THE STORYTELLERS.

   I enjoy audio books! My first exposure to the spoken
narrative was listening to Jean Shepherd on the radio
back in the early 60's.  This went beyond such radio
theatre productions of "The Shadow", or "The Lone
Ranger".  There were numerous shows of this type
broadcast over the radio back then. 
   If you are not familiar with Jean Shepherd, he is the
author of "The Christmas Story".  You know, the one about
the Red Ryder BB gun.  The original title of this story was
"In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash".  It has become
what is known  as a Christmas classic.
  His late night radio show was as diffused with humor as
this movie is.  His was not an "over the top" brand of 
humor.  Essays on life, would seem to be a more appropriate
description.
   The truly great thing about books, and audio books, is that 
they put your brain to work.  You have to create your own 
visuals to go with the story.  Certain authors are better at
creating these little visuals for your mind than others.
It's always in the details.  The narrator of the audio book
can also use the voice to exude a certain nuance that
we may or may not pick up in the written word.  An effective
oratory doesn't necessarily need video to make it's
point.
   We've all seen numerous attempts to convert a peice of
literature into an hour and a half movie. And, more often
than not, you have to wonder if they even read the book
before they attempted to do it.  Adding big name stars
won't help, either. 
   It's the Labor Day weekend!   The kids are back in school,
and life switches gears.  Twinkle has been asking for one 
of those foam fingers like Miley Cyrus has.  She also
wants me to enroll her in the local "POLE DANCING
ACADEMY", so she can get all the right moves together.
When I told her no she accused me of thwarting her
development as a future contestant on Dancing With
The Stars.  I have only seen a couple of stills that pop up
on my home page, but that was truly more than I wished to
see.  I believe her days of being a role model with
young girls is over.  She's managed to thumb her nose
at the world.  We've always suspected that it was hype and
manipulation, and this pretty much confirms it.  Where does
she go from here?  I know, she'll become a reality star or
go on tour with Janet Jackson { another one of those "I'm
misunderstood" souls.}.
   Went off on a bit of a tangent, but that comes with
the turf.   Later.

For what it's worth........

   We spent Sunday morning watching the last two episodes
of   "Boardwalk Empire".  This was the third season. And
then we watched some of the special features on the last
disc. We are not big fans of the audio commentary on specific
episodes.  If you just watched the episode why would you
need someone to explain it to you.  No, the extra features 
on this one were with the directors and writers.  Even
Martin Scorsese had some pretty interesting viewpoints.
They spoke of story boarding, lighting, and setting up 
the shots and sequences of various scenes.  For some 
people this may seem like rather geeky stuff, but it's that
attention to detail that really make some of these shows
pop.
   For those unfamiliar with the show, it's time frame begins
with the enactment of the Volstead Act in 1919.  Prohibition.
This was a very volatile period of time in American history.
The gangster was born.   The wild west was back in play.
Anything goes, so to speak.  The effects of this era are very
much still with us.
  Many of the shows characters are drawn right out of the 
historical documents of that era.  These people did
their research.  We have the first three seasons on DVD,
and we have a tendency to devour this sort of thing.
I couldn't imagine waiting a week anther for the next 
episode.  Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that this is an
HBO production.  We have never been cable subscribers.
For each show that we would enjoy, there are at least 
ten that we would not.  Not a good investment.
   We do have quite a number of DVDs/ movies that 
encompass events of the mid 1800's to the mid
1900's , on a worldwide scale. It is a rather
fascinating time period.  Innovation meets violence.
A rather frightening combo.
   The natives are up and the trash man has come and gone.
Omar has done his duty.
Later!   I shall edit when I get back.

Yes, but is it newsworthy?

