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December 31, 2005
I'm Afraid
...I wouldn't have lasted much longer after my first, less mind THIRD.
PORTAGE, Mich. - A bowler collapsed and died at a bowling alley shortly after rolling the third perfect game of his life.
The more I think about it, ever breaking 200 would have killed me. Lucky thing I didn't have to worry about it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:43 PM | Comments (6)
On This Day in 1879
...Thomas Edison...
...had another thought.
Dec 31 Holds the first public demonstration of his incandescent electric lighting system at Menlo Park.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:48 AM | Comments (13)
December 30, 2005
A Late Photo Essay
Christmas Dinner at Casa de Major Dad*.
*A UN Declared "Turducken Free" Zone
Presents are opened...
...prime rib's a' resting. Bottle de vino a' breathing...
Crispy romaine, tomato, red onion and buttery croutons await the homemade Caesar dressing, redolent with anchovies, garlic and parmigiano reggiano.
The shrimps are at the table...
Go, go, GO!!
Best be quick to the plates, because Ebola's in the house and already starting to feed...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:26 PM | Comments (13)
You Gotta LOVE the NOAA Guys
...who write these National Hurricane Center discussions. They are a hoot.
ALTHOUGH THE ATMOSPHERE SEEMS TO WANT TO DEVELOP TROPICAL STORMS AD
NAUSEAM...THE CALENDAR WILL SHORTLY PUT AN END TO THE USE OF THE
GREEK ALPHABET TO NAME THEM.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:47 PM
1:51 Left in the Music City Bowl
...and Bingley's Gay Blades have it all tied up!
UPDATE: Holy CRAP! They're up by a field goal! But with 1:08, there is too much time left for the Gophers.
They're on the MN 27, 2D and 10 to go.
ARGH~! Ball on the VA 48, 1st and 10, with 45 secs.
WOO HOO!! Or is that wahoo? Anyway, they won.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:16 PM | Comments (4)
That Rabbit's A Killer!
A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home following a traffic stop, authorities said. The officer suffered minor injuries including bites to his ankle on Thursday when the five Chihuahuas escaped the 17-year-old boy's home and rushed the officer in the doorway, said Fremont detective Bill Veteran.
I wonder if the officer called for back-up to handle these viscious beasts?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:24 PM | Comments (1)
Damn You Chimpy!
Say hello to sexy Zeta:
SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 1100 AM EST FRI DEC 30 2005SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES THAT AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IN THE
EASTERN ATLANTIC HAS DEVELOPED INTO A TROPICAL STORM ABOUT 1000
MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF THE AZORES. A SPECIAL ADVISORY ON
TROPICAL STORM ZETA IS IN PREPARATION AND WILL BE ISSUED IN AN HOUR
OR SO.FORECASTER FRANKLIN
Bring it on, baby!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:49 PM | Comments (8)
But It's the Real Thing!
The University of Michigan suspended sales of Coca-Cola products on its three campuses over allegations that the company permits human rights and environmental abuses abroad.The suspension, which begins Jan. 1, will affect vending machines, residence halls, cafeterias and campus restaurants. Coke's contracts with the university are worth about $1.4 million.
Whatever happened to "Grow apple trees and honey bees and snow white turtle doves."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:43 AM | Comments (3)
A Beautiful Story
I hope this pilot gets a huge bonus:
A drunken holidaymaker has been dumped on a desert island after launching a foul-mouthed tirade at the crew of a passenger jet.The unnamed passenger's difficulties began on Tuesday evening at 35,000 ft when he began abusing the cabin crew of flight ZB558 from Manchester. He refused to calm down and then turned his attention to the other 210 passengers.
Eventually the pilot decided that he posed a risk to safety and had to be removed.
Rather than continue for a further 45 minutes to Tenerife he diverted his Airbus A321 to Porto Santo. Within moments of the plane touching down the passenger was escorted to the terminal. Last night he remained a castaway on the Portuguese-controlled island. His New Year home is a mere 10 miles long by three miles wide with a population of 4,000. There is little entertainment apart from walking on the sand dunes.
Simply wonderful.
Happy New Year, doofus :)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:48 AM | Comments (4)
December 29, 2005
You
...are a dumb a$$. And your parents...? I'm just glad no one got killed while trying to keep you safe, you knuckle-chucklehead.
Kids today have too much money and nothing better to do.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:33 PM | Comments (10)
Christmas Turducken!
Well, as promised, the much-anticipated turducken was prepared for the Christmas Day dinner! I've waited until now to post this, as I wanted to make sure that everyone got out of the hospital.
Well, I'm dressed and ready! Let's go...
Firstly, the beasty had been thawing in the back fridge for 5 days, right above the twice-baked potatos and keylime pie that I also slaved over:
Now it's out on the counter for you, you spineless beast!
Onto the rack...
And tented in the oven for 3 hours.
Not very exciting, really. Thank God I had a lot of wine and dear reader/de facto family member KCruella over to keep us company! She arrived shortly before the Turd came out of the oven to be de-tented...
WTF is that stuff oozing out? That's three different types of avian blood burbling up through the Frankensteinian sutures holding this unholy creation together, like some sort of Beverly Hillbilly/Marilyn Manson/Emeril nightmarish melange...thank goodness I was the only one in the kitchen at this point, or they would have been dialing Dominos.
Anyhow, back in the oven for another hour, spawn of Satan!
Man, the house is starting to smell great. Is this damn thing done yet?
170º! Yes! Now sit for 30 minutes while I heat up the twice-baked...
You can sort of see the stitching as it's on the platter.
Then you pull the thread out, slice it lengthwise down the center along the thread line, and cut the slices from that half...
The pride of any table!
But how did it taste, you ask? Well, interesting is the first thing that comes to mind. Overall, the cajun spices were fairly strong; I liked that, mind you, but I'm not so sure about everyone else. It was stuffed with a cornbread/pork stuffing that was divine, really. The turkey and the chicken were done, if I may say so, to perfection: still moist and full of flavor. The duck portion of it had a funny texture. Oh, it was definitely cooked, but the texture was more like...pork, I guess, then what I would expect duck to be.
I'm not sure it will reappear at Christmas, but I will certainly have another one at some point.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:45 PM | Comments (13)
Bottoms Up!
One thing that always sort of puzzled me is christians who don't drink for 'religious reasons'. I mean, Jesus brought the wine to the wedding, right? He drank wine all the time. Sure, we are commanded in Matthew (I think?) not to get drunk, and that's on the list of non-10 Commandments commandments that I will get around to following eventually, but I can't recall any place where He says "don't drink." Oh sure, He says He's not going to drink wine anymore, but heck, He well knows that in heaven you don't need no stinkin' wine. And anyway, isn't the full phrase "I won't drink the fruit of the vine again until I drink it with you in heaven" or something like that?
Look. If you don't drink because you don't like the taste or the way it makes you feel, fine. I feel the same way about chocolate milk.
If you don't drink because once you start you can't stop and you become a slobbering obnoxoid then I'm glad you've made the decision to stop, but don't blame baby Jesus.
And please don't deny me my bottle.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:23 AM | Comments (19)
Rep. Jeff Miller, FL-R
...got some 'splainin' to do.
Though battered by two Category 3 hurricanes in less than 10 months, Escambia and Santa Rosa counties were cut out of Congress' recently enacted Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005....Major added that from a "practical standpoint it's very nice they did this, but where in the world were they last year after Ivan and Dennis?"
New Orleans isn't the Third World in America, we are. Welcome to Bangla-cola, from the cast of 'Lost'...in America.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:08 AM | Comments (2)
NJ Carnival
We're hosting the Carnival of NJ Bloggers this week, so all you joisy hepcats send your submissions in!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:49 AM
December 28, 2005
I Don't Know Whether to Laugh or Cry
It was so WRONG and hideously tragic that my teeth gnash every time I think of the Germans letting that murderer go. But (Holy crap, Batman!) THIS is too deliciously hilarious for words.
THE German Government angrily rebuked a former hostage yesterday who is determined to return to Iraq despite being held captive for three weeks by a Sunni gang.Susanne Osthoff, a 43-year-old archaeologist, announced this week on al-Jazeera television that she would go back to her work in northern Iraq, trying to set up a German cultural centre in Arbil.
Angela Merkel’s new Government, which regards the freeing of Frau Osthoff this month as its first foreign policy triumph, is furious. It made huge efforts to secure her release and is widely believed to have paid a ransom.
It gets better...
Frau Osthoff was unharmed and, according to security sources quoted in Der Spiegel, the sharp-tongued archaeologist made full use of her Arabic fluency to reprimand the kidnappers. It appears they were relieved to see her go.
Sometimes, life's a bitch, Ms. Merkel.
Literally.
A Swill Salute to Captain Ed.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:45 PM
Today's 'Slice of the Ridiculous'
Man. I'm pi$$ed. Also baffled and bemused. I had to retire a well loved, well worn pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans last weekend. They were the worn out, pale blue type, already ratty as I paid for them. So when ~ whether it was age or a tad more AVDP then their geriatric state could handle ~ the material split along the rear pocket seam, I thought no harm, no foul. They'd served me well.
Having such an esteemed opinion of said jeans, I dug through them for tags one last time, thinking to get a style number and reduce fruitless hours of trying on different pairs. I found such a tag, along with another I'd never noticed these past three years. One I would never in a million years have associated with denim: especially moderately priced denim. All in caps, mind you. An amazing tag, all things considered, for a pair of BLUE JEANS.
