-
INXS ~ Need You Tonight
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL7FY7rwVtQ[/youtube] I remember when I worked at my college job, in a big San Francisco hotel, one of my coworkers is a German girl named Denise. We were talking about music one day, and she said something to the effect of “you know that group, INXS, with that skinny little singer…he’s so sexy.” Yeah, he’s too skinny, but Michael Hutchence was indeed a sexy singer, with that sort of Jim Morrison vibe going, but better. I think “Need You Tonight” is probably my favorite of their songs. Enjoy.
-
Happy Father’s Day
Several years ago (look how young Maya is in this picture?), Ted got free tickets through the station to go up to Six Flags Marine World, and we went. While there, some photographer guy snapped a photo of us, and ever since then, I keep getting emails asking me if I want to buy a product with the picture on it. Really, I don’t. I’m not sure how many times I have to tell them this, but I don’t. Or at least, not yet. Maybe in a few years, when I look back and say, “Gosh, look how young I am!”, I’ll be more tempted. But if I were to…
-
Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, word of their freedom came to the slaves of Texas. Major General Gordon Granger brought the news via General Order Number 3, which began: “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.” This is clearly a truly American holiday, as it marks the end of slavery in the United…
-
Single Payer Health Care
I happen to think that the best way for the U.S. to go is toward a Single Payer health plan. The idea that people go bankrupt over health care costs, that people die because their insurance will not pay for the treatment that they need, irks the hell out of me. And both have happened within my own family. Also, the limitations of only being able to see doctors within your own health plan (ala Kaiser) is beyond stupid. If everyone in the United States were automatically covered, just by virtue of being a citizen, then I am sure that we could bring costs down, that yes, our taxes would…
-
The Human League ~ I Need Your Loving
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1N4X3VMUHI[/youtube] I always liked this song…it’s a little different from Human League’s earlier hits, notably Don’t You Want Me and (Keep Feeling) Fascination. It’s that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis influence. Don’t you kind of expect Miss Jackson to pop out and start dancing at some point?
-
One Year
It’s been a year now since my mom died. It’s been a tough year. It’s starting to get easier, but of course, I still miss her a lot. I got an email from my sister in law the other day (Richard’s wife…her father passed away in November, after struggling with bypass surgery, then cancer, then stroke, over a 5 year period), and she said something that really resonated with me. She said that what hurts isn’t so much that they’re gone, but what they had to go through in order to go. That’s it exactly. Of course I would still be sad if my mom had died suddenly in her…
-
Great American Food & Music Debacle
One advantage of Ted’s job is that we sometimes get free tickets to local events. One such event was yesterday’s Great American Food & Music Festival, held in Mountain View. This was the first (perhaps last) year for this event. The idea was to take iconic dishes from around the country and bring them all to one venue, bring in some big names from the Food Network, and pair it up with some good music and make a day of it. Sounds good on paper, right? Unfortunately, something fell apart in the execution. I’d be interested to read a newspaper account of what all actually went wrong, but one major…
-
I think I forgot to tell you…
That Grandma came home from the assisted living facility on Tuesday, is home watching her soaps and smoking the occasional cig. Though I frown on cigs in general, she’s 86 and entitled to do what she wants, I think. Yay Grandma! Glad you’re home. Enjoy your soap operas. 🙂 I love you. You rock.
-
Friday Randomness ~ 5 Things
We’re going to the Great American Food & Music Festival tomorrow. The idea behind the food part is to bring authentic samples of iconic American dishes to one festival. This is the first year for the festival, and they readily admit that there are quite a few classic American cuisines sorely lacking. This is mainly due to the fact that they want small restaurants to participate, and few of them are equipped to fly all of the way to CA and then serve up 5,000 servings of their dish. So there will be no pizza, no Chicago hot dogs, no southern cooking. But there will be hot dogs from Pinks…
-
Wordless Wednesday
-
Garbage ~ Stupid Girl
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLY0X_eY3OY[/youtube] When I was deciding which “G” group to use for this weekly feature, the three that came to mind most readily were Green Day, Garbage, and Goo Goo Dolls. I chose Garbage to make Ted and Maya happy, because Shirley Manson is the lead singer, and she was a recurring character (evil Terminator type…or was she really evil?) on The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Which of course brings up bitter feelings around here, because Fox cancelled Sarah Conner, but kept Dollhouse. What’s with that? Idiots.
-
Out Stealing Horses
In the meantime, I am spending my days getting this place in order. There is quite a lot that needs doing. I did not pay much for it. In fact, I had been prepared to shell out a lot more to lay my hands on the house and the grounds, but there was not much competition. I do understand why now, but it doesn’t matter. I am pleased anyway. I try to do most of the work myself, even though I could have paid a carpenter, I am far from skint, but then it would have gone too fast. I want to use the time it takes. Time is important…
-
Lie to Me(me) ~ Seven Deadly Sins
(graphic from movie ‘seven’ found here) Amuirin tagged me for this delicious meme, one where we get to have a little fun, as long as we tell no truth. Here are the rules: Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don’t tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this Meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks (one for each deadly sin) and hope they can lie. Pride What is your biggest contribution to the world? I invented the question mark. Envy What do your coworkers have that you wish was yours?…
-
Thursday 13 Randomness
I have a lot of little things buzzing around in my head, nothing really worth a post on its own, probably, so let’s see if there are enough of them for a Thursday 13, shall we? (It’s not a book TT, but I just took the graphic from the official TT site.) 1. Wow, not only did one partner from Nibblers come by and comment, now the chef did as well! I’m impressed by their dedication, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be going back for a second try. 2. I had a job interview for a job that I wanted yesterday, and the recruiter told me right then and there…
-
Nibblers
Saturday night, Ted and I decided to try a little place near us called Nibblers. It’s located in a strip mall in the next town over, and I really like the idea of the place. They do sustainable food, and it’s all local and very fresh. As much as possible, they get their ingredients from the local Farmers’ Markets. As a matter of fact, I found out about Nibblers a year or so ago when they opened, and they had a booth at the Farmers’ Market, where they were giving out really yummy samples of something or another on a corn chip, and I’ve wanted to try it out ever…