Peace&Beer

I have decided to take a page out of Obama's playbook and help solve the election crisis in Iran and help bring peace to the middle east......

I have invited Ahmadinejad....

and Mousavi....

to have a beer with me at Oblios Lounge

434 N Main St

Oshkosh, Wi 54901

Saturday, Aug. 1 2009

6:00-7:00 pm

This crisis needs to be resolved before all shit breaks loose. I will provide peanuts and popcorn. Please bring your own goat cheese. We will 'shake dice' for shots if it becomes necessary for resolution.

RSVP regrets only via this blog.

OK. I could use a small favor...

Ok. I posted this about a year ago. It is about my Mother. We had hoped to have another party this weekend for her 86th birthday. Unfortunately it will not happen like we.. (my sister-I cannot pretend to plan much of anything) planned. The deal is... she fell about a week ago trying to get out of her wheel chair. At first it was considered a 'bad bruise' but the xrays revealed a small hairline fracture and she will have to spend a couple of weeks in a nursing home to recover. Amazingly, the prognosis for her returning to her home is very good, but in the mean she is in a nursing home, not happy. She will not have the party she hoped for.

She really likes cards, though, and the family is trying to send as many as possible just so she has something to look forward to...... and then I had a thought (which is dangerous. I try not to think too much...it hurts).... if there is anyone out there in the blogs.... ANYONE.... who would spend first class postage to make a strong, determined, sweet, kind old lady happy... send her a card. Say Happy Birthday, Get Better.... whatever. Tell her jimm sent you.

Marion
510 Blake St
Sparta, Wi. 54901

ya, it ain't world peace or global warmer I'm working on here.... but I guess I always felt that small journeys start with getting out of your chair.Thanks&stuff.here's last years post.

Easter Everyday

I have a copy of an old newspaper photograph from 1956 that shows a car wreck that occurred on Easter Sunday 1956 on a remote stretch of highway about two miles west to the intersection of highway 21 and 49.


The caption under the photo said that the wife of the driver of one of the three cars involved is still visible in the wreckage. It said that she was the mother of four children, ages seven, five, three and a baby ten months old who were also in the pictured Chevy station wagon.


A longer article explains that there was also a car with six sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Station and a third vehicle containing a young couple from nearby Berlin, WI and their four young children.


It was raining and the road was muddy and someone lost control, something happened and one car hit another and spun out and hit the station wagon head on. A local farm wife is quoted in the article as as saying that she and her husband heard the crash and went out, "picking up babies in the rain."


The nearest town, Berlin, is 15 miles away. The phones in 1956 were rotary dial and most rural phones shared 'party-line' connections. It took some time for the one ambulance in Berlin to arrive at the scene. The article said that most of the 17 injured that needed hospitalization were transported by private vehicles. It must have taken even longer, on an Easter Sunday afternoon, for the photographer of the local weekly newspaper to be located and for him to get to the site and take a photo of the woman in the Chevy station wagon who was presumed dead. There were breathing people to take care of first. There were babies in the rain.


I often wonder, when I look at that photo, how long she was in that car before someone realized that my mother was indeed alive and breathing.


I'm not sure how long my father was hospitalized but Mom did not leave the hospital until the following Thanksgiving. We were sent to live with various relatives and were not re-united as a family until about a year or so later. I know my father went back to his job in Marshfield on crutches with his wife in a hospital 85 miles away and his children scattered.


The thing of it is, it was never considered a big deal in my family. Really. I mean we knew the story and had heard the lore, but life just went on. My sister and brothers and I never thought of our parents as 'handicapped'........ they just walked 'funny'. They never complained. I know that there was no big buckeroo insurance settlement ....that all Mom's subsequent operations wiped out whatever money they had. But it wasn't a BIG DEAL. It just was what it was and we went on. They didn't TEACH us what family was...... they lived it. They got all four of us through college.... we never took vacations....we didn't do a lot of things. But they were always proud of us. That Dad had seven years where one of his sons was a starter on the football team.....that his daughter was the first in the family to graduate from college and become a TEACHER! Damn! He thought that that was the stuff!


They showed us that life was continuity, love, connection, determination, perseverance,lottsa love........ and even more...... humor.


Dad died nine years ago from complications during surgery to fix his leg. The operation precipitated a heart attack. The last time I saw him he was connected to tubes and machines &shit. Couldn't talk. He scribbled me a note that I should tell him a joke. I did. About a Rabbi and a Priest and a Minister. He liked those.