I wake up each morning, somewhere between 4;30 and
and 6.  I am an early riser.  Too many years in construction, 
I guess.  So, as to not wake the rest of the family, I usually
find myself out here, reading, and waiting for the coffee to
finish brewing.  You sit at the computer while it boots up,
and then wait for the home page to load.  In between the
pop-ups and the adverts your mind begins to wander.
OK, you say to yourself, what's the news of the day?  There's
a voice inside of you that tells you that this is not the
place that you  should be using to get the news.  It's like
wading through treacle.
  Since we do not have terrestial TV, I have no idea who 
the Karshadians are, and quite frankly, I don't care to.
Obviously somebody must read this shit.  Most of these 
little stories appear to be put out by the "spin doctors"
that have become so prevalent in our society.   The
presumption being, I guess, is that if they shove enough 
titillation at you, as a sort of bait, that you will 
grasp the hook and become one of the enthralled 
masses that just sits on the edge of their seat waiting 
for some breaking event.
    Of course you can always move to the next story {?},
and get a bit more spin.
   Shit, I really do miss that bygone era of the newspaper
just giving you the news, without the added video and 
the obligatory links that the web seems to love so well.
Maybe I was spoiled, but I used to love waking up 
on a Sunday morning and driving down to pick up 
the Sunday paper.  I had choices:  The New York Times,
Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Philadelphia 
Inquirer, and even the Pittsburgh Gazette.  Sometimes I 
would buy several of them. The comics all got tossed,
right off the bat.  Some of the stories were in regards 
to certain events, but each paper had different journalists 
that provided you with slightly differing viewpoints.
The other advantage, of course, is you did not have to put
up with objects moving across your screen, or some
nut job wanting you to take a survey.  You're really
just fodder for some ad.  The newspaper never tracked you,
either.
    The amount of tripe on the web that is supposed to
pass for journalism is astounding.   Scarier still is the 
fact that a high percentage of our citizens depend on 
this particular medium for their primary source of 
news and information.
   Thank goodness for books.  They prod your
imagination like nothing else.
   It must be really tough being a teacher in these times.
How can you instill imagination and a quest for
knowledge in an environment that doesn't particularly
encourage it?
  I guess my problem is that I never viewed the news
events of the day as entertainment.  Sorry, my
mistake.

SOMETIMES THESE THINGS JUST SLIP BY!

   Somehow the posting that I wrote on Tuesday never
got published, but instead is still lingering around in the
draft file.  Whoops!  Mr. Squiggee got a bit distracted and
neglected to hit publish before heading off to see what
the dogs were up to.  We do tend to forget how disruptive
a house can get with the addition of a new puppy.  A sudden
silence in the midst of all the ruckus tends to  make you just
a bit nervous.  The little buggers get into everything, so you
are constantly on vigil.  Poochus interruptus!  And they have 
the attention span of a fruit fly.  FYI- Going out to buy any
sort of pet toy, is an effort in futility.  They would much 
rather play with whatever they can steal or pickup 
scrounging around on the floor.  Twinkle has discovered that 
she likes to crunch those thin walled plastic water bottles.
She runs through the house like she's just found the 
"Hope Diamond"., and trying to get it away from her is 
like trying to capture a greased piglet.  Omar did this when he
was a puppy, too.  His specialty, these days, is to remove
the little plastic caps from the tops of the same water bottle.
Once the top is off, he's done his deed and he passes the
torch to Twinkle.  "Your turn, sis!  Do your damage!"
     Our trip to the vet went very well.  She has been
with us for one month and has gained 3 pounds.  I would
venture to say that she's probably 4 to 5 inches longer, as 
well.  A growth spurt, you might say. They expel a lot
of energy, so any movement towards the kitchen 
always manages to  catch their attention.  We cooked
some pork chops in the crock pot  yesterday and
they both paced and fretted until the cooking was
complete.  Back and forth, back and forth.  Then
they would come over and give you a poke to
remind you that they were waiting. "Try not to
get any food on the walls, guys"!  I do believe
they enjoyed their dinner.
   Ah, I can hear the natives stirring.  Just thougt I
had better post something.  Hugs and kisses
to our pal Saundra, down in Texas.
More in a while!  A man with a mission.!

