Whatever happened to the epidemic?

Does anybody know the answer to this? I can't remember the last time we had a really good epidemic, can you? I would say it has probably been a generation. We can't seem to wipe out cancer, but the epidemic is gone. Who did it? How did it happen? Can't we bring it back?

To back up just a little growing up in the 1980s there was a serious AIDS epidemic. I think we can all remember the Drugs epidemic that Nancy Reagan so boldly fought with her "Just Say NO!" campaign. On a lesser scale there used to be a flu epidemic that would go around during the winter months that people would go and get innoculated for only to get an early case of the flu and then avoid the upcoming epidemic. I still don't really understand that one.

Now wait just a minute, Mr. Smarty Pants Elgarf, you must be thinking. We still have the problems with AIDS, drugs, the flu, cholera in Zimbabwe...

Stop right there, asshole! These problems are so massive these days that we can no longer settle for the EPIDEMIC! These are goddamn PANDEMIC occurrences!

AIDS PANDEMIC! CHOLERA PANDEMIC! JOBLESS PANDEMIC! Everything is a goddamn pandemic. Why? Why did we never have pandemics before? Were AIDS and drugs less serious in the 80s? Certainly not. How could we possibly live through those epidemic times only to be faced with the pandemics of today? It scares the living shit out of me! My chances of falling victim to a pandemic are far greater than my chances of falling victim to an epidemic. I don't like that. It makes me want to stay inside and not come into contact with ANYONE! I felt much safer in the days of the epidemic. An epidemic is small scale (many individuals within a population, community or region at the same time, excessively prevalent-according to Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary). A pandemic is large scale (occuring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high number of the population-according to the same source). We can no longer afford to piss around with epidemics. These are pandemic times!

Wait a minute, when we look at ZIMBABWE and their Cholera PANDEMIC it would seem to fit more into the EPIDEMIC category: many individuals within a population? check. excessively prevalent? check. Covering a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high number of individuals within a population? Not so much. Not yet. In fact I think if the situation over there gets any worse it could have the potential of becoming a Pandemic, but it isn't yet.

We are living in seriously X-TREME! times, sensational times, super-sized times, 24-hour news cycle times!

Everything is BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST, or at least made out to be that way. I am sick of everything that comes across the news desk being reported in this way. Call it what it fucking is. Don't use "grand" words to make your story seem grander. Doing so reduces your gravitas, in Lord Elgarf's opinion.

The Worst Song of All Time

A couple weeks ago I was on a road trip and flipping through the radio stations, giving my iPod a break. A local DJ was running a call-in show asking listeners for their choices for best and worst songs of all time. I was pleasantly surprised with some of the "best" answers. These included the entire Dark Side of the Moon and the title track from Yes' Close to the Edge album. The DJ was a big Motown/Doo Wop fan so there were a lot of entries from these categories too. But I have to say that the list of worst songs was kind of thin and, while I could see the point of the listeners and their disdain for certain songs, I don't feel that anyone actually captured the "Worst Song of All Time". One girl said, "anything by the Beatles. They are the most overrated band ever." Now I don't want her to like the Beatles and, it is true that they were hailed as the second coming of Christ (and more popular than him too!) but even their worst song, (Number 9! Number 9!) cannot be listed as the worst of all time. That is a very special honor that, to be honest, I really do not know who to bestow upon. I do, however have some suggestions:

Pink Floyd - The Dogs of War, 1986 Being a Pink Floyd fan this one is easy. It is clearly the worst thing to be released under the name of this legendary band, but since it was part of the aptly named A Momentary Lapse of Reason which is little more than David Gilmour's worst solo album it could hardly receive the historical title we are going for in this post. Besides, if you're not a fan you've probably never heard this piece of shit anyway.

ANYTHING by Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins - 1990s Do you remember this self-indulgent whining bitch? He fancies himself an artist, and believe me those people are the worst assholes of all. They believe that they are on a higher level of existence and deem it necessary to stoop down and explain it to the rest of us, the ignorant masses. Having been an art major I knew and worked with people like this. They live in their middle-class perfect worlds and want to interpret pain and angst they have never known so they whine into a microphone or onto a canvas. Everything that came out of that guy's mouth was shit. Then, as he was getting ready to release his 1990s "Concept" album, Mellon Collie blah, blah, blah, he proudly proclaimed to the world that it would be this generation's "The Wall." Well, gee, Billy that's an awfully large task. Thank you for taking it upon yourself to do that for your generation you arrogant FUCK! By the way, where the fuck is that lousy master piece of shit these days? Does anyone remember it?

What's Going On - by Four Non-Blondes from the 90s Now this is a serious candidate. Remember that out of tune screeching voice screaming into the microphone? I understand that Linda Perry went on to write music for other artists such as P!nk and Christina Aguilera but, clearly they have better voices than she does. No offense, Ms. Perry.

But I guess the song that I am submitting for this great honor of Worst Song of All Time is one that I had to turn off over the weekend. While I was helping my father at his place of business the satellite radio was tuned in to the 90s (you may notice that most of these candidates are from that horrid decade). The upstairs had cleared out and for the first time all evening I could actually hear the music. Sinead O'Connor was warbling "Nothing Compares to You." I had really forgotten how much I hate that song. I RAN over to the switch board and cut her off as fast as I could.Putting aside her silly behavior on SNL ripping a picture of the Pope in front of the camera and all of that Irish political angst her music really sucks. She was one of those idiots who somehow managed a record deal but had no discernible talent so to get attention she did really outrageous things. Her stint on Roger Waters' 1990 Wall production was just dreadful but, I will say this; she did somewhat redeem herself in 1996 singing back-up vocals on the late, great Richard Wright's solo album, Broken China.

Anyway, that is my list. I would love a good discussion arguing a "better" Worst Song. It really isn't as easy as one would think.

John Kramer and SAW

For those of you unfamiliar with this series John Kramer is (was) an engineer, a loving husband and a cancer patient. Coming to terms with his own mortality made Mr. Kramer aware of time, how little of it we have and how some people just squander theirs. To correct this he puts his subjects through a series of tests. If the player follows the rules they come out a better person who appreciates the life that was given to them. If they fail it ends up in a sloppy mess that is really fun for the rest of us to watch.

I just watched Saw V and was impressed. It is strange that in a series of 5 movies the best is NOT the first one. Here is why. The original Saw featured Cary Elwes as the indifferent Doctor who diagnosed John Kramer, that irritating Monica Potter as his clueless wife and Danny Glover as the well-meaning but down-the-wrong-path detective who persecutes Elwes to the point of obsession. The central theme was good and the traps were fantastic but there was just something missing. That turned out to be Tobin Bell, the actor who plays John Kramer aka Jigsaw. We didn't get to know and love him until Saw II, which I think is the best in the series.

Saw II pits Jigsaw against dirty police detective Eric Matthews (played by New Kid Donnie Walberg) who plants evidence and beats confessions out of his "criminals". All the cop has to do is listen to Mr. Kramer and play by the rules and the officer's son will be found "in a safe place". Detective Matthews, however, is too hot-headed for this and spends his time mocking and abusing the ailing, oxygen-taking Mr. Kramer. After enduring an especially brutal beating Kramer declares "game over" and follows Matthews' directions but somehow things don't work out the way the detective planned.

My least favorite was Saw III. I thought it was overly cruel to the people involved in "the game", but it did give us the first behind-the-scenes look at how Jigsaw enacted his games and who helped him to do it. I must admit that I thought the series would end here, seeing that we watched John Kramer die in his make-shift hospital bed shortly after being forgiven by his test subject, Jeff, which I thought was a beautiful touch.

Saw IV took us behind the scenes and showed us how and why Jigsaw set out on his new line of "work", the people he trusted to continue his legacy, and what exactly happened to the characters from Saw II. It was most satisfying to see how Eric Matthews' storyline played out and those fantastic bastards made us wait until the fourth movie to tell us. I was a little skeptical about the continuation of the series upon my first viewing of this one, but after several more run-throughs it really does seem to fit like a glove. They got a really cool guy to pick up where Jigsaw left off.