We are getting together tomorrow to celebrate the 85 birthday of the woman in the photo. Fifty some years of walking 'funny' has left her in a wheel chair. She still lives in her own home ( with a lot of assistance) and still does not complain. We get as many of the grandchildren and great grandchildren together as we can. We barbecue chicken and brats and burgers and corn...... and give her what she wants every year for her birthday................................all of the 'Rain Babies'in one place.We also chip in and buy her a six-pack. She thinks it's funny.

Breaks her up.

Peace

It's an American Thing to..............

............ ask for.

I just don't have the energy to be stupid

all which isn't singing is mere talking
and all talking's talking to oneself
(whether that oneself be sought or seeking
master or disciple sheep or wolf)

gush to it as diety or devil
-toss in sobs and reasons threats and smiles
name it cruel fair or blessed evil-
it is you (ne i)nobody else

drive dumb mankind dizzy with haranguing
-you are deafened every mother's son-
all is merely talk which isn't singing
and all talking's to oneself alone

but the very song of(as mountains
feel and lovers)singing is silence

ee cummings

I am too old for this.... and too young to stop

I think I need a BLT for lunch. I have fresh lettuce and the tomatoes are fresh. Just a little bacon is alla I need.

In other news......

I went to the river last night to listen to a little rock&roll. Summers are short and the weather was good and the place was full of bunches of good looking women and the beer was cold and the music was great and I stayed up way too late and now I am writing long run on sentences and wishing I wasn't at the office.

Rusted Root did a great show and I am glad I went, but now my mouth feels like it is full of dancing pickles. Which is better than last night when they were dancing in my head.

I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean. Hopefully nothing.

But the good news is that I just got a new Archie McPhee catalog http://www.mcphee.com/ and there is a nifty new product I just have to have.......

Handerpants™Are you really naked under those gloves? For Pete's sake, put on some Handerpants! These 95% cotton, 5% spandex, fingerless gloves have the look and feel of men's briefs. Slip them on underneath your gloves for extra warmth and protection from chafing! Wear them on their own as a vaguely inappropriate fashion statement! Hundreds of uses! Fits most adult hands.

I guess they would help when I need to grab a pickle.

Memories!~

Long, long ago, in the dim recesses of my memory..... and there is no space in my memory that is well lit, I recall my first public performance at college, UW-O, a Reader's Theatre presentation of Jonathon Livingston Seagull.

Does anyone else remember that thin little book that sold gazillion some copies in the hippier-than-thou-let's-all-love-each-other early 70's?

Wow! I remember sitting there in front of a audience reciting lines like:

"How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!"

and this:

"The only true law is that which leads to freedom," Jonathan said. "There is no other."

and this:

“No, Jonathan, there is no such place. Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect.”

and the happy ending thing:

Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that gull’s life is so short and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.

I just remembered that story, today, out of the blue!

And I think back and realized how much I hated that fucking book!~!~!~!

Songs that stick in your head till you puke!

Ah, ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann

Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann

Oh Barbara Ann, take my hand

Barbara Ann

You got me rockin' and a-rollin'

Rockin' and a-reelin'Barbara Ann

ba baBa Barbara Ann

Went to a dance, lookin' for romance

Saw Barbara Ann, so I thought I'd take a chance

With Barbara Ann, Barbara Ann

Take my hand

You got me rockin' and a-rollin'

(Oh! Oh!)

Rockin' and a-reelin'Barbara Ann

ba baBa ba ba ba

Barbara AnnBa

ba ba ba

Barbara Ann

Barbara Ann, take my hand

Barbara Ann

You got me rockin' and a-rollin'

Rockin' and a-reelin'

Barbara Ann

ba baBa

Barbara Ann

Tried Peggy Sue

Tried Betty Lou

Tried Mary Lou

But I knew she wouldn't do

Barbara Ann

Take my hand

Barbara Ann

Take my hand

You got me rockin' and a-rollin'

Rockin' and a-reelin'

Barbara Ann

ba baBa

Barbara Ann

Just Sayin'

I blog, therefore I am a donut!

Ok. A discussion came up over the weekend... 'Why do you blog, jimm?"

Huh!? For a moment I thought they expected an intelligent answer, then I realized that they really did know who they were talking to and an intelligent, thoughtful answer was the last thing in a response that they expected.

