Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep -- Shades of Salman Rushdie

All I have to say is that from where I sit, it is a pretty pathetic scenario that we humans must encounter, watching seemingly or self proclaimed, "normal" people of various organized, self-sanctioned religions, killing one another(and some of the rest of us), in the name of their "god". No shit. These zealots, calling themselves "christians", muslims", "jews", to name just a few, are willing to kill each other(and the rest of us), to defend their own chosen book of fairy tales regarding man's creation, as though their "good book" is more accurate than the next fucked up group of bozos' book written by......oh, a man.
When all of these fanatics and zealots have killed each and every one another off, then, and only then, will this beautiful planet be populated by stewards of the Earth, and able to flourish........until the next bunch of greedy, self centered, self serving bastards invent a "god" (man) who has "talked to "God"(the main one), and the last round of religious wars is far enough in the past for men to become sheep and followers of a charismatic man once again, and the cycle of stupidity perpetuates itself.
Now I lay me down to sleep.........

Rest In Peace Andy........

All things must pass. Opie and Richie Cunningham will too. I have other- worldly rock guitar riffs from the Woodstock era, etched in my mind. I have the Glenn Miller Band's (and Johnny Dee and the Rocket 88's version) of "In the mood" fresh in my memory. Just part of my soul I guess, but I'd have to say that for all of the tunes I know by heart, none could I nail as accurately as the beautiful whistle melody that made me sit my young butt down to watch Opie, Aunt Bea, Barney, Gomer. Goober, Otis, and oh......the amazingly steady Betty Sheriff Taylor. If I had a nickel for every boy who wished their dad was Andy Griffith, I'd probably be rich. That said, I wouldn't trade my dad (or his belt) for Joe DiMaggio.
RIP Mr. Andy Griffith. You brought a lot of joy and good clean entertainment to a generation of FAMILIES.
....you made our world a sweeter place.
Enjoy....smile.

Victoria Advocate Online - Shuffling the Deck Again........

......I write, therefore I am. Read. Right? Maybe? Interesting seeing the reaction from the point of an outsider, of the intelligencia that remains posting on the Vicad, most anonymous, and all of which including staff, can be counted on two hands - if that.........seem to be up in arms. Similarly, Mr. Williams, and a bunch more of the usual suspects, are deathly silent. The Vicad forums really had no forward place to go other than this Coblerseque step. Might work, might not. Depends on who you ask. Bottom line is this. The Advocate online forums had become something akin to rap music - like it or not, a nasty, and in a large part, illiterate, and undoubtedly backwoods social network out of control. It will be interesting to see if they back down, or go through with the MyFace morphing. I will be willing to venture a guess who will stay on board when the smoke clears, and who will tuck tail and scurry for the baseboards.........and which bloggers who have their own world over her, will flourish in another arena.
Signed
Banned for life......
Pilot

BTW, & FWIW I have a facialbook account, and I am active in posting there. Much as I have since starting this online tit for tat, I won't post anything I am not afraid to take credit for and associate with a reasonably current photo. If some freak wants to take exception with that, they will become acquainted with some of my more private personal habits.

Frontier Justice In The Crossroads......

......or was it? All I have to say on this, is that it's a damn good thing the beating to death of the man in Shiner or Moulton or Hilljie or wherever the hell it was, didn't involve a white man beating a black man to death. Heaven forbid. Otherwise Trayvone Martin supporters and George Zimmerman and his backers, would be kissing their book deals and fifteen minutes of fame goodbye. The American public is quick to grab a liplock on the tit of the sensational story du jour.......aren't we? Miley who? Lindsay who? Bernie who? Adolph who? Lee Harvey who? Henry who?? Ford? Wolff? see, I tossed in a couple of good guys, for those paying attention, just to fuck with you.

Traffic Jam at the Top of the World......

What my first wife just shook her head at, nomero dos, called a "death wish", and the angel now charged with keeping me in check, just chuckles at the stories...... For all of my ER visits and near misses, I fall far short of the group of annual Darwin Award candidates you'll find here http://news.yahoo.com/days-deaths-another-crowd-attempts-everest-040343707.html
Call it natural selection, or what you will, but this just proves that "strength in numbers" isn't always the case.