This brings us to Saw V. Aw, hell, this post is too long-winded as it is. Suffice it to say that Saw V is every bit as good as Saw IV. The thing with these movies is that the good-guys and bad-guys are really hard to sort out. For all the horrific scenarios that Jigsaw creates, he never actually kills anybody. They ultimately make the decision to "live or die" (of course he does drug them, kidnap them and perform surgery to lock them into the traps, but that is beside the point). There are a lot of assholes in this series who get exactly what they deserve. Too often in life we don't get to see the asshole get what's coming to them. With SAW we always do. God bless you creators, writers, directors, producers and all the other crew responsible for giving us this satisfying series!

I would like to leave this post with a question: What is your favorite SAW trap? Which is your least favorite? I would love to chime in on the comments but would prefer others to get the ball rolling.

Contemplating Felicide

It has been nearly 8 months since Musgrave took her leave. The last 5 have been somewhat of a transition.

It wasn't until my mid-twenties that I discovered I was a cat person. We took in a stray, then about a year and a half later I was chosen by Esmerelda (who I dubbed Musgrave), so on and so forth. As far as personality goes, I can be social but in my own time. I am loyal to a fault, but please don't piss with me. I found that cats seem to share these traits, at least ADULT CATS do.

You see above Miss Hudson K Elgarf. She tries me on a daily basis. She is my first AND LAST kitten. While I DO advocate the adoption of stray animals I strongly urge the would be "parent" to go for the older model. These young things can be a bitch!

"I see your hair is burnin'," "Give me my time," "Spork and Omtay"...An Anniversary of sorts

Tonight, during a 4 hour drive back to the homestead the iPod shuffled its way to Jane's Addiction Live on Triple X Records.

"Well the rain came, I said hey, buddy now buddy the street is a snakeskin. I belong out there walking and nobody's stopping to bother me they hide, outside. The ceiling is crying. Listen to the sound of the gutters running, wash this dirty town all fronts and no backs give me my time let me be outside..."

It has been ten years since I first heard these lines. In October of 1998 the world, as I knew it, changed. Many things that I had known (and loved) crumbled around me forcing me to reevaluate everything. I don't really care to relive any of that unpleasantness, it just hit me as I heard those familiar notes that a decade has passed and I wanted or needed to address it.

Thanks for your indulgence.

Sad times...Winning by default

I wish I could subscribe to this wave of "hope" that is sweeping over America. To me it seems like we are in desperate times and need some clear leadership to steer us through it. I DO NOT believe that Barack Obama is capable of turning the tide. I have not heard any proposals that should convince me otherwise. America, once again, appears to be on another page in a different book than the one I have been reading. Remind me of what exactly he has done to garner this great approval and blind faith. I could really use a pick-me-up right now because it seems to me that he will win this election simply because he is the democrat.

Once again I MUST reach out to you, the millions of NEW, ENERGIZED, DISENFRANCHISED voters who are coming to the process for the first time. Remind me, again, of why you have never been politically active in the past. What about this candidate has made you give a damn about this process, and WHY DID YOU NEVER CARE BEFORE??!!! We really could have used your help in 2000 when Al Gore SHOULD HAVE won by default, coming off of 8 years of job growth, prosperity and wars waged only to prevent genocide. We really could have used your help in 2004 when George Bush proved to be the evil, ignorant manipulator we always said he was and John Kerry SHOULD HAVE won by default. Now that the damage is done, you want this inexperienced, smooth-talking snake-oil salesman to take the reins of this nation?!

Alright, the republicans are BAD. They have led us POORLY. There is no question about it. But, just like your messiah likes to keep pointing out that we shouldn't have gone into Iraq, there are many things that the republicans should not have been allowed to do. What has the democratic congress done for the last 2 years but acquiesce to the president? Why is the Bush administration not forced from office and put on trial for war crimes?

On election day I will cast a symbolic vote for president. I do not have any illusion that John McCain will win but I do believe that he is the far superior candidate. You may cast your vote to elect the first African-American president, and I do not snicker at that, these truly are historic times. I, however, do not feel it is his time. He may earn my support after actually accomplishing something, not just bad-mouthing people who voted for the war. What the senator from Illinois doesn't seem to understand is that we are there in Iraq. It no longer matters that we were put there by an out and out lie in order to seek revenge on the enemies of the president's family. I don't care how Hillary voted and I don't care how senator McCain voted. The fact that Obama opposed it does not qualify him to be president. I opposed it. Should I be president? As a community organizer in Chicago Illinois he worked with troubled youth. In my own way I, too, work with troubled youth. Should I be president?

This whole election is preposterous. My only hope is that when things don't fit so neatly into the Obama puzzle that the media is every bit as "fair and balanced" as they have been throughout this decision making process. OF COURSE it is time to elect an African-American president but is this guy the best that community has to offer?

WTF?!?!

Last night the Chief and I met up to see the movie, "Lakeshore Terrace," but that is not what this post is about. We had dinner and then went to a coffee shop to kill some time before the 7:05 show. While the Chief was deciding what fruity little coffee drink he wanted from the menu my eye wandered to the cooler down below. There I saw a bottle of the beverage you see above. I started laughing out loud.

How would you pronounce it?!

Anyway as I was looking up a picture for this post I came across this ad that ran in France. I thought it was just me being juvenile and selective with my pronunciation but now I think otherwise. What do you think they are trying to say?

What I like about Ann Coulter

that shapely chick with the light brown curls

I posted this story in a series of comments on another blog. Since it has nothing to do whatsoever with the author's original topic I decided to copy and paste it into a post on the Miscellany. The story, after all, is my own.

I was moonlighting in a second job over the summer, let's say in the service industry. It was a slow afternoon and this shapely young lady (late 20s-early30s) came up to me. She had shoulder-length pale brown hair and was wearing sunglasses that she soon placed on top of her head. I specifically remember the gray tank top she was wearing quite well and remember thinking that she was kinda' hot, although nowhere near as hot as she thought she was. Anyway, I waited on her for some time and she seemed to be getting restless, fumbling with her cell phone. She had a sandwich and was drinking Miller Lite. Soon she was joined by an older guy (mid-60s) wearing a grey hairpiece that was none too convincing. I don't recall what beer he ordered but I think it came in a green bottle, probably Yuengling. They started getting all cozy in their conversation and decided to order some shots of, let's say Jack Daniels. Being outside on the patio the "glasses" that I had available to me were made of plastic, this included the shot glasses. I set them down and started to pour. They looked at each other and started to mumble something. I said, "Excuse me?" They both proceeded to tell me that the glass I placed in front of them was only such and such milliliters and was not a full shot. I looked at them with a blank stare and said, "thank you?" Apparently they thought I needed to be educated by the likes of them. I then reached for the $7.00 that the sugar daddy owed me, he said, "oh, yeah, go ahead and take your money." Did he think I might do otherwise? Maybe give him a shot on the house? I don't know, but my relationship with these people went downhill from there.

You know what? Now that I think of it, the post really didn't remind me of this story. I just wanted to tell it and I guess that was as good an excuse as any.

September 15, 2008 12:49 PM



Elgarf said...
So, where was I? Oh, yeah. He didn't want another beer after I had screwed him on the shot (after they left I checked the bottom of the cup, it is clearly marked 1fl. oz-the same amount that a shot should be). By this time I began to wait on other customers. I came back to the two love birds at one point to find them gone, 2 empty beer bottles sitting on one dollar each. Let me correct that. The Miller Lite bottle was not empty. It had about one finger width of warm liquid sitting in the bottom that she had not drunk in the course of an hour. Obviously,

aw, shit. something came up.
i'll finish this later.

September 15, 2008 1:25 PM



Elgarf said...
Obviously, they had finished, left a dollar tip, and then went on their merry way to fornicate in some cheap motel.

Wrong.

As I went about serving the other customers "she" comes back to the bar. "Where's my beer?" she asked. I told her I threw it away when she left. "I didn't leave! I just went to the restroom!" she shouted. I forget how she put it but she let me know that this was the incorrect way for me to do my job. She began bitching to some female friends who had joined her at the bar. "Where's my dollar?" she bellowed. One of the friends commented that I must have assumed it was a tip and had already taken it, so I reached into the tip jar, pulled out a dollar and put it in front of her. "Well, can I have another beer?" she demanded.

I really didn't understand what was going through "her" head. It seemed to me that she was having a bad day and wanted to take it out on someone so she kept setting me up with these little tests which I repeatedly failed. WHO CARES?!