"Cause I like to." I said. "It's your turn to buy a beer."

"That's not much of an answer."

"That wasn't much of a question."

"But who reads your shit, anyways?"

"It doesn't matter. I wrote shit for years on little yellow tablets with a #2 pencil, and no one read that shit, either. I don't care. I like to. 'n' it's still your turn to buy a beer."

And that's the truth. I don't care. Not really. The accrued benefit is what I am all about.

What Benefit! Ha! Take this! and stick it in your MicroSoft!!

A Feather Adrift
anitaxanaxnow
BAD HABIT
Border Explorer
Color Sweet Tooth (click to galleries)
DAD'ART
distributorcap NY
Freida Bee, MD
From the Left
I, Splotchy
Its my Right to be Left of the Center
jintrinsique
Journeys with Jood
Katie Schwartz
Left of Centrist
L'ennui mélodieux
Liberality
Love At Home
Mock, Paper, Scissors
Monkey Muck
phantsythat
Pulp Friction
That's Why
The Dean's Office
Utah Savage
When Will I Use This?
Zaius Nation - Some apes are more equal than others

The deal is.... for no money down... without a home computer.... without a clue...for no reason whatsoever&stuff... I can connect to people I like, or think I like, or like the things I like, and likely or not, it seems that a few of them like me. Whoa! go figure that one! But I have no concern about comments, or reads or hits or Technoratzi..... I just like doing this. Done&Done!

....So.... there it is! And along those lines.... of doing what I want, just because I want to.... I am posting a link-ee to Gumbo Pages

... http://gumbopages.com/looka/

and Chuck's Weblog, Looka. It was the first blog I ever visited, about three years or so ago. I just wanted a seafood gumbo recipe and what I found was..." cocktails, food, New Orleans culture and music." I think his description is mild. There is fantastic food porn photos, cocktail photos, the continuing adventures of Chuck&Wes....and lotza good music revenues and information and much, much more! I never comment at Looka.... I don't think Chuck cares one way or another, either. He is just doing what he likes..... and has been doing it for ten years. Now in bloggy years, that is like, wowsers, forever.

So, I don't care who reads me.... but my Pick of the Day is Chuck at Gumbo Pages.

I am totally burnt. Toast. Melted. I should not be in the office.

boDeans at the river...... they still rock....but I sure found out that my limitation level has constricted.

I like the way you dance

I like the way you paint your lips

And if I had a chance to be with you, I wouldn't slip

So hey what do you say

Do you see a thing or two in me

Then let's be on our way

We don't need no other company

If I could Hold you tonight

I might never let go

If I could Hold you tonight

I might never let goIf

I could Hold you tonight

I might never, no never, let go

Blood, gore, guts and donuts

Just got back from the blood drive..... yadda, yadda..... I donate all the time. I think I have donated over 543 gallons in my life time. Makes me feel like a really nice guy.

And it is amazing how much like donuts blood cells look like..... when you look really really close.

I had a dream

I woke to a vivid dream at 3:23am this morning. It wasn't a weird nightmare or indigestion, but it had an urgent, compelling electrical charge that had me wide awake. It also featured my ex.... and usually those dreams are brought about by indigestion, but it only took me a few moments to realize that this was completely different. My daughter was born twenty years ago, at precisely 3:10am. Wowsers! My ex...... ah, forget this "ex" thingee, Cheryl.. her name is Cheryl, and she was a prominent actor in that drama twenty years ago, too. Go figure that one! And the real deal is that the story of my daughter's birth was really a good one and for that I will always have a good thought for Cheryl for as long as I live.

It was a hot summer in 1989 and July was a real heat wave. I remember the day-time high temperatures were consistently in the mid to upper 90's and would only cool off in the evening to the mid 70's. Now that can't be a lot of fun for a pregnant woman who is ten days overdue. We were living, for the most part, in a air-conditioned second floor bedroom. I was remodeling the downstairs bathroom.... I had that sucker ripped out to the bare walls; had finished re-wiring the room and had installed the new sink.... but the heat and the extra time I spent being a supportive father & husband to a nine month along pregnant had rather curtailed that project. I would be home at five; too hot to cook downstairs so I would run and get carry-out or deli, fruits &salad, play with three year old Max... do the chores, laundry..... then try to get some remodel work done. It was a hectic time, but we were all good and very happy. ( except those moments when Cheryl would tell me, in flourished terms, how fucking lousy she felt being nine months pregnant during a heat wave. Oh, the vocabulary she had in those moments!)