TELEPHONE TAG DAY

   Much of yesterday was spent doing various errands and
chatting on the phone.  Ran out of red ink for the printer, and
since we have had several new requests for Squiggee Designs
catalogs, Mr. Squiggee found himself heading out to get more
paper and pick up some ink.
    Spoke with Diana up at " DESIGNERS DESK" in Geneva, Ill,
that our model show had arrived.  She loves to tease and one
can readily see why the shop  is a popular spot.  Enthusiasm
is generally contagious,  and if you happen to make it down to
the shop in the nest month, you'll find numerous Squiggee models
to fondle and enjoy.  All sorts of goodies, and stitched by a
variety of people that just like to stitch.
   Heard from friends down in Texas, and spoke with a new shop 
up in St. Louis.  Omar and Twinkle had a banner eating day, 
yesterday. They had some ham for breakfast, a small bit of 
chicken for lunch, and by the time dinner rolled around they 
decided to opt for a small amount of chicken, some rice, and 
a dab of cottage cheese.  Twinkle can now navigate going 
down the back stairs onto the porch.    When she flings
herself off the bed she resembles one of those flying
squirrels.  With her legs outstretched  and a rather 
"helter skelter" look upon her face, you can almost 
her screaming "BONSAI"!, as she hurls herself into the 
air.  Very comical.  She'll be going to the vet on Mon. 
for her second round of puppy shots and it will be 
interesting to see how much she weighs.
   Gail posted some pictures of our new Witchy Woo
on her blog.  There never are any sketches for these
things, so the end result is never really a planned
design.  It just happened to turn out that way.
   The natives are stirring, so I had better put on some 
coffee and swing into action.
  I shall try to make it back a bit later, since I don't 
have any major errand to do today.  
   Might even have time to talk some trash.
How many of you know who Rep. Clay Davis is? 
He is a very quotable dude with a certain panache
for delivering a thought.
   Later

WALK--FINALLY!

    Sorry for the delay.  We had three separate Model Shows to 
send out this week to Needlepoint shops across the country. We
had been running two shows, but as the number of models grew,
so did the requests for the shows.  We always check to insure 
that the little tags that are attached to these models give credit 
to the stitchers and the finisher, so this does take a bit of
time.  All of them get the eyeball check, of course, and if an
embellishment seems a bit loose, that gets taken care of, as
well.  These are on display for a month at each location so that
their customers can pick them up and really scope them out.
Sometimes you just need to hold something in your hands and
feel the different textures, and a photograph just won't do the
trick.
   Twinkle and Omar have been very patient with this process,
but puppies do have rather short attention spans.  So when it seems
a bit too quiet in the house, you just have to go see what
the little devil has gotten into this time.  We have had her for
a month now, and I do believe she is one happy little pooch.
I know that Omar certainly is.
   Anyway, that is what we have been up to.  Simple pleasures,
so to speak.
   The two songs, "Positively 4th Street" and Walk A Mile
In My Shoes", were about five years apart.  The first
was, shall we say, spoke to the rather hypocritical  and 
sanctimonious behavior of mankind.  There was nothing 
subtle about this tune.
   The second song suggested, to the suggestable listener,
that before you go shooting your mouth off about things 
that you have made no attempt to comprehend, stop 
and  try to envision yourself in their shoes.   Though
you will never fully understand how a person feels,
or the trials they are going through in life, a world
without empathy is an ugly world.
   When I first heard this song, back in 1970, I had 
not been out of the service for very long.  The 
country that I left in June of 1966, at the age of 
17, was very different when I returned to her shores
in 1969.  America was not particularly hospitable
to it's returning soldiers back then, and I felt as though
I had been returned to a country that I knew nothing
about.  Confrontation and unrest were in the air.
In addition to the killing in Southeast Asia, my fellow
countrymen seemed to be taking out their discontent
and aggression on each other.
    Hearing" Walk  A Mile" offered a glimmer of hope,
in the midst of all the madness of that period.
   The madness tends to run in cycles in the world.
When it raises it's ugly little head, seemingly rational
thinking people seem to lose the ability view any
other perspective but their own.  No moderation. No
middle ground to work from. Not even the faintest
attempt to recognize that there may be alternative
viewpoint.
    These rather one sided agendas seem to play out 
like some sort of contagious disease in the comments
areas on the Internet.  And people do like to spout
off on the web, especially when they can do so with 
anonymity.  This whole thing just feeds on itself.
    Back in the newspaper days at least there was
an effort to moderate this sort of nastiness.  It gets
redundant very quickly and serves no useful
purpose, other than putting those of the same "ilk",
in familiar company.   Not much room for growth,
either.
    Sorry to ramble on, but you do tend to notice the
overall tendency to blurt out such rigid viewpoints, 
and to pride themselves in this narrow view of
the remainder of the world.
    As Rep. Clay Davis would say " That's some
shameful shit"!
     Ta!

