Seven Inches Of Sense

Today's Post

2005-04-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone, today's post is up over at the new site. So I guess I'm gonna start posting over there from now on. So, if you will, please change your blogroll or favorites address for this site.

The new blog address is:

http://seveninchesofsense.mu.nu

I will be working on the template still, but the site is up and running. So come on over, folks.

(And the new feed URL changed to http://seveninchesofsense.mu.nu/index.rdf )

Smiling Through Tears

2004-08-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

I wish I was capable of expressing in words, just how wonderful Mark was and how much he blessed my life just by being in it. But I am afraid that no such grouping of words exists. His legacy is one of kindness, gentility, and genuine affection and empathy for everyone with whom he came in contact. He had a way about him that made you want to bare your soul to him. If I could choose my father, I would have chosen him. He was my friend, and I loved him. And even as much as I am going to miss him, and as heartbroken as I am, I cannot, even now, think about him without smiling.

The last time I spoke with Mark, he was on his way home from two wonderful weeks in the Canadian wilderness. He had called me because on his way up North, I had kept him company for a couple of hours, via cellphone, until his phone died. So as soon as he got back into range, two weeks later, he called me back, laughing. He said, "Hey Babe, where were we? My phone died before we got to finish our conversation." It was just like him...he always brought a smile to my face. And trust me, there were days that was a pretty tough job. But he always succeeded.

I asked him about his adventure. He told me that he still hadn't figured out how he could translate everything he was feeling into words but that he was working on it. He was jubilously happy. He was insouciant. I couldn't get over it. I had heard him laugh and cry; I had heard him cover the range of emotions. But I had never heard him like this. He was downright giddy. There was a childlike exuberance about him that day.

When he couldn't really give me an overview of his trip, I asked him what has been his favorite part. He didn't hesitate for a moment. You see, the Retreat he had been on, was one that his son, Burke, had been involved with before his murder. Mark was familiar with the people there because Burke and a couple of his other children volunteered there during the summers. In memory of Burke, 'the kids' there had gone into the woods and built a stone monument in his honor. Mark got a little choked up just talking about it. It meant so much to him.

Mark had this way about him...I don't know how to describe it to you. Those of you who knew him on a personal level, know exactly what I am talking about. When he talked to you, he had complete tunnel vision...no one else on Earth existed. When you had something to tell him, he listened to every word as if it were the most important thing ever spoken. And when he loved you...you knew it.

A little after 11AM on Wednesday morning, I said goodbye to my friend. We told each other we loved one another. Then he said, "I'll call you tonight when I get home, doll." Unfortunately, that call never came.

I'll carry a piece of him with me always.

The intention of this blog to begin with, was to help draw attention to his son's website, in hopes of solving a murder. You never know where that one piece of vital information will surface and Mark didn't want to leave any stone unturned. So, in honor of my friend, I will continue to write, in the hope that one day, Burke's murderer will be found. I think it's what my friend would have wanted.

The Last Ride

2004-08-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how to say this...I'm not sure I can say this. My heart is aching right now. My friend, Mark O'Brien, better known to all of you as Brando, was killed yesterday in an accident on the way home from his wilderness adventure.

I had just talked to him an hour or so before the accident. He sounded happier than I had ever heard him. I would like to express my condolences to his family and loved ones. He was one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of calling my friend. I will write more later, but for now, I can't see the screen for my tears and the words just won't come through my shaking fingers.

One of his cousins sent me this link:
http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=7970

2004-08-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

"If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light If I lose paper and ink, I will write in blood on forgotten walls I will write always I will capture nights all over the world and bring them to you."
--Henry Rollins

Tri'en and Tri'en

2004-08-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

On my way home from my two weeks in the Canadian wilderness I hope to stop in Toronto and meet someone I have admired from a a far, and have just begun to correspond with this year. Originally I had intended on meeting Allison this week on my way up but she was out of town ,running the Lake Placid Ironman .

So in my absence I thought I would point you to one of my early posts about her and also to an article she wrote about her preparation for Ironman #2.

Still Tri'en

Second Time Around

Seven Sticklers

2004-07-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have some questions I let myself get irritated over...:

Why do our medical schools only turn out 16,000 doctors a year when we clearly need more? It would seem this would be a good investment for our government to subsidize particularly in light of our aging population.

Why doesn't the government make available the number of terrorists who have been killed and jailed? The same applies to enemy combatant soldiers killed in Iraq.

Why doesn't the government legalize and regulate marijuana and stop effectively subsidizing both Mexico and Canada? Is anyone confused that current policy isn't effective?

Does it seem odd that a woman can selectively abort two of three triplets then sell T. Shirts announcing it under the guise of promoting woman's rights. Conversely the same woman could be jailed for giving a massage with a "happy ending."

Does anyone think a drinking age of 21 has curtailed drinking by teenagers or college students?

Duke University now charges $60, 000 for the tuition for the first two years of college. I wonder what percentage of that goes to those students teachers. Lets say he or she has on average 32 students per class. So each 3 hour class takes in $102,000 So taking a standard course load the pay collectively just over 2 million dollars. So say the professor teaches 5 classes a semester .( 32 weeks of work, 20 of vacation, 15 actual hours a week in the class) . That would mean say we pay the professor $125,000, $500,000 for the teacher and 1. 5 million for "overhead" Wonder why the team mascot is the devil.

If you really want to drive yourself nuts, check out the revenue produced by MRI and CAT scan machines next time you get "tested".......

The Rapture of the Ride

2004-07-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Theater 101.....Everything is sexual.

My resume includes a summer at the ,C lazy U an exclusive guest ranch in Granby Colorado. Four months of ranch work there barely qualified me as even a drug store cowboy. However in nearby Walden Colorado. I did get to see and stand aside, the real thing.

Walden normally the home of less than a thousand people, swells dramatically when hosts it's rodeo. Not just any Rodeo, you see the Walden rodeo meets one week before the Cheyenne Rodeo. The worlds finest bull riders come there to tune up on the nastiest bulls, for what amounts to their super bowl the following week. Admission was three dollars.

Sports and sex mix well. In Athens there will be two Olympics, only one televised on the field. The real action starts when the American wrestler catches the eye of the Russian gymnast. There is no doubt race car drivers get the most ass. They are the rock stars of the sports world. If it is merely about length and girth, I don't see anyone beating your standard NBA phallus. I love bullfighting also, but it's the dignity of the bull that entrances me, not the guy in tights. I am not diminishing waving a cape at a bull, or running down a narrow street ahead of a small stampede. However riding one, now that is a whole different matter.

Bull riders roam cross-country the cowboy way, independent and self-reliant. "Dirt on their boots, they take their lumps without complaint, then acknowledge their glory with an aw-shucks humility. They live to climb on the backs of the rankest bulls in creation, cinch a rope tight around a single, gloved hand, and ride the wave of bucks, spins and adrenaline for eight indescribable seconds." The whole time, wearing their Stetson's and oozeing raw masculinity.

These guys carry their own saddles. At Walden I could walk right up to the chutes. Spit my Redman into the same dirt, and check out the same asses of the rail. However that's where it ended. They put a 2000 wild beast between their legs, I hung around.

When a tight ass meets the right jeans, we have a thing of beauty. Give her a Stetson and a nice rack, and viola, you have their cowgirls. These gals tease calf ropers, tune up on steer wrestlers, before they bed down the real thing. What kind of woman do we have here? " It's like the bullring, get on and hope you don't get bucked off" remarked legendary bull rider Lane Frost .

After the rodeo I returned the dude ranch, to serve drinks to middle age house wives, eyeing me to fofill their cowboy fantasy. Meanwhile the real cowboys, those who rode, were drinking cold Coors and listening to country music in a small town bar. They were relaxing and getting ready for another ride. This time, atop one of the tight butts who had been on the rail earlier.

"People say that what we're seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. What we seek is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel that rapture of being alive." Joseph Campbell

The rapture of being alive.......sexual and alive, exactly. That's bull riding, the sexist sport

Your are invited to visit my web site on Bull Riding,Mama Let Them be Cowboys . I had a lot of fun making it. I hope you enjoy it.....

Nature Speaks , I Listen

2004-07-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die discover that I had not lived."........Henry David Thoreau

Late next week I am taking such a journey. My woods, our woods, are three hundred miles north of Toronto, bounded by crystal clear lakes and unspoiled rivers. The present day home of the Teme-Aguama Anishinabai, "The Deep Water People. For ten days I will be joining a community of thirty people, few I ever met.

