Nothern Most Outpost of the Bulldawg Nation

O.K., So it is not tailgating in Athens , BUT, We went to a wonderful fireworks show at the Genesee Country Village and Museum, which is sort of an architectural museum, old  houses and buildings saved from demolition all over Upstate NY and brought here. I took  a picnic, all store bought, but good all the same. It is a very cool place. The firework show was a mixture of vintage fireworks and what they call " light paintings " with super high tech very 21st century ones. We have been to this show a couple of times, it is always very enjoyable.

Light Paintings are the old fashion fireworks set on poles with "sheets" of wire that make a picture of a person or what ever. It's very cool to see them. I tried to take some pictures, but they only came out as big bright spots. For all of you living in warm places and for those of you that roasted watching the Georgia game today, you will be happy to know that it was most chilly up here tonight!  I am my fathers son and 55 is cold, when wearing only shorts and a t-shirt.

How sweet of them to play our fight song!

rice krispy footballs!

Kellogg's® Rice Krispies Treats® Chocolate Nutty Mini-Footballs
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 16
Ingredients
3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 package (10 oz. about 40) regular marshmallows
- or -
4 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
6 cups Cocoa Rice Krispies®
prepared vanilla frosting
Directions
1. In large saucepan melt margarine over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Stir peanut butter into the marshmallow mixture. 3. Add KELLOGG'S COCOA KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

4. Shape mixture into sixteen 3-inch footballs.

5. Use prepared vanilla frosting to pipe on markings and stitching. Best if served the same day.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
In a microwave safe bowl, heat margarine and marshmallows at HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir peanut butter into the marshmallow mixture. Follow steps 3 thru 5 above.

Microwave cooking times may vary.

Note

For best results, use fresh marshmallows.

1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme can be substituted for marshmallows.

Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.

Store no more than two days in airtight container.

The Good

Georgia 45 - Georgia Southern 21.

 A win is a win, Dawgfans... we're #1, we're #1 !!

The Bad

Stupid Gustav.. we are not going to go to New Orleans, all of Neil's meetings were canceled

The Ugly

ClemPson V Bama

What fun!  Gameday in Centenniall park! 

Is it true that Kirk closed down WOOFS last night?

GO WEST!

Not that I am wishing a Hurricane on anyone at all, but I would really like to go to New Orleans this coming week... so, everybody east of New Orleans .. BLOW!  

  It only has to move a little bit more west to clear the city and I get my fried oyster po boy.

Junkyard Dogs!

 Guess the year of this video....

The Tracks.

The Hill.

Impossible amounts of bourbon.  One day I'll tell the story of the VERY first game they started checking for liquor going into Sanford Stadium , and why. I am pretty sure he does not read the kyle+blog.

It is a little bit funny in retrospect how FEW rules there were on game days. This video is a little bit before my time. BUT I do remember going in high school and seeing kids with their dorm mattresses sprawled out all over the bridge to watch the game, and the Tracks were always full. WBHS sat on the "Winder Hill" , ALL long since gone.

For one entire season I sat on that little wall right in front of the cheerleaders with Chip Walker and his crowd. ( they were older than me, I was very cool ) These days they don't even let you go from section to section, I don't think..... stupid rules.

 

GOOOOOOO DAWGS!

Beth Day : Bellweather

O.K. This is something that would have NEVER crossed my mind. So, the woman ( Gov.Palin) just downloaded a special needs child four months ago. My ONLY thought was .. "damn, she lost that baby weight fast". 

Not so much Beth, who went off on someone not staying at home with the newborn, etc... ( in fairness, she did ask if the Dad was a stay at home father..) Turns out she is not the only one thinking this, Per myexandrewsullivan:

29 Aug 2008 08:19 pm
I've had a few emails on these lines today:
"No sooner did my best friend hear about the Sarah Palin pick did I receive an e-mail from her. It said simply: "Sarah Palin is a Bad Mother!"
I was at work but could not resist giving her a call to follow up. She told me that she was watching CNN and heard that Ms. Palin had 5 children and that one was only 4 months old and born with Down Syndrome. "How in the name of GOD, can she even think about leaving her child or taking her child on the campaign trail for 70 days?" She was indignant."
Let me tell you why My best friend Liz matters. She is 37 years old and Catholic.

My pal Beth is .... 44? and so far from Catholic that it's not even funny.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Sound the trumpets and roll out the red carpet. The new Uga has arrived and his name is “Loran’s Best.”

Uga VII was officially named Friday and will make his public debut before Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern. The dog, who is nearly 3 years old, will be escorted onto the field by the Seiler family, who has owned the continuous line of mascots since Uga I took up the mantle in 1956.At 56-1/2 pounds, Uga VII succeeds his father, Uga VI, who died of heart failure in June. He is second only to Uga VI as the biggest mascot in the line.

I TRIED

I did my best NOT to do what I am right now doing.

Blame this one on Dahn:

GOVERNOR PALIN, accepted the nomination for the REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENCY of the UNITED STATES: wearing a BANANA CLIP.

comedy and tragedy

I stayed up late last night and watched the speech for the second time. All the cable networks msnbc, cnn, cspan and fox re-played the speech. I was a little bit surprised that fox would do it, so I watched their coverage. I also watched their cult of Roveites aftewards tell me that Senator Obama was a black Muslim communist and we will all die if he is elected. Nothing new there, but a little bit fun to watch!

THIRTY EIGHT MILLION Americans watched the speech last night. 38,000,000 !!

Nielsen Media Research said more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final "American Idol" or the Academy Awards this year. Obama talked before a live audience of 80,000+ people in Denver. ( look at this link) Americans don't vote. IF they are driving by the polling place, and there is a very close parking place and they have fresh baked cookies people might vote. That is why i totally feel that the word TRANSCENDENT is appropriate here. I know, roll your eyes, judge me all you want, TRANSCENDENT.

There was politics on Wednesday and then there is Politics today. What 38, 000, 000 of us watched last night was AMAZING Political theater. Nothing that I can think of in my life time can come close to the spectacle. Maybe Reagan saying " Gorby, tear down that wall! " or the Nixons and Fords walking arm and arm out to Marine One. I do think that I am in a situation to discuss this too, because I do watch more c-span than almost anyone who is not in an iron lung.

It was perfect. The beautiful multiracial-very American- family, the little girls playing in the confetti, Mama Biden's BEAMING at her son.  Just the unbelievable energy. Black, white, old , young, rich , poor, gay straight, all in that setting all fired up!

  The speech itself with out the fal-de-rah, was everything I, as a very left wing Democrat, wanted to hear, jobs, health care, on and on. AND, as far as my wish list yesterday, He said the words GAY MARRIAGE without prefacing it with BAN. More than anyone else in his place had ever done. 

I stayed up a little bit later to watch the happily out of control Keith Olbermann make fun of John McCain's pick of the Governor of Minnesota , Tim Pawlenty as his V.P. choice. I drifted off to sleep a happy man.

  Neil woke me up this morning saying that it was not Minnesota BUT female Governor of Arkansas! "Cool!" , I thought in my not yet awake mind, Mike Beebe had a sex change. A tranny in the white house, how modern! Then I thought about what a really unattractive woman he would make and came online to check. 

Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska!

HUH?

 I watched a FRONTLINE a few weeks ago, that was an investigation into the investigation of the very crooked Senator Stevens of Alaska. She was a part of this show, and I was impressed with her. Young, very pretty and VERY at ease in front of the camera. This was the entirety of my knowledge of her. Until this morning. If this were a wacky sitcom " coming this Fall on FOX - " LOOK WHO'S PRESIDENT"- staring Tatum O'Neil as the President come lately , and Nathan Lane as the over the top Chief of Staff. Who wouldn't watch it!" But it is not, just because something is ON tv does not make it television! 

