Ready On the Right! Ready On the Left! All Ready On the Firing Line!

(Note: This is a sticky post and will remain on top until the Valour-IT fundraiser is complete; there will also be periodic Valour-IT status updates at the end of this post, clearly marked as such.  Scroll down for the normal daily blather, if it pleases you.  If it doesn't please you, read this post again!  And, please... hit that "Donate" widget to your right.)


Update, 11/11/2009:  Today is THE FINAL DAY of the Valour-IT fundraiser.  I've not been pushy about this cause, feeling instead that I've said my piece and you Gentle Readers know what to do.  That said... I'm disappointed that Team Zoomie has turned in yet another lackluster performance this year, seeing as how we're dead last in the team standings.  Won't you please hit that "donate" widget to your right and help preserve a modicum of dignity for the Air Force?  You know it's the right and proper thing to do!!  

And thank you all for your support.  Our injured vets will thank you, too.


That's the traditional way the Range Safety Officer clears the range for a course of fire just before he gives the "Commence Firing!" command… and anyone who's ever served remembers those words well. And those words ain't limited to just the Ground Pounders or Jarheads. Nope… everyone in Uncle Sam's armed forces qualifies with a weapon, even Squids and Zoomies, believe it or don’t. So… those words seemed an appropriate way to announce the kick-off this year's Valour-IT fundraiser. We ARE ready on the firing line!  

Those of you who've been coming around these parts for the past three years or so know all about Valour-IT. But if you don't know… here's what we're on about:

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries.  Technology supplied includes:

·         Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

·         Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

·         Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops and other technologies can be to a wounded service member's recovery.

Providing all of the above technologies requires money… and that's what the two-week fundraiser is all about: raising money to provide the technology to help our warriors during their recovery from wounds suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fundraiser runs from now until Veterans Day… November 11. And just to make things interesting Soldiers' Angels runs this fundraiser in the form of a competition between the military branches… Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Coast Guard (who don't have a stand-alone team this year; they're part of the Navy team). It should come as no surprise that EIP signs on to Team Zoomie every year.

That said, it may come as something of a surprise that the Air Force traditionally fights a rear-guard action in the Valour-IT fundraiser, meaning we always come in close to the bottom of the pack, managing to beat only the Coasties in previous years. We sure do want to change that this year and we will… with your help, Gentle Reader! You can get things started by clicking on the Valour-IT widget at the top of my sidebar, which takes you directly to the Team Zoomie donation site. You can donate to Valour-IT using your credit card, PayPal, or by electronic check. You can also mail a donation to Soldiers' Angels if you choose not to donate on-line by sending a check to this address:

Soldiers Angels
1792 E. Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104

Be sure to indicate your donation is for Valour-IT, on behalf of Team Air Force!

Soldiers' Angels has also done something new this year… they've developed a set of "Frequently Asked Questions" for those who need a little more info on Valour-IT. Here are a few selected questions from the FAQ:

Is my donation fully tax deductable?

Soldiers' Angels has been designated a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity by the IRS. Donations are tax-deductible and may be eligible for matching funds from donors' employers (ask your employer). Be sure to consult your tax advisor for further information.

For info on how to verify the 501(c)(3) status of Soldiers' Angels, click here.

How much of my donation goes directly to this cause?

100% of your donation will go directly to Project Valour-IT, which has no overhead ("overhead" costs are covered by Soldiers' Angels general funds).

What will my Valour-IT donation be used for? 

Your donation to Project Valour-IT will be used to purchase laptops and other technology that will support recovery and provide independence and freedom to severely-wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

In just over four years of existence, Valour-IT has provided over 4100 laptops to individual veterans, over 30 Wii game systems to VA facilities for physical therapy sessions, and over 100 handheld GPS systems to aid veterans with head injuries (TBI).

More information about Project Valour-IT and the powerful impact it has on the wounded warriors it supports can be found here.

Why is there a competition? Why is it divided among service branches?

The Valour-IT Veterans Day Fundraising "Competition" was a developed as a fun way to raise money for a very serious project.  Teams are purely for the sake of friendly competition, building on the natural inter-service rivalries of the U.S. Military.  Competition winners get "bragging rights," but the true winners are the wounded warriors who benefit from the results of the friendly competition.
 

Just like the service members themselves who tease each other with great enthusiasm but stand shoulder-to-shoulder in wartime, we're all part of the same family even when we're being competitive.  All funds raised go into the same Valour-IT account and are used to assist any wounded service member in need of Valour-IT's support, regardless of his or her service branch.

Is this competition supported by the military or the Department of Defense (DoD)?

The U.S. Military and Department of Defense are not affiliated with this competition.  Government employees or members of the military who participate in this fundraiser are acting as private citizens.
 

