Dazzling!

Sari! Sari! Sari!

   Many of the Ladies wore traditional Indian dresses to todays events. It was just beautiful!

DANGER- WILL ROBINSON

This next post is a big one. 

My biggest ever, but come on kids, I got to go to a fancy party, as a rule , yall get dog with stick, VERY SORRY!- if all the pics are hard to download, there is more to come. Its Neil's big weekend!

The format is a little wacky, I set things up backwards.. the info for the pics is under the text. Do the best you can and enjoy!

My Big Fat Episcopal Dinner Party.

    
"The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges."

Neil and his Anglophile Ilk are having a swearing in tomorrow, and gathered together tonight to celebrate. Man-o-Man, What a nice party! Cocktails on the lovely varanda of the Genesee Valley Club, open, top self, bar followed by a Michelin quality dinner. Could not sling a dead cat and not hit an Episcopal Bishop..... the several bars were kept busy, as well as passing wine.

The butter pats ( Yall know my weakness for butter pats) were in the exact same monogram as the flat wear and cocktail glasses.... The great majority of those present found the presence of G_D in the fact that The Reverend Singh was elected to be the next Bishop of Rochester.. I saw a divine hand in the place setting... God is where we find him/her!  

 I will, as quickly as I can, post all the pics that I took onto the web, as well as those that others took, but its been three T&T's , wine with dinner and an oil can Fosters on the way home, this wayward blogger is ready to crash...

Lot of pics here, ever so sorry if there is any trouble downloading any...

• Corolyn ( who did sooo much work on tonight) Neil  and Karen
• Jack and Linda
• Linda gets her pocket book stuck in here ear, .... Like it has not happened to you
• The N.J. Crowd  ( a.k.a. the popular table)
• Skip and Jack, Prince was in the room... Rex must have been somewhere
• Neil and his new Bishop!
• Dessert, with twill butterfly
• Carl, Prince and Nun
• American Gothic
• Neil and Dick ......
• Butter pat!!!
• Neil and his beloved Jorge
• dinner
• the lovely Mr and Mrs Lattime
• passed shrimp
• me and my homie Kate
• ever so cute bartender
• dining room pre dinner
• table setting
• closing your eyes will not make it go away
• bar
• lady with shrimp

Dear G_D , but I have handsome children

Dukes Mayonnaise , Family Size Tea Bags and EXTRA HEAVY STARCH

 "What are three things you can not get in the North, Alex?"

I , as a rule, do not get my shirts laundered up here, Koda does not care if my pocket is broken or not , as we walk down the trail every day. ( I sometimes worry about it). But, seeing as how this is the big EPISCOPALIAN shin dig this weekend, I figured I would. I go to the dry cleaners that I use here in town, drop off my shirts and ask for extra heavy starch. Now, that was just one extra. Back in the day it was sometimes extra, extra, extra heavy. These were some shirts for Neil as well, and I didn't want him to have his first elbow blow out on the big stage Saturday in front of the gathered muckity-mucks and all of Anglican Rochester.

Neil picked them up this afternoon, and I just sort of checked them... shock and dismay! I can do better starching watching  my stories and drinking that tea that I can not get up here. It is what I would call a light medium starch at best.

 Extra heavy is all together something else. My cuffs were so hard, that once, while being frisked by a overzellous police officer, I was sort of slammed into the wall of the Fulton County lock up, him thinking my cuffs were weapons. Elbows routinely burst open when doing that over under pretzel while shagging. I could wear a shirt three times and it could still sort of stand up on its own. I have known men ( ok, Delts,.. but still) who would leave a party if someone broke their pocket seal. I'll just have to make do this weekend.

It ain't fittin', it just ain't fittin'.

MENDON FIREMAN'S CARNIVAL

Started tonight, every little ( and Mendon is tiny!) town,village, hamlet up here has a fireman's carnival. The parade is Saturday , but I'll miss it this year. The major difference in Northern Carnivals and Southern ones is : BEER! 

New Irises !

more come in every day!

Dinner with the Johns

Our new friends John and other John, live in the wonderful old 1799ish roadhouse in Lima , NY. It was a beautiful afternoon outside with their corgis, and a very nice dinner. They are a very welcome addition the the area!

reason #3, 241 why we ♥ our Governor

"ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada."

Number one, since I am, well, me.. it means that my own marriage is now safe, something that you straight readers never ever even thought of : " gosh, what if they come and take this away from me tomorrow."

Number Two, in the #1 and #3 most populated states in our country now have full on gay marriage, not some namby pamby civil union, invited-to-the-party-but-don't-get-to-eat-any-cake, marriage lite. Full blown, rice throwing, "not another toaster" marriage. 

