Story

I posted another of my unfinished (unedited) stories over on Brass Tacks.
I will leave it posted for a few days.
The story and the one which spawned it can be found on my Lord Bubbha blog.

Campaign theme song

I'm pushing this song to Mark's official campaign song as he journeys on his way to being elected President of the United States of America!

Every campaign begins somewhere and a rousing chorus of A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight might get voters off their lethargic asses and onto their feet (hopefully not as a lynch mob!)

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Verse 1:

Come along get you ready, wear your bran, bran new gown,

For dere's gwine to be a meeting in that good, good old town,

Where you knowed ev'ry body, and they all knowed you,

And you've got a rabbits foot to keep away the hoodoo;

Where you hear that the preaching does begin,

Bend down low for to drive away your sin

And when you gets religion, you want to shout and sing

There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!

My baby -

Chorus:

When you hear dem a bells go ding, ling ling,

All join 'round and sweetly you must sing

When the verse am through, in the chorus all join in,

There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

Verse 2:

There'll be girls for ev'ry body in that good, good old town,

For dere's Miss Consola Davis an dere's Miss Gondolia Brown;

And dere's Miss Johanna Beasly she am dressed all in red,

I just hugged her and I kissed her and to me then she said:

Please, oh please, oh, do not let me fall,

You're all mine and I love you best of all,

And you must be my man, or I'll have no man at all,

There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!

My baby -

Losers and winners

I feel decent today in that I am not continuously tired. The past week has been a burden, even for me as used as I have become to the discomfort from RA. I am still tender in places and my joints and fingers are swollen but the soreness that was over all my body has subsided to the point of being tolerable. I still cannot cut my food, but I can hold a fork without dropping it, and that is a huge improvement. I did not sleep well last night, but it was an betterment over what I had been doing. Typing is a problem, but I am addicted to writing and it helps take my mind off my real and imagined woes; writing is my comfort zone. I was able to comment some photos on Megashot this morning, but quickly ran out of steam; all the mouse clicking got to me. Maybe the shots will kick in and in another week or two I can get back to a bit of my normal treachery and malfeasance.
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I don't know whom President Obama will choose for his new top economic adviser. I do know that the out-going Lawrence Summers was either not very good at his job or was not listened to, probably a combination of both. My personal choice for the job would be Mark Sevigny, a person whom has absolutely no background in big politics or in national and international economic matters. What he does have is a workingman's commonsense approach as to what is wrong, why it went wrong, and how it can begin to be fixed and that in itself is is most uncommon in Washington, D.C. governmental circles. He is also cut from the same fabric as was Harry S Truman in his "the buck stops here" philosophy. Of course, I would count on him in seeking advice from his real and virtual friends when he felt he needed it, friends whom would not mind moving to D.C. to live for a couple of years and have decent paying jobs as his own personal advisers. The sacrifices of the common man and woman; it is our American strength. I took the liberty of sending Mark's blog address to the White House because I don't know his home address and phone number, but I'm sure he may be hearing the oft repeated words in times of national crisis "Greetings from the President of the United States of America ... you are drafted into service of your country. Please report to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. to discuss this important matter. After crawling through the slime of Congressional committees and two weeks of expenses paid cleansing in American Samoa, you shall report to me, your President, and help get me out of this freaking mess!
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Tuesday again?! Seems like we are having a lot of them lately.
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Many Splendored Sweaters

