Trump In Wisconsin, with Vest

Love me some Trump! I was innocently watching TV this evening when I was astounded to see that Trump had shown up in Wisconsin in a GARBAGE TRUCK and with that fluorescent vest on... I had to immediately go to C-SPAN to see the whole thing. I'm sorry, he's hilarious---and great. GO, TRUMP!

Elon Musk full speech at Trump rally in Madison Square Garden (10/27)

Thank you, Musk, for buying Twitter after the 2020 censorship by that company.
I appreciate your help in keeping the First Amendment alive.

IN FULL: Tucker Carlson remarks at Trump MSG rally

"He has liberated us. The liberation from the obligation to tell lies."

New York Post: "You bettah thank a union membah!" Kamala's fake accent across the country.

"Joy cometh in the morning": Kamala speaks "black" at Philly church 10/27

Reminder: Her mother is Indian, her father is Jamaican Communist/Atheist.
She grew up in Oakland/Berkeley and in Canada.
She's about as "black" and "black church" as Barack Obama 

(raised in Hawaii by his white grandparents after his white mom dumped him off

 to go live with a Malaysian guy).

Michelle Obama Speech on Cramps and Menopause

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14006861/Michelle-Obama-fights-tears-discusses-debilitating-health-journey.html#v-2119132447088069859

RE: "Too many of us suffer from severe cramps and nausea days on end, every single month. Too many women my age have no idea what's going on with our bodies as we battle through menopause and debilitating hot flashes and depression."

Dear Michelle: You just set women's rights back over 200 years. According to you, during our childbearing years, we're too beset by cramps and nausea day-after-day to function. And then, after menopause, we're too beset by "debilitating hot flashes and depression" to function.

In short, according to you (and your real-life example), we should drop out of society because of our biological functions. Or, rather, the rest of society should be forced to "deal with" us women because we're so darn crazy during all of our cycles? YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

Poppi Soda Sucks

Someone who moved out of my apartment complex left a cooler of Poppi soda for free out by the dumpster. I took one of each flavor. So far, I've tried one Grape and one Cherry Limeade. They're both NASTY! Ugh. Whatever it is that makes them "pre-biotic" is just as disgusting as the glucose in "sugar-free" sodas.

Kids at Shops (and their dads)

I went to a nearby sandwich shop today, where the usually male sandwich-makers are super-friendly. This particular young man asked me how my day had been going, and I mentioned that I'd been working from home... He then shared with me that his dad also works from home... At this point, I thought, "OK." Until he told me that his dad was a school soccer coach! Wait, WHAAAAT? :)

As it turns out, a school soccer coach CAN now actually work from home, up until it's time to practice, around 4pm. And then he's on the field from around 4 thru 9pm. So it's OK! (Phew: Just as long as that coach isn't giving his kids drills online!)

Potency of Pot: 30 years ago vs. today

The last time I remember really smoking pot was in '86 or '87 when I was in my 20s. At some party, I smoked not that much (or what I thought was not that much!), and then tried to drive home by myself. The party house wasn't even that far from my apartment, maybe a couple of miles. But it took EVERY SINGLE OUNCE of concentration to get home. And once I arrived in the parking lot... It took even more concentration to get from my car, up the stairs, and through my doorway. I remember actually CRAWLING into my apartment once I'd managed to unlock the door. (This weird amount of pure concentration/will remains interesting to me---I seriously was not able to actually drive or see the road or even figure out how to get up the stairs and into my apartment through normal channels. I remember, to this day, the pure FOCUS that was required for me to make it home.)

(I did smoke a few more times after that thru the '90s, but only very rarely, and just a puff or two whenever someone might have passed it around. The paranoia and the memory of that '80s literal trip home almost completely put me off of it.)

Today I heard from some federal agency on a cable news show that the potency of today's pot supply is about 30% compared to the 5% potency of the supply 30 years ago. (!!!) If what I smoked over 30 years ago at 5% made it nearly impossible to drive or to navigate stairs or my own doorway, then what in the hell are people trying to function with today at 30%---and legally!

