Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Republican Campaign Songs


The Republican party is having a hard time finding anyone who wants to lend their song to his campaign. These artists have publicly come out against the GOP using their songs.

1. The Foo Fighters - My Hero. “The song is a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential.” McCain/Palin’s use “perverts the original sentiment of the lyric.”

2. Heart - Barracuda. Palin’s nickname was "Sarah Barracuda" when she played basketball in high school. Heart says, "Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women."

3. Jackson Browne - Running On Empty. He has sued the Republican party because McCainTV ads use his song without permission or endorsement.

4. ABBA - Take a Chance on Me.

5. John Hall, formerly of Orleans and now a Democratic congressman - Still the One.

6. John Mellencamp - Pink Houses.

7. Van Halen - Right Now.

9. Frankie Valli - Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You. It was in a video on McCain’s official YouTube channel. "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner Music Group," says a message on YouTube.

10. Chuck Berry didn’t complain when McCain used Johnny B. Goode. But right after he started using it, Berry came out for Obama.

Why do the Republican's continue to choose songs by liberal Democrats? I know there are conservatives who make music. Why not use theirs? Should a party use songs when the artists don’t endorse their candidates?

The photo is John McCain and John Mellencamp.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Why I Can't Support Sarah Palin as VP



She said she is "a pit bull with lipstick." I don't want a pit bull as vice-president, whether it wears lipstick or not. Granted, I know a pit bull who is the sweetest dog in the world, but they are not generally known for their compassion and intelligence. Maybe I could go with a smarter dog like a collie or a poodle or something, but not a pit bull.

People say they like her because "she is just like me." I don't want someone just like me. I want someone better than me. Someone smarter, more diplomatic, calmer under pressure, and more knowledgeable about the world, the economy, and law. I don't see her as that.

I want a person who is pro-choice and anti-war.

I don't want a person whose campaign slogan is "Drill baby drill." It will take 10 years or longer to get this tiny amount of oil out of Alaska. I would rather they focus on something more practical and forward thinking.

She doesn't understand that a community organizer, Obama's job when he was younger, could be just what the country needs right now. That is one of the toughest jobs anywhere, and for her to insult the profession rubs me the wrong way. It makes her seem ignorant, and kind of mean.

I know that some of my friends do support her, and I respect that. But I just can't support her.

Monday, July 7, 2008

fraternity guys


I go every year to visit friends on the New Jersey shore for the fourth of July. The friends are originally friends of my friend, who was in a fraternity in college. The fraternity was started by them so that these geeky computer programmers and other whatnot had some place to belong. It is a geek fraternity. I didn't know they existed, but there ya go.

So now they are all in their 30's and, being geeks, reasonably to very successful. A few are married. Some are single. One is retired and in his 40's. Unmarried. They still like to drink and have fun. We sit around at this gorgeous house on the Jersey shore and drink, eat, and tell ridiculous jokes.

I never realized that I would have friends who used to be in a fraternity.

Were you in one? Were your friends?

The art is German Painter Hans Baldung Grien's Adam, 1523.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Battlestar Gallactica



On Battlestar Gallactica they created Cylons, well, the huge Centurian models, not the hot humanoid ones. But they did make robots. These are big imposing robots with, it turns out, even sentience.

So why can't they make an artificial leg for the crewman who lost his? Or even a fake eye for Saul?

Didn't the scientists leave notes? Or is it a moral thing?

The image is from this link

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Great Ribs!


A friend of mine sent me a gift of BBQ ribs from her favorite place, Montgomery Inn in Cincinnati.

Dag nab it, these are some GREAT ribs!

Juicy, meaty, no fat, tender. The sauce is wonderful, although you might want to add hot sauce. I like it mild, so it is perfect.

Do you like ribs? Do you wish you had some of these? If you do like ribs, where were the best ribs you've had?

The photo is from the Montgomery Inn site. You can order them and they send them to you packed in dry ice. Mmmmm....

Monday, May 12, 2008

Advertising Versus Reality

I stumbled on this website and found it very interesting. They photographed food packages, the ones that depict the food. They then removed the product from the package and photographed the actual food.

advertising vs reality

It's quite cool. There are some amazing discrepancies between the package picture and what you get in reality.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Diet Plan for Murderers that Works!




According to the AP:

Broderick Lloyd Laswell says he isn't happy that he's down to 308 pounds after eight months in the Benton County jail [in Arkansas]. He has filed a federal lawsuit complaining the jail doesn't provide inmates with enough food.

According to the suit, Laswell weighed 413 pounds when he was jailed in September. Police say he and a co-defendant fatally beat and stabbed a man, then set his home on fire.

"On several occasions I have started to do some exercising and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out," Laswell wrote in his complaint. "About an hour after each meal my stomach starts to hurt and growl. I feel hungry again."


Unbelievable. This murderer is in jail and claims he is being "starved to death" because he has gone from 413 to 308. He should be thrilled he has finally found a diet plan that works for him.



The image is Large Torso, 1983, by Fernando Botero. It is at the Kistefoss Museum, Norway.