I hate people with a dry sense of humor

Some people once accused me of being a plagiarist.

Their words, not mine.

That old ennui

It might be because I am busy that I haven’t posted. It could be other stuff. Mostly, it is lack of motivation. 

Sorry about that.

Perhaps some music will soothe you.

How can you not dig that?

A pretty good Sunday

My daughter invited us over for dinner last night. It was meatloaf, not my favorite way of using hamburger, and it was in the middle of the Colts game. On the other hand we had no plans yet for supper and it was a free meal, so why not? 

We arrived at the appointed time and my daughter said the grandgirls had something they wanted to show us in the basement. So we went downstairs and there sat my oldest son, he had flown in from Colorado as a big surprise. We had no idea he was coming. We haven’t seen him for more than two years. It was a great and glorious surprise. 

He can’t stay the whole week, but any time is good. 

Life doesn’t always throw you curveballs, occasionally it gives you a big fat home run.

Yesterday I raked all of the leaves, today the lawn is covered

It is Sunday morning. It is also time change day.

Redacted long rant filled with curse words and hateful invective hurled upon the slimy politicians who refuse to rid us of this perfidious bi-annual nuisance.

We went to see a movie last night. I will not mention the title because it was without doubt one of the worst movies I have ever seen. How anyone Okayed the script is beyond my understanding. How anyone agreed to cough up money to produce that piece of garbage defies fiscal responsibility and logic. I don’t care who agreed to direct and star in that waste of digital celluloid, it is awful and a waste of my ticket money and it is time I’ll never get back. The popcorn was good. There, I had something nice to say about the experience, are you happy, Mom? Frankly, I was ready to leave by about six minutes in.

That says a lot. If I have anything I enjoy, it is watching movies. It is one thing my wife and I have in common. Our earliest dates, and most common ones when we were teens, were at the cinema. There is no doubt my favorite hobbies are watching movies and reading books, probably in that order. Yes, Dr. Freud, I believe escapism is the term you are searching for. I love watching a movie at the theater and I enjoy watching them on TV. Every weekend I watch at least a couple of movies on TV. I like almost any genre, but my interest skews to comedy, romcom, westerns, war, and action. I dig an old MGM musical. I am not much for sci-fi, and never horror. I do not like scary movies at all.

I guess, since you all know I ever search for the bright side of any situation, time change is a good thing today. It gives me an extra hour to watch a movie. Maybe I will see if I can find an old Esther Williams flick. She was my first crush, and all of that water will help wash that garbage last night from my mind.

Just Enough

 I’m in a great mood. It is not that. I really don’t have anything to say to you today.

I kinda, sorta, made the minimum effort though.

Forget The Holidays

Yeah, yeah, there is Thanksgiving. Then there is Christmas. Maybe you look forward to the New Year. The heck with all of that. Here is what has me excited almost beyond words:

I’ll be there. Even if the wife says “pass”, I’ll go by myself. 

Five pounds of crap in a one pound bag

I had weird dreams last night. I suppose it was the pot of chili I made for dinner. No, I won’t bore you with the details. There was no nekid involved, so why would anyone care? 

It is cold again this morning. Fall is here. I have beaucoup leaves to rake. And so right on cue, the wife wants more and different yard work done. I have two admittedly overgrown lilac bushes beside the patio. It wasn’t a problem until we rearranged the family room. I installed new blinds on the windows to replace the old shades. Now she can see those lilacs and wants them cut down. And the leaves are unsightly. 

Yes, I get it. “That rake fits your hand,” I said. 

To myself. 

The problem is I live in the burbs. If it doesn’t fit into those two trash bins it doesn’t get picked up unless I pay for a disposable dumpster or hire it hauled away. Those two lilacs are probably eight feet tall. I don’t care how small I cut up the branches I won’t get even one of the bushes in a bin.  Oh, and don’t forget the bags of leaves have to go somewhere. And we do create trash and garbage inside the house too. Mumble, mumble, no point in griping further. It is supposed to be a little warmer this weekend, so it is outside work I’ll do. I’m sure “we” will discuss the big pile of cut-down lilac bush piled out by the big willow around this time next week. 

This seems appropriate.

Onward to Thanksgiving!

 

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many self-portraits and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. 

She is my granddaughter’s favorite artist. 

Remember all of this, it will be important later.

Yesterday was cold and blustery. It spat snow all afternoon and evening. We had about 25 trick or treaters at the house: In the ten years we’ve lived here. Total. We had zero visits last night. At this point I doubt we can blame the weather, it is a pattern. That did not stop the wife from buying two bags of candy, however. She is the eternal optimist. Her response? “Oh well, at least it is the kinds we like.” Now I have to fight temptation every time I walk through the kitchen. I reminded her I’m diabetic. She smiled at me sweetly. 

