears, I'm sorry). So, this story brings me to a problem I've had for a few years regarding these types of incidents. Actually, I have a few problems with it all, but I'll get there, eventually... probably.
All I ever see on the news anymore when it comes to "teacher sex scandals" is stories about female teachers having sex with male students. While you certainly can find stories of male teachers getting in trouble for having sex with female students if you do a search (like this one), the vast majority of stories you're going to come across involve female teachers and male students (including a majority of the stories in the aforementioned search)... Is this part of a "disturbing new trend" (as Dr. Phil put it in a recent show), or is it something that's been going on all along and is just now coming to light because people are looking for the "next big thing?" What I mean is that teachers, both male and female, have been acting inappropriately with their students probably since the inception of schools... and when I was a kid, times were different in respect to the perceptions of men and women... at least I honestly think that. Women were perceived as wholesome and men were perceived as, well, not. When you heard about a "teacher sex scandal" when I was younger, it was always about a male teacher... but were there improprieties happening between female teachers and their students? Absolutely.
The CNN piece, at one point, mentions a "double standard" regarding the issue, saying something to the point of, "If this had been a male teacher, he would have been buried under the jail." I found that rather amusing. No, I actually found that to be hilarious... When I was in high school, I can think of at least four different male teachers that had inappropriate relationships with students. Were any of them arrested? Nope. Were any of them fired? Nope. All that happened was one "retired" and the other three were simply shipped out to other school districts (one of which got two girls at my school pregnant before he "disappeared")... where two of them got in trouble for having inappropriate relationships with students... again.
There were also at least three female teachers that I know of that had relationships with male students. One was fired, flat out, and the other two "got away with it" and continued to teach at the school for many more years.
...and these were just the ones that everyone knew about... who knows what else was going on that we didn't hear about through the wonderful social network that is high school (I mean, c'mon... if a girl farted in the basement, three minutes later everyone knew about it in the third floor study hall).
I had an ex that had sex with a teacher... All that came out of it was her getting an STD and him getting off (pardon the pun) clean, despite everyone and their mothers knowing about it.
Now, I will say this... Most of my female teachers growing up were, how you say, old... but there were a few teachers that popped around through my high school years that I would have gladly had inappropriate relationships with... and while I would have known it was wrong, I would have enjoyed the hell out of it.
Yes, male teachers do get arrested today for improprieties with students... you may have to dig quite a bit deeper to find the stories about them, but they're there... but if a female teacher gets busted for it, it's freakin' national news from the start... I can't remember the last time Nancy Grace devoted a show to a male teacher getting caught with one of his students... has she ever?
I guess my point is this... no matter how you slice it, male teacher or female teacher, it's wrong... so how about equal time on the news for the male teachers that get caught? Or at least stop being so uber-dramatic when a female teacher gets caught and making it a national news story, anyway. It's been going on forever, for cryin' out loud. If you think this is some "new trend," you're totally fooling yourself.
I was just watching CNN and they were talking about teacher sex scandals... The piece involved three teachers arrested in the past few days for having sex with students... you can see it here (I don't know how long they archive video on CNN, so if it disappears, I'm sorry). So, this story brings me to a problem I've had for a few years regarding these types of incidents. Actually, I have a few problems with it all, but I'll get there, eventually... probably.
All I ever see on the news anymore when it comes to "teacher sex scandals" is stories about female teachers having sex with male students. While you certainly can find stories of male teachers getting in trouble for having sex with female students if you do a search (like this one), the vast majority of stories you're going to come across involve female teachers and male students (including a majority of the stories in the aforementioned search)... Is this part of a "disturbing new trend" (as Dr. Phil put it in a recent show), or is it something that's been going on all along and is just now coming to light because people are looking for the "next big thing?" What I mean is that teachers, both male and female, have been acting inappropriately with their students probably since the inception of schools... and when I was a kid, times were different in respect to the perceptions of men and women... at least I honestly think that. Women were perceived as wholesome and men were perceived as, well, not. When you heard about a "teacher sex scandal" when I was younger, it was always about a male teacher... but were there improprieties happening between female teachers and their students? Absolutely.