LINE DRY IN SHADE DO NOT TUMBLE DRY
WTF is that? I should have maybe spelled it BLEU jeans?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:08 AM | Comments (6)
Season of Good Cheer?
"The change has been amazing, the justices are a happy bunch again," said one court official, who asked not to be identified. "They joke in arguments, they joke among themselves privately. The chief was just the type of man this place needed."Heh.
Oh. I already said that once today.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:34 AM
More Downbeat News
Consumer confidence improves in December
U.S. consumer confidence improved in December to the highest level since August, before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the U.S. Gulf and sent gasoline to record highs, a survey showed on Tuesday.The Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment rose in December to 103.6 from a November reading of 98.3, which had been downwardly revised from 98.9.
Those in the know had forecast a rise to slightly over 101. Wrong again.
::sigh::
Damn that Chimpy man.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:19 AM
Color Me Cranky
...but, when you live ON the water, should this be that big a surprise?
It is easy to understand what attracted Richard Pinegar and his family to Dauphin Island, Alabama. From the terrace of their elevated seafront home, they look down on the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico lapping against an idyllic white sand beach, just footsteps away.After 11 years, however, Mr Pinegar has decided to trade in his piece of paradise for somewhere on higher ground.
He has grown tired of repairing his property after each of the powerful hurricanes and tropical storms that have struck the island over recent years.
"We had not finished rebuilding after Ivan when Katrina struck," he said. "It will break my heart to leave. But living here has become a constant struggle between man and nature and nature is winning."
Plus the fact that I don't owe you a rebuild on your sand castle 18 times before you give-up. Live a couple miles inland like we do and quit whining.
Critics complain that reckless private investment in places such as Dauphin Island is subsidised bytaxpayers through thegovernment-run National Flood Insurance Program. The programme, which has had to borrow heavily from the US Treasury to cover recent hurricane losses, was established in 1968 to protect homeowners in flood-prone areas.But the scheme has allowed developers to build homes in places that would be considered too risky by commercial insurers.
Dauphin Island, which has lost 500 homes to storms over the past 25 years, had received more than $200m in NFIP payouts before Katrina and that figure will now increase sharply.
Better the attitude of our Uncle Dick. They bought a second home on Hatteras a million years ago and were 3 rows back. Now they're one row from the beach. Being a max anal type, he'd spent the money then for the stilts and steel hurricane shutters that have helped his beach house hang on in the face of some pretty exhuberant storms over the past 30 odd years, while 2 full streets of less foresighted neighbors were eaten by the Atlantic. The plan? He sells when he becomes beachfront. "Everybody always forgets about the storms a year later and real estate goes through the roof. Then we're outta here."
Just because you hadn't had a hit in 34 years (like our one N.C. summer with Bertha, then Fran 3 months later almost to the day) doesn't mean it's not going to happen. It's been our experience (usually because we've moved somewhere that hasn't been hit in, like, forever...and gets schmacked good after we get there...I sense an ugly trend...) that the lull means things are saving up for a wallop, vice a glancing blow. If you are going to move everything you own and love to one and only one home and it's beachfront, you need to be pragmatic and appreciate every single day that you get to spend there. All the while realizing that when Mother Nature decides it's time for you to go, you'll leave. On her terms.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:14 AM | Comments (3)
December 27, 2005
Word of the Day
snivel \SNIV-ul\ verb1 a : to run at the nose b : snuffle
2 : to cry or whine with snuffling
3 : to speak or act in a whining, sniffling, tearful, or weakly emotional manner
My nominee for 2005? Yup.
I wish I could say I had to think about it, but it shot into my consciousness the second I read the word...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:48 PM | Comments (4)
Well, When They Actually Pay People
...the $57+ billion they say they're out, then I'll cry a river of crocodile tears for them. So far, in our Gulf neck of the woods, that premium you pay every month is more about the privilege of getting another insurance invoice in the mail next month, rather than for protecting your assets.
Hurricane insurance losses $57.6 bln: Advisen
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Advisen Ltd. on Tuesday estimated worldwide insurance and reinsurance losses related to the three major hurricanes that hit the United States this year would amount to $57.6 billion, making the cumulative catastrophe losses the largest on record.
One spiff little trick I've learned they're pulling; Say you've got Casa de Bingster insured for $250K. That's the dollar amount you pay for every single month AND what they've agreed replacing your house would cost. We're all square. Then along comes Gertrude and wipes Casa de Bingster to a slab. No worries, as we've got $250K to rebuild with, right? Not exactly, says the adjuster. We're holding back a portion of that insured value when we write you the check because, as you can clearly see since it's gone, it's no longer WORTH the $250K you've been paying for.
Slab + missing house = depreciation, duh.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:28 PM | Comments (1)
December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:33 AM | Comments (7)
On This Day in 1775
...General George Washington and some of his friends...
...posed for this picture.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:09 AM
December 24, 2005
And A Song For Our Troops
Recorded July 11th, 1918 it's a song whose words we need to fulfill again.
And we will.
I suppose I should mention that on this post and the one below it you may not want to click if you're on dial-up.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:52 PM | Comments (1)
A Song For Tonight
Recorded February 23rd, 1916 and still wonderful today.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:39 PM | Comments (5)
Sugar Maple Burl Tree
Last week over at Cullen's he posted a post about some of the gorgeous wood that guitars are made out of, and, as we all know, Cullen is all about the guitar. In the comments I mentioned that I had a sugar maple in my yard that was darn-near all burl, and he asked for a picture, so take a peek below the fold...
Here she is:
The wood from this baby will be divine looking.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:04 PM | Comments (3)
God Bless Us, Every One
And I think he already has, far more than we deserve. From the most wonderful brothers in the world and their incredible families, to such warm, marvelous friends as we've made here. From your daily comments and emails, to your generous, incredible support for the Marines of VMU-1 Forward's S-2 shop, we have been honored and just plain tickled to death to be associated with each and every one of you. Be safe, happy and well, whatever you call this week.
Thank you all so much. With all our hearts.
ths, major dad, Ebola and BooBoo
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:06 PM | Comments (9)
December 23, 2005
Christmas Compassion Challenge
I failed. The woman's an idiot.
Hopefully some of you will fare better.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:36 PM | Comments (6)
I Feel Happy!
And, apparently, so do a lot of other people.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment ended stronger in December and better than analysts' expectations, bolstered by falling energy prices, a report showed on Friday.The University of Michigan's final December index of consumer sentiment rose to 91.5 from November's final reading of 81.6, and a preliminary reading of 85.5 in early December, according to sources who saw the subscription-only report.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:07 AM | Comments (3)
Manly Men Arise!
This is an outrage!
JACKSON, Missouri (AP) -- Nathan Warmack wanted to honor his heritage by wearing a Scottish kilt to his high school dance. Then a principal told him to change into a pair of pants.
Where are his fishnets?
Update: Alright, I'm a moron. THS posted the same story yesterday. I can only plead that the picture of me she used distracted me from actually clicking through on the link she, er, linked.
And the 3 Bourbon Manhattans I had for lunch yesterday may have played some small part in it as well.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:20 AM | Comments (8)
Some People's Names Just Keep Turning Up
...like bad pennies. Geesh.
ROME - A U.S. soldier is being investigated for his alleged role in the March killing in Baghdad of an Italian secret service agent, who had just secured the release of a journalist held hostage, a prosecutor and news reports said Thursday.Rome prosecutors are investigating the March 4 death of Nicola Calipari, who was killed by U.S. gunfire near a checkpoint as he headed to the Baghdad airport with Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who was held hostage by militants for a month.
...According to Apcom, prosecutors also are considering attempted murder charges concerning the other two people in the car: Sgrena and a second secret service agent, who was driving. Both were wounded.
Enough already.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:40 AM | Comments (2)
December 22, 2005
Pictures from Mordor....
the CAG just missed Sauron last Wed...
(Dial-up warning: Big pics ahead, open at own risk!)
Update: My lovely, stunning bride the CAG has told me that these were taken at sunrise, for those wondering.
Of course, I just now downloaded them off of the camera....
Gotta love the Mordor...errr....Carolina skies.
Posted by Crusader at 12:35 PM | Comments (10)
Hoot, Mon!! Don't Let the Bastarrrrrds
...get ya doon. They may take yairrrr kilt, but they ken nivverrrr take yairrrr Frrrrreedom!!
Student asked to change out of kilt seeks dress code change
Ah carrrrse, we'd be inna fairrrr mind grrrratefool if summum'd strrrrip the same cloth frrrae Bingley's pasty arrrrse and coovairrrr it up decent like, so wee bairrrrns don hafta coovairrrr theirrrr eyes wan he strrroots bye, as he's wont ta dooo.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:12 PM | Comments (2)
Awww...
May the tree you hug, love you back. Isn't that special? For everyone but Mr. TV Personality Kraut, that is.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:03 AM | Comments (3)
Shouting "STOP! U.S. Marines!!"
...while daunting to the suspect, is still preferable to doing it this way.
A suspected mugger being chased by security guards met a grisly end when he fled into a South African zoo and climbed into the tiger enclosure.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:00 AM | Comments (4)
Life Imitates The Simpsons
3 eyes, 2 mouths...
Excellent!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:12 AM | Comments (6)
December 21, 2005
Call Me Cranky But...
I sort of have a problem with this story opening. The folks in it survived a God awful, harrowing Katrina night and have lost everything. My heart goes out to them; truly it does. But the set-up paragraph is just so jaw dropping a snap-shot of everything wrong with an ingrained welfare system, that it took reading it three or four times to get past it. See if you read it the way I (we) did. Tell me if I'm wrong.