I will wear the same cloths for days, and not wear cloths much of the time. I will dance all night, then jump in the lake at dawn. I wil open myself within the sweat lodge, then float out on the lake, blanketed only by the Northern lights. For several days I will set out on my own to find my place in he woods. Just me nature and the cloths on my back.

I hope to not just laugh, but to laugh uncontrollably. I hope to not just cry, but to wail deeply. I hope not just find the elusive "alone together" place within, but to hold, and be held in it. I hope my refection on the lake dissipates and I can see into the waters.

I hope to return a writer........

Temagami

On a lake near by, you will find two of my daughters
Burke Canoe Trip

Jefferson, Washington, Where are you ?

2004-07-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

The world has caught up to "Bush Speak" Carefully chosen words accompanied by a remarkable stubbornness. One listens, and then after a time, realizes one is left with more questions than answers Clearly there is an unspoken agenda and that leaves most distursting. When pressed it gets worse, and we are in an uneasy place of "Just how stupid do you think we are." People don't like being treated that way, no likes being bullied or insulted.

Unfortunately the democrats reacted rather than acted. They have responded by unifying their party around hated for the incumbent and nominating a remarkably weak candidate If Kerry wins we will be left with a man simply to weak to govern. The anti Bush hatred will pass and we will be left with a Jimmy Carter look alike, a moral man, but a long way from being the leader this country needs.

So we are once again left in much less than ideal circumstances. This is not exactly George Washington verus Thomas Jefferson. I hope Bush and aids have the courage to be more candid, and gain some empathy for those who listen to them. I hope they take an aggressive posture with the whole, jobs, immigration, health care mess. I support them largely because they take the threats to America seriously and advocate strong action.

The best I could hope from with Kerry is an ineffective government and a realization how much this country needs a strong leader. Hoover, gave us Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower, Carter gave us Reagan and Clinton. Out of this potential Kerry malaise will emerge strong leaders for our future. However, be prepared for some very uninspired government for the next four years.

Maybe, during these four years we could examine the real question. That being, how could we have such remarkable leaders out a population of 4 million in 1776 and now with nearly 300 million people we have so debased our choices.

The Recalcitrant Buffalo

2004-07-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

"The most efficient technique was what Crow Indians called "driving buffalo over embankments ," which involved enticing and leading buffaloes to the edges of cliffs or bluffs up to seventy feet high, then driving them over to instant death or a broken back or leg or other crippling incapacity, ended by a thrust from a lance or blow from a stone maul"

One of my mantras in life is not be a buffalo," don't jump off the cliff with the herd".I have also learned most of my best ideas were met with a great deal of skepticism .Some might call it a contrarian theroy, I call it" don't be a dumb ass buffalo theroy".

My hope for our blog is we don't begin to stink like a frieghtend buffalo. If you are interested in Micheal Jackson, Kobe Brynat , Scott Peterson , Micheal Moore , or Brutney Spears you will need to go elsewhwere. When I get lazy, I won't copy and paste a picture of some some semi naked twenty something and remark" woo woo" under it.Most importantly, I will not resort to excessive labeling and name calling.

What we will do is break a few rules , keep our sense of humor, and point out observations we find interesting . All the while being personal ,and encourageing you to make up your own mind. and have your own damn feelings.

"Awaken your sense, your intuition, your desires. Awaken the parts of yourself that have been sleeping. Life is a dream, and to live it, your must be awake."
--Rachel Snyder

A Poet , and Baker , and a Shaman

2004-07-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 12th would have been Pablo Neruda's 100th birthday. I encountered Neruda at a very dark time in my life. His work gave me faith that I was loved and capable of loving at a time when those postulates were not within my grasp. Simply,he helped me get my life back......

To introduce yourself to him I strongly suggest the movie Il Postino. The movie tells of his realtionship with a simple Italian postman. It was nominated for academy award for best picture of the year in 1995 . The sound track includes beautiful readings of his work buy several well known actors.

I think Neruda gives us a window to his life process in the following quote:

"The poet is not a "little god". No, he is not a "little god". He is not picked out by a mystical destiny in preference to those who follow other crafts and professions. I have often maintained that the best poet is he who prepares our daily bread: the nearest baker who does not imagine himself to be a god. He does his majestic and unpretentious work of kneading the dough, consigning it to the oven, baking it in golden colors and handing us our daily bread as a duty of fellowship. "

The principal characteristic of Pablo Neruda?s poetry is his insistence that the logic of the Self is the same as the logic of the universe.

Reid Alstair says about Neruda, ?he had legions of friends. Only some of them were human beings; the others were plants, animals, trees, landscapes, objects of all description, and houses. Neruda appeared to live on terms of intimacy with the world of things, and to carry on secret conversations with all kinds of beings, animate and inanimate, conversations that often became poems?

I have selected a few pieces off the Internet and encourage you explore .....

Three Poems
More Poems
More Poems

A Bio and more
Another Admirer

Car Sensuality

2004-07-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

"The Oldsmobile is the Best Thing on Wheels.Nothing to watch but the road."
( The first Oldmobile slogan ,1902..)

Well things have changed,,,,,,,

"As I drove by the woman pulled her shirt up almost over her head," exposing her breasts

Woman arrested after flashing prosecutor by The Associated Press
LOGAN, W.Va. (AP) - A woman is behind bars for baring her breasts at a passing motorist - the Logan County prosecutor. Wytona Mollohan, 38, of Whitman, is serving a 90-day sentence at the Southwestern Regional Jail in Holden after pleading guilty to indecent exposure in last week's incident.

Was something wrong with them?

Home-church minister is facing sex charges
Investigators found two more congregation members, women ages 37 and 38, who alleged they had been forced to have sex with Romero to keep the devil from harming them........The women said Romero had sex with them in his car in La Mesa and at various places around South Bay, White said.

Maybe seven inches of divine guidance..?

Sisters arrested in prostitution sting
Omaha World-Herald
An Omaha police officer posing as a customer during a prostitution sting waved at one woman near 24th and Manderson Streets about midnight June 25, and she told him to pull over, according to a police report. .....She asked if she and her sister could have a ride, the report says.

Good idea, wrong car........

Central Florida channel 6
Woman Teacher Accused Of Sex With Student Turns Self In
"Detectives said Lafave had sex with the student twice in Ocala - once in the back seat of her car while the cousin drove around town"

The teacher is newly married and very hot.......one has to wonder.

The Smoking Gun
According to the accident report, witness Nery Veliz told cops that he was driving behind the speeding Mitsubishi and saw "a white female who appeared to be naked climb on top of the driver and move as if they were having sex." The vehicle then veered off the roadway.

Someone should have called a cousin.

And finally.....
Channel Five Chicago
CHICAGO -- A 12-year-old boy was cited with auto theft for the ninth time, after a police chase Thursday night. The chase ended with the boy and two other people injured after the car crashed against a northwest side home.

Indeed this makes sense. This little hoodlum runs wild and our flasher from West Virginia, who was basically doing a community service, is behind bars....go figure.

Authentic Ringo??

2004-07-08T01:07:00.000-07:00

One could take personality test's on the Internet all day long. I am not sure why I needed to know which Beetle I was (John) or what fruit I am (I am no damn fruit). I think Carl Jung is a genius, and have taken the Meyers Briggs personality type test. I am a INFP, a theoretically rare type, but I still put my pants on one leg at a time. I continue to take these tests largely because I get the big joke. That being, I am quite smart about others, but remarkably dumb about myself.

Recently a psychologist friend of mine whom I hold in high regard recommended a test site to me: Authentic Happiness - Using the New Positive PsychologyThis site features a long questionnaire, the aim of which is to determine one's "Signature strengths"

DR Seligman defines 24 strengths broken down into 6 different categories: Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity and Love, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence. The idea being if one stays with their "signature strengths" one will more easily find "Authentic Happiness." I find the jargon a bit pretenious,but the test itself quite illuminating. I recommend it.

Very brave, recommending something for "others." Makes me want to gag. So here for the whole universe, I will expose my signature strengths. First is ingenuity and original thinking .Second, loving and allowing myself to be loved. Third was perceptive, fourth loyal, and fifth curious. Interestingly, I don't seem to be transcendent and totally lack temperance....

I realize these tests may not interest many people. Tonight, "Authentic happiness" seems so remarkably illusive. Maybe I could be happy just being Ringo and a pear.

Brando's Alter

2004-07-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

"Marlon would hate the idea of people chiming in to give their comments about his death. All I'll say is that it makes me sad he's gone," said Francis Ford Coppola.

If one wants to understand Marlon Brando my suggestion would to study or even try "method acting". Brando was uniquely gifted for this medium. You see, for the method actor the stage is not merely a showplace, but transforms into a sacrificial alter where the actors inner life is split open for the world to see.