The CNN piece, at one point, mentions a "double standard" regarding the issue, saying something to the point of, "If this had been a male teacher, he would have been buried under the jail." I found that rather amusing. No, I actually found that to be hilarious... When I was in high school, I can think of at least four different male teachers that had inappropriate relationships with students. Were any of them arrested? Nope. Were any of them fired? Nope. All that happened was one "retired" and the other three were simply shipped out to other school districts (one of which got two girls at my school pregnant before he "disappeared")... where two of them got in trouble for having inappropriate relationships with students... again.
There were also at least three female teachers that I know of that had relationships with male students. One was fired, flat out, and the other two "got away with it" and continued to teach at the school for many more years.
...and these were just the ones that everyone knew about... who knows what else was going on that we didn't hear about through the wonderful social network that is high school (I mean, c'mon... if a girl farted in the basement, three minutes later everyone knew about it in the third floor study hall).
I had an ex that had sex with a teacher... All that came out of it was her getting an STD and him getting off (pardon the pun) clean, despite everyone and their mothers knowing about it.
Now, I will say this... Most of my female teachers growing up were, how you say, old... but there were a few teachers that popped around through my high school years that I would have gladly had inappropriate relationships with... and while I would have known it was wrong, I would have enjoyed the hell out of it.
Yes, male teachers do get arrested today for improprieties with students... you may have to dig quite a bit deeper to find the stories about them, but they're there... but if a female teacher gets busted for it, it's freakin' national news from the start... I can't remember the last time Nancy Grace devoted a show to a male teacher getting caught with one of his students... has she ever?
I guess my point is this... no matter how you slice it, male teacher or female teacher, it's wrong... so how about equal time on the news for the male teachers that get caught? Or at least stop being so uber-dramatic when a female teacher gets caught and making it a national news story, anyway. It's been going on forever, for cryin' out loud. If you think this is some "new trend," you're totally fooling yourself.
Monday, June 23, 2008
George Carlin (1937 - 2008)
I used to love George Carlin when I was younger... I hadn't really gotten into what he had been doing recently, though... It seemed like he went from really funny and insightful to boring and bitter... I dunno, maybe it was just me, but his last few HBO comedy specials just didn't make me laugh hardly at all... which is sad because, as I stated, I really used to love him. I was probably six or seven when I heard a routine about "Fuckin' Jim's Cookies!" I always thought that was the funniest thing on the planet... yes, I know, six or seven year-olds probably shouldn't hear that kind of language, but my parents knew it wasn't going to warp me (too much)... and, of course, my mother still refers to me as, "my son, who cusses like a trucker," whenever she introduces me to someone...
Carlin was also the guy that probably first said something that I get constantly obsessed with... "Where's the blue food?" Yeah, since he said that, some wisenheimer thought blue raspberry would be a good idea... whatever... it's phony blue... they needed something blue and poor raspberries became the sacrifice.
Regardless of how I feel about his later humor (which honestly, I really don't feel much of anything), his humor was amazing... it took a very brave guy to do what he did and say what he said... and it's very sad to see such a legend leave...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Monday, July 16, 2007
So, yeah... I believe I've ranted about this before but I feel the need to rant again after five girls were killed in an accident that may have involved the driver sending text messages while driving. I thoroughly hate the idea of people talking on cell phones while driving. I'm a little less pissy when they are using a hands free device, but honestly, it still pisses me off because a distracted driver is a distracted driver... I guess it really started to get to me after living in Colorado. It seemed like every other driver had a phone stuck to their ear while cruising down the road. I'm not trying to sound sexist, or anything, but much more than not, it was a young female. Granted, I lived a block away from a big college campus, but that doesn't excuse the practice. I guess sometimes it isn't the most practical thing to pull over and make or receive a phone call, but you can still let the person know that you're driving and that you'll call them back when it's a little more practical (and much safer) to do so... or you can just not answer the phone until you're able to, safely. I mean, there's a reason for voicemail, y'know?
