It’s been more then a month since I posted last…and winter is definitely upon us here in the old North Country. Had nice thanksgiving weekend…good meal at my D’s on the day and some pleasant chat with the rest of the family the Saturday after. Nephew Nate and his intended Karen were there…eight of the ten smartest peeps I’ve ever met…maybe two very odd puzzle pieces that have fortunately found the one piece they go best with…D served me a dish I have never had…from an Amish cookbook…scalloped celery. Actually it would be more a gratin because there is cheese in the dish but…(sigh)…at thanksgiving I try to make sure normally (if anything about me can be called normal) the dressing and grave are in front of me…but I did make room for that celery dish…

Without realizing it until I looked tonight…I missed the 6^th anniversary of this slag heap I call my blog…is there a belated card for that? (hehe)

I’ve been watching “Jon and Kate + 8” on TLC channel…I could never have done what they are doing…I don’t care if one intercourse had produced 97 identical twins or one great kid…I never would have exposed them or her to a TV documentary…I understand, and at times forgive what my one, very unique D when thru…but would never have agreed to anyone one…(other then me)…exposing her to a filmed documentary of her first years…

I understand the dollars…and I understand with that many kids to feed why they made the choice…I would have found a second, or third job to support the multiplies …

But then that’s me

I have a niece…actually I have 5 but only one is currently at the fore front of my thoughts…like me a life time member of the Conservative Party of old NYS…well maybe not quite life time but since both could vote…had a chat with her a few ago…also a chat with my best friend…this my be the ultimate “What the Hey”…I am very conservative and my best friend is a gay male…I don’t understand it either…it takes no stretch of the imagination to guess that he is solidly behind Obama…the weird thing is my niece and I are leaning that way as well…

I’m an idiot…been called that, many times…I love Chinese cooking…the best place in town for lunch is just a brisk 1 mile walk away…and I’ve ignored it for years…

Basically just a “hole-in-the –wall” spot. Just off Public Square…if they didn’t do Chinese food…I’d call it a diner…or the highest compliment I can pay…”A greasy spoon”…maybe a very old and archaic term…for a place that does good food right…at a fair price…not actually an insult…actually a compliment…

The presiding post gave me fits…probably my fault…I pre-write all my posts in MS Word…and then copy and paste to Blogger…but I don’t use IE I use Mozilla and an ancient copy of it…sometime things get…well messed up…(frankly I was trying to use the Yiddish word… for messed up but can’t remember the spelling…actually have never seen it spelled and spell check apparently doesn’t include a Yiddish dictionary}

Don’t know what has attracted me to the reality show “Project Runway”…my idea of fashion is black turtle neck, a black bulky sweater, black pants and an ancient pair of worn out black leather moccasins…(socks are optional)…

Maybe I’m intrigued by the skill and vision…on the other hand it was not uncommon when I was a child to have a “boy doll”…and I actually tried from time to time to make clothes for it…total disaster…no skill…two left thumbs…the respect for those who can do what I tried to do and failed…catastrophically…maybe one reason…on the other hand I’ve been told by pro photographers that I have an amazing “eye” for perspective and composition…or maybe it just might be that I love games of skill…

This past season I was immediately attracted not only to the obvious skill set but to the “What the hey is the geek girl Leanne doing on the show?” Okay…I admit I’ve always been attracted to “geek गर्ल". If I saw her walking down the street I would assume she was a librarian, kindergarten teacher, or rocket scientist…the last think I would guess was fashion design…no that’s not true that would be the second to the last thing I would guess…stripper would be the last thing…okay third to the last thing…defiantly not a “trophy wife”.

Of all five seasons I thought the 3 final collections where in total the best finals ever…anyone one of the three could have won…and in a sense they all did…the real prize of “Project Runway” is not the car or the money or the title…the real prize is showing at fashion week…

But to be honest I’m a reality show junkie….