THE SONG/SONGS!!!!!

    Many of us have particular songs that transport us back
to that moment in time that we first heard it.  Hearing or
thinking of this song tends to conjure up all the memories
of where you were, as well as what you were going through
at that time.  The power of music and literature is that it
gives you another perspective to look at.  It challenges you
take another look and consider other possibilities. Other
viewpoints that may not have occured to you.
    I heard the first song when I was 17 years old.   I had
joined the military service right after my junior year
in high school, right after I turned 17. There was a lot
of fighting going on in Vietnam.  Joining the service,
for me, was an act of survival.  My world, at that point in
time, gave me few options.  You have the option of getting
some sort of control of your life, or you can stay where you 
are and continue to be treated with ambivilance.  An 
unhealthy environment for any child.  Of course you 
cannot articulate this, but there is a little voice inside 
of you that tells you that you must make some sort of 
move.  I sure there are many guys that joined the 
service for a lot of the same basic reasons., and not 
for some sense of divine patriotism.  It was a very 
different era.  
   Anyway, after finishing basic training I was sent to
Massachusetts for further training. There I was,
with another group of strangers, and in a strange new
environment.   Basic training had taught you
survival skills and, among other things, it instilled 
in you the notion that you and your fellow soldiers 
watched out for each other.  This, of course, was 
in direct contradiction to the first 17 years of my life.
As a child you refrain from discussing any of this.
With anyone.  It just wasn't done back in those days.
  After about the third week in Mass. we were given 
weekend passes, so three of my fellow soldiers and I
headed for Boston.  They were all older than I was
and we somehow wound up  back at some basement
apartment with, what I assumed to be, college 
students/girls.  The radio was playing and 
that was when I first heard the song.  It was
"Positively 4th Street" by Bob Dylan.   When he sang
of the hypocricy of what people say versus what
they really mean, I knew exactly what he was referring
to.  He had just spoken to the enviroment of the first
17 years of my life.  Hearing those words convinced me that
I had made the right move to distance myself  from that
world.  A big weight was lifted, and it was at that
point that I realized that I would be OK.  I could move on
and not look back.  I can't recall any of the faces or 
the other events of that weekend, but I have carried
the lyrics of that song for forty some years.  It also
gives you a guidepost as to what you do not wish to
become as you move through your life. Touting 
your love of humanity while you treat people with
such disregard and scorn is not a trait that anyone 
should be proud of. 
   I recall that a lot of people did not care for Bob
Dylan.  But, it's the message, not the messenger.
  The next song:  "Walk A Mile In My Shoes",  came
about four or five years later., just after I had 
gotten out of the service.
   I shall get to that in my next post. Plus I might need
an edit, or two.
Oh, Twinkle wanted me to post the "Always the
Bridsemaid" canvas on the right side of the screen.  The
dog is, according to her, the wrong color. But she liked 
the design.  Ta!

THE NUTCRACKER & OTHER STUFF.....