So at 2:30am on July 15th Cheryl wakes me up with a scream, actually several, and then nonchalantly said, " I think I am having the baby now!" I sensed a certain veracity in the way she made the pronunciation and called up Uncle Mike to come watch Max and then did the Fatherly kind of stuff.... threw the bag in the car, watched a little MTV, smoked a joint..... no, I jest. Mike was there in minutes and seconds later I have assisted Cheryl to the car where she takes one look at the open door and says," Oh, my God, I can't sit down!" Well, having a baby in the drive way is not an option, so I help maneuver her into the back seat where she crouches on all fours. Now, this is where the fun really starts.

Now the Oshkosh hospital is only five blocks away but Cheryl has checked this all out and has decided that we will have our babies at the regional medical center in Neenah.... state-of-the-art stuff for having babies and a really neat-o spiffy emergency neo-natal center& bells&whistles. If anything was to go drastically wrong they would ship her there anyway and it was really only a nine mile ride up the lake road from our house. And it is truly not my call. If she had told me she would rather have had the babies on the moon, I would have helped make the arrangements.

So I am doing about 75mph up Cty A while periodically reaching over to the back seat and bracing her butt so she doesn't tip over. "CAN YOU PLEASE HURRY!!!", she demurely implores. I push the needle to 80 and hope there are no errant raccoons on the road. Now the whole deal starts seeming kinda funny and I start chuckling a little. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT AND CAN YOU PLEASE FUCKING HURRY." I believe there were a few other comments she made and a few screams and that deep breathing shit that they tell women to do. I have a quick thought of picking up a six pack at the Payne's Point Bar, but realize that they are probably closed. The thought makes me chuckle. "THIS IS NOT FUNNY!!" I believe the volume from the back seat is getting louder and so is that deep breathing thingee.

So we make it to Theda Clark Memorial.... I pull up to the main door, which of course is locked, run to the emergency room, grab an orderly with a wheel chair and run it back to the front door where the orderly and I prepare to extract Cheryl from the back seat. "I CAN'T MOVE!" she calmly states and continues panting. Ok. So he grabs an ankle, I grab an ankle and we slowly help her get out of the car. When she is standing, she looks down at the wheelchair and casually says, " I CAN'T SIT ON THAT GODDAM THING!!", and when she puts it that way makes good sense, but she also can't walk and the water has broke and if a drive way at home is no place to have a baby, a sidewalk in front of a hospital isn't going to be a lot better. So my buddy, Mr. Orderly, and I arrange to have her kneel on the seat of the wheel chair facing backwards. He pushes and I help brace her in while we cruise right through the hospital and up the elevator to the maternity section. I remember seeing a clock on the hall wall that said 2:55 and thinking that I really made good time on the drive up the lake road.

So we are in the room, I have a nurse with me and the orderly now. The nurse tells Cheryl to 'just climb into bed' , to which Cheryl calmly replies "I CAN'T!!!!!!", So the orderly guy, the nurse and I help her get into bed; the nurse says, to me, "Take her panties off...I'll get the Doctor" to which I think, simultaneously, that there is no way the Doc is going to be here and it is underwear, not panties. They were panties before she was pregnant. I barely finish taking off her underwear when the Doc walks in (there was a record number of babies that day... he was in house) goes into a crouch like a baseball catcher and immediately stands up with a beautiful baby girl. I cut the cord, the nurse finishes up the stuff, Cheryl looks at me and says, "You were a dear, but I am a little tired and think I will take a nap." It was just all that quick.

And I was a Dad, again.

Thank you, Cheryl.

I love you, Bug! Happy Birthday!

I spent last weekend with the boys. Or at least we were boys when we all first met. Tim and Rosey I have know for about 35 years, Ray and John for about thirty.

They are all great guys, all successful business types (except me---I wouldn't know success if it bit me in the ass) and are all well read and well informed. For the most part our children are all the same age. John's daughter, Melissa, and my daughter Miriam were born on the same day in the same year. They are also all in long term marriages (again, except me. marriage did bite me in the ass) with really great women.

So when we get together on these outings we inevitably talk work,,,,,,, and move beyond that quickly. Then we discuss the kids; rising tution, their collge classes, their boyfriends/girlfriends, jobs.... and the talk moves to golf outings, camping trips, movies, books, music and stupid shit we did in college that we hope the kids never find out about.