  If you need your car worked on , you go to a mechanic with lots or experience, you need a triple bypass you want a doctor who has done it, many times! But someone who got 51% of the vote in Alaska is ready to run the country? If I hear that " she is a mom" one more time, my head is going to explode. Come on ,she is straight out of central casting:

• former RUNNER UP Miss Alaska
• was a sports reporter
• husband is an ESKIMO
• Five childern, all with funny names ( all named after girls on Buffy the Vampire Slayer??)
• son joined the army on SEPTEMBER 11 last year!
• baby with down's syndrome
• loves to eat MOOSE STEW

Much more to come.... it is just too much to process!!

Kyle on the road to Damascus...

YES, I AM .

HOPE

Twice in one month, I have seen two brand new things. Things that I have never seen before, things that I did not even have the knowledge and scope to imagine. The first was the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Breath taking. The second was tonight. A little less than EIGHTY THOUSAND Americans gathered to watch a political speech. Perfect weather, perfect setting , perfect build up ( I want a Government that is more interested in Barney Smith than Smith Barney.. O-M-G !)

I get it. Like I said, I did not have the scope and knowledge to .. understand. Yes, I was swayed by the fact that I did not want him to win. I did not know. I did not know that they were all right , and.. Senator Barack Obama is something brand new. 

Tomorrow. I'll go all into it in the morning.

"But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me; it's about you."

A painting update

Eldin didn't show up today, It did rain four drops. BUT, it is starting to look really good. The front is close to being finished. I'm thinking around Halloween he should really be getting near the end. 

a convention break!

We have a new Wegmans! It is in the neighborhood that Neil grew up in, not really all that far from us at all. It's BIG, and New and .. BIG.  It is not like our normal Wegmans ( we are still #1!, we are still #1) It is not as fancy at all,  but it is very nice. And we got free butter! Not many pictures, because you get yelled at for some reason...

Picture #4 is, I kid you not, the SOUTHERN SECTION, with Roddenberrys Boiled Peanuts , THREE different varieties!

History and Dreams

{ This is real time blogging, and sort of my poor mans therapy, just bear with me, its going to be a long day}

Forty Five years ago this morning, there was no one on the mall in Washington D.C.. and Bayard Rustin was worried. They were expecting thousands of people. This is pre cable, pre 24 hour new cycle, pre lots of things. Mr. Rustin did not know that there were so many people on their way to the Mall that traffic , in every direction , coming into D.C., was stopped. They got there a little bit later in the day, 300, 000+ strong. Bob Dylan and Joan Baez sang, Mahaila held court. John Lewis, (my Representative in the House for many years) gave a moving speech, but it's not the one people remember.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood."

That day in Washington, forty five years ago, Barack Obama would not be allowed sit down in a restaurant and order a bowl of soup. Let's do that one again, FORTY FIVE years ago, within my life time, the man who will tonight, accept the Democratic Parties Nomination for President of the United States would be shown the back door of all the good hotels in  Washington.

Even the most jaded among kyle+blog readers has to be a little moved by this.  Most all the names and organizers of the March on Washington live/lived in Atlanta, I grew up hearing their names, NOT as history, but as men and women still working for the same things, still keeping their eyes on the prize. Andrew Young, Ralph David Abernathy, Hosea Williams, John Lewis on and on. It wasn't history so much for me as a beloved Mayor and a man that I got to vote for every two years.

The weight of all this, all this history, all this symbolism has to weigh heavy on Senator Obama. 

I am sitting here writing this, all full of love and hope and all that, c-span is on down stairs I can only hear it, can't see the tv. and they are talking about John Lewis as I write about him. He will be speaking tonight . They are also talking about Bernice King, who will also speak tonight in honor of her father. How quickly a mood can change, the ease of the blog.

 Bernice King is a rabid homophobe, who would deny ME the rights that her father fought and died for, rights that her mother fully supported.  fuck.. why Bernice? She is speaking of her father, along with her brother MLK III ( not the pretty one..). I wish she was not , but there you go....

I have a dream , too. Only it's Bernice King and her crowd and not Bull Connor and his that are in the way of my dream. This is not at all what I started out to write this morning. I guess, unlike Rev. Bernice King , I try and see the content of character and I believe that ALL Americans are created equal. Eyes on the Prize, Kyle. And, for those that might not know, that man , Bayard Rustin, the man worried about no one showing up that morning 45 years ago, the man that worked so hard and believed so much in the movement of Dr. King, was gay. Bernice would have seen him as less than a man. 

You know.. I don't care that Bernice is speaking tonight, I don't . She is a dinosaur, she is Strom Thurmond at the '48 Democratic Convention, a footnote  at best. And in no way indicative of tonight. Eyes on the Prize, tonight is about the future, but man, after the little kick in the teeth this morning, I sure would like to hear Senator Obama say a word tonight.... both Clintons did. Everyone has dreams.

Pigs Aflight!

Lucifer is looking for his long johns! 

Myex-AndrewSullivan has said something good about President Clinton ! :

"Readers know my personal disdain for Bill Clinton. But longtime readers will also know I have always defended his solid centrist, smart record in office and defended him against his most over-reaching enemies. Tonight, I think, was one of the best speeches he has ever given. It was a direct, personal and powerful endorsement of Obama. But much, much more than that: it was a statesman-like assessment of where this country is and how desperately it needs a real change toward reform and retrenchment at home and restoration of diplomacy, wisdom and prudence abroad. Yes, he nailed it with this line:
"People around the world have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

He goes on to be an apologist for the Newt-era Republicans , usual blah, blah blah, then closed with this: 

"We've seen the worst of Bill Clinton these past few months, Tonight, we saw the best. And it's mighty good."

Maybe I spent too much time hip deep in the convention today, but this, just as I am off to bed sort of knocked my socks off.... 

heck of a job, Gustav

I really want to go to New Orleans. I have not been there in a long long time. My game is not on TV that weekend up here, it might be down there. How fun would that be. Eat , Drink and be Merry. See some friends, eat a real fried oyster 'po boy, roll my good times...

That said, let's just play out one QUICK little scenario: Gustav stays a tiny little nuisance of a storm, cat 1 tops. Just enough to give the south a little bit of much needed drought relief. BUT, good ole Gustav comes ashore, makes land fall the night of  Monday, September 1st... JUST as George W. "heck of a job, Brownie" Bush is addressing the gathered brown shirts in Minneapolis. 

Fox "news" , CNN, NBC , ABC, CBS, PBS, et-freaking-al are SPLIT SCREEN with a storm bashing NEW ORLEANS, and Zippy-the-wonder-President saying what a damn fine job he has done the last EIGHT years.

 I am in no way saying I want this to happen!  There are MANY beignets with my name on them, Drinks to be drank and beads to be won. Just a little something I am throwing out there.....

I am only going to say this one time

and then I am MOVING ON: Barack Obama chose the wrong person to be his Vice President. Joe Biden was flat, Hillary Clinton was a rock star. I loved the back story, BUT, I always have, like I said, I had a crush on Joe Biden in 1988. You know, the shirtsleeves sort of guy , " from the neighborhood " as Chris Matthews touted. Taking the train home each night,  and all ( which is sort of silly since SO much work gets done in Washington over cocktails) on and on and on. 

I HOPE THEY WIN, and Joe Biden will be a fine Vice President. 

HILLARY CLINTON WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER! 

Moving on...... Moved on. 

Done.

Other than saying that you can tell that neither Biden or Obama are superstitious southerners.. cause him walking on that stage early was BAD LUCK, except Obama won't be in that room tomorrow... whew!

Convention update!

  Shallow stuff, come on, its the kyle+blog.

