Life's A Beach

Protest

2010-06-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

Back in the 60's when I was in my late teens and early twenties there were all kinds of protest about all kinds of things. We protest Vietnam, why we couldn't have legal pot etc. I haven't been involved in a protest since then until now. A group called Murdered Gulf sponsored a protest against BP in New Orleans in Jackson Square. The group says they are a small group of New Orleanians who are pissed off about the spill. They had a good protest, a good size crowd and it was well planned and attended by a cross-section of protesters. The only problem I had with it was that I don't think enough people knew about it. Also the national press didn't give it any attention although the local stations did. Looking back on the all the 60's protests I'm not sure what good they did. Oh, the photos of those protest are used to show anger and discontent but what did we accomplish? I'm not sure protesting against BP will make any difference either, but it sure as hell feels good!

Oil

2010-06-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

According to officials the oil spill is getting near MS. This comes from noaa the agency that I have found to be extremely conservative in their predictions of oil coming ashore. I don't think many people here on the coast are ready for it to happen. It seems that most, including the news and TV folks are sort of living in a denial mentality. If they don't think it, it won't happen. Most everyone here is concerned with tourism. I can understand that and I understand that the fishing, shrimp, and oyster fisherman and industry are in great peril. I think that this spill is going to destroy the economy of the Ms, Gulf coast in a way that no hurricane, including Katrina has. Following a hurricane, clean up starts, rebuilding gets going and people are able to get their lives in some kind of order although it takes years to do so. And the people of the Ms. Gulf Coast are remarkable in their ability to persevere and to come back, although the Coast has not returned as swiftly following Katrina as it did after Camille. I'm not sure the Coast will be able to do that with the oil. It's going to destroy the Gulf and it's creatures like nothing ever has. The group from Alaska that came to Louisiana tried to tell the people that it takes years, sometimes a lifetime and then things are never 'normal' again. That is a hard fact to wrap one's mind around. It's depressing, scary and sad. It is such a huge impending disaster that we sometimes do better to ignore it until we have to accept it.

2010-05-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

NEW POST ON SAPS!

DESERTED SIX FLAGS NEW ORLEANS

Rio and the baby Duck

2010-05-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday one of the many little ducks that live at the apartment got under the net wire fence that we have around the bottom of the patio to keep the dogs in. Rio went out and came face to face with the little fuzzy critter. It scared both of them. The little duck was tweeting for his mother to HELP! And Rio looked at me like WHAT??? He always runs up to the fence after any of the ducks in what is a show of his male badness, but when faced with a real live duck he had not clue. He has a lot of toy ducks and loves them but this THING was live and running around. IN the meantime the mother duck was trying to peck him through the wire. It was a wild five minutes until I caught the little duck and returned him to his mother. When that was done, Rio turned and came in with the look of a watch dog who had done his duty on this face.

Charlie

2010-05-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

We have a HUGE salamander that invades the patio each day. Charlie, the 'winnie' dog wants to kill and knowing Charlie eat it. He stalks the thing each morning until the sun is scorching his black butt and he is forced inside to seek a/c. The last experience I had with a 'winnie' dog and a salamander was when Stretch ate one on the patio. I call our vet P. Larkin and he said give him a cap full of hydrogen peroxide until he threw up. You would be surprised how much fun that was, plus a lot of foaming at the mouth, spitting etc. But it worked. So I'm ready for Charlie when he eats this critter. And knowing Charlie, he will eat it!

"Sheeeeen"

2010-05-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

I heard on the radio today that Halley Barbour is thinking of running for president. I have no idea if this is true of not. However, it is interesting. When Haley first ran for governor I didn't vote for him. I didn't vote for him because of that good ole boy accent that he can use at will. His voice just killed me!!!!! Then there was Katrina and Haley did a good job of handling that crisis and he looked downright sharp compared to Blanco from Louisiana. So I kinda got to like old Halley a bit more. Then he fought the cigarette tax to the bitter end and I liked him a LOT more. Now we have the oil spill mess looming and I've been watching Haley and his handling of it. A few suggestion; stop listening to Gene Taylor when he describes the oil spill as looking like chocolate milk (learn some intelligent sounding descriptive words) and stop saying the word SHEEN! When he says 'sheeeen' with that good ole boy drawl I just can't see him as president. Maybe a voice coach to work on the accent? In answer to the question. . . .would I vote for Haley Barbour for President? Hell, yeah! I'd vote for a turnip to replace Obama.

Tweeting

2010-05-10T06:23:00.001-07:00

I have learned to Tweet. Yeah, I actually figured it all out on my own; how to download it, how to use it and how to seek out tweets from others that I am interested in. I'm sort of proud of that because I'm sixty two and did not grow up with computers, cell phones, instant messager, e-mails, texting or twitter. However, I read a recent article that senior citizens were taking to all of the above like ducks to water. I like that. Shows we are not brain dead anyway. The main problem that I have with all of it is the subject matter. There is a BIG difference in what is important to the various age groups which is sometimes annoying at best. But all In all I'm proud that I learned to tweet. As you get older you tend to take thee things a personal challenge.

Mothers Day

2010-05-10T06:16:00.001-07:00

I had a great Mothers Day. It started on Friday night with dinner at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi and a bit of gambling. Saturday was a long slow day spent at home with my daughter. I got some nice gifts, a Fossil purse in these great spring colors, a bracelet which as tiny symbols of all the things I like inside the heart shaped charm, and a vase of live flowers. Sunday for lunch my daughter took me to eat Mexican. The restaurant gave each woman there a live rose. I thought that was a nice gesture. A mother couldn't have asked for a better day. AH, make that a better weekend.

Grease

2010-05-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone is waiting to hear if the containment of the oil spill works this morning. We are all hoping that it does. I am hoping that it does work for the obvious reason; to stop crude pouring into the Gulf, but for other reasons too. If we expect BP to take care of us we are as foolish as the people in New Orleans who waited for the Feds to take care of them following Katrina. BP is already ignoring the citizens who live here who have volunteered to do clean up work. Over ten thousand have volunteered and yet BP refused to even accept the list of names. In the past week workers in orange vest and hard hats (??) have seen seen picking up debris on the beach before the oil arrives (if it does). When reporters tried to talk to these men they responded that BP told them not to talk. The reporter stuck with them and found that they were from Texas, Illinois, and other areas and hired by BP. The oil company has already said it is contracting out a company to clean oily birds. Why not hire the people here who need and want to help to do this job? At recent town meeting BP offered 'training secessions' for volunteers. These turned out to be simple safety lessons on what to wear (gloves) etc. when picking up trash on the beach. Now let me see. Many of the people who volunteered are lifetime residents of the area. Do they really need this information from BP? That training was a simple way of shutting up the volunteers and it was insulting and patronizing. So if the Coast thinks BP has their best interest at heart they need to check out the Alaskan spill and see how that worked out and how swiftly BP paid claims. (They were still dribbling money to the area in 2009.) If you believed BP you can believe the governor who says the Feds will do right by us if the oil reaches us. While you're at you might as well grab some crude and grease up, bend over and grab your ankles, cause here it comes!

New SAPS Post

2010-05-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

GHOST ON THE TRACKS!

I Sometimes Hate Facebook

2010-05-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

Ah, Facebook. How I hate you!! I didn't get into Facebook for a long time because I had nothing that I thought was worthy of writing for a few disinterested people to read. I still think that. And yeah, I realize that this blog is probably boring as Aunt Bertha at a family reunion, but here the thing . . you don't HAVE to read it to try to find something interesting. IF you don't go to a blog you don't read it cause it's not stuck in your face (thus the name Facebook???). On Facebook you have to sort through the bullshit to find the post you want to check out. However, it amazes me how many people think that everyone is interested in every detail of their day. If they fart it is on Facebook! Facebook has everything from how smart their kids are, to how their religious beliefs are functioning, to how much they LONG to be on Facebook 24/7. There is little depth tom any of the posts. Perhaps it's a sign of my old age that I just can't get past being somewhat bored with how many hearts you have collected or what stray animal you found or how many sunflowers you fertilized on Farmville. Of all the games that are available that one is the most boring. Why inflict it on the rest of us? You don't have to post every single time you find an egg do you?? I don't give a shit! I DO enjoy reading about something that friends and family had done, or heard or seen. IF used that way Facebook is a great way to stay in touch. And that is why I still go to Facebook. I recently found a high school classmate that I had not heard from in 40 years. She and I have reviewed past history, caught up on our families and rebuilt a friendship. But we did it with messages to each other and did not inflict it on all the readers. That is what it's all about. But most of Facebook has the depth of one inch of muddy water and a lot of rotten Farmville duck eggs rolling around in a Sunflower patch. Try Twitter. It's shorter, faster and to the point.

A Good Character is Fun To Write

2010-05-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

I started writing a short story to take a break from writing on The Legend of Story Cazaunoux. I wrote the first short story about a character named Kane, a 17 year old street kid in New Orleans. (New Orleans is a major source of settings and plots.) It may not be worth a shit, but it was fun to write and came very easily. I like characters like Kane. A protagonists has to be liked by the reader and they have to be 'human' unless you want a really boring character. So I made Kane a pickpocket and a very good one. I decided to let him be a guy who could also pick just about any lock, carry a knife and be willing to use it if he needs to, and be a street magician. But he also needed some internal conflict. Well, being a street kid made that easy. Why was he on the street? Who does he like? Who does he fear most? Does he trust people? How does he like on the street? I think a good story needs physical conflict and internal conflict so Kane is a good character to have plenty of both. After I finished the first story (Kane 1) I had an idea for a second (Kane 2) and in that one I introduced a couple of new characters. So Kane now had a network of acquaintance's, friends, antagonists (bad cops?) and others. All was good. And then I saw this picture.

It a photo taken of the back wall of St. Louis Cathedral. And instantly I had the ENDING for a third story. Having the ending means I had the last 200 or so words WRITTEN in my head. So I had to write a story to led up to the ending. It was pretty easy. I love to write stories or books that take a bit of history and make my character fit into the mix. It is easy writing and fun. So I wrote the third story (Kane 3) and it's my favorite so far. Just one problem; this is turning into a book length process. So I may make Kane a book. Even if it is never published it's a good story and I can share with anyone who wants to read it. (It you want to read the stories let me know I'll send you a copy.) I am going to start on Kane 4 this am. He had turned into a really good character and like all of them he has taken off on his own path and I'm just along to record his journey.

Oil On The Water

2010-04-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Politics on the coast is truly amazing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that fact since this place did host the Dixie Mafia, has a history of past dirty politics and as recently as last year had the May of Gulfport charged with fraud for accepting Katrina money. They will do anything to try to prompt tourism, including hiding their heads in the sand or up their butts. Since the oil rig explosion in the Gulf experts have been saying get ready for an oil spill or for the very real possibility of one. The pipes under the collapsed rig has two leaks. It's dumping oil in the water. BP despite talking a big game is doing virtually nothing. At last report they had two ships out there and are talking about drilling another well to divert the oil. That will take months. Meanwhile there is a spill that seen from the air goes as far as the eye can see. Accu Weather says that it will be near shore by late in the week, and that the area to be affected will reach from Pensacola to South Louisiana. AP reported that the spill is comparable to the 1979 disastrous spill. But the Director of the Sand Beach Authority said yesterday the he didn't think we would be affected. The coast seems to believe their officials. I realize that there is not a lot anyone can do here to prevent this from happening, but at least don't appear so ignorant. At least acknowledge that the giant oily mess is bearing down on us and the sea creatures and birds who live in the waters. At least pull your head out of you butt and stop worrying about the golf tournament that is starting here on Fri. It should stard just in time to greet the oil on the beach. Bet the national media notices.

me and weather

2010-04-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

I am starting to see some similarities between myself and the weather here. I woke up at five this morning and the sun was on the horizon, the sky clear and it looked like a nice day was coming. I stayed awake about an hour, feeling pretty good and then dozed back off. I woke up at eight and felt like a big truck hit me and it was raining outside. Every day is like that. You never know what's coming. Each day can bring a new ailment or reactivate an old one. But I guess that's the price for being around a long time and it's better to be here to complain that not.