Secretly, I think she wants to kill me. Not really. Maybe. 

The grandgirls were excited about a Halloween. They put on extra layers under their costumes. The youngest was a Frozen Princess — the one in blue, I can’t remember which is which, Anna or Elsa.

a little good news

If you haven’t bought my book yet, and I’m not sure why you haven’t, here is some good news. The E-book version will be offered at a reduced price this week. There is a link over there on the right that takes you direct to Amazon and the book.

If you did buy it, please throw up a review, even if it is a bad one. 

And if you have bought the book, either in paperback or electronic, thanks. I appreciate it.

And I hear it is Halloween. Here is the all-time classic:

Bitchin’

Okay, let’s cover all the complaint-worthy stuff quickly. It is cold, wet, Monday, and I have a follow-up at the eye surgeon this morning which means I will work through my lunch to make up lost time. Deep breath. And the Colts lost again. I swear the team has not had decent defense since sometime in the late 1700s. If they are going to play slow, short guys who cannot defend, they might as well let me suit up for the league minimum. Better yet, pull some random ticket holder from the stands. What better way to boost season ticket sales?

I’m not a Halloween fan. I hate scary movies. I will play you a scary Halloween-like song:

Maybe two:

Perseverance

My wife says I’m stubborn. Maybe it’s true, I’m not going to admit it in any case. 

My flowers are stubborn too. Witness this day lily. 

It might be almost November. We might have dipped below freezing. The plants might be covered in weeds and detritus. Yellow flower just doesn’t care. 

 

Pink Skies

This is my view to the west as I grilled a couple of nice ribeyes Thursday evening.

It was 75F. 

Fall will return this weekend. It was sure nice this week, though.

No words can soothe him

It is a Friday at last. I have, believe it or not, worked hard this week. And still I found time to write a few posts with actual content. That my friends, is something that hasn’t happened much around here lately. We both know it to be true.

Guess what, today ain’t gonna be one of those good content days. I’m offering fair warning, YouTube music will be involved. It will be that kind of Friday. 

The weather has been warm and nice all week and I’ve experienced it vicariously through the window next to my desk. It is my hope I can sneak out to the patio this afternoon and enjoy a short cigar before fall weather returns tomorrow. We shall see. I know emails were dropping fast and furious over night and last evening, so it depends on what level of unpleasantness I have to deal with when I fire up the computer this morning. How do I know work called all night? My phone sounds an alert with every email, WeChat, and Teams message — very handy and very annoying.

According to the neighborhood decorations and grandgirl’s excitement, Halloween is nearly here. How about some music to fit the season? Besides, it is an awesome tune.

just more climate change we are all gonna die BS

Do you see anything wrong in This article?  

...has brought water levels to unprecedented lows*

To  summarize, river levels are down. Ancient carvings are visible. If the water has never been this low — unprecedented — then how were the carvings done? 

You have to start being a little skeptical about the climate change hyperbole. 

* emphasis mine

Inconvenient Facts

Can we get a few things straight? 

Israel is not “colonizers”. There have been Jews living there for thousands of years. If you want sources beyond the Bible or Koran, the Roman historians Josephus and Livy describe it as such. If you refer to Israel as colonizers you are a moron. 

There is no apartheid in Israel. There are no required separate laws, buses, drinking fountains, hotels, schools, or restaurants for non-Jews. There are non-Jewish residents. They live, work, and vote as citizens of Israel. Gaza has been recognized as an independent territory. It elects it’s own governing body. In this case the residents of Gaza chose Hamas. Yes, they have separate ID and license plates. Indiana has separate ID and license plates from Ohio. Canada is different than the US. That doesn’t mean there is apartheid.

But there are checkpoints! Yes, we have them at the border (supposedly) also. Oh, and why you are in hysterics that Israel has a border checkpoint with the Gaza terrorists, you might note that Egypt has a border checkpoint with Gaza too. 

Why not drop the pretense and admit you hate Israel and stop with the petty excuses? The Jews are not the ones with a charter demanding the elimination of a people, that would be Hamas. Hamas continues to send rockets randomly into Israel targeting civilians, yet we are worried only about the collateral damage in Gaza. I suspect if terrorists were  dropping explosive rockets on your city and town you would have no issue retaliating. 

If you are part of the blame Israel crowd, you are no more than anti-Semitic nazis. 

As always there is rebuttal space in the comment section. More importantly, if I really offend you, there is no need for you to visit. I will be okay without bigots in my life.