Congrats Leanne

I have finally realized after almost 6 years of blogging and over 2300 postings an inherent flaw in this concept…if I was writing a book you would start reading this at page one chapter one…and hopefully what followed would make sense…

And I could arrange it that way but then you would have to get past 100’s of pages to get to the current entry…

But I realize that sometimes the current entry only makes sense if you’ve read the last post…or 3 posts ago…or …

Was checking mysitemeter and saw a hit(s) from Louth Ireland…check this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Louth

I’m not a huge baseball fan…but I have watched bits and pieces of the current playoffs…and I can’t help but reflect on the fact that baseball has not yet resolved it’s differences with modern accepted verbiage…they still use terms like errors, pass balls, wild pitches…and balks…some one seriously needs to inform baseball that we live in a more positive, supportive time…oh and the worst of the lot is the strike out…please…we need some word smith to soften these terms and make them more acceptable to the current usage of the English language…(The Mad one removes his tongue from his cheek)

I’ve discovered an interesting thing…given thought not a big surprise but interesting none the less…from time to time I get a “need” for pickled herring…been a few years since I’ve either thought about it …or spotted it in my local grocery store…the last time I had it cat Aggie was the Omega cat in three…rarely was allowed access to me by the other two…both of which turned up their noses at said snack…this time although still in many ways an Omega cat…Aggie is now also the Alpha cat…one of one…I think she may have eaten more of the jar of herring then I did…not to mention her love of sardines in mustard sauce…

The world I grew up in is not the world that now is…(pardon a baby boomer’s complaint)…it was the world of supersonic flight…of the Korean War…of Ike and JFK and the Cuban missile crisis…and 2K$ new cars…forgive if I struggle to understand the world as it is now…

I must be honest at this point…because when all is revealed I might be considered a “little league parent”…you would be wrong but I will give the facts and it is what it is…

I exposed my D to every sport that there was…and also to the world of miniature war gaming and all of the above…mind you she was excellent and feared in the local group at 7 or 8…

But there was only one consuming passion in her life…and that was music…what a surprise… her mom was a piano/organist and her dad…(that’s me) was a classical choral high tenor…amateur but not bad…from 9 or 10 her only goal was to be a musician…I frankly would have preferred for her to explore her gift in military tactics or polysci…but I wasn’t a “little league parent” it was her life not mine…and I did everything I could to help her achieve her goals not mine…a couple of high profile summer camps and she got a DI academic full ride…and now teaches instrumental music …not what I wanted but what she wanted…have I made my point…

With reference and apologies to the Watertown crew…and some very good and old friends from that group…they where more my brothers home boys then mine…I was 18 when my family made the move from Alden to Watertown (my brother was only 8)…I spent the next 40 out of 72 months away at 2 different colleges…but then 40 out of 510 months in Watertown…of the 729 months of my life well you do the math…

As much as I am apart of where I am now…I am still more apart of where I grew up….

When I was about 4 my family left a suburban Buffalo and moved about 15 miles to the east to the Town of Alden…a weird genetic mix of German/Polish farm kids and Eastern European Factory kids…. (Mostly but not totally Polish)…

I was watching I’m not smarter then a 5^th Grader a week or so ago and one of the class was shocked because a contestant mentioned having a pocket knife in school…different era, different time…in my school…entered K in September of ’53…and left as a senior in June of ’66…if you had checked the pocket/purse/book bag (sorry backpacks were unknown)…90% probably had a pocket knife in them…and that included the girls…it was a tool…we never even imagined your Tom Mix as a weapon…

The drag races on our 100+ foot drive way…with several classes…the off-road races on course mowed thru the fields…the field car races…the building of “forts” out of spare lumber…the building of the jump for sleds et al down by the local creek…soccer, football, baseball, wiffle ball in any of a number of front, side or back yards…

To return to the above mention pocket knife theme…in the closet or some where in the room of most of the kids I knew…girls and boys was a .22 caliber rifle…not for shooting our classmates but for shooting targets…groundhogs and other vermin…a friend held the local record for shooting crows out of his dad’s corn fields…where I grew up knifes and guns were tools…not weapons…and half of the best high school rifle team in Eire county were girls…different time…different वलुएस...