New Ant and Grasshopper

2010-04-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building hishouse and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances andplays the summer away..
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances andplays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference anddemands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fedwhile he is cold and starving.
CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of theshivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortablehome with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poorgrasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybodycries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where thenews stations film the group singing,'We shall overcome.' Rev.Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray to God for thegrasshopper's sake.
President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, PresidentReagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper'splight.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King thatthe ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both callfor an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Actretroactive to the beginning of the summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of greenbugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his homeis confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friendsfinishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the governmenthouse he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's oldhouse, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintainit.
The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again..
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and thehouse, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang ofspiders who terrorizethe ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Rio (the thief)

2010-04-04T19:18:00.001-07:00

Instead of hunting Easter eggs, Rio was looking for Milkbones...

After eating all the milkbones he took some time to relax...

2010-04-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

TO THINK THE PEOPLE WHO WROTE THIS VOTE AND MAY HAVE REPRODUCED!!!

OLD

2010-04-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

Just in case you weren't feeling too old today.The people who are starting college this fall were born in 1991.They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.Their lifetime has always included AIDS.The CD was introduced two years before they were born.They have always had an answering machine.They have always had cable.Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show. (until recently)Popcorn has always been micro waved.They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.They never heard: 'Where's the Beef?', 'I'd walk a mile for a Camel ', or 'de plane Boss, de plane'. McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter
P.S. Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.

2010-03-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

New Post on SAPS!

http://saps-ghosts.blogspot.com/

URSULINE CONVENT

New Orleans

Vampires in the Attic?

Stress Relief

2010-03-28T04:16:00.000-07:00

1. Picture yourself lying on your belly on a warm rock that hangs out over a crystal clear stream.
2. Picture yourself with both your hands dangling in the cool running water.
3. Birds are sweetly singing in the cool mountain air.
4. No one knows your secret place.
5. You are in total seclusion from that hectic place called the world.
6. The soothing sound of a gentle water fall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.
7. The water is so crystal clear that you can easily make out the face of Nancy Pelosi, the person you are holding underwater.
There!! See? It really does work

The Great Tomato Growing Contest of 2010

2010-03-28T03:22:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again! Time for the great tomato growing challenge. For a lot of years my brother-in-law and I have competed growing tomatoes. It is sort of a loosely ruled competition for who gets the FIRST RIPE TOMATO from our plants. Not the first on the plant, but the first RIPE one. We used to have a twenty dollar bet but have sort of let that slide. Actually what happen was I lost last year due to my limited space (patio), limited sun (only morning) and I refused to pay him when he won since he had an outdoor REAL garden. It seems to me that I should have some sort of allowance for the handicaps that patio growing has in comparison to outdoor country growing like he has. This competition allows us to show what pros we are by doing things like rushing to Lowe's and getting a plant already sporting a tomato. There is a lot the novice grower can learn from us pros. This years competition is open to any of our children who would like to accept the challenge from both of us professional tomato growers. It think that it is time to pass down the skills of planting, soil preparation, fertilizing, prune or not pruning, and how to attach a store bought tomato to the vine with tape, toothpick, plastic string etc long enough to get a photo to show the other competitors. To enter this competition one must be able to lie, cheat, fake it, bluff, and do all of the fore mentioned with a straight face. But I figure none of those sissies or their pansy husbands or boyfriends will be up to the challenge. They will all have some flimsy excuse like work, a baby, or something cause they are all city slickers who just ain't up to the challenge. After all it takes a real farmer to handle this. So it is on, Rich. Let the lying, cheating, bullshit talking (and a little growing) begin!!!!

Saturday Night in the Complex

2010-03-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

AH!! The joys of apartment living. It is four-thirty am and the cops have been called and now everybody is wide awake and a bit pissy about being up this early. Earlier in the evening there was the usual comings and goings, extra traffic, loud talk and slammed doors that reflect Saturday night in the complex. We have 12 families in this building and there are 27 building so there are a lot of people close together. As expected there is a difference in living in a complex and a private dwelling. One difference is the number of times the cops get called. One night there was the third floor group who insisted on playing their boom-boom music at top volume. That would not have been too bad but they opened the patio door so ALL the rest of us could savor the sound too. Somebody call the cops. He told them to shut it down and waited in his car to see if she did. Nope! Back up the stairs he went and that time he had a real attitude. Quiet!!! Then there was the teen who sat in his truck which features straight pipes and listen to HIS boom-boom music. Again not a problem except his truck sounded like a skidder pulling a log out of the woods. He would start it and stop it; all at four am. Again someone called the cops. Then tonight we had the saga of the prom queen. She had on a prom dress and the boy a tux. They walked around and around the area while she cried and made a high pitched whiny sound that only dolphin 20 miles out in the Gulf could hear and evidently all the dogs in the complex heard her too cause they all barked. She told the boy she wanted to leave and would hit his keys and his truck horn would beep; he said no and hit it again which brought a second beep. So it was sort of EEEEEEK! BOO! HOO! BEEP! BEEP! for about two hours outside the bedroom window, until the cops came to this one too. It was a big female cop and she was not happy! Again quiet! The strangest thing of all is that I DIDN'T call the cops. Someone else did it. I have spent a lot of years in apartments and have about seen it all. Thirty years ago when I lived at Brittany Apartments every Saturday night was party time. Cops knew the residents by name. Brittany was an upscale apartment then but come Saturday night and we had fist fights, screaming break-ups (straight and gay), skinny dipping in the pool, squealing tires, broken beer bottles and loud, loud Led Zeppelin. If the cops came there was a reason. All in all I think the new apartment dwellers have lost the ability to really party down. Back then we lived up to the phase, "It ain't a party till the cops break it up!"

Zu the Vampire - Excerpt (No. 2) From Storms

2010-03-26T22:15:00.001-07:00

Zu Poydou walked to the mirror over the fireplace and stared at his reflection. He saw a thin dirty face, with high strong cheekbones and full curved lips. His eyes were green and intense with dark bruised looking shadows beneath them. Zu’s hair was dark and long and hung in thick tangles past his shoulders. Monster. That was what his grandfather had called him. Monster. What kind of monster? He stared at himself trying to see the monster that must be there. He reached up and pushed his hair back and then looked at his hands. They were thin with big knuckles and long fingers. His nails were dirty. He should bath, but he didn’t seem to have the energy. And no one cared if he was clean or not. He wondered if Norton would return. He hoped so. He waited for him. He wanted to kill the man when he did return. He felt the tingle in his mouth at the thought of the murder that he longed for and he pulled back his lip and touched the tip of the extended canine tooth with his finger. It was not there all of the time and he wondered why. A monster? He turned from the mirror and walked to the door, stepping over the thick vines that had pushed their way under the door and were now reaching for the interior of the dark house. He stood on the veranda and looked across the swamp. He could leave, but he had never been anywhere but here, he did not know anyone in the world and he had no idea of what to expect if he tried to leave. Was he a monster? Would others see that he was and lock him away again? He did not think he could stand to be beaten again or tormented for reasons he didn’t understand and so he stayed. He turned and walked back inside to the piano that stood dust covered in the center of the room. He sat down and watched a large field rat move inside the opened grand piano; on the wires that connected the keys. He sat very still for a long time, watching the glittering eyes of the rodent as it became bolder and moved nearer to him. He could see the tips of its small yellowed teeth just below the furry jaw and the small whiskers as they twitched near the black nose. The rat watched him and he watched it. Then with a movement so quick that it didn’t allow the rat time to react Zu snatched the rodent up. He sank his fangs into the rat and sucked the blood, swallowing it in big greedy gulps until the creature was sunken and dry. He dropped the body of the rat on the floor, wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, closed his haunted eyes and began to play Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 1.

Woolmarket

2010-03-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Woolmarket was the first school that I ever taught. I had a first grade class in 1969. My first principal was Mr. B Hill. Those students would be in their early forties today.

Why I Voted Democrat

2010-03-25T18:32:00.001-07:00

I voted Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.
I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.
I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.
I voted Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.
I voted Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're good people.
I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.
I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.
I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the Slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.
I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as THEY see fit.
I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.
I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my ass that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another clear point of view.

The Banister Of Life

2010-03-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

As You Slide Down the Banister of Life, Remember

1. Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert have written An impressive new book. It's called .......... 'Ministers Do More Than Lay People'
2. Transvestite: A guy who likes to eat, drink And be Mary..

3. The difference between the Pope and Your boss, the Pope only expects you To kiss his ring.
4. My mind works like lightning, One brilliant Flash and it is gone.
5. The only time the world beats a path to Your door is if you're in the bathroom.
6. I hate sex in the movies. Tried it once. The seat folded up, the drink spilled and That ice, well, it really chilled the mood.
7. It used to be only death and taxes Now, of course, there's shipping and handling, too.
8. A husband is someone who, after taking the trash out, gives the impression that he just cleaned the whole house.
9. My next house will have no kitchen - just Vending machines and a large trash can.
10. A blond said, 'I was worried that my Mechanic might try to rip me off. I was relieved when he told me all I needed was turn signal fluid.'
11. Definition of a teenager? God's punishment...for enjoying sex.
12. As you slide down the banister of life, may The splinters never point the wrong way...

Be who you are and say what you feel...

because those that matter..don't mind... and those that mind... don't matter!

Cover

2010-03-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is one idea for the

cover of the new book.

Of course the title has

not been decided upon as yet.

Good Old Wally World!

2010-03-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) -- A Walmart store announcement ordering black people to leave brought chagrin and apologies Wednesday from leaders of the company, which has built a fragile trust among minority communities.
A male voice came over the public-address system Sunday evening at a store in Washington Township, in southern New Jersey, and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now."
Shoppers in the store at the time said a manager quickly got on the public-address system and apologized for the remark. And while it was unclear whether a rogue patron or an employee was responsible for the comment, many customers expressed their anger to store management.

Well, really I don't see why everyone got their panties in a wad about the above news article and the events a Wally world. It's not just black folks who think that the stores and clerks and managers are all asses. Have you ever tried to return any thing to the store, especially if it is a so called seasonal item? I once tried to return a six dollar set of landscaping lights in December and was told that they were a holiday item. What? A person can't use landscaping lights all year? I created a small scene, by backing up the line, yelling for a manager and insisting that they take the sign down that said, "Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed." I was not a damn bit satisfied! And BEFORE I left they knew it. I did get my dollars back after a zoned out check out girl said, "If we refund your money, Walmart loses money." I could feel the veins standing out in my head. I responded with something like, "I give a flying fuck about Walmart making money?!" That's when I got my refund.
That someone got hold of their speaker is not surprising to me. The stores need to get their act together on a whole lot of fronts.

Peachtree Road

2010-03-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

Southerners sort of fluff up our winter feathers when springs gets here and we turn our collective faces toward the coming of warm weather. Sure there will be the old Easter Snap and we will have to pull out the hoodies one more time, but summer is coming. This morning I was listening to Elton Johns "Peachtree Road" CD. And if you are like one of my ex friends who once told me that 'I don't listen to him cause he's gay' then you might as well stop reading now. That is one of the stupidest statements I have ever heard. The lyrics of Elton Johns songs are written by Bernie Taupin, one of the best poets around today. Anyway back to the subject at hand. One of the songs on the album is called Porch Swing in Tupelo and it about life in the south. All of the phrases brings to mind a slice of the south especially in the summer. He sings of a porch swing on a hot afternoon, the Natchez Trace and the State of Grace in reference to Graceland. All of those have memories if you are a Southerner. So do 'dinner on the grounds, rolling down the Mississippi headin' back in time', and the saying that my grandmother used to use to express surprise, hush your mouth! If some of that doesn't stir your southern roots then you are not a southerner and it's all over your head anyway. The songs speaks of grease monkeys working under the shade trees. Do you know what that is? And of small towns that close on Sunday cause everyone's in church. That's not the case everywhere and is unique in the south. Oh and the 'change a minute' weather that was fair and sunny fifteen minutes ago and is now windy and cloudy. I like spring and the song stirred up memories of past summers and perhaps a past time. I like 'the old south all around me' and hope that we 'please don't change things too much'.