Now, whether the girl that was driving the car in the recent accident in New York was actually the one sending the text messages (that was sent roughly 40 seconds before the first 911 call was received about the accident) or not, no one will ever know that. While driving and talking on a phone is pretty attention consuming, one can only imagine how much attention has to be diverted in order to send a text message while driving... Text messaging is another one of those things that is just kind of baffling to me in the first place... If you're going to engage in a game of "text message tag" with someone, why not just call them, instead? The text messaging aspect of the accident in New York is only one of a number of things that bothered me with the situation (driver on probationary license, speeding, etc.), but if it was her that was sending the texts and that's what caused her to lose track of where she was on the road, causing the resulting accident, that's just ridiculous... and idiotic... There, I said it.
I firmly believe (and probably stand to be in a minority) that there should be laws against driving and talking/texting on a phone in every state of the Union.
Now, whether the girl that was driving the car in the recent accident in New York was actually the one sending the text messages (that was sent roughly 40 seconds before the first 911 call was received about the accident) or not, no one will ever know that. While driving and talking on a phone is pretty attention consuming, one can only imagine how much attention has to be diverted in order to send a text message while driving... Text messaging is another one of those things that is just kind of baffling to me in the first place... If you're going to engage in a game of "text message tag" with someone, why not just call them, instead? The text messaging aspect of the accident in New York is only one of a number of things that bothered me with the situation (driver on probationary license, speeding, etc.), but if it was her that was sending the texts and that's what caused her to lose track of where she was on the road, causing the resulting accident, that's just ridiculous... and idiotic... There, I said it.
I firmly believe (and probably stand to be in a minority) that there should be laws against driving and talking/texting on a phone in every state of the Union.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Move Over, Britney...
So, Mike and I were heading to meet some friends to go to the TooL concert. We got to a stoplight near downtown... I look to my right, and BLAM! I saw this... I had a chance to get a pretty good look at the situation and noted these things:
1.) ~3 year old in the backseat... no car seat... no seatbelt (this was easily gathered from the fact that the kid was flopping around all over the place, at one point standing up in the seat).
2.) incredibly small baby... in mother's lap (held with left hand)... while she is driving...
3.) You cannot see it from this picture, but she is also, with her right hand, talking on a cell phone...
So... how in the world is she possibly driving the car with a baby in one hand and a cell phone to her ear with the other?
I pointed this out to Mike... and proceeded to grab my phone and snap this pic. I was pretty pissed. I got to talking about it and wanted to see if I could grab a shot of her license plate, because I was seriously considering calling Children's Services on the bitch... but by the time it struck me, she was too far back. It still totally enraged me.
So, Mike and I were heading to meet some friends to go to the TooL concert. We got to a stoplight near downtown... I look to my right, and BLAM! I saw this... I had a chance to get a pretty good look at the situation and noted these things:
1.) ~3 year old in the backseat... no car seat... no seatbelt (this was easily gathered from the fact that the kid was flopping around all over the place, at one point standing up in the seat).
2.) incredibly small baby... in mother's lap (held with left hand)... while she is driving...
3.) You cannot see it from this picture, but she is also, with her right hand, talking on a cell phone...
So... how in the world is she possibly driving the car with a baby in one hand and a cell phone to her ear with the other?
I pointed this out to Mike... and proceeded to grab my phone and snap this pic. I was pretty pissed. I got to talking about it and wanted to see if I could grab a shot of her license plate, because I was seriously considering calling Children's Services on the bitch... but by the time it struck me, she was too far back. It still totally enraged me.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
So... I didn't get a cake on my birthday, this year... in fact, I don't get cake on my birthday pretty much any year, anymore... because that's just how it goes when you get old, or something. People don't think you want cake. Eleven days after my birthday, the aforementioned Goddess Gina plops this in my hands as I'm leaving work... Devil's Food, with (new) Chocolate Fudge Funfetti icing... Apparently, I had mentioned something about not getting cake, anymore, and she took it upon herself to see that I had one this year, even if it was a little bit late... Well, late or not, it rocked... It lasted all of two sessions before it was totally devoured with heaping glasses of (good, ol' fashioned, whole) milk... because milk is awesome, too. And so is Gina... because she made me yummy cake to eat.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
THE VERDICT
So, yeah... There were fliers on all the cars in the lot at work the last few days, talking about the "GAS BOYCOTT..." When I went into work last night, the gas pumps we operate were to capacity almost all night... I found that rather amusing... I found this morning, when I got off work, even more amusing, though...