The Beatles: And Your Bird Can Sing (1966; First Version / Take 2)

The Beatles: I'm Looking Through You (1965)

Did she work there or didn't she?

Harris's claims to have worked at McDonald's---and this major company's odd claim that they don't keep records from back in the 1980s---makes me think: How would I prove that I worked at my very first job when I was 16, if the company claimed they didn't have records? 

In my case, my first job was at the Azle, Texas, Revco drug store. (Now out of business, Revco was sold to CVS in 1997. I can see how Revco might not have any records since they don't exist any more. But McDonald's?)

OK, so say my work records don't exist. How do I prove that I once worked there? My own memories over 6 months from late '81 to early '82:
A pharmacist with a mustache named Richard. (Often highly agitated.)
A mild-mannered pharmacist husband/wife duo named [can't remember] + Kathy. (Why in the world did they hire 2 people to do one pharmacist's job?) There was also a "stealing scandal" during their time! Not THEM, but us workers who were ringing up each other's free candy bars during our breaks!
A black pharmacist named Dewey who was EXTREMELY slow. (I'd never seen lines in the Revco before, but this guy simply could not fill prescriptions in a timely fashion.)
A "side-hand" named Tim. I can't remember what exactly he did. But he turned me down when I asked for a 15-cent an hour raise. I then quit and went on to work at the Azle K-Mart until I graduated from high school in the Summer of 1983.
My Ford Pinto catching on fire when parked in the parking lot in front of the store!

The co-workers that I remember from the Revco:
Lisa Richardson and Kathy Pullig: Best friends, both pretty and mildly cool (in a Lee Remick sort-of-way, although I admired Richardson's chutzpah in once tweaking a football player's nipples!). They made fun of me three times that I can remember:
(1) For carrying a big black lunch-box with my dinner into work (I was then called "Lunch-Box Joe").
(2) For once disappearing into the work restroom for a lengthy time and emerging very pale... (OK, OK, I'd had diarrhea! Can't remember what name I got after this, but they both giggled about it.)
(3) For admitting that I liked to play PacMan at the 7-11 next door after I got off work. More giggles: "Do you have 'Pacman Fever'"? (Both of these cool chicks had boyfriends, so, yes, my being into PacMan was humorous!)
And another co-worker: My old 6th-grade friend Tammy Bailey, who worked at the Revco only briefly and had at least two major public melt-downs because of her football-player boyfriend Patrick Caddell. (I remember him as always pretty nice and relaxed. I remember her from the 6th grade as always pretty phony.) They later married and divorced. Tammy years later in the '90s came out to my mother's house to see about some white-and-gold bedroom furniture---my old childhood furniture!---for sale. She didn't buy it.)

So there you go: If I had to prove that I once worked at the Azle Revco from late '81 to early '82, then I'm sure that at least one of these people from Azle would remember me at this place during this time. The fact that no one remembers Harris ever working at McDonald's is telling. It's not just a matter of "company records."

The only Presidential candidate who has worked at McDonald's.

Kamala Harris (daughter of two professors), in an attempt to appear "working class,"
claimed falsely that she once worked at McDonald's.

Below: October 20, 2024: Trump working at a McDonald's.
So there's one Presidential candidate who has actually once worked at McDonald's.

(One thing that I've always liked about Trump is his sense of the Absurd.
Check out any of his wrestling videos on YouTube for examples.)

40 Acres and a Mule

40 Acres and a Mule post-Civil War.

20K and a legal bag of weed offered by Harris. 

What's the difference?

SNL Family Feud Election 2024 Cold Open

Can it be possible? Both "Daily Show" and "SNL" have been funny recently??
Are we on our way back to normal/non-PC/non-Cancel?

Drake: 2015 SNL Hotline Bling Parody (incl Donald Trump)

Friday I'm In Love (The Cure 1992)

Woke up to this on my radio alarm today. 

Made me feel so happy and alive in 1992, 

and made me feel so happy and alive to hear it today.