  Just thought you might want to take a look at these little
Gingerbread characters, based on The Nutcracker.  They all
have very specific names of course, so let's see if you can
guess them correctly.  I have seen The Nutcracker Ballet
performed at The Kennedy Center in D.C. but I don't think
I could name them.
   We, here in Squiggeeland, are not real enamoured with 
terms like "exclusive",  It's one of those expressions that
 has been so overused that it's become nothing more 
than perfunctory.
  I will tell, however, that the only place that 
you will be able to get any of these little characters is through
"Adornment Needlepoint" in Winston Salem.   Ansley will be
more than happy to hook you up, and she has all the details.
She is the owner of Adornment and informs us that this will be a 
bi-monthly club.  These can be either "stand up charactersz' or 
they can be hung as ornaments.  Much the same as the little
OZ characters.  And, yes, they all come with some really 
spiffy embellishments.  This is Squiggeeland, in case you have
forgotten!
   Ansley is a joy to work with, very knowledgeable, and with a 
wicked sense of humor.  Should be a fun club.  She does tease Mr. 
Squiggee now and then, but I probably deserve it.  Gail informs
me that these are comparable, size wise , to the Oz characters.
   Omar has been teaching Twinkle how the game of "tug"
works.  She does all the work, of course, and he just holds the
toy in his mouth and growls while she tries to pull it away from 
him.  He didn't get to play this game with Squiggee, but all of
our dogs have played this game.  The funniest one was
between Bubbles, who was around 75 pounds, and Squiggee, who 
was around 15 pounds.  In typical terrier fashion, Squiggee 
would generally win the game.  A combination of tenacity
and cunning.  Watching her chase Bubbles around the backyard
was a hoot, as well.  All of this exercise has had the result of
trimming down Mr. Omar, and Twinkle has developed  some
serious muscles in her back legs.  She now uses an
ottoman as a sort of springboard, to launch herself onto
the bed.  Omar's last refuge  has fallen by the wayside.
She balances herself on her back legs and resembles
one of those grizzly bears, I assume to show Omar what a
true bad ass she is.  Very comical and I swear I can hear Omar 
chuckling under his breath. When they finally do crash, they really zonk out.
Spell check has just informed me that zonk is not a real word.
What part of town do these people live in? Jeez!
   Omar still prefers his morning ride to be with just
himself and his dad.  When we all go out, Twinkle prefers
to be in the back seat with her brother.  It does amaze 
me how quickly these things work themselves out.  Man
certainly has a lot to learn.
   Anyway, I might do a little bit later today.  One of our
model shows just came back and we need to unpack it,
throw in a few more models, and send it off to Chi-town.
"Until then, keep your stick on the ice", as Red Green would say.kkkkkkk

FIVE-AND OTHER STUFF

   Twinkle, the new member of the family, is now 3 months
old.  The photo above was taken of her yesterday while she 
was lounging on the bed.  I think she might have been laying 
in wait for Omar to return.  Play time is essential, of 
course, and King of the Mountain has always been a favorite 
game with all of our furry little children.  Twinkle has become 
hip to this game pretty quickly and prances around on top 
of the bed just daring Omar to try to get on the bed.  He 
could get up there so easily but he knows and loves the game,
so he plays it out knowing that when he is on top of the bed
she can't jump high enough to get up there.  It's a rather
comical little game they play.
  Last night, while we were watching a movie, we happened
to notice the two of them laying side by side on the lazyboy.
The bond has been forged, and she just loves him to bits.
For him, the little stranger is a stranger no more.  All that
extra energy he expels playing with her, and keeping
track of her, has really helped him get over the loss
of Squiggee.  I haven't noticed him sleeping in Squiggee's
little bed at night, which is also a good indicator.  Twinkle 
has decided to use the bed as a place to stash her
toys during the day.  Put them in, take them out, and put them 
in again.  Omar has also taken to walking over to her while 
she is sleeping and just poking her in the side with his nose,
just for "shits and giggles".  "  Wake up, you little shit, and 
let's play"!   Fun is where you find it. Simple pleasures.
   Ever onward.
   Adding the new pup to the household is always a bit of 
a wrench at first.  At any  given time during the day the
new addition decides that it needs to be in your lap, or
right next to you.  The first place to look for Twinkle,
when I have made the rounds of all her little hiding spots,
is in Gail's lap at the drawing table.  Omar did the same thing
when he was a puppy.  It's a comfort zone for them, and they
can get themselves in some of the strangest positions.  Of
course the camera is never nearby when you want it to be 
there.  Digital cameras make a certain noise when you turn
them on, so you have to turn the camera on before you
enter the room if you plan on getting a picture.
     Sometimes when you sit down to write something, what
you wind up with is not what planned to talk about.  Just
took a different direction.
     The children have arisen, so I need to take them out.
Puppies are not known for their control, so routine
becomes a part of the training. 
  I shall edit a bit later.  Enjoy

FOUR- WALK A MILE......