Soldiers' Angels (which runs Project Valour-IT), is a private, civilian 501(c)(3) nonprofit led and governed by patriotic civilians who want to ensure individual service members know that they are remembered and supported.

If you have more questions you can read the complete FAQ here.

Now… please, please help us support this cause. I left out the usual "worthy" adjective in front of "cause" because that is simply self-evident. I know times are hard, but these times are harder still for wounded warriors… and your contribution to Valour-IT will make life easier for those who have sacrificed so much. Thanks in advance.

Update, 10/27/2009 1400 hrs   We had a fantastic first day, what with well over $13K raised.  But... true to form, Team Zoomie ain't doin' so well... and we're in last place as of this writing.  See for yourself:



Aiiieee.  I'm thinkin' this has a lot to do with Ol' Joe Stalin's famous quote about "quantity has a quality all its own," which is to say those guys who like to play in the mud have twice the folks on their teams.  I know... this sounds like I'm whining, but I'm just not USED to bringing up the rear.  And don't tell me about last year's fundraiser, either.  (insert Big-Ass grin here)


Linkage:  If you haven't read Blog-Bud Jim's Valour-IT post, please go over there now.  Jim's new to Team Zoomie this year and is one HELLUVA writer (as most of you already know).  


Update, 11/01/2009:  Lotsa cool stuff available at the Valour-IT auction on eBay... including military themed books and prints, an original graphic from Day-By-Day artist Chris Muir (autographed by Chris), autographed Nolan Ryan baseball memorabilia... and more!   All proceeds go to Valour-IT... check it out!

Broadening Our Horizons IX

Well... in the cigar category, anyhoo.  We're just moments away from firing up one of these newly-arrived puppies:

I love the packaging!  Kinda appropriate for Veterans Day, eh?

Today

To all our veterans and those serving: I salute you.  Enjoy your day!  

And to our friends and allies in the Commonwealth celebrating Remembrance Day: I salute your fallen and remember their sacrifice.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack... And...

We were in a Motown sorta mood for today's Happy Hour.  Here's one of the tunes we listened to as we knocked back a couple o' beers and enjoyed a Deep Dish:

Which brought to mind one of the first of not so many dirty deeds we've perpetrated on The Fairer Sex in this life. So, like it or don't, a reminiscence…

The year is 1962… specifically the Spring of that year… the place is San Jose, California. The Shirelles hit the Big Time that year, and the song above was one of my favorites then and it had quite a bit of overt and covert meaning for me and my Main Squeeze at the time…a wonderful girl-woman by the name of Marcy.

Marcy… she being about five foot three, kinda-sorta plump (finest kind!) and possessing a dazzling smile, among other wondrous things… was wonderful in more than a few ways. First and foremost, she was a girl who found me (sorta) fascinating, a minor miracle in and of itself. Second, she was a girl who ignored the conventions of the time in that she (a) was dating a guy who was about her same age; (b) I was a guy who had neither a car of my own nor a driver's license… something that was highly unusual at that point in time for a guy of my age and location (suburban NorCal); and (c) she was free with her charms... ample as they most certainly were... at least where I was concerned. Marcy, to her everlasting credit, had access to her parents' car and would pick me up and drive us about San Jose whenever we were free, seemingly without concern about the damage this would do to her image. And we were kinda-sorta in love… or as much "in love" as one can be when one is 17 and just beginning to figger stuff out. That's the background.

So… there we were… it was the eve of our Junior-Senior Prom and I was at work, doing landscaping things.

Time for yet another minor digression: I was living with my employer and his family at the time. My father and the rest of my family had moved down to LA a couple o' few months previously, Dad having taken a new job in LA and me not wanting to go along. So, with the help of kindly Mr. Roberts (my employer), we worked out a deal whereby I would remain behind in San Jose... going to school, working and living with Mr. Roberts and his family while Dad & Co traipsed off to LA. Marcy figured prominently into this calculation, by the way. Remember: we were In Love.

So, back to it. My foreman… Mr. Roberts' son… and I got into a helluva argument over the fact I wanted to leave work early and get ready for Prom Night. He wouldn't let me go; I was adamant I HAD to leave. It came down to "leave if you want… but if you do, you're fired." So I did what any impetuous 17-year old would do: I said "Fuck You. I'm leaving. Take your job and shove it." And I walked off the job, commandeering a ride from one of my co-workers back to Mr. Roberts' house. But there's more… I realized that I was gonna be out of a place to live by the virtue of the fact I'd just quit my job, in NO uncertain terms. So I took about 20 minutes and collected all my belongings, packed them up in a duffle bag, and walked out. I got my buddy to drive me down to the San Jose bus station and about 45 minutes (or so) later I was on a bus… LA bound.