I remember the Z girls of a family…a farm family 3 girls one guy…but it was the girls who accepted the farm life…all three were great kids…but the farm life was what they knew and they accepted that…

I remember one pickup tackle football game …4 on 4 where I was the captain and my 3 picks where the Z girls…the result while incomprehensible to others was a forgone conclusion to me…

(the below was Email response to some old friends that I played street games with 100 years ago…well maybe it was only 40 +/- years ago but I’m old and get confused from time to time)

Even 10 or so years ago if you drove by a vacant lot or play ground in Watertown you'd see kids playing a recognizable game or one they had invented…। like our games of rubber ball or remember wall ball…or the one time I taught you guys speedball…(if all don't remember it was a cross between rugby and ultimate Frisbee…) and none of you remember the drag races with bikes and the road course for kid powered wheeled things we had but that is part of the Alden Mythology... Don't see that now… I see two main reasons… Video games and "little league parents" Will not comment on the first only the last… The value in dollars of a DI scholarship or a pro contract and too many parents salivate… It's only "organized sport and high bucks summer camps"…playground and street sports…"Damn it why did you do that…you could have hurt yourself"…not really thinking about the kid's health or happiness but at the potential bucks… When I was a kid…sports/games…you played for the fun…for the "high" you got…some of you probably thought that the miles I ran per week was nuts…I have one word for you…endorphins…

I guess it was dumb luck…or maybe fate but I turned on my TV just as CNN was covering the Lieberman speech at the Republican Convention…(my cable defaults to CNN…not my first choice)

A good speech (IMHO)…and significant from the stand point of the fact that this was the Dems 2000 VP candidate…who was endorsing the Repub’s 2008 ticket…the first comment was from a member of the 2000 election staff on the Dems side…who trashed the speech…(MT is totally shocked…(hehe))…dang…news reporting is at least in theory supposed to be independent without opinion…to report the news without bias and let the listener decide…yah right…(okay so lets face it I’m a troll trying to live in a human world, and quite frankly I’d rather live with my cat then with most of the people I know)if you ask me what is the single most pressing problem in the US of A today…I’d say that it’s news programs who have stopped reporting the facts and are more concerned with convincing us of their opinions of the facts…

I watched the FNC “Next Food Network Star” last night with well not that much excitement, realizing that the winner, who ever it was, was a one and out…in 4 previous years, all but one winner has been a one show and out…and when I saw the first show of this cycle my thought was…here we go again…

Watched the flick on cable…”Dances with Wolves” today…again…KK was his usually almost acceptable self in the title role, just don’t get why he’s a “star”….but several of the other actors where top notch…

I guess it’s a generational thing, but I just don’t get the “humor” (for lack of a better term) of Mike Myers…just too obvious…just too over the top…I mean I get the reference…but just don’t find it even abit funny…

I was confused by Obama’s comment that our children should learn Spanish. Actually the way the world is going Arabic or Farsi might be a better choice, or Japanese. But that’s just me…frankly I’ve always considered English to be a foreign language, at least the grammar and spelling of said tongue. Thank you very much…BG et al for spell check.

I was further confused that only 30 of the 50 states have passed legislation making English the official language. I would have thought that after 200+ years the point was moot and we didn’t need laws to confirm what was obvious.

Check my sitemeter and I’ve finally hit 10000 hits, after almost 6 years that’s pathetic I know…not really a milestone…more a “Burma Shave” sign. And if you’re old enough to remember what I’m talking अबाउट condolences

I realize that this is an old bitch, vent, compliant on my part, but why do literally most web sites assume that I run IE and therefore have access to flash player or java script…do I have a computer that runs MS op system…yes…do I have IE…yes…do I use IE…no…I love tabs…IE ain’t got ‘um

I’m way past tired tonight…if someone out there can given me a definition or a word that describes “way past tired”…other them the obvious…then my claps and high fives are upon you…

The fact that sleep should be upon me is obvious…on the other hand my min d…or what’s left of it at 60+ years has not as yet shut down …nor is it likely to do such any time soon…there are times that I really hate my intellect…

Been watching the “Next Food Network Star” on FNC…frankly…they (that is FNC) shot a blank this time…none of what’s left…or none that started…no star…on the other hand…new show on Sunday morning with Ann B…”Secrets of a Restaurant Chef”…what a rush…she was an assistant to MB on many shows of “Iron Chef America”…very animated…and I learned a trick I didn’t know…and a technique as well…+

On one hand it really doesn’t matter who I vote for in the upcoming presidential elections…because of the electoral college my state casts all it’s votes for the majority…and because the majority here is Dem…and most of them would vote for their candidate if Slappy The Duck was running it makes no sense…but to be fair the Repub states are just as bad…it’s time we got rid of the college and went to popular vote…Al Gore I think would agree…