The Stanislavski Method emphasizes an individualized, psychological approach to acting- requiring the actor to draw on his or her own self, on experiences, memories, and emotions .This shapes how a character comes to be developed. Characters are thus shown to have an interior life; transformed into complex human beings with multiple and paradoxical feelings and desires. This ability to convey the complexity and the confusion of inner feelings that makes the great actor.One is himself in character, rather than pretending to be someone.

The actor Anthony Quinn remarked of Brando's contribution to acting: "He turned the whole world around." With method acting,one pushes to the edge of their emotional and psychological boundaries. It can be very exciting , but also very destablizeing .

Method acting and Brando specifically, opened the gates of a deeper human experience for me and I am grateful.

More on the Stanislavski Method

Stanislavski
Method
Method>

A Legend Passes

2004-07-02T05:49:00.000-07:00

Marlon Brando Dies at Age 80
CBS 5 News has learned Marlon Brando passed away Thursday in Los Angeles. Brando may be best known for his roles in "The Godfather" and "On the Waterfront". He won oscars for his work in those 2 films. The cause of death is still unknown. Marlon Brando was 80 years old.

For me there was only one actor and one role.I wanted to play Stanley in "A Streetcar Named Desire".( made famous by Brando) I had the good fortune to be cast as Stanley in a production at a small theater on the north side of Chicago.

The evening I won the role, still in a daze,and frightened I could not live up to my dreams I went to the local supermarket. Remarkably, as I put my groceries on the belt I look up and see the name tag on the cashier. It was "Stella". The moment of truth came upon me much sooner than I had planned. Brando understood the moment and so must I. I dropped to one knee right there in Domincks foods and screamed "Stellaaaaaaa" for all the world to see.

Accidents or Messages?

2004-07-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

We all have a closet we toss what we don't understand in. Our closets take a different form largely based on what we call them . Some closets are named "let go and let God" others are called "lucky," or" magical". These are you basic simple closets. Carl Jung calls the force in the closet syncronisity, similar to the concept of it serendipity. These are much larger closets. I name my magical closet "There are no accidents" or "There are no coincidences," closets with no doors.

Weather there really are accidents or coincidences is not the issue. Those phrases represent a world view that appeals to the curious. If I see an event and choose the file it in a closet called lucky, or a coincidence I am limiting myself and halting my awareness. I might call that closet numb and dumb. The idea is to not label with containing words. Leave the door to yourself and the world wide open.

Yesterday evening my brother ran over his foot with a lawn mover and had to have surgery. Additionally he has no health insurance. He will call it an "accident ," containing his experience to himself and the lawnmower. My brother has more accidents than anyone one I know and will continue to. You see the "there are no accidents" outlook is not for the merely curious, one must be brave and curious.

These dramas created by my brother are a complex cry for help. I get that, he remains clueless. They are effective manipulations that work for him only in the short run. He is minimally aware of that, but certainly not brave enough to really deal with the underling issue. So there will be more "accidents" to come.

Often seeing more than the ordinary can be quite disturbing. It hurts to see my brothers real pain. The foot will mend, the need for attention however will likely not be addressed. The idea is to balance this painful awareness with awareness of joy. When I got back from the hospital. I watered my flowers. The colors were fuller, the smells more compelling, I could feel the magic in their growth. They balanced me, and that was no accident.

Brando

The Cast

2004-06-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I have discovered the characters I write about tend to live in me more vividly, than had I not written about them. They hang around longer, then pop back into my head. This morning it is like a damn party up there. So I thought we all might revisit them and drag you with me.

Those with sense:

I still pulling for both the Sox and the Cubs, but I send the most mojo to Allison who is running the Lake Placid Ironman the last week of July. My prayers go to Nancy Reagan and the young girl who go caught up in the Pledge of alegeance mess. I hope they get they the love they deserve. I want the 900 pound guy cared for and I also am pulling for Jack Ryan who deserved better.

On a lighter note, I wonder if Moxie found the 'breeder" she desires. I want someone to find a hot little number for Jabari , and someone needs to keep me up to date about Moe's widow . The woman has been spoiled. I need to call my friend who has just finished Hypnothery classes. I have ".offered to be he naked guinea pig Lastly, I wonder if my dad hooked up with Bappy yet.

Those I am hoping the light finally goes on for:

I wonder if the NBA will ever return to it's roots as a sport. Do you think Soso Whaley will eat for a month at Crispy Creams, or lady at the cubs game will figure out how to open the peanuts faster with her pudgy fingers. Has anyone sentJohn Kerry the Deadwood DVD or asked how people were sleeping with the boiling oil woman back in their neighborhood. Is Rush Limbaugh really cured or has anyone cuddled with those titanium tits. When is the next"summit"? And lastly, has anyone meta normal clown yet?

Those who have helped:

Most importantly: I want to say thank you for all those who have helped us get Seven Inches up and rolling.....

Brando

Mr Brando

2004-06-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Swearengen Sense

2004-06-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

I love the show Deadwood on HBO . With its unflinching realism producer David Milch tells the story of the development of politics. The show stands in stark contrast to the current politicians and pundits we have today.

"...... DEADWOOD is an intense, character-driven drama that takes elements of the traditional western and turns them upside down. "I had always wanted to do a series set in some period where it was legitimate to explore the genesis of law," Milch says. "What interested me about Deadwood is that it was an outlaw settlement, on Indian territory, so the American law didn't apply ? there were no laws at all."

Machiavellian saloon owner Al Swearengen, is the most powerful man in town ."He controls the most successful bar and whorehouse in all of Deadwood ? bringing in $5,000 a day in 1876 ? and anybody that threatens his sources of income will find themselves 'fed to the pigs"

My thought was to slide Al Swearingen in as the president and examine how he might respond to challenger John Kerry. I have quoted Al directly as I have Kerry, to give you a clear idea how it might go. I think you will find him "refreshing"

"You know why he should answer that question? Because I answered the questions," said Kerry
"Here's my counter-offer to your counter-offer: go f**k yourself."
--Al Swearengen

"I'm proud of our service. I said that in the days after I came back from Vietnam, even though things were happening in larger policy that I thought were wrong, and I talked about them."
--Kerry
"I want to know who cut the cheese."
--Al Swearengen

"George Bush has had four years to come here, sit down with the mayors, work with these issues,? he said. ?He just ignores them, gives a big tax cut to the wealthiest people, and people are hurting more and more. -- Kerry
"I wouldn't trust a man who wouldn't try to steal a little."
--Al Swearengen

"I think it comes down to this larger ideological, neocon concept of fundamental change in the region,? Kerry

"Don't play that sh*t where you make me drag your words out. Declare, or shut the f*ck up."
--Swearengen

On Kerry's hair.......
"Get a f*cking haircut. Looks like your mother f*cked a monkey."
--Swearengen

"The scriptures say, what does it profit, my brother, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" Kerry said. "When we look at what is happening in America today, where are the works of compassion?"

"I ain't pissed off. I'm in f*cking wonderment. I'm waiting to be kept happy by another f*cking fairytale.?
--Swearengen

John Kerry ....... will give every American access to the health care plan that the President and Members of Congress already have
"Announcing your plans is a good way to hear god laugh."
-Al Swearengen

As you have figured out I like Al....a lot!

Brando

Even Al is speechless at times........This is remarkable Here comes the judge

You get to Choose

2004-06-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

When things get a little to "wooie" for me, I go out for a steak and a couple beers.

I don't go to conferences, conventions, seminars, or summits. Occasionally I review my personal policy. After imaging what it must have been like at the "Time ABC Summit on Obesity": the policy stays in place, and in concrete. Fortunately Radley Balko went and most of what is quoted comes from him.I encourage you to read,: The Agitator. ..I personally "conference" at Wrigley Field.

Regarding the conference, here is what you need to know:

"Bottom line, whether you're fit or not, how much you weigh does count."
-Dr. Timothy Johnson, ABC News, Boston,"

"We don't need a 'grease police.' You have to realize that when you ban things, Americans get angry, and they're going to rebel and consume them like never before."
--Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Now go out and find something active and fun to do, and don't eat a lot of shit.
-Brando

Now just in case you need a bit more. I will give you some items from the organizers and make it clear why spending any time there would have made me crazy.

"Personal responsibility is a trap."
--Nestle and Brownell, in the TIME magazine special issue put out in advance of the conference.

