The Nazi's Made the Jews Wear Flair

Sunny - Hi 108 Lo 85 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 110 Lo 82 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Scattered Showers - Hi 79 Lo 63 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Three Imaginary Boys, The Cure - 1979

I have always loved The Cure-- I think it was 1981 when I first remember hearing them... Boys Don't Cry... I had such a crush on Robert Smith.... before the heavy make up and huge Aqua Net hair... as he became more of a caricature, the more dark and brooding the music became... and I obediently followed. As much as I would have liked to think of myself as dark and brooding.... I could only sustain that darkness for so long... although it is a place I am quite comfortable even to this day... it gets awfully lonely... it is better to be surrounded by light and love.



Ramble:

OK... So... the President has a beer with a racist and a cop (and the "VP").... Cash for Clunkers is already without funds...so the House has approved another $2 billion...nice... You have Nancy Pelosi calling insurance companies the villains.. and the House of Representatives has voted to place a cap on what bankers can make in pay and bonuses.... then my favorite... The White House now accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express from dining guests... when they are from "big evil business". And this is the stuff that is happening here in the United States... The insanity taking place globally is just as frightening...maybe even more frightening...

So... that's enough...for this week... I can't take anymore of this... Saturday, Scooter Trash Husband and I went to see The Hangover. Oh dear gawd... this movie is so funny... so sophomoric... it's up there with Office Space, Anchorman, Wedding Singer, Wild Hogs, and There's Something About Mary-- except... even more raunchy and even more sophomoric... My sis in law would absolutely HATE this movie. Lots of guy humor... The language is repulsive and there is full frontal nudity... of men... yep... that's right...lots of boobs too... at the end of the movie. Dude from The Office, Ed Helms is too funny. I love him even more now.

All right.. so, I'm on Facebook now... trying to figure that out. I'm in to double digit friends now, so that's good and I'm not feeling completely friendless. So, anyway... there are these games... I'm not quite following the purpose of them, but apparently I am playing and gaining points.. how, I'm not quite sure... in any event... I guess I'll keep playing until I can figure out how to make them go away. However on a fun note, my niece sent me a piece of Flair... and I love it... This caused me to go and seek out more Flair...

What is Flair you ask? According to Urban Dictionary, the most popular definition is, "Buttons and other decorative accessories added to a work uniform, esp. at chain restaurants. Almost universally despised by restaurant workers and customers alike."

The common everyday person became aware of Flair after the 1999 movie, Office Space. However, I think the first movie to introduce Flair was Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Mike Damone, the ticket scalper had a certain Flair... usually only one or two pieces at any given time.

I have a confession... I have my own Flair.. My Flair predates both movies... My Flair is now called vintage...(ooohhhh... ahhhh....) circa 1980.... nearly 30 years old... Back in the day, I wore my Flair on my Dad's USMC wool overcoat or on one of my many army surplus purchases... So I must thank dear Shauna for reminding me of this. Here are a few photos.... click to enlarge











Walk across the garden
In the footsteps of my shadow
See the lights out
No one's home
In amongst the statues
Stare at nothing in
The garden moves
Can you help me?

Close my eyes
And hold so tightly
Scared of what the morning brings
Waiting for tomorrow
Never comes
Deep inside
The empty feeling
All the night time leaves me
Three imaginary boys

Slipping through the door
Hear my heart beats in the hallway
Echoes
Round and round
Inside my head
Drifting up the stairs
I see the steps behind me
Disappearing
Can you help me?

Close my eyes
And hold so tightly
Scared of what the morning brings
Waiting for tomorrow
Never comes
Deep inside
The empty feeling
All the night time leaves me
Three imaginary boys sing in my
Sleep sweet child
The moon will change your mind

See the cracked reflection
Standing still
Before the bedroom mirror
Over my shoulder
But no one's there
Whispers in the silence
Pressing close behind me
Pressing close behind
Can you help me?
Can you help me?


Have a great week everyone!

Octagon Hall

Sunny - Hi 110 Lo 88 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 107 Lo 77 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Partly Cloudy - Hi 81 Lo 65 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Can't Find My Way Home, (Blind Faith) - Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton - 2007



I have always liked this song... it's a rolling down the road kind of song... it's lonely... searching...

Ramble:

Michael and I spent Saturday driving about 3 1/2 hours 1 way down to Franklin, Kentucky to visit Octagon Hall.