I think I'll send him some Banana Bread.

That Morehouse Man is a MO !

 A very interesting article about being OPENLY gay at Morehouse College. Notice it's from the Los Angeles Times and not the Atlanta Journal- Constitution. Good for the Maroon and White!

put your arms in the air, show your underarm hair

From our intrepid reporter , B. Day (special to kyle+blog):

Athens, Ga. - For those who were unable to attend The Report of the
Secretaries of State: "Bipartisan Advice to the Next Administration" held
in late March, a one-hour edited version of the two-hour roundtable will be
broadcast on the University of Georgia's cable channel, Channel 15, on
Charter Communications. The program will air on the Athens-area system June
2-6 at 1 p.m. and June 2-8 at 8 p.m.

The original forum took place on March 27, when former Secretaries of State
Henry Kissinger, James Baker III, Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright and
Colin Powell gathered in Athens to discuss current U.S. foreign policy with
the goal of providing advice to the next presidential administration before
a live audience of more than 2,000. The conference was sponsored by the UGA
School of Law's Dean Rusk Center in association with the Southern Center for
International Studies.

After which they all hit the Taco Stand for some killer bean tacos and then preceded to get shit faced at The Georgia Bar. Christopher hurled like a mofo, and Kissinger slept with an Alpha Gam.

Start of Summer?

Sure , the Lovell-Spencers are sunning themselves silly on Amelia Island, but for us hearty northern folk, we have a FROST WARNING, and Neil and I think that we saw the aura borealis in the sky tonight.  (really) We have seen it here before, and once up on Lake Ontario.

The Town of Mendon Assessment Board

Where one spends a Tuesday evening, when one lives in a lovely , yet ramshackle , 1890 farm house, and they build McMansions all around you.

Iris Blogging ( and a gosling )

Neil is doing a fantastic job with our yard this year, these are the first of our Irises. The yellow and white one should be called Lemon Meringue Pie or Banana Pudding or something like that...

orange - almond shortbread

I was told by Dana that my last recipe for a savory shortbread was misleading, as well as spelled wrong ( come on people, its me, CAT and DOG are hard for this dyslexic blogger) so this is a direct copy of Martha's website. Im all about these not sweet cookies...

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
Grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup sliced almonds
DIRECTIONS

Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms.With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.
Freeze the dough: On a piece of waxed paper, form dough into a rectangular log, 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Wrap log in the paper, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months. If freezing longer than 1 day, wrap log again, in plastic wrap.
Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough from freezer. (If dough has been in freezer a long time and is frozen solid, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes so it slices without crumbling.)
With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.
First published

Cry-Baby On Broadway - Montage

Monday Morning Broadway Moment

19 days till the Tony's, so lets, in the time that we do have, review  the best new musical nominees: 

• Cry-Baby
• In The Heights
• Passage Strange
• Xanadu

( no Young Frankenstein OR Little Mermaid !)

Best revival of a musical nominees:

• Grease ( really?!?)
• Gypsy
• Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific
• Sunday in the Park with George

Moopah Spawn

Second baseman Max Hightower ducks as the ball bounces over his head while North Oconee's Lane Thompson slides into second as the North Oconee Titians lead the Wesleyan Wolves 5-4 during the second game of the GHSA class AA state semifinals in Bogart, on Monday, May 26, 2008.

Sorry this is as big as I could get the pic, here ( I think) is the link to the story in the Athens paper.

RECOUNT

I just watched the HBO movie RECOUNT, with Kevin Spacey and lots and lots of others, still a little bit slack jawed here. It's all about the complete mess that Florida was in 2000. I had just moved up here when all this was taking place , so I was a little bit out of it, but this movie brought it all back. Seeing still photos from those months come to life was pretty wild. It's a very good movie, I think you can rent HBO movies, if you can't see it.

It does not matter NOW, who did win. Al Gore won the most votes, Zippy won the electoral vote. Done deal, and no one can say how different things would be now, as we get ready to end the eight year Gore Presidency, and getting all fired up to vote for Lieberman-Obama in November. (think what you will of Zell Lieberman, I'd still be over the moon over a First Lady named Hadassah! )

The Bush years have seen an end to the GOP as it was then. The extreme far religious right put all their eggs in his Easter Basket, and he dropped kicked it!. " Worst President Ever", and a republican party in total disarray, that is the legacy of the hanging chad, and all in all, maybe its not so bad...