President Bill Clinton just fired them all up, saying all the right things, even brought in a "place called Hope"... Now it is John Kerry ( good speech)... Joe Biden is later tonight. ONE thing about President Clinton's Speech, and its not even about the speech:

When Michelle Obama finished speaking the band played "Isn't She Lovely"...questionable, at best,.... BUT when one of the standard bearers of the Democratic party finished speaking, one of only two living Democratic Presidents the band played:-------- "ADDICTED TO LOVE" Bill Clinton / addicted to love..... NOT a good choice!

Also note to Mrs. Obama tonight. ( I love the way she dresses, as a rule. She may just need one more non Midwestern gay pal. ) There is a VERY fine line between JACKIE KENNEDY and  Marlo-"that girl"-Thomas. I can not see the entire dress, but the parts I can see are a tiny bit much. ( and it is Project Runway night) "get all dressed for a party and take off one piece of jewelry" 

I ⚫ love ⚫ this ⚫ stuff

It's the ROLL CALL at the convention! 

 "THE GREAT STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE MAGNOLIA STATE, THE HOME TO JOE BLOW AND SUSIE SOMETHING AND THE NATIONAL TIDDLY WINKS CHAMPS -THE FIGHTING BANANA SLUGS FROM NORTH EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI STATE- PROUDLY CASTS ALL ITS VOTES FOR  ..... "

They go, state by state.....Illinois passes... on goes the vote...Gets down to New Mexico.. They don't have the votes to put Senator Obama over , BUT they pass BACK to Illinois.. who WOULD have enough.. BUT.. Illinois passes BACK to New York! where Senator Schumer , Governor Paterson ( who we LOVE!) AND Senator Clinton all make the motion to stop the vote and have the convention declare Barack the Nominee by acclamation!  ... it was poetry in motion!  

O - BAH - MA!   O - BAH - MA!

 

SEE!

This is what I am talking about!

Yes, it's the freaking New York Post, bastion of all that is evil with in the Murdoch Empire, but still HOW ON ANY PLANET was that FAINT PRAISE??

Americans ,as a whole, have LOST the ability to process any information on their own. We believe what we believe and will not let any sort of pesky facts get in the way of our beliefs, and ( AND!!) you are going to go to Hell if you don't believe the same things that I believe. I blame cable tv and the "Christian right".. but I blame those two for everything. The MSM wants there to be this in house squabble.. and they too, don't give a fuzzy rats patootie about the silly ole facts. I am going to start the KBC : The Kyle Broadcasting Network.

No one listens anymore, ever... and yes, I have had too much caffeine this morning. I am going to mow my lawn with LOUD B-52's in my non listening ears.

GUESS WHERE WE ARE GOING .. NEXT WEEK

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULEZ........(sigh...)

the morning after , the night before

I was a little bit emotional last night when I wrote my reactions to Hillary's speech. I bet a lot of people were. I decided this morning that it was like REALLY wanting a new bike for Christmas, BUT, the brand new kid next door gets the bike and LETS your ride it around the block. Yes,  it was a Presidential Speech, on and on and on... but , its not to be, at least not right now. enough.

We watched the speech live on c-span last night, but then I stayed up and watched a replay on CNBC ( LOVE me some Rachel Maddow!) I CAN NOT watch CNN, what ARE they thinking with the applause meter right there on the side of the screen? Stuff like that makes me crazy. SO , anyway, I've read in a couple of places that this is the year that FOX is in charge of the network camera feed, in order to not have so many all in one room , they rotate. Makes sense.. BUT, the network feed was super choppy, cutting at odd times to odd pics.. peoples backs and arms..I am not saying that the paid wing of the GOP.......errrrr FOX "news" are doing it on purpose, just an observation

Full post convention coverage later on.... ( yes, I am a pig in doo doo during BOTH conventions, I love them, I always have....)

MY SENATOR

  Damn!

"Who did we do it for?"

" Did you vote for me,  or for all the things that we as Democrats believe in."

You know, just give me just a second to ponder the "what if's" That was a grand slam, That was Christmas Morning, That was , that was what all those rabid Obama folks see in Senator Obama, She was BRILLIANT! She was funny, touching , smart, powerful, commanding , a DEMOCRAT. 

"And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership. No way. No how. No McCain.

"To fight for an America defined by deep and meaningful equality - from civil rights to labor rights, from women's rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. To help every child live up to his or her God-given potential."

"It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."

For me it was too much about personality. I love her, I have for a very long time, and I took Obama's attacks on her personally, again, like I always have when anyone ( ALL of the right wing nut jobs)  attacks her. BUT, I am a Democrat, a bight and shiny Yellow Dog, FDR and JFK loving, card carrying, GOP hating DEMOCRAT. I know what is at risk here. After tonight, I am 1000% behind Senator Barack Obama. It doesn't matter what he does or says Thursday night. I am not going to keep asking why he did or did not do things. That's over. There is the chance come 2009 to have both the House and Senate and White House all Democratic.

Another thing. Those that HATE  her ( and there are many) will always hate her. I do not understand why, I just do not understand. Andrew Sullivan went off on it, he simply can not see any good in her. I don't want to print what he said here , but you can find it if you want . It was pretty much close to a universal home run, but he had to say bad things about her . Why do I read him again??

Tomorrow is JOE BIDEN day... he has some damn big pumps to fill.

Tonight, Tonight

Let us all hope that tonight really will be the end of the Hillary-Barack war. I think the two of them stopped a while ago, but the media won't drop it. How is it in any way Hillary's fault if her every single move is covered and gone over with a microscope. The MSM AND the bloggosphere LOVE the cat fight between the two Democrats.

Her Jackets being tested for television made the news and all over the net. I promise you every man ( every person!) on that stage has done the same thing. But its news when she does it. I hope she goes with the red.

We can all gather here after the speech

good news ? wishful thinking ? or just a mistake?

Twice this morning on the internets I have found this:

2008 Georgia Bulldogs Schedule/Results

Won 0 Lost 0

Aug 30 - vs. Ga Southern, 12:30 PM, ET
Sep 6 - vs. Central Mich, 3:30 PM, ET
Sep 13 - at So Carolina, 3:30 PM ET
Sep 20 - at Arizona State, 8:13 PM ET
Sep 27 - vs. Alabama, TBA
Oct 4 - Open
Oct 11 - vs. Tennessee, 3:30 PM, ET
Oct 18 - vs. Vanderbilt, TBA
Oct 25 - at L-S-U, 3:30 PM ET
Nov 1 - vs. Florida, 3:30 PM, ET
Nov 8 - at Kentucky, TBA
Nov 15 - at Auburn, TBA
Nov 22 - Open
Nov 29 - vs. Georgia Tech, 12:00 PM, ET  

Does THIS mean that CBS has officially picked up TENNESSEE / LSU / and the FLORIDA games? The times are not on the GEORGIADOGS.COM site... but in the Athens Paper and the AJC. Happy Happy Joy Joy if this is true!

AND, good for the entire Bulldog nation if we get to play LSU in Baton Rouge IN daylight... those Cajuns don't get warmed up till 6:00 pm or so.....