A note concerning yesterday's blog and the '70's duds: It is possible I may have, in a spasm of pre-disco psychopathic neurosis, walked into a Montgomery-Ward store in Parkersburg, West Virginia on a cold evening in late 1971 and purchased a belted sweater, and it may have been much like the very first one depicted in the ad. A very painful admission this is. However, I certainly did not then nor ever have I had a beautiful blond haired woman's head on my shoulder, and I never did buy a hat just like the one Joe Fancy is wearing in said promo. Having painfully wrenched that demon from my past, I can come completely clean and say that I actually bought two of them; yes, I purchased my bride a duplicate one because she had always been into the '60's match-mate rage and I figured I would surprise her for Christmas which was coming up in a few weeks. Needless to say, she was definitely surprised to the point of teary insanity, letting me know that she would never wear the ugly garment and as good as her word, she never did. I wore mine only once. They both languished in the back of our closet for a few years and eventually were given to a local clothing charity; I wanted to put them in a yard sale and try to recoup a few of my dollars, but she allowed she would not be caught dead trying to sell such monstrosities; after all, she had a reputation of sensibility to uphold. I am widely renowned for not having much sense, nor did I have a lot of friends in those days, therefore my self-perceived cool reputation was not tarnished as mightily as it could have been.
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I'm very happy the Christmas hoo-doo is over for a few short months but it will seem like it will begin anew in a few weeks when one of our corporate-created, semi-holiday, spring-fever events rolls around; St Valentines Day. Love is a Many Splendored Thing, they say, but no amount of chocolates or bouquets of red roses or glittering gemstones can ever take the place of a sincerely spoken "I Love You".
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Clean up your act because it is Worsh Day!
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Outback Christmas 2010

Ain't it funny how time just slips away

Jeremy didn't come in for Christmas; the weather is too iffy. We miss him and Courtney and Remy and Bubba. We miss Keegan a lot, too; it is Dec. 26th in Japan, and we hope he is safe.
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Snowing in East Tennessee; a rare but always lovely occurrence on Christmas Day.
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Carolyn has been cooking for a couple of hours already; I smell the pot roast broiling in the oven. For desert, she is making banana pudding.
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Be well, Dear Friends.
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Rambling

Ashley went to OB/GYN and got her first ultrasound pic of my forthcoming grandbrat. Don't yet know the sex, but if Carolyn gets to spoil her/him, he/she will be a brat. Delivery due July 22.
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Had another lesion removed from my face today; it was right at the edge of my sideburn and the side of my head is now swollen. The wound on my nose is not healing properly, and the doc and nurse have been doing work on it.
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One of my teachers from the 10th grade has died at age 83; she was a young woman when I first met her.
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Jeremy's trip home for the holidays is iffy; we are forecast to have snow from Friday night through Monday. I hope he can make it in; the only gift Carolyn and I can give the family is a good meal on Christmas.
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Tomorrow I will attempt to get my first RA shot in more than three weeks, and I am in desperate need of it.
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Thursday is Christmas-eve eve. Have a good one.
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0:00

Length of Day:
9h 41m

Tomorrow will be 0m 0s shorter

One ingredient I forgot to include for chili is water, however I prefer using beer for the last couple of "waterings". The alcohol will evaporate but the taste of the hops will remain; you can fool yourself into a hangover.
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Mark sent me an email last evening asking if I was planning to see the lunar eclipse. I set an alarm on the Droid to wake me up, which it did, but the sky was overcast and no moon to be seen. I bet the dark side of the moon was really dark during earth's shadowing. I've seen several lunar eclipses in the past, the best one was when a bunch of us were camping at Watauga Lake back in the day.
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Carolyn is off to store to buy her beef for Christmas pot roast and fixings to make more dressing; I never get enough of the dressing. She makes it just as did my grandmother and mother; delicious with any meal, and very good with cranberry sauce. We have many mouths to feed and that is one thing I like about Christmas; all the family can get together and fight instead of doing it over the phone and by email.
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Hopefully the weather will hold so Jeremy, Courtney, Remy, and Bubba can get here, but the forecast is not promising.
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Happy Solstice, my friends!!!
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True lies

Please view this on YouTube.com in full screen, and leave a comment for these fine photographers

I copied another of my stories from my private Lord Bubbha's Blog to my public Brass Tacks blog. Click the link if you have no burning desire for potent literature; I will leave it posted for a few days. It is another story based on an actual happening; someone did rob a local bank and a constable chased him on foot and got shot in the ass for his trouble.
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Some folks say my stories are too short, lacking needed details and I agree they are not of Stephen King length or quality, nor do I intend them to be such. Most of my tales are concise and meant to be recited, changed, and added to as they are told; they were written with Jonesborough's storytelling festival in mind. The story I just posted has a plot--the quest for love; a protagonist--our love denied hero; and an antagonist--flirting frustration. It has a decent lead paragraph and an ok ending, therefore I consider it print-worthy for a blog. It is 2,200 words and so can be read in a few minutes, much like the Chap Books of the 19th Century.
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Jeremy's gig went well, he said, and he has another booked for January.
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Have a witwanton worsh day!
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Just sayin' ...