(Wow......scary Wow)

"I think it would be a huge mistake if we failed to learn the lessons of the tobacco industry. And one of those mistakes is too much focus on 'personal responsibility.'"
--Yale University professor and nutrition activist Kelly Brownell.
(What would be the alternative?)

"The first couple of times I watched [Fox's TV reality series] The Swan, I was appalled that I didn't see any women of color on that show. The whole issue of weight loss to me is the inherent racism."
--Washington Post medical and health writer Sally Squires
(Did I see her at the Bank One protest in Chicago )

"Paul, we may disagree entirely with your point of view. But we respect your right to express it."
-TIME sciences editor Philip Elmer-Dewitt
(People who talk like this want me to toss up my tofu)

"She's right you know. Food shouldn't be fun for kids. Food is fuel. If kids want to have fun, they should play football."
-Unidentified.
(I would hide to)

If you haven't heard enough maybe you would have stayed for lunch.
"On the conference's second day, we were served what was billed as "The New School Lunch," a collection of sprouts, twigs, and sauces that looked more like the lunch menu at Nordstrom's than anything I've ever seen in a school cafeteria.(Roasted Turkey and Buckwheat Pasta Salad with Fresh Peas and Spring-Dug Parsnip )"

My take on all this is we need to address what we eat and take a stand against the marketing muscle . Personal responsibility is not a trap. The idea is to be self aware and make good choices, our own choices.

And just when you thought this was crazy enough. Here is the final statement made in the Time article : Time article about their "summit". ( Yalta was a summit, this was a damn conference)

(regarding the press's role)
"Perhaps if we stop playing up the dietary confusion message and emphasize what works in fighting obesity, more folks will get mad, understand what's at stake, and demand the kind of programs and changes we've heard about at this conference. Then we can finally reach and pass the ?tipping point? on obesity"

Maybe, if you restricted what advertising you took in and stopped taking money for 'Twinkles' ads you would have some credibility. How much money does ABC and Time take in from high fat, high sugar food producers...??

I find the hypocrisy remarkable, but then again if personal response ability is a trap, maybe it makes sense somehow........aghhhhhhhhh

Brando
Related
Related

Damn Bappy

2004-06-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

This will be a tricky couple of weekends for me , the White Sox play the Cubs , three down there this weekend, three up here next. Both teams are in the hunt for their division titles. Most well balanced Chicagoans have one team, and their feeling for the other runs somewhere from disinterest to disdain. I however, am the John Kerry of Chicago baseball fans, a straddler. I like and follow both teams and follow them daily. This is no small commitment. but manageable except on these two weekends. Then my harmless little paradox grows fangs, and becomes a hypocrisy I need to wrestle with.

I have lived on the North side, the Cub side of Chicago, since I was six. This should be your basic slam dunk, be a Cubs fan. The problem lies in that we moved up here from the South side where my father was born and raised. Yes,my father was a Sox fan, for him the Cubs were not even a real team.

I have been hoping on the EL with my friends to see the Cubs since I was eleven. We cut lawns in the morning and blew the cash at the game in the afternoon. Back then the Cubs played only day games. My nights were reserved for trips with my dad to the south side to see the Sox. Between reading about baseball ,collecting baseball cards, playing ball in a vacant lot behind my house, and my day night double headers, I was immersed in baseball; Brainwashed basically.

Still I would have resolved this I am sure except for one man, the legendary Bappy Fagen. Legendary, because people came to life when my father told stories. Bappy was a personal hero of my dads. You see, my dad and Bappy tried out for the White Sox together.

The brief version (which does no justice to the grandeur of all this), was they went down south someplace to tryout and dad got cut, but Bappy made a minor league team. Dad came back and worked in a drugstore. About a month later in walks Bappy. It seems Bappy got home sick and missed the old neighbohood....Damn, if I am still not wondering about Bappy! Could he have made it?

So here I am. Do I own an SUV or Don't I? Did I vote for the war or didn't I? A perfectly intelligent man waffling, straddling, acting like a Cubs fan, haunted by my deceased father, and damn Bappy.

Okay Okay,.it's resolved

Sox...Go kick some serious Cub Ass !!!!

The Baseball Crank

Brando( the sox fan)

Thug Ball

2004-06-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

I promise this will be the last I talk about the NBA. The dreadful season is over . Whether these guys embarass themselves at the Olympics remains to be seen.

Larry Bird thinks NBA needs more white players Sorry Larry, it is way beyond that.....

Just Ball Reports

"The NBA is rapidly turning into a national criminals' association: A whopping 40 percent of NBA players have police records, a bombshell new book charges. That and this report from The The New York Daily News' Dareh Gregorian

Jeff Benedict, "Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence & Crime"

A" bombshell" new book ? Are we just waking up?

Lets take a guess at a few other NBA stats:

Percentage of college grads: I'd say 20% tops

Percent of players untradeable: At least 30%(because the don't play up to performance expectations)

Percentage of stars "demanding to be traded " Seems we hear about this a few times a week, Vince Carter being the latest.

Percentage of players declining Olympic invites: Roughly half.

League's "next Jordan : On trial for rape

Number of illegitimate children: I beleive Calvin Murphy
is league MVP in this area with 14 kids with 9 woman. Ther are 350 players my best guess 400 to 500.

Chauffeur Murdered : "Just"one

I think the understatement regarding all this belongs to Charles Barkley "I am not your role model" Lets make Charles the league Rep. The league is a cesspool and God forbid anyone really speaks up. Then they get to be racists........

BTW, These guys average about 5 million a year, the stars way more, with the quality of effort and play questionable.Questionable, I am being kind.

When you buy a ticket, you support this...

Say no to the NBA Go Local

http:// URL

A film with Heart

2004-06-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

I woke early this morning to watch Michelle Malkin on Fox and Friends . She very rightly was pointing out that Hollywood has been excessively negative about America. She advocated for more patriotic films, like those made by Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper . My sense she is on to something, much as Mel Gibbson was with The Passion of the Christ .

You see it is unimportant which spirtual/religous neighborhood one lives in ,or the side of the political fence you are on . It is about ones passions and standing up for them. Without shame or shameing others.

Ironically, it because we live in America, that there will be a bold filmmaker, like Gibson willing to take risk for his passions. This persons passion will be his country. He will be a Robin Hood like figure with a band of followers feared by those in power. They will make a great film, and sequel makers will once again be exposed as cowardly and self serving.

All I ask for in sharing these prophecies is that Michelle and be given small roles in this film. I am thinking about a small romantic scene where I rescue her from the grasp of a ex vice president gone completely mad
...
"Look at every path closely and deliberately, then ask ourselves this crucial question: Does this path have a heart? If it does, then the path is good. If it doesn't, it is of no use."
Carlos Castenada

Brando

The Chauffeur

2004-06-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone calls my car "The Couch." It is a 1999 Lincoln town car, butterscotch with a brown cloth cover roof. Maybe a touch" pip daddy "for most people's taste, but I have grown to love it. You see, the couch was my fathers car.

My father passed away last summer. A month or so later, when we were sorting out his possessions my mother remarked "we have to sell that thing." I took the keys, smiled, and made his car mine. At first it was a bit odd driving it. You see the couch floats rather than rides. It is no BMW. This is a good thing, because the magic is in the floating.

The couch at times transforms me. I slip into a trance, aware of external world and aware of the trance I am in. It's an in between place, not spacey, quite grounded actually. Here, in this state, in this car, I am never alone. I am my father's chauffeur.

I loved my father deeply, but I didn't always listen very well, and was often dismissive. Fortunately he also loved me and has remarkable patience. Patient enough to wait for me. For most others, he has passed on in an ordinary way. For me that is just not so. He lives most the time in my driveway, waiting patiently, for our ride together.

He is calling, time to get the keys.

Brando

Indeed no sense

2004-06-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

"Banking While Black
A bank branch on the high-crime south side of Chicago is accused of being racist because it requires customers to go through a metal detector on their way into the building, reports ABC7 .ABC news"

Indeed I am ..Tongue Tied

"WORCESTER,Mass -
A Worcester woman who caused second- and third-degree burns over 22 percent of her estranged husband's body when she poured hot cooking oil over him was sentenced to five years of probation, and ordered to continue mental health counseling. "

Indeed ,she is likely a sweet lady. The neighbors much be thrilled she is home.Why do they have prisons anyway?

From the Washington Times

DUSSELDORF, Germany, June 21 (UPI) -- An Argentinean doctor who offers titanium implants for women seeking larger breasts says his clients never need to wear brassieres after his surgery.

Indeed, they must be eye catching, myself I prefer tits to torpedoes......

