I'm here, but so is my brother, and I'm expecting my folks in later this week. Preparing for company and working down in the valley the past several weeks hasn't been conducive to blogging. Stay tuned though because after the family's gone I suspect I'll have pictures to share.
ITEM!
The past three weeks have absolutely sucked. Mrs. T has been fighting off the flu resulting in her pushing back scheduled business trips. I've been trying to juggle my schedule around hers and it's been a nightmare. I finally knocked out what I needed to do out of town now, so the pressure's finally off. Mrs. T is rebounding as well.
ITEM!
My maternal grandmother died back in 1991. This Wednesday we lost the last of her siblings, my Aunt J. There were five siblings in that generation. My grandma, Aunt R and Uncle J were beer drinkers, my Aunt L drank water, but Aunt J drank Scotch. Aunt J was pretty feisty. Reports from Indiana tell me she was flicking people the bird right up to the very end. She was a stalwart Republican and we butted heads constantly over politics. Not a birthday card or Christmas card went by without us scribbling a political jab to the other. For example, during the '04 Election I sent Aunt J this scandalous shot of herself:
This really pushed her buttons and she was on the phone immediately giving me an earful.
I regret that I couldn't get to Indiana for her funeral today. But I want folks to know that in lieu of flowers I sent a contribution in her memory to the Republican National Committee. I wouldn't have done that for anyone else. But I just know that this evening she's strolling the golden sands of some heavenly seashore hand-in-hand with Ronald Reagan-- and that makes me feel good.
ITEM!
Speaking of politics, David "Biafra" Shuster was back on the air tonight after MSNBC suspended him for his role in Pimp-gate. Of course, Bill "Freaky Falafel" O'Reilly never left the air after his lynching comments about Michelle Obama. I think this perfectly demonstrates the problems that come with subjectively sanctioning folks for the content of their speech. Note that both the Shuster and O'Reilly comments were metaphorical. I've already discussed my take on "pimping" in my previous post, let me throw in a word about "lynching."
If you look up the word "lynch" in the dictionary chances are it'll define the word in terms of vigilante justice/punishment without due process, usually referring to hanging and often by a mob. The definition is race-neutral. People use the term frequently without intentionally implying race. Problems arise though when listeners unintentionally infer race. Of course when the speaker is white and the subject is black sparks can fly. O'Reilly's comment was careless and insensitive, but we can't just assume he intended to use the word fully loaded with racial implication. We have to be reasonable. Speakers should try to be sensitive. But before blowing a gasket, listeners must consider the context and tone of a statement and ensure that they're not reading more into it than what the speaker intends. Moreover, the ultimate sin in my book is when people intentionally infer the worst from a clearly benign statement in order to smear the speaker or gain sympathy for themself. Such tactics are an affront to reason and folks who utilize them ought to be lynched.
Some weeks back I got a call from someone asking if my beard was for-hire.
I said yup.
It's a meme from Slender Reed! Oh, no, from Hyperher, she did it after Reed, so I'll use her list instead (I get an extra asterisk that way too.)
Copy this list, leave in the bands you've seen perform live and add an asterisk by it, delete the ones you haven't, and add new ones that you have seen until you reach 25. (An asterisk means the previous person had it on their list, two asterisks means the last two people who did this before you had that band on their list and so on.)
Here's my list (in no particular order). Play along if you like, and let me know if you do.
1. Don Henley
2. Poi Dog Pondering
3. The Cure
4. Melissa Etheridge
5. Arlo Guthrie
6. The Cranes
7. Willie Nelson
8. Gary P. Nunn
9. "Weird Al" Yankovic
10. Michelle Shocked
11. The Doobie Brothers
12. Indigo Girls**
13. The Jesus and Mary Chain
14. Ben Harper
15. Ani DiFranco*
16. Eddie Vedder
17. Bonnie Raitt
18. Del Castillo
19. Los Lonely Boys
20. Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
21. Bo Diddley
22. Midnight Oil
23. Crosby, Stills & Nash
24. Hothouse Flowers
25. Ziggy Marley
It's a nasty, severe thunderstorm-warning kind of night here, so I thought I'd curl up with a meme. This one's from Cherish:
Using only SONG NAMES from ONE ARTIST , cleverly answer these questions in a form that makes sense...
Pick a band: Jimmy Cliff
1.) Are you a male or female?
Wahjahka Man
2.) Describe yourself:
Under the Sun, Moon and Stars
3.) How do you feel about yourself?
I Want I Do I Get
4.) Describe where you currently live:
Over the Border
5.) If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Journey
6.) Your best friend is:
Rub-A-Dub Partner
7.) Your favorite color is:
"But mistress Brown your son is dead." [Sorry, had to use lyrics on this one.]
8.) You know that:
We All Are One
9.) What's the weather like?:
Waterfall
10.) If your life was a television show, what would it be called?:
Roll On Rolling Stone
11.) What is life to you?:
Many Rivers To Cross
12.) What is the best advice you have to give?:
Let Your Yeah Be Yeah
13.) Describe your ex?:
Hard Road to Travel
14.) Your current love interest is?:
Trapped
15.) What's your favorite hobby?:
Going Back West
16.) When you think of your friends you think?:
Wonderful World, Beautiful People
17.) What do your friends think of you?:
Roots Radical
18.) What does your current love interest think of you?:
Love Solution
19.) You always travel with?:
Use What I Got
20.) The best way to end a long day?:
Reggae Night
These arrived in my inbox today.