And herein lays the dirty deed: I left Marcy hanging, without even making so much as a phone call to let her know I was leaving. And I never spoke to her again, to add insult to injury. I've often wondered about her in the intervening years, and if she ever gives (or gave) a thought to the asshole she loved who simply disappeared on what is arguably one of the biggest nights of one's teen years.

I suppose that kinda-sorta answers the rhetorical question… "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"… doesn't it? And all that said… I've had worse done to me, and I've done worse. But we won't go THERE. Let's just pop open another brew and go back outside…

Heh

Well... I have mixed emotions about this:



Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Video Game Offers Engine Repair, Awaiting Orders

Which is to say there are a couple o' bits that rub me the wrong way.  But it's pretty funny overall... I'd give it a seven on a scale of ten, but ya can't dance to it.

Snippets From the AOR VI

SN1 sent the following along this morning, with permission to publish.

So there I was...in Afghanistan...

It was supposed to be a 4 hour trip out and back for a 2 hour site-survey...yeah, right. Bad weather, 2 missed

landing attempts, and an almost dry gas tank later...we landed the UH-60 Blackhawk at a Marine  COP. Stuck for 4.5 hours...would love to say outside the wire...but there wasn't a wire. Just a big sand berm. So then the other problem pops up...they may not have any gas for us? Huh? What are these helo landing pads for anyway? So, then the absolute worst sandstorm I've ever personally experienced comes rolling across the plain. It was what prevented the original landing, at the original location. Only when we  were airborne, it didn't seem so bad...So we're stuck, at least for awhile...

The Marines, being great hosts offer a ride to the compound, in the back of a Hummer ambulance. Well, the new experiences just keep piling up!  The young corporal (I think...) tells us it will be a bumpy ride...and
so it was. Survive the helo ride, only to get hurt in the back of a pitch black Hummer ambulance? The only light was the luminescent green  glow from the CRO badge of our Combat Rescue Officer. So...a couple of bumps and a bruise or two later, we arrive.

I thought there was something different about the place...and there sure was. We've got what we call  "moondust" here in Afghanistan. Had some of  it in Iraq too, but this is the first time I've ever been anywhere like this. The entire place was covered with it. So, the wind is still  blowing and the moondust is coating everything...completely. I've never been so dirty...in uniform. Walking in it feels like going through very dry, powdery snow. We then ended up in a tent watching a nearly unbearable TV broadcast, but that's where we heard the healthcare bill had passed the house...no comment about that.

Anyway...we're all in various moods: Bored, anxious, and a couple of annoyed...we get a box full of MREs (I got lucky! Beef Stew!) have lunch and settle in for the afternoon. After a short attempt at a nap, nature calls. I head outside the tent looking for the port-a-johns...none.  Hmmm...so the SOP is what again? I get directed to three large PVC pipes sticking out of the ground at about waist level, at a very well thought out 45 degree angle on the big berm. I had to take a couple of pics of that. Ingenuity!

Business taken care of, I start to wander around...and see one of the most HOOORAH moments in my career: in the middle of the blowing sand and crappy conditions, this huge Marine is working out. Kettle bell swings, into a couple dozen push-ups, followed immediately by hanging leg raises. Pause. Repeat. God Bless the Marines! Gotta love those guys!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the COP they strained some JP-8 for us and put it into a makeshift refueler. So we get the word to head back to the birds. Over an hour later, having given each helo just enough gas to get to the original destination, we wait. Classic military situation: Hurry up and wait. The decision is finally made, we're taking the weather obs from the FOB and take off...with NVGs. 20 minutes later, we ended up at an Army FOB for the night.

So we're there and the Army Capt is hosting us. We talk business and then grab some chow. Best part of the trip!! Better food than I had in Balad last year, no kidding. T-Bone steak, med-rare, and I could cut it with the plastic ware! Lots of options: Mexican, Italian and short-order bars, 2 mainlines, way too many desserts! Good stuff. We finally get a tent for the night and find our cots. Me, 2 LtCols, a Maj, and a Lt. I was the only one that brought a 3 day bag...they all laughed at me getting on the helo...they all froze last night...I wasn't a boy-scout for nothing!

This morning was more good chow, some great coffee and a mini air show, courtesy of a guy and his gas-powered RC helo. This guy had some serious skill with that thing. Inverted flying, impossible banking maneuvers, upside down hovering within inches of the sand...great show. So we're ready to go...guess who's our helo pilot for the ride back to Kandahar? Oh yeah, Mr. RC Helo stunt pilot...we were a little nervous, especially the HH-60 pilot sitting next to me...