Listing for Story C

2010-03-19T23:08:00.001-07:00

I found this listing for my first Book on several sites. It is still out there at a few bookstores. I remember how excited I was to see it for the first itme.

Legend of Story Cazaunoux: A New Orleans Novel by C. J. Murray
BUY THIS ITEM (Contact Author or store)
Limited Time Offer! Everyone receives the Member Price on books.

(Paperback) $14.95
Pub. Date: February 1998
310pp
Reader Rating:
See All Detailed Ratings

FIVE OF FIVE STARS

Read customer reviews
Legend of Story Cazaunoux: A New Orleans Novel
Reader Rating: See Below-
Great book about a sexy Voodoo Priest and his vampire lover.

Very factual in representation of N. O.

Author had in-depth knowledge of voodoo and vampire lore.

LOVED IT!!!!

http://www.filedby.com/c_j_murray/486979/works/2415985/The_Legend_of_Story_Cazaunoux_A_New_Orleans_Novel/

Excerpt (No.1) from "STORMS"

2010-03-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine ask me to publish an excerpt from the book I'm working on. This is a conversation between the woman who raise him and the main character, Story Cazaunoux who is the Voudou (leader) of a sect of voodooism. He is preparing to face an unknown foe to protect his family. The book is fiction but has historic fact through out. Julia Brown was a real voodoo queen who was believed by many to have caused the 1915 hurricane that destroyed Manchac. She was documented in a New Orleans newspaper at the time. I hope you like it.

“You grow stronger.” Lynn said and watched him raise his eyes from the cup to her face. He smiled and nodded.
“So do you.” He said.
“I fear for you Story and then I realize that there is no need; not from paranormal beings or situations anyway.” She said watching him. “When you grow hard and quiet I know you are building your strength and dominance. It is a physical feat that energizes and changes the space around you. I can feel the shift in the pressure of the air.”
He nodded again. Lynn reached out and took his left hand. She could feet the bones and tendons in it. She turned his hand over and studied the palm wondering why there was no mark or sign of what he could do with these hands. But these were merely the instruments that channeled his supreme strength from the hidden dark center that lay deep inside him near the very core of his being and that manifested into acts which she was at a loss to explain. She wondered as she always had what it must be like to be Story; if he realized fully what he was, what he was capable of doing, how he was so different from other people. She supposed that he did for she had watched him struggle with that difference in his youth; trying to control it, to understand it, to accept it, to manage it, trying to conform to please Will, his adoptive father. But even for Will he could not deny what he was. She touched the band that he still wore on his third finger.
“Where is the other ring, Story?” She asked.
“Tia (Story's daughter) has it. She does finding spell to get.” He answered. “The beka use who I love against me and she helps it. It not easy to be me.” He said, still reading her thought from a few seconds ago. “Never was. It not a thing I can compare to other people. I have no experience with any other way to be. I am only me.” He said with his unusual use and placement of his words.
She knew that it was true and that he had no deep understanding of the so called normal existence. For Story the mystic, paranormal, supernatural with its various creatures, it’s realms of time and space was where he was most comfortable. The so called normal was much more difficult. She knew that his hardest struggles had been with human relationships; with understanding human wants, desires, emotions and cruelty. His inability to recognize the wickedness in humans had lead to most of his pain through the years. But what was he to do about the desire for love and acceptance that had always driven him?
Story watched her face and she knew that he was reading her thoughts as clearly as if she had spoken them.
“Perhaps all want what not need or understand.” He said. “I cannot live with only the creatures of other worlds, Lynn. It not enough.”
“I know.” She said.
He picked one of the blue candles that stood on the table and with his fingernail began to carve symbols into the wax. Her mind went to another time when that hand was badly burned while trying to save Sarah. The infection had very nearly killed him. Story had been sixteen years old at the time. For months he had disappeared, lost and sick roaming the swamps of Larosa until Will, who had never given up on finding the boy had returned home with him. He had found Story in the middle of a hurricane, and she wondered if the hurricanes were all related. There was that hurricane, the Great West India of 1915 that destroyed three Manchac communities and was said to be called up by Julia Brown who was Story's great, great, grandmother and a Voodoo queen. There was Hurricane Katrina which had taken Story's wife Sarah. Did the power of the storms affect the future?
“You will be protected, Story. Either by the god you do not know or the ones you serve. Maybe both.” She said. He finished carving on the candle and placed it back into its holder. Lynn stood up and put her cup into the dishwasher, then walked to where he sat, put her arm around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. Then she turned and left the room. Story sat in the kitchen and watched as the light outside faded and even then he did not rise to turn on a light. He heard Lynn and Will upstairs and was comforted by their presence. He thought of Sarah and Tia and of their part in what was coming, of Donita Di Di and how the distant past had the ability to reach out with cold fingers and touch the present. He thought of the beka and what effect its evil presence would have on the future. He sensed a more immediate future; dark shapes moving in the middle distance between his chair and the wall at the other side of the room. Story could see them gathering forces and the time between the past and the present giving their dark shapes substance in the physical world, driving events that would surprise everyone but him. Unlike others, most of which believe that the supernatural and reality run on two parallel tracks, Story realized that the illusion of convergence in the distance was no optical illusion after all.

Copyright by CJ Murray 2010 All Rights Reserved

Happy Birthday, Richard or Damn We Gettin Old!

2010-03-13T00:40:00.000-08:00

Today is my brother-in-laws birthday and he is standing in the shadow of his 60's. Actually he is so far up against 60 that you can't sick a greased pin between him and it. He didn't make a big impression on me the first few time I was around him way, way back when I first met him. He was such a show off! And there was the little matter of him hitting me in the back of the head with an inter tube while we were at the river. I'm not sure if he has ever admitted to that in all these 40 some odd years. We still have heated discussions about the truth of that matter. Despite the rough beginning I have come to like my one brother a good bit, despite the fact that he still can pull a caper now and then. He does have some pretty good qualities that I seldom mention. He's been a good husband to my sister (she might have a rebuttal to that). and he raise three great daughters and has managed to whip three son-in-laws into some semblance of shape. His nieces and nephews think he's a cool old dude. And I'm pretty sure his little grandson thinks he's the funniest/coolest/smartest/ guy in the world. He's a good hunter, a good Gardener (and hell no I'm not admitting that he can grow a bigger tomato than me), must know a million jokes about any subject and can bake better than Paula Deen. All in all he's been a good brother for a lotta years and I hope he has a great birthday and a whole lot more! Love you, Rich!!!!

2010-03-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

May you live in interesting times-

May you find what you are looking for-

May you come to the attention of those in authority-

~Chinese Curse~

2010-03-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

Insults with Class

2010-03-08T02:44:00.000-08:00

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." -- Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." -- Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." -- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -- Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." -- Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." -- Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend... If you have one." -- George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill...followed by Churchill's response: "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second, if there is one." -- Winston Churchill

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." -- Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." -- John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." -- Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." -- Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." -- Paul Keating

Apolo's Heart in Right Place

2010-03-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

A letter writer (Feb. 28) apparently concluded that U.S. speed skater Apolo Ohno was not a “true American” at the recently concluded Olympics. He called Ohno a “disgrace,” and a “shame and an embarrassment” for not placing his hand over his heart when our country’s national anthem was playing at Ohno’s “gold medal” ceremony and suggested that Ohno skate for some other country that “he loves so much more.”
The only problem with this report is that Ohno didn’t win a gold medal. He won a silver and two bronze medals. No U.S. national anthem was played for Ohno, because Olympic rules provide that only the national anthem of the gold medalist is played as national flags of the three medalists are raised during the medal ceremony.
I read this person’s “patriotic” letter just after I watched Ohno carrying a U.S. flag around the short track after winning a silver medal. I have to say to the writer that it isn’t where your hand is, it’s where your heart is. No one has a window into the soul of another American. Apolo Ohno is a national treasure and his pride and love for America is evident in his face, and in his words. (Article from Yahoo News)

2010-03-06T01:24:00.000-08:00

"Whatever I did

I have proof

I didn't do it."

-NC

Boomers

2010-03-06T00:45:00.000-08:00

I watched the Brokaw special "Boomers" on TV Tue. I had read the book and found it pretty good but the show tended to lump the entire 50's and 60's into a few big events and overlook all the smaller things that defined the boomers. It was just some more of the same stuff we have already heard. When Brokaw asks Tom Hanks about the most important popular culture of the generation, Hanks steps past television - the answer most people would give - to music. I agree that music was the defining common thread with all boomers. "I knew what time it was by the television," says Hanks. "But I knew how I felt by the music." I love that statement. The music was worth an hour all by itself. But the inclusion of Hanks also suggests a problem, which is trying to understand a generation through its most familiar people and most famous events. He barely touches on the so called every day boomer; those of us who didn't burn draft cards, or attend Woodstock. Hurricane Camille came ashore the same night as Woodstock, so those of us in Ms. were otherwise occupied. An interview with a career military man reveals more than the interview with draft resistance spokesman David Harris, who's been yapping on the subject for four decades and he's gotten a little tiring after all that time. Many of the younger generation think all there is to Boomers was Vietnam, the civil rights movement, smoking pot and screwing in the mud at Woodstock. It's easy to sum up the very complex issues with a phrase like "The '60s was a background for profound social change." Or you get a guy who went to Woodstock saying he would go back to the 1960s in an instant, while writer P.J. O'Rourke says they were hypocritical and awful. I never had any use for the prissy O'Rourke anyway. I'm pretty proud to be a Boomer and to have lived through all that happened then. I haven't seen anything to match the era. But the TV special was a little tiring to me but maybe in the end, there is no way to show how it was because the times were as varied as the Boomers themselves.We really thought we were going to change the world back then, but it just hasn't happened. YET.

Rio's Birthday

2010-03-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

Poncho Rio turned three years old today. He celebrated the event with a party at his home in Ocean Springs. He had hard milk (Ice Cream), Beggin Strips, Milk Bones and chicken for his birthday meal. He received may gifts including two chewy rope toys, a fat stuffed toy chicken and a fat stuffed toy rabbit. His family and friends attended the party. Guest included, his Ba, his Gonny, Stretch, Chica, Babe, And Charlie. In the above picture you can see the sleepy effects of all the partying. Happy Birthday. Rio.

Scribes

2010-02-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

Nine years ago I wrote "The Legend Of Story Cazaunoux" which is about the Voudou of South Louisiana. Story, the Voudou is the leader of a sect of voodooist in New Orleans. The main character, Story (who is my favorite character ever) was a lot of fun to develop and having the power to make a character what you want is great, but I quickly learned that editors want a "3 dimensional" character. Since I was discouraged from majoring in journalism I didn't know a LOT of terms, meanings and techniques necessary to write. Three dimensional is just what it sounds like. The character can't be a flat, told about person. It takes a while to make someone come alive on paper. And no matter how much the writer knows about the character, the readers will never know ALL there is to know about him. Though I am not as good as probably 95% of writers, the book did get published by a small publisher, and I made some money off of the sales. The best part of the whole process was seeing the book on shelves in New Orleans French Quarter shops. It was nice to see it in Books a Million and for a while it was sold on Amazon. Reading "Story" now makes me to re-write it. I see so much that I could have made much better. For several years I have been thinking of writing a second part to the 'Story'. Well, as the editors say you have to have a plot. I had about half of one. Then a few months ago I got an idea for the book. I wrote a bio on the character, a plot, a synopsis of it and sent it to my old editor. He said to write it and so I am working on it. This one will have all of the same characters, plus a few new ones, and will incorporate some historical events with total fiction. It is set in New Orleans and Manchac Swamp. I am enjoying writing it. Even if it isn't published for some reason it will still be created, and the characters will be brought to life. Once they are created you cannot stop then from taking on a life of their own even if only to you. And you cannot make them do things that are contrary to their personality. It simply will not work if you do.
Writing fiction is fun and mixing it with some history is fairly easy, but requires a lot of research. Rewrites are not fun. My editor taught me to show not tell, use a lot of dialogue, description, give protagonists and antagonist good and bad traits, have a decent plot and always have a lot of conflict. And to cut, cut , cut. He also said it your can't write a thirty word sentence you aren't worth a shit! He and I have clashed over re-writes. He is usually right. And I make the changes he wants. I learned by listening to Jeff Eastin not to use the words 'just' and 'besides'. He calls the use of either "lazy writing".
The second little book I wrote is called "The Magic Of Isha Swift" and it a kids book about a handicapped kid. It's a small book and I only had four areas that the editor wanted me to re-write.