The Very Fast Mendon Memorial Day Parade

 Which I missed , because I came back in the house, Koda and I were there for the set up.. but when we got back out , it had passed us by.....( yes, its a rare and genetic gift to be able to work Barbra into all most any situation)

memorial day

Shiny Happy People

Happy Bloggers are dull bloggers. Perfect day weather wise. Eating right, walking every day, blah, blah, blah. I promise some angry rants or a drunken tirade soon!

R.E.M. and Sciatica

Michael and the boys were on Austin City Limits tonight. Damn, but the folks in the crowd were old, and really did not dance that much, and from what I could tell, very little if  any ,use of hard drugs.....Pic is the set list from the May 23erd Vancouver concert.

Oh yeah, and Freta writes me an email telling me she was at a party with someone I've known my whole life - and is one year younger than me - is about to be a grandmother , for the second time !! ( I am holding my breath for very slutty daughter)

  I may have to give up on being an astronaut or fireman .....

beautiful -perfect weather -day!

calling a spa...errrrr.. addressing the truth

Or the state of sunshine in Florida.

President elect Barack Obama has a little bit of trouble in a state that , well he will need, badly. The lovely mostly older Jewish Americans don't seem to care for him, or else they just really really Like future President Pro Tem of the Senate, Hillary Clinton. And, as a rule the lovely and mostly young Hispanic Americans don't tend to warm up to him either. COULD , be somewhat of a problem in Florida.

You have to give it to the man, he is taking that bull by the horns and calling our anti-immigrant crusaders Lou ( why the hell am I on CNN) Dobbs and Rush-white rabbit-Limbaugh for: 

"ginning things up" to such an extent that there was a rise in hate crimes against Hispanics last year. This can only help him , with at least the massive hispanic vote in Florida.

He doesn't have to pic fights with these nut cases, he could just coast along. So, good for him. Let's hope he will help the cause in California as well.

And I'm just going to pretend that MY Senator did not say what she said about RFK. There has been enough ranting and raving on the net about it....

BIG FRIDAY NIGHT

• Neil works in the yard, and it is really starting to look great!
• Redwings on TV! playing the Pawtucket PawSox
  
• Grilling
• Kyle's dinner and Neil's dinner
• Pookie 

Todays walk

( really guys, this is just as exciting as my life gets, and I'm wonderfully thankful of that fact)

A new high in low

"What had happened was" :

Dahn's friend Tanya's husband Michael.  ( and really, don't pretty much all good southern stories start out with that sentence) Michael was the promotions guy for the Jacksonville, Florida SUNS baseball team ( I think that was the team ) . He came up with the utterly BRILLIANT idea of having.... TANYA HARDING MINI BAT NIGHT  ( !!! ) at the stadium. Yes, everyone coming into the game was given a tiny bat, very suitable for whacking a Nancy Kerrigan on the leg. 

BUT WAIT, it gets better. They ask the real Tanya Harding and her mother to come to Jacksonville to sign the mini bats, and she says YES. Its a SNL skit come to life. Until today that was the all time best baseball give away, there is a new one in the running.

The St. Paul Minnesota Saints , are this Sunday, giving away a Senator Larry Craig BOBBLE FOOT DOLL. Look for in Monday on E-bay.

surprise!

 10¢ in one day, with no end in sight. 

Mission Accomplished , indeed!

stress relief

gas prices, tornadoes, war, fires, this that and the other, it's too much..

So, enjoy a little bucolic Mendon:

Everything good about the 70's

Dear God, how I wanted this hair. 

Ok, fine , now any hair, BUT, when I did have hair, it had a mind of its own, up , down, curly, flat, going here and there.Couldn't even really decide what color it was dark brown, light brown red, it was just a mess. This pic of good ole Hamilton Jordan was everything I wanted, that smooth all in one direction helmet thing. He was a hottie.. ( and you know , the coke at Studio 54 thing was way over played.. It was 1978....)

HILLARY! HILLARY! HILLARY!

The whole world just KNEW that oh so cute and much loved newbie DAVID ARCHULETA was going to walk away with the prize, I mean, HEY! ALL THE KIDS LOOOOOVE HIM! But, in the end, it was the one with the talent, NOT the oh so popular one!
Yeah, yeah,yeah, I know, it's a huge stretch, just wanted to throw it out there.
I had never watched a whole season of Idol before, and we still didn't watch the goofy ass first mean parts. But I fell hard for Mr Cook from day one, he was the reason I watched this show. I love his voice, and very much look forward to seeing what he can do with out all the BRADY FAMILY crap they make those poor kids do.
Now, was I the only was who was afraid of Paula's breasts tonight?

There are Homo-philes in my living room!

(  I made them snacks...... and Pookie)

Mendon, N.Y. 10:00 am

so, so close!  If we all pull together we can get it over FOUR!  come on kids, the oil companies need that money! The Cheney's have not broken a billion yet!