Lisa Moore, 37, says that she was in church with her husband, Larry Morgan, and never heard the mayor's warning. "We didn't think it was going to be that bad," she says. Besides, they had no place to go. "New Orleans is our home, our culture," says Lisa. "It's everything." Larry and Lisa, who have been together since she was 18, have 10 children, ages 2 to 18. Before Katrina, they "had a good life with beaucoup stuff," says Lisa. There was the widescreen TV, their favorite spicy foods (red beans and rice) and federally subsidized rent (only $280 a month) for their large, yellow four-bedroom house. On most Sundays, Larry donned a white suit and top hat and waved feathered fans as a member of a "second-line club" that marches in jazz funerals (the "main line" is the grieving family; in the "second line" come the friends and revelers). Larry, who could make $2,500 a month as a roofer, could make hundreds more marching behind coffins. Even though Lisa and her family lived in the city's most impoverished neighborhood, they never felt poor in New Orleans. "That's why they called it the Big Easy," says Lisa.
They never felt 'poor' in New Orleans? Maybe because they weren't.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:00 PM | Comments (8)
I Wish I Knew What Channels
...she was watching. I could have avoided the Mother Sheehan lovefest I was subjected to night after night.
But the peace movement in the U.S. remains small. Why?
One thing that has prevented the peace movement in America is the media. I spoke with 5,000 people in North Carolina on March 19, 2005, and the press called the protest "insignificant." They covered the Terri Schiavo case instead.You feel like you were mistreated by the press?
They got hold of everything I've ever said and scrutinized it so carefully. They never scrutinized what Bush said. No one said, "Why did you lie to the American people and say there was WMD?" The press found an easy target in Iraq, and they found an easy target in me
Gack.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:48 PM | Comments (5)
Ethics?
You know, everytime that I start to think that maybe certain religious folks have too big a say in some aspects of the government some story like this comes along:
Work on the world's first human-made species is well under way at a research complex in Rockville, Md., and scientists in Canada have been quietly conducting experiments to help bring such a creature to life......Government and scientific bodies in the U.S. have investigated safeguards for the new technology, given its potential to yield new pathogens as weapons of bioterror. Ethicists have raised concerns about humans altering the "nature of nature."
But proponents feel the many benefits of redesigning micro-organisms to do human bidding far outweigh the risks...
..."I grew up doing that with cars and clocks and radios and things like that," Dr. Venter said. "You take them apart to understand them and then you try and see if you can reassemble them."
Holy sweet mother of (insert deity name here) does that scientist's attitude scare the bejeebus out of me. Life. It's just a game for some, I guess.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 04:04 PM | Comments (3)
Twins Separated At Birth?
Of course, they might have been triplets...
(sorry Ken, that's not Sheila)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:12 PM | Comments (7)
A Christmas Roast Beast Primer
By virtue of long standing tradition, Casa de Major Dad always has Prime Rib for Christmas dinner, one of three Alien movies on the tube and a glass of the Macallan never far from hand (stinky cigars, too, if Bingley's in town). I thought I'd give you all a recipe heads up, as we'll be blogging this, but it'll be too late if you wanted to cook along. The basic recipe began as Marfa Stewart's (hence very fussy), but has been jazzed up and thoroughly ths'ified. We loves it and thought you might, too.
Roast Beast à la ths via Marfa1 three-rib prime-rib, first cut, trimmed and tied
1 T freshly ground pepper *
2 T coarse salt *
3 short-ribs, tied **
1 1/2 cups dry, red wine* Instead of S & P, we use a schmear consisting of about 1 t salt, ½ t dried thyme, 1/8 t ground celery seed, 1/2 t sugar, ¼ t pepper, ¼ t onion powder, ¼ t garlic powder, ¼ t arrowroot
** We don’t use these.
NOTE: Remove roast from fridge at least an hour prior to starting to let meat come to room temperature.
1. Place oven rack on lower level. Preheat oven to 450°. Rub roast all over (lovingly) with either S & P or schmear. Transfer to heavy 13 by 16 metal roasting pan. (We line the bottom with chunk onions, garlic, carrots and parsley, sprinkle with excess schmear, set roast atop.) Place short-ribs in pan.
2. Cook 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325° and continue cooking until instant read thermometer*** inserted in thick end of roast (not touching bone) reaches 115°, about 1 hour and 25 minutes (less if roast is room temp). If it hasn't, return to oven, check temp at ten minutes intervals. (*** We use a digital constant read thermometer. It saves opening and shutting the oven door, all that lifting and lets you know exactly where the roast is temp-wise ~ great for timing the side dishes!)
3. Transfer roast to platter; set aside in warm spot for juices to collect. (As roast rests, temperatures will increase about 10°. DO NOT TENT or crust will get soggy. Adjust oven temp to 425°. (ONLY IF you're also making Yorkshire pudding.)
4. Pour fat and all drippings out of pan into fat separator and set aside.
5. Place roasting pan over med-hi heat. Pour red wine into pan; scrape bottom with wooden spoon, scooping up crispy bits to deglaze pan. Cook until reduced by half, 5 to 8 minutes. Place fine sieve in medium heat-proof bowl. Pour juices into strainer. Using wooden spoon, press down on solids to extract juices. Discard solids. Cover bowl tightly; keep warm in barely simmering saucepan with 1 inch water. Reserve pan drippings for Yorkshire Pudding.
If you'd like to know how we do our Yorkshire Pudding, lemme know.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:58 AM
Torture Expands!
First it was menstrating blondes tormenting allegedly suspected militants in Cuba. Now comes horrific news of single Israeli girls tormenting dead rabbis:
HUNDREDS of young Israeli women hoping to find themselves a husband have been placing their underwear on the tomb of a venerated rabbi in the hopes that their marriage prayers will be answered.
When will the neo-con nightmare end?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:02 AM | Comments (9)
On This Day in 1621
...the Pilgrims...
...posed for this picture.
After a 65-day journey, the Pilgrims sighted Cape Cod on November 19. Unable to reach the land they had contracted for, they anchored (November 21) at the site of Provincetown. Because they had no legal right to settle in the region, they drew up the Mayflower Compact, creating their own government. The settlers soon discovered Plymouth Harbor, on the western side of Cape Cod Bay and made their historic landing on December 21; the main body of settlers followed on December 26. The term Pilgrim was first used by William Bradford to describe the Leiden Separatists who were leaving Holland.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:08 AM | Comments (8)
Big 'First' For Me This Mornin'
Woo-HOO!! Major Dad finally took me to breakfast at da Waf-fell House. Yummy. Excellent coffee.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:00 AM | Comments (12)
Johnny Damon A Yankee
Crazy.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:25 AM | Comments (6)
December 20, 2005
Jackasses
Germany paroles terrorist after 19-year termIf he'd killed a couple gutterally languaged tourists named Hans and Frieda, it would have been a different story. And he's left Germany ~ what a surprise. Any guesses where the bus ticket's to? Danke schön, unsere Freunden.
Hamadi was jailed for hijacking TWA jet, killing a U.S. Navy diver
UPDATE: Watching FoxNews at this moment and there's speculation the Germans released this murderer as a quid-pro-quo to get Arab terrorists to release their own GERMAN hostages. I can't find anything on it right now, but a Google search brings up a poignant, prescient Victoria Toensing column.
When I was in Bonn in June, 1987, negotiating Hamadi's extradition, I warned the German delegation meeting with us that Hamadi would be a "hot potato." If they convicted him, they would always have to deal with threats for his release. It would be far better to send him to the United States, I argued, where we had the resolve to keep him because he was charged with the murder of an American serviceman, the hostage-taking of U.S. citizens and the hijacking of a U.S. carrier. West Germany had no victims whatsoever involved in TWA Flight 847; the sole jurisdiction for the trial was finding Hamadi on its soil. Therefore, the German government might not have the strong support of its people to continue to imprison a convicted terrorist when fellow Germans' lives are once again being threatened-as was the situation on the extradition decision.So the case of Hamadi is not over and will not be until he actually serves life in prison. Since the terrorists succeeded in making Germany modify its behavior on the extradition, they will expect acquiescence again on lessening the life sentence. By caving in to the terrorists' demands in 1987, the Germans merely delayed making the tough call. We can only wish them well. Now they must display a strong national will and refuse to reduce Hamadi's sentence when the inevitable new demand from the terrorists arrives.
Well, they didn't.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:52 PM | Comments (4)
Stick to Commercials, Snoop
"It's nine-fifteen on twelve-thirteen and another black king will be taken from the scene," Snoop Dogg told mourners, reciting a poem about the execution.On second thought, maybe Corey Maye doesn't need your help.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:43 PM
That's Got My Vote
Inclusiveness. Mark Steyn oughta listen to this guy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:17 PM
The Goonies
Mentally unstable reporters who are tempted to compulsively make up phony stories now have a place to turn: disgraced former New York Times staffer Jayson Blair has set up a foundation to help people who suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. “The key issue in Jayson Blair’s life has been his lifelong battle with mental illness, in the form of manic-depression,” notes The Jayson Blair Foundation’s Web siteDon't get crushed in the rush. I'm gonna wait and then slide right in behind Mary "Miss Marple" Mapes.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:44 PM | Comments (3)
Driving Mr. Bingley
NY exchanges ferry traders by sea and landOf course, we all knew he was an old salty water stud, Aqua Man/Speedo type boat person to begin with, so no big deal there.