Inevitably, though, and usually late in the evening around the campfire, the discussions seem to channel themselves to a subject I can only call...... "Sometimes I just don't GET the way my wife thinks"

"she want's a new garage door.... just 'cause she thinks it doesn't match the rest of the house!!"

"she want's to remodel the kitchen....we just did it FIVE YEARS AGO!"

"she THREW away my MUSKIE fishing sweat shirt!!! I caught my biggest muskie wearing that sweatshirt! It was only 20 years old!"

"I really can't see why she thinks golfing four times a week is excessive"

"The woman bought another pair of shoes! She must have forty pairs! I keep telling her she only has two feet!"

"The thing about marriage," Tim said, " is that there is serendipity....... and then there is just the plan old Dipity."

Sunday morning I am making breakfast. My turn. And I can hear the phone calls being made.

To Ellen. Monica. Dana Lynn. Christie.

Drunk on a saturday night a man's thoughts may move to Dipity..... but Sunday morning it seems to move to right back to serendipity.

Monday

"If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern."

I am having and 'out-of-office' experience while at the office. Kind of like a 'time-out' yet I am getting paid.

What about love?

my sister sent me this from a grad school class she took. (or at least I think that is where she got it.....

OBJECTIVE, MULTIPLE-CHOICE FINAL EXAM PHILOSOPHY OF SEX AND LOVE

1. Why are there no good movies about sexy, exciting, friendly and durable relationships?

a. Forget the movies--why are there no such relationships?
b. See Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage--that's why.
c. There have been plenty, but no one's seen them.
d. The question betrays a confusion and lack of understanding on the part of the questioner.
e. none of the above.

2. Is love a lie?

a. Freud: love is projection onto the beloved of our own desires, so yes.
b. Firestone: love is a trick played on susceptible women by patriarchal systems to keep women submissive, so yes.
c. Jung: love is projection onto the beloved of our own next desired stage of development, so yes and no.
d. Probably yes, but so what?
e. None of the above.

3. Using the definitional method of genus and differentium in answering the philosophical question, What is love, really? which is the genus?

a. Love is a feeling.
b. Love is a way of being.
c. Love is a wanting.
d. Love is an ideal .
e. None of the above.

4. Using the same definitional method, genus and differentium, what is the differentium?

a. without feathers.
b. an ascent of the soul toward mystical union with truth, goodness and beauty.
c. doom.
d. being cut in half as one cuts an egg with a hair or wire. [Plato]
e. none of the above.

5. How are men and women different?

a. Men are stupider; more rational; more direct; more interested in sex and less interested in love; more worried about control, power, competition; less manipulative in covert ways, less affected by relationships, more desperate for justification for their existence.
b. Men are always mooning around because of love while women just want sex.
c. There are no differences that make a difference except those systems and cultures construct.
d. Women just know and men try to know.
e. None of the above.

6. How are your experiences of sex and love ("mine," for short) different from other peoples' ("your," for short) experiences of sex and love?

a. Weelllllll, yours are yours and mine are mine.
b. Language gets in the way of my understanding your experiences but does not get in the way with mine.
c. "Experiences" are mythological beasts--all that's real is just nerve endings and friction.
d. The names of my experiences (e.g. "orgasm") are also the names of your experiences, so they aren't.
e. None of the above.

7. Why won't love stay? (Tom Robbins' question)

a. We screw up.
b. All too often, lover and beloved spend time together and find out about each other.
c. Time keeps mucking things up with changes.
d. It was a mistake at the beginning.
e. None of the above.

8. What is the relation between sex and violence?

a. I mis-heard during the review session and thought it was sex and violins. I'm not equipped for this question. (apologies to Gilda Radner)
b. It's love, not sex--lack of love, especially from parents, leaves us wounded and morally numb--perpetrators are victims of lack of love and often worse, with the most atrocious perpetrators those most atrociously abused, and for them violence is a sick substitute for sex and love, but all they have available to cope with this universal need.
c. Pathological violence and pathology in sexual matters are two sides of the same coin.
d. Whatever it is, it is all men's fault.
e. None of the above.

9. Upon what are moral judgements in matters of sex and love properly based?

a. "There's no right or wrong; what's right's what's right for you" (Oscar Wilde)
b. "Is that right?" (Socrates)
c. There have to be standards which apply to all everywhere, rules or ethical systems or commands, or else morality is just chaos.
d. Every example justifies the moral judgments it justifies, regardless of cultural acceptances or absolutist rules.
e. None of the above.