Got back late morning...good times in Afghanistan!

(Image from the web.)  SN1 is also updating his blog a lot more frequently than he used to... with pictures!

Twenty Years Ago...

On the night of November 9, 1989 confused East German border guards opened several checkpoints in East Berlin and allowed citizens of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) free passage into West Berlin for the first time since 1961.  The East Germans were ecstatic; world-wide response was both joyful and incredulous.  And on the following day... November 10th... the wall began coming down in earnest and the partying lasted for days.  Some background:



To say the fall of the Berlin Wall was a momentous occasion is massive understatement.  I watched my teevee in a combination of amazement and wonder, thinking to myself that I never thought I would see the day... yet there it was, big as life and twice as natural.  

I like to think this event... which happened about two years earlier in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate... had something to do with the wall coming down:

Opinions vary on this subject, but I believe President Reagan was a catalyst in bringing the wall down.  President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher... along with General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev... were the primary actors responsible for the demise of the Soviet Union, as well... an event that occurred a little over two years after the Berlin Wall came down.

It all began 20 years ago tonight... and this date marks an anniversary that should be celebrated by free peoples everywhere.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Part and parcel of...

Ah.  Beautiful weather, a couple o' few decent beers, a good cigar, and fine tunes... life is good.  Or as good as it gets these days.  It's ALL relative, yanno?

Update, later that same day, from the self-same soundtrack:





Which calls to mind one late late night in 1977 in Westby, Montana where... at approximately three or four o'clock in the morning... we did a drunken duet of this very same song with an artist who was performing in one of the two bars in Westby.  And we were GOOD, Gentle Reader.  But that's not the salient or even the most prominent memory of that evening...  No, it was the fact that I prevented a great good friend of mine from driving the ten miles back to her dorm in the wee small hours of that morning.  Like me, she was incredibly and wonderfully "happy," way too happy to drive. So... we convinced her to drive the half mile to my Little Home On The Prairie instead.  We got home and almost literally fell into bed.  The last thing I remember about that night:

She:  I don't wanna do anything...

Me:  Me neither.  I'm too damned drunk anyway...

And so we went to sleep, cradled in each others arms.  A fine ending to a fine night, regardless of what you might think.  Ain't it amazing what music will conjure up at any given point in time?

Bad News, Good News

First the bad news... which you already know unless you're currently under your favorite big-ass rock or in a coma:

WASHINGTON – In a tight vote, the House passed its sweeping health bill late Saturday, marking the biggest victory yet for Democrats in their drive to create near-universal health insurance.

[...]

Its passage moves Congress closer to the biggest expansion of the social safety net since the Medicare insurance program for the elderly was created in 1965. The measure spends $1.01 trillion over a decade to provide health insurance to an additional 36 million Americans and creates a new public insurance plan to compete with private insurers by 2013. It requires most Americans to carry insurance, creates a new exchange where they can shop for it and gives the lowest earners tax credits to help them pay for it.

A little over one trillion dollars, depending on who you believe*!  The prudent among us have to ask:  where the HELL is that money coming from?  I suppose "prudent" would disqualify all but 39 Democrats in the House, the remainder of which evidently don't understand what a massive increase in gub'mint debt means for the future of the nation and every single individual living in these United States or they don't care.  The situation is appalling, in either case. 

The astute may wonder why my rant focuses on "debt."  What else could it possibly BE... considering we have about $107 trillion in unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities?  But, Hell... I suppose another two or three trillion dollars ain't much to add... (/sarcasm)


So... the good news.  I don't have a link for you, but I just now watched Senator Joe Lieberman on Fox News Sunday and he said... unequivocally... that he cannot and will not support the House bill as long as it contains a "public option" for the exact reason mentioned above: an unconscionable increase in the public debt.  I might be wrong here, but I'm quite sure he said he would not allow a bill with a public option to come to a vote on the Senate floor.  And that is good news, indeed.  Let us pray.


* The Heritage Foundation thinks Pelosi's monstrosity will cost 2.6 trillion dollars. 


Update, 1710 hrs:  I heard Senator Lieberman correctly:



Good on ya, Joe.

This Is Just Pretty Cool

Well... kinda cold, actually.  Via Kukla's Korner... a look back at the 2009 NHL Winter Classic, played at Chicago's Wrigley Field.  Which might be of interest to besbol fans who don't know hockey from hookey... coz there are a lot of comparisons made between the two games, especially when it comes to the Cubbies and Chicago fans in general:



For the record: Detroit 6, Chicago 4.  It was a GREAT game!