Been awhile since I’ve posted…many things have conspired against me…so what’s new…life is what life is and anyone who thinks it’s easy and smooth is an idiot…idiot was my dad’s favorite word to deal with anyone one who didn’t come up to his standard…heard it so often that it lost it’s effect…but another story that will not be told here…at least not this time…

The presidential campaign is what it is. As usual 2 bad choices. Neither candidate is whom I would choose to put in that role. So am I surprised…think again. I have voted for president 9 times this will be the 10^th…never have I made a positive vote…I have never voted for a candidate…have always voted against the other guy…sad but true…but this one time …holds promise…not that I agree with Obama…but maybe he can shake things up…but if he choice for VP is the obvious…Ms. C forget about it…

The reports of my demise are false. Just an introspective period. Or rather maybe a question mark.

It’s been a tough several days, I’ve got things I must do but not the resolve or physical ability to do them…can’t decide which of the elements is letting me down…

I’m doing something I haven’t done in a long time…I’m actually doing a little web-surfing tonight…and the one thing I really hate is there are tons of sights that ignore the fact that I may not choose to run IE and therefore do not have flashplayer…

With apologies to Danica…if you really want to see pics of the best looking lady in American racing …google Ashley Force who runs funny cars in NHRA…(the dirty old man that is trollie runs away giggling)

I find myself at a seminal point, a crossroads if you will…and I’m so conflicted…trying to decide between what I think I need to do and wondering if I still have the …”heart” for it…whether the effort and the results are worth the grief…I find myself at a seminal point, a crossroads if you will…and I’m so conflicted…trying to decide between what I think I need to do and wondering if I still have the …”heart” for it…whether the effort and the results are worth the grief…

I am at one of those seminal points in my life, I known that I must say and do what I must do…I know that it will not be accepted…I know that once said I must leave a place that I have gotten accustomed to…a generally happy place with peeps I love…except one…I struggle with the obvious…do I man up and do what must be done…or do I put up with a situation that is becoming more then I can stand…the problem is, and this is the real point is where do I go from here…where do I find a place where my “talents” will be respected and used…I realize that the above may seem a tad arrogant…I accept that…I do have certain talents…years of study…GD given abilities that seem to be in question…do I endure or do I speak…I am at one of those seminal points in my life, I known that I must say and do what I must do…I know that it will not be accepted…I know that once said I must leave a place that I have gotten accustomed to…a generally happy place with peeps I love…except one…I struggle with the obvious…do I man up and do what must be done…or do I put up with a situation that is becoming more then I can stand…the problem is, and this is the real point is where do I go from here…where do I find a place where my “talents” will be respected and used…I realize that the above may seem a tad arrogant…I accept that…I do have certain talents…years of study…GD given abilities that seem to be in question…do I endure or do I speak…

It seems that I am or rather has passed the time where I am relevant…I look at the current presidential candidates with an attitude of where did they come from…the thing that annoys me is I’ve never cast a positive vote in presidential elections…never in 9 going on 10…and this one will not change the deal…

The real question is am I totally weird and totally unplugged from any relevant understanding of what America needs …or are the candidates…

Remember I’m arrogant as one can be (hehe)

The worship team at my church has a standing deal, if a former member is back in the area for what ever reason and wants so sing with us on a Sunday…they sing…JW was on TD to Fort Drum for a few days and was in service with us and it was like he never left…okay not the best voice I’ve ever heard…but the dude knows to sing praise songs and how to worship…and 2 out 3 is all I need…

I’m a sucker for reality TV shows (pathetic but oh well), at least the competitive ones…except for the ones that America votes…because in generally those votes really have nothing to do with who’s best at the skill but rather who you’d like to…well…be with…

Despite the above I’ve been watching the Bravo-TV show “Make me a supermodel”…and was completely annoyed that Shannon didn’t make it to the finals…what was America thinking…Holly, Ronnie, Ben and Jerry (oops) Perry not Jerry…

The way the vote has been going I thought Holly had no chance…even though it should have been obvious she had everything it took to be very good…(well except for her voice but that’s why there are voice coaches)

Holly actually won…but frankly I still have no respect for “America votes show”…I think it was 3 against one and the boys votes were so split that the right person won…

As an aside to Bravo TV…not everyone in the world runs IE…you really need to retool your website so those of us who don’t…don’t have to run that accursed browser just to access everything on your site…

I love open-wheel racing…the battle between Cart and Indy Racing League…well shouldn’t have happened…two sides that fought …and basically screwed open-wheel for maybe ever…0h well…