I put the new beer in front of her took her money and went to ring it up and wait on the other customers. The bar was pretty crowded at this point. As I walked past her sometime later she was bitching to her friend (who was actually very pretty, but, like my adversary she too was in the wrong). "I'm a bartender," she said "and you have got a lot to learn. You don't do that to customers."

September 21, 2008 5:03 PM



Elgarf said...
So I leaned forward, extended my hand and said, "you're a bartender? Congratulations, I'm very proud of you."

You should have seen the look on "her" face! It was priceless! It was like nobody had ever spoken to her like this before. The friend was equally shocked and horrified. Right about this time the owner came around the corner. The two of them spoke up saying, "Are you the owner? We need to talk to you about your bartender."

September 21, 2008 5:07 PM



Elgarf said...
What "they" didn't know was that my father was the owner. I explained to him what happened but he didn't seem to care. He was counting money or something. He then went around the bar and listened to their story. When he came back I asked what they said. He told me to relax, I had done nothing wrong just keep working. This pissed her off even more. She turned to the friend and said,"He's got his head shoved all the way up his dad's fat ass." That is a quote. I leaned forward and got really close to her before I said, "you know, you're really charming." I didn't shout just said it "matter-of-factly".

She was enraged. "Do you think I care what you think of me?!" she shouted.

"But I'm supposed to care what you think of me?" I returned. "She" was out of her league. "Why are you so hostile to me?" she demanded. At that point she and the friend stood up to leave. As she was leaving the bar I picked up her second empty Miller Lite bottle. I held it up and asked her if I could throw this one away. "Are you coming back? Maybe I better not throw this out." I looked over at two other women who had been sitting with but NOT commisserating with her. I told them, "I think she might be coming back." They started to laugh. She shot me one last dirty look before she walked out of my life.

September 21, 2008 5:31 PM



Elgarf said...
Shortly thereafter the two remaining friends spoke up. "We're bartenders too," one of them said, "and she had no right to treat you that way." I thanked her and told her that I wasn't really a bartender by trade, but just helping my dad. She said it didn't matter and I didn't deserve the hard time she was giving me but that I handled the situation quite well. They stayed late into the night and left a rather decent tip.

What is the moral of this story? Mind your own goddamn business. Don't go looking for trouble, and leave me the fuck alone!

September 21, 2008 5:36 PM

Echoes

Call me Mr. Ganz.

Let me explain, Mr. Ganz of Ganz, Laytom & Ganz LLC is a music collector. His library of recordings is unmatched by anyone I know, or know of. It is so large in fact that he just doesn't get around to listening to everything he has purchased. I used to think that was strange, that is until I fell victim to the same phenomenon.

I discovered something today which I did not know I had. On a recent visit to Amazon.com I saw that David Gilmour is to release a new live album later this month which will feature a live performance of Echoes from his 2006-07 "On an Island" tour. This was very exciting to me. I have always said that the guys did in 23 and a half minutes on Echoes what took them 43 minutes on Dark Side of the Moon. Echoes is simply a beautiful piece with lead vocals shared by David Gilmour and the late, great Richard Wright. It occurs in movements from the echoing opening notes to the classic Floyd sound in the first segment to the jazz transition piece to the whale sounds to the closing vocals and the gentle fade out finale.

On a whim I decided to take a look at 2007's "Remember that Night: David Gilmour Live at the Royal Albert Hall." I bought it as soon as it was released and watched and listened to the entire On an Island set. I, however, did not listen to the classic Floyd set. When I looked at the box tonight I saw that Echoes was a part of the second set. Why had I not seen this before? The best that I can come up with is that I did not spend much time reading the box in the store. I knew I wanted it and that was that. Now I know I viewed disc 2 and the above-mentioned parts of disc 1. I guess I just didn't care to hear Wish You Were Here and the like. At any rate I was completely blown away by Echoes.

As some of you may know on the 2001 release Echoes:The Best of Pink Floyd the fifth track is a shortened version of the title track. Echoes is pared down from 23 to 14 minutes (give or take). It was a staple of the Floyd shows throughout the 70s but very little has been heard of it since. So, you can imagine my surprise and great delight to watch and hear this favorite track being sung by Messrs. Gilmour and Wright in a 22 minute live performance. I only regret that I will not be able to see this done in a future show.

So I would like to thank Dave and Rick for recording what would turn out to be some of Mr. Wright's final performances. It gives us a glimpse of what it must have been like to see the Pink Floyd at their best.

I don't want to live forever.

I just want to live longer than Phil.

I hope that is not too much to ask.

During a recent visit with the Chief, the most Reverend Fr. O'Malley, and Mr. Ganz of Ganz, Laytom & Ganz LLC, Lord Elgarf was treated to the wonders of the internet in the form of a personal search. They had typed in certain names and were showing me all of the info you could dig up on a person. I asked them to look up one Phil P. Duesphol from my sordid past. He was a roommate in college and has the distinct honor of being one of 2 human beings that Mr. Elgarf harbors true hatred for (the other, of course, being george w bush). Phil had called me during the summer of 1993 and let me know that we would be roommates. We told each other about ourselves and seemed to have everything in common. When I finally met him, the similarities began to drop like flies. It turns out that Phil was nothing but a pathetic liar. He soon joined a fraternity and turned his loyal "brethren" against me, even though we were neighbors and had a friendly relationship aside from Phil. It was actually kind of sad the way it happened. I would see Tiny or Gig (jig) in the hall or on campus and say hello. They would look down at their feet and scurry away as if to say, "I would really like to say hello but with the guidelines put forth by this brotherhood that I paid a substantial amount of money to become a member of I simply cannot. I wish you no harm (Lord Elgarf) but am simply unallowed to say hello to you."

Obviously the ignorant fucks weren't that eloquent, but you get the gist. All that was bad enough, but then the pathetic phoney threatened physical harm on me. He was going to throw me out of the second floor window, as I recall.

Anyway, it has been 15 years and the fires haven't died. I promised myself back then that I would water Phil's grave,

WITH MY OWN PISS!!!!!!!!

As you can imagine, I was very disappointed to find that Phil was still living in small town Pennsylvania with that skinny little bitch he was dating at the time. When I told the Chief this he wanted to know where I wanted him to be living! Imagine that! I said, "NO THAT'S THE PROBLEM!"

So, as awful as it may sound, I want to outlive Phil. I don't care if he lives to be 90, as long as I can live one day longer to make that pilgrimage to that small town in Pennsylvania. Hell, I don't care if I stop breathing in mid-stream, as long as I get to water that asshole's grave.

Amen.

Remember a Day

Remember a day before today
A day when you were young
Free to play along with time
Evening never comes

Sing a song that can't be sung
Without the morning's kiss
Queen you shall be if you wish
Look for your king

Why can't we play today?
Why can't we stay that way?

Climb your favourite apple tree
Try to catch the sun
Hide from your little brother's gun
Dream yourself away
Why can't we reach the sun?
Why can't we blow the years away?

-RW 1968



Richard Wright
28 July 1943 - 15 September 2008

Rock Ass Shit

As many of you know, one of Lord Elgarf's favorite pastimes is collecting vinyl lps. With the advent of the MP3 I've been having a blast importing, converting and listening to these classic tracks on the ipod. One of my favorite collection titles is ROCK ASS SHIT. I had a series of these cds which I would keep in the car and, as you can imagine, the cd library got larger and more difficult to transport, but, DAMMIT, I didn't care! I brought them along anyway!

At any rate I have been working for the last few weeks compiling a ROCK ASS collection that incorporated the old playlists with some new ones. I have listed below the first 60 tracks in this series.