A barrel of oil has gone up over 100$ since Zippy and the great satan have been in office... THEY ARE OIL MEN! hello!... 

Hamilton Jordan RIP

ahhhh.. The Carter Administration.   

OBIT

Where are our vodka stingers?

Dahn and Kyle lunch.

just the facts:

• The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of Canterbury, the See that all churches must be in communion with, in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion.
  
• Rowan Williams is the current Archbishop of Canterbury
• Bishop S. Tilewa Johnson is the current Bishop of Gambia, Africa
• Bishop V. Gene Robinson is the current Bishop of New Hampshire, U.S.A.
• The Lambeth Conference is a once a decade gathering of all the Anglican Bishops world wide in England, hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury
• Bishop Tilewa is invited, Bishop Robinson is not invited because he is a gay man living an open honest life.
• NOW:

"Gambian President Yahya Jammeh says he will 'cut off the head' of any homosexual caught in his country. Addressing supporters at the end of his meet the farmers tour Sunday, Jammeh also ordered any hotel or motel housing homosexuals to close down, adding that owners of such facilities would also be in trouble. He said the Gambia was a country of believers, indicating that no sinful and immoral act as homosexual would be tolerated in the country. He warned all homosexuals in the country to leave, noting that a legislation 'stricter than those in Iran' concerning the vice would be introduced soon."

SO, The world wide Anglican Church, is doing the VERY CHRIST LIKE THING, and having the Bishop of Gambia come to its little party, But telling Gene Robinson the the doors are barred. It may be a stretch for me to think that the Church in Gambia supports this act, BUT all the African Churches are violently opposed to any gay rights what so ever.

And ANY Episcopal Bishops ( American Bishops) are going to this because ???

OH YEAH!, them!

There are PRIMARIES today in Kentucky and Oregon today. Hillary should take one ,President Obama will take one.

 John McCain is a joke, he is a third term for Zippy. THAT is why Senator Clinton is fighting so darn hard, THIS is the race for the WHITE HOUSE.

Red-Sox Nation

Red-Sox ace, 24 yo, cancer survivor JON LESTER throws a NO HITTER against K.C. last night. ( and I really liked this picture)

howl at the moon

Driving home from Honeoye Falls last night was the biggest full moon, The Flower Moon. An orange yellow dinner plate hanging in the air. Beautiful, and I learned that you can't take a picture  of the moon.

Book Group

Reimagining Christianity: reconnect your spirit without disconnecting your mind. by Alan Jones. 

Last night I was imagining it was a #3 at Taco Bell add a bean burrito.

Monday Morning Broadway Moment...

Hugh Jackman - Oh, What a Beautiful Morning - Oklahoma

just.... WOW!

75, ooo + people show up to see Senator Obama in Portland, Oregon. There is no way Senator Clinton could have done this, and I really do not understand it, BUT, I am sure that the McCain camp was drinking up some of Cindy's beer when they saw these pics.

"&@#(*^(*#@)!!!"

Lake Ontario tonight

An Apple Orchard and another BEAUTIFUL pink tree

The North Coast of The United States

B-52's Deadbeat Club

IN MEMORY OF BARNETT"S AND ALLEN'S

I hate change.

Barnett's News Stand in Downtown Athens , Ga. closed today. Wow, trust me on this one, if that place could talk. I'm old enough to remember when there was a VARSTIY next door to it.

Athens doesn't exist  in 2008, It just doesn't:

• its 1978 and I'm in Lucy Landress' bright orange mg midget headed to Hu Nans ( cause they would serve ANYONE a mai tai)
• its 1979 and Scott Sullivan in throwing up at Abbotts pizza ( they too would serve ANYONE)
• its 1980 and I'm worried about my pocket starch breaking and wondering " why-o-why don't Terry luv me like I LUV him"
• its 1983 and REM is in Legion Field
• its 1984 and I'm yelling as Susan, "the game has ALREADY STARTED! YOUR HAIR IS FINE"
• its 1985 and Mrs. Faulkner is wondering just how many boys ARE going to come down for breakfast

Its 2008 in Mendon.... but not in Athens, Ga.....

words. just. fail....

Slumping Giambi wearing gold thong.

Hoping for the best here:

Senator Kennedy rushed to hospital with possible stroke. 

You just can't make this stuff up:

Georgia G.O.P. chairwoman compares Senator John McCain to Jesus Christ because he " never denounced God"

Lets see, Prince of peace, warmongering buffoon/ Prince of peace, warmongering buffoon. Stupid is as stupid does. Months ago I thought that Senator Obama could not / would not do anything in the deep south in the General Election, and it's still going to be a major uphill climb for him. BUT, with Bob Barr running as the Libertarian, and with Obama SO! firing up the African American base .... who knows what is going to happen. 