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Forgive me, Gentle Reader, coz we seem to be stuck in that "Sensitive 70s  Kinda Guy" groove.  That said... one of the better things about Jackson Browne's music was his chocie of exemplary sidemen.  I'm speaking of the inimitable David Lindley, of course, and his violin accompaniment in this tune is as wistful and heartbreaking as it gets... a perfect complement to the song's lyrics.  And while we're on about that... here are the lyrics to "Something Fine:"

The papers lie there helplessly
In a pile outside the door
I've tried and tried, but I just can't remember what they're for
The world outside is tugging like a beggar at my sleeve
Oh, that's much too old a story to believe

And you know that it's taken its share of me
Even though you take such good care of me
Now you say "Morocco" and that makes me smile
I haven't seen Morocco in a long, long while
The dreams are rolling down across the places in my mind
And I've just had a taste of something fine

The future hides and the past just slides
England lies between
Floating in a silver mist so cold and so clean
California's shaking like an angry child will
Who has asked for love and is unanswered still

And you know that I'm looking back carefully
Cause I know that there's still something there for me
But you said "Morocco" and you made me smile
And it hasn't been that easy for a long, long while
And looking back into your eyes I saw them really shine
Giving me a taste of something fine
Something fine

Now if you see Morocco I know you'll go in style
I may not see Morocco for a little while
But while you're there I was hoping you might keep it in your mind
To save me just a taste of something fine

And now about Lindley: One of the finest album purchases I ever made in my short sweet life was Lindley's solo album... and his rendition of "Mercury Blues" is a stand-out in my musical pantheon.  But we digress.   Hell.... as long as we're digressing:




Is that fuckin' awesome, or what?

And the Winnah Is...

All the returns are in... except perhaps for an absentee ballot or two... and it's Happy Hour by unanimous vote (2 - 0; we have a very small precinct)!  The polls are now officially closed.


I mean... how could I not?  It's beautiful outside and we might even be able to remain outdoors after sunset.  Wow.  This is good!

Sad and Incomprehensible

My heart goes out to the families of yesterday's murder victims at Fort Hood and for the injured as well.  I hope we get some answers from that deranged major who caused all this carnage.  I also hope he gets the death penalty.  Too bad we can't kill him twice.  Or 13 times.

―:☺:― 

So... I have a decision to make within the hour: finish the morning coffee or get Happy Hour under way?  I've just now poured my second cup; I set a new personal worst today by not rolling out of the rack until 1320 hrs.  And today's sunrise wasn't anything to write home about, either.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

I didn't include Paul Simon in the post below (my variation on the theme of "15 Favorites") but I probably should have done so.  Simon is one of my very favorites... a guy I return to time and time again.  This particular cut is from "Graceland," but the cut I was really looking for... "Peace Like a River," from the first Simon solo album... doesn't exist on YouTube.  And that first solo album is what we're really listening to on this warm, sunny Fall afternoon.  No matter.  "Crazy Love, Part II" works almost as well.  Sorta.  But... like most things in life: ya hadda be there.  So, herewith the lyrics of the tune just now played:

Ah, peace like a river ran through the city
Long past the midnight curfew
We sat starry-eyed
Ooh, oh,we were satisfied
O-o-oh, And I remember
Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
Oh, oh, oh, if the plans were changed.

You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can't outrun the history train
I seen a glorious day, aiee------


Ah, four in the morning
I woke up from out of my dreams
Nowhere to go but back to sleep
But I'm reconciled
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while

Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while

Yup.  Ya hadda be there.  I was "up for a while" in the way-back... the story of my life, and all that.  And now... back outside.  Beer remains to be drunk, a second cigar has been lit.  Life is good.

What Time Is It? It's Meme Time!

Yeah… we haven't done the meme thing in quite a while, but a meme about music kinda hits me where I live. About which, this:

Now these albums are emphatically not the 15 greatest albums of all time. While that's also an interesting question, that's not what I had in mind. These are more like the 15 albums I'd have to take to a desert island with me... the ones I don't think I could go without. Maybe, my 15 favorites of all my favorites.

That would be Blog-Bud Jim's swell pal Donatello speaking… and this post kicked off the madness.  And that's the meme: list your 15 all-time favorite albums.  Pretty simple, eh?  Jim is supposed to post his own "15 favorites" sometime today, but we're just slightly ahead of our time here… given as how this post will go up sometime around midnite. I'll update with an appropriate link later.

I had to go back and re-read the post in question before I embarked on my own. I was seriously mistaken, seeing as how I thought this was all about "15 albums that changed my world." It ain't… at least in its original incarnation. Still and even… "music that changed my world" seems like an appropriate variation on a theme, and that's the way I'm gonna go. Let's get started.