Can't Explain 1965 2:09 The Who Meaty, Beaty, Big...
Break on Through 1967 2:33 The Doors The Doors
Sunshine of Your Love 1967 4:17 Cream Disraeli Gears
Born on the Bayou 1969 5:18 Creedence Clearwater Revival Bayou Country
Carry On 1970 4:30 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Deja Vu
No Time 1970 3:55 The Guess Who American Woman
What is and What Should Never Be 1969 4:50 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II
Gimme Shelter 1970 4:39 The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks
From the Beginning 1972 4:18 Emerson, Lake and Palmer Trilogy
Woodstock 1970 4:01 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Deja Vu
Jessica 1973 7:11 The Allman Brothers Band Brothers and Sisters
Another Park, Another Sunday 1974 4:28 The Doobie Brothers What Were Once Vices...
Stealin' 1973 4:57 Uriah Heep Sweet Freedom
No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature 1970 5:01 The Guess Who American Woman
Peace Frog/Blue Sunday 1968 5:04 The Doors Morrison Hotel
Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid 1969 7:01 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II
Foreplay/Long Time 1976 7:53 Boston Boston
Light Up 1975 4:17 Styx Equinox
Angel of Mercy 4:36 Dire Straits Communique (LP)
Two Tickets to Paradise 1977 4:04 Eddie Money Eddie Money
Crazy on You 1976 4:56 Heart Dreamboat Annie
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' 1979 3:57 Journey Evolution
Bloody Well Right 1974 4:33 Supertramp Crime of the Century
The Seeker 1970 3:16 The Who Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy
20th Century Fox 1967 2:40 The Doors The Doors
Hey,Hey What Can I Do 1970 4:05 Led Zeppelin The New Age of Atlantic
Blackwater 1974 4:17 The Doobie Brothers What Were Once Vices...
More than a Feeling 1976 4:50 Boston Boston
Midnight Rider 2:59 Allman Brothers Band Beginnings 2 (Idlewild South)The Southern Cross 1982 4:48 Crosby, Stills and Nash Daylight Again
Ramble On 1969 4:25 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II
Naked Eye 1969 5:23 The Who Odds and Sods
Closer to Home 1970 10:06 Grand Funk Railroad Closer to Home
Starship Trooper 9:35 Yes The Yes Album
Ride My See-Saw 3:44 the Moody Blues Anthology
Solsbry Hill 4:20 Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel
Lorelei 1975 3:29 Styx Equinox
Gimme Some Water 1978 3:42 Eddie Money Life for the Taking
Heaven and Hell 4:58 John Entwistle Smash Your Head...
Lovely to See You 2:39 the Moody Blues Anthology
Going for the One 5:36 Yes Going for the One
The Grand Illusion 1977 4:35 Styx The Grand Illusion
Baby Hold On 1977 3:35 Eddie Money Eddie Money
Do It Again 1972 5:57 Steely Dan Can't Buy a Thrill
My Size 3:57 John Entwistle Smash Your Head...
21st Century Schizoid Man 7:23 King Crimson Court of the Crimson King
Roundabout 8:36 Yes Fragile
Fooling Yourself 1977 5:29 Styx The Grand Illusion
Free Four 1972 4:17 Pink Floyd Obscured by Clouds
Gemini Dream 4:07 the Moody Blues Anthology
Don't Take Me Alive 1976 4:16 Steely Dan The Royal Scam
Song for Sonny Liston 5:31 Mark Knopfler One Take Radio Sessions
South Side of the Sky 8:09 Yes Fragile
Apron Strings 3:47 John Entwistle Whistle Rymes
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys 11:43 Traffic The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Games Without Frontiers 4:03 Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel
I've Got a Feeling 3:38 The Beatles Let it Be
Come Sail Away 1977 6:01 Styx The Grand Illusion
I Know What I Like In Your Wardrobe 4:14 Genesis Selling England by the Pound
Whipping Post 5:29 Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band

Some tracks don't have the date of release on them. This is pure laziness on my part. I have the information but didn't label them at the time and just didn't feel like looking them up now. You will also notice that many of my personal favorites are absent from the list. While "Black Cow", "Dogs", "Thick as a Brick" and countless others rank far higher on my personal list, they really do not fit in well with theses other tracks be it for length of time or difference in style. I have arranged them so that one song logically flows into another and am happy with the results. The current play time is 4.9 hours.

What do you think of this list? What would you add or subtract? As I said these are just the first 60 there are many more to come. What is my collection lacking? I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Scaredy-Crats

For once I agree with an Obama supporter. Jamal from (insert city here) is currently speaking to Ed Schultz's surrogate Nor Man Gold Man and pleading him to stop attacking Sarah Palin. MCCAIN, MCCAIN, MCCAIN is Jamal's issue. I have earned some new respect for the Obama crowd.

Why is it that two weeks later the democrats are still harping on this woman? What happened to that sugar-high induced by "I have a dream" part 2? Why are you folks so threatened by Senator Palin?

At this point in the game, you are coming off of 8 years of the worst administration in history. Once again the democrats should have this election wrapped up no contest, just like in 2000 and 2004. They should be singing the praises of their messianic candidate and holding public appearances where he performs minor miracles for the crowd (major miracles could easily go for $1000 a plate). But what do we get? "You can put lipstick on a pig and you still have a pig". She has no experience. She is not ready to lead this nation. Talk about the pot calling the kettle "black."

And what is the deal with the sudden importance of Hillary Clinton? I have heard from several sources that she needs to be out there stumping for Obama day and night. Why? If she was not qualified enough to be your candidate and you can do this thing without her why are we pissing and moaning that she won't attack Sarah Palin? SHE OWES YOU NOTHING!

Please tell me, oh great democrats, that you are not scared that when it comes down to issues and qualifications that John McCain beats you. If having a female Vice-Presidential candidate really threatens your "First Black Party Nominee" status you are admitting to all of us that this was nothing more than a gimmick and a gamble. Isn't Senator Obama worth more than that? Why does Governor Palin threaten Senator Obama so? The number of days served in their respective positions is the same. They ARE EQUALLY QUALIFIED.

So, that is that. Governor Palin is the least of our worries. Let's get back to the facts or lack thereof.

Got Over It

You know, in retrospect, those people were right. All those people who said that all the Hillary fans need to just get over it and focus on the general election. I admit it was difficult, but she lost and Obama won. Time heals blah, blah, blah. The primary is long over and the same will soon be said about the conventions. We as Americans need to focus on the future and getting this country back on the right track. After listening to Governor Palin speak last night I was given a new HOPE. There is definitely CHANGE on the way and I am very excited to take part in this historical election! It is about time that we get the female perspective in the executive branch and since the democrats didn't have someone to fit the qualifications at least the Republicans do.

In 2000 I voted AGAINST bush. Then in 2004 I voted AGAINST him again. In the spring of 2008 I voted FOR Hillary and in the fall I was looking forward to voting AGAINST Barack Obama. I am proud to say that now I will be voting FOR John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Philosophy is the talk on the coffee cups...

I paraphrase Edie Brickell in this post's heading because I was very much impressed with something I saw at Starbuck's. Sitting across from one Mr. Ganz I noticed the "The Way I See It #239" peeking out from under the brown, corrugated safety band on his cup of decaf. I asked him to remove the band so I could read and then criticize the banal ramblings printed on the recycled paper. I was pleasantly surprised. Here is what was written:

The way I see it
Isn't necessarily
The way you see it
Or the way it is
Or ought to be
What's more important
Is that we're all
Looking for it
And a way to see it

-Desi DiNardo
author and poet, she lives in Toronto, Canada

I know that a lot of my posts seem totalitarian, and undiplomatic but it all comes down to what is said in the above poem. I am looking for answers just like the rest of you. I won't tell you that you are wrong if you don't tell me I'm wrong.

CJE

God bless Charles Barkley

In a recent CNN interview Charles Barkley stated that if white people don't vote for Senator Obama he can't win.

Talk about profound. He then said that when we get into that voting booth the white man will not be able to trust the black man to vote for him. Whoa. I guess it doesn't come down to issues, qualifications, experience, flip-flopping or anything else.

Well, geez, I guess when you put it that way I have to vote for the black man!

Now that is the way to win an election!

Shame on you, Hillary.

I did not listen to your speech last night. My mind is already made up. Unfortunately I heard clips this morning on OPR. How dare you put it on my shoulders! "Did you do this just for me or did you do it for that soldier that (blah,blah,blah) or that mother that (blah, blah, blah)?"

To answer your question I did not vote for you to help that soldier. Nor did I vote for you to help that mother. I voted for you because you were the best candidate. The work you did as first lady had been unseen since Eleanor Roosevelt left the White House. I voted for you because you have years of experience in the senate. I voted for you because after 8 years of selfishness and greed in the White House it is a fond memory to think back on the Clinton years where there was a concern for the American citizen. I voted for you because there WAS a vast right-wing conspiracy that was played out in a failed impeachment. I voted for you because I feel it was wrong for the democrats to turn on you and all but admit that the right wing was right to persecute you and the president.