The third book I wrote is called "Different Dancers" and it about a Native American boy who is a grass dancer and the son of white teachers who move to the reservation. The two become unlikely friends. The main character in "Dancer" is Harley White Eagle. I love that book and Harley. I mailed it out to publishers and as always waited for the rejections to come. (THEY ALWAYS DO!) I mailed it to a group called Council of Indian Education in Billings that I though sounded really promising. Nothing came from them. For two years. Then one day the phone rang and a man who identified himself as Hap Gilliand said he was the editor there and that they wanted to publish "Dancer". Being a big shot author (ha ha), I asked him what had taken so damn long. He said the manuscript had gotten lost in one of their 'preview readers' home for two years and when found he like it and wanted it. TWO YEARS!! The book had to pass inspection by a council of eight Native Americans writers from various tribes for authenticity and it did. I only had to make two changes in the book. One was the weight of a buffalo and the other was the menu for a Powwow. Not bad, I thought. That is one I've very proud of.
Well anyway, I'm writing again and even if it doesn't amount to anything I enjoy it. I have a friend that likes to write but refuses to send anything to any publications for fear of rejections. I understand that. It's scary to think that someone will think that your baby is ugly. But rejections make your skin tough and your writing better. And when it's finally published you laugh about them when you clean out your 'rejection drawer'. Your baby was pretty after all.

2010-02-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

2010-02-25T01:38:00.000-08:00

Heard that all senior citizens will recieve another stimulus package.
It will contain two watermelon seeds, cornbread mix, and 10 coupons to KFC.
The directions are in Spanish.

2010-02-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

How to Feel Better!

2010-02-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished. Before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of Valentine chocolates! You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now. :-)

But The Pulitzer????

2010-02-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

First the Saints won the Super bowl and now the National Enquirer is in the running for a Pulitzer Prize. Looks like this is going to be one of those 'I'll be damned' years. My grandma loved the Enquirer and believed every word that was printed in it. She was on a fixed income and did not waste her small monthly check of anything. But she bought the Enquirer. And she pass it on to me when she finished with it. Most people think that real newspapers are sold on newsstands. The magazines you pick up at the supermarket checkout, alongside the chewing gum and all-capitals headlines and cheap paper that they're not to be taken seriously. You might learn, this week in the National Enquirer, for example, that Whitney Houston is "DYING!" — "SHE COLLAPSES after cocaine and booze binges" — but even if you buy it, you don't necessarily believe it. It's entertainment. Whether it's true or not is largely beside the point. It seems that is about to change. It might have come as a surprise last week to learn that the Pulitzer committee, bestowers of the world's most celebrated journalism awards, had stroked their chins, weighed the arguments, and concluded that the Enquirer will be eligible to be considered for their investigative reporting and national news reporting awards. The magazine's executive editor, Barry Levine, who just a few days previously had been telling Pulitzer committee-members that they needed "to get their heads out of the sand", was jubilant. "That persistence, that old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting that we exhibited on this story, (The John Edwards Scandal) at the end of the day, is what the Pulitzer committee recognised," he said, Maybe my grandma was on to something or maybe this is just an indication on how low the main stream media has gone with the slanted, bullshit they attempt to force feed their readers. Personally I hope the Enquirer wins.

Maybe He's Bored With Koreans Too?

2010-02-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

Why does Apolo Anton Ohno yawn before his races?
By Martin Rogers

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Seconds before the biggest moment of his career, the excitement and adrenaline were finally too much for Apolo Anton Ohno. He couldn't hold it in any longer.
He yawned.
Television viewers were stunned by the American's apparently lackadaisical approach to the race, which would determine whether he would become the Winter Olympian with the most medals in U.S. history. (He did, with a bronze.)
British Open golf champion Stewart Cink even Tweeted that Ohno's action made him yawn, too, as he watched on TV.
Yet some sneaky investigation by Yahoo! Sports revealed there is madness behind Ohno's moribundity.
A friend of Ohno's – who asked not to be named because, er, "Apolo might not like it" – revealed that the yawning lets extra oxygen into his lungs in the seconds before bursting across the ice.
Ohno himself confirmed as much to Yahoo! Sports. "It makes me feel better," he said. "It gets the oxygen in and the nerves out."

Quotes I Like

2010-02-21T08:39:00.000-08:00

"Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you're alive, it isn't.
Richard Bach

"Give me a break! You could sell light switches to the Amish." Peter Burke

"Human spirit to rise up again & again to challenge the obstacles, odds & unforseen challenges. Anything is possible-believe-want-do! "
Apolo Ohno

"I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness. " Stan Hall

"Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity." Dr. Matthew Links

"Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience." CJ Murray

"It's not stealing when rich men do it." Neal Caffery

"We all die of one disease . . . it's called time." Terrion Brossard

"All romance ends in disillusionment . . . or death." Lassiter from Psych

"You have a lot of rules for someone who doesn't play by them." Peter Burke

"If you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas." Mozzie

"Real life seems to have no plot." Ivy Burnett

"This shit ain't nothing but the thrill ride from hell." Lynn Sheffield (about life in general)

"Women need a reason to have sex, men just need a place." Billy Crystal

"Why does the Vatican have lightening rods?" Terrion Brossard

"There are a lot of waiting rooms in hell." Blant Belzac

Apolo Ohno

2010-02-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

Apolo Ohno Breaks record for most metals in Winter Olympics.

Apolo Ohno is used to being at the head of the pack in short-track speedskating. The 27-year-old has no regrets about giving himself another shot at the Olympics. "I'm glad I made the right decision," he said. "And that I'm here."

To this day, a lot of people think he jumped the gun in his first race in 2006.
Of course they do, right? It's the Olympics and it's Apolo Anton Ohno, and the guy has high drama embedded in his DNA.
It was the last night of competition at the 2006 Turin Winter Games. The curtain closer on a couple of weeks in Italy that had not gone well for Ohno or, for that matter, America.
The 500-meter sprint. This race — one and a quarter times around a track inside a hockey rink — is all about the start. Blink, you lose. High stakes, fried nerves. Chances at redemption. Twice, skaters in the pack of five — coiled up like Lycra-clad snakes at the start line — jumped the starter's gun.
So Ohno, being Ohno, figured now would be a good moment to "time the start."
"You know what? This is it, man!" he told himself. "I'm going to try to time this bad boy."
That, he did. When the starter's pistol cracked the third time, Ohno already had a half-stride on the pack. Sprinting with the calm dignity of a cat being chased by Dobermans, Ohno led from start to finish, blasting across the finish line to claim gold.
The feat, if it didn't save the Olympics for America, at least avoided the indignity of losing in the medal count to the Canadians. It was vintage Ohno.
"Honestly? I think I just timed it perfectly," he says, four years later. "If you watch it in slow-mo, it looks like I jumped," he insists. "If you watch it in regular I timed the start."
He laughs again.
"They didn't call it back, so ... "

So it was written: Ohno's fourth Olympic medal. Later that night, he would claim a fifth, in the team relay, tying him with speedskating legend Eric Heiden for the most medals won by a U.S. male Winter Olympian.
I'm glad I made the right decision," he says. "And that I'm here."
From the time he was 14, Apolo Anton Ohno has been many things to many people, but boring has never been one of them. His first Olympic medal was won as he crawled across the finish line, blood trailing from one thigh, in Salt Lake City in 2002.
There's a reason Ohno is the first guy you see when NBC starts endlessly pitching the 2010 Vancouver Games to the public. Lots of them, actually.
Ohno has grown, before our eyes, from a precocious inline-skate punk from Federal Way into a literal Olympics ambassador.
Easily lost in the footlights of his fame is that Ohno, a master of a sport requiring an uncommon marriage of power, finesse, reflex and smarts, is one of the remarkable athletes of his generation.

"I'm leaner than I've ever been, lighter than I've ever been," says Ohno, who lives in Seattle. "The other thing is, I love what I'm doing, more than I ever have in the past. I really do. This sport has not gotten any easier for me. In fact, it's gotten harder. But I love it."

Sometimes, he admits, he has to talk himself into it. That first workout of the day is hard to start. The third one is tough to finish. In between, Ohno in the past several months has frequently taken to the blogosphere, posting multiple daily affirmations on Facebook, Twitter and his Web page.
"Tired, but still pushing on," he tweeted Jan. 29. "Many distractions right now — yet I'm staying on track."
"To be or not to be," he posted another time. "I'm about being better than yesterday. Post-2010, come train with me — I'll help you achieve your goals!"
Another day: "No distractions. Make a step in the rt direction 2day. Get in yr zone. Stay focused. Live now!"
It is manna to his many fans. But Ohno says all the sports-psych stuff is for his benefit, as well.
"It's almost like reiteration of what I want to feel like," he says. "It's almost like reminding myself, and motivating myself: 'Hey, look where you're at today. Look where you've got to go.' "

Ohno gets mail almost daily from fans who tell him he has, in some way, changed their lives. He thinks to himself: "All I've really ever done is skate."
He plans to offer payback via a post-Games nutritional-supplement business venture, the 8Zone, which will incorporate the decade of sport science Ohno has absorbed. If the business is profitable, he plans to plow money back into Olympic sports, through sponsorships.

In the short term, however, the ice at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum is his sole focus.
"This is very special," he says of the Vancouver Games, the site of his first competitive races as a young teen. "It's special for my father, for me, for all my friends who are going to be there."
His course, near and far, is set. Unlike most Winter Olympians, Ohno has enough sponsorship money to keep him financially comfortable — and a career course is laid out before him. And he is savvy enough to relish every remaining step of what he always has referred to as a journey.
"When I'm done skating, I guarantee you that I will not look back and remember standing on the podium," he says, looking wistful. "I'm going to remember these days — being with the team. Training alone, in my basement. Training when everybody else is sleeping. Doing things that nobody else is doing. Digging down. Seeing what kind of character I truly have. I love that stuff."
.
"I've never prepared like this in my life — for anything," he says. "I want to leave nothing on the table."

Happy Mardi Gras!

2010-02-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

2010-02-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

The Tropical Isle, New Orleans

2010-02-14T04:22:00.000-08:00

THE WORLDS BEST BAR

Still Lovin' White Collar

2010-02-11T03:36:00.000-08:00

Well Yeah!! I am still really into the USA series White Collar!! I haven't had a show I liked this well since I was in love with Little Joe on Bonanza. I have watched the show all the way through from the pilot and it has gotten better and better. In fact the pilot was really good and there was none of the rough edges that usually drag down a first show. This show is intelligent, funny and there is no blood, guts and gore scattered all over the place. The interaction between the characters Neal and Peter is great. It also shows some great pictures of New York City. And I like all the actors. Tim Dekay makes a great FBI agent and what's not to like about Matt Bomer (the con man). God Bless Texas for giving the world this looker! I don't buy DVD's of series much but I am gonna rush out and get this one. I found this interview with Diahann Carrol and liked what she said about older women. Seems she realizes that just cause we are older doesn't mean we are dead and can't enjoy a good looking man.

Interviewer: If there was one thing you could tell your fans from White Collar about your character that they would find surprising, what would it be?