10. What is the most important thing you have learned from this course?

a. Hide.
b. Always use a condom.
c. Thinking and happiness are not necessarily correlated.
d. I'm not alone, maybe.
e. More than the above.

Have A good weekend..... I'm off to the woods!!

I am a pretty agnostic type guy and follow no religion, but really have no problems with most folks who truly practice their religion rather than wear it like a smug badge of Uppitty-ism. Fortunatly I know more of the former and few of the later.

Anyways..... I was cleaning out some old emails and files& stuff and came across this. It's old, but I still think it is amusing. It also makes me smile when the off-the-wall types like the Westboro Baptist Church or Pat Robertson get me down.

TOP TEN REASONS WHY BEER IS BETTER THAN JESUS "When Christian students at Texas A&M University donned pro-abstinenceT-shirts titled 'Top Ten Reasons Why Jesus is Better than Beer,'Steve Berry of Texas A&M's Agnostic and Atheist
Student Group knewhow to respond:

10. No one will kill you for not drinking Beer.

9. Beer doesn't tell you how to have sex.

8. Beer has never caused a major war.

7. They don't force Beer on minors who can't think for themselves.

6. When you have a Beer, you don't knock on people's doors trying to give them away.

5. Nobody's ever been burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured
over their brand of Beer.

4. You don't have to wait more than two thousand years for a second Beer.

3. There are laws saying Beer labels can't lie to you.

2. You can prove you have a Beer.

1. If you've devoted your life to Beer, there are groups to help you

I think I will go pray tonight. :)

What About Peter?

Ok. That time of the year. Just a bunch of emails and we all get together. This time, up North at John's cottage. We drink. Cook good food. Talk stupid, laugh alot. Smoke cigars around the campfire. Drink. Look at hot young girls along the river. Drink. & generally act like we did thirty years ago. Except thirty years ago we would get thrown out of bars.

Are you ready to play this weekend? YES YES Yes

While I don’t have a lot of plans (and would like your input on options), here’s the scoop:

Friday: fish fry at local restaurant (good fish-all you can eat with fabulous hash browns for $7.95 Can everyone arrive before 5:00pm? I can, do they have a senior discount we're trying to catch? Is 5PM cocktail time? Yes….beverages will be flowing the minute we get there…if not earlier. Thought it would be fun to have a few before we leave for dinner.

Saturday: breakfast Tim responsible (it better be good) Regular or Honey Nut?
Lunch John responsible
Dinner: Rosey….Tim mentioned that you had this famous chicken dinner. Do you want to do it??? I'll do it.......will I have to buy the fixin's? No, I think you can get one of the breakfast boys to help out (or if Tom or Hacker come, they can do it)

Things to do options: boating, fishing, rafting the wolf or golf. Email everyone if you want to play golf so we can bring our clubs I can do all or any. Grill had a good question on how high is the water. How bout a good answer? Who is the outfitter? My neighbor went last week and had a good time, I'll ask more questions My clubs are 50 years old and I'm afraid to diminish their collector value by using them, plus I'm still too young for golf. How about rafting? Ray mentioned he was concerned about rafting since he had an issue with a bump on his leg (he is on Coumadin)

Sunday breakfast: Ray Does he get to bring a bad one? Beer is OK, but not Bud, OK? And donuts

Snacks: Grill (but everyone should bring something to munch on)

All: bring the beverage (or two) of your choice. I'll bring a growler of Rush River Double Bubble.

Remember to bring your swimming suit, sleeping bag and pillow

Any other ideas???? Can you schedule the 'bikini girls' for 4pm Saturday, John? Already done….guaranteed to be even hotter this year…. I'm bringing the Kayaks again. I'll bring as mixed drink cooler if we go on the raft trip, no cans or bottles.

See you all soon. Hey! What about Peter?

Fuck You Sarah Palin

So I get this pop-up add while I was on Yahoo....

Sarah Palin. SarahPac. Not authorized by any candidate or Candidates committee.

Boy, what a deal! "GIVE ME MONEY"

Shit I should have thought of that years ago!!

JimmPac. I need beer. "GIVE ME MONEY"

Ok. The bitch quit. So why won't she just go away?