Please watch this video on YouTube full screen

Seeds of spring shall soon be sown

upon a frosty winter morn

Time will quicken as days grow long

I shall toke from a tarry bong

Mother Jug has blown its top

I shan't be rolling this years crop

Shotguns are out but I don't care

I'll smoke a pipe and let down my hair

Buzzing with friends and soaking suds

Pills aplenty for next summer's buds

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As you may well can tell, not much to talk about today.

This is the final Sunday of Autumn, 2010; make it a high one, my friends.

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Saturday ... another fine mess

Saturday and not much going on except cold, cloudy, snowy, icy, rainy, and misty. To paraphrase Johnny Cash, "I'm stuck in winter prison ... and I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when". Why does spring and summer slip by so quickly but winter has its own poke-along sense of time? I don't want to hurry winter along because that would be wishing my life away; but summer and spring should stand up and demand equal time. Carolyn is threatening to make chili, but I will have to doctor it a bit with a drop of Texas Pete and a jalapeño pepper or twenty. Three days until Solstice.
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The Photoshop classes will begin January 5th over on Megashot; there will be real teachers and assignments for those interested.
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Have a good weekend, dear friends.

Megashot.net--Artists Rising Vol. 1

You too can become an artist on Megashot.net

Friday frolics

I want to clarify something about Megashot. Many people have the impression the site is for artists only and that everyday shooters have no business there, however that is not the case by any means. Cyrus Khamak, conceived the idea for Megashot after he realized the major shortcomings of sites like Flickr, Photobucket, and others that were not doing enough to advance the skills of photographers, whether they are artists, hobbyists, or beginners. It is not an elitist photo site. Cyrus spent three years planning and developing Megashot, and had it been for artists only, I would never have been a part of it. Megashot it is for anyone and everyone who loves photography and has enough desire to try to make themselves better shooters.
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It has been nearly three weeks since I've had an RA shot; my fingers feel like sausages but are not visibly much more swollen than is usual. I cannot get another injection before Monday and it will take about two weeks for it to do its magic, therefore if I do not show up here as much as usual, I will still be thinking of you; planning and dreaming; wishing and hoping.
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Jeremy has his first paying gig Sunday night and if he proves to be popular, he will likely sign with a local Atlanta booking company. Please wish him well, my friends.
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How to become famous!
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Have a stupendous weekend, my children.
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Ode to a 'stache

This morning

Glad I grew the mustache; it is a wonderful corruption-catcher for my nose wound; keeps the crap from running into my mouth. Not to mention it is a great snot filter. To top that, I never have to wonder what I had for supper two days ago; a flick of my tongue-tip to my brush gives me week's menu.
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Weather-wise, this month has been an entire winter rolled into 16 days. Rain, sleet, snow, freezing rain, 0°F temp yesterday morning, and some cold sunshine. Still two months until weather brings its first promise of spring, when the robins bloom and the flowers sing; apple blossoms and honey bees; April showers and scented trees; grass so green to startle my eye, puffy clouds in warming skies; purples and reds and yellow flowers too, a rainbow cast of all soft hues; birds on high and bugs below, fresh mowed lawns to and fro; so fresh the season of earthly art, 'tis Nature's blessing for an old man's heart.
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Thursday, December 16 2010; Solstice minus five. Have a good one, my friends.
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I do not recommend surgery on the nose; it is very painful after the anesthetic wears off. I am off to the liquor store for some sedatives.
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Seven