Michelle, my Belle

O.K., that was good. That was real good. That was 85% of " I still believe in a place called Hope".
Lets get the shallow stuff out of the way first. LOVED the dress, and hair and pin ! Over the moon happy with the whole look, bold color, great fit. A++! Would have loved to have only seen the children, no being heard, but it is the world that I am forced to live in. She looked fantastic.
It was a VERY GOOD SPEECH, did everything it was supposed to do. Her job was to introduce her family to America, and she did. Working class, sick father, proud mother, all SPOT on, and I don't mean that to sound as cynical as it does. She came on stage to do a job, and did it VERY WELL. That was the longest speech I have heard her give, and she is VERY GOOD at it. I believe that she believes with all her heart that he is the man for the job. I think she will be a swell first lady, I do question how happy she will be in that role. I do not see her as the "Hillary-take-on-health-care-type". BUT, she is also not the "-Xanaxed- out- of -her -gourd -Laura- type" either. Something new.... a good thing.
Will be weird to have a First Lady younger than me. ( maybe I will just have to get a little bit younger too, its been done before).. but good music in the White House, at long last. It was also a very classy moment when she gave Senator Clinton a "shout out" , that is a good word for what she did... Classy. Something so very rare in politics today. Even I, the most die hard of the die hard would not call the Clintons, classy...
O.K.... bottom line. OTHER than thinking that Senator Clinton would be better at what the country needs right now, my issue with Senator Obama is at its core what I expect from my Government. I do not look to Washington for inspiration, I have college football and the American Musical Theater for that. I want the pot holes fixed. I truly believe that Government is the solution NOT the problem.The banking crisis is from LACK of regulation, the Airlines SUCK from LACK of regulation. Cars get 6 miles a gallon due to LACK of regulation.. That and for them to stay the fuck out of my bedroom. I do not want nor need pie in the sky from politicians, because I know how Washington works.... through HARD wonkish, plow through the ickyness, WORK. Hours of brain killing dull things that GET THE JOB DONE. Fighting the other side , that IS in it for themselves and big business over the little guy, and fighting hard- and mean- enough to win.
Also, was it just me , or did anyone else take issue with having the band play Stevie Wonder's " Isn't She Lovely" as the closing music. Were we proving that the Obama's have moved on from the Hillary Clinton angry "burn your bra" types? Just seemed like a bad choice to me.. "Isn't she accomplished", "Didn't she ace the LSAT's" but.. Lovely??? Then again, what do I know, I spent the first three or four minutes of the speech guessing if she was a six or an eight....
All that said, bottom line 2: HE IS A MUCH BETTER CHOICE THAN JOHN McCAIN.

No Question as to whom I will vote for, nor if I will vote. I think there are VERY few Hillary voters who will go over to the GOP. I HOPE I am blown away Thursday night..

The New York Wine & Culinary Center

What a gem of a spot!
It is a part restaurant/cooking school/ meeting facility/bar-club sort of place. Very nice. We were down for some sort of Episcopal thing.. I dozed off, but I am sure it was very important.

1. the center
2. the big meeting hall, where you can have a big cooking class or focus on one item. VERY high tech and nice
3. our private dining room. We did not get to order off the menu, only sort of had meeting food... so , We will have to go back down!
4. the place they have the one on one cooking classes, I really want to take one...
   
5. a boat in Canandaigua Lake, which is across the street.
   

47% - 47%

NO BIDEN BOUNCE.
Man, I hope these next four days can make me stop thinking that we Democrats have once again, nominated Micheal Dukakis!
Senator McCain nominates a Tim Pawlenty or even a Judas, errrrrr... Joe Lieberman, and things could start looking ugly.
Florida is gone for the Dems. Ohio is NOW in play shading pink, ALL Senator Obama has is that Midwestern cushion, and Rove and McCain know! it.
Zippy the wonder President's negative numbers are around 70% and the other party is polling at 47%??? Something is wrong with those numbers!

let go my logo.....

Lots of people saw for the first time tonight the LONDON 2012 logo. Where as its no where near as sucky as our beloved Izzy, It is out there. Thoughts?

And really Vancouver, CROTCHY? ( he talks)

On the Eve of the Anointing

All tied up. 

No one has any idea how much I do not want to be standing there that cold November morning saying " SEE, I TOLD YOU SO". Hubris thy name is Barack. 

Carl Rove is directing the McCain campaign. This is the real thing Obamaites, big boy, grown up, messy as hell American Politics in 2008. Not your pie in the sky "oh, how Oprah loves me" bullshit that you people seem to thrive on. All your Kum Bah Ya moments can't top one hard core nasty ass Republican smear campaign.

 AND one speech this Thursday can not fix this. Let us hope that Joe Biden can come out swinging, cause it does not look like Senator Obama has the balls to do much of anything, other than spout platitudes.

It is getting late for Senator Obama to win me over..

How much do we love Matthew Mitcham!

get thee behind me , Satan!

For Harry's last night with us, we had a few guys over for a cook out, started out to be a nice mellow evening. Then the tequila led to the beer which led to the champagne which led to more beer and Neil trying to blow up Mendon.  ( the neighbors are fine, really...)

SO, I went to church this morning!

1. The only pic I took last night. Snacks and produce. The farm stand lady up the road has good tomatoes at last!
2. dropping Harry off at the Amtrak for the trip back to NYC
3. St. John's Episcopal Church , Honeoye Falls , New York
4. View from the pew
5. Dahn, Mert, Neil and Grady, there was cake 

sinking in.....

Wow, that is a lot of teeth......

Who is excited about Joe Biden ? 

Does the Obama camp think that their over the top ROCK STAR status can overcome Senator Biden's somewhat dull persona? 

Does this bring in ANY new voters?

Now, I know, " no one votes for the VICE President " BUT, there was the chance to fire up HALF the Democratic base. Is this sour grapes? At Ten O'clock in the morning the day after, I am going to say YOU BET YOUR ASS! But, It will sink in. All the usual suspects are touting Joe Bidens "bulldog demeanor"  "He'll fight back. He'll remind people, rightly, that being a liberal Democrat means raising the minimum wage, making sure everybody has affordable health care, providing strong public schools, and protecting human rights."

REALLY?

Again, NOT saying Joe Biden is a bad guy, in any way, BUT , if your whole reason to pick him was to take the fight, that BARACK OBAMA is LOSING, back to the Karl Rove driven GOP then PICK A FIGHTER. Pick the one that has been fighting the knuckle drag-ers her whole life. 

Man, I am becoming a broken record. 

I will add this , just like if Senator Clinton had won the primary, I would be more excited about this race if it was BIDEN- OBAMA, and not the other way around.

OBAMA - BIDEN '08

wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong wrong, wrong and BRETT's head just exploded.

THE JELLO MUSEUM

YES! There is such a place!

Turns out JELLO was invented just a hop, skip and a Jiggle down the road from us in the cute little village of LeRoy, New York. The things you get to do when you have out of town guests!

 Jello Fun Facts!

- Pearl B Waite invented Jell-O in 1897 in Leroy, NY

- There have been 36 different Jello flavors. Some flavors which bombed in the USA were immensely popular overseas, notably coffee flavored Jello which had skyrocketing sales in Japan and was a complete flop in the US.

- Five jello flavours that flopped: celery, coffee, cola, apple and chocolate.
- The most popular jello flavors are strawberry, raspberry and cherry.

- Citizens of Utah eat more Lime Green Jello than anywhere else in North America.

- Over 1,134,239 boxes of Jell-O are sold everyday

and the winner is......

ZZZZZZZZZ.......

Really, ALL this nutso hype Senator Obama, and you end up giving us JOE BIDEN ? NOW, I have NOTHING at all against Senator Biden, mater of fact had a HUGE crush on the guy ..... IN 1988 !!  He is neck and neck with Senator McCain, in some places sort of dropping like a stone, and he pics , what i consider a VERY dull running mate.

NOT that i have anything against Joe Biden, I am all for him being Secretary of State, or Defense. I do not think this is just sour grapes, the OBAMA CAMPAIGN needs a shot in the arm, and safe ole Seantor Biden is not it. Maybe all the news accounts are wrong. BUT the one person he needs was at the New York State Fair today ( maybe SHE made it to the Monkey Races). A long way from Springfeild, Ill. Let's all hope for the best. At least we know we can count on those all important THREE electoral votes from Delaware!

UPDATE 1:30  YES, it is BIDEN......