 

The year: 1957. The place: Ankara, Turkey. The Ol' Man was stationed in Ankara at the time and to say the USAF BX/PX distribution network ain't what it is today is a MASSIVE understatement. Elvis' debut album came out in 1956, I got it placed in my hot lil grubby hands for Christmas in 1957… as part of a gift package from my grandmother, God bless and rest her soul. How in the HELL she figured out a 12 year old kid would like… no, LOVE… something as radical as Elvis' first album is so far beyond me as to be almost alien. But she did, and as I said: God bless her for that. Keep in mind: popular music in 1957 was pretty much all Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney and the like. Elvis wailing "Hound Dog" was as different from that mainstream as hip-hop is to "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik."

Honorable mentions go to the Fats Domino and Chuck Berry singles that were also in that Christmas box… they were all part of a package that seriously changed my musical tastes. But it was Elvis who rocked my world.  And changed it forever.
 

Fast forward to 1960. I was now 15 and living in Washington, D.C. I'll choose the James Brown single on the left as an example of the revelation that came upon me beginning sometime around 1959 and culminated in 1960. That revelation was Black Radio and the R&B music featured there… which was unlike anything I had ever heard before (sorta: see Fats Domino, above). I'd go into my room at night and listen to my crackly, staticky AM radio, marveling at the music I heard… music that was Unobtanium in my white-bread, lily-white suburban world. Once again, consider the times… you simply did NOT find James Brown, Lloyd Price, or Ray Charles in the "hits" bin at Woolworths back in the day… that day being 1958 - 1960… at least not in suburbia. I would have had to journey into Southeast Washington to get that music in my hands back then and since I was only 15 and without a driver's license, that was out of the question. My parents simply wouldn't go there… literally… but the music was on the radio, the radio was in my room, and it was ON every single night. It was an education like no other.

1964. Biloxi, Mississippi (Keesler AFB). Three viewings of "A Hard Day's Night"… the movie… followed up by the IMMEDIATE purchase of the album and every single Beatles album released ever after. Beatlemania struck us HARD and opened us up to The British Invasion. Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Hollies, the Kinks, and The Rolling Stones weren't far behind. But the Beach Boys and early '60s American pop were left behind… FAR behind. My world changed… again.

1967. Lompoc, California (Vandenberg AFB). I was stationed at Lompoc Air Force Station and did shift work for about three years straight. One night in 1967 I came home from a swing shift sometime around 0030 hours and didn't want to go to bed immediately. So I got myself a beer, parked my tired young ass in the living room, switched on the FM radio, and began surfing up and down the dial… when I came across this… playing on KCSB… the college radio station out of UCSB in Isla Vista:

Yowzers! Moby Grape!  My eyes opened wide… my ears perked up and I was frickin' mesmerized. About 10 seconds into the cut I turned it up… WAY up… prompting an irritated visit from The First Mrs. Pennington, who had long been asleep. I apologized and went to headphones. And stayed up all night… listening to bands like It's a Beautiful Day, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and so on. I went on break a couple of days later, whereupon I drove down to Isla Vista and dropped an obscene amount of money (for a young three-striper) in a local indie record store. A (plastic) hippie was born…

So. We remained deeply immersed in "alternative rock" for the next ten years or so. We went from Moby Grape to Buffalo Springfield (and its individual members, like Stephen Stills and Neil Young), Santana, The Byrds, and so on and so forth. We bought the Woodstock album. We were seriously into Dylan and Joan Baez. The whole nine yards… the music led us to the counterculture, such as it was, and thus was a serious life altering event. And we stayed there for quite a while. Until 1978 or so… but before we go there… there's this:

1975. Tokyo, Japan… Yokota Air Base, actually. Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere." I've told this story before, so there's no real need to repeat myself. EKTIN changed my life for-frickin'-EVER and was the soundtrack for the best years of my life. I just can NOT leave this album out. No way. No how. It was definitely THAT big to me.

1978 - 1980. North Bend, Oregon. College radio, yet again… and this time it was a break from what had become "classic rock," in the form of Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, and Nick Lowe… just to name three. You could also toss in the first Dire Straits album, coz it was released during that time, as well. Our musical tastes were evolving, ever so subtly. And then in what might be the most amazing case of serendipity I've ever experienced… I received orders in 1980 assigning me to RAF Uxbridge in London. The Second Mrs. Pennington and I were set down in what was arguably the very heart of the alternative music scene at the time. And we took advantage… going out to pubs, clubs, concerts and the like every damned weekend. It was… ahem… Nirvana.

So. Just one more and then we'll go. The year is 1988. Dee-troit. My Good Buddy Greg dropped by late one evening, as was his habit, and left Lyle Lovett's "Pontiac" with TSMP and I. This is the last "life changing" album I can think of and it was life changing in the sense it opened my eyes to "New Country." I've been a life-long fan of Lyle's… and country music in the larger sense… ever since.