You may rally your troops and throw your votes to Obama. You have a political future to work on and can't jeopardize that. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that. I would rather concede a few issues to the republicans than swallow the swill that you and the other liberals are throwing around. "John McCain said this and John McCain said that," all that is fine but, make no mistake. I DON"T HAVE TO VOTE FOR OBAMA! I think it is frightening how everyone is clamoring to this new messiah who has never been put to the test and has proven nothing. Your party failed me in 2000. Your party failed me in 2004. George Bush is now taken off the table. I don't believe ANYBODY would make the decisions that this asshole has made. So, you can lump McCain together with Bush and tell us we can't vote for him but all you are doing is making me sad. Maybe I was wrong to put faith in you in the first place.

McCAIN 08!

Loss?

Having been away from the homebase this summer I did not get to post as frequently as I would have liked, nor could I comment on some of the events that have occurred over the last couple months. Today I was listening to George Carlin's "Occupation Foole" on vinyl. I came to realize that even though the material is thirty-five years old it is not dated. Sure, there are references to the then current Nixon administration, but what has always made his comedy work is the way he relates it to us. "Little things we all share", "People I could do without" and other lists could be filled out individually by any of us, but Mr. Carlin took them to the extreme and pulled us all in. He had a different way of viewing the world. He wouldn't take anything at face value and always looked at the other possibilities. He pointed out the absurdity in common, everyday phrases and events and asked us why we accepted them as such. I have always been a cynic so his "comedy" seemed to find me without my ever looking for it. It is as much a part of my personality as the music I listen to, the movies I watch and the politics I support (and abhor).

I was at my mom's when the Chief called and said, "we lost Mr. Carlin." I heard him correctly but wanted him to repeat it just to help it sink in. My first thought was quite strange. It wasn't a feeling of sorrow or loss, and to be honest I don't really know how to express it. Maybe the Chief could fill us in on that, after all he was talking to me at the time. The best way I could put it was that Mr. Carlin had done his work and it was time for him to move on. He gave us all the instructions we needed and now we're on our own.

I have included three drawings of people who have influenced me and have moved on. The first that you see is Hunter S. Thompson, the second is Roger Keith "Syd" Barret of Pink Floyd, and finally we have Mr. Carlin. I admit that the last one is a little rough, but I wanted to do something quick and there it is. I am especially proud of the first two. All three individuals represent various aspects of the counter-culture of the 60s and 70s and, while they are no longer with us in body, they live on through their material and will continue to inspire the masses, giving them alternate points of view. So, I guess its not so much of a loss after all.

Thanks, guys.

Barack Obama IS Arrogant and Uppity

It has been awhile since I have ranted and I think this time I have good cause. There is a lot of talk recently about whether or not we can call Senator Obama "Uppity" or "Arrogant". I heard an African-American commentator on CNN say that these are coded words white people use to say that a black man does not know his place.

Let that sink in for a minute.

George Bush is an arrogant, uppity, ignorant Texas hick. He thinks he can do anything he wants because he is president.

Al Gore is an arrogant, uppity, holier-than-thou Tennessee hick who thinks he knows more than us because he wrote a book on the environment.

John Kerry, Rush Limbaugh, John Edwards, Sean Hannity: all these assholes are uppity and arrogant. They think they know more than us, they talk down to us, they don't know their places. In fact, I would say that yours truly, Lord Elgarf himself can be arrogant and uppity. What the hell does this son-of-a-bitch know about anything? Yet he sits at his keyboard from somewhere in the midwest and spouts this bullshit like he knows something. Arrogant Uppity Prick!

Back to my original point. Barack Obama IS arrogant and uppity. He has no track record. He did not win his senate seat. He told us all that he was much more qualified than Hillary because she was the old politics and we need change. His whole campaign has been old politics since Hillary dropped out. His followers, including the press have made him out to be the second coming of Christ and he accepts this and believes it himself.

Barack Obama IS arrogant and uppity. If you truly think that makes me a racist then you are clearly showing your own ignorance. YOU are harboring resentment for a race other than your own. You cannot even make an argument to defend your messiah. Writing me off as "racist" is far easier than actually defending the very thin resume, lofty rhetoric, and constant flip-flopping of the inexperienced Senator from Illinois. Fuck you very much.

A visit with uncles Walt and Don

This is my fifth visit in the last 12 years. Believe me, if I could see them more often I would. The lag in between has more to do with their schedules than mine. It has been two years since I have seen Uncles Walt and Don and it really did feel like a reunion of sorts.

I grew up listening to these guys. My parents didn't play the records, but the radio stations they listened to played all of the (then) current hits of Steely Dan. Getting a 3 year jump on me, they released their third album, Pretzel Logic the year I was born. All of the earlier hits were still fresh and being played in constant rotation.

Fast-forward to 1992. I was away at college, sitting at the desk in my dorm room looking for a classic rock station on the FM dial. The one I found was questionable, but far better than any of the other shit I could find. They had a penchant for playing Peg, which I have always loved, and other memorable tunes by this Steely Dan. I was a member of a music club at the time and was able to get my hands on some of their stuff. I was amazed at how much I knew! It was definitely a warm homey feeling for a kid living away from home for the first time. And the songs that I didn't know displayed the talents of these jazz-rock studio musicians as well as the songwriting skills and musicianship of the aforementioned "uncles".

At any rate I have recently seen Steely Dan live on the "Think Fast '08" tour. The following is the song list they played that evening.

Introduction: Instrumental by the band featuring
-Everyone's Gone to the Movies and the Fez
The Royal Scam
I Got the News
Show Biz Kids
Everything You Did
Two Against Nature
Hey Nineteen
Godwhacker
Babylon Sisters
New Frontier
Gaucho (Walter Becker on lead vocals)
Glamour Profession
Parker's Band (lead vocals by the ladies)
Josie
Aja
Keep Me Yearning (Walter Becker introduces the band during vocals by the ladies)
Peg
FM (No static at all)

Encore: Kid Charlemagne

While I was disappointed that Pretzel Logic and Don't Take Me Alive were not included in the (very thin) ONE song encore, that was my only disappointment. These guys love what they are doing and love to share it with us. Even the songs that I skip over on the albums kick ass live. They change, adapt, take on new personalities by whoever is happening to be in the touring band this year... which brings me to Aja. Whenever I hear any track from this phenomenal album I am transported to my childhood home on a summer's night many years ago. I found a mint copy on vinyl and bought it because it had "Peg" on it, however, only three songs on Side One forewarned me that this was not an ordinary album. Little did I know that new doors would soon be open to me. I took it home and vividly remember sitting on my bed, in the dark, "absorbing" the album as I had done with Dark Side of the Moon a few years before. Anyway, the coming off of Josie and sliding right into Aja sparked something. I sat down, closed my eyes, and just experienced this living, breathing, creature that was the music produced by this group of individuals. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I realized that generations to come will look back on this and say, "I wish I was there...". Hell, I do that with certain events.

Whatever tomorrow may bring, I count myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend 5 evenings with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker sharing their chunk of American History with me.

a new member of the family

Have you ever been to Silent Hill? If not I highly recommend a visit. Whether it is through the original title released in 1999 for Sony's Playstation, the four follow-up titles for the PS2 or the 2006 film release it is always a memorable journey. The basic story for any of these is that the main character is somehow called to this eerie town for reasons they can't imagine. Once there they encounter Alessa Gillespie, her mother Dahlia, a strange local religious group with questionable practices and, most importantly, the town itself.

There are two sides to Silent Hill and I don't think I am spoiling any surprises to briefly discuss them here. The first side is that of an abandoned town covered in a mysterious gray which is either mist, ashes or some other concoction. Most of the buildings are still standing and look as if they have recently been inhabited, but there is never anyone to be found. The story unfolds as you pick up clues that lead you from place to place in what never fails to be a VERY solitary experience. The second side is the pitch-black, rust-covered undershell of the town where the past is very much alive and manifests itself in the form of some very bizarre, twisted, fleshy remnants of beings that stalk you. It is here that much of the truth reveals itself. Your job is to unite the pieces from both sides and try to bring about some closure.

While considered a "survival horror" game, Silent Hill does NOT employ the gotcha tactics made famous by other such titles as Resident Evil. I remember the first time I played that one and the dog came crashing through the window and I almost lost it. Silent Hill doesn't surprise or startle you in such a superficial way. It is truly a creepy, unsettling experience. It is like you are walking through some sort of nightmarish hell. The only light in the darkness comes through the cone projected by your clip-on flashlight. You are always aware of approaching monsters because your transistor radio does NOT play music but turns up the static when danger approaches. The soundtrack, with its heart-pounding sounds definitely sets the tone for this dark, forboding town.