   A couple of items caught my attention yesterday.  The first
of these items regards the new FB changes that are coming.  
The story states that there will be video ads inserted in your
news feed.  Another one of those items that you won't be
able to opt out of.  In shameless fashion we are informed that
this is done to increase revenue.  How much money does this 
guy need? Is there ever enough money for these people?
And each time they make a change, supposedly to improve
your experience,  more often than not, it has the opposite
effect.  Slower loading times, more restrictive and 
cumbersome to navigate.  It's gotten so far away from
it's origins and simplicity that it has become it's own
worst enemy.  Kinda reminds me of our Congressional
leaders.  Always willing to inform us that all these changes
are for our benefit.  It's bullshit, of course.
   The other hot flash is that The Washington Post has
been sold to the owner of Amazon for $250 million.
The Washington Post has been a family owned paper
since 1933.   It's been getting watered down these last
few years, much the same as many of the dailys. The
increasing percentage of people getting their news content
free on the Internet, and the loss of ad revenue, has
had a real adverse effect on any sort of publishing.
Much as I would love to be proven wrong, this too does not
bode well.  The corporate model is for a healthy bottom line,
and quality of content does cost.  Wall Street does provide
the business model that attempts to dictate the necessary
profit margin, so it doesn't take a genius to see what will 
eventually come.  Money always trumps journalistic content,
sad to say.
     Gail is a Washington D.C. native. She speaks warmly of
her fathers ritual with each mornings delivery of the
newspaper.  There was always this sort of hushed silence
while he had his morning coffee and devoured the news
of the day. Conversation was kept to a minnimum until that
point in time that he refolded the paper and laid it aside.
Many of the larger cities also had evening editions, as well.
She fondly speaks of him coming home from work, sitting
down to drink his Manhattan and read the evening paper.
    The FB issue is nothing more than a nuisance.  I get rather
bored with anything that does not function as it should.
The circle of friends and the excessive use of the "like"
button strikes me  as some sort of elitist high school BS.
Gail rarely goes on it either.  It's expiration date is 
close at hand.  It has become tedious, at best. 
    This does go back to yesterdays post.   If I want to chat
with someone I can always pick up the phone and hear their
voice.  And I won't need to look at the screen and be told
that they are typing.  Tosh and nonsense.
     My concern with newspapers is another issue.  Content does
matter.  Always has. There is a vast difference between
the trivialized fluff that splashes across your computer screen
on a daily basis, and journalistic integrity. If you condense a story
too much it tends to lose context.  It may fit the screen
nicely and read more quickly, but it loses it's steam at a
rather rapid pace. At that point it becomes nothing more than
an unfulfilled promise of a story.  I like the expression:
"All sizzle, but no steak".  Seems to fit nicely.
   I guess, since we no longer have the time to pick up the
phone and have a conversation,  reading anything more heady
than the headline of the National Enquirer is just a
waste of our time.  I know, cue the video and we won't even
have to learn to read.  I am being glib, of course! 
Deal with it!
    Shit, I haven't gotten to the song,  Not to worry, I shall get
there.   

A MOMENTARY PAUSE

   "Reach out and touch someone!"
    Anyone remember this little slogan from Ma Bell?
It's probably at least 25 to 30 years old, but it's
message was clear and concise.  This was also probably 
before they deregulated the phone company.  The theory 
was to increase competition and lower prices to consumers.
About the only thing this managed to accomplish was to 
actually make your bill higher.  So much for that theory.
    Technology has come up with all manner of devices
that are meant to make it easier to connect with people.
It's all right there at your fingertips.  But, you see, the
paradox of this is that we seem to  be losing the art of
conversation.  "I'll just send off an email or a text just to
let them that I thought of them at least once today."
That just about sums it up, doesn't it?  Our lives are just
so jam packed that we can't even bring ourselves make
the effort to pick up the phone and say hello.  To hear a voice
at the other end of the line that is genuinely happy to
hear your voice.  That nuance that you hear in the voice
on the other end of the line can convey a lot of meaning,
Hearing and listening are two very separate things.
Empathy is becoming elusive, as well.
   I am reminded of a song I heard many years ago.  It's
one of those songs that just seems to pop into your head,
from time to time.
 It's a simple  little song, but it's message will cut
right through all the noise and distractions of the world.
"Hello In There" is the name of the song and it's
written/sung by John Prine.
   Just calling someone up to say hello or to let them
know that you were thinking of them, will never/ever be a 
waste of time.  Sorry folks, but email just don't cut it!
    Hope you like the picture of Twinkle.  She is a pistol
and Omar is pooped at the end of the day from chasing 
her around the house.
   Busy day ahead, so I had best get to it. Back later!    