This is only half of the meme's requisite "15 albums," and Lord knows I could add more… many more. A couple more Beatles albums. At least one John Hiatt album. Motown. The Who. Pink Floyd. Leo Kottke. Soul Asylum.  Six Dylan albums, and at least that many from the Stones. More than a few from Joni Mitchell. Etta James.  And we haven't even scratched the classical music genre, there being more than a few Mozart and Vivaldi albums I couldn't live without. The Blues, too. Da Blooze would merit a post all its own, when you come right down to it. But this is the state of my musical memories at the moment… so it's gonna have to do.

Update:  Jim's 15.  That ol' cliché about looking up "eclectic" and finding Jim's picture as the only entry in the dictionary applies.  Hoo-Boy, does it EVAH!

Reading Test

SN1 sends the following along... asking if we notice the typo:

In response to why America trusts the military…

Ed O'Malley

A former state legislator and gubernatorial aide, Ed O’Malley is President and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center, a first-of-its-kind training center charged with fostering large-scale civic leadership for healthier communities. He tweets at eomalley.

The leader next door

Confidence in the military comes easily because our soldiers care about something larger than themselves. Their work is not about profit, but duty and freedom; not about popularity (as is the case with media ratings, consumer rankings and political polls), but about the honor and security of America.

Cynicism about those in government, business and the media runs rampant, while Americans continue to hear heroic stories about military men and women, doing the work few in government, business and the media have done or likely would do.

In addition, perhaps we trust the military more because it delivers on its broad promise to the American people. We ask the military to keep us safe, and they deliver. We ask government to solve tough issues like lax regulation of Wall Street and government dithers. We ask media to shoot straight and then media bias, on all sides, is so evident. We ask big business to steward the economic promise of America and then find ourselves bailing out billionaires.

We trust military leadership because we know the military. My dad was a Marine, and my granddaddy was in the Air Force. My colleague's daughter serves on the USS Truman. Our recent widow-repair man served in Iraq. A friend flew refueling tankers over Afghanistan. I don't know any Wall Street billionaires, and that is fine with me. I'll take the leadership lessons from a soldier, sailor, air man or Marine any day.

***

As I told SN1... well, there could be such a thing (but I sincerely doubt it).  This just serves to illustrate the perils of spell-check... sometimes that squiggly red underline goes missing, eh?  Still and even, Mr. O'Malley's point has the ring of truth and is VERY well taken.

―:☺:― 

So.  We're just now finishing our second cup after answering the overnight mail and such. We've yet to turn on our teevee, make the Daily Blog-Rounds, or even steal a look at memeorandum.  Part of the reason I was up all night was the news coverage of the elections... and it appears to have been a great night for Republicans.  I'm not all that adept at reading political tea leaves, but my initial reaction is "no big deal."  The GOP, of course, is saying they're resurgent and the elections represent a referendum on The One and his policies.  I don't quite see how state governors and such have anything to do with Mr. Obama and his policies, especially in New Jersey where God hissownself would have been defeated had he run as a Democrat.  Too much party corruption there, for way too long.  Still and even, I hope the GOP pols are correct and the public rejected Democratic candidates simply because they were Democrats.  But I kinda doubt it.

We'll see.

Broadening Our Horizons VIII

That would be a Shiner Smokehaus. OK, purists... I freely admit the very ideer of mesquite flavored beer IS off-putting. But I just couldn't help myself... I'll let ya know if it's as bad as it sounds.  Or as good.  Whatevah.


That's an Acid Opulence 3 in the ashtray.  We have some experience with this cigar... and it's very, very good.  And now... outside! 


Update, later that same day:  Unaccustomed as I am to the language of connisseurs... here's a review from Beer Advocate (which gave Smokehaus an overall rating of B-, based on 79 reviews):

Pours golden yellow with a thick soapy head.

Aroma is surprisingly sour charred grassyness. Grainy, with just a hint of mesquite smokiness.

Taste is very smokey. Mesquite along with a touch of cooked meat dominates. Underlying hint of dark fruit. Finish is crisp, grassy, with a touch of adjunct sweetness.

Mouthfeel is light and smooth.

Overall a smokey lager with a nice crisp finish.

I diverge from the review only slightly.  First of all... the pour was a hearty golden orange and quite pleasing albeit with little to no head, as can be seen in the pic I posted.  Second... the beer's taste is more than a lil bit sour.  That's not a bad thing, in and of itself... more of a matter of taste.  Some folks like "sour" in a beer, some don't.   I didn't "get" the smoky taste; it wasn't all that discernible to my palate.  Don't get me wrong... the smoky taste and aroma was there... it just wasn't prominent.