State Fair , two

1. some pig
2. Harry and his chocolate dip
3. jumping llama
4. sheep in a hood.......
5. night time at the fair
   

The State Fair

O.K. , Let's just get the ugly out of the way first. I now have to live the rest of my life, with the intense pain of NOT SEEING THE TINY MONKEY JOCKEYS! The New York State Fair is HUGE. What could be miles and miles of Fair Stuff, and lots of fences. We were at the Pig Races ( the HOLLYWOOD Pig Races ), Which were sort of right next door, but we just could not get to the next venue in time.....
Other than that, it was a very fun afternoon! You can not walk more than 10 steps and not find something fried to eat. Pretty much everything under the sun at this place. Rides, shows, blue ribbon vegetables, birds of prey and sort of sickly looking sharks in a big tank. We went looking for the chain saw show which was being held in the Children's area of the park, I thought that was a win win combination, kids with chainsaws, but we missed that one too. We found it, we were just too late.
At the heart of the fair is an old time "state fair". New York is a VERY agricultural state, lots and lots of farms and there for little well scrubbed kids out with their sheep or llamas or prize winning green onions.

1. Neil and Veal
2. Chicken with hat
3. color!
4. the prize winning green onions
5. Butter Sculpture of cow jumping over the moon, (note dish and spoon)
   

wrong, wrong , wrong

This is per Mark Bradley in the AJC this morning:


Ranking obnoxious SEC football fans
By Mark Bradley | Thursday, August 21, 2008, 07:51 AM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Any partisan can nettle a neutral. That’s the difference between passion and dispassion. And I, it must be stipulated, get paid to be neutral. So maybe I’m not the best judge.

On the other hand, I saw my first SEC game in 1969 and covered my first conference game in 1976, and over time I’ve visited each of the league’s 12 outposts. So I’ve had the opportunity to observe and collate, and today, as a preseason public service, I present this ranking of SEC football fans, starting with the least irritating and culminating with the truly insufferable.

12. Mississippi State: The only time State fans get really upset is when you make fun of their rustic town. I know this from experience. But you know what? If I’d have been a Starkvillian and read what I wrote back in 2005, I’d have gotten ticked, too.

11. Kentucky: No, not because I’m an alum. Because, contrary to popular belief, the world’s worst basketball fans actually care about football. Unlike in hoops, though, they’re not ready to fire their coach after a loss. Good thing, since the football ‘Cats lose a lot.

10. Vanderbilt: The best thing about Vandy is its academics. The worst thing about Vandy fans is their insistence in hitting you over the head with those academics. If the Commodores don’t care about winning, why are in they in this cutthroat league?

9. Ole Miss: There really aren’t that many Rebel fans, but half of that number feels the burning need to emulate William Faulkner - he was from Oxford and spent a year at the university - and write long and difficult books about Ole Miss football.

8. LSU: Winning fans tend to be the most overstated, but somehow Tiger backers manage to stay relatively polite even when they’re bragging about all their national championships. Maybe it’s because they know, win or lose, they’ll always have the best food.

7. Tennessee: Being a Kentuckian by birth and a Georgian for 24 years, I’m supposed to be disposed to hate UT fans. Sorry, but I never have. Don’t mind all the orange. Don’t mind hearing “Rocky Top” a thousand times. Don’t know why I don’t, but there it is.

6. South Carolina: Sisyphus would be a Gamecock. These fans keep showing up, sure that this will finally be be their year. When this year turns out no different from all others, they simply shrug and show up the next year. Kind of sad, but also kind of admirable.

5. Arkansas: It was over the top for Hog fans to file Freedom of Information requests to gain access to Houston Nutt’s cell phone records, but it was over the top in an amusing way. One word of warning: Don’t try that stuff with Bobby Petrino. He’ll just up and leave.

4. Alabama: Tide fans used to be the best at being boorish, but now they’re just irrelevant. They don’t have any reason to strut anymore, so they have to make do with whining about how Tennessee cheats twice as much as Bama but never gets penalized for it.

3. Georgia: Too many grown-up Bulldog fans continue to believe that a game cannot be properly enjoyed without consuming mass quantities of alcohol. A tip: Just because you’re going to watch college football doesn’t give you license to act like you’re still in college.

2. Auburn: Taking their lead from the preening Tommy Tuberville, Auburn people won’t shut up about how they’ve come to dominate Alabama. This is precisely the thing that used to frost these same folks when they were being dominated. They have become what they beheld.

1. Florida: Gator fans didn’t become obnoxious when Steve Spurrier started beating everybody. They were obnoxious when their team couldn’t win the SEC to save its life. And for all Floridians still irked by Georgia’s celebration, here are two words to Google: Gator Flop.

WRONG!  

Tennessee fans are the worst! Back in the day those Bright Orange Winnebago's would show up on UGA campus  Wednesday afternoon, and they started partying hard on Thursday mornings, while the kids were going to classes (Jodi and I drank with the Tennessee people.. " Good Ole Rocky Top...."). 

 Other than the only times I have come close to fighting at a football game, I really like Auburn People.( some of my best friends...). Heck, they ALL live in Atlanta anyway. I have only been to Gainsville Florida one time, and it was not football season. But, I had a really nice time, and that included the trauma of taking a shower with M.Potts...

 As far as the things he has written about UGA.... just remember, Kentucky did not even secede, so some of the finer points of life could be lost on Mr Bradley. "Ain't nothing finer in the land...."

Eldin had a good day.

I LOVE my new paint colors. He really got a lot done today, there is going to be a second accent color.. a tiny bit mint-ier shade of green, for the back door and the side porch ( and the little square things on the side of the house) I am so glad we went with the lighter tan/khaki color for the trim.

HARRY IS HERE!

All the way from Beautiful downtown Brooklyn! What? you might ask would get him to come all the way to Mendon:

Banana Derby

NEW! And they’re off! Tiny monkey jockeys race on the backs of lovable dogs four times a day.

Don't worry, I'll give you all a full accounting of the event. I mean COME ON, wouldn't you leave Brooklyn for " TINY MONKEY JOCKEYS" ???

Flowers in Pittsford..

This is just the landscaping around the movie theater ( and Wegmans) . Someone is spending tons of time and tons of money. It's just BEAUTIFUL! Huge sweet potato vines, all these tropical banana tree looking thing, along with so many colorful flowers. How nice that someone takes the time to make public space this pretty.

Mama Mia with Mert!

What a cute movie! The critics raked it over the coals.. blah, blah, blah! No, James Bond can not sing, BUT, who cares. All the actors and the audience are having way to much fun to notice. AND, it has made a zillion dollars... So, more all singin' and dancin' on the way!
A lovely lunch first at the Cheesecake Factory, where I have never had the cheesecake, but the Cobb Salad is pretty darn good.

Chuckolytes!

He was all ours.

Just we few die hard c-span watchers. The cute sort of bearish guy that Brain or Paul, Steve or Susan would go to for the HOTLINE report. Just those few minutes.... but it was our few minutes. He had to go on, he was too good for basic cable... on to the real world, fancy sets, cute set talk...

AND NOW, his own fan club! I am a proud Chuckolyte!

devil those eggs, Pimento that cheese...

T.V. times are starting to be released! This will be the first year that we have had a HIGH DEF tv for football. I'm very excited.

Georgia Bulldogs 2008 Football Schedule
Date Opponent Location Time/Results
Aug. 30 Georgia Southern Athens 12:30 p.m. pay-per-view
Sept. 6 Central Michigan Athens
3:30 p.m. FSN South
Sept. 13 South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 3:30 p.m. CBS
Sept. 20 Arizona State Tempe, Ariz. 8 p.m. ABC
Sept. 27 Alabama Athens ESPN
Oct. 11 Tennessee Athens TBA
Oct. 18 Vanderbilt Athens TBA
Oct. 25 LSU Baton Rouge, La. TBA
Nov. 1 Florida Jacksonville, Fla. TBA
Nov. 8 Kentucky Lexington, Ky. TBA
Nov. 15 Auburn Auburn, Ala. TBA
Nov. 29 Georgia Tech Athens TBA

a taste of..... FALL

FIFTY-FOUR degrees as Koda and I went outside to take care of things this morning. After a very stormy night, the temperature dropped like a stone. 