I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...

I don't care if Monday's black
Tuesday, Wednesday heart attack
Thursday never looking back
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can hold your head
Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday watch the walls instead
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...

Dressed up to the eyes
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise
Throwing out your frown
And just smiling at the sound
And as sleek as a shriek
Spinning round and round
Always take a big bite
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you eat in the middle of the night
You can never get enough
Enough of this stuff
It's Friday
I'm in love

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

The Daily Show: "Holistic Thought Advisor" for Kamala Harris

Trump: We're Led By Stupid People

Love him or hate him, everything he's said has been absolutely correct.
(Remember when he once said: "They're not sending us their best." He was not wrong.)

Phrases I Don't Want to Hear Any More

"Awesome!" used to be an extreme peeve of mine a few years ago, but it seems to have died down somewhat today, thankfully.

Still present: "Perfect." (Regardless of what someone actually says. "Perfect" is now apparently used as a generic acknowledgment of any statement, regardless of how obviously stupid or IMperfect.)

"Happy...Monday, everyone!" As a greeting upon the beginning of group meetings. The three dots are there because almost every time the leader of the group pauses after "Happy," pretending like he/she doesn't remember what day it actually is. (Before you get on Group Chat, figure out what day it is!) Nationally, Greg Gutfeld also usually begins his show with "Happy [whatever day]." HATE IT, with or without the pause.

"True that." I just heard someone over 40 say this yesterday. Stop it. It was a mildly amusing black thing ("true dat") back in the '90s, but it's no longer cute today by anyone of any age or any color.

Angel: The Winter Song (1978)

In junior high, I had a cool friend who read "Creem" magazine (I still remember how witty/snarky their captions were) and was up-to-date on all of the latest rock bands. (We were in the Fort Worth area, and so didn't yet know about punk.) She introduced me to Angel's "White Hot" album, which I must have listened to a thousand times when I was 13. I still know all of these songs by heart.

Hennessy, Mon Amour

A couple of nights ago, I was sick as hell, not even able to sit up.
I usually just go to sleep on my couch in front of the TV, but this time, I felt so awful, I actually (after throwing up in my bathroom) crawled to sleep in my real bed. (Which is a very nice bed, with nice mattresses, and there's a TV in there, too---don't know what psychological problem is keeping me from actually "going to bed" at the end of each night!)

I woke up a couple of times during the sick-night/morning. And who was right there, parked on the night-table right next to me? My mama-cat Hennessy! I was sleeping in an unusual place, but she was right there next to me! Not somewhere on the big bed, in a comfortable position, but in an awkward cramped position on the night-table right next to my head...

My beautiful Hennessy! I first met her in July of 2018, when I started putting food out for strays in my apartment complex. The 5 or 6 other cats would come and go, but every time I came home from work, Hennessy was always there sitting on my fence and meowing "hello" to me every day. I'd thought she was a boy cat, and named that cat "Hennessy" because "he" acted like a drunk little boy every time I came home---jumping up on my leg, etc. 

Turned out she was a girl who ended up having kittens in my next-door-neighbor's yard in April 2019 and then dragged them all into MY yard in increments... And I now have all three of these kittens in my home: Pete, Sasha Susie, Mini---plus another stray, Cinco Beasley, who joined up in December 2019, after hanging around looking pathetic, and with Mama Hennessy's marking on her nose!

John Lennon: Just Like Starting Over (1980)

Happy Birthday, John Lennon (October 9).

It's Only Love (Beatles/Lennon, 1965)

Happy Birthday, John Lennon (October 9).

Plea to Sylvia Plath and her Mythologies

Please, can a sky be only a sky
(On this bright blue October day, perhaps)

Without threatening to fall
Without anyone falling from it
And no one blamed for not noticing...

Ernest Tubb: Drivin' Nails in My Coffin

Plath: "Chapters in a Mythology"

I'm about halfway through Kroll's "Chapters in a Mythology" on Plath---and it's getting pretty repetitive: Moon = controlling mythological image; Red flowers = succubus. ETC.