Price of gas, May 15: $3.19
Price of gas, May 16: $3.29
Yeah, that's right... No thirty cent overnight price drop... but a ten cent price hike... Nice. See what spending all that money on copies of that flier did? Oh... you spent all your money on the fliers and now you have no money for gas? You have to ride your bike everywhere for a while? Cool. ;)
So, yeah... There were fliers on all the cars in the lot at work the last few days, talking about the "GAS BOYCOTT..." When I went into work last night, the gas pumps we operate were to capacity almost all night... I found that rather amusing... I found this morning, when I got off work, even more amusing, though...
Price of gas, May 15: $3.19
Price of gas, May 16: $3.29
Yeah, that's right... No thirty cent overnight price drop... but a ten cent price hike... Nice. See what spending all that money on copies of that flier did? Oh... you spent all your money on the fliers and now you have no money for gas? You have to ride your bike everywhere for a while? Cool. ;)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
THE SIMPLE TRUTH
So, everyone probably got a copy of the "May 15th Gas Boycott" in one form or another in one of their inboxes... The last one I got looked like this (from myspace):
Well, it's really quite simple to explain. Let's suppose that you followed this bulletin's advice and gassed up on, say, the 14th, instead of the 15th. Or let's say you waited until the 16th to go get your gas... You still bought the gas, right? You still drove your car, right? You used the gas, right? So... where's the loss to the "oil companies?" Oh, yeah... that's right... they didn't lose a penny. Gassing up a day early (or a day later) doesn't make a difference because you are still buying the gasoline. Hello??? They're still getting their money (well, they already had it, but that's a different story).
I'm not against, in any way, people wanting to do something good... but sometimes the way they go about it boggles the mind... I've always thought this bulletin/email was ridiculous because the premise is so... so... well, ridiculous. How did they think something like this would work??? Oh, yeah... because they got an email saying it would. I bet they also believe that they can grow more hair, have a bigger penis, get cheaper dope, etc., too...
How to affect change: USE LESS GAS. The only way something like this would work is if people would abstain from buying gasoline for several weeks, if not months... can you imagine? Yeah, me, neither. But how about carpooling? Taking the bus/train? Riding your bike to work? God forbid, walking to work (when it's feasible, of course - I wouldn't expect someone that works twenty miles/minutes away to be able to do that)? When I was a kid, I knew a woman that walked about twenty blocks to and from work every day of her life... Not only was she "doing her part" (probably without realizing it), but she managed to help maintain a pretty kickin' body by doing so. Asking people to just sell their cars and walk everywhere isn't all that practical, but the gas we waste on frivolous driving could add up to something, y'know?
Actually, though... If you bought less gas, you don't even really hurt the oil companies... As I stated above, they got paid for the gas you're pumping in your car a long time before it ever made it to your car. The only thing "gas boycotting" really hurts is the gas stations where you get your gas, which have basically no say in the prices of gas in the first place. Which really only goes to reiterate my point... USE LESS... A short-term goal of dropping gas prices thirty cents isn't the big picture (gas prices are based on speculation over months - it takes about two months for a drum of crude oil bought at x dollars to make it to the pumps). Use less, and in time, change for the better will occur.
So, everyone probably got a copy of the "May 15th Gas Boycott" in one form or another in one of their inboxes... The last one I got looked like this (from myspace):
GAS BOYCOTT - MAY 15TH 2007Now... First of all, this is a rehashed email/bulletin that's been going on for years. This supposed "gas out of '97" didn't happen... Gas prices did not drop thirty cents, overnight, or otherwise... But let's just take a little common sense look at why something like this wouldn't work in the first place.
Don't pump gas on MAY 15th.
In April 1997, there was a "gas out" conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices. Gasoline prices dropped 30 cents a gallon overnight.
On May 15th 2007, all internet users are to not go to a gas station in protest of high gas prices. Gas is now over $3.00 a gallon in most places.