By Kristina Jergensen , The North Platte Telegraph 06/22/2004

Cowboy poet" Michael Martin Murphey, winner of this year's Buffalo Bill Award, was sharply critical Saturday night of the off-color humor of clowns at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo.

Indeed, he was lucky he wasn't in Molinewhere is was more than just talk....I steer clear of all clowns, they are just to weird for me. .............If however the clown thing is for you,here you go, but you are on your own....

Newsday:Buffalo wing turns 40

"Invented at Buffalo's Anchor Bar in 1964, the wing has its own festival each Labor Day weekend. ........Sonya Thomas, the 100-pound competitive eater downed 134 wings in 12 minutes at last year's Buffalo Wing Festival. "

As you can easily see Sonya proves wings are not fattening and indeed for all practical purposes are a health food...That's a good thing because, I rarely watch the "da bears" without a tray of them...

From US press news

"Summer's Hot New Look for the Sophisticated Career Woman: McDonald's Happy Meal Gizmo "

"Originally, the Stepometer? was a transparent and, at first glance, lame attempt to deflect scrutiny from our" Extra-Value-and-Arterial-Obstruction Meals, says McDonald's spokesperson Commissioner McBacon, a guy that makes Ronald McDonald look like an Apprentice contestant. "I mean, counting how many steps our customers walk is like counting tie-dye T-shirts in Iraq: people are still going to blow up."

Okay so, indeed this not true.......

This is, however .....Supersize your waist
And so is this.........A whale of a name

And lastly because something has to make sense.......MOE has agreed> to serve as Honorary Chairman of my : "Lay pipe for America" campaign Yes indeed!!

Brando

Red , White and ,Screw till you are Blue

2004-06-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year the leading democratic senatorial candidate here in Illinois saw his fortunes drop suddenly. A very public bitter dispute with his ex wife did him in, after spending twenty-nine million dollars of his own money on the race. Today the ax just fell on the Republican side. A judge released some very messy divorce papers of Jack Ryan"s . Apparently Jack's desire for the public eye isn't reserved for only politics. More than you need to know

We have all the usual false outrage and denials as everyone is bailing the sinking ten million dollar ship wreck. One would think after we crippled the federal government for two years over a simple oval office blow job, we might stop the hypocrisy. I am not advocating following the example of the Catholic church, covering up child sexual abuse. A couple adults acting out sexually a bit,is simply that. Why not leave it private? Are we all that needy to see the other person suffer and fall? Can we not contain our inner voyeur? We all have out dark sides, all of us. Dark and criminal are quite different.

It's my view the Catholic church radically diminishes it leadership base by retaining it's celibacy rules for priest and nuns. There numbers are way down and daily we hear more trouble about those clerics who remain. Now we do the same with our federal goverment, unnecessarily restricting our leaders. We ask our best people to open themselves and their familles to undo scrutiny and most choose other fields. Little wonder we are still looking for the next Jefferson, Lincoln or Washington.

We have been fortunate to have three excellent candidates for senate here in Illinois ,so after this bloodbayh all is not lost..It's two down one to go, with our current leader looking carefully over his shoulder.

Here's my thought. Lets all get our partners and let it rip all weekend long, every orifice, every position. Maybe even a double dose of Viagra and some of the good Vancouver weed . The next week talk about it over the fence or watercooler.Then after taking notes, saddle up the next weekend. Seems to me who is doing what to whom would be way less interesting after a month of this. My lay pipe for America plan,,,,,,

And.......If it doesn't work is there a downside?

Brando( for President)

Korea Smoldering

2004-06-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Politically, some of my more intellectual friends know more than I. However, there are some things in the recent news (and outside of the news) that are bothering me. It seems that everyone has suddenly stopped paying attention to North Korea. I believe, ignoring the dangerous changes going on right now is a SERIOUS mistake

First of all, in October 2004, many of US troops stationed in South Korea will be withdrawn, and the bases turned over to the nationals. For example, Camp Bonifas, the northern most post, will be downsized to a handful of US soldiers, replaced with ROKs. The conscripted ROK soldiers are simply as not as experienced as the enlisted US soldiers. With the change, scheduled in October, this dismantling is all within full view of the North Koreans.

Secondly, South Korea has decided to send another 3,000 troops to Iraq. But the Korean 386ers (3=are in their thirties, 8=grew up in the 80's, and 6=born in the 60's) are a huge percentage of the population. They are extremely unhappy, especially in light of the recent a South Korean hostage who's images of pleading for his life are all over the news. They were already unhappy with the Americans being stationed in THEIR country. The older generation remembers the war and understands why the Americans are there. The younger people want to find a way to unify with the North. They have only memories of the current prosperity. The divisiveness runs deep.

I digress, Is this really a good time to be sending troops to the political minefield that is.Iraq, merely to curry favor with the US government. The Koreans will experience large financial losses with the withdrawal of US troops (those boys put a lot of their hard earned money into the Korean economy).It seems to me that dividing your country at such a crucial time is inviting trouble, even more so with the hostage situation.

The impoverished North Koreans realize all this. Kim Jong Il is demanding that all north. Korean children refer to Americans as imperialists or fascists, or even worse...the American Nazis. The fire just keeps getting hotter. The South is fueling these flames, and then giving them an open door. The North Koreans have roughly a million full-time Army, and seven million reservists along with their nuclear weapons, COMBUSTION is only a matter of time, and that scares me, really scares me.

It actually wouldn't surprise me at all if he has found a way to join forces with al Quaida and becomes involved in this war too. Has anyone checked North Korea for Osama bin Laden?

--Joan

The Real Joke

2004-06-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Suntimes ".
GIANGRECO gets benched for joking about Detroit"

"Commenting on the Pistons' victory, Mark Giangreco showed an old black-and-white movie clip of a city being burned to the ground and joked that it was "just another typical night for Detroit." He followed that immediately by saying that he was "just kidding."

"It's a joke, these people take themselves way to seriously." I bet I have heard Mark say that twenty times.....
For those of you not from Chicago , Mark Giangreco . has been the runaway most popular sportscaster here for over twenty years. No one is even close, the Richard M. Daley .of the sports guys. Like our mayor, he is one of those guys who gets it that he has found his spot. Why be a national figure when you can be here in Chicago with your family.

No one can be surprised Mark's mouth got in trouble last week, but lets not confuse the guy with Howard Stern . He is not a hostile guy abrasive guy. He is a wonderful man with a great sense of humor. He sees the world in and upside down sort of way. I don't think he even likes sports that much.

Our kids played hockey together. We hung out at the rink several days a week. He had three boys playing, I had two boys and two girls playing. The guy clearly has his own way. When his kids began to skate, I don't think it even occurred to him not to learn how to himself. He signed up for private lessons several mornings a week. Later he would rent the rink out once or twice a year and invite any dad to his self styled "rat hockey." For weekend games you could count on a cold six-pack concealed in his "gym bag." Let's just say the guy is fun and knows how to hang out.

Clearly there is way more going. His kids are wonderful young men. and top flight hockey players. His oldest lead the local high school to several state championships, before he want off to Harvard. Mark has a serious side and more importantly he is filled with passions.

When we first met he had a Sunday night show during football season, featuring Steve "Mongo " McMichael. and a couple other Bear teammates he had been drinking that night. Clearly one of those to good to last things. Now we have this mess over a joke about Detroit.

Luther Keith is senior editor of The Detroit News .
has made himself the self appointed head of the humor police. "There's no way to joke-proof Detroit. But hopefully, at some point, .... others will realize this: Its not funny." Seems to me TOUNGE TIED. makes more sense." Since when did it become verboten to make fun of Detroit?

The Chicago Suntimes . " Viewers....thought the joke has 'racial overtones? and he was forced to apologize." They mean they made Mark grovel. Clearly this is not the place for him to make a stand and put his job at risk. However, that aside, I would have liked him to tell those thin skinned, self importanting hypocrites to "kiss his ass." Then maybe , and this is a long shot , they might see who the real joke is.......

Brando

Our World

2004-06-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

I have the most wonderful friend and lover. Neither of us have much contact with the other people in our lives, although we know all about them. Neither of us is anti social, and I suspect most would think we are a very attractive couple. It is just that our world together is ours, and only ours.

We do things together and talk about doing lots of other things. Most of that is talk. Our basic routine is walking to a local Thai restaurant, stopping to pick up a six pack of beer along the way. Going in that small restaurant with someone else, would be unthinkable. I would be overcome with loneliness.

Afterwards we go back her place. There her jealous male cats assert themselves as lords of the realm for about twenty minutes, eventually giving me their blessing. I see it all as a ritual, needed to contain the wildness of our relationship. She is just completing her graduate work in psychology. That shoe fits her well, your basic natural.

