Nod and Thirty Miles

A lovely day, biked for 30 miles, rubbery legs are my reward. Guitar practice going nicely. The beginning of 'Hurt' coming along and even sounds like it should. Chords, finger exercises, strumming. Legs numb, fingers numb. All is good.

Supreme Court Nominations
Now Playing: Heather Nova - Redbird
Topic: Politics
Well, the Supreme Court nominee Kabuki theater play has ended it's first act of this season's performance. Inane posturings and wooden facile non responsive answers went back and forth for the week of the Roberts confirmation hearings. No apparent purpose was served and all of the mild rantings were guaranteed to not change or disturb the outcome in any way. Indeed in the absurd dance of politics the democrats played their own imaginary game over in the corner and making a show of their twenty two to twenty two for and against 'vote' at the confirmation hearing. A calculated vote to appear 'moderate' so that when the next nominee comes down the pike they can go full tilt at him or her. Their effort will be to peel off six republican votes to defeat who they will assume to be a raving republican nominee.

The reason the fight will be so big is because the theory is that the next nominee will replace someone they perceive to be a moderate. If that replacement is a hard line conservative then those 5 to 4 vote they have been winning will be 5 to 4 the other way. Therefore the big fight on the next nominee. This assumes that a nominee will do something that nominees rarely do and that is to be either conservative or liberal as projected. It hardly has seemed to work that way. And there is the added theater of potential presidential hopefuls decided their votes in terms of how those votes will play with their bases. Swirling motives, fights for power and posturing all make for an interesting time of it.

Bush has the votes. Fifty five republican senators. Can he keep them all in line for a staunch conservative? Can the democrats Bork the next nominee? Will the teams of democratic 'opposition research' vultures who are sitting next to their phones and computers waiting to begin looking for dirt be able to find any? Any Anita Hills out there? It should be interesting. Of course, I said that about the Roberts nomination and that one turned into a boring affair.

Nothing in particular
Topic: Art and Poetry
Gilmore Girls and House, my favorite shows on Thursday. More or less a throwback to the 40's with the both of them. GG is a screwball comedy in the vein of His Girl Friday and House is Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone. Good stuff and I hope the writing lasts for the both of them. Ah yes, in the Gilmore Girls they have a "Gilbert" character - the rocker Sebastian Bach who was with Skid Row. Cool beans. Gilbert online Fingers numb from the Blueridge, hopefully they'll get thinner here after a bit.

Numb fingers
Now Playing: Roger Miller - Little Green Apples - Hits of 68
Topic: Art and Poetry

Doing a bit of channel surfing, a bit of the Big Fat Greek Wedding before turning over to watch Beck on Austin City Limits. The Greek Wedding woman was beautiful and Beck was good. Funny thing about listening to Beck now. I've begun a finger numbing journey with the guitar and so I watch guitar playing singers with different eyes. New respect. Swimming in deep deep water now but then what else is new. All that is needed is time and effort and desire. Some things in life don't respond to that combination of things unfortunately. My guitar pictured. No miles on the bike, chest cold.

Bronco's Win, House wins an Emmy, rambles
Now Playing: Patricia Kaas - Piano Bar

Flipping the channels between the football game and the Emmy awards. Sorta watching on the Emmy thing to see how various shows I like are doing. I love watching House and it did win an award but Hugh Laurie lost the best actor award to James Spader. Ah well, I like Spader too. 24 lost to Lost. Never watched Lost, never watched 24 until this last season. Show was actually really good, either that or my tolerance level on stuff that is unbelievable is going down. The ending where the missile did not hit anyone was so very lame and unworthy of all of that build up and tension. As I think about it again, Gilmore Girls did not receive any nominations which makes the quality control over there very suspect. But likes and dislikes are very subjective so who knows. I know anytime someone puts a top ten or top hundred best 'this or that' up I try not to look or think about it since I always find those to be incomplete, ignorant, political and unworthy of notice. Bah. And annoying. But then I'll go and peak at the list. Like the most beautiful people list. I don't even know who they put on their lists but if I go to the front of such a list and it claims to be the all time beautiful women and if Sophia Loren isn't there then it's obviously a defective list created by idiot brain donors from the planet dumbshit. You know, we all have our own lists.