This could end up being a fun fall after all!

Something else to think about: Zippy was a blank slate when he ran in 2000, all full of fake Texas and swagger. John McCain has been in the Senate since the Coolidge administration, at least, with a HUGE paper trail. AND, those little Obamaites KNOW how to use Google. Just this week he was caught reversing himself on talking with Hamas. I'm not sure how Mr. Mavrick is going to play as time goes on...

a boy can dream

A Barack and a hard place

The celebration goes on here in Mendon, all the little leaguers in my back yard are wearing rainbow arm bands in solidarity with the folks in California. The big ole screw up by CNN is making the rounds as well. Sure, get it first, but GET IT RIGHT ! I was a little freaked out this afternoon, I know that TV can't lie, TV is always right!  So, what was I to believe , what I was reading here or what the all powerful box down the hall was saying ? In the end CNN corrected themselves, and just went on to show the loop of men kissing men..

Now, Senator Obama says EVERYTHING that the gays and lesbians want to hear. He really is very pro gay and goes out of his way to bring up LGBT issues in spots that he does not need to do so. BUT, he opposes same sex marriage, all about the civil union, full inclusion, everything save the the BIG M. I'm sure the keen irony of an African American man supporting separate but equal is not lost on the kyle+blog readers. I don't think it's lost on Senator Obama either, but he does what he has to do.

There is most likely going to be a marriage initiative on the ballot in California this fall. One of those kooky California ballot questions that they pop up with, seems like they can get anything on the ballot out there. I see it as a good thing, because I can not see anyone going to the polls voting for Senator Obama , and voting FOR the amendment. It will be win win, BOTH houses of the California State Legislature have passed an equal marriage law, TWICE, now the highest court. I am not too worried about the outcome of the vote .

Senator Obama's problem will be when campaigning  in the state, can he fully support the defeat of the change in the state constitution  and not come out in full support for marriage equality? Is it possible he could bring up the asinine act of having the public vote on a persons civil rights. How many states in the South would have voted for Brown v Board, or Loving v Virginia? Can he , in the end, see the illogic of his ways, and know that ALL men are created Equal, not separate but.

Talkie blog

Our Yard ( really.....)

• Hosta Garden 1
• Hosta Garden 2
• Snow Ball Bush, that something eats every single year, it has not started yet, and so today it is very pretty.

Keith Olbermann

Zippy is so on the back burner now, with all the attention on McCain and Obama.. BUT, least we forget

Keith Olbermann Part 2

I messed this up , but here is a link to the second part

CALIFORNIA

"what ain't fruits and nuts, is flakes"

10:00 am pst

( 1:00 pm est )

A very public job interview

Attorney General John Edwards

( and man, I'd love to vote for this ticket, but flip it! )

bless his heart...

( remember, this is my new mantra when it comes to our current President, Zippy)

" I gave up golf for the troops"

If a tree fell in the forest , and I didn't blog about it.....

Interesting day, very 90's.

Our small black blinking box here on top of my desk broke Monday afternoon. We were without internet ( panic ) and phone ( yawn ) for a day. Very interesting how so darn quickly we, as a culture, have become to expect instant information.

I handled it well, a few white knuckled moments ( what was the house in Atonement ? what is the capitol of Moldovia, How is Brittany today?.....)

All fixed now, with a faster, smaller, blinking box! 

Netflix update: ATONEMENT

WOW.

 We watched the movie Atonement Monday night, and I can't believe it did not win the Oscar this past year. 

Such a complex, multifaceted movie. Neil had seen it at the movies, and had some insight at the end. I am still thinking about this movie, and looking forward to reading the book. 

Add this one to your que. ( and lets start a petition to get the lovely Keira Knightley to eat a cheese burger)

Cute Tsunami Building

  GO!, SCOTT, GO!

Blog darling and very cute new face SCOTT KLEEB easily won his primary in Nebraska last night. Seriously, this has got to be a major untapped market, Very attractive candidates going national with just their pics. He raised LOTS of money nationally with you-tube/face book etc. 

Tsunami Building II

Northeastern Mississippi, under that battle flag on their state flag, elected a Democrat to Congress last night, Travis W. Childers.  If the G.O.P. can not win here, where exactly can they win?

Senator Clinton also won BIG BIG BIG last night in West Virginia, but it was pretty much making a nice 4th quarter touchdown in a lop sided football game. I think she should use it to go out with a win. Looks like they are going to stay in until early June. Hey, at this point she is riding on her own dime, let her go. They can afford it. She planned for this , really, her entire life, only to have Senator Obama sweep in at the last second and take it. Yes, the Clinton campaign should have been on point for a contender from the left... coulda, shoulda, woulda. 