There are 73,000,000+ American members currently on the internet network, and the average car takes about 30 to 50 dollars to fill up.
If all users did not go to the pump on th 15th, it would take $2,292,000,000.00 (that's almost 3 BILLION) out of the oil companies pockets for just one day, so please do not go to the gas station on May 15 and lets try to put a dent in the Middle Eastern oil industry for at least one day.
If you agree (which I can't see why you wouldn't) resend this to all your contact list. With it saying, "Don't pump gas on May 15th".
So gas up today/tonight if your gonna be needing gas!!
Well, it's really quite simple to explain. Let's suppose that you followed this bulletin's advice and gassed up on, say, the 14th, instead of the 15th. Or let's say you waited until the 16th to go get your gas... You still bought the gas, right? You still drove your car, right? You used the gas, right? So... where's the loss to the "oil companies?" Oh, yeah... that's right... they didn't lose a penny. Gassing up a day early (or a day later) doesn't make a difference because you are still buying the gasoline. Hello??? They're still getting their money (well, they already had it, but that's a different story).
I'm not against, in any way, people wanting to do something good... but sometimes the way they go about it boggles the mind... I've always thought this bulletin/email was ridiculous because the premise is so... so... well, ridiculous. How did they think something like this would work??? Oh, yeah... because they got an email saying it would. I bet they also believe that they can grow more hair, have a bigger penis, get cheaper dope, etc., too...
When the United States government (R.I.P.) boycotts products from another country, they don't say, "We don't want your products, today... but Monday, give us a call," they say, "We don't want your products... period." So you can easily see how the term doesn't even apply to what the email is asking people to do. To boycott, you must do without...
boy·cott [boi-kot]–verb (used with object)
1. to combine in abstaining from, or preventing dealings with, as a means of intimidation or coercion: to boycott a store. –noun
2. to abstain from buying or using: to boycott foreign products.
3. the practice of boycotting.
4. an instance of boycotting. [Origin: after Charles C. Boycott (1832–97), English estate manager in Ireland, against whom nonviolent coercive tactics were used in 1880]
How to affect change: USE LESS GAS. The only way something like this would work is if people would abstain from buying gasoline for several weeks, if not months... can you imagine? Yeah, me, neither. But how about carpooling? Taking the bus/train? Riding your bike to work? God forbid, walking to work (when it's feasible, of course - I wouldn't expect someone that works twenty miles/minutes away to be able to do that)? When I was a kid, I knew a woman that walked about twenty blocks to and from work every day of her life... Not only was she "doing her part" (probably without realizing it), but she managed to help maintain a pretty kickin' body by doing so. Asking people to just sell their cars and walk everywhere isn't all that practical, but the gas we waste on frivolous driving could add up to something, y'know?
Actually, though... If you bought less gas, you don't even really hurt the oil companies... As I stated above, they got paid for the gas you're pumping in your car a long time before it ever made it to your car. The only thing "gas boycotting" really hurts is the gas stations where you get your gas, which have basically no say in the prices of gas in the first place. Which really only goes to reiterate my point... USE LESS... A short-term goal of dropping gas prices thirty cents isn't the big picture (gas prices are based on speculation over months - it takes about two months for a drum of crude oil bought at x dollars to make it to the pumps). Use less, and in time, change for the better will occur.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
When I was a kid in the '70s, it seemed like these were always around the house... These were known as "dad's food." See, my dad played music on the weekends, most of the time... There was the occasional weekend where his band didn't have gigs... On some of these weekends, the family would entertain company... and by "entertain," that's what was going on... a lot of laughter, music on the stereo, booze, more laughter... Other weekends were more toned down - my brother and I getting into whatever we could get into (we had air hockey, pinball, board games aplenty... and plenty of things to evoke creativity, as well)... Anyhow, we'd be upstairs in our room, or downstairs in the basement, hangin' out, and Mom and Dad would hang out on the couch, watching television... On Saturday nights, Monty Python's Flying Circus came on PBS at 11pm and then this fairly-new comedy show on NBC called Saturday Night Live would start at 11:30...I wasn't always allowed to stay up and watch tv with them, but more times than not, I would (and more times than not, I would fall asleep before SNL was over - usually from exhaustion after rollicking through the neighborhood all Saturday with the other neighborhood kids).