At this point, it's getting kind of boring, the same old "mythology." And I think that with "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus," Plath herself might have been getting a bit bored with it, too---thus her slangy casting-off of her former proper poetic diction in the last months of her life (although the same mythological safety-nets remain).

I don't dislike Plath's husband Ted Hughes. I just think he was rather a non-original thinker. He thought BACKWARD, and repeated versions of myths, instead of receiving new thoughts. Plath bought into his stagnant thought-processes for a very long time, until she broke out in the 6 months before her suicide with some wildly absurdist text, as in "Daddy."

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: I Second That Emotion ('67)

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Tracks Of My Tears (1965)

Tim Walz aka "Knucklehead"

What's mildly hilarious is that Walz had obviously been coached to answer the question:
Why did you travel to China 12 times? What is your connection to China?
He wasn't prepared to answer a simple question about why he lied about being in Tiananmen Square in 1989 when he was only, in fact, in Hong Kong months later. (Other personal things he lied about: Being a Coach, when he was only an Asst. Coach; bearing arms in war, when he only was in the Natl Guard and never saw combat.)

Graves/Riding: What in the hell did I just read?!

I'm currently reading "Chapters in a Mythology," Judith Kroll's early (1976) critical study of Plath's work, which reveals an underlying mythology of Plath's symbolism throughout her later work and posits that all later individual poems were part of one greater piece. I agree.

Kroll also points out that "The White Goddess" (1948) by Robert Graves was a big influence on first Ted Hughes and then Sylvia Plath. I knew this from past reading, but one thing I didn't know until I just now looked it up on Wikipedia: Graves had a wildly tempestuous (read: sick) on/off relationship with the poet Laura Riding from about 1925 thru 1939, all the while he was going on about the "Muse" and the "Goddess" as some sort of "spiritual" entities. He was also a bisexual---meaning that he obviously didn't take the idea of a female Muse all that seriously. (Ha! I don't think that the uber-male Hughes knew about Graves' proclivities; nor did Plath, who also relished purely female norms, both in mythology and in the "women's magazines" of her time):

Here's the bit from Wikipedia:
She [Riding], Robert Graves and Nancy Nicholson lived in London until Riding's suicide attempt in 1929. It is generally agreed that this episode was a major cause of the break-up of Graves's first marriage: the whole affair caused a famous literary scandal.

When Riding met the Irish poet, Geoffrey Phibbs, in 1929, she invited him to join the household that already contained herself, Graves, and Graves's wife, Nancy. Phibbs agreed, but after a few months changed his mind and returned to his wife, referring to Riding as "a virago" in a letter to his friend Thomas MacGreevy.^[3] When they failed to effect a reconciliation, he rejoined the household but rejected Laura and moved in with Nancy.^[4] This was one of the catalysts for the incident of 27 April 1929, when Riding jumped from a fourth-floor window (or, according to Timothy Sandefur, 2019, “a second-storey window”) at the lodgings she shared with Graves, at the height of an argument involving Graves, Phibbs and Nancy Graves;^[5] having failed to stop her, Graves also jumped (from a lower floor), but was unharmed, whilst Riding sustained life-threatening injuries.^[6]

What a bunch of clowns! (I can literally hear "clown music" in my head while picturing the above menage changes and various jumping-out-of-windows, etc.)  And THIS man, the weak and decadent Robert Graves, was considered to be your Messenger of The Sublime?! A too-late wake-up call to these two victims of pseudo-mythology and pseudo-seers, Hughes and Plath: You were more a product of your current time than you were of any thousands-of-years bloodlines. You were both fools.

Donald Trump Monologue: SNL (2015): Larry David: "Trump's a Racist!"

The Larry David moment is hilarious.
For the past 8 or 9 years, we've all been living in a Communist
anti-humor sinkhole: 

We must all think only "correct" thoughts or be damned/banned/censored/cancelled.
ENOUGH of the Communist-speak BS.