The key to the evening usually lies at the liquor store. There, they have a huge selection of beer. We both approach the cooler telling each other we don't care which brand we buy, one of the very few lies we allow with each other. We do it every time, then proceed to posture ourselves, knowing we are setting the tone for the night. Last night she picked Miller lite, a good sign, glad she didn't insist on Dixie's Blackened Voodoo.

The beer choice was correct, dinner was wonderful, and the cats gave me my pass. Our world, almost always includes our sex, which to us is out of the this world. Last night there was a bit of a twist, however. She wanted to give me an ink blot test. It's a psychology test where on reveals one self through their impressions of various ink blots. She handed me cards fully clothed. I undressed my psyche. I must have done all right, afterward she fell asleep in my arms for a half hour. It was all so personal, tender, and damn sexy.

When I left it was quite cold ,and I remembered I left my bird outside. Fortunately my youngest daughter had thought to cover her cage with blankets and we carried it in together when I got home. Luna our bird is a beautiful female Eclectus parrot, red with blue highlights.
I have not taken good care of her, not cruel, more not paying attention. This morning I have committed to change that. Let her out of her cage more, keep her warm, be more tender with her, listen, and be more empathic........

Imagine that.......

Brando

Eclectus Parrot

A Whale of a Name

2004-06-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

I am just NOT that clever to make this stuff up.

Just when I thought no one was more aptly named than the urine drinking wildman Joe Don Looney .Along comes MS Soso Whaley , of the Competitive Enterprise Institute">.to take on Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me.fame. Soso of the Competive Insitute whaleing out at McDonalds. Remarkable.....

"Soso R. Whaley is an adjunct fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute...... Ms. Whaley has devoted her life to teaching people of all ages about the necessity of developing a more educated and symbiotic ( the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms ) relationship with animals"

Soso has taken issue with Morgan Spurlock with his Super Size Me.
film and has taken on to "challenge" him with an eat off at McDonalds.That's right Soso from the Competitive Institute MS Whaley feasting exclusively at the golden arches for a month not once, but she did it twice.

"My real purpose is not to prove something, rather, I see this as a unique opportunity to explore food and weight issues and separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to what is reported about our health and well being in the media and other sources"

Does anyone believe people who talk like this??

My guess is Soso has a few issues, and just isn't that much fun. Thinking about MS Whaley in a bikini on day fifty-nine would cause anyone to toss your Big Mac right back up.

Competitive Enterprise Institute, somehow I am just not all that impressed. Competitors don't go for a damn tie. If MS Whaley was a real player she would eat nothing but Dunkin Donuts for a month and drop Morgan Spurlock to his knees.

Now if we are talking about real competition lets go this way.

We get a set of twins, a somewhat pudgy Olsen twins wannabes. One does the Spurlock routine and shops all day, resting only for an occasional soap opera The other is fed by Morgan's vegan chef girlfriend for the whole month .She goes to a high level health club, reads Gandhi and Shakespeare and goes to the theater at night. Lets call them the reverse swan and the swan
....

After thirty days we will judge which one has a more symbiotic relationship with life...The winner goes to Paris with the man of her choice. The loser gets to go to fat camp fat camp with some overweight woman in their 50's.

As for Soso.......lets get just get the girl laid. I am thinking a romp with Moe if he would do it..Moe

Seven Inches of Gorilla

2004-06-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

Mae and Joan's day at the Zoo...Gorilla's baited by sensational yoga asses.

We have long known you may not want to take them camping (Bears and menstruating women) but the zoo may also may be problematic also.

Gorilla's Leap May Lead to Zoo Redesigns

".. no one expected a stocky, knuckle-dragging 340-pound gorilla to leap across a 12-foot-wide moat and a wall that separated him from visitors at the Dallas Zoo.......Some experts speculate Jabari may have been doing a "display run," a showy charge that younger males perform for females "I think we probably have underestimated the ability of these animals,"

The gorilla's flying leap has astounded primate experts and is leading some to rethink the design of the gorilla exhibits at the nation's zoos. "

For more on gorillas Try Here

For less on gorillas Try here

Supersize Your Waist

2004-06-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

I love this movie.......!!!
Super Size Me

I enjoy things that stir a mix of emotions in me. Don't just drowned me in sadness or scare me out of my seat . With all do respect to Moe, please don't make it to silly. I want it all.....The theme of this movie is scary and the film itself makes me sad,and angry. All while, being wildly funny.

"In 1972, we spent 3 billion a year on fast food -- today we spend more than 110 billion."

This is not only a story about obesity. It is a story about marketing muscle.Remarkably,"French fries are the most eaten vegetable in America". I don't recall many ads for peaches or tomatoes lately?? The brainwashing has just gone way to far, I mean way to far.

McDonald's clearly has taken it personally and had some "interesting responses".Includeing eliminateing the super size, and wageing a counter ad campaign. My favorite however, is the "chewy burger". The chewy burger they have to be kidding. Something hasn't sunk in yet.....
Your Chewy Burger

Anyway, go see the movie, and read Surlocks blog if you get as crazed as I have
Spurlocks blog

NYT sees no problem

I wonder how that 900 pound guy is doing........

900 pound man

Chicks dig Moe

Brando

Chicks Dig Moe

2004-06-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Come on Moxie we know what's going on here, she is looking for that "perfectly chiseled oil rig ". Why be so shy and coy?

I took it on myself to help her out and checked out, Celebrity Cocks List. Hollywoods true "A List" ;all plus 8".....It didn't take must time ,the choice was easy....Moe is her man. Thats right Moe" the horse " Howard, older bother of Shemp and Curly, friend of Larry.

"Brando , come on man,Moe"

Listen to me out.......

Moxie

says

......"Likewise ,I will bear no boy-children who hug trees (and hump men) while being physically indistinguishable from their pinko feminist sisters."

Moe is no damn boy toy, he hangs with real guys, and any girl who looks like Moe; God would just not be that cruel.

So lets focus on the visual. Moe with that funky hairdo and that mug, naked, hanging down damn near his knees, and ready for some rough stuff. .. (Obviously that's his thing )......What could be hotter for MS Moxie.

I am telling it like it is, Chicks dig Moe !!
More Moe :)

Brando

Breeding Lunacy

2004-06-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Mouthwash...?

For those of you are not familiar with the aptly name Joe Don Looney ( no kidding), he was an All American football player at Oklahoma in the 60's. Joe Don attributed his remarkable athletic prowess in part to his regular drinking of his own urine. Joe later retired to an isolated Pacific Island with a few hand picked woman to breed......Literally putting himself out to stud.

And why do I share this ......

Moxie :)

has a funny item . Unfortunately Jon Don is no longer with us

".....More important than finding a man with huge bulging (oil wells) muscles and a perfectly chiseled oil rig (visage) -- is scoring a breeding partner....... "

(read it all it's funny)

Also see her husbands blog , an absolutely great read.....li>Tony Pierce

Brando

Say No to the NBA,.. Go Local

2004-06-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

My sense is this mess of a NBA finals, is a fine metaphor for a mess of a league.

FOXSports.com :

"What went wrong?

A look at how the heavy favorites got so humiliated.

It's time to rewrite those "greatest sports upsets" lists after the Pistons pulled off the unthinkable and finished off the Lakers. But how did such a heavily favored team with four future Hall of Famers and an unbeatable coach get so spanked?"

Consider the following, then maybe read the article.....

Shaquille O'Neal said he was expecting "a funny summer." "Everyone is going to take care of their own business and everyone is going to do what's best for them, including me," Interesting remark for a man paid millions to play a team sport.

The league gives relatively uneducated teenagers multimillion dollar contracts, and flies them around the country with arena's and hotels full of woman wanting to be "near " the athletes. Certainly an interesting way to build character.

This years first round draft will likely have only four college seniors. So more of the same. Seems the horizon is dark.
So........

If you like basketball as I do, get behind your local high school or college team. Save your money, take your kids.....

Brando

The Sacrificial Child...cont

2004-06-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well, Britney's summer tour has been canceled. I must admit to be a closet Brittany groupie, although I can't name any of her songs..:) go figure. She has apparently hurt herself and "has to stay off her feet." Maybe some down time to work on her early twenties promiscuity makes sense.

And...Life as a chick magnet:

I had an interesting response to my outrage over the abuse of the young girl drawn into this pledge of allegiance mess.( Yesterday mornings post.) I resent the post into the comment section at Calico cat
Remarkably........