It is looking more and more like a big year for all Democratic candidates, Hillary just thought it would be hers to lead.

NOT that I would ever question S.J.P.

( I already have to many points on my gay card)

The Four Ladies at the London premiere.

Keeping within the theme, Martha reads the kyle+blog! with MORE HATS!

Your basic Monday

Lunch

Monday Morning Broadway!

Patti Lupone and the cast from ANYTHING GOES

Iron Man - Theme Song

of Iron Man and Sneezing....

A sort of over-cast almost muggy feeling day up here, I do wish it would rain, a good hard cleaning rain, to make my nose feel better! 

We saw Iron Man this afternoon. If you like the SuperHero Genre, you will love this one. I was a comic book junkie back in the day, and there are just all sorts of little inside quips thrown in for the older comic book set, so I loved it. Neil liked it as well, and he never read an Iron Man comic. 

Now, this is a comic book movie, but it has some rough edges , a terrorism sub-plot, some real non-comic violence, so naturally a group of LITTLE kids  came in with us, ages seven or eight tops.. it was a birthday party. They sat all around us ( yes, we got up and moved ) . What do parents think,  or do they think at all??.. the mother was the way-to-old-to-pull-off-the-crop-pant-flip-flop-tshirt- type. So, I'm guessing there was no thought put into it. Its rated pg-13. 

Anyway, if any k+b readers do go see it, stay to the very very end... a little heads up...

On the way home we stopped at the garden shop right up the street.. yes, Kyle, walk down row after row of blooming trees.... ah-choo! and a head ache. So, to make myself feel better: PARTY PICTURES w/HATS!   " move your bloomin'arses!"

Perfect Setting.

We went to a reception for Jack and Linda Saturday Afternoon. It was held at an event house /restaurant on Canandaigua Lake. and really, it was just a perfect setting. The weather was beautiful the lake was just shore to shore sparkles. Good food, nice people, excellent service, FREE BEER ( which sucked since not only was I all hopped up on the co-tylenol, but I was the driver!) This is the nicest place for an event that I have seen since I've been up here. The Finger Lakes Region of New York is just beautiful.

Neil was the master of ceremonies and really knocked the ball out of the park. His speech was funny and touching. He did a wonderful job, I was all beaming with  pride.

a light in the darkness

This is not me.

  Somehow , today, for one brief shining moment, I did not feel alone here in the land of poor foot wear choices.

views of the party

The Instruments of My Demise

High Spring has exploded onto the greater Mendon area, and so has my head. Its one of the prettiest Springs I have seen since being up here, and the worst allergies I have had in quite some time. Pick a symptom and I've got it. 

Yuck.

Dinner for the Young Family

Mrs. Young has not been well, we wish them all the best.

• pork roasted with apples and garlic
• apple/garlic gravy
• brown rice
• mixed steamed veggies 
• Thai cucumber salad

You vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light

I don't think some of these words are right,-( its cheater shoals, so it must be Beer Fight, Don Hight, right???)- but fun to, at long last , sing along to.( its a little bit slowed down) Also, here is a most interesting update from a few years ago. 

No pressure or anything:

Senator Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech to the Democratic National convention on August 28th in Denver, Colorado. FOURTY FIVE YEARS TO THE DAY, that MLK gave his " I have a dream " Speech in Washington, D.C.

I'm going to go with bashert here, kiddies. Lets just hope that the Obamacons let him make the speech that he wants. I mean, he could walk up there and read Candice Bushnell's second book and they would call it " greatest of his or any generation".

But, you have to admit, that is some timing........

what 39.2 Million Dollars will buy you these days:

Le´ger's "Study for the Woman in Blue" (1912-13) sold Wednesday night for 39.2 million dollars, an auction record for the artist. 

Pink Tree update

It only lasts about a week, and it rained last night, which knocked off lots of the petals. Everything ,tree wise, is in full bloom this week. My allergies are not all that happy.

Pursuing My Happiness

New York's highest court makes ALL out of state marriages legal here. ( means mine sticks )

Koda and Cali, the Labradoodle, deux

SMELL CAM

my very good close personal long-time friend

Brooke Astor's Park Avenue apartment goes on the market. 46, ooo, ooo.00

the 90# weakling?