Easter is on one hand “THE” holiday of the Christian Church…but on the partical side…we generally have 480 attendees for Sunday worship in an area that seats 225…works because the kids are else whereas in the building. But we are accepting 600 for Easter Sunday…do the math…we are doing 3 not the usual 2 services…but as worship team is in all three…that means a long day and stress on an old voice I’ll not sure it will stand…

Weather wise it was it was one of those very strange March or April days here in the old NorthCountry…not really winter (at least by local standards) but not Spring by a long toke. Had lunch with an old friend…past observation is based on A) I’ve known him for 42 years this summer…and B) his age…

I worked for him for many years…check that although he was the boss I worked with him for several years…a good friend of many years and a nice oriental lunch, and he paid…doesn’t get better then that…

I’m confused…not a strange situation for me…actually normal deal…but I digress…

The governor of my state took a powder…got caught spending time with a call girl…are we appalled…no…are we offended…no…are we even mildly disturbed…no…the unwashed masses tend to elect alpha males…so why should we be disturbed when they act as alpha males…

What going on…I seem to be thinking about this slag heap…and being well…desidi8ng to post again…maybe not…(hehe)What going on…

Twas’ a nice day, a gentile late winter day, lunch at my fav oriental buffet…my cat aggie is a weird one…I sometimes wonder if she may be a dog in cat disguise…her fav snack is beef jerky

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted…been an easy winter here based on historical norms…would be a 100 year winter in many areas but actually a gentile one for the old NorthCountry…

Not been the best days of my life. Screwed up the transmission on my car, can’t get the lever out of park. And then the Giants win the super bowl, will probably here that from friend Rich for at least the next year…

Okay so I freely admit that I made a mistake, I broke the law, I forgot to check the date on my car inspection, and was over due. I got pulled over by a state cop, within the confines of the Town of Watertown (Town of Watertown has no police force). So I go to my court date, spend 3 minutes with the judge and his clerk. Got fined the minimum fine which was 25$…(note: fine goes to the state). But also got charged 55$ in court fees…?????????????????????????????????????

Don’t get me wrong…personally I am not a raciest…but I do understand that even today that racial “barriers” exist…I love reality TV I rarely pick the winner…my fav has won like 2 out of … but I contend that given the industry that the winner is put into “America’s Next Top Model” is bias/raciest…(the mad one prepares for the hate mail)…6 of 9 winners have been either…black/mixed black/or latino…

Look at who is walking major runways or major mags

…Look I understand what Tyra …etal…is trying to do…but then at least be honest and call it “America’s Next Great Ethnic Model”…

don’t misunderstand…I accept the fact the fashion industry is bias…but to call it one thing when it isn’t…isn’t right…

Hate me if you will…disagree if you must…but after watching ever cycle of “American’s next top model” more then once my opinion is that the show is racist…6 of the 9 winners where black/mixed race/ethnic…look at the ladies on runways or in mags…I understand what the show is trying to do…but rename it as “America’s next ethnic model” Tyra I know what changes you are trying to make…but be honest and don’t select a white bread girl you will send home and not let win…

In the wake of the passing of cat Smokey, I’m seeing a new side of the last cat “standing”. Aggie was always the “odd” cat out. And I’m now seeing that maybe she was always at her best as an only cat. I talked to my daughter last night and informed her of Smokey’s passing, her comment was when are you going to get Aggie a new “sister”. At this point I don’t think I will.

The last few days have been very difficult…emotionally…despite my best efforts one of my cats…Smokey…an indoor cat for most of her almost 19 years…slipped outside…and I missed it…I found her today (well technically yesterday)…under a yaw tree…R.I.P. you old girl…I will miss you…

'twas a wierd day...i lost a friend...???

The relativity of time has always confused me. Technically it is already Tuesday January IST 2008…but since I’m still up from yesterday I don’t feel the arbitrary change of day and year that I’m expected to perceiveThe relativity of time has always confused me. Technically it is already Tuesday January IST 2008…but since I’m still up from yesterday I don’t feel the arbitrary change of day and year that I’m expected to perceiveThe relativity of time has always confused me. Technically it is already Tuesday January IST 2008…but since I’m still up from yesterday I don’t feel the arbitrary change of day and year that I’m expected to perceive