Out of curiosty I went to her official web page,

http://gov.state.ak.us/

and I gotz to the opening line "Hi Alaska, I appreciate speaking directly to you, the people I serve, as your Governor." 'Hi Alaska' ????? Damn, I can be witty like that, too! "Good Day, Wisconsin." See, it's really easy. Anyone can be witty like that! "Hello Ohio!" or
"How ya doing, Indiana" or maybe "What's up, Wyoming."

And there was her long rambling I quit thingee. I would call it a speech, but coherent speaking is not a Sarah strong suit.

"Absolutely not. I think that, if I were to give up and wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we've taken, that ... that would ... bring this whole ... I'm not doing this for naught."

--Sarah Palin, asked about her plans for 2012 and whether she would disappear from the national political scene if she loses, ABC News interview, Oct. 29, 2008.

So she quits, and then starts begging for money on the net. "Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's commitee". Now what the fuck is up with that??

I think Sarah has her own brand of 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell'. She don't want no questions, cause she's a got no answers.

"I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also."--Sarah Palin, on not answering the questions in the vice presidential debate, St. Louis, Missouri, Oct. 2, 2008

I still think it is really ballsy asking for money. But it could be worse. I mean, Billy Mays is dead and she is looking for new employment and we could have been subjected to a ton of infomercials from the PalinPrincess.

I really like the way she quoted MacArthur, too.

“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”

But back to her speechifying on her web page when she waxs eloquent on her achievements in office; "We cleaned up previously accepted unethical actions.." Boy &Howdy.... she sure knows what those are, huh! Here's another MacArthur quote for the Barracuda Bitch,

“You are remembered for the rules you break.”

I like this Palin-ese too.

"We took government out of the dairy business and put it back into the private-sector- where it should be."Absolutely. Government belongs in the private sector, not with a bunch of fucking cows. Cows make up really silly laws and make really really big messes in convention halls.

The bottom line is that Sarah Palin is an idiot. A loser. A no talent, no brain, bimbo. An opportunist. Possibly an unethical moron.

She is no leader. Sheesh, she could not lead a sober Pollock to free beer.

And no matter what she say's SHE IS A QUITTER.

Here's a couple of MacArthur quotes for her.

“Americans never quit.”

“Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.”

I hope she remembers the last one. Just in case she quits being a quitter and tries to get a new career as a tattoo model.

After all.......................................

"I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is."

--Sarah Palin, on running for national office in the future, FOX News interview, Nov. 10, 2008

The Bottom line? Fuck you, Sarah.

Please go away soon.

In other news, Michael Jackson is still Dead.

Rip-Off Monday

I ripped this off from http://monkeymucker.blogspot.com/

Since Sarah Palin and her little hubby are threatening to sue anyone in the media and bloggers who report that they may be under investigation by the Feds for corruption in Alaska, I am proud to report that Sarah and Toad Palin may very well be under investigation by the Feds for corruption in in Alaska.

me too.

I ripped this off from http://zaiusnation.blogspot.com/

Rush Limbaugh recently said this about the death of Michael Jackson: "He flourished under Reagan, languished under Clinton/Bush, and died under Obama." President Obama killed Michael Jackson!

I knew that, duh!

I ripped this off from http://deansoffice.blogspot.com/

Alright, alright, Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?

I heard it before, but it bears repeating.....

Alright, alright, Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?

I ripped this off from http://lisahgolden.blogspot.com/

My Pussy is in Mourning

....well move it back to Georgia where it belongs!

And then I ripped this off from my buddy, Fritz, in CO. I'm sure he ripped it off from somewhere else and, as that didn't stop him, why should it stop me?

Did you ever wonder why there are no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica ?
Where do they go?
Wonder no more. It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life.
The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life, as well as maintaining a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life.
If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, other members of the familyand social circle have been known to dig holes in the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into and buried.
The penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and sing:"Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow." Then, they kick him in the ice hole.

Glory Glory Glory

Every Fourth of July I think back to some friends I used to know that are no longer around. I don't spend a lotta time thinking about it..... but I think of them.

I knew a girl who was almost a lady

She had a way with all the men in her life

Every inch of her blossomed in beauty

And she was born on the fourth of July

Well she lived in an aluminum house trailer

And she worked in a juke box saloon

And she spent all the money I give her

Just to see the old man in the moon

I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory

And awake in the dawn's early light

But much to my surprise

When I opened my eyes

I was a victim of the great compromise

john prine

Yup.. there are ghosts and ghosts...

then there are ghosts I still drink a beer with.