Senator John-Bomb-Iran-McCain easily won his GOP North Carolina primary , with a third of the votes that HRC or BHO got. A very fired up GOP base. BUT , the big news here is the fact that Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul got a third of the votes the McCain got, and they are not even in the race. No matter how inexperienced Barack Obama is, no matter how weak his support is with a large swatch of the traditional democratic base, John McCain is a WEAK GOP candidate.

Miss Clinton, if you're nasty

OUCH!

Well that was just ugly. It's not a good morning to wake up a Hillary Clinton supporter, no real way to put any good spin on this one. It may be over, even if you add Michigan and Florida to the mix, Senator Obama is ahead in all the counts. Which leads me to the question:

" What have you done for me lately?"

If he is the nominee, what is he going to do to get me to go to the polls in November? This is something that I do not believe the Obama camp has thought about. JUST LIKE, Senator Clinton assumed the position was hers last year, Obama assumes that all the people who support her will fall ,lock step, in line. Lets look at some numbers.

INDIANA:  HRC-638,274 (50.9%)

     BHO-615,862 (49.1%)

Close, too close, and there is the pure evil specter of what some are calling the (spit)  the Limbaugh effect. The drug addict has been on air demanding his army of spineless-mindless zombies to cross lines and vote for Hillary to keep the race going, to have the two Democrats do the dirty work for Senator McCain. In VERY red counties HRC did well, so it could have worked a little. So even this small victory could be pyrrhic. BUT , that leads us to November.

Zippy easily took Indiana in 2004 1,479,438 to Kerry's 969,011. Now we , for the sake of argument , have to think that the Obama base was as fired up as they are ever going to be yesterday, and pulled out less votes than John Kerry did. Combined the Democratic vote yesterday does not beat the GOP total in 2004.  This does not bode well for Indiana to GO BLUE in '08.

NORTH CAROLINA: BHO-890,695 (56.2%)

       HRC-657,862 (41.5%)

Now this was just your old fashion ass kicking. 91% of the African-American vote went for Senator Obama. It would be hard to get 91% of any group of Americans to agree that water is wet. The only group that Hillary took in NC was older Catholic females, really. Here again though, Senator Obama has a real problem in November, Zippy got 1.9 million + votes in '04, yesterdays combined Democrat total is 1.5 million +. North Carolina stays red.

Bringing us back , as seemingly ALWAYS to OHIO and FLORIDA. Hillary country. If he is to win the White House, what is he going to do for the Clinton supporters in those two states?

Hell hath no fury........

Glavin, Mazzone, Maddux, Avery, Merker & Smotlz

1995

Freshly Mowed Back Yard

First time this year.

George H.W. Bush

We watched the most interesting American Experience profile of President Bush , Sr. last night. The man is a true American Hero. Completely dedicated to public service, put all three "P's" in preppy, a gentleman and a scholar. How on earth that gene pool gave rise to the current dill weed is just amazing.

wake me up before you go go

Indiana and North Carolina, already!?!  

It seems like only yesterday that we were in Pennsylvania! The Hill and Barack Travlin' roadshow, snake oil sale and tent revival goes on!

I love politics. I watch A LOT of c-span. I read a lot of newspapers/blogs/websites. You look up non-bitter political junkie in the dictionary and there is a pic of me. ( bitter political junkie has a pic of John Aravosis, but since I'm not the bitter one, I wont go there) BUT, even I am getting more than a little bit board with this Democratic Primary Season. I don't think John-four-dollar-gas-is good-for-the-country-McCain is going to be the problem in the fall, I think ennui is going to be! Where do we stand today? I am still FIRMLY with my new best pal JAMESDUKEMASON, and the rest of the fighting grannies out there, hoping the Senator Clinton wipes the floor the the upstart, Anne Baxter wanna be, Senator Obama.

• Hillary wins BOTH North Carolina and Indiana. Probably not going to happen, but it could ( monkeys might fly out my.....). If this were to happen, it would be a huge blow to the Obama camp. North Carolina is a closed primary, so they could not blame the GOP for her victory, and would cut way into his electability. There are bunches and bunches of retirees in NC now, which favors HRC, BUT many more students, african americans, and Charlotte is chock full of we-are-every-bit-as-good-as-Atlanta yuppies that will all flock to BHO. Leonard's Loser in North Carolina: Senator Clinton
• Barack wins BOTH North Carolina and Indiana. Could happen. A full 25% of Indiana gets its news from the Chicago area. I don't really understand why the fact that he is well behind there is not a bigger story. Indiana is a funny state. As a rule a solidly red state, but also sends wonderful ( and most attractive ) guys like Evan Bayh to the Senate. If Senator Obama wins both, you want to think that its lights out for the Clinton camp, but it is Hill and Bill and they will go on campaigning if its just the two of them and Chelsea  slung up in the back of the station wagon, with the Stuckey's Pecan Roll. Leonard's Loser in Indiana: Senator Obama
• They each win one! What is most likely to happen. The show will go on! The talking head class will love it, Tim world's-biggest-head Russert will get to wring his hands over his white board. The blogosphere will not understand why o why everyone is being so mean to St. Obama. 