I'm still a little confused about the transit workers' union and its beef with the MTA. The whole thing sounded pretty reasonable to me ~ I mean, they still HAVE a pension ~ but whuddoo I know?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:24 PM | Comments (8)
I Know I Sound Like A Broken Record...
...but is there a better columnist in the world today than Mark Steyn? Read all of today's in the Telegraph:
So suppose we do as Mr Reimers suggests and "take a good hard look" at "racism by exclusion". As Monday's Australian reported: "Sydney's western suburbs remained quiet yesterday after a call for a full day's curfew by Lebanese community leaders. Mohammed Elriche, 19, said he and his friends would have enjoyed nothing more than their regular swim at Cronulla Beach, but their parents had asked him to stay at home."His parents, Eddy and Samira, who have lived in Australia since 1972, said their five children would be allowed to go to the beach again only when the 'conflict is resolved and peace is restored' in the Sutherland shire region. 'If there's no more conflict, I will let him go,' Samira, 42, told the Australian in Arabic."
In Arabic? Let's suppose that Cate Blanchett got her wish and a tidal wave of tolerance washed into all those "dark corners of Australian society" taking the chill off the chilling glimpse Squires got. How are even the most impeccably diverse multicultural types supposed to welcome into the bosom of their boundlessly tolerant family a woman who prefers to speak the language of the land she left at nine? When it comes to "racism by exclusion", who's excluding whom?
There's a reason my wife has told me that if Mark Steyn shows up at our front door she'll try and remember to write occasionally...
(Thanks to Tim for the head's up on the column)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:50 PM | Comments (2)
Giving Someone the Bird
...is very bad for the bird.
Baby Penguin Is Stolen From Zoo
LONDON - A baby penguin thought to have been snatched from a zoo as a quirky festive gift is unlikely to survive until Christmas Day, his keeper warned Tuesday.
Now, give the little guy back, you filthy, cradle robbing, baby snatching, bird bagging, penguin pinching BASTARDS !!
Have you seen this flightless bird?
Then dial "1-GOT-PEN-GUIN" and you'll be able to sleep at night.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:24 PM | Comments (2)
Word of the Day
sequacious \sih-KWAY-shus\ adjective: intellectually servile
Any nominees?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:59 AM | Comments (7)
Do I Hear Kenny Loggins?
Ahmadinejad's ban required the "blocking of indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting," according to a statement on the Web site hard-line Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council. The council's members are hand-picked by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to rule on cultural issues.The ban also includes censorship of content of films.
"Supervision of content from films, TV series and their voice-overs is emphasized in order to support spiritual cinema and to eliminate triteness and violence," the council said on its Web site.
Ahmadinejad's latest order means the state broadcasting authority must execute the decree and prepare a report on its implementation within six months, according to the government-owned IRAN daily newspaper.
But it doesn't sound like the folks're falling for the hard line this go-round ~ and the Revolutionary Council could have...well...a revolt on their hands. And it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.
"This president speaks as if he is living in the Stone Age. This man has to understand that he can't tell the people what to listen to and what not to listen to," said Mohammed Reza Hosseinpour as he browsed through a Tehran music shop.
Yeah. What Mohammed says.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:08 AM | Comments (7)
Cooking With WunderKraut
Man, does it look yum!
There are many times when the best dinner in the world is breakfast...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:54 AM | Comments (3)
December 19, 2005
Nothing Like a Good Bedtime Story
...to help one sleep soundly. You know ~ like, where the fresh faced, true blue, all American kids get the bad guy? Florida Cracker found a doozy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:56 PM | Comments (15)
WARNING: SAP ALERT
On this day in 1987 I had my first date with my bride.
Sigh.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:54 PM | Comments (21)
Bush Says "Bite Me!"
Okay, well, not exactly. But close enough.
“It was a shameful act for someone to disclose this important program in a time of war. The fact that we’re discussing this program is helping the enemy,” he said at the White House event.
UPDATE: Newsweek's spin on this:
This will all play out eventually in congressional committees and in the United States Supreme Court. If the Democrats regain control of Congress, there may even be articles of impeachment introduced. Similar abuse of power was part of the impeachment charge brought against Richard Nixon in 1974.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:14 PM | Comments (4)
On This Day in 1843
...Jacob Marley dropped by for the evening.
Christmas hasn't been the same since.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:20 AM | Comments (6)
December 17, 2005
The Excitement Is Building!
Christmas is coming!
Sorry Suzette:
The Nativity is there, safe in the stable atop the liquor cabinet.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:41 AM | Comments (22)
December 16, 2005
Tookie's Ashes
Alright, so Ahnold's name is no longer on a stadium. I'm sure he's broken up about it. What to do with the ashes of Tookie? Well, according to
Barbara Becnel, who co-authored his anti-gang books, said: 'Tookie wanted to return to his ancestral home..."
Well, fair enough, so I imagine someone will take his ashes to Ghana, Nigeria or the Ivory Coast, where basically all of the slaves in North America came from.
Well, no:
"...We chose South Africa because I know some members of the Mandela family.'"
This is the equivalent of deciding that someone of Norwegian ancestry has an ancestral home in southern Spain. I'm sure the fact that the hotels and restaurants in South Africa beat the bejeebus out of those in Ghana played some small role in the decision...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:33 PM | Comments (7)
Quote of the Day
...overheard last night on Keith Olberman. He was interviewing the editor of Rolling Stone about their "Troublemakers of the Year" list, which, coincidentally, included Olberman. While discussing how they selected the listees, Mr. Editor noted that President Bush had enough problems with the war and
"...the sputtering economy."
UPDATE: Got it. The moron's name is Will Dana, managing editor of “Rolling Stone.”
DANA: Well, you know, it‘s people who are pushing the envelope. People who are pushing back against this sort of conformity, corruption, stupidity that seems to be raining across America now.People who, you know, as Michael Moore said, seemed real. You know, that‘s not easy to say. And, yes, this list—It was kind of a lousy year in a lot of ways. You know, war, disasters, the sputtering economy and, you know, we looked around and wanted to have something that we could feel a little better about, you know. And we thought these guys who are up there, you know, they‘re fighting the fight and they‘re getting in the face of the people running the country.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:48 AM | Comments (4)
December 15, 2005
Is King Kong Racist?
Drudge has a link to some guy's column asserting this. I'm not convinced. My first thought is that he's a friggin' gorilla, and not the kind that Ken likes, either.
But what piqued my interest was this line seemingly offered as 'proof' of Kong's racist ways:
Indeed, a GOOGLE search using the words "King Kong racism" yielded 490,000 hits.
Is this the new standard of veracity, especially given Wiki-invent-o-pedia's troubles of late? If so, then allow me to present the Bingley Racist Scale...
"x"+racism Google results
Shaggy 55200
Scooby-Doo 71500
Underdog 128000
Spiderman 192000
Superman 284000
MoveOn 286000
Pizza 480000
King Kong 490000
Fantastic Four 581000
Rove 616000
GOP 1150000
Pope 1360000
Cheney 1470000
Democrat 1490000
Kerry 1550000
Clinton 2310000
Jackson 2370000
Republican 2950000
God 6730000
Bush 7830000
White 14000000
Black 14300000
People 24,100,000
Let's interpret our scientific data, shall we? Clearly, the racism of Kong, while barely ahead of pizza, is still a problem in the entertainment world, being second only to the Fantastic Four. Clearly, children across America should be encouraged to emulate Shaggy in these regards. What's truly shocking is how low Rove is on our scale. But the numbers don't lie, folks. Rove is only 41% as racist as the average Democrat, and the Clintons are fully 3.75 times the racist Rove is. Republicans are, of course, twice as racist as Democrats, in general, and God, predictably, falls short of Bush. Surprisingly, the Pope, while nearly 3 times as racist as King Kong, can't keep pace with Kerry. The piker.
But the data is clear: People is the biggest racist.
Is it too late for me to be nominated to the Noble Prize?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:45 AM | Comments (32)
"He's a president that comes in with conclusiveness."
George Bush' biggest fan is Don King:
DON KING; I love George Walker Bush because I think he's a revolutionary. He's a president that comes in with conclusiveness. What they're doing in tomorrow in Iraq is a demonstration of that for the vote for democracy. The fundamental process of democracy is freedom of speech, law and order, being able to have freedom, working with people and working and governing yourselves. George Bush is that. He included in...BLITZER: Do you have any regrets supporting him? Take a look at that picture when you and I were there at the diner last year. Do you have any regrets supporting him as enthusiastically as you did?
KING: No, I don't. In fact, I want to support him more now because it seems like everybody is punching him. You know what I mean? But he's fighting back, and he's throwing great combinations. And I think he's the guy that is really a revolutionary president.
I think he's a president that cares about the people he represents, but doesn't compromise himself to the extent that he acquiesce and accommodate. He goes out there and says like it is, and tries to make things better. Inclusiveness, education, is fighting for that.
These are the things that many guys that don't fight for -- George Walker Bush is a tremendous advocate to America, a great president for the great American people, and he's decisive. He's doesn't equivocate.
Only in America, folks. I love it.
(but you're still a crook, Don)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:01 AM | Comments (4)
December 14, 2005
So, Honey, How Was School Today?