THREE......

   Speaking of which, the "Home Page" is beginning to read like
the front page of The National Enquirer. The teaser headline
contradicts itself  multiple times long before you reach the
bottom of your screen.  And, like the Enquirer, it starts to
become more of a curiosity than any real attempt at 
news gathering.
    On a more sobering note, I hear that the Koch Brothers 
might be contemplating buying a newspaper.  Talk about a
propaganda rag.  With the corporate buyouts of newspapers,
even the mere thought of this does not bode well for
journalistic integrity or even a semi balanced view of our
society.
  One would like to be retain some semblance of optimism.
It all seems to be a control issue.  All those sacrifices
that are ancestors made to give us a better chance
at a good life, are slowly and methodically being
legislated away.  Corporate greed and the manipulation
of information seems to be the rule of the day.  
   Misinformation has always been a tool to be used
to control how people behave.   Even the news on TV 
has become nothing more than another arm of the 
entertainment budget. 
    And while we are at it, I have a question?
What is a day of your time worth?
Simple question.
What is an hour worth?
    We are not talking about market value, we are 
talking about the simple value of a day.
A. $150
B. $500
C. $1000
D. $5000

   Is this what it takes for you to get out of bed and go do
a job?   If the forces in the corporate world continue
on the present course we'll all eventually be replaced 
by some sort of robotic entity, and face redundancy.
Not a pretty picture, is it? 
   A mind certainly is a terrible thing to waste. 
I shall get to the song title in my next post.  Hang in there.


Google, please fix this problem.  It's becoming very 
tedious and makes it extremely difficult to compose or 
edit.

TWO!!!!!!

     The sight of those candy bars sorta gives you a case of the
munchies, doesn't it?  Yum!
     Don't you just love some of the crap you see on the web?
Gail was back at the computer yesterday just browsing, and
I hear her utter the following phrase:  "Do they think I just
fell off a turnip truck?"  I have heard her use this phrase many
times over the years we have been married.  It usually comes 
out when she spots a story that is so absurd that you just know 
that it's full of lies. 
    Mr. Squiggee, being the more politically correct member of
the family, might phrase it this way:  "Go blow smoke up somebody
else's ass".  Succinctly put, no?
     You get these wonderful little items in your email's, as well.
They usually land in the spam file, but occasionally a few of them 
slip though. It's usually the promise of something that will
A. make you fabulously rich, B.  make you glow and shine like 
a beacon in the night, or C. make your life a walk in the
park.
    To quote the Bunk: "The bigger the lie, the more they believe".
We have all gotten those emails where someone makes some
ridiculous statement and when you prompt them to back it up
with facts, they sorta do a disappearing act.  It tends to
fall in line with the comments sections that I was referring to.
It's always a one sided monologue.  No dialog, no conversation!
I guess we're not supposed to question.  We're all supposed
to be true believers being led like lemmings to the cliff.
    BULLSHIT!  If it sounds to good to be true, or too 
convoluted to have some ring of truth,  it's just another
attempt to hoodwink you.
Skeptical? Cynical?  Moi?   No way, Jose!
   Oh, yeah, and Congress needs a vacation.  I think they
need to work for the Department of Public Works for
a couple of weeks picking up trash along the roadside.
A few weeks of home truths might just tighten up
their lazy useless asses.  When you see the pics of
these guys they always seem to have that constipated
look on their faces.  Humorless and rather 
clueless in regards to how the rest of the world lives
on a day to day basis. R2D2 had more personality
than this bunch.
    Any questions?