Diahann Carroll: I think the relationship with Matt is very interesting and it's something that I see in my life, constantly, and that is women who are no longer young seem to find young men interesting and amusing, whereas they were not as interesting and amusing when I was young, and I think that happens to most women. We can afford that kind of relationship at this age.

Interviewer: White Collar has become a real hit with fans. I just want to know, what is it about the show that you think draws in the viewers?

Diahann Carroll: Oh, so many things and not only is Matt beautiful, and his partner Tim, is a very handsome man also, the writing is outstanding, I think, and the look of it, it brings you into it immediately. You want to know what is going on in that set and you want to know who these people are, that operate in that-it's a very-it grabs you, as we say on the ... It's a grabber and, once again, I must make comment about the writing. It's really wonderful.

Interviewer:I also want to know, have you learned anything interesting about the FBI, or con men, since being on the show?

Diahann Carroll: No. I knew a great deal about that before, and in particular, con men.

Saints

2010-02-08T02:07:00.000-08:00

Well hell has frozen over again. The Saints won the Superbowl Game. I could give a lesser damn. What I find amazing is all the fans they have when they have a winning season. These are the same people who have told all the Saints jokes for years. Now they are in the "I've been a Saint's fan for forty years" group. Pleeeze!! The poor Saints have had more jokes told about them than any team EVER. And the news reporters who insist that the Saints having a winning season is someway related to New Orleans making a come back from Hurricane Katrina are really stretching it. Come on! That was over four years ago. The Saints were playing for that $84000. they each got for that ONE game not for some sentimental love of New Orleans. Amazing all the poor people who are shelling out thirty-five dollars to by a Saint's shirt in Winn-Dixie. I had a Saints shirt once but I think I used it to paint in. And for heaven sakes!! Why would anyone want to be know as a part of something call the Who Dat nation. I have no problem with the Saints winning. It's the fans I can't stand. I'm glad the Superbowl is over. Now we can move on to something important . . . like Mardi Gras!

THE BLACK BRA

2010-02-07T04:56:00.001-08:00

I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends. One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I have been married for 20+ years.

We were chatting about our relationships and decided to amaze our men by greeting them at the door wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and a mask over our eyes. We agreed to meet in a few days to exchange notes.

Here's how it all went.

My engaged friend:The other night when my boyfriend came over he found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my dreams.I love you..' Then we made passionate love all night long.

The mistress: Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing a raincoat, under it only the black bra, heels and mask over my eyes. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word, but he started to tremble and we had wild sex all night.

Then I had to share my story: When my husband came home I was wearing the black bra,black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes.When he came in the door and saw me he said,

"What's for dinner, Batman?

Why I Like Retirement

2010-02-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

Question: How many days in a week?
Answer: 6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday

Question: When is a retiree's bedtime?
Answer: Three hours after he falls asleep on the couch.

Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb?
Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.

Question: What's the biggest gripe of retirees?
Answer: There is not enough time to get everything done.

Question: Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors?
Answer: The term comes with a 10% percent discount.

Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire?
Answer: Tied shoes.

Question: Why do retirees count pennies?
Answer: They are the only ones who have the time.

Question: What is the common term for someone who continues to work and refuses to retire?
Answer: NUTS!

2010-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

How Saints Fans Think

2010-02-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Peyton Manning, after living a full life, died and went to heaven. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a Colts flag in the window.
"This house is yours for eternity, Peyton," said God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here."
Peyton felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3-story mansion with a black and gold sidewalk, a 50-foot tall flagpole with an enormous Saints flag, and in every window, a New Orleans Saints towel.
Peyton looked at God and said "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was an all-pro QB, I hold many NFL records, and I even went to the Hall of Fame."
God said "So what's your point Peyton?"
"Well, why does Drew Brees get a better house than me?"
God chuckled, and said "Peyton, that's not Drew's house, it's mine."

Sonny The Pug

2010-01-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

My nephew called early Saturday to tell us that Sonny the Pug had passed away. I hated to hear that knowing how attached they were to him and how much it hurts to lose a pet. But there was a slight, hell make that a big difference, in who was the pet and who was the boss. My niece and nephew were Sonny's pets (as well as servants, caretakers, travel agents, chiefs, drivers and just general bitches.) He was so well cared for it made me hope for care that good when I am older. In his old age he was crippled in his back legs and so they carried him in and out, helped him get into and off of his bed and furniture. Sonny allowed them as well as the other pets and the infamous Gert to live with him. And they were lucky for the opportunity to share his days. He was a feisty little fat Texan who was tough to the end. He expected good treatment and he got it. He had a great life with them. Sonny often traveled to Ms to visit the grandparents and he knew that they were honored to have him there too. When my daughter went to Houston Sonny slept with her on the sofa. She still talks about the experience. Evidently Sonny sort of favored big boobs and red panties. Sonny had my niece drive him down to see us on the Coast last summer. He was always in command the instant he came through the door and my dogs looked up to him for his style and his attitude. Rio spent the day trying his best to imitate every sound that Sonny made and they both really wanted to go and chase a few of the ducks who live here. A visit from my niece and nephew just won't ever be the same without the little Texan. And his parents have the comfort that he enjoyed his years with them and that they did their very best for him. I think he is in dog heaven with new strong legs, with Misty, Mr. Rubert, and Marks little dog Martin chasing ducks and giving cats holy hell. Go get em, Sonny!

Nene s House

2010-01-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

This last week my grandma's house burned. My sister called me to tell me that it was on fire from a lightening strike that evidently hit it directly or the tree near it. The electric power was off to the house and I think the big bolt must have run in and through the old wiring and super heated the wiring and caught on fire. I hate that it is gone and despite pictures of the house on fire I still cannot picture the location without the house there. There were a lot of memories in the house and yard where we spent a lot of time. My first memory of the house was spending the night there when my parents were still young enough to go out to the movies on weekends and leave me with my grandma. I always enjoyed it. And I was young enough to be sound asleep when they returned. I often heard the story of my grandpa rocking me in a chair on the porch of the house and he rocked so vigorously that the rocker moved off the edge of the porch and we fell off the 4 foot high porch into a puddle. It orginally had a open back porch and for years I played in the water from a facet that wet the boards until they rotten out and had to be replaced. I remember sleeping there with no air in the summer and with the doors wide open to let in a breeze. We sometimes took a blanket and sat on the porch waiting for it to cool off at night. In the summer my sister and I made playhouses in the back yard and our grandpa made us pop guns that we shot china berries out of. My friend Clemois, my sister and I have enjoyed many breakfast of Nene's homemade white gravy, biscuits and salt pork in the kitchen. At the time that the house burned it still had some of my grandmothers furniture and other items in it. As my niece said it was almost like losing my grandma again. But then she was a tough character who would have mourned the loss of the house and moved on. She enjoyed it when she was there but now she has moved on too. And as with everything in life there are changes. And these we have to accept and move on. All of us have our memories of the house and what it meant to us. But some things remain even after the fire that took an old house made of pine. A friend found a metal toy car that was mine when I was small and that I rode in. It was burned and rusted, but my brother in law is going to clean the car and paint it. My grandma always told me that it was under the house if I wanted it. Now I do. And I want a picture of us all with that car and one of my great nephew Jon sitting in it. Some things change and some thing remain to be passed on to new family members and for them to make new memories.

100 years ago

2010-01-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans. Here is the lyrics to the song that taught us more about the battle than we learned in the history books.

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see'd the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eye
We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em ... well

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

BRRRRR!

2010-01-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

It's cold here in the balmy tropics. There was ice on the gulf, which is something that I haven't seen since 1969. Check out the article below.

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) - On Saturday morning, WLOX reporter Sylvia Hall was working on a story about the Ocean Springs Harbor when she came across thousands of dead fish. The fish were Mullet. Department of Marine Resources Director William Walker says this is very common in extremely cold weather coupled with low tide. The fish become trapped in shallow water then die of hypothermia. He says D.M.R. does not clean up the fish because most people pick them up and eat them. "There is nothing wrong with the fish," said Dr. Walker. Dr. Walker says there was a similar incident in Hancock County a few days ago.WLOX also spoke with Earl Ethridge of the Department of Environmental Quality who said the dead fish pose no environmental hazard.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

A New Year Prayer for the Elderly

God, grant me the senility to forget the
people I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones that I do,
And the eyesight to tell the difference.

Hymn

2010-01-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

I watched a show on the Weather Channel titled Weather Events With The Most Impact. The show was just what I expected it to be right up until the end. I figured Katrina would be number one as usual. When Katrina was named number three and global warning as number two (this was before all the hype about global warning being faked) I started to wonder what they could pick for the top event. I was surprised when they named the North Atlantic storm that so frightened John Newton that he wrote Amazing Grace as the weather event that had impacted the most people. The storm lasted for thirteen days and Newton was convinced he was going to die. When the storm finally ended he wrote the hymn. Amazing Grace is the most popular in the world and the show said that it has, through the years impacted more people than any other hymn. Since it was inspired by the storm, that storm is given credited with having the most impact on the world.
I liked that. Something that made sense and went beyond the hurricanes and tornadoes that we usually hear about. I thought the producers and writers of the show had the courage to think out of the box on that one.

2010-01-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

You Might Be Teliban IF

2009-12-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to liquor.
2. You own a $3,000 machine gun, but you can't afford shoes.
3. You have more wives than teeth.
4. You wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon "unclean."
5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.
7. You consider television dangerous, but carry explosives in your clothing.
8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least four.

10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat.
11. Your cousin is president of the United States

Lyrics from Everybody Loves Me

2009-12-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine ask for the lyrics to Everybody Loves Me by One Republic so I am posting them on the blog. Those not interested in them just skip.

Well Hell sees her shadow in my backseat
And her friends are standing right in front of me
World wide from the center burning turkey (?)
Open up said Everybody loves me
And you don't have to make a sound
Cause they got what you need
Oh Oh Oh Oh
God love all the people that have warned you
God love all your sentimental virtue
Eight balls with the takers that'll make you
Lay cards with the lovers that'll hate you
Cause you don't have to make a sound
They got what you need
Like you say
Oh my!
Feels just like I don't try
Looks so good i might die
All i know is everybody loves me
Get down
Swaying to my own sound
Flashes in my face now
All i know is everybody loves me
Everybody loves me

Rebels

2009-12-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what a difference a hundred and fifty miles can make in the behavior, attitudes and ways of people. I went to Southwest Ms. to see the family for Christmas. I took the back roads and avoided several towns and the traffic. As soon a I left the coast the driving got simple. There was none of the take your life in your hands mental illness that affects the drivers on the Coast. People actually let you merge or go first at a 4 way stop. About half way up home I noticed several Rebel flags flying. Most were displayed with the US and Ms. flags. I liked it. In the rush for political correctness we Southerners have been pressured and shamed into forgetting that we are descendants of the Confederates who fought and died for what they believed. We should not be ashamed of it. It is part of our heritage and our past. And no I ain't gonna apologize for it. I didn't own slaves so get the hell over it!! As Louisiana writer James Lee Burke says, " it was a different time and circumstance." He also says that the blood of men in gray runs in our veins and that if you look carefully you may see a glance of the Confederate army moving through the woods or see the camp fires glowing at twilight. We in the South plow ground which still turns up Confederate States of America belt buckles and musket balls. We build our homes on land which soaked up the blood of men who fought for their way of life. So I was not ashamed when I saw the Rebel flags. It made me proud. People in this country do not think for themselves anymore and most Southerners don't have the balls to fly the Rebel flag. I also noticed all the guns hanging in the back windows of trucks. It's deer season and people in Southwest Ms. hunt a lot. About four men out of five had on camouflage. It occurred to me that in a disaster, country folks could make it. We still know how to grow a garden, kill meat, can preserves, cook over an open fire, and make our own clothes. We don't do it all now but we could. Maybe I'm wrong but I think that is a Southern thing. And it came from the time when we lived under that Rebel flag, during the time that we were a seperate country and when we were forced to adapt. And country people can adapt. I think we still could if necessary.