"It sucked."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 04:00 PM | Comments (10)
Riots In Australia
I really haven't anything to say on this that isn't said far better by Tim. I think it's awful.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:07 PM
Criminalizing Thought
For the past few years we've been hearing constantly from folks, mostly on the left, about how our essential freedoms were being eroded by the practices and policies of Bush and Blair. Oh, they'd go on about how there was a 'chill' in the air, how they were at risk by these neo-con fascists in bravely airing their thoughts on the evil and repressive nature of Chimpy's jackbooted minions. And we all know how many of these brave academitions and artistes have *cough-cough* disappeared *wink-wink* shall we say into the retched gulags squirreled away in the frozen wastes where the Lileks doth play. Something on the magnitude of, um, zero, I think.
But I'm forced to admit that these folks may have a point. We've seen a rise in 'hate crime' legislation here in the States. And now there's this from Mark Steyn about what's happening across the pond:
So what is a "priority crime"? Well, the other day, the author Lynette Burrows went on a BBC Five Live show to talk about the government's new "civil partnerships" and expressed her opinion - politely, no intemperate words - that the adoption of children by homosexuals was "a risk". The following day, Fulham police contacted her to discuss the "homophobic incident"....As it is, Lynette Burrows has been investigated by police merely for expressing an opinion. Which is the sort of thing we used to associate with police states. Indeed, it's the defining act of a police state: the arbitrary criminalisation of dissent from state orthodoxy.
This is the scary trend that's going on. Curse at Bush and call him Hitler, and you get to host an MTV show. Put a crucifix in a jar of urine and you're idolized. Make a film showing how muslim women are treated in Europe and you end up like Theo Van Gogh. Express some doubts about letting homosexuals adopt children and the police come calling.
As Steyn says
No society with an eye to long-term survival should make opinion a subversive activity. Here's a thought: we should be able to discuss homosexuality, Islam and pretty much everything else in the same carefree way Guardian columnists damn Bush's America as "neo-fascist".
Words for all to consider.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:53 PM | Comments (5)
Breaking News: Christmas Almost Cancelled
I was just out walking on Water Street, getting some grub, and I saw Santa darn near get run over while he was jaywalking.
That's why he needs the reindeer to lead him around; dang fool is blind as a bat.
*thanks for the correction, John!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:08 PM | Comments (3)
For the Bingster and Suzette
Words escape me.
Chicken Salad Mold1 (10 3/4-ounce) can chicken and rice soup
1 (3-ounce) package lemon Jell-O
1 (5-ounce) can chicken
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Heat soup (do not add water). Add lemon Jell-O and stir until dissolved. Cool. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients. Fold into Jell-O mixture and spoon into a mold or 8-inch-by-8-inch dish. Chill.
To the instructions I can only add: bury in backyard.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:52 AM | Comments (22)
December 13, 2005
A Big Red "X"
...on the Red Cross. What a surprise.
"Their ability to raise money outpaces their ability to spend it wisely."
God bless (and I take nothing from) their volunteers, but I can't stand these arrogant a$$holes. Ever since they shook Marines out of the barracks to go sandbag multi-million dollar homes in Newport Beach at zero dark thirty one morning. And then charged the soaking wet, freezing kids for their cup of coffee.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:37 PM | Comments (1)
Word of the Day
glogg \GLUG\ noun:a hot spiced wine and liquor punch served in Scandinavian countries as a Christmas drink
One of the reasons it's the second most wonderful time of the year.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:06 PM | Comments (8)
Quote of the Day
"It makes no sense to execute the author of children's books."A Tookie supporter, on World News Tonight.
UPDATE and BUMP: Florida Cracker has a link to Governor's Clemency Statement that you must read.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:02 AM | Comments (72)
A Timely Article
...considering our discussion. This was front page news in the local fish wrap this morning.
Man released after judge rules rights were violated
Prosecutors to appeal testimony's suppression in slaying
Sounds like the typical judicial outrage, right? It was until I read it. The murder was in 1997. He was arrested for it in 2000 and has been held without bond ever since ~ 5 1/2 years. The judge let him out, with a monitoring device, because the sheriff's department had used another inmate to solicit information (as opposed to that inmate coming to them). So? Well it turns out, after all these years, that the jailhouse testimony is the only thing they've got.
"In the absence of physical evidence ... the state understands its burden (of proof) and feels that this evidence that Mr. Groves has is absolutely essential in putting this case forward," Molchan said.
Now, there's no mention that this is a capital case, but it could have have been in other circumstances and something similar probably has been in some other state, some other time.
No physical evidence. And a criminal's solicited/rewarded testimony is the whole prosecutorial enchilda.
UPDATE: As for the Corey Maye I keep citing, Balko, the Legal Wonder Dog, is all over a death penalty case that could be any of us. Read his posts. They'll blow your mind. And drop him a note of encouragement ~ I did.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:47 AM
December 12, 2005
More ABCNews to the Contrary
This is not something the Dems wanted to hear...or have broadcast.
Surprising levels of optimism prevail in Iraq with living conditions improved, security more a national worry than a local one, and expectations for the future high. But views of the country's situation overall are far less positive, and there are vast differences in views among Iraqi groups — a study in contrasts between increasingly disaffected Sunni areas and vastly more positive Shiite and Kurdish provinces.An ABC News poll in Iraq, conducted with Time magazine and other media partners, includes some remarkable results: Despite the daily violence there, most living conditions are rated positively, seven in 10 Iraqis say their own lives are going well, and nearly two-thirds expect things to improve in the year ahead.
If the administration has any brains at all, they'll be handing these two surveys out with their talking points at every whistle stop and hammering them home on every Sunday morning talk show. But it worries me, as they haven't been real adept at the PR stuff so far...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:23 AM | Comments (2)
Taking Care of Your Own
...can be a wonderful thing.
From the first day of boot camp, a Marine is part of a team, rarely serving or fighting alone. That ends when a Marine is severely injured in combat and rushed from the field for medical care. Those without family to care for them at home can find themselves alone with no place to go."They don't even have uniforms," said Lt. Gen. James Amos, commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. "A lot of their stuff was left in Iraq or lost."
To give recovering Marines daily support and companionship, the military created the Wounded Warrior Support Section, a renovated barracks at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, the Corps' largest base on the East Coast.
There is nothing else like it in the Marine Corps, Amos said. Some battalion commanders were initially reluctant about the idea, he said, but the experience of wounded Marines living and recovering with each other has proven to aid their healing process.
"Some of these kids have seen things that few humans will see in life," said Amos, whose commands include more than 47,000 Marines and sailors. "When you're in a huge gun battle, you come away with thoughts and memories. Some may struggle with it. What we found is these kids need to talk to one another."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:02 AM
December 11, 2005
When You See This Movie
...you'll be very glad you weren't born a penguin. What an amazing flick.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:10 PM | Comments (11)
December 10, 2005
Nobel Laureate Says World Must Abandon Nuclear Weapons
"We are in a race against time," the 63-year-old Egyptian chief U.N. nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei said about efforts to keep nuclear weapons away from terrorists. "Imagine that the only nuclear weapons remaining are the relics in our museums. Imagine the legacy we could leave to our children," he said."It would also be nice if I could score some Yankees' tickets. And a date with Anna Nicole Smith would be nice," he added.
As ElBaradei received his peace award, Iran's top nuclear official said his country would enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel, despite an international drive to curb such efforts. Enolagayzee Aghazadeh, head of the Happy Atomic Organization of Iran, did not say when the processes would begin. Enolagayzee denies Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, but rather devices he refered to as "Kool Kafir Kleaners," adding that the cleaning would be "da bomb."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 05:25 PM | Comments (8)
My Latest Toy
I bought an Airport Express. What's neat is, while it will serve as a wirelessnetwork point (and that's mainly what it's designed for), it will also allow you to stream music via iTunes from your computer to your stereo over your hardwired LAN if you don't have or want a wireless network. And I don't particularly want to go wireless at this point, as there are too many computer-saavy High Schoolers in my neighborhood who would love to infiltrate my bandwidth. Via the Airport Utility control panel you can turn down the signal strength to basically nothing, and then designate "Living Room" as one of the laces you want the music to play...
...through the stereo on the other side of the house! You can see in the top picture the CAT-5 cable coming out of the bottom of it, and that grey little glob at the front is the cable going from the jack into some spare RCA imputs on the receiver. The sound quality is much better than when I would connect the iPod to the receiver.
Yeah, I'm a goober.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 04:50 PM | Comments (6)
Strike the Pose
Guys who were the bomb in college...and bombed out of it.
John William Heisman (1869-1936)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:10 AM | Comments (5)
What's With This Guy?
I mean, I've always liked him tremendously as a person but he's starting to sound...well...like he doesn't give a whooyah what the Deans of his party say.
Mr. Lieberman particularly infuriated his colleagues when he pointed out at a conference here that President Bush would be commander in chief for three more years and said that "it's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that.""We undermine the president's credibility at our nation's peril,"
Cool.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:39 AM | Comments (7)
December 09, 2005
Just so you know....
Narnia is awesome. It was far better than I thought it would be. And don't go in expecting LOTR, as they are equally well done, but different, aimed it different age groups. But I loved the movie, and the CAG and I both had tears in our eyes at times. *Yes, I’m a big softie when I am not shooting people.) And Aslan was just as I pictured him the first time I read thestory..
Posted by Crusader at 05:15 PM | Comments (1)
Oh, I Got An Answer for Them
...and it lives next door.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:05 PM | Comments (9)
Hey Bill, STFU
Did any former President ever do any such thing to him while he was in office? What a classless piece of crap attention whore this guy is:
MONTREAL - Former President Clinton told a global audience of diplomats, environmentalists and others Friday that the Bush administration is "flat wrong" in claiming that reducing greenhouse gas emissions to fight global warming would damage the U.S. economy...Canadian officials said the U.S. delegation was displeased with the last-minute scheduling of the Clinton speech.