By Michael Kantor :
"These types of cases require the legal fiction that the plaintiff have a direct interest in the case. So a parent is the only one who would have standing to bring such a case.

There is no evidence that Newdow is a bad parent or he's neglecting his daughter.

Just because you have a child doesn't mean your not allowed to believe in any causes or pursue activities other than raising her.

There's nothing I know about Newdow that causes me not to respect him. He has a principle that he's fighting for, that should be admired."

What I find most interesting is Calico cat
promotes several dating services and Mr. Kantor actually has his own on line dating service site himself full of recommendations. Must be great reading. I can't wait for his parenting site in years to come.....

Brando

Scream for All of US

2004-06-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Joan...,

About a year ago, one of my former male friends forced himself on me. He was not "satisfied" with the attention I was giving him so he took it. They cut him a deal, 2nd Degree assault/6 months time & 1yr probation. Because it never went to trial nobody knows the real story. People are beginning to question the "incedent", and what happened between us to send him to jail. Should I just say nothing,or should I put my story, the truth, out there and stand by it? I'm pretty involved in a lot of community activities so, many people know me

What should I, or what would you do?

----------
I say put it out there. Scream it from the tops of your lungs. You have nothing to be ashamed of. He even admitted to it in order to get the plea bargain, so it's not like he can deny it now. He can try, but no one would believe him.

Get your story out there. I do whenever I can. I was raped and I know that sharing my story with other people has helped them. And after the fact, after the actual rape occurs, there is little else we can do to fight back. But putting your story and your face out there and admitting to the world what happened to you, WILL help SOMEONE. It might not be anyone you know, but it will help someone. I say do it...do it as often and as loudly and proudly as you can.

Love Joan

Still Tri 'en

2004-06-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Currently I am slowly working myself back into some reasonable physical condition. I am recovering from a lung injury and it is going very slowly. Summer is the triathelon and adventure racing season and I had hoped to run a few races this summer. Sadly that wil not be happening and I I will miss the energy of race days. I am certainly no star, more like one of those who wants to merely finish with dignity.

There are hundreds of triathlon sites on the Internet. Slowtwitch.com
is clearly my favorite; informative on virtually every aspect of the sport. I particularly enjoy the writing of Alison Colavecchia at Beginners Luck.Her mission was to run an Ironman by her 40th birthday and has chronicled her four year journey. I have enclosed one of her pieces.

Quiet By Alison Colavecchia 8.6.01 (www.slowtwitch.com)

"In the quiet, I can hear my effort. As I swim, I can hear the sound of my lungs forcing air out before taking new air in. I hear the water rushing against my cap with each turn of my head. I can hear the sound of my breath as I drive my legs uphill, hard,shallow, steady. I hear the whirring of the wind as it tugs at my wheel and helmet. I notice the rhythmic fall of my feet on the ground beneath me. My heart pounds. I can almost hear it. These are the sounds I can hear in the quiet. They remind me that I am alive, vital and strong. These are the sounds of my effort. I welcome them. They are respite from the noise of everyday life,from the demands of everyday living.

With the effort spent, the workout over, I reluctantly return to the world of noise, a world of voice mail, e-mail, snail mail, telephone calls, requests, complaints and commotion. I am again swallowed up in tasks outside of me, unaware of my breath, unaware of effort. The momentum of the noise around me takes me further and further away from the cocoon of hard physical effort. The stillness within is gone, the sense of oneness with my body vanishing,until the next swim, until the next ride, until the next run,until the quiet again welcomes me.
Still Tri'n "

Brando

The Sacrificial Child

2004-06-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court preserved the phrase "one nation, under God," in the Pledge of Allegiance, ruling Monday that a California atheist could not challenge the patriotic oath but sidestepping the broader question of separation of church and state.

I find this whole story a remarkable outrage. I am glad the Supreme Court found some way to toss this mess out. The real story here is THEIR IS A LITTLE GIRL INVOLVED HERE !!!!! Where the were the all adults along the way here? Consumed in some sort of self serving ideological fog?

The father's time would be way better spent with his daughter doing things dads and daughters do. I suspect this never really entered his head. In my world, loving is the willingness to put others first. This guy made his daughter a sacrificial lamb! Where were the other adults? This reminds me of the stories where people are mugged and raped while a series of on lookers watched passively. Remarkably, it got all the way to the Supreme Court before an adult stepped in on this girls behalf.

Shame on all of them. Shame on all of us!

As to the issue regarding the wording of the pledge. It seems to me this could be resolved by reasonable adults on their own if they truly cared that much.

Taking a deep breath..........

Brando

It's My Bladder

2004-06-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

Lets lighten it up a bit today. I am sure all sorts of shit will hit the fan by weeks end, but who needs to go there now.

The Cub Reporter ..... My craziness, along with about half the people in Chicago. If you are in town definitely go. Don't worry about tickets even though all the games are sold out scalpers abound. Try the bartenders at " Bernies. " ( Sheffield and Clark ), they will line you up ,while you have a pre game beer and a dog.
(all-baseball .com/cubreporter)

Mudville Gazette. ...... Great piece that speaks for itself.

DeadBrain - Fox News Channel Suffers Psychotic Break...I like these guys but they even drowned me.

Bob From Accounting
: "Life as a Trainwreck" ......A couple "family " articules for those who are just glad to be back at the office.

The World. - Training for sex workers in relating to people with disabilities....... God I do love good works.Maybe they can get an audience with/for the Pope.:)

tight.se

....Some harmless gratuitous eye candy

A Day W ithout A Mexican - La Movie ...And Bill O'Rielly thinks we have an immigration problem now....?

AND

Men standing up for themselves...........

"Men, for instance, when urinating in the standing position, should, except while drunk - when operating dual systems of balance and aim is obviously trickier - stand on tiptoes to urinate. This stimulates the energy of the bladder meridian, which runs through the vital organs and down the back of each leg, and is said not only to increase kidney energy production and thus stimulate libido levels but also to help prevent or manage prostate cancer."
(guardian.co .uk )

The Observer | Magazine | Barefoot Doctor: Go with the flow

Recently (06/09/04, at 10:07 AM) Seven Inches did a short contraian post citing "Mothers Against Peeing Standing Up" (MAPSU.ORG)

I suggest you read the whole Observer article not only because it is a good read, but it seems one might need to be informed so to defend OUR OWN FUCKING INALIENABLE RIGHT...:)

Brando

Time to Blog

2004-06-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

".......In a way, blogs represent everything the Web was always supposed to be: a mass medium controlled by the masses, in which getting heard depends solely on having something to say and the moxie to say it."

It is a rather condescending piece in places, but they will have a lot of readership and some solid information. I have cut it down to sift out an inordinate amount of fluff> I wouldn't bother with the whole thing unless you feel enriched by comments like."a quirky Camelot moment in Internet history" . Puke

Time Magazine
Sunday, Jun. 13, 2004
Meet Joe Blog

Why are more and more people getting their news from amateur websites called blogs? Because they're fast, funny and totally biased
By LEV GROSSMAN; ANITA HAMILTON

......Over the past five years, blogs have gone from an obscure to a genuine alternative to mainstream news outlets, a shadow media empire that is rivaling networks and newspapers in power and influence. Which raises the question: Who are these folks anyway? And what exactly are they doing to the established pantheon of American media?....

.......Unlike a big media outlet, bloggers focus their efforts on narrow topics, often rising to become de facto watchdogs and self-proclaimed experts. Blogs can be about anything: politics, sex, baseball, haiku, car repair. There are blogs about blogs......

......What makes blogs so effective? They're free. They catch people at work, at their desks, when they're alert and thinking and making decisions. Blogs are fresh and often seem to be miles ahead of the mainstream news. Bloggers put up new stuff every day, all day, and there are thousands of them...... They're human. They come to us .... from an individual. They represent no, they are ? the voice of the little guy.

......Blogs showcase some of the smartest, sharpest writing being published. Bloggers are unconstrained by such journalistic conventions as good taste, accountability and objectivity ? and that can be a good thing. Accusations of media bias are thick on the ground these days, and Americans are tired of it. Blogs don't pretend to be neutral: they're gleefully, unabashedly biased, and that makes them a lot more fun. "Because we're not trying to sell magazines or papers, we can afford to assail our readers," says Andrew Sullivan, a contributor to TIME and the editor of andrewsullivan.come "I don't have the pressure of an advertising executive telling me to lay off. It's incredibly liberating."