Made it to The Beaver,,,,,,,,,

......which to some might signify "third base". Actually, in the middle of a cranky evening, I threw in the towel and decided to head for Seadrift....on my antique BMW notorcycle......The old thing ran like a dream, holding it's own in the "fatal funnel" that is Hwy 59.
I made it to the Colorado River, before I realized that I wanted to be back to hang with the love of my life, and hot wake up with a 159 nile ride back home......
All in all, it was a good night's ride, A few families here legally, were coming and going. A few more entrepneurail sorts, were pullinga car or two south to turn a profit, and likely, bring back a shitload of drug profits......business is booming, eh?
Bottom line- I could ride to Denver tomorrow. My old Beemer, while a classic, is a hoss.....Nothing like a 150 mile ride on a 30 year old classic machine, on the Fatal Funnel Fleeway, passing minivan human sardine cans, to shake down an old bike that'll be on the road when 5 year old Harleys are in the shop.......
The Nazis got at least two things right....(don't forget the VWs)........

Got a Call From an Angel......

.....well, okay from my sister. She does this on occasion. Somewhere along the way she picked up on the fact that I love music.....real music, and poets......real poets.....and real storytellers.

I hope you liked this.....they are on YouTubee.....explore - if you find tickets for aale, let me know....first drink's on me.

Breaking New Ground......

.......welll, a bit of old dude overview here. Okay, just maybe a reminder of where the really good and relevant rock music that inspires the youth of today.......got its start. Try to connect the dots if you must, or shake your head kids, but this is the beginnings of Foo Fighters, Breaking Benjamin, and The Beatles came from......

From The Edge.....Not

This little art project will be in your city one day....www.postsecret.com

and for a bedtime song......



....g'night

Beautiful World Set to Beautiful Music - Enjoy, Then Read On......

This amazing duo came to my attention today, in an unusual way......First I caught the above clip on a site I visit daily. I was blown away by the video, but even more so by the ethereal vocal duo accompanying it. I can't as a rule, stop digging and mining the net, when I get a bug in my butt, but after watching this, I filed it, and went about my day. (please bear with this ramble here). As I was prepping and picking up stuff for dinner, was listening to Radio Margaritaville on XM, and caught a rare cut from Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris titled "Ooh Las Vegas". As though that wasn't treat enough, when I got home, out of the blue, my young spouse, was browsing Netflix on the wi-fi on the TV, and asked if I wanted to watch "my movie - Grand Theft Parsons.....Google it. Well that was eerie enough, but after she turned in, and after KP duty for me, I took it upon myself to look up the info on the group "First Aid Kit" whose "Wolf" provided the amazing backdrop for this vudeo collage. I went to their website, and while I probably would have likened them to Ann and Nancy Wilson in their harmonies, I was pleasantly and scarily surprised to read that they actually patterned their harmonies after Gram and Emmylou......and noted that their music illustrated how like in addition to Gram and Emmylou, like June Carter and Johnny Cash, it made the music better, singing with "someone you love". Interesting sequence of musical events for me today. I got the message. Susie - they were also heavily influenced by Fleet Foxes...........damn!
.....and for those who would like to see more.......




If like me, you want to see them live, get in line, and prepare to fly somewhere interesting for the next few months

Dem ol' Stems....and seeds.....

Ha! Gotcha with that title, huh? My pal Sugar Magnolia posted a funny little political cat-toon on her blog today.....Looks like both of our morning coffees sent us to the keyboard, only mine was prefaced by a stop by Jonco's "Bits and Pieces" site, and a quick glance at a real big boy newspaper, The Houston Chronicle. The common denominator you are screaming "get to the point" about, is stem cells. The article in my paper that caught my eye was one in which it was noted that Rick Perry had injections of stem cells, both in his ailing spine, and intravenously. His spokesperson acknowledged that the treatment was in fact successful in alleviating the Guvner's pain. I suspect that based on the results of the treatment, and the outcome of his death by debate Presidential bid, he'll probably be secretly going back to get two more injections - in his brain and tongue.....

