Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

I will be your father figure (Oh baby)
Put your tiny hand in mine (I'd love to)
I will be your preacher teacher (Be your daddy)
Anything you have in mind (It would make me)
I will be your father figure (Very happy)
I have had enough of crime (Please let me)
I will be the one who loves you
till the end of time

Is all.

I Think I'll Pass

I saw this on the Shoebox blog...

A whole bunch of artists are doing brand new, totally different renditions of Bob Dylan songs. Kind of like Dylan does every time he plays them.

And then I trotted off to investigate.  The first few paragraphs of the review... and it IS a review... had me thinkin' "no frickin' way."  No way in HELL, to be frank.  I detest hip-hop or rap or Urban Whatever and the very thought of one of those asshat "artists" desecrating what is dear to me makes my skin crawl.  Then I had a "waitaminnit" moment as I read on.  A couple of 'em, actually... like these:

The savviest musicians here flip Dylan's messages for their own aims, just as Dylan reappropriated protest songs by civil rights heroes. Celtic-rock stalwarts Flogging Molly take on ''The Times They Are A-Changin' '' -- which itself was inspired by Irish drinking songs -- and reclaim it for Dublin. Sinéad O'Connor recasts 1981's born-again ''Property of Jesus'' as a fiery church-reform anthem. And Carly Simon smartly plays ''Just Like a Woman'' as a feminist ballad. When she sings ''You break just like a little girl,'' it sounds like she's telling Dylan to man up.

[...]

By contrast, Kronos Quartet and Philip Glass sound almost revolutionary on their gorgeous, avant-classical ''Don't Think Twice, It's All Right,'' the only song that appears twice here. It takes major innovation (and some musical-saw interludes) to create a wholly original take on an artist who reinvents his own songs every time he plays live.

Interesting... yet those artists still ain't enough to make me pay the freight.  There's simply too much possibility for too much disappointment.  Make MY Dylan Dylan, please... straight up, no ice, no mixer.

Interesting

This 'toon is obviously aimed at the Geriatric Set...

I'm not sure if anyone but us geezers geddit, mainly coz we're talkin' about a cultural reference from 1953.  1953!  But I could be wrong.

On sort of the same note... Ann Coulter was on Red Eye last night and she lost it a couple o' times on the subject of Newt.  I always thought that woman was a bit of a nut case... now I'm convinced she's nuts.  I understand being supportive of your candidate (she's a Romney fan) but bein' batshit crazy, to the point of shrieking, yelling, and constantly interrupting someone who might not think the way you do, is over the top.  Which is the problem with zealots, on the left or on the right.  Neither flavor works for me.

Coulter really worked Fox a lot yesterday.  I looked for the Red Eye clip and couldn't find it... but this is close:



Nutcase.

I'm Gonna Sue

I open up the mailbox this morning and see this item from NatGeo... the one that's checked near the bottom:

So I'm thinkin' "Cool! This is RIGHT up my alley!"  The actual copy:

Texas Showgirls One photographer is on a mission to photograph as many animal species as possible. Browse his gallery of beautiful creatures, including these Silkie showgirl chickens at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas. Photos: Butterflies > How to Build a Dog > The Chimp Incident > Life on the Serengeti >

It's just WRONG to get a man's hopes up like that first thang in the morning.  Time to call The Hammer!

Heh.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack (And Some Miscellaneous Ramblings)

The musical equivalent o' Comfort Food (The Wiki, she has EVERYthang)...

Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels
Drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to take your stand
and take it easy

Comfort Food...which is easy to eat and it makes ya feel good.... and I suppose it's the same with Comfort Music.  I actually heard the Eagles version o' this tune earlier but I much prefer Mr. Browne's original version, seein' as how I'm one of those Sensitive Seventies Kinda Guys (the comments to that post are pretty interesting, btw).  Or I used to be, at any rate.  Not so much, today.

But.  Comfort Music are the sorta tunes where ya know ALL the words and ya have this tendency to sing along, which we did, of course.  And the Eagles version of the tune ain't half bad, all things considered.  Ya pays yore money and ya makes yore choice.  I LOVE this tune, as it seems to remain relevant after all these years.  Time was when I really had "seven women on my mind" but that's not quite the case any longer.  But I've found a place to make my stand and I'm definitely takin' it easy these days.  More so than I prolly should, actually.

―:☺:―

 

A few Random Notes...  We spent the better part of our day cleaning house before adjourning to the verandah for Happy Hour this afternoon.  Which was mainly because we were graced with a three and a half hour visit yesterday with Isabel, the two-year old daughter of our neighbor.  And her babysitter, of course.  Our living space is not quite child-proof, which necessitated extreme vigilance on my and the babysitter's part(s) lest Young Isabel cause damage to herself on the many sharp glass-and-chrome edges that abound in El Casa Inmóvil de Pennington, and there are many.   Said glass and chrome is also very susceptible to lil fingerprints and other such tarnishing, and that was what we spent some time cleaning up today.  It must also be said that Young Isabel, despite all our attentiveness, managed to whack herself on the noggin by spinning one of my bar stools on its axis and not QUITE getting out o' the way when the bar stool was in close proximity to her head... which resulted in a fairly large bump on the young girl's head and much wailing and crying.  But no serious damage was done and I managed to make it better with a kiss or two.  Imagine that, if you will.