I guess since it rained last night, Eldin won't be there today, since, well.. he is not here...I WAS WRONG!  He showed up... life is good.

1. Downtown Mendon
2. the RAREST of sights! ( taken YESTERDAY )
3. painting stuff.... 
4. these very tropical looking flowers that are in a little garden by our house. Im not really sure what they are... 
5. the little garden from #4.

a little something BEFORE college football starts.....

• THE BARACK AND JOHN TRAVLIN' ROADSHOW!
  

Hey, think hard...

Way back, BEFORE Michael Phelps.. there was this election going on.
YES, those guys ,
The ones that Paris Hilton was talking about! The Next President..

One week from today the Democrats will gather in Denver , to what looks
like fight it out ,...STILL.
And then crown Senator Obama Homecoming Queen
at half time of some footballgame at Mile High Stadium.
It should be a good time. I mean, there will be LOTS of Kennedy's,

and Hillary will be busy, so Bill can come out and play.
Sometime between now and then Senator Obama,
and I am guessing his oldest daughter ,

are going to text everyone that wants to know
WHO the next Vice President is going to be...

I don't text, So, I hope that I'll be near a 13 yo when the message goes out.

From the crypt keepers camp.... ummmm, Cindy is hot and rich and oh wait, THIS is almost more than I can handle: A GUY NAMED RICK WARREN LIED.... have I been tossed into some horrible time machine? Are rents in Buckhead still cheap and I still faith in the overall goodness of men? There was this gathering of the faithful out in Mr Warrens MEGA CHURCH ( really, it doesn't do any of us any good to just keep reading Rick Warren over and over...) . AND, just like a really cool TV game show they were supposed to put Senator McCain into a " cone of silence".... ( you can NOT make this stuff up ) .. where I think he would feel right at home, its just like his oxygen tent at the home. Mr. Warren told everyone death warmed over Senator McCain was in the booth, cranking the Mitch Miller in the headphones.

BUT, it now appears that Senator McCain was not in the isolation booth at all, no, he was parked out in the Winnebago in the parking lot , ( still with some of those Biker CHicks from Sturges..????) listening to what Senator Obama was saying and writing crib notes between the folds of his skin. He had a copy of the test! He was asked the exact same questions. A Pastor named Rick Warren ( sorry) lied...... shocking, on both counts....( and did they call each other about what to wear.. this is just all getting to surreal for me)

Start the countdown.....

HOW MANY SEC STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

At VANDERBILT: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to
explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at
Harvard.

At GEORGIA : it takes two, one to change the bulb and one to stabilize
the rolling beer cooler the bulb changer is using for a ladder.

At FLORIDA : it takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to
figure out how to get stoned off the old one.

At ALABAMA : it takes five, one to change it, three to reminisce about
how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an
NCAA investigator.

At OLE MISS: it takes six, one to change it, two to mix the drinks and
three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.

At LSU: it takes seven, and each one gets credit for five Semester
hours.

At KENTUCKY : it takes eight! , one to screw it in and seven to discuss
how much brighter it seems to shine during bask etball se ason.

At TENNESSEE: it takes ten, two to figure out how to screw it in, two to
buy an orange lampshade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk
about how much they hate Alabama.

At MISSISSIPPI STATE : it takes fifteen, one to screw in the bulb, two
to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, ' GO TO HELL, OLE MISS'.

At AUBURN: it takes one hundred, one to change it, forty-nine to talk
about how they did it better than at Bama and Georgia, and fifty to get
drunk and roll Toomer's Corner when finished.

At SOUTH CAROLINA : it takes 80,000, one to screw it in and 79,999 to
discuss how this finally will be the year < /I> that they have a decent
football team.

At ARKANSAS : None. There is no electricity in Arkansas

Home is where the heart internet/cable tv/your own bed is

WE ARE HOME!

It's always nice to spend time with friends, and that part of the world is so very lovely this time of year. But let's face it : I AM A PROUD HOMEBODY!

The Chickens of Pompanuck

BEETS!

One of the very best parts of being at Pompanuck is the huge totally organic garden just right outside the kitchen door. Last night was just chicken on the grill and what ever was ready in the garden, and the BEETS were. I love them!

1. the beet patch. They pretty much grow themselves right out of the ground, so its easy to tell which ones are ready.
2. dinner!
3. separate the greens and the root, wash both separately. Some people roast their beets whole and then peel, I just go ahead and peel and chop before cooking.
4. Cut up and put in foil with an onion, a few cloves of garlic and half an apple diced. Some olive oil, salt and pepper ( sometimes I add some lemon, but didn't have one). Put in a foil packet, airtight. Roast at 350 for 40ish min, until they are very tender
5. Sauteed the greens with just a little onion and olive oil

BEETS II

The finished product!

wow

For the longest time I could not post things from youtube... but tonight, for some unknown reason, EVERYTHING that I had tried to post all came on at once, SO, if you saw any of the odd videos, they were out of context.... lots of deleting!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - Trailer

by dawns early light

Here are the left overs from Neil's over the top fireworks. The price one pays.

a second trip to Manchester, VT

The Orvis Tent Sale!
I heard heavenly choirs!.... 60-70% off, of LOTS of stuff.
Some new patch canvas Sperry Top Siders.... were 65$.. on my feet now for 21.00$
In somewhat of a shocker, Neil and I both got new watches... I am sure the last time I had a watch of my own, it had a TIGGER or a POOH on it. I didn't take a pic of it, but will....

I get allergic smelling hay....

maybe it's a Moopah thing.
o.k.... here is the deal. I was c-r-a-b-b-y! this afternoon, ( as Susan can attest) !
What to lift the mood?
Several pitchers of strawberry margaritas! ( which is a much larger deal than one would think, seeing as how we are quite a ways from even buying ice.. but, a man's got to do what a man has to do, and I made the trip down the mountain for the ice and frozen strawberries!) fine... The mood improves.
Rachel Gandell is as big a Hillary fan as I am, talking to humans, good , good... more margaritas, good good...
Dahn throws us a LOVELY Tuscan feast with, really.. one of the best tiramisus I have ever had, with lots of wine. GOSH, mood is down right joyful!
NEIL'S FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA!.... out in the middle of no where he is safe to cut loose. .. Think Washington, D.C. on the 4th of July,... this is some serious pyrotechnics. !!!
Started with wine, drank it all, Dahn came down to the house and brought up some beers to the fireworks... BOOM! Huge show, we taught the children to run at the first sign of flashing police lights, and if caught to say : " It was the monks next door! you KNOW how how those Franciscans love their fireworks....."
So, now, I'm down right giddy, lots to drink, very nice dinner, good pals, things blew up .. a good night.. Which brings us to the Moopah part. Once you hit a level of consumption you pretty much have to find a table, inside or out, gather around it, and solve the worlds problems. It is sort of a requirement, the table can be optional, but in our advanced age, it helps... Talk, everyone at once, about four or five different things all at once..: " Can you believe he"....." those damn Republicans"..." NO, you look good in that pic, and Yes, she is a bitch" .. " WE DO deserve that #1 ranking" ... " remember back when Butler still drank and he......"
Here at Pompanuck , they all go to bed.... 10:30!...and me with all sorts of wisdom to depart!, Sigh... I guess I'll just keep Pookie up for a while... but really, how much can one talk about the glories of napping and deer poop. LOTS of pics and videos to come when we get home....