Enter "dad's food."
We always had a lot of food around the house - we were a family of eaters, for sure... There were certain foods that we, the kids, weren't allowed to eat... Most notably things like Mom's "Fruzen Glaje" and "Turtles" (I'm sure my brother could add some things to this list, but I'm just remembering the things that I always got in trouble for sneaking and eating) and "dad's food," which usually consisted of Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, those anchovy things packed in a can with the key on them, and these peculiar little sausages... Penrose "Hot" Sausages, to be exact. At one point, Dad let me try one... At the age of eight, I was not impressed... They were so... so... sour, or something... In fact, I was so not impressed, I think I cried with disgust at the taste... I mean, what did I know? I was eight. However, a few years later, I was offered another chance to try one. My last attempt to eat one was immediately brought back to mind with one whiff of the vinegary solution the sausages sat in... but I was going to have another go. This time, the results were much different (I had recently developed a thing (thanks to my brother) for salt an vinegar potato chips, so that's probably where the "tolerance" came from)... I bit into the sausage and... wow! Yummelicious! Not "hot" at all! Not nasty! Tasty! What a treat (for my tongue, not my ten year-old arteries)!
Time moved on, and I got to experience them several more times over the years of Monty Python/SNL/Double Chiller Theater (with Fritz the Night Owl) Saturday Nights... and then... it just kinda stopped... The Penrose quit making their appearance at the household... I had thought that they were no longer even made, anymore...
Recently, a friend of mine brought up "these little pickled sausages" that he used to eat back in the day... "Penrose! Hell yeah!" I replied. Over the next couple days, I began to get a craving for the little sausages in the vinegar pickle... After trolling around the newly revamped Kroger (that now takes up an entire city block - HUGE, I tell ya), Topeka! err... Eureka! In a little corner of the new meat department... there they were... I bought two jars of them. When I got to the car, I opened a jar and the pungent smell immediately transported me back to the '70s... One bite into that little sonofabitch and it was late Saturday night in front of the tv with my family, all over again.
It's funny how a little thing like a pickled sausage can make you feel so good, sometimes.
EDIT: I've gotten a lot of hits dealing with these lovely things... if you'd like to order some, you can do it here. They're a little pricier than they are here at the local grocery, but for those of you with no access to them, I guess it's a small price to pay.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Something tells me
That a drop of your wine
Is sweeter than mine
Someone scared me
Into opening my mind
And drank the poisonous wine
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead... yet
Something tells me
that your cigarette smoke
Will not make me choke
Something scared me
And I haven't let go
I must face this alone
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead... yet
The more I believe
The less I enjoy this life
The less I need anyone
The more I need you
The more I need you...
That a drop of your wine
Is sweeter than mine
Someone scared me
Into opening my mind
And drank the poisonous wine
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead... yet
Something tells me
that your cigarette smoke
Will not make me choke
Something scared me
And I haven't let go
I must face this alone
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead
I know I'm not dead
Oh God, I know I'm not dead... yet
The more I believe
The less I enjoy this life
The less I need anyone
The more I need you
The more I need you...
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
So... Radio talk show host Don Imus got himself into a heap of shit referring to the Rutgers University girls' basketball team in a particularly derogatory fashion, the other day... Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and many others want him to be fired (apparently, he was first suspended from broadcasting for two weeks and subsequently dropped by MSNBC)... but what about (his producer and "co-host") Bernard McGuirk? He was saying stuff like, "...hardcore hos," and "jigaboos" and no one seems to give a rat's ass... and guest commentator (and former Imus sports announcer until he was fired for basically being a ridiculous douchebag) Sid Rosenberg was right there slingin' stuff, too... and no one's talking about any of them... just Imus. What gives? Aren't they all pretty much accountable for what they said, not just Imus? If one of them is going to get "in trouble," then they all should (yeah, Imus brought it up, but they all were chiming in with their little bits of attempted humor, so how do you put all of the heat on only one of them?)... end of discussion.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Two days off... in a row... Unprecedented... Don't know what to do with all the time... Well, today was "laundry day," which, y'know... Everyone has to do it... I don't mind it, at all. So that took up most of the day... Watched some cool "Classic Album" stuff on VH-1 Classic (Fleetwood Mac's Rumors and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon), so that's always a plus.