Anyway, the title of this entry deals with family. I got a kitten on Memorial Day with great help from my sister. She thought it was time, and I must have too.
Well, I have been dealing with a lot of hissing and swatting from Brunton, a cat who I have had for nearly 9 years and who, apparently, doesn't like kittens. This has disrupted the environment and it has been difficult to accept her as a family member. That has all changed recently.

While playing Silent Hill Origins, the newest PS2 release and prequel to the series, I had turned off the kitchen light. The music was turned up and I was just looking around at the decay, the rust, the blood and really just feeling the gloom created by this game when BAM! I was hit by something. I jumped out of my chair and looked down to see Ms. Hudson (as illustrated above). I very nearly pissed myself! Now it is a well-known fact that the late, great Musgrave had a knack for doing this. Being jet-black she moved silently through the shadows and would appear as if out of nowhere. It made the Silent Hill experience even more thrilling! Now it seems as if she has someone to carry on her legacy. It was at that moment that Hudson became a member of the elgarf family. Now I just need to convince Brunton.

Crabby

I found this on Topsail Beach in Surf City, NC and thought it was worth drawing. There are many more like it, as well as other shells, rocks sand etc. that I picked up. I do plan to make some sort of sculpture or at least a still-life to create more drawings.

HALF MAST???

I just heard a report that there is a proposal to name a bridge (or was it a stretch of highway?) after the late, great Tim Russert. This bit was followed by the report that flags were being flown at half-mast in his memory. The first thought that entered my mind was what you see in the title bar. Does this guy really warrant that kind of recognition?

As it sank into this thick skull (of which so many of you are familiar) I realized that, yes, indeed Mr. Russert has earned that honor.

I would be lying if I said I was a great fan of his and faithfully watched Meet the Press every week. I'm not and didn't. I don't even have cable! However, I cannot think of a week in the last ten years or so when I did not hear his voice, or the thought provoking questions he asked of EVERYONE. No matter where I got my news, I would hear that so and so had said on, "Meet the Press," this that or the other thing, and then the radio station would play the clip with that memorable voice. There is no denying that it was the most respected AND respectable of the weekend political roundup shows. I guess "freedom of the press" is easily taken for granted in a society that monitors the movement and reproductive habits of Britney and her kid sister, but, damn, if Tim Russert wasn't like a branch of government! Always well informed of his topics he would ask the questions we all wanted answered by our public officials, and to their faces! It didn't matter what party was being represented by his guest, Mr. Russert went for the truth on our behalf.

So, for what it's worth, I may not be a great fan but I will certainly miss Tim Russert. I guess he was just one of those things that you don't really appreciate until they are gone.

The Nominee

Well, I guess it is all over but the crying. Hillary is to make an announcement tonight. Mara Liason reports that Barack Obama's biggest job now is to unite his party. That hit me, HIS party.

She is absolutely correct. This is not the party that the Clinton's reclaimed in 1992 ending 12 years of Reaganomics. This is not the party that was beaten up and destroyed by Newt Gingrich in the following years.

This IS the party that rolled over and allowed the Republicans to carry out their vast right wing conspiracy, running for cover as the bogus impeachment unfolded. This party is the limp party that lost to the ignorant hick failed governor of Texas in the year 2000. They needed to distance themselves from the Clintons back then, and aren't we all glad they did? This is the party that let George Bush (still an ignorant hick but now a failed president) waltz to victory in 2004. He had nothing to his credit. He SAID we were safe from terrorists, but were we really? This is the party that won a landslide victory in 2006 because the ignorant fucking population of these glorious united states said, "you know what? Duh, this Bush isn't a very good leader." No fucking shit. Too little too late, asshole. All of a sudden EVERYBODY thinks the war was a mistake. They vote the Republicans out and vote the democrats in. What do the democrats do? With the historical first female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pilossi at the helm they rolled over and let the president continue to sodomize us.

Thanks, guys.

So, now Obama has to unite HIS party.

I'd say HIS party is united and ready to go - all of these "enlightened" first-time voters who were brought to the process by this beautiful, eloquent, HOPEFUL man. Believe me, all those assholes are united.

What happens to us, though, those of us who simply don't buy it? Believe it or not there is a solid block of voters like me who have voted for years before this guy came along. Now I know we can't disenfranchise the new voters, so I guess that means we disenfranchise the old voters. Once again, I tip my hat to the wisdom of this wonderful, all-knowing party. Should King Obama stoop down and offer the VP slot to Hillary? No. He simply can't. To do that he would have to announce "It is true. I am a whore. The Clintons are not as bad as all that. In fact, one of them might make a GREAT VP." If he does have the balls to do this, and she has the balls to accept, I will not write in a candidate (as I am now leaning), but will vote Republican.

Now, we know he's a whore, but should he really admit it to all of the people who actually buy his shit?

The first choice for VP needs to be Oprah Winfrey. Let's be honest, she helped that campaign in inestimable ways. That would take care of the female vote. The second choice should be Senator Edward Kennedy. By endorsing him at the high point of the campaign and giving him the blessing of all the Kennedys, living and dead, Teddy deserves a taste of the office that he could never achieve on his own merits. Now I know he is infirmed at this point, but reports today say that he is up and walking and listening to the news. I'm no doctor but I would say that in 4-6 weeks he could be on the campaign trail. The third choice should be Bill Richardson. Having risen to prominence through the help of President Bill Clinton who else could know the weaknesses that Hillary would bring to the table. By turning on the Clintons he greatly helped the Obama campaign.

There is a lot of talk out there about just how hard the Clintons are going to work for Obama. "If they truly love the party they will work their hearts out," has been said time and time again. But, clearly, the party wants nothing to do with them. I will be very disappointed to hear that either of them campaigns for this clown. If the party can do it without them then I wish the party the best of luck. This has been a disgraceful display by self-serving hypocrites.

"__MN"

I have to give my dear sister credit for this post. I so desperately wanted a topic other than politics and she handed this one to me on a silver platter.

I received a phone call around 3:00 pm this afternoon. Obviously, it was the above mentioned sister. She started to relay a story to me and asked if I remembered the coloring/activity pad belonging to my niece that has the lion on the cover. Off-handedly, I replied that I may not have seen it. "I think you have," she said.

"Oh, that's right," I corrected myself, "she had it at that '50s style restaurant we went to." It has been several months and it slipped my mind.

"We just pulled it out of the cabinet," she said, "and were going through it."

My niece, well on her way to six years old, has been putting sounds together and is in the beginning stages of reading. There was a page, my sister pointed out, that had the alphabet written out with letters missing at certain intervals. The reader was to fill these letters in.

Apparently, there were two spaces left out right before the letters M and N.




Now, let's be honest. What would you have written in the spaces?

It took me a second to realize what she was getting at, and to realize what Uncle Elgarf had, in fact, written. I had no stop-watch at the time, but am willing to bet that it was a good 60 seconds worth of gut wrenching laughter.

"Mommy," my niece said, "I think that spells something." Apparently my sister turned the page or jumped to the next set of letters to avoid a controversy. It took her some time to figure out who, in fact, filled in the missing letters. She was pretty sure it was not herself, knew it was not her husband, didn't think it was Grandma A or Grandma B. Then she came to me. Who else could it have been?

That's why I was laughing so hard.

Who would have thought?

I wrote a message in the activity book of a non-reader.

Less than a year later it could have been read.

I guess Uncle Elgarf will have to be more careful in the future.

National Obama Radio

Hillary won West Virginia in a landslide. That doesn't matter. Those people are nothing but ignorant racists, at least that was the impression I got from NPR and Ed Schultz. Now I can accept that, but what does it say about those proud, hard-working, open-minded people from South Carolina? That must make them ignorant... No, I shudder to think.

When I got home from work today there was an envelope from my local NPR station in the mail box. I was first turned on to NPR by a Jewish, lesbian professor I worked with in the mid-90s. So, if you think I am narrow-minded, I would love to prove you wrong. Anyway, this envelope was asking me for a pledge during the Spring Fundraiser. Now, normally I would just throw the thing away and pledge in my own sweet time. This time, however, I decided to act. I called the station.