To get Obammy ousted, this could have been a year in which I backslid and voted Republikan, had they trotted out even one horse that wasn't limping (Ron Paul will be on the ticket under the "none of the above" party).

My suggestion? For the short term, buy ammo. For the long term, learn Spanglish and Spanish. You'll likely need the ammo to bribe, barter or shoot your way through Mexico, on your way to your new home in Chile or Paraguay.
Thanks for the pic, Jonco.

These Days.......

A dear friend stirred me tonight with an e-mail. She and I are years apart, but she apparently knows of a bridge that few others do. She reminded me of an artist I was exposed to back in '71-'72. I loved his music, but it gave way to Tull, the Moodies, Pete and the boys, and Pink Floyd, only occasionally being remembered.......until today. It is everything considered, worth sharing though, because taken in sequence, it shows that perseverance and patience count for something.










I s'pose ladies touch outlaws too........
Thanks T.

It Ain't Me.....

Words here would be a waste of space......

Told ya.....
Okay - one more

R.I.P. Big Man.......

Half Iraq, or A Noggin'?

I watched a "nurse in" news story on the local ABC affiliate yesterday. Seems there was a revolt of sorts in progress after a local mom was chastised by what likely was a Baptist or Penecostal Target employee for breast feeding her infant, covered and discretely, while doing her shopping. Now while I will say that my position on the issue leans toward allowing discrete breast feeding as necessary, I have to confess that if I observe it in progress, I will likely steal a glance, looking for a brief glimpse of the proverbial second base.....or is it third? In the news story on Ch 13, as I was dutifully watching and noting every detail, I caught what I thought to be a glimpse of a nassive mammary, and in the process of patting myself on the back for my good fortune, I caught a replay..........
Have you ever noticed how much a newborn's bald head, resembles third base?????????

I must relate this story to my breast friends.......

A New Year, A New Leaf........

......and you may or may not notice, that I've retired my obssession with the Victoria Advocate, and removed related posts. Fact is, as pitiful as it is, I have come to realize that I am no longer a part of it, and better yet, it is no longer a part of me. The friends and contacts I made there, I still communicate with here and by e-mail and on Facebook. The cretins, misfit antagonists and misguided jesus freaks stinking up my once hometown paper, are a thing of the past. When my dad died, still struggling to fetch his paper from the bar ditch the carrier seemed to delight in depositing it into as opposed to his drivewy or sidewalk, that ended a tradition we have as a family participated in since 1959. For me, it ended in 2007,(I suspect a number of others share that dubious milestone).
Whatever the case, short of the second sitting for the last supper, actually occurring in Chris Cobler's office, or bigj's Sam Houston State dropout's alumni dance, I am pretty much going to concentrate on what I do best - telling stories - a few true, others, up for debate.

Excuse Me Deer.........Are You In The Mood?

Let me start by saying - I don't hunt......except for fish, which brings to mind the clever Santa/car salesman Chevy truck commercial running this cool yule season. You see, this article in the outdoors part of the sports section of the Chronicle caught my eye this morning. The header said "bucks are vulnerable now, during their mating season"....... Well duh, I thought. Then it occurred to me that everything considered, the deer hunters are pretty much in the same boat - except that their mating season has no opening and closing dates. Now mind you, this doesn't exactly when one takes into account deer feeders, blinds, scopes that can tell if a deer is a natural blonde, and oh, that 30-06 Winchester, level the playing field, but it is something to think about. Like I said, I am not a Linda McCartney, "don't eat anything with a face" fanatic, in fact, I kind of dig venison sausage kolaches,

....okay, nerd time - the extended version.......

The Sad State of Print News....