Clinton, a champion of the Kyoto Protocol, the existing emissions- controls agreement opposed by the Bush administration, spoke in the final hours of a two-week U.N. climate conference at which Washington has come under heavy criticism for its stand.
Yes, the same Clinton who was in office when the US Senate voted 95-0 against the terms that were being proposed under what became known as Kyoto, the same Clinto who never submitted the Treaty to the Senate because he knew it would go down in well deserved (and hopefully extremely bloody polluting) flames, yes this is the same fellow who now trys to shift all the blame for the US not being a party to this 'treaty' to Bush. What an ass.
Memo to Willy: You ain't an elected official no more. STFU.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:50 PM | Comments (9)
Something Over the Top
...would be Tom Jones singing "The Tennesee Waltz". Thank God they didn't use Michael Bolton.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:07 PM | Comments (2)
V-22: Flying Pork?
Here's a troubling article on this expensive program:
In September 2005, the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor failed its second Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL); it failed its first one in 2000. However, a friend of the V-22 program wrote the OPEVAL report to hide these failures. The OPEVAL report was withheld from release until Sept. 27, 2005 when a Defense Department panel met and rubberstamped it for full production after no analysis of the OPEVAL report. This article shows how the V-22 failed OPEVAL the second time as well. Note that a KPP is a Key Performance Parameter. If an aircraft is unable to meet it's KPPs, it is considered a failure. KPPs are not dreamed up by evil critics, but by Marine aviators who expect the aircraft to easily meet that minimal standard. The basic purpose of an OPEVAL is to verify that KPPs are demonstrated.
Not only is this troubling from a Porkbusting Budgeting standpoint, it is even more disturbing when one thinks of how many Marines are going to risk their lives in this thing.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:33 PM | Comments (3)
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy
Consumer sentiment improves U.S. consumer sentiment improved in early December more than economists had expected, helped by falling gasoline prices and continuing job growth, a report showed on Friday.The University of Michigan's preliminary December index of consumer sentiment rose to 88.7 from November's final reading of 81.6...
And hopefully that cheerfulness will mean lots of beautiful, happy Christmas purchases at my show next weekend. (If I quit blogging and start painting something to peddle.)
As a public service, we have not mentioned that Bush/ee-ville/Hitler/Chimps/Rummy/Rove had anything to do with this.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:08 AM
Only Because Bingley Turned Him Down
...I'll have you know. And his deal for Kcruella's house fell through, so she said pi$$ on it, too. Third time's a charm.
Aides: Menendez Accepts Corzine's Seat
Me? I didn't even know they were giving it away.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:43 AM | Comments (8)
You've Got To Love Rummy
Via Tim, this interview is a thing of beauty:
JIM LEHRER: Also, you told reporters this morning that, assuming the Dec. 15 elections in Iraq go well, that the U.S. can start drawing down forces. Tell me what you mean and give us some numbers on this.DONALD RUMSFELD: I think what you meant to say, Jim, was that you read reports that I said that to reporters, as opposed to what I actually said...
...JIM LEHRER: All right, now the figure that was mentioned in the story that I was reading from or quoting from said you used the figure, somebody used the figure in the discussion with you early today of 137,000 -- I mean 130,000 maybe shortly after the 137,000 -- no?
DONALD RUMSFELD: I said nothing like that.
Read it all. It's a beautiful schmackdown after schmackdown.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:15 AM | Comments (5)
I Saw This Headline
Performing Monkeys Could Spread... and thought "Oh, God! Not more Congressmen!" But I realized 'performing' is generally not part of their job description and felt at peace.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:57 AM | Comments (8)
December 08, 2005
Damnable Weather
A jetliner trying to land in heavy snow slid off a runway, crashed through a fence and slid into a busy street, hitting one vehicle and pinning another beneath it. A 6-year-old boy in one of the vehicles was killed, authorities said. He was among eight people hurt on the ground. Two passengers on the plane suffered minor injuries, Aviation Department spokeswoman Wendy Abrams said
And DAMN!
The accident occurred 33 years to the day after a crash at Midway that killed 45 people, two of them on the ground.
Big red 'X' through 12/08 in my travel itinerary from now on. Not that I have one.
But if I did...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:48 PM | Comments (4)
Ewwwww
How come Mr. Summers never makes these kind of lists? I mean, he's all over lesbian gorillas, goats, Carol Kane ~ God knows what! And little old us...the strangest people come a callin'.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:16 PM | Comments (10)
As Noted Thespian Keanu Reeves Would Say
...WHOA. The logic in this is just so whacked, even a blonde can't make any sense of it.
The Liberals say the thinking behind this crime strategy is that if no one is allowed to have a handgun in Canada, policing authorities will be in a better position to act on anyone who has a handgun or attempts to transport or sell a handgun.
Swill Salute: Professor Volokh via The Blogfaddah.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:55 PM | Comments (5)
One Face Springs Immediately to Mind
...no matter how many times I hear this.
Come ye cool cool conservative men
The likes of which may never be seen again
We have land, cash in hand
Self-command, future planned
Fortune flies, society survives
In neatly ordered lives with well-endowered wivesWe sing hosanna, hosanna
To our breeding and our banner
We are cool
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:05 PM | Comments (7)
Sorry
He didn't need to be on an airplane at ALL. His wife bears some responsibility for this, even as God awful difficult it is living with a bi-polar. She could have discretely warned the crew, if what this other passenger says is true.
Ellen Sutliff, who said she sat near Alpizar, described him as agitated, even before he boarded the plane. His wife kept coaxing him, "We just have to get through customs. Please, please help me get through this," according to Sutliff."We're going to be home soon, and everything will be all right," Sutliff quoted the wife as saying
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:44 PM | Comments (8)
The Best Year For Music?
In comments below, Ken talks of how he basically listens to nothing released after 1975. That led me to think about what year I would say was the best ever for music, at least in my lifetime. I've thought on this before, and I keep returning to...
1979
Just take a look at some of the albums released that year, in no particular order:
Joe Jackson "I'm The Man"
Joe Jackson "Look Sharp"
The Specials "The Specials"
Frank Zappa "Sheik Yerbouti"
Frank Zappa "Joe's Garage"
The Police "Reggata de Blanc"
Led Zeppelin "In Through The Out Door"
The Clash "London Calling"
Talking Heads "Fear of Music"
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers "Damn The Torpedoes"
Supertramp "Breakfast In America"
The B-52s "The B-52s"
Elvis Costello and the Attractions "Armed Forces"
Cheap Trick "At Budokan"
Cheap Trick "Dream Police"
Chicago "XIII"
Blondie "Eat to the Beat"
Eagles "The Long Run"
Pink Floyd "The Wall"
Michael Jackson "Off the Wall"
AC/DC "Highway to Hell"
The Cars "Candy-O"
Queen "Jazz"
Van Halen "Van Halen II"
And there's many others. For me, 1979 is the year in my life that produced the best music. What are y'all's nominees?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:12 PM | Comments (32)
A$$ of the Day
Words fail me.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:58 AM | Comments (12)
Frankly
We were stunned when we watched this last night. Major Dad said "Wow. Not one bad thing or cheap slap." It really was a miracle in broadcasting ~ from Bob Woodruff, to the reporters, to the folks they interviewed, to the wrap-up ~ as upbeat as you could get.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:35 AM | Comments (1)
Boat People
Our family line has some who came over earlier than 1776 and some who rode the waves to America much, much later and in far worse circumstances. It also seems we have a lot in common with Peggy Noonan than just a good Irish background.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:50 AM | Comments (20)
Doncha Feel Safer Now?
Officials say a 50-year-old Egyptian man was stopped six days ago at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Sources say he had a suspicious pair of shoes that tested positive five times for the explosive substance TATP on the interior of his shoes between the heel and sole.
There's a 'BUT' (head) attached to this one...
...Strangely, after holding him overnight, airport security in New York released him. The FBI was notified after he was released. Now the FBI has put out a nationwide alert.
Great to all be singing off the same sheet of music.
The man shot dead in Miami appears to have been deranged, but the missing Egyptian may help explain why air marshals acted as they did.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:52 AM | Comments (7)
December 07, 2005
BREAKING NEWS
Shots fired on an American Airlines jet on the runway in Miami. CNN is saying it's an Air Marshal.
Breitbart has it as a flight out of Columbia and one person wounded.
UPDATE: Fox News is reporting some knucklehead said he had a bomb and the Marshal shot him. Some reports are saying he'd tried to flee through the terminal. But nothing official's out yet.
AP's reporting someone was confirmed shot. Homeland Security confirms a person getting on the flight claimed they had a bomb in a carry-on bag, security tried to take the individual at gate, he ran off jetway, tackled by the Air Marshals and attempted to pull something from his bag, so they fired. Confusing stuff so far.
UPDATE: Hmmm, a local (Miami-Dade) news person (WFOR) reporting they killed him.
UPDATE: Homeland Sec. spokesman says the plane landed and parked at the gate. The passenger said he had a bomb in his carry-on, was confronted by an Air Marshal, then ran off the plane. A 'team' of Air Marshals pursued him, ordered him to get on the ground, which he did BUT then he reached into his carry-on and they shot him.