Willow Springs Park

Check out my new Megashot banner slideshow! Please? I will probably be changing it fairly often. Top that, Flickr!
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Wordpress must hate Mark, either that or it doesn't want him to consider being our beloved president. When I did my first blog here, and even when I began this one, his comments showed up immediately. All of a sudden, I began getting emails saying I had comments to moderate and most of them have been his and I think I have approved all of them. The one on yesterdays post was treated as spam from the git-go; no email alert or anything; I just happened to check my spam comments and there it was. No settings have been changed on my dashboard that would cause this to happen. His comment from yesterday is a very good one, too.
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Mark is counting down to Christmas and I am awaiting winter solstice. Christmas has superficial meaning for me, but solstice is a tangible entity which can be felt in the soul and experienced and seen in daily life. If solstice wasn't more important than Christmas, why would there be two of them each year but only one Christmas. Christmas will come and go with its most profound after-effects felt in our financial situations, but solstice will increase its meaning each day for six months and will then begin a new six month cycle and none of it will cost us any anxiety, depression, embarrassment, or money. Bah; humbug! Seven more days.
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Last night's miss of work is a huge income loss for us. The extra profit from the floor work Carolyn did Saturday was swallowed up by yesterdays bad weather.
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Have a Tuesday of peace and contentment, dear friends and blog readers whom ever you are.
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Shaggy for Prez

Friday 13th falls on Worshday this month; how lucky can we be?!
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Obama seems to be saying bad legislation is better than no legislation; it's the same old political lesser of two evils philosophy. I have a different philosophy and one the American people seem to have forgotten; let's elect he better of two goods. Somewhere in this big nation there must be some honorable people whom are willing to try and right the ship without selling our collective souls to corporate devils. It is past time to chuck the "buy me" system of democracy and install a "what's best for the nation and its people" government. First, the voters must be educated and at present, we do not seem willing to go to school, much less learn our lessons. Mark should be President; The honorable Mr. Shaggy! It would be a hoot.
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We've had a couple inches of cold snow since yesterday afternoon, and every flake of it seems to have stuck. Why do I say "cold snow" when all snow is cold? I used to have to work outside in weather like we are having—sub-freezing temperatures and high winds—and snow flakes at these extremes are like frozen razor blades slashing the skin; ordinary, run-of-the-mill snow it isn't. Supposed to be very cold for two more days and nights, and then moderate into daytime mildness which will seem like a heat wave. I have a feeling this December will be recorded as one of the coldest ever.
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Have a warm worsh day, gentle people.
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Sunday morning ...

Happy Birthday, Maggie!
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Megashot has a feature that shows each member's birthday; there is so much to do on the site and more coming all the time. One of my photos made Megashot of the Week in the Cars and Vehicles category of Explore. If you would like to become a member of the finest photo site on the net, please take a moment to fill in your registration information here.
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Today was off to a good start. I awoke and began to get dressed the same as usual, pulled my bloomers on, then my pants, shoes, and shirt. I stood up and finished tugging undershorts and pants up when I realized something didn't feel right. I pulled my pants back down and saw that my shorts were on backward. Off came the shoes, pants, and shorts and I basically began again. I put my shorts on correctly, my pants on once more, and then the shoes. I got up, took a step, and knew something else was wrong. I looked down and my pants were on backward. Aggravated, I again sat on the bed and got completely naked and began all over; shorts, pants, shirt, shoes. This time all was as planned. The incident reminds of bygone Sundays when I would wake up with a hangover, not really caring how I was dressed or even if  I was dressed.
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I plan to watch my Lady Vols play the Texas Longhorns on TV this afternoon. Should be an interesting game.
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Congratulations to Robin; her daughter is due to deliver to her her first grandchild next summer.
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Have a Sunday, my friends.
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Feeling it!

Carolyn is working in Kingsport today refinishing floors; it is the hardest job she has because it is so labor intensive. Outside the house the weather is pretty and fairly mild; but we are under a winter storm watch tomorrow through Monday evening. Monday night's temp is forecast to be 8°F (-13°C). Going to be another long, cold week.
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Only 10 days until Solstice! Yeee-haaah!
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"At Christmas I no more desire a rose
Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled mirth;
But like of each thing that in season grows."
~ William Shakespeare
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I wouldst rather possess a rose at Christmas
than to endure snow in May's spring glory
'tho each unto its very season
doth blossom in beauty its own
~ Ken Anderson
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Hope your weekend is an exceptionally good one!
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People

"Don't be fooled."