Not sure what to do, tomorrow... Wouldn't mind giving a lesson in the evening. Will probably have to wait and just give guitar lessons Thursday before work, instead... as usual.
Don't know... Will probably just end up sitting around and just enjoying the fact that I don't have to go to work... 'cause that's how I roll... or somethin'.
Not sure what to do, tomorrow... Wouldn't mind giving a lesson in the evening. Will probably have to wait and just give guitar lessons Thursday before work, instead... as usual.
Don't know... Will probably just end up sitting around and just enjoying the fact that I don't have to go to work... 'cause that's how I roll... or somethin'.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Being ill at work sucks... I forgot how annoying a runny nose could be until I had to look down every few seconds... for about eight hours...
So, I went the Zicam route... I figured it was better for my blood pressure (I check it every now and then and what used to be pretty normal has turned into what might be described as "pre-prehypertension." That is, it's just elevated a tad... which might be the new "normal" for me... I mean that whole 120/80 thing was kinda abandoned some years back as being the "normal" standard... Just like everything, I'm sure it depends more on the person than anything else). Anyhow, it seems that Zicam is basically a couple forms of zinc... I was going to get the q-tip-type devices that you stick up your nose, but opted for the melty-lozenge-type devices... They say they're "citrus-flavored," which they are, but they're more chaky like a three year-old regular Tums, or something... and they kinda make my mouth and throat feel strange while they dissolve (they're probably radioactive or something)... It didn't really do much for me while I was at work... I was too busy working my ass off to relax and try to feel any kind of better... So I was pretty miserable, but now, after being home a while and having another melty lozenge thing, I guess I may feel a little better... And a good thing about it is that, like, I'm not sitting here feeling my heartbeat in my fingertips from Comtrex... So, after some time where I wasn't sure it was doing anything... I think it may... MAY be doing something, after all. I hope so, because that shit was sure expensive.
What sucks worse than being ill at work is being ill on a day off... If I didn't have to teach in the evening, I'd probably just stay in bed all day and drink orange juice and watch tv... but I can't... because people need to learn and I need to show them some of the things I know...
So, I went the Zicam route... I figured it was better for my blood pressure (I check it every now and then and what used to be pretty normal has turned into what might be described as "pre-prehypertension." That is, it's just elevated a tad... which might be the new "normal" for me... I mean that whole 120/80 thing was kinda abandoned some years back as being the "normal" standard... Just like everything, I'm sure it depends more on the person than anything else). Anyhow, it seems that Zicam is basically a couple forms of zinc... I was going to get the q-tip-type devices that you stick up your nose, but opted for the melty-lozenge-type devices... They say they're "citrus-flavored," which they are, but they're more chaky like a three year-old regular Tums, or something... and they kinda make my mouth and throat feel strange while they dissolve (they're probably radioactive or something)... It didn't really do much for me while I was at work... I was too busy working my ass off to relax and try to feel any kind of better... So I was pretty miserable, but now, after being home a while and having another melty lozenge thing, I guess I may feel a little better... And a good thing about it is that, like, I'm not sitting here feeling my heartbeat in my fingertips from Comtrex... So, after some time where I wasn't sure it was doing anything... I think it may... MAY be doing something, after all. I hope so, because that shit was sure expensive.
What sucks worse than being ill at work is being ill on a day off... If I didn't have to teach in the evening, I'd probably just stay in bed all day and drink orange juice and watch tv... but I can't... because people need to learn and I need to show them some of the things I know...
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
I figured it was only a matter of time before I got sick... Caught a minor cold from someone at work... Head stuffy... bit of a headache... but that's about it. Think I may try some of that Zicam stuff tonight to see if it's worth a crap... or I'll just get the ol' standard Comtrex... although it always does tricks with my blood pressure... so maybe I'll go the homeopathic route.
Still haven't seen Zodiac...
Still haven't seen Zodiac...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)