 

I think I've acquired a surrogate grand-daughter.  Imagine that, yet again.  Imagine also that her mom might come along.  Yeah... there's a fantasy I can live with!

 

―:☺:―

 

So... I noticed Miller Lite has a new ad they're running and it begins with words to the effect of "there's a place for strong dark beer but on the other six days when you want sumthin' lighter..."   Wrong.  I can sorta relate, from a cigar perspective, coz there ARE days when I want sumthin' other than a full-flavored, robust maduro or the like.  But BEER?  Frickin' NEVER.  I'd rather drink Perrier than Miller Lite or its bros-in-arms.  As a s'matter o' fact I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Perrier and "light" beers with the possible exception of Blue Light, but there's an exception to every rule.  Miller makes some pretty cool ads, but this ain't one of 'em. 

NOT Racist

But most definitely sport-ist:

If you saw this pic standing alone (and you ARE, Gentle Reader), you'd be forgiven for thinkin' it came from the pages o' NatGeo in some sorta article about South African ritual dances.  But no, it's from a CBS News slideshow titled "The NFL's Most Rabid Fans."  Or sumthin' like that.  My first thought was rabid is rabid and there isn't such a thang as "most rabid."  You just shoot 'em... those poor animals so afflicted... period, end o' report.

My second thought?  You RARELY see these sorts o' thangs at hockey games.  Yeah, there IS some occasional weirdness, but it's weirdness I can really get behind.  Or in front of, as the case might be.  Example:

I rest my case.

Cannon In the News

From the Usual USAF Source:

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment, and Logistics Terry Yonkers, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and State Land Commissioner Ray Powell were among many Air Force, State of New Mexico and county officials at the lease signing ceremony on Jan. 18, 2012, in Santa Fe.  (U.S. Air Force photo by Armando Perez)

Air Force Receives Land Grant to Expand Melrose Range: The Air Force accepted a land grant of 11,000 acres from the State of New Mexico that will allow Air Force Special Operations Command to expand live-fire ranges and desert and urban warfare training on the Melrose Air Force Range adjacent to Cannon Air Force Base. "It's an honor for me to be here today to accept this very gracious gift," said Terry Yonkers, the Air Force's assistant secretary for installations, environment, and logistics, during the Jan. 18 land-transfer ceremony in Santa Fe. He added, "Ranges and airspace are the lifeblood of our ability to train and be ready to fight those conflicts the nation asks of us." The land gift is valued at approximately $3.2 million. It is the result of a June 2008 memorandum of understanding between the Air Force and New Mexico. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) was one of the dignitaries at the event. (Washington, D.C., release)

Cool.  More s'plosions in the night!

Humor From the Humidor

I was gonna make this post another in our "Broadening" series but we've pretty much reserved that title for beer.  Yeah, cigars ARE included in those posts from time to time, but we're mostly on about the beer here (or there).  Today we're drinking more of the same...which this week is sumthin' from those oh-so-delicious Sammy Adams Winter Seasonal 12-packs... but we're smokin' sumthin' quite different.  One o' these:

That would be a Kinky Friedman Texas Jewboy.  No, really.  Look:

It's a damned fine cigar when ya get right down to it... and I'm about one-third of the way down to it (the end of it).  There's jes one small lil drawback, however.  From the linked review:

Overall: For a cigar that started as a gimmick and a prop for my sense of humor it turned out to be a pretty good cigar. The only thing that bothers me is the price. At 10.00 a stick it is a lot of gelt (Yiddish for money) to be handing over for a cigar. At that price point there are other cigars I rather smoke, but it was nice to have Kinky over for the holiday and he won’t be a stranger to my humidor.

Yeah, what he said.  I don't think I'll buying Kinkys by the box anytime soon, but I will keep my eye out for samplers that include one of his cigars... which is how I came by this one.

The Usual, Customary, and Reasonable Lament

Which is to say the freakin' wind.  WeatherUnderground sez it's clear or "mostly cloudy" outside but it is NOT; the blowing dust has reduced visibility to the point where I cannot see 18th Street across the vacant lot outside my window at times.  It's simply fugly outside.  I don't think we'll be goin' anywhere today.

At least it's not snowing.

Public Service

I may have piqued your interest in hockey, what with all my scribblings, rants, moans, groans, and magnificent videos of beautiful goals and bloody fights over the past six and a half years.  If I have stimulated your curiosity... and if you're not interested in following the Beloved Wings (you twisted, misguided, and wholly uninformed soul, you)... then here's just the thing for you: a handy flowchart titled "Which NHL team should I root for?"

Click to embiggen

"Because we always win!"  Heh.  (Note:  Purists and other pickers o' nits will note this flowchart is out o' date, what with the inclusion of the Atlanta Thrashers now Winnipeg Jets.  But the attached legend is close enough.)

h/t: A tweet by JessicaRedfield ("I'm determined to make everyone an NHL fan," sez she), re-tweeted by GeorgeMalik.