2009-12-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

Odds and Ends

2009-12-13T08:06:00.000-08:00

The daughter spotted this truck on Washington Ave. This Saint's fan/driver showed his support by writing in the dust on the truck. I have always liked the Saint's but was not a big fan mostly because they always lost and never gave us anything to get excited about. This year has been different and I hope they go to the Superbowl. I want to see them play the Vikings. Brees and Farve. I would like to see that.

Did anybody enjoy the look on William Shatner's face when Sarah Palin took the stage to do a "reading" from his book? It was on the C. O'brian show. For the second time Shatner read from her book making fun of her as is the usual for the Hollywood set. When he finished she appeared from backstage and read about him. The look on his face was priceless. I used to like him along with Whoopi, Robin Williams, and and others. But I don't need the supposed intelligent Hollywood ninnies telling me how to think. Payback is good! This is the look on his face as she read. Don't you just love it.

Author Stephen King and his wife are donating money so 150 soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard can come home for the holidays. King and his wife, Tabitha, who live in Bangor, are paying $13,000 toward the cost of two bus trips so that members of the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Unit can travel from Camp Atterbury in Indiana to Maine for Christmas. The soldiers left Maine last week for training at Camp Atterbury. They are scheduled to depart for Afghanistan in January. Julie Eugley, one of King's personal assistants, told the Bangor Daily News that the Kings were approached about giving $13,000.
But Stephen King thought the number 13 was a bit unlucky, so the couple pitched in $12,999 instead. Eugley chipped in $1 to make for an even $13,000.

Angry Santa

2009-12-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

WHITE COLLAR

2009-12-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

HAAAAAA!

THE BITCH IS

BAAAACCCKKKKK!!!!!

Since I know that my two or three faithful readers are REALLY missing me and this wonderful, informative blog, I found a way to post.

White Collar

Not a lot of shows on TV are worth a shit. Most are slightly boring and not much on plot. But the new one on USA called White Collar is great. I like the plot about a Con Artist and a FBI man working together to solve cases. Although that theme is not new this show adds a lot of twist and turns and the relationships and interactions between characters make it really good. If you can see the Pilot first it really helps to tie all the info together. I like the actors and I think the writers are really good. (I really enjoy the character named Mozzie. and Neal is easy to watch too.) The show has a good sense of humor and lots of twist and turns. The writers are onto a good thing with this one if they just don't screw it up now. The network is only running re-runs until Jan. 19Th when it will be on Tuesday nights at nine o'clock. If you get a chance to watch try to catch the pilot.

Presarios Passing

2009-12-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hello dear loyal and faithful readers of Granny Bitch's blog. This is her daughter Halley filling in for Granny. I would like to report the passing of her dear Compaq Presario computer. It lived for 9 years and has served her well. Due to its passing Granny has been cut off cold turkey from blogging. Just wanted to let you know that there will be more to come as soon as Santa brings her a new one. She is doing well, just sitting at the house mad as hell that she can't surf the net...

Sincerely,

Halley

Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941

2009-12-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

ReOrder

2009-12-05T10:08:00.001-08:00

DEAR MADAM:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR RECENT

ORDER FROM OUR SEX TOYS SHOP.
YOU ASKED FOR THE LARGE RED

VIBRATOR AS FEATURED ON OUR

WALL DISPLAY.
PLEASE SELECT ANOTHER ITEM

BECAUSE THAT IS OUR FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

"WELL, SHIT!"

SNOW DAY?

2009-12-04T06:15:00.000-08:00

According to the weather man it is suppose to snow here tonight. That is according to the local TV but one guy on the radio says it's not going to snow below I-10. He was so sure about that cut off point that I could picture the snow dividing like the Red Sea parting and all the flakes going on the north side and not one single stray flake landing on the south side. The New Orleans station was absolutely pissy cause they were not forecasted to get as much snow as they did last year. That's to be expected since they think everything is suppose to be all about them. The snow that they got last year stopped in Harrison County and didn't make it into Jackson County. We were close enough to smell it last year. When I lived here in the seventies we had a heavy snow of about 8 inches. Even though we don't get a lot of snow up home in Franklin County we get more than down on the Coast and it showed. We woke up that day to the muted stillness that snow brings but it was soon punctuated by the thud of cars banging into each other as they sped up behind each other, slammed on brakes and plowed into the back of each other. Since nearly everyone here drives like a maniac it never occurred to them to slow down. We lived on the corner of Cowan-Lorraine and Pass Road and there were collisions all day. We ventured out to see the beach and watched it happen on Highway 90 too. I'll never forget the heavy black woman who slipped her car off into a deep ditch on it's side. She struggled to get the door open, fighting the angle of the car and gravity. When she got it open she couldn't pull herself out. Finally several people arrived to help. After a lot of slipping and sliding they pulled her free. As soon as her feet touched the ground she went down like a sack of rocks. It took 4 men to finally pull her up to the roadway. "Lord have mercy!" she said. wiping sweat of her forehead, "I didn't know it was that slick!" Neither did anyone else it seemed. These folks drive worse now than then. So let's hope that if it does snow here that it won't stick to the roads. If it does I'm staying home. Coast nuts and snow do not mix!

The Gunfighter

2009-12-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

A Cowboy sitting in a saloon one Saturday night recognized an elderly man standing at the bar who, in his day, had the reputation of being the fastest gun in the West. The young cowboy took a place next to the old-timer, bought him a drink and told him the story of his great ambition. 'Do you think you could give me some tips?' he asked. The old man looked him up and down and said, 'Well, for one thing, you're wearing your gun too high, tie the holster a little lower down on your leg.' 'Will that make me a better gunfighter?' asked the young man. 'Sure will,'replied the old-timer. The young man did as he was told, stood up, whipped out his 44 and shot the bow tie off the piano player. 'That's terrific!' said the hot shot. 'Got any more tips for me?' 'Yep,' said the old man. 'Cut a notch out of your holster where the hammer hits it, that'll give you a smoother draw' 'Will that make me a better gunfighter?' asked the younger man. 'You bet it will,' said the old-timer. The young man took out his knife, cut the notch, stood up, drew his gun in a blur, and then shot a cufflink off the piano player. 'Wow!' exclaimed the cowboy 'I'm learnin' somethin' here. Got any more tips?' The old man pointed to a large can in a corner of the saloon. 'See that axle grease over there? Coat your gun with it.' The young man went over to the can and smeared some of the grease on the barrel of his gun. 'No,' said the old-timer, 'I mean smear it all over the gun, handle and all.' 'Will that make me a better gunfighter?' asked the young man. 'No,' said the old-timer, 'but when Wyatt Earp gets done playing the piano, he's gonna shove that gun up your ass, and it won't hurt as much.

Drink Tap Water Assholes!

2009-12-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

I realize that members of congress have to pay for things out of their office funds. Like salaries, all that printer paper for the health care bill that not one of them has read and salaries. But Damn, let's get real. Who furnishes these office funds? We do. The tax payers. And so you know what your taxes bought. I could live a year on what they spend on bottled water. And Comrade Pelosi sees nothing wrong with this.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent $2,993 in taxpayer money on flowers between June and October.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn has a thing for Chantilly Donuts, spending about $265 at the Virginia shop in the past quarter.

All totaled they spent $300 million last quarter. Here is more. And these totals are for JULY TO SEPTEMBER ONLY!

Pelosi, who has come under fire in the past for spending on flowers, also spent roughly $30,610 in food and beverage and about $2,740 on bottled water. (Her offices defended the charges, saying the Speaker’s office holds more ceremonial events with visiting dignitaries than other congressional offices. Yeah and ole Nancy thinks she's entitled.)

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) racked up about $24,617 in catering costs. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spent about $1,561 in bottled water and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) spent no money on water but a touch over $18,000 in food.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) spent about $24,116 on food and beverage.
These line by line expenditures used to come just in bound green books, but for the first time ever, Pelosi requested that the reports also be put online this quarter. That's because she REALLY thinks it's all OK. The nearly 3,400 pages were released Monday afternoon and touted by Pelosi as expanding “accountability to taxpayers and the press.” Yeah, she really is a nutty cunt!!!

Cantor and Boehner together spent $69,832.50 on the company’s publications – Boehner spent $48,085 on CQ publications.

Taxpayers foot the bill for leasing cars for members, including cars for Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas).
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) spent $28,410 with a market communications firm to send a newsletter to his constituents.

And then there are these fellows. Nice to see a few attempt to give something back.

Walz and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) both returned about $2,500 to cut away at the deficit. Bachus, a fiscal conservative, said he does not take cost-of-living increases in the middle of a congressional term. This country has truly gone nuts. And all I hear on TV is "citizens need to do something about it." What? How? How do you rein in this kind of insanity?

December Storm

2009-12-01T06:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the last day of the 2009 Hurricane Season. We didn't have any major storm problems this year. But today there is a front moving in from the Gulf that has all the potential strength of a Tropical Storm. The local weather is forecasting waves 6 feet above normal, coastal flooding, 6 inches of rain and winds up to 50 miles per hour. It is pushing in from the Texas coast and will possibly be stronger than any of the weather we had during the actual season. The winter storms here look and feel different from the summer tropical ones. Of course it is colder, but there is more to it than that. Even the gulls sound different as they try to stabilize their flight in the wind. I like to watch these storms come in. The usual placid Gulf comes to life with pounding surf, blowing sand and roaring winds. Very few people brave the cold and wind to go to the beach. The ones that do are bundled up in coats. The clouds are heavy and deep gray and there is no discernible line between sky and sea on the horizon. Like all beach/vacation towns there is an entirely different feeling here. Most of the tourist are gone, the beach vendors have packed up and the pace is slower. It's nice. It's fun to watch a storm rolling ashore in December.

Six Storylines for Obama to Worry About!

2009-11-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

John F. Harris wrote the following article. I liked it and decided to put it on my blog.

"Presidential politics is about storytelling. Presented with a vivid storyline, voters naturally tend to fit every new event or piece of information into a picture that is already neatly framed in their minds. No one understands this better than Barack Obama and his team, who won the 2008 election in part because they were better storytellers than the opposition. A year into his presidency, however, Obama’s gift for controlling his image shows signs of faltering. As Washington returns to work from the Thanksgiving holiday, there are several anti-Obama storylines gaining momentum.

Here are six storylines Obama needs to worry about:
1) He thinks he’s playing with Monopoly money
He misjudged the anger in middle America about bailouts with weak and sporadic public explanations of why he believed they were necessary.
2) Too much Leonard Nimoy
People used to make fun of Bill Clinton’s misty-eyed, raspy-voiced claims that, “I feel your pain.” Both Maureen Dowd in The New York Times and Joel Achenbach of The Washington Post have likened Obama to Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. The Spock imagery has been especially strong during the extended review Obama has undertaken of Afghanistan policy. He’ll announce the results on Tuesday. The speech’s success will be judged not only on the logic of the presentation but on whether Obama communicates in a more visceral way what progress looks like and why it is worth achieving. No soldier wants to take a bullet in the name of nuance.
3)That’s the Chicago Way
This is a storyline that’s likely taken root more firmly in Washington than around the country. The rap is that his West Wing is dominated by brass-knuckled pols. The examples of Chicago-style politics include their delight in public battles with Rush Limbaugh and Fox News and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The lesson that many Washington insiders have drawn is that Obama wants to buy off the people he can and bowl over those he can’t.
4) He’s a pushover
It seems a bit contradictory, to be sure. But it’s a perception that began when Obama several times laid down lines — then let people cross them with seeming impunity. He sees America as another pleasant country on the U.N. roll call, somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe.
That line belonged to George H.W. Bush, excoriating Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988. It would be hugely unwelcome for Obama if the perception took root that he is comfortable with a relative decline in U.S. influence or position in the world. The reviews of Obama’s recent Asia trip were harsh. His peculiar bow to the emperor of Japan, and his lots-of-velvet, not-much-iron approach to China had substantive implications.
He wants to be President of the World than President of the United States, a critique that will be heard more in December as he stops in Oslo to pick up his Nobel Prize.
5) President Pelosi
No figure in Obama’s Washington, including Obama, has had more success in advancing his will than the speaker of the House, despite public approval ratings that hover in the range of Dick Cheney’s. The great hazard for Obama is if Republicans or journalists conclude that Pelosi’s achievements are more impressive than Obama’s or come at his expense. Obama has allowed the speaker to become more nearly an equal — and far from a subordinate.
6) He’s in love with the man in the mirror
Does Obama have more than his share of self-regard? It’s a common theme of Washington buzz that Obama is over-exposed. He gives interviews on his sports obsessions to ESPN, cracks wise with Leno and Letterman, discusses his fitness with Men’s Health, discusses his marriage in a joint interview with first lady Michelle Obama for The New York Times. A photo the other day caught him leaving the White House clutching a copy of GQ featuring himself.