Anyways, it's always good to see Shatner win an award and he did win another Emmy. Good for him. It was sad to see the listing of all the entertainment people who have died in the last year. From James Doohan to Frank Gorshan to Bob Denver and the guy the was Ernest T. Bass from the Andy Griffith Show. One of those things I avoid at the end of the year when they do the big list of people who had died in the last year. Always very depressing. And all through the Emmy stuff I was flipping over to the football game. Raiders and Chiefs, playing close and beating the heck out of each other. Always the best idea when you are a Bronco fan. What with Chiefs and Raiders being division rivals and all. And speaking of the Bronco's - the did come back for the win against the Chargers this afternoon. Very good stuff. Very nerve wracking to listen to on a sometimes spotty Internet connection to KOA radio. And thank goodness the KOA feed is still working through the games so far. Can't help it. A Bronco fan forever apparently. Got my John Elway figurine, my icon of good character and determination. It's just there waiting for the Lance Armstrong character figurine/statute to come out.

Thinking about trying to learn to play the Guitar. Wonder if my fingers can learn new things or not. Me, no musical training whatsoever. Ah but you know, anything can be done if even time and effort is put into it. Perhaps. Still thinking. Course, the guitar would have to be black. Everything has to be black. One thing I've noticed as I've thought about it and looked around the internet, there is quite a bit of instruction to be found on the internet. So, it would be hard to get stuck and without guidance. Something to continue to think about.

Chest Colds, House, Gilmore Girls
Now Playing: Gilmore Girls

Nothing like the grip of a chest cold across your chest to remind you of your mortality. The picture by the way is of Vultures. Big giant Vultures. It's especially good to have one creep on you when ABC has one of it's big scary specials where they show how completely unprepared we are for a pandemic of the flu or the nuclear explosion which will happen eventually. A trip down historical lane to visit the great Spanish Flu of 1818 which killed some 25 to 50 million people. That was my favorite part of the show. We're due for another one any day now. Fortunately most people don't know any history and are not bothered by thoughts of killer flu or pandemics which happened when the world was in black and white. Kind of like all that annoying business about someday New Orleans going underwater when some mythical category 5 storm could someday possibly hit. Ha, ridiculous thinking. Nothing to worry about. Oh, and that pesky stuff about terrorists using 1940's technology to commit terrorism. Oh goodness, who would really think that such a thing could happen. Flu or nukes, probably both. Everyone will be surprised. Mark my word.

The premiere of House and Gilmore Girls came and went. Both shows started off nicely. The Gilmore cliff hanger - would Luke accept the marriage proposal? Would Rory still stay want to take a year off from Yale? Such excitement. Hope it doesn't get uncomfortable like figure skating. You know, I can't watch that figure skating stuff since I can't stand the idea that someone working so hard, and so thinly dressed could fall while doing a triple sowcow thingee - and in front of a audience to boot. Too much anxiety to watch. Too painful. Hopefully this Rory falling and failing doesn't go on too long. Hopefully Lorelai will not go nuts. Hopefully there won't be any of those unwatchable episodes like when the dark haired surly bad seed boy became the boyfriend of Rory. Unwatchable stuff. Ahhhh.

Now House was itself. A smart, nasty tempered fellow in his own world, figuring out various puzzles of life and death all the while examining the mysteries of life and death. Good stuff, good episode.

Listening to the Roberts hearings
Now Playing: NPR- Senate Hearings on Judge John Roberts
Topic: Law


It's been remarkably polite if you forget about Biden yesterday. The democrats are basically keeping their liberal credentials in place by asking him questions that he won't answer. They will further keep their credentials in place by not voting for him regardless of the answers he gives. He'll continue to not answer a single question if it might be in contention. So, it's a big show meaning nothing much. Interesting hearing him talk about Kelo and the quote from Blackstone which says that the government may not take property away from someone and give it to another. Clear as can be and no hint of irony. Words don't matter, meanings don't matter. All those things can be circled and nullified with the proper backdoor reasoning as seen in Kelo and the pre Kelo cases which didn't raise as big of a stink.

Reflections on Things Lost
Topic: Mysteries of Life


With all of the calamities and disasters occurring in the country both in the past and in the present it gives me pause to think about how absolutely fragile life is. The idea of some sort of permanence in the world, some sort of solid and surefooted present and future which is not real in the first place, becomes more evident in it's absence. Buddhist as I am, I know nothing is permanent. Everything is impermanent especially life itself. With nothing permanent in life some things remain important if only because of how fragile and ephemeral those things are. People, friends and relatives are always there even when gone, even when not seen for years. People you think about every single day and haven't seen for years are always there. Always and forever a part of your life.

I had this dream once. I have this dream often. I'm doing something, something else entirely like browsing in a library and I see someone who sees me. Someone I know. Someone who knows or knew me. I feel the scorn and disgust from them and I flee. Never a word, just the feeling that sends me fleeing and to suddenly awaken. I have to explain, whenever I have dreams it's not like I have dreams far from reality. Dreams of my own reality and not dreams as I wish them to be. Just reinforcements of reality. I wish I had dreams of monsters chasing me or falling but I get this one instead. I never have a chance to do anything in this dream, no way to change the outcome, it's predetermined. I awaken with my heart pounding and with a sadness that wraps around me.