"I read Isaiah and took the lines from it that I liked and adapted them so they rhymed. My desire was not to use anything that perpetuated the myth of a God character being angry and aggressive.
I suppose I observe a lot of violence done in the name of theologies of various religions, but when you study the actual texts of those religions you find that they don't back up anyone who might use them to justify war or violence or anything really which is unloving of people."
Jeremiah (Something Beautiful) mp3
Thanks Sinead.
Here's an idea inspired by a recent post by Tvindy.
If you were President of the United States of America, who would you select for the executive cabinet? Here's the crowd that's in there now. I gave the question some serious thought (the list took me nearly a week to complete.) I selected the person I thought would work best for the position. I didn't want to fill the positions with my favorite political pundits either, I tried to find folks with the pracitcal know-how to do the job. I admit, I threw in some academics, but they're in positions that I believe are well-suited for academics. I should also point out, I made no attempt to achieve any type of balance, whether it be gender, race or what have you. They're my top picks, plain and simple. (Sorry ladies.) I've got specific reasons for selecting each of them, but I really don't have time to write about each one. Many I think are self-explanatory, if you have specific questions over any of my choices, we can discuss them in the comments.
At any rate, I'd love to hear what your cabinet would look like, so let me know if you create a list of your own. But for now, here's mine:
Department of Agriculture
Secretary Ted Quaday; Program Director for Farm Aid.
Department of Commerce
Secretary Ben Cohen; Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and President of Business Leaders For Sensible Priorities.
Department of Defense
Secretary David H. Patraeus; Commanding General, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth
Department of Education
Secretary Bill Moyers; Future President of The United States of America
Department of Energy
Secretary Joe Jobe; CEO of the National Biodiesel Board
Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Dennis Rivera; President of 1199SEIU
Department of Homeland Security
Secretary Louis Farrakhan; National Representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and The Nation of Islam
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Geoffrey Canada; President & CEO of Harlem Children's Zone
Department of the Interior
Secretary Peter Miguel Camejo; Chair and co-founder of Progressive Asset Management, Inc
Department of Labor
Secretary Anna Burger; Chair of Change to Win
Department of State
Secretary Jesse Jackson; President and Founder of RainbowPush Coalition
Department of Transportation
Secretary Daniel Duff; Chief Counsel and Vice President-Government Affairs for American Public Transportation Association
Department of the Treasury
Secretary John Mackey; CEO of Whole Foods Market
Department of Veterans Affairs
Secretary Ted Strickland; Governor-Elect for the State of Ohio
Department of Justice
Attorney General Steven Shapiro; Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union
Cabinet Rank Members
The Vice President
Cornel West; Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Princeton University
White House Chief of Staff
Timothy Gunn; Chair of Fashion Design, Parsons The New School For Design
Environmental Protection Agency
Al Gore; Former Vice President of the United States of America
Office of Management and Budget
Paul Weiss; Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, National Foundation For Credit Counseling
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Tommy Chong; Actor, Writer and Director
United States Trade Representative
Raymond C. Offenheiser; President of Oxfam America
Just got back from my buddy's open house warming party for his new legal office. If you can't read the small print on the label it reads, "Made with Real Dairy Cream, Rum, Brandy and Blended Whiskey."
God...is it really only Wednesday?
1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Mulled Port
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Normally he would set them under the tree, unless the present had legs and a lap, then he might sit them under the tree... Ooo, Itsy Bitsy Spider-Man has legs and a lap! Santa can sit him under my tree any day!
3. Coloured or white lights on tree/house? I prefer colored, but our pre-lit synthetic Douglas fir came with white.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. Too risky since I know who all's coming over to visit this year.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Black Friday.
6. What is your holiday dish (excluding dessert)? That's a trick question, you can't exclude dessert... Custard Pie
7. Favourite holiday memory as a child: Attempting to photograph Santa with a trip wire and Polaroid camera when I was five.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I'm still discovering the truth about Santa.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes. And anyone who says "no" is a liar.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Ideally, with nothing but wooden ornaments from Käthe Wohlfahrt. In reality, only three wooden ornaments from Käthe Wohlfahrt and a bunch of crap from China.
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I moved to south central Texas for ONE reason and one reason only, I absolutely hate sub-freezing temperatures and any type of precipitation that may accompany it.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes... but I haven't in over ten years.
13. Do you remember your favourite gift? Yes, but I received it on my birthday, not Christmas.
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Time off work.
15. What is your favourite holiday dessert? Mulled Port
16. What is your favourite holiday tradition? Trying to trump my previous year's present for my Evil Little Brother.
17. What tops your tree? Nothing at the moment, but Grandma & Grandpa Theologian are bringing a very special tree-topper down from the Great White North when they visit later this month... stay tuned....
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving, or better stated, Browsing and Buying wishing I could keep the stuff for myself.
19. What is your favourite Christmas song? It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
20. Candy canes: Why?
21. Favourite Christmas movie? The Hotel New Hampshire And don't go telling me this isn't a Christmas film because it most certainly is; and my favorite Christmas film at that.
22. What do you leave for Santa? A ranked list of stuff I want and sworn affidavits from my associates vouching for my good behavior.
Don Quixoté & Sancho Panza marionettes
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