Obama’s best hope of nipping bad storylines is to replace them with good ones rooted in public perceptions of his effectiveness.

Tiger Woods is a Country Music Song!

2009-11-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

A bunch of us were talking about the Tiger Woods so called accident. All the women agreed on exactly what happened to ole Tiger. His wife got pissed off because of all the gossip about him having an affair with some woman in Washington. The National Enquirer ran a story about it a week or so ago. And you can say what you want about the NE, but they are usually right about their stories. And are usually early in getting their stories in print. Anyway all the women in the group agree that Mrs. Tiger got pissed with him about the affair, things got hot and heavy and she pulled out one of his golf clubs and whacked him a couple of good ones. Tiger realized that golf clubs are really clubs and it really hurt and if she got the right spot and the right angle she could kill him. SO he did what any self respecting adulterer does . . . he ran. He jumped in the car and all the while Mrs. Tiger is bashing the hell out of the car. He backs out, and starts up the street and is so busy looking behind him to see if she's still chasing him with that club that he smashes into a tree. And when she sees him all banged up from both her and the car she decides she better not kill him cause after all he is a pretty good meal ticket. So both of them keep quiet about the whole thing. And by keeping quiet they think that the press is just going to ignore the whole thing? I don't think so. A married man. A tabloid mistress. A potentially scorned wife smashing the windows of his car. Tiger Woods is a country music song. But regardless, all of the women who have discuss it think that Mrs. Tiger beat the shit out of Tiger. And she probably did get his attention on the subject of screwing around on her. And if he was screwing around on her he deserved what he got. I guess a golf club is as good as a skillet in a case like this.

SAPS

2009-11-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

NEW POST ON SAPS

THE GHOST OF JEAN LAFITTE

2009-11-28T15:20:00.001-08:00

Stepping off of Air Force One.

Yeah, we got change.

Wal-Mart Lied

2009-11-26T06:32:00.000-08:00

I wandered into the Ocean Springs Wal-Mart the day before Thanksgiving. There was a near riot going on back in the meat department. Not being one to miss a disturbance I hurried back to check it out. Standing in the middle of a crowd of tired looking women was a tall muscular man dressed as if he just left a construction site. He was holding a turkey in one hand and pointing his finger in the face of the store manager. The conversation went something like this.

"What is this shit? You advertised these turkeys for fifty cents a pound and these are 98 cents a pound! Where are the 50 cent ones?" the shopped said loudly.

"Well, we adjusted the price somewhat," the manager whispered.

"Adjusted my ass! You upped the price after you lured all these people in here with that 'feed a family of eight for $20.' bull shit! That's false advertising. Now remark these turkeys! I want my 50 cent a pound bird. Now!"

The manager really wanted to be somewhere else. He kept motioning for the man to lower his voice. That backfired when the construction worked got a little louder. By now there was a good crowd gathered.

"Well sir. We will be happy to sell you a turkey at 50 cents a pound if you will just come to the front check out," the manager said.

"No, that's not going to shut me up. All these people want their turkey for that price. Wal-Mart should be ashamed of itself. Now mark them down like they suppose to be!"

And he did. I don't know for how long they stayed at 50 cents after the group left. Wal-Mart should be ashamed. Bunch of cheaters. I don't know if this was just the Ocean Springs store or all Wal-Marts. It was an example of holiday greed and was disgusting. Just served to remind me of why I hate that store.

Happy Turkey Day From the Coast!

2009-11-25T17:10:00.000-08:00

SAPS

2009-11-24T18:07:00.000-08:00

FORT PICKENS

SANTA ROSA ISLAND/PENSACOLA

Attention SAPS members! Write a post for SAPS.

Since we can't investigate a lot, write about a personal

experience, a spooky place, or just a good ghost story!

Coming soon a post by thevoudou!

More South Louisisana

Ghosts.

Being a BItch. . . and enjoying it!

2009-11-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know of several folks here who are probably referring to me as the crazy, old MEAN bitch who lives in THAT building. They are right. What they see as mean I see as standing up for myself. There was the woman who was banging on the door across from us on a Sunday morning at 6 am. I ask what the hell was her problem to which she answered, 'they won't open the door'. I told her that she was waking up the entire building. She said I should close my door. I said she should close her mouth, before I came out in my thin nylon gown and closed it for her. She shut up and stopped knocking at least for a while. Then there is Pretty Boy that I always make fun off. Now there are the six boys between age 8 and 13 who played football on the little strip of grass between buildings from noon until dark yesterday. That puts them within about 12 feet of my patio. Playing wasn't the problem. All the screaming, yelling and bouncing the football off the building was the problem. And the fact that the dogs did not stop barking at them for 5 hours. I had the daughter call the office. They workers told them to go to the huge playground in the complex. They were leaving then anyway so they left. They were back today. So I didn't call the office. I told them what the guy said, and suggested they do it. One said they were told to be quiet not go to the playground. SO I told him that they were not being quiet and I could just call the office and check. They left. Then There is the guy who comes out with his lab and half breed mutt and chases the ducks, never picks up poop and allows his dog to come up to my dogs who are on their patio. (And that lab can shit like a horse.) SO Stretch (who thinks he can take that lab down) and I go out and Stretch raises hell. The stupid lab pops over to the fence and the guy strolls up grinning. He always looks either sleepy or high. I look him and his dogs and ask if they aren't suppose to be on a leash. His smile fades and he ambles off to his building. Yeah, I'm getting a reputation. AND you know what? I don't give a shit!

2009-11-23T12:25:00.001-08:00

Ode to Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!

Deer Season

2009-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

If left unattended. . .

2009-11-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

Hunting season opened on Saturaday. And any man who had to be in a store with a woman was probably out of sorts. And women probably didn't enjoy it either. It's sort of like the shirt I saw the other day that said, "Shopping with a man is like hunting with a game warden." This is a list of some of the things bored men have been known to do when wondering alone around a store.

1) Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren' looking.

2) Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3) Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.

4) Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.

5) Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

6)Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers they could use the tent if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.

7) When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.

8) Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

9) While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

10) Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme. 9) In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels as boobs.

11) Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

12)When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

13) Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.'

Who's Minding The Back Door?

2009-11-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

The boom that rattled windows in Pascagoula and Moss Point, swamped police phone lines and brought entire neighborhoods of people out of their homes to see what was happening remains a mystery. Keesler Air Force base told city police around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday the boom was caused by military jets on a training exercise in the Gulf, but that the jets were not from Keesler.
On Wednesday security at the base reconfirmed the jets had contacted the tower Tuesday night and were told there was a training exercise. But what jets, and whose jets were flying at supersonic speeds over the Gulf at night? Keesler didn’t know. Pensacola Naval Air Station’s Air Operations on the base said they weren’t flying anything fast enough to cause a sonic boom at present and suggested only the Air Force would have the F-15 or fighter jets that could fit that bill. They said Eglin AFB in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was the best bet. As it turns out, Eglin is the base that controls military training ranges — airspace over the Gulf of Mexico used for military maneuvers in this part of the Gulf. (Photo shows the cone formed when a plane breaks the sound barrier.)
Sgt. Brian Jones with Eglin’s public relations office looked at the schedule for Tuesday night and said, “In our air space at those times all we had in the area were A-10s, and they’re not fast enough to break the sound barrier.”
He said the A-10s were firing guns, but did not discharge any heavy explosives during the maneuver. Jones said he had no way of knowing if there had been a jet outside Eglin’s airspace.
There were four booms on Tuesday. One at 8 p.m. rattled the east side of Jackson County all the way up to the rural northern regions, according to reports. Then there was a series of three booms about 9 p.m., felt and heard in parts of Ocean Springs and Gautier to the west and in central Jackson County, as well as Pascagoula and Moss Point in the east. Then on Wednesday evening at about 8 p.m. at least one boom was felt in Ocean Springs, Vancleave and Pascagoula. In Ocean Springs Road near Interstate 10 the 9 p.m. event on Tuesday shook walls and made roofs rattle. It moved pictures on walls and caused dogs to bark. In Pascagoula whole neighborhoods came out of their houses and looked toward the Chevron Refinery. The boom set off home security alarms. And Capt. Shannon Broom with Pascagoula police said so many calls came in to the department it overwhelmed the phone lines and caused them to temporarily shut down.
Broom said Wednesday if training exercises were planned in the Gulf with jets that might create sonic booms, he’d like to have been warned ahead of time.
“They’re the federal government, I guess they don’t have to notify us, but it would have been nice,” Broom said.
The U.S. is at war, so could there have been a super-secret maneuver?
Jones at Eglin said, “I’d tell you if there was something, and then I’d tell you we couldn’t talk about it.”
So that would be a “no.”
The Air National Guard in Gulfport wasn’t flying.
All the industry in Jackson County, including the refinery, reported in to the state Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Pascagoula that they were all clear, no incidents.
Pascagoula police checked with the U.S. Coast Guard. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County said sometimes, with the right atmospheric conditions, rocket testing can bounce off cloud cover and travel a great distance. But there was no rocket testing Tuesday night. That’s scheduled for Friday. NASA at the Houston Center, which also controls airspace over the western part of the Gulf, said it had nothing going on. And the U.S. Geological Survey said although there had been 750 earthquakes in the United States in the past week, none was in or around the Gulf.
Earthquake? Isn’t that a little far-fetched? Well, a spokesman for the National Earthquake Information Center in Denver said earthquakes can cause noise when they hit.
But after listening to a description of the noise as a boom, he said the earthquake noise usually comes from the rattling rather than before the shaking. So two Air Force Bases, One Naval Station, NASA in Houston, the US Geological Survey group and other agencies have no idea who is flying at supersonic speeds out over the Gulf? The rest of us are all waiting to see what happens tonight.(Some info from The Sun Herald)

Just a strolling

2009-11-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

I usually watch the Fox news network because I get queasy when I watch the other networks kissing Obama's ass. Tonight I was too lazy to pick up the remote and I watched ABC with Charles Gibson. I steeled myself for the usual sugar coated dose of bullshit. To my surprise I watched nearly all the reports showing the negative side of government events.

There was the one about the group reporting that women should stop doing self breast exams and that they should wait until age 50 for their first mammogram. The government was rapidity trying to back pedal out of that one. The reporter questioned if the reason for the suggestions was to delay detection and save money. After all if your die from breast cancer you can't spend money on treatment and meds. All the medical people who were interviewed were very strongly opposed to the recommendations and the government moved away from it.

The next story was about the government website that had reported an increase in jobs. However the site had evidently fabricated jobs and had even faked the zip codes of the none existent districts where the jobs were suppose to be. The Democrats said it was simply a matter of a few mistakes. Yeah, there have been mistakes all right. Back at the election.

In the next report there was information that 43% of Americans are overweight. Then it went on and on about the cost of caring for the plus sized citizens. It seemed that if you get rid of the fat folks the government can save a lot of money. (Beginning death panels??) Us fatties spend on average $8,315 on health care. Of course they were lumping in all kinds of illnesses into the study including heart disease, diabetics etc. According to them being fat is the root of all evil. (And here I was thinking it was smoking!) Don't be surprised if the Government herds all us fat folks onto a fat farm complete with wire fences and cattle prods and control our food. I suppose they will make us exercise too. Or they might just tax us more. Maybe a certain amount of money per pound. The Obama bunch does like that tax money. Following this report came the news that test on Egyptian mummies detected the presence of heart disease and high blood pressure. I wonder how much their health care cost?