I had that dream last night. Quite vivid and real. Only this time the person wasn't mad at me. And actually spoke to me. The feeling was intense, my surprise and gratefulness was overwhelming. I wanted to speak, to say something but as in life my words would not come. My heart raced and I was suddenly awake. I felt great, a wonderful feeling. And it wasn't real. I never did say I was sorry. And I was. And I am.

Being Held Accountable


Listening to the news and to the commentators in the wake of Katrina you can hear the usual suspects begin their various political spins. I heard Sean Hannity put the desperate rant by the Mayor of New Orleans on his show as an example of partisan 'Bush Bashing' and I couldn't believe it. If anyone has a right to scream and yell and wonder where the hell the help was it was the Mayor of New Orleans. But what's right and what passes for common sense doesn't apply any longer in this word of balkanized politics. For Hannity and others of his ilk their party line is all that matters. Much like the stuff I would listen to on Radio Moscow which had often had no basis in reality these guys are singing their political song no matter what the reality is. Hannity, in the tried and true style of politics set about to discredit the Mayor, after all, it was the Mayor who didn't get all those people who wouldn't evacuate to evacuate. So, according to Hannity the man has no right to complain. Again, it reminds me of Radio Moscow and the parade of lies they would put out over the airwaves. Him and Rush also said that 'this is no time to criticize' since it's the middle of a crisis. Oh, I see. We can't be expected to be able to multitask at all. Sorry, but it is possible to work and focus on the efforts and to criticize those efforts where they are failing. Oops, trick no good dudes. I know they don't want to hear it but this time those who screwed up will be found out and will be booted out. It doesn't matter what party they are from and it doesn't matter to us which political party is running things. Things just need to be run at least half assed. At least. I don't know what party the Governor of Louisiana is from. Does it matter? She is not competent and deserves the scorn she is getting now and will continue to get. Bush, who went to a fund raising dinner the night that Katrina hit the coast and who fiddled away important days until the constant news coverage shamed him into acting deserves the loss of support he is experiencing. We don't expect our politicians to be perfect, we do expect a certain level of competence and this level isn't acceptable. This failure isn't acceptable. But you will continue to hear Rush and Hannity make it sound like things are getting much better in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. Not going to work this time. You're not going to get to pass this buck back to Clinton or Carter or FDR.

Horror in New Orleans
I've been watching the events in New Orleans and I'm horrified with it. The government has completely failed and has absolutely let events get out of hand. It's Lord of the Flies there, it's like hell on earth and there will not be an easy end to it now. Even after they get all of the people out of New Orleans that want to leave or who will be most easily forced to leave they will have to move into the town with military force. The gangs of homeless violent men who have found a world where they are lords of all they can grab will not easily give it up. In their predatory lawless minds they inherited the wasteland that has been left to them. The police let them loot and they then looted with a vengence. Guns out of the Wal-Mart's and more posessions than they've ever seen have fueled visions of being able to be masters of their own fate. They've organized along the gang structure that they've already had or have gathered along similar interests and have indeed gone back to a primordial lawless evilness. Shooting at helicopters, rape gangs, shooting to settle old scores in a world without law and without consequences the place and the people bring shame to us all.

Steaming pile of MTV
Topic: Art and Poetry

Flipping channels. Ricky Martin 'pumping' up the crowd. Momentary blindness caused by massive suckage. Must change channel. Flip back to Hurricane coverage. Watch the spinning red hurricane in the bottom of the screen. Flip back to MTV, is that Jamie Foxx rapping? What the @#$%? I know he was in the biopic of Ray Charles but how does that make him qualify to be singing on MTV? At least Ricky Martin sold some records to the Mall crowd first before they let him shake his bon bon. Why didn't Jamie Foxx have to go on American Idol first? Or on that show looking to find a new singer for the INXS? On that show where Gene Simmons is trying to Jack Black a bunch of British school kids and turn them into a band? Oh thank god, it's over. Back to commercials for the OC and for jeans. Let's check to see if that little spinning hurricane on the news channel is getting any closer to New Orleans.

Um let's see. Flipped back to the MTV disaster, you know. It's only right to spend time with as many disasters as possible when they are simulcasted as they seem to be right now. The MTV thing, which looks really like a BET at the improv thing, is showing 50 cents rapping some rap which I couldn't identify since they are all basically the same beat with every other word being bleeped. It's a sad state of affairs when that is identified as music when it's clearly more closely related to beat poetry and bad beat poetry at that. Well, no music to be seen at that disaster, only bad production values, unrehearsed unprepared presenters and people trying to show how cool they are by being bleeped as often as possible. How sad. But there is still the flaming red tiny hurricane eternally spinning at FOX News and CNN. Various anchors are racing to be in harms way and there is the hope that one of them might get waxed on camera. It might finally provide proof that ego isn't magic armor- followed by the serious reflections about how wise it is to put reporters in the way of storms followed by self affirmed discussions about how important they are and how they need to be where the news is. Blah blah blah.