I agree with Mark; this "wiki-leaks" thing is fascinating. Like Chinese emperors of old, the knee jerk media which these days includes the likes of our governments, Facebook, Twitter, and others have decided it is best to kill the messenger who bears bad news instead of stopping the bad news from happening. Also, huge corporate money industries are kissing up to bad government and censoring or refusing to serve the right of the people to know; fair usage is fair only when it is in their favor. Yesterday, MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal were hit with denial of service attacks just like Wiki-leaks was previously attacked. "Freedom" is becoming less free each day we as citizens of democratic countries sit on our collective hands and do not let our "representatives" know that too much is more than enough.
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My report card for lame duck President Barack Obama:

• Economy ... D
• Health care ... D-
• Iraq ... B-
• Afghanistan ... D
• Wall Street ... F
• Taxes ... F
• North Korea ... C
• Iran ... C
• Foreign Policy ... C+
• U.S. Infrastructure ... B-
• Dealing with Congress ... F
• Overall Leadership ... F

"... I want you to understand what real change is. Don't be fooled. Real change means saying what you mean and meaning what you say. Real change isn't about fitting the politics of the moment."
~ Barack Obama campaigning against Hillary Clinton for the Democrat Party presidential nomination, March 1, 2008.
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I cannot grade our Congress as I cannot find a rating below abysmal failure.
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My blogs have been getting some hits from Nigeria; interesting. Folks, whomever you are, I am very happy to have you looking in and I hope you will make many return visits to enjoy my views of life in the USA. However, I do not know the whereabouts of Dick Cheney but if I did I would do just about anything to see that he faces due justice in your great nation. I hope you have your own version of Gitmo.
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Have a Thursday, dear friends.
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"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination"

"Dandy" Don Meredith died. The quarterback played college football for Southern Methodist University and went on to play for several years in the National Football League with the Dallas Cowboys. He was a commentator on the first ever Monday Night Football game on ABC TV, along side another football legend, Frank Gifford, and lawyer/journalist Howard Cosell. Meredith was a dandy foil for Cosell's bombastic and uppity demeanor. They made a great comedy team and Cosell gave Meredith the nickname of 'Dandy" and I still remember Meredith as "Dandy Don".
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After all the confessing and repenting of the past two days, I think I will take a day off from writing; just a few notes.
Alice: I remember Fred's pink shirt and I remember some kidding he endured over it. I also remember his perpetual cowboy boots.
I wore my Dingos for many years until finally they became everyday wear in winter. By the time I finally gave them to Jerry, they were scuffed, very scroungy looking, had drops of blue paint on them, and had been re-heeled and re-soled. I wore them into the early 1990's.
I still have never owned a real suit. I have an orange/white/silver-colored clip-on necktie; seldom used. I never learned to knot a necktie and I will not wear a doofus bow-tie.
I've worn the same pair of black New Balance sneakers for seven years.
I no longer wear jeans; too hard to button and I will not wear the goat-gagging ones that don't use a belt but have a piece of rubber sewn into the waistband.
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Title quote by John Lennon.
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May no wanion beset you on this Wonderful Wednesday!
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Pinko Disco Duck