........Some bloggers earn their bias the hard way ? in the trenches. Military bloggers, or milbloggers in Net patois, post vivid accounts of their tours of Baghdad, in prose covered in fresh flop sweat and powder burns, illustrated with digital photos

........But blogs are about much more than war and politics. ....Six years ago, a philosophy professor in New Zealand named Denis Dutton started the blog Arts & Letters Daily artsandlettersdaily.com to create a website "where people could go daily for a dose of intellectual stimulation." Now the site draws more than 100,000 readers a month.

The Courage to Step Aside

2004-06-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

I think the art of when to get out can be an elusive one. I think the focus of this week's news, Ronald Reagan, certainly understood it. Johnney Carson knew when to go , as did several notable sports stars including Barry Sanders , Walter Payton , Larry Bird .

If I have ever seen a case for this to be considered, it is Rush Limbaugh . I am no big fan, or neither does he outrage me. Basically I see a guy who has had one hell of a run."In 1996 the couple moved into a mansion in West Palm Beach, Fla., estimated to be worth $30 million." So apparently money shouldn't be to big an issue for him.

Essentially Rush encourages people how to think, act and live. Not an unreasonable thing, we all do it to some extent. Fortunately for him, he has quite a soap box and apparently made quite a fortune. However it is clear his personal life is plainly just not working. He is ending his third marriage, he has a sea of legal problems and the idea he has cleaned up his addition problems with one twenty-eight day program is just blantly absurd.

I suggest he rent the DVD " Tombstone
". Although he may see himself more as a later day Wyatt Eyrup .I suggest he pay close attention to Val Kilmer's Doc Holiday, clearly a man with an awareness of his self destruction. Specifically two of his lines seem pertinent here. Doc... "I have not yet begun to defile myself." and more clearly ;"IT APPEARS MY HIPPROICSY KNOWS NO BOUNDS".

Two things are clear: One listens much better when their mouth is closed. Secondly, this is one hell of a wake up call, life is screaming at him.

Micleal Jordon
"retired " and rode a hot bus around to minor league ballparks with a bunch of young men, then returned to win three championships. People do recover, but not with bandages........Time, humility, introspection, real shifts in patterns, vulnerability, those are some of the keys.

I have compassion for him .This would take some real courage to step aside. Let's see what the guy's got.!!

Rush Limbaugh and wife split up http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=1fc96ed806dff3f3>

A Ritual for America

2004-06-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

I spent my morning entranced in the ritual of Ronald Reagans Funeral
. The experience was somewhat surreal for me. I have been in the first limousine of a funeral procession twice in the past year. Empathy came easily.

I have come to value rituals greatly, and this one was beautiful.
Reflective of the man on several levels...

"......... We've gathered to celebrate the life of a great president in a church where believers profess their faith. So this is not only about a person, but about faith.......In this service of worship, we celebrate the life of a great president, and we profess the resurrection faith of this church. It is faith in God's victory over darkness. It is faith in the ultimate triumph of light..........There is no better time to celebrate the triumph of life than in a service for Ronald Reagan
."
Senator and Reverand John Danforth

" Ronald Reaganbelongs to the ages now, but we preferred it when he belonged to us. ......We know, as he always said, that America's best days are ahead of us. But with Ronald Reagan's passing, some very fine days are behind us. And that is worth our tears."
George W. Bush George W Bush

FOXNews.com - Top Stories - Transcript: Bush Honors Reagan

"I cannot imagine how any diplomat, or any dramatist, could improve on his words to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit : `Let me tell you why it is we distrust you.' Those words are candid and tough and they cannot have been easy to hear. But they are also a clear invitation to a new beginning and a new relationship that would be rooted in trust."
Baroness Margret Thatcher

Yahoo! News - Text of Margaret Thatcher's Eulogy

A yoga Ass and a Pampered Ass

2004-06-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

Mae will be away for a couple days working on her new Yoga site. More about all that in future posts. It will be a sensation.

I personally consider Mae's yoga ass an international treasure, so when I saw this post on Cop Talk I began seriously considering getting her this little number they are promoting ......Only the best!

TLC for Your Tush

The Japanese company Toto has introduced a $5,000 toilet that will make any bottom feel like a King...or Queen.
.....You use it for sitting and it serves as an exit for everything that your body decides it doesn't want or need. Other people have other uses for it. But how much care does it need?The features are amazing. ..... A REMOTE? For a toilet? The grand features, however, are the deodorizer for your tuckus... And finally, if you're so inclined, there are massaging options. Got a tense butt? Massage away your cares! .....

http://www.coptalk.blogspot.com/

900 Lbs Of Nuts , 900 Lbs of Sad

2004-06-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine this " shit show."......It is just wrong on so many levels.Sad but nuts.......

"I don't remember the last time I saw him," said Savage, 67. "But he was maybe 400 pounds when I saw him then and he just went up and up and up."
900 Pound Man

900-pound man rescued from apartment
Jun. 10, 2004 10:30 New York Times News Service

NEW YORK - A man weighing 900 pounds complained of shortness of breath on the hottest day of the year .........lifted by cargo netting out of his bed .

This of course is the same paper which Tuesday printed an articule quoteing an obesity researcher at Rockefeller Univeristy who "argues that contrary to popular opinion, national data do not show Americans growing uniformly fatter." ...(see our first post of the week)
NYT sees no problem

An Album

2004-06-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

.We may likely bring a guest writer or two ..As you can likely tell I like a classy broad with a twinkle in her eye. I' ll let Mae and Joan speak for themselves in this regard. Also, from time to time we will be shareing the thoughts of those who influence and enbolden us,those behind the scenes..........Today:

" Every warrior, as a matter of duty, collects an album that reveals the warrior's personality, an album that attests to the circumstances of his life. Above all, it is like an album of pictures made out of memories, memorable because they have a special significance in one's life. Put in it the complete account of various events, that have had profound significance for you.

Not every event has a profound significance for you. There are a few, however, that I would consider likely to have changed things for you, to have illuminated your path. Ordinarily, events that change our path are impersonal affairs, and yet are extremely personal......

Don't think about this album in terms of banalities, or in terms of a trivial rehashing of your life experiences............Such an album is an exercise in discipline and impartiality...... As such, it has all the meaning in the world."
Carlos Castenada
The_Active_Side_of_Infinity
***

If you remain curious , you might try the quotes section on thie site Nagual Net

Brando

An Extra Inch of Sense

2004-06-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

It seems everyone has a slightly different idea of what sense is all about.We like ours.Our dear Mae took on the folks over at CommonSenseWonder.com N .Read on ,and see who makes more SENSE to you.........
Brando

"Canada PM ditching Reagan funeral "The Canadian PM is ditching Reagan funeral . This isn't so surprising as even Chirac
said kinder words in his letter of condolence than the Canadian PM did. We should kick them out of NAFTA .
Max Jacobs 03:27 PM

Oh My Dear Max

I fail to see why Paul Martin's lack of attendance reflects badly on relations between Canada and the US. It seems to me to be a prime example of American arrogance to assume that we should all drop everything to focus on Mr. Reagan's funeral. That is not to say that Mr. Reagan did not make a notable contribution to the world whether you agree with his politics or not - he was a strong President

Look to yourselves before you criticize others.

I live in Vancouver , which for the past few years, has either been first or tied on the Quality of Life Index for best places IN THE WORLD to live. Canada is not a better country than the US, but we are a country in our own right and we do not have to curry favour from the US in order to retain our position on the world stage or our sovereignty and integrity as a nation.

I am not suggesting that Canada boycott the US, I am suggesting that we would find other methods.I would personally welcome better relations with the US, but both sides of this border are going to have to stop acting like spoiled children before that will happen.

Mae

Mama Don't Fret

2004-06-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

"Admitting that you have a problem is half the battle."

Mothers Against peeing standing up

mapsu.org

The Ole Red River

2004-06-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Brando
"Do guys mind having sex with a girl if she has her period?"

There is a classic quote on this subject that speaks for most of us.......
"I don't mind wadeing in the Ole Red River, I just don't drink from it"...
Brando

Ball Park Sense

2004-06-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

I found this item on Calico cat
that I found hard to swalllow.

"Americans are NOT getting fatter
In January, I posted Are Americans really fat?, in which I doubted the story that the news media keeps feeding us, that Americans are getting fatter.

Today in the New York Times is an article about Jeffrey Friedman, an obesity researcher at Rockefeller Univeristy who "argues that contrary to popular opinion, national data do not show Americans growing uniformly fatter."

Posted on Calico cat

Dear Calico......

My reseach leads me to s different conclusion. My test lab was the Cubs game last night. I sat next to a fat woman wedged into her seat. She ate two big bag of peanuts early in the game and returned from the seventh inning strech with huge ice cream cone......

By brando,