But that ain't no never mind today. I leave the office at noon and tonight head to the river to listen to a band I have wanted to see for some time.... Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons.

Everyone who has seen them says they do a real kick ass show. Plus I have free tickets... two actually.. so I have a spare, seeing as I have been stood up on the second... can anyone make beautiful DownTown Wisconsin by 7 tonight?

Anyways.... I said I would post some Holiday Cheesecake for Randal........

Oooooops..... wrong cheesecake.

That one's a little stale. Never mind.

Try this one.....Happy Holiday.

OH CANADA !!!! EH !!!

IT'S CANADA DAY!

Which is as good a reason to celebrate a Wednesday as any I have found.

Actually, eh, I have great respect for Canada. For one, it is a large region that separates me from Sarah Palin. For two, it gives Chicago people another place to fish with out coming to Wisconsin.

For three, my great sister-law, Linda, is a Canadian. In just ten short years she has convinced my brother that he, too, is a Canadian. Which is a great improvement from his previous belief that he was really a Minnesotan.

For four, I know some really terrific folks who are Canadians. Most of them live in the States.

For five, .... C,mon ... there is no five in Canadian-ese. Five would require that they take their boots off to count.

OK.

A Canadian bloke is walking down the street with a case of beer under his arm.His friend Randy stops him and asks, "Hey Dave! Whatcha got that case of beer for?""Well, I got it for my wife, you see?" answers Dave."Wow," exclaims Randy, "Great trade."

It was mealtime during a flight on Air Canada."Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked John, seated in front."What are my choices?" John asked. "Yes or no," she replied.







Well, ya dere, eh!



Canada apologises to the US

A truly Canadian Apology to the USA, courtesy of Rick Mercer from This Hour Has 22 Minutes, CBC Television:



Hello. I'm Anthony St. George on location here in Washington.

On behalf of Canadians everywhere I'd like to offer an apology to the United States of America. We haven't been getting along very well recently and for that, I am truly sorry. I'm sorry we called George Bush a moron. He is a moron, but it wasn't nice of us to point it out. If it's any consolation, the fact that he's a moron shouldn't reflect poorly on the people of America. After all, it's not like you actually elected him.

I'm sorry about our softwood lumber. Just because we have more trees than you, doesn't give us the right to sell you lumber that's cheaper and better than your own. It would be like if, well, say you had ten times the television audeince we did and you flood our market with great shows, cheaper than we could produce. I know you'd never do that.

I'm sorry we beat you in Olympic hockey. In our defence I guess our excuse would be that our team was much, much, much, much better than yours. As word of apology, please accept all of our NHL teams which, one by one, are going out of business and moving to your fine country.

I'm sorry about our waffling on Iraq. I mean, when you're going up against a crazed dictator, you want to have your friends by your side. I realize it took more than two years before you guys pitched in against Hitler, but that was different. Everyone knew he had weapons.

I'm sorry we burnt down your White House during the War of 1812. I see you've rebuilt it! It's very nice.

I'm sorry for Alan Thicke, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Loverboy, that song from Seriff that ends with a really high-pitched long note. Your beer. I know we had nothing to do with your beer, but we feel your pain.

And finally on behalf of all Canadians, I'm sorry that we're constantly apologizing for things in a passive-aggressive way which is really a thinly veiled criticism. I sincerely hope that you're not upset over this. Because we've seen what you do to countries you get upset with





OKee Doke!





Up in heaven God was talking to an angel about this beautiful country he was creating. He described this place to the angel."It will have lakes, tall mountains, as well as big trees covering the land. The air will be crisp and fresh , the water will always be clean, and the people will be the most friendly you will ever meet."

"I will call it Canada and the people living inside; Canadians.""But God." the angel questioned, "don't you think you are being too nice to these Canadians?""Nope!" replied God, "Just wait 'till you see their neighbors!"





All right. Let's all go out and celebrate Canada Day. They are our neighbors, they drink beer, they like doughnuts........ and they sure know how to do creative things with there flag....



Love da North, eh!!



The difference between a New Yorker seeing his CAR being vandalized & a Canadian seeing HIS car being vandalized is:

The New Yorker will yell "EH!!!! Wot you think yur DOING??"

The Canadian will yell "Wot you think yur doing EH!!???"