Storm rising
Now Playing: Nena - 99 Luftballons
Topic: Mysteries of Life


This is a picture of the Gulf Coast last week. Near on 100 degrees and a 100 percent humidity. Told you I could live in heat and humidity. Not only that, but what you can't see is that I'm wearing black. NOthing but. This week it's all rain and clouds and general doom. There's a reason after all why it started as swamp land. But this storm seems to be heading for New Orleans and since New Orleans is below sea level it has the possibility of being very very bad. If you're evacuating New Orleans don't forget all yor Mardi Gras beads and whatever you do, don't look back - you could turn into a pillar of salt. We'll see about that.

Just watched the Denver Bronco's defeat the Indianapolis Colts. Bronco's look good, Mike Anderson looks good as the starting running back with a nifty 93 yard touchdown run. With all the hopefulness that comes with pre-season I'm hopeful for this year. I've always believed that you should confine your irrational belief to sport - irrational faith in the possibility of success against all odds, irrational belief in redemption and rebirth, irrational belief that hard work and effort can help you find your way to eventual success. Like John Elway. Like Lance Armstrong.

Pop Beaver
Now Playing: Rebecca Pidgeon - Tangerine / Lena Marlin - My Lucky Day
Topic: Mysteries of Life

I was of course unable to do anything but take pictures of the Pop Beaver. The Pop Beaver, one of 24 various Beaver incarnations which will all find their way here eventually. Three solid weeks of 'Beaver Shot of the Day' pictures if I was of a mind. I captured some pictures of one of the Beavers at an intersection and my eyes went to a amused driver who watched me take pictures of that particular Beaver. I smiled and said to him, 'Now who doesn't love Beavers? I mean, a man's gotta have something wrong with him if he doesn't like Beavers.' The smiling and amused fellow from the car nodded in agreement. Perhaps it's not world peace but you know, one Beaver at a time and I'm pretty sure that world peace will take care of itself. One Beaver at a time. Yes indeed, now that's something I can get behind. Thank you Pop Beaver.

Oh, and please note the admonishment at the bottom left hand corner. The green sign there says "Please do not Touch or Climb the Beaver."

Ah, Fred Astaire
Now Playing: Roger Miller - Little Green Apples
Topic: Art and Poetry


My pre-ordered dvd boxset of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies came a few days ago. I'm not old enough to have seen any of these movies in the theater but I did see them back in the days of three networks and one independent television channel. That great independent channel had a library of old black and white movies and it was from those days that I'd be able to turn on the tv and see the great old movies of the 30's, 40's and 50's. I grew up watching these movies and I grew up loving them. I mention this because when I see Fred Astaire I know I'm going to see a light hearted, dancing, romantic comedy which will entertain me and really make me feel good. I'm going to be happy.

As I read this review of the box set on Cinematical I am so very glad that I'm not looking at them through the eyes of a movie critic. I'm so very glad that I didn't think to see marriage as "disappointment’s nihilist revenge" or see the character that Ginger Rogers played as "emblematic of a “new kind of woman” " I'm not looking at Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies through a woman's studies degree or a politically correct filter of what I should think was intended or should have been intended of a movie created over 70 years ago. I'd like to think there is still a place for movies to be enjoyed as movies.

Swing Time is light hearted. It's wonderfully light hearted. It's fantasy time with beautifully dressed people who dance for their supper in fantastic art deco inspired sets and who don't get angry when they lose the girl but who pick themselves up and come up smiling. There is magic in these old movies. As the trailer for Swing Time says, Singing! Dancing! Romancing! What more could you want?

20 miles and Reeds Ginger Brew
Now Playing: Mediaeval Baebes - Mirabilis
Topic: Physical Well Being
Been hitting the bike trails for twenty miles every other day and today was no except to that. Had a deer cross my path the other day which was an unexpected pleasure. My new fixation (my old fixation being lime flavored tic-tacs) is Reeds Ginger Brew. A premium soda made in California and it comes in a version with 17 grams of ginger per bottle or 28 grams for the extra strong version. A strong tangy taste that bites back. I can't get enough of them and of course I have the devils own time trying to find and keep them. I've also continued the ginger flavor parade by finding Ginger flavored Altoids. Great stuff.