I just adore a penthouse view

The days slowly meld into one another.
Neil left Pompanuck last night for a side trip to Great Barrington , Mass. and has yet to return.
Seems as if I have missed an entire mini war and all of the Beijing gymnastics while I have been here out of contact with the rest of the world. The very few that are here keep talking about "relaxing"...I don't think they have a really clear overview of my day to day life.
Turns out that the ORVIS headquarters is right down the road a bit, so I hope today to go over there and get some pants with ducks on them -( very J.J.B.S.P. circa 1980)- and a new collar for Koda, ( also with ducks)

darling, I love you, but give me park avenue

All the internet troubles go on, it sort of comes and goes. I really don't have any idea as to why.
Life moves slower here in almost New England. I did go to a Woolrich store today....

1. Scott had a hip replaced! So, he has been really moving slow!
2. Koda and Tobie have been playing, non stop
3. Koda, no longer white
4. Onions that I harvested this afternoon
5. Dahn at the hot dog stand we had lunch at in Manchester , VT.
   

POMPANUCK

THE LINK TO WHERE I AM,....

Mambo Italiano!

Happy Happy, Joy Joy, Dahn went to Italy and took a cooking class! and we are the very lucky benefactors of her new knowledge

STARTER: Fritatta / Salad
PRIMO: Lobster Risotto
SECUNDO: Saltinbucca
DOLCE: Panna cota w/ Blueberries

1. my morning view
2. local farmers market
3. Mookie in the IGA .. I wanted her to take off her shoes
4. Dahn Cooking
5. Dahn Still Cooking
   

slow slow slow

We are at Pompanuck for the week and the connection is almost non existent,but will do my best to give you all a slice of life from the wilds of almost Bennington , Vermont

Stupid Ohio State....

 OUTRAGE!

So, the #1 College Football team the nation : The Georgia fighting jailbirds BULLDOGS are on the cover of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED! fantastic!

So, I rush out to get the magazine the morning that it would come out. It wasn't. The next day I am at Wegman's knowing that they would have it. 

Yes, there it is, and there is Matthew Stafford's smiling face!  NOT! It's freaking OHIO STATE, the #2 team. I guess that SI is printed regionally, and there are more Buckeyes up here than Bulldogs... just not right!

how to build an ark dot com

Olympic Eve......

Somehow, I am doubting that the atmosphere is the same in Beijing tonight as it was in Atlanta twelve years ago. 

The torch ran in from South Carolina , I believe. It had been all over the country.  I remember that day it had been in Buckhead, and was going to run all around the city. You had to bid to carry the torch, or be a "local hero" , It was all for a good cause...

It was supposed to hit the Highlands, early evening... 8-9 ish, from what I can recall. Yeah..

They were not expecting the tens of thousands of people lining the streets of Atlanta, waiting on it. ( HEY, I have an idea, let's run THE OLYMPIC TORCH, past a bunch of bars, all over Atlanta, that should stay on time...) 

The streets everywhere became clogged with people.. it was hours and hours behind. It at last came up Highland, two, three o'clock in the morning. The streets were so full of people , he might as well have been carrying the thing from Rich's to Davidson's at Lenox on Christmas Eve. All I can really recall were heads of people in front of me , as it ran by. BUT, the fun we all had.

It ran all through the city , all night. At 6:00 am-ish, It came through College Park,right at the end of our street. Emile came over and woke us up. A few hours before we had watched it come thought the VA-Highands with tens of thousands of people, now, it was maybe 10 on Main Street College Park, as the sun came up. 

   It ended up in the hands of Mohammad Ali and from there the Olympic flame.

What a CRAZY week that was...I hope they have 1/100th of the fun that we had in China this go round ( and you know, nothing explodes)

  The pic is Susan, Steve, Me and Beth, I have no idea who the person on the far left is.. but it was all about the love that night. Also, I had to dig hard to find this pic... so be prepared, there just may be some shots from DEEP in the archives coming up soon....

Redwings v Iron Pigs

August 7, 2008

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Lehigh Valley
1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 13 0
Rochester
0 1 6 3 0 1 0 0 X 11 19 0
Recap | Box |
W: J. DePaula (2-5, 6.33); L: T. Blackley (5-9, 5.47); SV: B. Korecky (19)
HR: LHV: J. Knott (18), A. Tracy (18). ROC: G. Jones (16), L. Hughes (1).

What a crazy game! The Iron Pigs left their starter in as he struggled , and gave up 16 hits. It was back and forth post that. Ended up being closer than the score. 

It didn't rain, the company was good, the beer was cold, the Redwings won.... L. I. G.

BIG DAY

ALL this AND a new back door! I need to slow down.

Koda's Daily Swim

FIVE of the TOP TWELVE!

Autumn in Mendon

Autumn, the most beautiful and well behaved Chow, has her hair done in Mendon. She lives in Bath, with the most beautiful and well behaved Brad and Carl, but comes to fashionable Mendon for her Chow-do's. They all stopped by for a nice visit.

Im at 22.....Neil is at 46

"what a crazy random happenstance..."

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
The future of Hollywood. The future of American Musical Theater. The Future of N.P.H., SUPERSTAR!

 Watch, sing, enjoy... it's Summer.

I can not , in that GREY GARDENS/Wicked sort of way, get these songs out of my head.

He's a mess, but he's really pretty....

Set those TIVO's!

The B-52's will be on Conan O'Brien tonight to sing.... : HOT CORNER ~ "I, I , I'm looking for some fun, waitin' on that bus from WINDER to come" . 

Let's not ask for the moon, when we have the stars....

Here are some updates on the paint. I do think Eldin the Painter would be just as slow with out the rain, but he does listen to Air America and goes and buys a six pack of Miller to ice down late in the afternoon. You know, for the ride home, I guess. The railings are off the porch to be painted. We are thinking of painting them a different color than the trim. I forget the name of the paint.. its sort of a lighter green. Just a thought. 

Went and picked up Mert at the airport, went and shopped for paint, then a somewhat questionable Chinese Buffet in Farmington, N.Y.

Home all bloaty to watch a TCM salute to Claude Rains. Really. So, it was sort of a themed day. Pookie's favorite movie is Now, Voyager .

the rain

It just will not stop raining, pretty much every day for like a month. Yes, I know, half the country is in a drought. But, lets have a little happy medium. 

I love a good Obituary.

Eileen G. Slocum, 92, Dies; Society Doyenne and Republican Stalwart

OK, let's start at the beginning, you KNOW its going to be a good one, if in the title you have DOYENNE AND STALWART! 

This one has it all, old money, an in vitro TITANIC escape, social scandal, good old fashion (rarely seen these days) American snobbery, and possible sex with Gerald R. Ford. 

A stalwart doyenne, indeed!

Looking For the Buckhead Boys
by James Dickey

"Some of the time, going home, I go
Blind and can’t find it.
The house I lived in growing up and out
The doors of high school is torn
Down and cleared
Away for further development, but that does not stop me.
First in the heart
Of my blind spot are
The Buckhead Boys. If I can find them, even one,
I’m home. And if I can find him catch him in or around
Buckhead, I’ll never die: it’s likely my youth will walk
Inside me like a king."

A few lines from a much longer poem by James Dickey. Yes, Mr. Deliverance was a poet , as well. Good Luck in finding " a Buckhead Boy" today, ghost of Mr. Dickey, 'cause he has long, long since moved to St. Ives or Seaside. The very few there were to begin with. That Buckhead, that Atlanta, that South, is gone.

"People remember what they want to the way they want to, and call it history.", a line from a wonderful article that is the cover story of this weeks Newsweek, written by James Dickey's son, Christopher Dickey. Please , follow the link and read the story. It's full of maps and videos that go along with the article all about Christopher Dickey's trip though my part of the universe , and what the "New South" means in 2008, and how it will effect the coming election.

I am Southern. But , I live in rural upstate New York. How many people now living in Gweat Gwinnett, Historic Cobb or lily white Cherokee counties around Atlanta self identify as "Southern"? And how will all these new folks, a whole lot of them brown skinned, vote in November?.