I for one, think the longer it goes on the better chance Hillary has to pull this off. Most others see it as only a boon for Senator McCain. From this lovely sunny day in upstate New York, I just can not see him even coming close to getting elected. He is three days older than baseball and has to wear GWB around his neck like the puka shells that he was way to old to wear back in the 70's.

Up next: May 13th WEST VIRGINIA 

May 20th Kentucky and Oregon

God Bless America! 

To Sir With Love - Natalie Merchant and Michael Stipe 1993

1967

I was in kindergarten.

It was the year of the very first Superbowl ( Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10). L.B.J. and Lady Bird sat in the White House. The Carol Burnett Show debuted on CBS. Ironically,  To Sir, With Love, was the #1 song of the year. Also that year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Mildred and Richard Loving did not have to go to prison. 

Mrs. Loving was Black. Mr. Loving was White. They fell in love. That was their crime.

The couple had married in Washington DC in 1958, she was only 18. They returned to Mrs. Loving's hometown in Virginia where they were promptly arrested and convicted on charges of  "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth," according to their indictments. The young couple avoided a year in jail by agreeing to a sentence mandating that they immediately leave Virginia, the only home they had ever known. They moved back to D.C. and started their fight FOR their dignity.

This is in my life time, in most all of the lifetimes of all seven of you that read the kyle+blog, but it reads like ancient history. Mrs Loving should have been wearing a hoop skirt, or at least pantaloons! No, she was watching the Superbowl, listening to Lulu and the Beatles and going to jail over the way she was born. Mrs. Loving died today, she was 68 years old. Mr Loving passed away in 1975. They have three children. They were a family.

California and Florida are marching head long into banning MY family, with anti gay marriage votes this fall. Virginia has one of the most draconian laws in the country on their books, banning both gay marriage and any sort of civil union that could grant basic dignity to the many many tax paying gay couples in that state. Except for Florida, right now, all those deep Southern states, that I love so well,  all those states that kept Mrs Loving's ancestors in slavery, all ban my family. Every time needs a boogie man. To the hate filled freaks that made the Loving Marriage punishable by jail time, I am that boogie man now.

Lets hope that child sitting in her kindergarten class right now, rockin out to the Hanna Montana, all ipoded and faced booked, will look back on this time , and hopefully wonder if we too, were dressed in some bizarre historic fashions, that we too were so far back in history to be laughable.

 Fortyone years.

Please read the NYT obit.

Monday Morning Broadway Moment

Was it , in fact, better sung off the balcony at Sussex?

   Since Mr Goulet has moved on, I'll give him this one, with me being a close, close second.

Feeding Young Alex

 Doing our part to keep the next generation of cute boys well fed and happy! It was Saturday Night, but just got around to posting. I made all that food for three people, and I was on a liquid diet that night, I just don't think I'll ever learn to cook for a few!

J.H.H. and his prostate

Things are looking good!

Neil and :

• Tara
• Kyle
• Terry
• Juleen
• Mary
• Carl

District Retirement Party - Class of 2008

Mendon, NY. 3:45pm

Pink Tree, '08 Day Two

a funny thing happened on the way to Denver....

The slightest of heads up for the Hillary-ites out there. The same thing that happend to her all over the mid west is happening to Senator Obama in of all places safe safe safe North Carolina. What was a massive lead , has in some pols pulled within the statical error amount of a tie!. NOW, if somehow Senator Clinton wins in North Carolina, it will be a gnashing and waling from the blogging left the likes of which only happened at the fear of Alan Alda beating Jimmy Smits.

We will know Tuesday night.

I don't think its going to happen, the polls have been so off so much this season, just a big ole BUT...... a what if ..... 

dog with stick, Comrade

Pink Tree, '08

I don't know why this sounds so very loud, it was not, at all.

Five Years and Counting

I think it is astonishing that the GOP has the vile moxie to even have a candidate this year. Our Government impeaches over freaking blow jobs and lets these criminals sail through. Panem et Circenses! At least Dick Cheney's pockets have been well lined, so little baby Samuel David Cheney won't have to worry about much, you know, other than the hords of his Grandaddy's pals that think he is an abomination.

four double shots of cuervo !

Former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright - NBC news correspondent Andrea Mitchell - and Padma Lakshmi, actress, writer and television host, among others.  Photo taken by Martha Stewart.