There was the usual stuff about the terrorist trial in NYC as the Obama bunch bull doze over what the people want. Could it be that the dog and pony show will result in the terrorist not being found guilty? Is that what this blockhead administration wants?

There was one report on Sarah Palin. (I hope she gives Katie Couric a back eye sometime.) She was discussing profiling. She said if we had profiled the killer at Fort Hood and not been so concerned about being politically correct those 13 people might still be alive. I think the old word for 'profiling' was 'common sense'. If a person is innocent then who cares if they are profiled? If 62 year old, fat women, with short grey hair and green eyes were blowing up building I would expect to be singled out or profiled. And if I was innocent I wouldn't give a shit if I was.

And where was our great leader while all this was happening in the United States? Well, since he never saw a jet plane he didn't want to climb on he was in Asia looking for someone to bow to. The last piece of news showed Obama taking a stroll on top of the Great Wall of China.

HOT MEN

2009-11-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

The star of the "Twilight" vampire flick was beat out by Johnny Depp to win People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" honors. It was the second time Depp, the edgy actor who plays Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, got the nod from People. And senior editor Kate Coyne predicted it won't be the last time for "the king of cool with the killer cheekbones." "Johnny Depp was someone who was sexy 10 years ago," Coyne said on CBS's "Early Show." "He'll be sexy 10 years from now. He's someone who appeals to multiple generations of women." And YES HE DOES!!!! He is one fine looking man. Just cause I'm old doesn't mean I can't enjoy looking. Depp was a dark horse to win this year. His biggest movie was "Public Enemies," which did okay at the box office.

Matt Bomer the actor from Houston Texas who stars on White Collar was named Sexiest Rising Star. I agree. That's another good looker. I like the show he is on. It's different and somewhat intelligent and he makes the watching easy.

The British actor who stars in the Twilight movies was wanted by some of the younger set but he was hit by a string of rumours earlier this year (09) which suggested the cast and crew on the vampire films were offended by the star's stinky body odour. And now the heart-throb has confirmed the stories - admitting he rarely washes his clothes because he is constantly living out of a suitcase. He said, "It gets to the point where even I can't stand the air around me. My personal hygiene - it's so disgusting! Really, it's that I have very few clothes that I like and I'm travelling all the time so I can't really get any more. And when I shake my head there is the cloud of dandruff that I just tell them to brush off." UGH!! I like good looking CLEAN men. So 'Edward' go take a shower! Oh yeah, we could have gotten this on the front of People.

2009-11-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

NEW POST ON SAPS

PENSACOLA LIGHTHOUSE

#@$&!!

2009-11-17T08:24:00.001-08:00

Nothing else needs to be said.

This is one of their THREE DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for. (AP Photo)

These folks play solitaire, get on Facebook check baseball scores on the tax payers dime.

AND HERE IS ONE TO TWIST YOUR TWINKIE -- if you don't know how to curse yet, " I am certain you will after you read this one " !
According to the Trustees for the Social Security Administration,
"THERE WILL NOT BE A COST OF LIVING INCREASE FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS IN SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS. ADDITIONALLY THEY WILL RAISE YOUR CO-PAY FOR YOUR RX MEDICARE BENEFITS"!
They, the Congress (BOTH "REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATS TOGETHER") say no increase is warranted because of the losses in gross national product and other cute things..
NOW HERE SPORTS FANS THIS IS THE ONE THAT WILL FLIP YOU OUT!! --
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION IS FUNDING TWENTY FOUR MILLION DOLLARS-- LET ME REPEAT THAT AMOUNT.. SO YOU UNDERSTAND IT... $24,000,000.00 DOLLARS FOR NEW ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS PROCESSING FOR OUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS!!
THEY ARE OBTAINING THESE FUNDS andI QUOTE DIRECTLY FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY WEBSITE...............
"THIS MONEY WILL BE COME FROM THE SAVINGS TO BE GENERATED FROM WITHHOLDING"COST OF LIVING INCREASES FOR 2010 & 2011 in SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR THE ELDERLY AND A $2.00 INCREASE ON ALL MEDICARE RX BENEFIT CO-PAY"
Please excuse my FRENCH, But do the words "S.O.B. M.F." ring a bell ?
Please pass this to ALL your friends and have them "PROTEST TO THE IDIOTS WE ELECTED TO CONGRESS" who by the way, have just voted themselves ANOTHER 3% SALARY INCREASE!!!
We must put a stop to this outright thievery! It is THE CONGRESS AND THE SENATE, BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATS, WE CAN'T FIRE THEM, BUT WE SURE AS HECK CAN NOT RE-ELECT THEM, and WE CAN IMPEACH THEM or DEMAND RECALL ELECTIONS!!! HOW ABOUT WE ALL GET TOGETHER AND DUMP THESE CLOWNS.

Wally World

2009-11-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

A turkey dinner for eight as low as $20? When I saw that ad I thought it was just some more of the stores' hype. But it seems that they are actually offering the meal's ingredients for twenty dollars. Of course a lot of cooks are going to want to make homemade dressing, but I'm not one of them. I like to use stove top stuffing and dress it up to suit my taste. And I like the three cans of veggies. Yeah! I cook out of a can too. The only item on the list that I don't like is the pumpkin roll cake. I'm not a big fan of pumpkin . Plus I have got to have a spiral cut ham. Anyway it looks like Wal-mart is actually offering a pretty good deal. According to a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation, last year’s average cost of a turkey was roughly $1.19 per pound. Beginning today, select Grade A turkeys are available for 40 cents per pound at Wal-mart. A turkey for about five bucks is a pretty good deal if one can tear themselves away from the Butterball aisle. These gobblers are part of Wal-mart’s $20 Thanksgiving menu guaranteeing family favorites will be on the dinner table this holiday season. Walmart’s $20 Thanksgiving feast includes:
One 12-pound Grade A turkey
Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake

Crafty??

2009-11-16T10:57:00.000-08:00

The family has decided to give homemade gifts this year. Now that is fine if I could think of something to make. I have not come up with much of anything. I looked on-line and see a lot of stuff that just looks like dust collectors. There are members of the family who have the talent to do this without much trouble. Then there are those of us who haven't got a clue. I found so called bath salts made with Epson Salts and then there was a section on gifts made from ladies' personal products. There were the Maxi-Pad Slippers:Materials Needed:
4 Maxi-Pads
Tape or Glue
Items to Embellish
Now aren't those cute.

But I really liked the Tampon Wind Flute. Check out the materials below. I don't have a picture so you can use your imigiination.

Tampon Wind Flute

Materials
3 Tampax cardboard vending tubes
5 Tampax tampon cardboard applicators (unused)
Thin cardboard
Fine-point marker
Utility knife
Hot glue gun
16 tampon strings
Pitch pipe, piano or electronic tuner

Cut the applicators to various lengths, put together side by side with the string and glue. Tune and play.

How isn't that unique?

The gifts for guys are few and far between. But I did find this one. It's a necktie made from Duct Tape. Pretty sharp, huh? SO! You all get ready for some interesting gifts this year. There is no telling what you will find hiding under the tree.

O-bow-ma

2009-11-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Obama is back to his old bowing games, shaming the nation with his obsessive stooping. Here he is with Japan's Emperor Akihito, bowing almost to the ground like a shogun-era peasant before a guy whose dad bombed Pearl Harbor. Then he followed up the deep bow by jigglin' his noggin' like a drunken bobble-head to the Empress. My dad fought the Japs in the South Pacific in WWII. He never had any use for the Japs and never forgot that they wanted him and his shipmates dead! I don't intend to forget either. It makes me sick to see the scarecrow looking ass kisser bow to them. It should make all Americans sick to their stomachs whether they are an Obama supporter or not. Why can't he stop bowing. Damn! Hey O-bow-ma, pat them on the ass, lock lips with them, give them a gang sign, give them a thumbs up, head butt them or do that terrorist looking fist thing you do with Michelle, but STOP BOWING!!!! I know he's stupid, and the country is (hopefully) beginning to see what a dub Obama is and you would think someone would tell him that bowing to all these people is not CORRECT for the leader of the greatest country on earth (if he doesn't fuck that up). When they see him coming I can hear them snickering and other leaders saying, "here come the groveller-in-chief of the USA".

2009-11-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

Two magazines, Country Living and
Ebony /Jet did surveys on ......
"WHAT DO PEOPLE FEAR MOST?" The results were interesting, to say the least.. Country Living magazine's top three answers were:

1. Nuclear war / terrorist attack in U.S. .
2. Child/ spouse dying of terminal illness.
3. Terminal illness affecting self. Ebony / Jet magazine's top three answers were:

1. Ghosts
2. Dogs
3. Registered mail
No Kidding! These are the people who elected Obama, what would you expect !!!! AND TO GO ALONG WITH THIS, 2 QUOTES: ONE PITIFUL, ONE GREAT!

"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me, as we try to change it.." -- Barack Obama

''Life's tough......it's even tougher if you're stupid.'' -- John Wayne

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?

2009-11-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

What is with all the blogs writers!!!?? You all wrote good stuff, got us all addicted to reading the blogs with morning our coffee and then you just stopped. It's a little like being broke and out of cigarettes. You start to really need one. I realize that all you folks are busy (blag, blag, blag), but damn this is just not fucking right!!! I write on this silly thing that no one reads. I know this since I have not had a comment on this dribble in 6 damned months. You good writers with something good to say and the skill to say it just throw up your hands and walk away. Three of these blogs are from the Houston area, but I won't call any names. It is really starting to get on my last nerve. Maybe blogs have gone out of style and I missed it. Since I hate Facebook I am sort of left in the dark. You guys are like Hollywood actors who wanted a fan base and then when you get it you sneak away whispering 'I vont to be alone.' Like I say I'm starting to get really pissed about it.

2009-11-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

Life's A Beach

Protest

Oil

Rio and the baby Duck

Charlie

"Sheeeeen"

Tweeting

Mothers Day

Grease

New SAPS Post

I Sometimes Hate Facebook

A Good Character is Fun To Write

Oil On The Water

me and weather

New Ant and Grasshopper

Rio (the thief)

OLD

Stress Relief

The Great Tomato Growing Contest of 2010

Saturday Night in the Complex

Zu the Vampire - Excerpt (No. 2) From Storms

Woolmarket

Why I Voted Democrat

The Banister Of Life

Cover

Good Old Wally World!

Peachtree Road

Listing for Story C

Excerpt (No.1) from "STORMS"

Happy Birthday, Richard or Damn We Gettin Old!

Insults with Class

Apolo's Heart in Right Place

Boomers

Rio's Birthday

Scribes

How to Feel Better!

But The Pulitzer????

Maybe He's Bored With Koreans Too?

Quotes I Like

Apolo Ohno

Happy Mardi Gras!

The Tropical Isle, New Orleans

Still Lovin' White Collar

Saints

THE BLACK BRA

Why I Like Retirement

How Saints Fans Think

Sonny The Pug

Nene s House

100 years ago

BRRRRR!

Happy New Year

Hymn

You Might Be Teliban IF

Lyrics from Everybody Loves Me

Rebels

Odds and Ends

Angry Santa

WHITE COLLAR

Presarios Passing

Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941

ReOrder

SNOW DAY?

The Gunfighter

Drink Tap Water Assholes!

December Storm

Six Storylines for Obama to Worry About!

Tiger Woods is a Country Music Song!

SAPS

Wal-Mart Lied

Happy Turkey Day From the Coast!

SAPS

Being a BItch. . . and enjoying it!

Deer Season

If left unattended. . .

Who's Minding The Back Door?

Just a strolling

HOT MEN

#@*$&*!!

Wally World

#@$&!!