 Mr. Dickey writes: "These newcomers have little interest in re-enacting the Civil War, no reason to revive the emotions of the civil-rights movement. They did not move here for iced tea or a more leisurely pace of life. The South to them is future, not past." What can it mean, now , to be "Southern".... Is there even such a thing without the past? 

"The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past." -- William Faulkner" . Way to often quoted, and now... not even true. I am not saying this is such a bad thing , the "solid south" that once kept hard core raciest like Jessie and Strom in power , first as Democrats and then Republicans, can go the way of the hoop skirt. Breath some fresh air into the region. Thing is, those of us that are Southern, don't really do the change thing all that well. 

Christopher Dickey goes back to the place where his dad placed his most famous novel. Only to find gated communities and swimming pools. Kids playing in the river where those men got into all that trouble. In 2008 it's " squeal like you just got your S-class Mercedes dinging in the Starbucks parking lot"...... I'm off to make some grossly sweet iced tea ( with Splenda, we do accept some changes) and mow my lawn.

Mendon on Monday

BRAVES WIN, BRAVES WIN, BRAVES WIN

Braves announcer Skip Caray dies

LISTEN,  and remember, and smile.
 How very sad for Braves fans all over the country. Skip Caray's voice seems a part of my world, seems like he was always there, because the Braves were always on t.v. in our house in the Summer.

During one of the BIG pennant races , maybe 1992 , I was working nights at The Country Place, a sort of swanky restaurant in Midtown Atlanta. It must have been a Friday or Saturday night, very busy, people going to the Symphony or the Alliance Theater, across the street. It was a tight, tight race and the Braves needed to win. The radio was on in the kitchen, bottom of the ninth. I think we had just stopped cooking, just to listen. Someone out in the dining room heard us whooping and yelling, and had the 4 doors to the front of the house opened so the whole place could hear the Braves win. Skip Caray's voice took us all there.

Another time, leaving a Georgia game, another close end of season , or play-off game. We had done "THE CHOP", inside Sanford Stadium, (93, 000 of my closest friends) the most people ever to do it in one place. Leaving the Football game, WSB-Radio had the Braves on- every car, Skip Caray's voice was just in the air, Braves won again. Atlanta was Braves obsessed those pre Olympic years. I remember downtown buildings made a huge tomahawk out of their lights. Skip Caray's voice was a part of ... life!

It was  very sad for me when TBS stopped showing the Braves to the rest of the country, for me, an ex-pat Atlantan, it was a connection with home that I now miss. I get to see the Braves every time they play the Mets, because we get all Met and Evil Empire games, but it is SO not the same , with out, Skip Caray's voice.

He will be missed by so many people, and not just in Atlanta, where he stared on the radio in 1964! with the ATLANTA CRACKERS! (wow), he will be missed by people all over the country. 

Good Night, Skip.....

a test

yeah! s-u-c-c-e-s-s  this is a total repost, BUT I have not been able to post from youtube for a while, but my pal Brett told me what I was doing wrong. SO, many more vids to follow!

Holy water and cracker jack!

I am not sure HOW this one got past me!:
Episcopal Church named "official denomination" of Major League Baseball.

As a part of opening week festivities, Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced today that the Episcopal Church has been designated the Official Denomination of Major League Baseball. The move was announced today in a teleconference with reporters

"The Baptists and Catholics both made strong bids," said a baseball official familiar with the negotiations. "And it is true that both traditions brought strong numbers to the table." Few commentators expected the Episcopal Church's bid to be as strong as it was.
Selig said that Episcopalians bring the right mix of arcane tradition, an appreciation of minutiae and a tolerance for long stretches of relative inaction that make them "a good fit for us."

REMEMBER IZZY !?!

Yes, the worst Olympic Mascot EVER! I had voted for Pogo the 'Possum. The Paralympic Mascot, BLAZE, was all the cool but Poor Izzy mostly sucked.

Let it go, let it go.. ( It really does seem like such a long time ago...)

BUT , look at this VERY cool link to an interactive story about the Olympic Torches through the years. I posted a few back about the REDWING who was going to play baseball in Beijing . Baseball was one of the easy tickets to get in Atlanta , so , we all piled into the old Atlanta Fulton Co stadium for something like Australia v South Korea or something... ZZZZZ... no signs, no music, no snacks.. NO BEER.... 

Badminton was another easy get, or else we got tickets because in was at GSU and Beth worked there. Now that was FUN!

This headline sent Neil to bed with a cold compress....

Storms close airport briefly, down trees and power line

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/02/08
Thunderstorms passing through metro Atlanta on Saturday night briefly shut down Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and left tens of thousands of residents without electricity.
Georgia Power reported about 143,000 customers were without electricity as of about 10:45 p.m. Utility spokesman Jeff Wilson said no restoration time had been set.

Remember, it was the exact same thing that had  the lost tribe of Episcopalians roaming the Atlanta Airport and Virginia Ave for three days last month.

The boy(s) from Syracuse

 Neil and Roberto went to ride roller coasters today. Many thanks to Roberto for getting me out of having to go to an amusement park. Really, its been a fear ever since 1975ish when Van Woodard threw up on me after riding The Great American Scream Machine for like the sixth time in a row, in the rain. There was also the great goat attacking incident of 1972 and my father on the Sky Car thing at Six Flags. Really, if I were inclined to do so, I could keep a therapist on call for the amusement park thing. OR, just not go!

SO!  I rewarded the hard riding duo with snacks and Strawberry Margaritas! and a nice dinner. 

1. Snacks ( the shrimp on my new shrimp plate ( on sale at Wegmans)
2. second pitcher of strawberry Margaritas
3. heirloom tomatoes, soon to be a salad
4. Neil and Roberto  ( who is from Chile!, well , he lives in Syracuse now, but is from Chile... I think our fist Chilean guest!)
5. Koda

and so it begins.....

"August and everything afterwards....."

Summer is at its zenith , but it had to start sometime soon: GEORGIA IS #1 in the coaches pre season poll. That would be a full one third or the final BCS ranking . NO PRESSURE or anything. This is the first time UGA has been a pre season number one , ever!  and the first time they have even been #1 in this poll since the Walker Era.

Georgia has never been ranked No. 1 by a major poll in the preseason, according to the UGA sports communications office. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 2 by The Associated Press in 1942, No. 3 by AP in 2004 and No. 6 by AP in 1967. The highest preseason ranking they received from the coaches poll was No. 4 in 2004. Georgia finished No. 1 in 1942 in six different polls but not AP.

Let's just do this. Let's just wallow in our pre season superiority for the entire month of August. Break out that white shoe polish, let every window be plastered with "WE'RE #1" ( and Florida Sux). Call your S.E.C. pals and gloat. Start making your pimento cheese now!

Sat, Aug 30 Georgia Southern Athens, Ga. 12:30 p.m.
Pay-Per-View
Sat, Sep 06 Central Michigan Athens, Ga. 3:30 p.m.
FSN South
Sat, Sep 13 South Carolina * at Columbia, S.C. 3:30 p.m.
Sat, Sep 20 Arizona State at Tempe, Ariz. 8:00 p.m.
ABC
Sat, Sep 27 Alabama * Athens, Ga TBA
Sat, Oct 11 Tennessee * Athens, Ga. TBA
Sat, Oct 18 Vanderbilt - Homecoming * Athens, Ga. TBA
Sat, Oct 25 LSU * at Baton Rouge, La. TBA
Sat, Nov 01 Florida * at Jacksonville, Fla. TBA
Sat, Nov 08 Kentucky * at Lexington, Ky. TBA
Sat, Nov 15 Auburn * at Auburn, Ala. TBA
Sat, Nov 29 Georgia Tech Athens, Ga. TBA
No real worries until Columbia, and the Great Satan did beat us last year.  Who knows about freaking Arizona State. The rest is the exact same SEC slug - fest it always is. It's only August, but for the next 29 days: 

we're # 1 !!

( a little amuse bouche)