"W---," came the voice on the other end. I told the female that I was calling about the fundraising envelope I received in the mail. I have been a loyal listener for 10 years but WOULD NOT be making a contribution in 2008. I was disappointed in how NPR had crowned Obama king without due process. She asked if I would like to comment to the station. I thought she wanted me to come in. No, she said, I can transfer you. "Yes, please do," was my reply.

"W---," said a second voice, "can I take your donation?"

Well, no.

I said the same thing I said to the first person. She said, "I'm just a volunteer so..."

"Pass it on," I said.

-Post Script- A wonderful suggestion was made to me since this happened. The money that I am not sending to the Obama campaign (care of NPR) would make an excellent campaign contribution to Senator McCain.

Mickey Kantor

Have you seen this? There is a big stink about a You Tube video which shows James Carville, George Stephanopolous, and the aforementioned Mr. Kantor on the camaign trail in 1992 with then Governor Clinton. They are reviewing polls for the state of Indiana and Kantor may or may not have said that the state was nothing but "shit." He then goes on to say something that is in dispute. Did he really say this, "How would you like to be a worthless white nigger?" ? Some say yes. Others say the video was doctored. I guess my question is this: How many hours did it take you people to scour through 16 plus years of audio/ video footage to find something nowhere near as damning as the Jeremiah Wright clips, and, was it really worth it? What has been proven? A white man said something he should not have said behind the scenes on a campaign. Was he proclaiming hatred to hundreds of people in his congregation? No, clearly not. So, the Clintons are in association with someone who may or may not be a racist but certainly has said some offensive things.

What does this change?

Senator Obama only "earned" that title when the Republican Senator Ryan resigned his post after a scandal involving himself, his wife, and others in acts of consentual adult activities. I have no comment on that. The guy resigned. Anyway, how did "Senator" Obama keep his seat? By running unopposed for re-election. Well, not really unopposed but against Alan Keyes. Do you remember this clown? He is the Ultra-Conservative African-American political commentator. He has not held office, although he has tried. Cast your mind back to 1996. President Clinton was running for re-election. As the Republicans began to whittle away their field of candidates they, of course, held a number of debates. Unfortunately, not all of these debates were equal opportunity events. Mr. Keyes was not permitted to debate with the other candidates. I can't recall for certain if he was driven around in circles or if he couldn't pass security at the event, but he DID NOT debate.

Now, I will not cast aspersions on Alan Keyes. I will, however, point out the facts. This was done by the party. The same party that wanted a black candidate to take race off the table when Senator Obama ran to retain his seat.

Say what you will about his speeches. Say what you will about Hillary spending the last 20 years fighting with Republicans. Say what you will about "HOPE" and "CHANGE" and all the naive voters who never gave a damn about politics until their favorite book-club leader told them who to vote for. I understand that the Clintons are no good, shady, cut-throat, evil, greedy, bastards. Rush Limbaugh has made that point clear for the past 16 years and in better ways than any of you charlatan, so-called "democrats" are doing these days out of one side of your Dick Cheney mouth while calling for reconciliation of the party out of the other side. Reconciliation on your terms, behind Senator Obama is what you mean.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain have a record of service to the nation, whether you like it or not. They do.

I, for one, feel that Obama's record is rather thin. I don't give a damn what Kantor may or may not have said. Obama began to believe the press ages ago and feels he is untouchable. He is NOT the Stones, nor Zeppelin, nor Floyd. He is a Chicago politician who was given a great opportunity by a terrible loser at the 2004 Democratic convention (see the post "John Kerry will burn in hell"). Since then he has been at the right place at the right time.

I am tired of everyone giving this guy a free pass. Let him earn something for a "CHANGE"!

Felis 2

Tired of dwelling on the negative energy of this campaign I decided to post a pen and ink drawing of the skeleton of a cat. I made this well before the loss of my pal, but I would be lying if I said that she didn't influence it. I came across a discarded, laminated poster of various skeletons and was, obviously, drawn to the cat. On a trip to Chicago with Father T. O'Malley a number of years ago I spent some time in the Contemporary Art Museum. They had a black t-shirt with a similar cat skeleton in white that displayed the museum's name below the cat, or on the back, "I don't quite remembah." At the time I didn't want to spend the 25 or 30 bucks they were asking. Funny how you remember such things. I should have bought the damn shirt.
Anyway, the lettering is Dwarvish runes again. They spell out CAT, 2008, and FELIS BEFRIENDUS (borrowed from Jethro Tull's "Hunt By Numbers" from the 2000 release j-tull.com.

Food for thought

It has been stated here in previous blogs that this poster is dissatisfied with National Public Radio. A loyal member for the better part of 10 years I always thought they really did "consider all things," that is, of course, until they crowned Senator Obama king several months ago. In an attempt to find a more varied source for political news I began to search the am dial. A local station carries News/Talk and features the "Ed Schultz Show - The Progressive Voice of the Nation." This was too good to be true. I thought the only left-wing shows on the air were featured on the doomed Air America satellite network.

Well, it has been a couple weeks since I first heard Ed. One of the first things I heard the man say was that he and we should support whoever the Democratic nominee turns out to be. He claimed that either candidate would be worlds better than George W. Bush. I was on board at that point. The next day he was crucifying Hillary.

Today he is screaming about the wasted time discussing that Obama, only this week, started wearing a lapel pin. He pointed out that Hillary hasn't been wearing one either. As for shady dealings with business associates in Illinois being used to tear down senator Obama, what about the backroom dealings with Wal-Mart the Clintons have been in on? Remember that whole Reverend Wright thing? It was not Obama's place to question the pastor or even to leave during a fiery, racist, anti-American sermon. He is a member of "the church" not a member of the reverend. Hillary admitted that the whole thing about the sniper in Bosnia was a lie. She is a no good liar.

The sad thing is that my defenses are weakening.

My original thought on this whole campaign thing was that we need to leave the Clintons in the past and move on with our lives. The republicans would only grid-lock anything they did just like the last time and what good would that do? Maybe it was time for a change. As the election unfolded and Edwards and Obama began dumping on Hillary the way Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity would I started to become defensive. Let's stick it to everyone and go with the Clintons! That has held up for a long time. I voted for her in my state's recent primary and I stand by that vote. Having said that, I am beginning to face up to her flaws. I am finding out that I may have been wrong, and everyone else might have been right. You read that correctly. I am admitting that I may very well be not only wrong, but DAMN WRONG! I am going to have to (figuratively) crawl back to a number of friends, colleagues, and family members and admit that Hillary may not be presidential nor ready to take office.

I thought the Democratic party was wrong for jumping on the Obama band-wagon. I realize now that they have the party's best interests in mind and that there is a good reason that he is their man.

The Democrats are correct.





No matter who gets the nomination...







I could no longer vote for Hillary Clinton in November.







There is only one thing left to do.















Vote for Senator McCain.

Thank you, Mr. Obama

"there has been a small political flare-up because I said something that everybody knows is true which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, in my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter"

That was very well put. Thank you. It is about time that we get these issues out in the open and start discussing openly the "something(s) that everybody knows is true." I guess my question would be, why now? Now that you have clearly said the wrong thing and alienated even more voters. Do you remember just a month or so back when someone else said "something that everyone know is true"? Of course I am referring to Geraldine Ferraro. You, your campaign and the entire "Drive-by Media" (as Rush likes to call it) crucified her as a no good racist. The question that was never answered at the time was this: was she wrong? I would argue no. I would argue that EVERYONE knows that you would not have come so far in this race if your heritage was the same as that of Mr. Edwards, or Mr. Kucinich or anyone else who has not been able to draw out the African American vote the way you have. So, why were you not out there defending the truth as expressed by Ms. Ferraro?

I can tell you why. Because as Mrs. Clinton has suggested, you are an elitist. You can sling the mud and say anything you like but if anyone else tries to throw it back your way they are seen as unethical or racist. You use these terms at your whim and no one else can play both sides of the fence the way you do (except possibly your friend from Massachusetts the despicable hell-bound loser, John Kerry). You know, Barack, I would love to sit down at a bar and buy you a beer. I know this great little place in small-town Pennsylvania, filled with "bitter" patrons. Their selection of beer-on-tap is no less than 20 varieties, and they even stock your own personalized brew:

ARROGANT BASTARD ALE


Post Script: Now that I got all that off my chest I will say this. I honestly hope that you take your pledged delegates, your super delegates, and all your other band-wagon jumping delegates to the convention and then on to the general election. With Mrs. Clinton out of the way, I will LOVE to work AGAINST you in supporting a McCain victory in November.