......and of those who are hastening it's demise. I found out a couple of weeks ago, after nearly two years of buying my morning paper from Mustafa and Walid, full retail I might ad, that the Chronicle is actually hurting enough for circulation numbers, that their carriers now will enter a beehive apartment complex such as mine and trudge up the stairs to put a paper on my mat. After all this time of doing without, I was shocked at the first one that I brought in in it's plastic sleeve. It was a Tuesday edition, and while it was the Chronicle, if was smaller than I remember the sports section alone being, just 6-8 years ago. I tell you that to tell you this: It is still a traditional newspaper in every sense of the word, and that is a hell of a lot more than I can say for the Advocate. I find the print edition to be a complete embarrassment, compared to what I saw, as recently as 2006. It is poorly laid out, and so biased and one track minded in it's tone, that I am shocked it is still in circulation. I think that they are surviving simply due to the fact that "old habits die hard". That is the print edition. Their online edition, and "blogs" and forum, have become a complete free for all, with a few intelligent hangers on, diluted by a bevy of religious freaks, redneck philosophers, and just total morons stinking up the place. I will read it until the powers that be hopefully sell it to someone with some editorial aptitude and the ability to make it into a newspaper again. By the same token, I will not be surprised at the announcement that they are just closing their doors. Like I said, old habits die hard. Just ask the recurring "spotlight blogger"/editor...........

Crying In Carolina......

......for sure I miss my friends and my beautiful family in Texas, but no these tears are tears not of sadness, but of a reaction to Klingon pollen and histimines like I haven't experienced since moving from Seadrift to Austin. Funny, moving from Austin to Houston, cured me completely. Go figure. Maybe the exhaust fumes killed the allergens there.
From day one out here, my eyes have been weeping and my sinuses boiling. I have so far, resisted the obvious over the counter poisons, and going to the doctor for him to get his hand deeper into my pockets than it is over my blood pressure and cholesterol.......

A nice hotel desk clerk who moonlights as a nutritionist, recommended I try some of the local honey, made from local pollen by local bees, as a possible source of relief. Two doses in my diet today and so far, so good. I am prepared as a "plan B", in the event the honeybees bomb, to sample the local corn next. Best delivery system I have come up with so far, is trying the local moonshine......
My friend the nutritionist suggested mixing it with the honey, should I resort to such a "cure". My old friend the Grey-Beard Loon seems to be in agreement as well, that the "shine" is at least worth a try, if not actually a damned good plan......
So if you see me with a Mason Jar full of water...........

Lima Time! A Happy Memory of a Good Man

As much as a lot of celebrities, sports stars, and persons of note pass, and many times it turns out that their death was a result of their inability to control or deal with their their fame and fortune, there are those other tragic stories of a truly decent, gifted person, with role model stuff. Talent, charisma, and a gift of being able to impart that way of appreciating life and living it to the fullest, to others. Jose Lima was such a person, and he died this morning.
He passed away this morning at his home in California. What a heartbreaking piece of news. My condolences to Jose's family and friends. As one who loves the sport of baseball, I can say that there are few who measure up to the caliber of person that Jose Lima embodied. A truly gifted athlete, he was so much more as a person. He was the light of the Astros team, and a person who loved his life and lived it to the fullest. In addition to a talented baseball pitcher, he was a great dancer, and a talented singer in his own salsa band.
I am a father, and the one "Lima Time" moment that I will forever remember, was at at game in the Astrodome. It was before the start of the game, and Jose and some of the young PR girls were tossing soft Astros promotional "baseballs" into the crowd. My oldest son was maybe four at the time, and he ran from our seats down to the rail by the Astros bullpen along the first base line in the outfield and disappeared into the crow lining the rail, as they were down to one last ball - in Jose's hand, to toss into the crowd. I watched him look into the crowd of fans and kids lined up with outstretched hands. Then I saw his face light up with the sweetest big Lima smile that was so typical of Jose, then he walked to the railing and disappeared behind the crowd standing there. A couple of seconds later my little beaming, grinning Stephen came running back to our seats a couple of rows up, holding the ball the Jose handed to him. As I sit here with a tear on my cheek, after hearing the tragic news, I can safely say that that smile as he locked gazes with my little boy, and the one that he put on my boy's face that day, is the way I will forever remember Jose Lima. I am eternally grateful for the one little thing Jose did and for the influence that it had on myself, and most surely on my son. A truly wonderful soul. Rest in peace, Jose.

On Your Feet or On Your Knees.........

This.....



Plus this.....

Equals......

Probably the best cobbler I have made to date.

Oh, and this......



I started to name this "wish in one hand and scratch with the other....."
Likely no more berry picking this year. has anyone seen my wire brush?