While I'm in a confessional mood, I may as well tell about my greatest sin against "coolness": Yes; I once owned a leisure suit. Oh god, this is terrible just to remember. My only defense is that I was a victim of circumstances. It was Carolyn's doings; honest it was! I had never owned a suit of any kind in my entire hillbilly life and was perfectly happy being naked of such finery. This all began one Friday night several years before disco became the scourge of rock & rollers and when leisure suits had just been introduced as being the hip attire of smooth movers and shakers. I came dragging in home from a week's work in Parkersburg, West Virginia carrying my usual sack of dirty clothes and a hardon. Just as I was preparing for bed, my loving spouse said in her sweetest voice, "I bought you something". Not unusual; we both often bought each other gifts while we were parted by necessity. While I was anxious to get caught up on my loving and further hone my skills at such, she went to the closet and brought out a pink leisure suit. Yep; PINK! Well, not exactly pink, but a burgundy-reddish-pinkish affair that looked very pink to a pair of eyes that were yearning to see some fuzzy pink, but not from out of the closet. "Do you like it?" she asked. The material was cotton, corduroy cotton with a brushed look and feel on the outside. "I ain't wearing that!" "Why; what's wrong with it?" "It's fucking pink!" "It's not pink, it's burgundy." "Right now all I see is pink and it ain't the pink I want to see!" "This shirt is pink," she said as she pulled it from the closet, "and the coat and pants are burgundy." "Oh hell no; you've got another think-think coming if you have any idea that I'll wear a pink shirt along with a pink suit; you better have your receipt for this stuff 'cause I wouldn't be caught dead in it!" The next evening I slunk my pink ass into a movie theatre with my proud and smiling wife on my arm while my two kids giggled their damn little heads off. I didn't have any sex that weekend; for some reason my desire simply drooped away. Funny thing, after being worn and cleaned a few times, the suit darkened to where it did look burgundy and I wound up wearing it for several years. No such luck with the pink shirt, though, but one evening I accidentally dripped both ketchup and mustard down the front of it and I never again saw it after that night. The story doesn't end there; later in the 70's decade when disco was killing off every standard of musical decency the world had ever known, Carolyn bought me another shirt to go with the pink-cum-burgundy suit. It was a silky looking and feeling thing with big, dark burgundy twirls designed into it, and the collar was wide enough to make schooner sails. I was forced to wear the shirt a couple of times, but it somehow became snagged on something and a big rip appeared in the front. Now I suspect you want me to say there are photos floating around of myself while donning the pink garb. Unfortunately, there are and it is slightly possible my dear, sweet, and understanding friend Alice may have one or more of them. I know as a good friend that she would never ever allow anything like that in her possession to find its way to the net so the remainder of you can get your perverted jollies at my expense. Don't even waste your time looking for them, Dear Alice; you probably do not have any of them anyway and if there is a God, he has wiped memories of ever seeing me in such an outfit from your memory.
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Have a colorful Tuesday, my children.
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Dingos

Style, man

Okay; I have been a hypocrite ... again. Awhile back I was complaining about fashionable jeans and the prices thereof. I now must clear a bit of clutter from my conscience and admit to being a fashionable guy during one short period of my life. For me it was boots; yes, a silly pair of cowboy boots that I just had to have. It was back in the day when I worshiped idols, and who better for a southern gentleman to worship than Joe Willie Namath, the Hero of Super Bowl III and All-American quarterback from the University of Alabama. Joe Willie was The Man! He was on TV advertising a new boot style from Tennessee's own Acme Boot Company; Dingos! Joe Willie was a regular swinging dick in New York City and everywhere he went; a living legend of the times and of his sexual prowess. I first saw the boots on a TV commercial and decided I would like a pair of them, but it took an ad in Playboy magazine to convince me that I had to have a pair. I was working in Charleston, West Virginia at the time, and in the little strip mall where I had my evening meal was a man's clothing store with a pair of Joe Willie Dingos displayed in the front window. I don't remember the price but it wasn't important; I dug into my emergency "mad money" and bought myself a pair of fine leather boots. I considered myself as the swinging dick of little Charleston, a small city that is home of the state capitol and hundreds of lovely women whom work for various government agencies. A few weeks later and at the same store, I completed my wardrobe with a pair of white bell-bottom jeans, Tennessee Volunteer orange shirt, and a white necktie! In honor of Joe Willie, I also bought an Alabama Crimson Tide red shirt. My black belt seemed as wide as the one Santa Claus wears and it sported a brass "Keep on Truckin'" buckle that was big and heavy enough to use as a weapon and I had to incorporate it as such in a different city, but that is another story. The local bands were playing and singing "Proud Mary", "ABC", "Hey There Lonely Girl", and all the biggies of the day. I bought and used a curling iron/comb to put a bit of wave and body in my straight, long locks. "There never was a horse like the Tennessee Stud", and in 1970, I felt like rounding my fillies! I have photos of myself to verify this tale, but you shall never see them as long as I live.
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Have a Worsh Day!
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Free Willie