The Day the LOLcats Died

Pretty clever.  And true.

Keystone

Creating hundreds of thousands of new Reagan Democrats, one would hope.

Your Usual, Customary, and Reasonable Hockey Post

I got a link to this lil blurb in the mail today from NHL.com:

They are celebrated as the Original Six -- the half-dozen NHL clubs that pre-date the 1967 expansion and hearken back to a different era. But not since the early days of expansion have the Original Six been on track to be as dominant as they've been this season.

Entering this weekend, four of the top five teams in the NHL standings are members of the Original Six. Detroit, a 3-2 shootout winner at Phoenix on Thursday, is first with 63 points, one ahead of a group of three teams that includes the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, and two points in front of the Boston Bruins -- who have played only 44 games, fewer than any team in the NHL. Only the St. Louis Blues, the other team in the three-way tie with 62 points, breaks up the Original Six party.

How unusual is it to have the Original Six so heavily represented among the NHL's elite? Very.

It may be unusual but it's also very cool.  Yeah, I'm one of THOSE fans... the few, the proud, the snobs who think the Original Six play the best hockey.  Well, except for the major suckage that is the Habs and the Leafs, although the Leafs are better than usual this year.  I can cut the Habs a sprout because of their history and by that I mean the most championships in any major sport, except for those Yankees (that would be 27 World Series wins to Montreal's 24 Stanley Cups).  Ya gotta give the Habs credit for that, even in this "what have ya done for me lately" world.

Speakin' of "what have ya done for me lately"... here's Big Bert with the game winner last night:

The Wings are undefeated in the shoot-out this year (4-0) and have won too many games that way, to my way o' thinkin'.  It's BEST when you totally dominate your opponents, but two points is two points... much better than one, or none.

Wherein I Play the Proud Grandpa

Grandson Sean in his first public performance... at his high school's talent show:

As captioned by SN1 on The Tube O' You:

Jack, Caitlyn and Sean play Norwegian Wood...Starts out kinda rough, but gets better after they start singing. Focus is restored quickly. First video...let me know what you think!

Sean is sitting, on guitar and vocals.  The performance took place on the evening of 1/19/2012.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

We were in a country sorta mood, so here are two songs from Mile Marker 383...

Telephone Road is ten miles long
Fifty car lots and a hundred honky-tonks
Jukebox blastin' and the beer bottles ring
Jimmy banging on a pinball machine 

Come on come on come on let's go
This ain't Louisiana
Your Mama won't know
Come on come on come on let's go
Everybody's rockin' out on Telephone Road 

and...

I got sixteen days
one for every time I've gone away
one for every time I should have stayed
you should have worn my wedding ring
I got sixteen days
fifteen of those are nights
can't sleep when the bed sheet fights
its way back to your side

the ghost has got me running
the ghost has got me running
away from you, away from you, away from you.

I've got both of these tee shirts... bein' as how I spent a couple o' few weeks in Houston in the way-back and then there's that "16 Days" thang, about which: yeah.  Several times.

We had such a brilliant day here on The High Plains o' New Mexico today, a rare day in which I could open all the windows AND the door without the fear of bein' invaded by 1,267 flies, and that's because the cold winter nights have killed off all those pesky critters.  Which also allowed me to listen to my own record collection, which was a Great Good Thang.  I mean... Pandora is great and I love it to death, but there are times when ya wanna hear exactly what ya wanna hear.  No?

Slow Day

Slow, but beautiful:

I really, rilly enjoy all y'all's company but the Great Outdoors is calling and I see an extended Happy Hour in my future.  Right after I mail off that Thank-You card to al-Gore.

Yup

Lotsa good stuff at the Usual Source today... but I liked Ramirez best.

I think Ramirez is the best political cartoonist working today.  He's always spot-on.

How Pretty Is THAT?

The pic is the result of today's restock.  Last week we mentioned we bought our fourth or fifth installment o' Sammy Adams' Winter Seasonal 12-packs and also had minor regrets about not buying more.  Well, we fixed that:

I got lucky... those were the last two 12-packs on the shelf.  Which are now in my fridge.

Beer me!

Thanks, Wales... Ya Twit

OK, my consciousness has been raised, but no more than it already was.  SOPA is dead (well, tabled) and PIPA should be, soon.  This is one place where I agree with Obama: neither bill, in their current forms, adequately address the issue of copyright infringement and both pose disastrous potential consequences for the inter-tubes as a whole.  Hollywood and a moribund music industry are doin' their worst to kill a vibrant internet.  Fuck 'em.

Still, a day without The Wiki is pretty damned painful.  I've already missed it three times and the day's barely begun.

Hey, Norman!

Why not?  It's only an 11 hour drive; if I leave NOW...

Speaking of... last night's win in Dallas puts the Beloved Wings at the top of the Western Conference by a single point and just one point behind Noo Yawk for the league lead.

LGRW!

"Dee-troit, Dee-troit... gotta helluva hockey team*..."

*Paul Simon's original not available on The Tube O' You.