Baaa

 Here we find ourselves on a beautiful fall Tuesday that feels incredibly like a Thursday. Alas, the weekend is far over the horizon in this work week. 

Yesterday was warm and clear, so I threw some burgers on the grill, made up some homemade macaroni salad and baked beans for dinner. It was a nice supper. We are expecting continued warm weather today, so I might grill some chicken or steak. I have to check the freezer. 

I am floored by the support for terrorists and proponents of ethnic cleansing in this country. Hamas has stated in no uncertain terms their goal is to eliminate Israel. BLM, the SPLC, academic groups — shame on you. And it is a unfulfilled wish that the Jews in this country will finally see the harm voting Democrat and Liberal has done to Israel and their religion. Too many of God’s Chosen really are sheep. I know, it will not happen.

mom

In writing my semi-crappy novel I wish I’d changed a few things before publishing. There are a couple of typos. I need more contractions. Cappy says so. I do too. 

I should have thanked my mom. She shared her love of reading with me. She encouraged me to read. She didn’t complain much when I spent nearly every waking moment until I left for college with my nose stuck in a book. 

Did she know I read whatever she was reading after she went to bed at night, even if it was not appropriate for a ten or twelve year old? Likely. She occasionally give me a couple of dollars she could ill-afford to buy a paperback from the rack at Hook’s drugs. She bought me books for Christmas or my birthday. She bought cheap bookshelves to store all of my books in my increasingly crowded bedroom. In short, I owe my mother a debt of gratitude. 

Mom died five years ago today. I read the post I wrote after she died. It didn’t do her justice. It made her seem a cold hard woman. My mother was a perfectionist. She expected it of others. Mostly, she expected it of herself, including being a mom. She came pretty close. I mean that in the best way possible. 

If I ever write another novel, a doubtful proposition, I will thank my mother. 

I miss you mom.

I know I keep you amused, but I feel I'm being used

Saturday is here. Unfortunately it will not be a day of lazing around, of relaxation, of indolence. It appears we are off to visit relatives this afternoon and then later to our friends for dinner and euchre. Don’t get me wrong, it will be fun. It means any work I might have done now gets shoved into Sunday. I know the wife will drag out the picture frames and assorted honey do projects just when I think it is essential to watch a little football. Complain, complain. So what? I’m good at it. 

Deleted long whining rant

Oh well, it is a beautiful fall Saturday. We are going to spend it with loved ones and with great friends. Life is good. 

Have a great weekend. 

You know what we need? Some music.

Dear Joe Biden

Why in the world should we give money to Gaza? The elected government there (by overwhelming majority) is Hamas. Of course they will use the money to attack Israel. The stated goal of f Hamas is to eliminate the Jewish state. 

In your rambling, almost incoherent speech last night you tried to make some tenuous moral equivalence on why we should keep pouring money into Ukraine. If your logic holds true, shouldn’t we then give money to Russia for the cities hit by Ukrainian drone attacks? 

Hamas started this war, we are told they are a legitimate government. Let them take care of their people. Let the f-ing UN take care of those people. It is not up to Israel, nor the US, to provide the necessities to the people of Gaza. Let Hamas care for their loved ones. 

Maybe, just maybe, if things get bad enough, the people of Gaza will turn out the terrorists running the place and try make peace. For eighty years they have wanted to fight Israel and every time the Palestinians are met with defeat. I think Arabs need a harsh refresher course. Throughout history the people rise up when their government becomes intolerable. For the Palestinians they have a real opportunity to see what terrorism reaps. 

This is what a weak President gets us in the world. 

Before you slip into unconsciousness

I’ve had Chrystal Ship by The Doors stuck in my head for several days now. There could be worse songs, Afternoon Delight for instance. What is playing on a constant loop in my brain pan isn’t the whole song, just a bit of the last stanzas and music that comes near the end. I don’t know. I no psychologist. I barely got a C the one semester of the subject I took in college. 

I’m sipping coffee before getting ready to head back to the massive trade show here in Louisville for another day of walking the show looking for leads. I saw lots of potential yesterday. Of course my widgets were already there, built into several manufacturers who had equipment on display. If you have black and yellow tools, or red tools, or orange tools, then my company is helping make them work. Especially the black and yellow ones and the brand that was once owned by Sears. You should buy the black and yellow tools at every opportunity. I’m just saying. Help me keep food on the table. I cannot go back to routine meals of pancakes or Spam several times a week. 

Enjoy your Thursday. 

No, I’m not going to post the Doors tune. I don’t have to put up music every day.