Amazingly enough, with all the loonies and drunks on every one of thousands of daily flights in the US, this is the FIRST time the Air Marshals have fired a weapon. That's a testament to training.
UPDATE: He was a 44 yr old American citizen. He frantically rushed down the aisle, then out the door, starting the whole brouhaha, would not stop when the AirMarshals directed him to and actually turned back toward them. In the meantime, a witness on the plane says a woman with him was saying he suffer from bi-polarism and hadn't taken his meds.
Oh, man, they lit him up. Five to six shots from multiple weapons.
UPDATE: AH, so. He was at the back of the plane, sitting with his wife, got into an argument with her and started on down the aisle, with her behind him shouting that he had mental problems.
Chris Matthews is a jacka$$. He basically just asked if Air Marshals weren't trained to be able to take the guy down physically instead of having to shoot him. I knew he'd get around to police brutality questions eventually.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:39 PM | Comments (10)
In the Middle of a Life or Death Struggle
...with a Christmas Tree entirely too boffo for his stand, I hear...
'Cause the man from Mars
Stopped eatin' cars
And eatin' bars
And now he only eats guitars
...and stop dead in my tracks. Wondering, as I have for the past 20 some-odd years, just what the Sam hell that means.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:47 PM | Comments (26)
Stories
...like no one should ever have.
Joe, 93, and Angelina, 86, still remember three of their son's first words:
"Air raid, Mommy!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:58 AM | Comments (4)
Speaking of Corporate Fascists
...a little ray of sunshine in a report on coffee litigation.
Her attorney said the grounds for appeal are strong in several areas.
(Well, of course they are.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:56 AM | Comments (18)
Amazing How Threats Come Into Play
...right after the race card.
Huffman said she had "heard through the vine" that warring Crips and Bloods gangs have offered a permanent truce if it would save Williams."The flip side of that, if we don't save Stanley, is fearful," Huffman said.
Oh, you're a big help making his case, Ms. Huffman. STFU, already.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:42 AM | Comments (3)
Well
...that pretty much ruins it for me.
"Traditionally mistletoe was considered to be the semen of the gods and of the forest, because the berries contain a liquid that looks like and has the texture of semen," he said."This is the real reason we kiss under it at Christmas, this and because mistletoe blooms in the dark womb of wintertime."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:29 AM | Comments (38)
December 06, 2005
When What to My Wondering Eyes Should Appear?
A CITGO mini-mart employee who says "Stick it in your ear."
Yup. That's how I feel. Went to bed last night, gas is $1.95 gal. Go to the Post Office two hours ago, it's jumped to $2.02. No worries. I'll fill up the Commando Wagon post Postal visit. 15 minutes later, I pull up to said CITGO and it's now $2.11. Incensed, I drive to the next one and the next one. They're all the same. THE SAME. All in the space of 15 minutes. Does a special jingle go off, alerting them to call headquarters? A massive pas de deux of price hikes and mini-mart counter clerks ~ a corps de ballet holding the phone in one hand, number changer wand in the other ~ "THREE, TWO, ONE...GO!" And with a collective whoosh, gas has gone up sixteen cents in less than twenty-four hours. "BHUUWAhahahahahaha!" Snap goes the collapsible wand as they strut jauntily back to their lairs; those impenetrable counter bastions enclosed by bedizened berms of scratch-off lottery tickets, towers of ribbed fuchsia condoms and corn nuts, with Camels in the collectible tins for armor plating. So smug in their moment of superiority, they feel free to see immediately to the next Shell shocked victim at the register; tossing off a "you wanna receipt" without waiting for the answer...without so much as a "have a nice day" or "thanks". Oh, you GOT damned right, I wanna receipt. I want it.
Or I will talk like a pirate. And pay at the pump.
UPDATE:
Oil prices fell Wednesday as fresh government data showed supplies of oil, gasoline and heating oil rose last week.I guess the CITGO drones didn't get the message. Bastards.Light sweet crude for January delivery fell 64 cents to $59.30 a barrel in midday trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Heating oil futures fell by 2.2 cents to $1.75 a gallon while gasoline fell less than a cent to $1.5765 a gallon.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:23 PM | Comments (21)
Heroin: A Canadian Right
There is so much wrong in this article:
Health authorities in Canada's westernmost province want to make the country's first test facility for heroin injection permanent and are considering opening additional clinics to meet the huge demand. The Vancouver facility was set up in 2003, against US opposition, as a three-year experiment exempt from Canadian drug laws.......Addicts bring in drugs purchased illegally on the street, and self-inject them under medical supervision. There are onsite emergency services in case of overdose and staff nurses and counselors to provide health care and referrals to rehabilitation facilities.
Now, here's a shock: they're doing a booming business. You know, if I opened up a bar that only catered to kids under 21, because, you know, they need a place where they can safely get plastered, I bet you I'd do a bang-up business as well.
The United States also opposes a new experiment in Vancouver to give addicts free prescription heroin in hopes of reducing property crimes to feed their habit.
Sounds like a brilliant plan to me. I'd like to extend it further: let's simply drug all criminals, all the time. Let them stumble and bumble about in La-La Land. For the Government to supply heroin to every person convicted of any crime in the US would surely be cheaper thaan the costs of the prison system. Hell, let's shift all farm subsidies to opium production. As a bonus, think of all the great poetry that would be written by these modern-day Byrons!
Ironically, the success of Vancouvers supervised heroin use site led to another controversy this month, as Vancouver police launched a crackdown on public drug use. For years police have turned a blind eye in some areas to thousands of addicts shooting up on sidewalks, streets and in public buildings such as libraries, and leaving behind used syringes. Police now say because addicts can use the supervised facility, they will be stopped from injecting in public. "The police recognize drug addiction as a health issue... but police must step in when the addicts' activities interfere with other people's lives," police said in a statement. "Children should be able to use (park playground) swings and not have to worry about pricking themselves with needles buried in the sand," said police Inspector Bob Rolls.
Which is why we need to make those kids addicts too!
Advocates for drug users protested that the police crackdown is cruel because the clinic can only serve a minority of drug users. "It's just a really destructive thing," said Ann Livingston of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users. She notes that the supervised site can handle just 800 of 15,000 heroin injections daily, and staff are prohibited from physically injecting addicts or letting other addicts inject incapacitated users.
Yes, it's so cruel. Perhaps if we got the Police addicted they'd be more sympathetic...
There's also no place for addicts who smoke cocaine, said Livingston.
That's the last straw! Rise up, oppressed users! And what about those who snort cocaine? Where are there government-supplied mirrors and clean razors, hmmm?
No wonder they call it The Great White North...
I need a drink.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:49 PM | Comments (23)
I Sent This to a Bunch of You Yesterday
But, if you didn't get it, I have figured out how to load it to my website without blowing IT up, WHILST utilizing Ebola's 'puter and not blowing IT up.
All is right with the world. This is very cheerful and you need speakers.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:14 PM | Comments (8)
Mr. "I-Found-Titanic-First"...
is awfully cranky when someone else goes swimming around his ship:
Explorer Robert Ballard found the bulk of the wreck in 1985, at a depth of 13,000 feet and about 380 miles southeast of Newfoundland. Ballard was not impressed with the expedition's find."They found a fragment, big deal," Ballard said. "Am I surprised? No. When you go down there, there's stuff all over the place. It hit an iceberg and it sank. Get over it."
Cat fight!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:09 AM | Comments (7)
December 05, 2005
BREAKING NEWS
JUDGE TOSSES OUT TOM DELAY CONSPIRACY CHARGESHeadline on Drudge. That's gonna piss somebody off. More to come.
A judge dismissed the conspiracy charges Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay but refused to throw out the money-laundering charges, dashing his hopes for now of reclaiming his post as House majority leader.The AP Headline reads it differently ~ Judges Upholds Some Charges Against DeLay
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:56 PM | Comments (4)
What I Want for Christmas
...as I know Bingley, Tim and other hard core Labradork folks will.
Marley & Me : Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
Oh, okay. Dog folks everywhere will find this well nigh irresistible...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:19 PM | Comments (4)
Fancy Pop Gun Cancelled
Via Bill.
I guess they realized it wasn't worth spending billions (more) on a gun that won't stop a bad guy with one round.
UPDATE: Here is a great article on the whole process, on pages 26-29
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:05 PM | Comments (3)
Coffee Is Health Food!
I always knew it:
Coffee and tea may reduce the risk of serious liver damage in people who drink alcohol too much, are overweight, or have too much iron in the blood, researchers reported on Sunday.
Woohoo!!!!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:23 AM | Comments (15)
I Ain't Buyin' It
Twelve months in a year and not ONE picture of my favorite Bush. Pffft.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:19 AM
A Reading Assignment
...for the desk jockeys who came up with the new "Rules of Engagement".
It's all about how the Marines fared the last time someone had them fight a kinder, gentler, "what's the world gonna think?" war. And the Marine Corps gave him unfettered access to whoever and whatever he needed.
It's a magnificent book. And a heart breaker.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:14 AM | Comments (1)
December 04, 2005
Mahna-Mahna
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:23 PM | Comments (2)
What Are They Supposed to Use?
Harsh language? Let's just make it even tougher on the kids in Iraq, why don't we?
While American civilians and politicians debate when and whether to withdraw troops from Iraq, the buzz among some military lawyers has been a recent Pentagon rule change that they say potentially limits service members' ability to defend themselves.In June, the Pentagon changed its Standing Rules of Engagement to allow commanders to limit individual self-defense by members of their unit. Interpreted for me by two Army judge advocate general officers (JAGs), this essentially means that soldiers and Marines may not have the individual prerogative to fire upon an enemy when they are faced with an imminent threat of death or serious injury. That belongs only to commanders, who may not be present to make a decision every time a soldier or Marine faces a deadly threat.