If Willie Nelson goes to jail for illegally possessing dope, will someone make another Free Willie movie?
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A man reported that his Droid 2 exploded while he was talking to someone; he suffered minor ear cuts but is otherwise ok. Apparently the device still works other than the fact the glass is broken. I didn't realize people actually used these things for phone calls; he was probably listening to his mother-in-law at the time of the mishap.
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One of our local State legislators decided not to run for reelection during the last voter fiasco; a Republican from Bristol. Now he has announced he will take a job with the state comptrollers office which pays $119,000 per year. That is a pretty generous raise from the $18,000/year he made as representative. The governor of this state makes only around $90,000 salary each year. Just goes to show, when the Representatives say they are there only to serve, it is themselves whom get the best service.
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Carolyn is dragging me out to the mountains to find some "greenery" to decorate the porch. It has been snowing and is very cold outside; I hope my delicate disposition is up to the task. I would much rather stay inside and play but a husband has his duties. To top all, I am catching a cold. Phooey!
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Have a Scrumptious Sunday!
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Contests

I am very busy on Megashot today; I placed a lot of photos into the "Reds" contest and they are keeping me busy voting on other folk's photos as they all move through the three levels. We are also getting several new members each day--one recent 24 hour period we gained 47--and I am greeting each one of them along with sending out happy birthday wishes for member's natal days. I also do a lot of commenting when I have good internet access; I do some even when I am using the Droid but it is one finger typing and takes a senile old man forever to say "Thanks".

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I am including Cyrus's video of the November Level Three Monochrome contest winners. As you view this video in full screen, please be aware that the Megashot contests are not judged; they are popularity based therefore many things can be involved in how a winner is chosen by voters. At times it seems that the quality of the shots is not up to par with what one would expect in a winner; there are safeguards in place to make sure everything is on the up-and-up, but personal popularity of the photographer still comes into play with some voters. Overall, each entrant gets his money's worth.
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My mustache is aggravating me; it collects every loose hair in the bed and directs them into my snoring maw.
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I am writing a very, very short one act play. Very short. May as well have "playwright" on my resume.
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Have a great weekend, sweet children.
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Photos and Fools

A note about viewing uploaded photos. First, do not expect anyone else to see exactly what you see when you upload a photo because most people have their monitors set to suit themselves. The bit of light sky that you upload as blue may lean to the greenish side to some of them and to others it may appear white or even pinkish. Another factor is compression. When you or your camera compresses a photo to .jpg format, some information is lost and the more times it is compressed and the value of each compression is reduced, the more is lost. Just resizing a .jpg file will cause it to lose detail. I always upload photos to Flickr and Megashot as being private so I can get an "after compression" view before allowing anyone else to see them and many times I replace the shot with one in I have compensated for in its compressed site value. On Megashot, the highest resolution that will display is 1024px, therefore it is best to upload your photos at that resolution so that the site will not alter them as much. Another thing to consider is converting your photos to .png format before uploading. It uses far less compression and even though the final image will be displayed in .jpg, it will still be truer to the original. The drawback to .png is file size and upload time; it is bigger and takes a little longer. Ideally, we should shoot in in .raw format, edit in .raw format, convert to .tif format and resize to 1024px and then upload. Some sites will not accept .tif files, so they should be converted to .png before uploading. Megashot allows only 1024px or less due to theft; a smaller file is not as like to be stolen yet is still large enough for satisfactory display on the monitor. It also saves on server storage space. None of this actually makes much difference for snapshots like I upload, but if you want to show something where subtle shading is important, it is best to be aware of these factors.
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I've been looking at some of Obama's "budget cuts" and one thing concerning the social security proposal is that it mostly affects the wealthier retirees. One thing for sure that I've learned over the years is that nothing affects the wealthy unless the middle-class and poor are involved one way or another. The most affluent oldsters will have major cuts in their monthly benefits and the rest of us will not be imposed upon except we will be getting little if any cost of living increases. In this case, when the rich get less, sooner or later the middle class will get much less. This is the only area where trickle down economics (Reaganomics) works. The simplicity of it is that whatever happens to the rich will eventually trickle down to the middle-class; the reality of it is that only the things that are considered as bad by the wealthy finds its way to the pocketbooks of everyday Jane and Joe. Obama's entire budget reduction plan reads like the Republican agenda; I think he should do us all a favor and switch parties; not to Republican, but to the Tea Bag party. He sounds as goofy as Palin, and has as much wishy-washy integrity as McCain. With the recent election, Middle-America has shown that they have written off Obama as a weakling and just another politician.
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Spittin' into the wind