Reconcile the party?

Kiss my ass.

Shamelessly pilfered from another blog

It is clearly time for Hillary to admit defeat. This new wave of hope is just too overwhelming for any one woman to withstand. She needs to not only move out of his way but really should start throwing out rosebuds before his beautiful little feet. Obama has arrived! This is what the people clearly want. Forget all those big populous states that she won by large margins. We are in the midst of a movement! This needs to be done. It is only right.

Now, the only problem I see in the near future is this: How do we get John McCain to do the same thing? Obviously those record numbers have not turned out to support him. Is he not standing in the way of history himself? Why is all the pressure on her? If Hillary can bow out gracefully by next week at this time we could save Pennsylvania and all those other states the trouble of running their elections. So, that gets us to the end of April. Then, if McCain would be kind enough to step aside by, let's say, May 15th the Republicans could save all the money and time they would have put into their June convention, we wouldn't need a democrat convention in August and GODDAMN!! THIS time around we would have our winner by election night in November! No more swing states to worry about and screw the Supreme Court! Michelle could start nudging Laura out the door right after the X-mas festivities and they could hit the ground rolling.

That's CHANGE!

That's Dwarvish for "Gravy"

It was just coincidence that it should fall on April 1st. It certainly was not foolish. In fact every day for the last 8 and a half years had led up to my 5:00 appointment yesterday. There was supposed to be another person going with me but she backed out. To be honest it was probably better that way. It was not really an experience for sharing.

Two weeks after my final day with Ms.Musgrave I received her ashes. Enclosed was a small manilla envelope containing snippets of her black fur and another envelope with a card that had her paw print stamped on it. I immediately took it home and sat down at the art table to come up with the design you see above. I did have to tool with it awhile before getting it just right. It would fit like a puzzle piece between two other tattoos I already had on my left leg.

So, with the envelope of fur in one pocket and $40.00 in another (the arrangements had been made) I met up with Chad for our 5th collaboration. Another tattoo artist asked about the design. While I was nowhere near embarassed, I did recognize that it was probably not the most macho of reasons. However, after my explanation he sympathized and showed me two massive dog paw prints on his arms for lost pets. I know that the lovely and talented Alicia Moore PINK has an homage to her dog on her forearm reading "Sir Corky Moore" and his dates too, so, I guess I am in good company.

Democrat Shmemocrat

It has been nearly one month since I congratulated President Obama (Number 44) on his hard-fought, well deserved victory. I was absolutely sincere and I still hope that he can change the direction this nation is going. The media has made it clear that Hillary Clinton is no longer a viable candidate and that she (and all of her ignorant, uneducated supporters) should roll over and let the inevitable take place. They have reached me (hence these postings). Unfortunately, they have not yet reached Mrs. Clinton and those in charge of her campaign. The most prominent of these is Geraldine Ferraro. She had the unmitigated gall to claim that if Barack Obama were a white man, we would not be in this situation. That white supremist hate monger! I have never heard anything so offensive!

On another note, NPR reported this week that in the Mississippi primary African-American voters turned out in record numbers to give overwhelming support to Barack Obama. In fact, he EARNED a whopping 99% of the black vote (similar to his big victory in South Carolina and other primary states)! The caps signify that I understand and accept that he and his campaign have put forth an honest effort and deserve each and every one of those votes.

I'm sure that if John Edwards (the Other anti-Clinton) had lasted this long, those same African-American voters would have turned out to support him as they did in his home state of South Carolina, it just didn't work out that way.

Damn you, Geraldine!

Thank you, Esmerelda.

First Contact

I just made contact with an official Oba-Maniac.
Don't worry about me, though. I'll be just fine.
The chief and I were just out for a bit of lunch. The corner of this restaurant was set up as a tactical base complete with a hopeful young man of about 20 wearing a bright blue Obama '08 t-shirt, his laptop computer (sporting Obama stickers), a blonde/preppy haircut, intellectual-looking spectacles, 2-days' stubble, and campaign literature to spare. He was speaking to several of the equally hopeful clientelle. While we could not hear the conversation, the chief and were in agreement that it must have been full of "Hope" and "Inspiration". I very much wanted to speak to this beacon of change, but didn't know quite what to say. Besides, he was very busy entertaining the crowd and distributing signs.

On his last trip back from the backseat of his car with more signs and literature I saw my chance. As he came through the door I said, "I would like to congratulate you. You guys are running a hell of a campaign and I think you're gonna win". He thanked me and replied that he thought they would too then asked, "so you're planning to vote in this election?"

I said, "Yes. I'm going to vote for Hillary, and then in November I will probably vote for McCain. Even though it has become a bad word in this campaign, I am voting for experience." I wanted him to know that, in spite of their rhetoric, they do not have the market on thoughtful, conscientious, informed, and hopeful voters. He responded that this was understandable and that it was nice to speak to me anyway.

God bless you, Mr. Rickman...

I bow to you, sir. Having been born in the year of our lord, 1946 you rank amongst the greatest our age has to offer; David Gilmour (obviously of Pink Floyd fame), former President Bill Clinton, and last (but not least) my own father. Yes, you are of the baby-boom generation and you (as well as your forebears) represent the turning point of our present time. Born of "the greatest generation" you came to your own in the birth/growth of television, as well as Western Democracy.

I would be an illiterate fool if I did not acknowledge that I first came to recognize your talents while I was a 14-year-old (who was not allowed to watch rated "R" movies) watching "Die Hard" at the house of a friend who was laid up in a cast and pins holding his 8th grade bones together. A student of Catholic Schools, I was quite unaware of the dangers that lie just beyond Jesus' grasp (on the BIG SCREEN). You, somehow, were able to ring true as Hans Gruber, international terrorist. As much as I wanted the ALL-AMERICAN John McClain to kick your ever-lovin' ass, I wanted you to have your say and get away with whatever you had planned for Nakatomi Plaza. You had a mastery of the Engish language (unlike our current leader), and you had style.

JESUS CHRIST! It is 20 years later as I type this. I respected you in the January Man, could appreciate the sardonic humor in "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and no one, but NO ONE could pull off the role as Severus Snape in the"Harry Potter" series as you, but my ultimate purpose in this post is to comment on your portrayal as "Lord Turpin" in Tim Burton's current production of Steven Sondheim's, Sweeney Todd. You are/were an inredeemable son-of-a-bitch-ass-hole who not only created a terrible tragedy laid upon him, but received it in spades! I have nothing good to say about the "honorable" judge who (out of sheer greed) created the beast of Sweeney Todd out of the humble Benjamin Barker, save that you portrayed him.

As much as I hated the character, I loved that YOU portrayed him. A generation ago you WERE the supreme foil to the all-American hero. I didn't know it at the time, but the U.S. is NOT always right (the fucking shrub has proved that).

I am no more than a fan of the American cinema, but I thank you for all of your efforts.

CJE

Congratulations, Mr. President.

To quote the immortal Neil Diamond, "I'm" now "a believer".

My awakening came just the other day as I was on a road trip. The AM station that I was listening to carried the speech that Barack Obama was delivering at a nearby university. The crowd was electric! He had them eating out of his hand. What charisma! Why did he choose to run now? Because he is what we need!

Now if you, like I believe that we need more substance in our candidates, fear not! We are both wrong! Never has a great speaker made a poor president! Obama brings such hope to this nation in these troubled times. The biggest applause line came when he pointed out that George W. Bush will not be on the ballot this year. Really? I guess I hadn't thought of that. When Hillary made the snide comment that "speeches don't put food on the table" Obama pointed out that neither did NAFTA! Ouch!

There is no stopping the rock-star momentum that he has built up. I just "hope" that he is able to enact all these wonderful ideas that he seems to think will just fall into place if we all just believe. While Hillary has gone head-to-head with the Republican establishment, as has John McCain, experience is not what we need in this campaign. Senator Obama has the ability to INSPIRE!

Alas, he will have to do it without my support.

For right or wrong I will vote for Senator Hillary Clinton in the upcoming primary. When the democrats choose Barack Obama as their candidate I will support Senator John McCain in the general election. Nevertheless, congratulations President Obama. You certainly have your work cut out for you.