Still and even: worthy.  Which is not to say Smokehaus will be a regular here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington.... more like we're not sad we bought it.  I'll finish the sixer but I won't be buying more anytime soon.

Heh

Lotsa bloggers are having fun with this lil blurb from the Beeb:

A bear killed two militants after discovering them in its den in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.

Two other militants escaped, one of them badly wounded, after the attack in Kulgam district, south of Srinagar.

The militants had assault rifles but were taken by surprise - police found the remains of pudding they had made to eat when the bear attacked.

It is thought to be the first such incident since Muslim separatists took up arms against Indian rule in 1989.

Bodies found

The militants had made their hideout in a cave which was actually the bear's den, said police officer Farooq Ahmed.

The dead have been identified as Mohammad Amin alias Qaiser, and Bashir Ahmed alias Saifullah.

News of the attack emerged when their injured comrade went to a nearby village for treatment.

Heh. "Islamophobe Bear."  "GWOT Bear."  And the hits just keep on comin'!

Snippets From the AOR, Part V

About which: a couple o' pics I received this morning.

SN1 posted the back-story about the door pic on his blog...  And then there's this:

This is the sign that graces the front of the UK Military PAX terminal at Kandahar.  I'm thinking the original Heathrow just might be a lil more hospitable.  Ya think?

Idiots

I really shouldn't do shit like this. But I did. I saw a banner ad on WeatherUnderground and clicked through, just to see what the Hell "Hopenhagen" is... and it ain't the latest flavor from Ben & Jerry's. Nope, it's this (click to embiggen):

Now ain't that cute?

345,530 idiot reasons.

But THIS freaks me out!

I sent a note off to James Taranto at the WSJ asking if it was really true... is the Journal REALLY a "Friend of Hopenhagen?" Really? I'll let ya know if they answer me...

Full disclosure:  I did NOT sign the petition.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

"Yellow." Mellow. That would be us during today's Happy Hour, which… given the time change… we kicked off much earlier than usual.  Sitting outside with our feet up, cigar in hand and drinking in early afternoon will reinforce, no doubt, our neighbors' perception of us as an irreconcilable reprobate. I flatter myself by thinking the neighbors actually think of us at all, which I'm quite sure they don't. Still and even, drinking in mid-afternoon on a Sunday isn't quite in keeping with the gestalt of the High Plains of New Mexico, given our frickin' Blue Laws and such. It's illegal to buy alcohol on Sunday in these parts, and that includes a simple glass of wine with dinner, should one choose to dine out on a Sunday. I frickin' HATE that!

All that said… both yesterday and today were brilliant Fall days, which is to say warm, clear and beautiful. We saddled up Miss Zukiko and went for a ride around the countryside late this morning before coming back and indulging in Happy Hour. There aren't many of such days left this year, I'm afraid. So: we're taking advantage of them as best we can.

―:☺:―

Miscellaneous bitches, moans, and complaints department: Have all y'all seen that obnoxious AARP ad? The one that features the "with-it" 60-something dude who begins the ad by saying "the sixties were a time of freedom… and so are MY 60s" and then proceeds to flog Medicare Advantage insurance from AARP...complete with flashbacks of his sixties-era girlfriend with the long, ironed blonde hair, presumably now his pixie-coiffed wife? And shots of him and said girlfriend in front of their VW van (quick cut to today's minivan... OMG), and him on his motorcycle… ultimately cutting to politically-correct pics of him and the family in the present… on frickin' bicycles? God forbid we should still ride mo'sickles in our 60s, right? And then there are the oh-so-cute grandchildren. Kee-RIST. Spare me. Please. I can't find the mute button fast enough…

I spent quite a while over my morning coffee searching all the video sites for that commercial, but: no joy. Which is probably a Good Thing… coz if you've seen the ad you know exactly what I'm on about. And if you haven't seen it… well, your day has been spared a serious downer. I'm thinking the world will be a MUCH better place when all the Boomers are dead. Things are only gonna get worse in the ad-space and other cultural forums as time goes on, however. Aiiieee.

Full disclosure: I am NOT a Boomer, given as how I was born in 1945. So: I'm entitled to bitch about 'em. And Boy-Howdy… I most certainly do and will continue to do so.  Self-obsessed wankers.

―:☺:―

One more from this afternoon's soundtrack:

I loves me some Norah.  Yeah... I'd go away with her at the drop of a frickin' hat.  Sooner, even.

Coast To Coast In A Lil Over a Minute

The Promised Land from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

With Chuck Berry!