Most of the time the world is just plain shitty, but other times it sheds its everyday crappiness and becomes Super-stooly. Ashley was fired from her job of two years because she missed a few days from being extremely nauseous; her boss basically told her she didn't need the hassle of a pregnant employee. Newly pregnant by a live-in boyfriend who won't work and has to report to jail for two weeks incarceration beginning tomorrow for probation violation (drugs). No job, no insurance, no car, and her boyfriend's father living in their apartment; he was recently fired from his job as a taxi driver for being drunk and demolishing one of the company cabs in a wreck. Chris still has no job but does have prospects of one, and her boyfriend has found only temp work. JJ's seasonal work is over until spring and we have him to support. Carolyn and I recently lost another $600/month net income yet all this is falling back on us; she and I are stretched and stressed to the limit financially and, more importantly, emotionally. I think it is a big part of why both of us are suffering rapidly failing health. For the past month and one-half I have been using the Droid for internet, along with borrowed time from a neighbor. I did buy a net connection with very limited megabytes of usage for the pc, but JJ uses most of it for his entertainment; the limit ran out on November 26 but was renewed December first. If I do not upload many photos, it is because of my limited megabytes/month. Carolyn has gone now to buy nausea medication for Ashley and a bit of food to last her a couple of days.
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I ate a double dose of Xanax last night and had a nice, chemically induced nine hours of sleep. At least today I am wide awake to enjoy vagaries of existence.
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Sorry to annoy y'all with my personal problems, but they seem to be all the life I have outside this virtual world. In warm weather I generally go outside to the porch and pout, but man it sure ain't warm here. Yesterday the temp never got above freezing and as ratty as that is, it is still mild compared to what parts of Europe are going through. Jola says it is around 0ºF in Poland, and John in England has been housebound for several days due to a snowstorm.
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The Megashot November contest winners have been announced and I will try to place links to YouTube videos tomorrow; be sure to see them on YouTube in full screen.
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Have a Thursday, dear people.
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Medified

Had heart doc appointment at 8:40 this morning; got to see the doc at 10:15. The Droid/Kindle saved the day while I waited. He said I better lose some weight; I've gained seven pounds (3.18kg) since August. Back to carrot sticks and celery and unsweetened green tea. Got to drastically cut salt intake. Shoot me.
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After heart doc, I had blood work done for RA doc. My orders were all messed up so I got to sit and have a long chat with the phlebotomist. After much thoughtful discussion, we reached an agreement to the effect that it is cold, windy, and snowing outside. She asked me why I wasn't wearing a coat and I told her I was physically unable to rotate my shoulders enough to put on a coat. To put one on--or even a button-up shirt--I have to hang it in a manner where I can back up to it and manage to get both arms started into the sleeves at the same time. Then, I have to do the hootchy-kootchy to get it shrugged onto my shoulders. It just isn't worth the trouble so most of the winter time when I am outdoors, it is sans coat. Getting the coat off is even worse a problem. I have been been acting crazy like this for the past 20 years, but I have been feeling the bite of cold for the past two winters. I suppose I will start wearing some of the slew of pull-over sweaters from the closet, however only in a "have to" case.
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Carolyn and Chris went to baby-clothes stores yesterday. Jeez!
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Have a warm Wednesday, dear chilluns.
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