Whose side are we on anyway? And why, if this happened in June, are we just hearing about it?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:35 PM | Comments (4)
Sunday Snippets
John Saunders gave a moving, emotional tribute to the Army-Navy game, and why he watches every year, on the Sports Reporters. Wow.
Then:
For Environmental Balance, Pick Up a Rifle
UPDATE: On the Wikipedia story, a 'whoops'.
Here's a quick quiz: Which large American mammal kills the most humans each year?It's not the bear, which kills about two people a year in North America. Nor is it the wolf, which in modern times hasn't killed anyone in this country. It's not the cougar, which kills one person every year or two.
Rather, it's the deer. Unchecked by predators, deer populations are exploding in a way that is profoundly unnatural and that is destroying the ecosystem in many parts of the country. In a wilderness, there might be 10 deer per square mile; in parts of New Jersey, there are up to 200 per square mile.
Opinion in the New York Times.
As well as an interesting account of a Wikipedia entry surprising the person it was about.
Snared in the Web of a Wikipedia Liar
ACCORDING to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, John Seigenthaler Sr. is 78 years old and the former editor of The Tennessean in Nashville. But is that information, or anything else in Mr. Seigenthaler's biography, true?The question arises because Mr. Seigenthaler recently read about himself on Wikipedia and was shocked to learn that he "was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John and his brother Bobby."
"Nothing was ever proven," the biography added.
Mr. Seigenthaler discovered that the false information had been on the site for several months and that an unknown number of people had read it, and possibly posted it on or linked it to other sites.
And an awakening of sorts. (To which we reply "duh".)
IN December 1997, representatives of most of the world's nations met in Kyoto, Japan, to negotiate a binding agreement to cut emissions of "greenhouse" gases.They succeeded. The Kyoto Protocol was ultimately ratified by 156 countries. It was the first agreement of its kind. But it may also prove to be the last.
Today, in the middle of new global warming talks in Montreal, there is a sense that the whole idea of global agreements to cut greenhouse gases won't work.
A major reason the optimism over Kyoto has eroded so rapidly is that its major requirement - that 38 participating industrialized countries cut their greenhouse emissions below 1990 levels by the year 2012 - was seen as just a first step toward increasingly aggressive cuts.
But in the years after the protocol was announced, developing countries, including the fast-growing giants China and India, have held firm on their insistence that they would accept no emissions cuts, even though they are likely to be the world's dominant source of greenhouse gases in coming years.
Their refusal helped fuel strong opposition to the treaty in the United States Senate and its eventual rejection by President Bush.
But the current stalemate is not just because of the inadequacies of the protocol. It is also a response to the world's ballooning energy appetite, which, largely because of economic growth in China, has exceeded almost everyone's expectations. And there are still no viable alternatives to fossil fuels, the main source of greenhouse gases.
Then, too, there is a growing recognition of the economic costs incurred by signing on to the Kyoto Protocol.
As Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, a proponent of emissions targets, said in a statement on Nov. 1: "The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:52 AM | Comments (5)
SNOW!!!!!!!!
What a wonderful, gorgeous thing to wake up to this morning!!!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:10 AM | Comments (15)
December 02, 2005
Christmas at the Bingley's
He has a good time, or so they tell him.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:56 PM
Operation Twelv Fourteen Marines of Christmas
UPDATE: DaveE asked me about it and I just filled out seven of them, soooo...to save you all time, THIS is the customs form you'll need for packages. And use those Flat Rate Priority Mail Boxes. They just saved me a fortune. Again.
You guys ROCK!! Thanks again to Susanna for the Flat Rate Priority Mail Box. $7.70 no matter what and for all you can stuff in it. In my case, that was 14 pounds at the Post Office a minute ago! Wowsahs! If you've adopted one (or two or THREE!!) of our Leathernecks, thank you so, SO much. I've really enjoyed hearing from you all ~ like GALA, Suzette, Wonderkraut, DaveE, on and on!! We can never express our gratitude in sufficient terms for your generosity of spirit and warmth of character. We have such deelightful Swillers, we really do.
If you find you have a couple extra minutes and a couple extra Christmas cards and need a couple names, well, send me an email, lol!
If you're wondering what the HECK I'm talking about, please read on. We can never have too much help or too much going to the unit. It will ALL get used by someone.
UPDATEand BUMP: Here's the link for the USPS postage calculations. That PriMail Flat Rate box I sent today for $7.70 would have cost me $26.95 regular Priority! In the words of the Monkeys ~ "I'm a believer!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:28 PM | Comments (15)
They Damned Well Better Had
...as far as America's concerned. Of course, as Bingley pointed out, Europe would prefer to write a stern letter.
Five months after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election as president of Iran, some leading figures in Tehran's "mullahcracy" who backed him as a candidate are desperately trying to rein him in.
Sucks when your machinations bite you in the ayatollah a$$ahollah, doesn't it?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:34 PM | Comments (10)
Breaking News
Ten U.S. Marines killed in action Thursday by homemade bomb near Falluja, according to military news release.
UPDATE: More details just released.
Bastards.
Newsweek on patrol with the Marines.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:20 AM | Comments (3)
Hurricane Epsilon
Sounds more like something on a Star Trek episode.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:25 AM | Comments (1)
I Already Know the Ending
...so I can't watch it. I'll be crying for a week.
You guys lemme know how it is.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:51 AM | Comments (7)
Thank God the Army's Broke Down and Tired
What else would the Dems have to talk about?
"This fits with an economy which is just humming along here at close to potential," said Kathleen Stephansen, director of global economics at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:43 AM
Quote of the Day
"The entering quality of our student body needs to be much higher if we are going to transform bright minds into great achievers instead of transforming mush into mush, and I mean it." -University of Richmond President William E. CooperAnd, of course, they want him out of there.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:21 AM | Comments (4)
December 01, 2005
They Might Be "Stars"
...but how bright is in question. Continuing the "Monsters" theme from earlier...
Stars rally around Stanley Tookie Williams
I was reminded of a favorite scene on convenient repentence vs retribution by Sharon's post.
Montoya: "Give me everything I ask for!"The Six Fingered Count: "Yes! Yes! Anything you want!"
Montoya: "I want my father back, you son of a bitch!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:13 PM | Comments (10)
Ken's Mystery Trip Revealed
So how'd you like Houston?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:48 PM | Comments (13)
Note to Rep. Murtha
General Pace is talking to you.
"Their goal is to destroy our way of life," he said. "No equivocation on their part. They're not saying if you stay home we won't come after you."
Swill Salute to The Gateway Pundit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:48 PM
Captain Jack is BACK!!
Saavy? The first trailer is out. Actually, it's more of a guideline...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:33 PM | Comments (5)
Oh, Here We Go...
The Case of the Secret Memo
The White House denies plans to bomb Al-Jazeera. But a warning sent out to British newspaper editors has given the controversy a fresh twist.Nov. 30, 2005 - A British government crackdown on government leaks may have backfired by calling world attention to an ultrasensitive secret memo whose alleged contents have embarrassed President George W. Bush and strained relations between London and Washington. The document allegedly recounts a threat last year by Bush to bomb the head office of the Arabic TV news channel Al-Jazeera.
I'll betcha one of Mr. Summers' Janeane Garofolo blow-up dolls I know exACTLY what President Bush said about blowing up Al-Jazeera.
UPDATE: Hmmph! Imagine that. When I first posted this it was fresh to the headline territory on MSNBC.com. Now it's gone completely from the front page.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:32 PM | Comments (2)
Unlike Mayor Noggin and a Certain Neville Brother
...one New Orleans institution is going NO where.
George Rodrigue and Tiffany, The Blue Dog.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:11 PM | Comments (1)
Levee Etouffee
I want this job. I heard there were gonna be openings.
When engineers and Orleans Levee Board officials gather twice a year to tour the city's floodwalls, records show that the inspection requires less planning than the day's final event: lunch...In advance of the meals, Chief Engineer Stevan Spencer, the board's top flood protection administrator, has personally tended to menu selection and travel arrangements for Levee Board commissioners and other guests, records from 2003 and 2004 show. And when it comes time to settling the check, Spencer has made it his job to seek reimbursement from the Levee Board and hand-deliver payments to restaurants.
Agency records show that attendance during the past two years has ranged as high as 56 people with lunch bills ranging from $682 to $973. At the October 2003 luncheon, 32 of the 39 guests chose the prime rib, at $18.50 a pop
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:02 PM | Comments (8)
Ebola Could Use This
Believe it or not, getting yelled at and berated by Mr. T actually becomes boring pretty quickly.Everything he tells you to do -- everything -- starts with "Hey, Fool!" That's true even when he's telling you to do something dumb, like drive onto the lower level of the Queensboro Bridge when the upper level is the one you need.
I yell at him constantly, but I ain't sayin' "fool".
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:45 PM
Monsters Among Us
Remember the Law and Order episode? Real life is creepier...and far more evil. And now she's on the streets again.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:35 AM | Comments (7)
Did I Miss Something?
The other day, when Rep. John Murtha of Johnstown, Pa., called for a withdrawal from Iraq, and obviously did so with half the Pentagon behind him...Huh? I didn't see that part. What's he talking about ~ "half the P-gon behind him"?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:30 AM | Comments (2)