Andrew Jackson Caldwell laid out the foundation for his new family home. With a desire for distinction, his home would not be a simple structure like so many others, but an eight-sided edifice unique to the region. Octagon Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was used during the Civil War by Confederate and also Federal troops, it served as a Civil War hospital. Built prior to the Civil War, it is now site of the Octagon Hall Museeum & Kentucky Confederate Studies Archive. There is a rather extensive library, and a display of Civil War artifacts, Native American artifacts, and genealogical and historical research material. There is a slave cemetery, and historic gardens in season.

The house is incredible-- started in 1847 and completed in 1859-- the uniqueness of the place... the size of the foundation stones are enormous-- we were wondering how in the heck they got the stone to the house...The work that had to be completed to build this home.

The home is in various levels of disrepair. The interior shows serious signs of water damage, some bozo put in drop ceilings on the upper level. The current owners, are doing their best... but some things cost money... However, I think a little Spic-n'Span would make a world of difference as well as ripping out all the tacky window treatments... and getting rid of those gawd awful mannequins...

Caldwell was a Confederate sympathizer... during the Civil War Caldwell opened his home to injured soldiers..., it is recorded that on the eve of the Battle of Shiloh- 12,000 to 18,000 men camped on the grounds of Octagon Hall.

I must tell you... I did not like the place. I felt unsettled... There are some beautiful trees on the property... a dogwood-- at least 150 years old... magnolia, cypress... Michael and I walked out to the slave cemetary... sad... horrible... the cemetary is in an oval of old cypress trees-- forgotten... I was creeped out by the photo of Caldwell and his wife... Michael made a comment after we were home that he and his wife looked like they could have been fraternal twins... I couldn't find any history on them specifically... but I can tell you... I didn't like this man.. this woman... that cemetary.. unmarked graves... the life the slaves led... even if he was kind to them... they were not free... they didn't have liberty...

Thank God for Abraham Lincoln. I must wonder what he would think about our current state of affairs...

* click on each photo for a larger view *












After we left Octagon Hall we drove into Franklin for a late lunch. Franklin is the county seat for Simpson County. One of the locals was not intimidated by us outsiders... He was unusually large for a squirrel...





We saw this flea market driving down... and I had to get a pic of it heading back home... We are definitely going back... I mean someone claims this is the most awesome flea market in the world... well... you just have to check it out for yourself... ya know?



I'll post more of the pictures on my Facebook page-- just as soon as I figure it out...

Have a great week everyone!

Tossing Tea Bags!

The Cincinnati Tea Party was a success. These are a couple of my favorites... The rest can be viewed at Cathy's Flickr.

Among those in the photos are my Scooter Trash Hubby, Mom, Friends Rob, Jo, baby girl River and Kyle.

The speakers were pithy and terrific. The crowd happy to be there.... polite, smiling, friendly... and if you work downtown... spend tons of money at Graeter's... not just because it is the best ice cream ever... but because he wasn't selling tea...

Click on each picture to enlarge....

The Ant and the Grasshopper

Partly Cloudy, Dust Storms - Hi 62 Lo 50 for Baghdad, Iraq
Partly Cloudy - Hi 81 Lo 55 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Windy - Hi 34 Lo 13 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Money for Nothing, Dire Straits (performed by Mark Knopfler, Sting, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and co.



Do you remember when this song hit MTV? It now has a whole new meaning, huh?

Ramble:

Have you seen Clara's Depression Era Cooking on YouTube? This gal is 93 years old. I just discovered her... and I love her - There is going to be a DVD released soon. The best part is that her grandson has taken this opportunity to record his family's history. I wish I had paid more attention to the stories that were told when I was a kid... Here is Clara's website and here is her blog. It isn't just the recipes, it's the quick little tidbits and how to's-- turning off the heat to save gas and money... We are so spoiled.

So, I was at work this week and a co-worker told me that her husband had been laid off from his job. She was quite upset, which is understandable. The part that annoyed me was that she said it was completely unexpected... WHHAAAATTTT? She went on to say that they were going to have to cut some corners, consolidate bills, not eat out as much, bundle their cell phones, and my favorite? She is going to look into this "whole thing of getting her mortgage paid." She had heard that if you stop paying your mortgage, the government will step in and offer assistance... She was able to calmly rationalize that she and her husband had worked hard enough and had paid into the system and were entitled.... So, "this mortgage thing" appears to be viewed as a benefit... like unemployment? Yah.... good times... good effing times...

Then this weekend I go visit my Mom. She has been utterly depressed and can not shake this funk she is in. She has worked long hard hours her entire life. We lived in abject poverty and never took a handout. As you have read here before, through sheer willpower and muscle, my mom overcame all obstacles and now leads a more than comfortable life, but in an instant, her investments - the fruits of her labor gone. Oh and according to President Obama... she is rich!

Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow.

All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer's field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by, and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head. She would put the grain of wheat carefully away in her larder, and then hurry back to the field for another one. All day long she would work, without stop or rest, scurrying back and forth from the field, collecting the grains of wheat and storing them carefully in her larder.

The grasshopper would look at her and laugh. 'Why do you work so hard, dear ant?' he would say. 'Come, rest awhile, listen to my song. Summer is here, the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labour and toil?'

The ant would ignore him, and head bent, would just hurry to the field a little faster. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder. 'What a silly little ant you are!' he would call after her. 'Come, come and dance with me! Forget about work! Enjoy the summer! Live a little!' And the grasshopper would hop away across the meadow, singing and dancing merrily.

Summer faded into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The sun was hardly seen, and the days were short and grey, the nights long and dark. It became freezing cold, and snow began to fall.

The grasshopper didn't feel like singing any more. He was cold and hungry. He had nowhere to shelter from the snow, and nothing to eat. The meadow and the farmer's field were covered in snow, and there was no food to be had. 'Oh what shall I do? Where shall I go?' wailed the grasshopper. Suddenly he remembered the ant. 'Ah - I shall go to the ant and ask her for food and shelter!' declared the grasshopper, perking up. So off he went to the ant's house and knocked at her door. 'Hello ant!' he cried cheerfully. 'Here I am, to sing for you, as I warm myself by your fire, while you get me some food from that larder of yours!'

The ant looked at the grasshopper and said, 'All summer long I worked hard while you made fun of me, and sang and danced. You should have thought of winter then! Find somewhere else to sing, grasshopper! There is no warmth or food for you here!' And the ant shut the door in the grasshopper's face.

It is wise to worry about tomorrow today.

That was then... Today even if the ant has done everything right, I.E. saved money, invested appropriately, never living beyond her means but the ant makes more than $250,000.00 she is required to bear the burden of feeding all the lazy @ss grasshoppers...

Aesop's Fable reprinted from Long Long Time Ago

Get your money for nothin get your chicks for free....

Have a great week everyone!

Make It Stop

Mostly Sunny - Hi 63 Lo 51 for Baghdad, Iraq
Cloudy - Hi 68 Lo 51 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Flurries - Hi 28 Lo 17 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Domino, Van Morrison



Podcast of the Week: Walter Williams - Freedom: Going, Going...

Dr. Walter Williams discusses the legitimate role of government in a free society. This program took place at a National Journalism Center seminar. NJC is a program of Young America’s Foundation.

Good Reads:

Nathan Foster's Top 10 List of Obama Mistakes

From Islamabad to Bradford by Mark Steyn - National Review Online

Morning Report 2/18/2009 by Bill Bennett - Culture 11

Obama and FDR: Rallying the Churches by Mark Tooley - The American Spectator

Ramble:

A week of travel and another week of that pressure on my chest... you know...impending doom... end of the world as we know it... So, we'll try a little Van Morrison and see if that doesn't cut through the funk...

Just an observation from this past week - In my travels, which consisted of 3 separate airports, I did not notice as many servicemen. In fact, I only saw one soldier at CVG - Cincinnati. However, I did notice a lot more dogs--- doing the work of sniffing for drugs and other paraphernalia.

Connecticut loves President Obama... I was part of a 2 day intensive meeting to improve functionality in one of our departments. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But, I suspect we are broken in basic functionality just like every other manufacturing facility out there. In speaking with the hourly folks, no details were provided, just that President Obama is great and going to give the people back what is rightfully theirs.... mm...kay... Wow... So we are going to borrow $787,000,000,000 from who.. I guess China. That money will then be given to organizations that will supposedly stimulate growth in the way of new jobs. And in the mean time, the Dilbert down the street is still living beyond his means.... and since my husband and I are responsible U.S. citizens... we are afforded the "opportunity" to pay Dilbert's way, plus maintain our own lifestyle... that's great.

The manufacturing facility I visited this past week is having a spring shutdown-- 1 week. This is unprecedented, but will prevent layoffs-- or at least delay layoffs. I work for a good company... We are lean... We are very lean. A few weeks ago, the company got rid of dead weight... those that add nothing... the slackers... the lazy ones... There are a few more that could probably be cut loose... but for now... we are trying to keep manufacturing moving and doing our best to sell...

Oh this sucks.

Now... if you'll be so kind to excuse me... I'm going back to my closet to hold myself in the fetal position and rock myself back to sleep.

Have a great week everyone!