The Ice Storm Cometh...

Ice and snow have hit Indiana like a coal shovel to the back of the head this past week...and quite a few people lost power for days...but thanks to the hard work of electrical workers from eleven states most everybody has their power back. But in spite of the carnage the loss of power left behind you could not deny that the results of the storm were in essence incredibly beautiful to look at.



So with that in mind....Eurythmics, Winter Wonderland





Have a very Merry Christmas this year and may you get all that you asked Santa for...and may we finally find peace on earth, goodwill toward all!

It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas...

For those of you who are in the know, my partner in crime, my compadre in chaos, my Minister Of Silly Walks, you get the idea... simply put, my best friend, is a fine fellow named Rob. Rob runs a little blog called christmas yuleblog.

http://christmasyuleblog.blogspot.com/

He is in my opinion, and probably most of the uncivilized world's as well, the foremost collector of Christmas music and trivia there is. With well over 1900 Christmas CDs, and god knows how many LPs, 45s, 78s, 8-Tracks, cassettes, Edison wax cylinders, inscribed cuneiform clay tablets and papyrus scrolls of Christmas songs past he has in his collection... ( I am sure he will let me know a close approximate number)
And these are not the common tripe you see peddled in the $5.99 and under bin at the local mega-mart. These are truly gems of Christmas music history.

It has been my quest for the past couple of years to find him as a present from me at Christmas a recorded song or album he has not heard of or doesn't have...Trust me it is easier getting Adolph Hitler to send you a Happy Hanukkah card than to get something Rob doesn't know about.

In his honor I bring you a few sites I have come across that he probably knows about already...but if not...hee hee hee...maybe he'll find something new.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/11/29/the-cinnamon-bear-an-old-time-radio-christmas-tradition/

http://www.otrfan.com/otr/series/commandperformanceusa.html

http://www.mikesoldies.com/christmas/index1.htm

http://www.ilovewavs.com/Holidays/Christmas/ChristmasMusicPg1.htm

http://www.santasearch.org/music.asp?PID=2

http://www.hipchristmas.com/about/index.php

and be sure to read this entry from hip christmas.com...one of the funniest I have ever read, especially the entry about Kenny G...

http://www.hipchristmas.com/lists/jews.php

Merry Christmas Rob...I couldn't ask for someone better for a best friend!

For a great time look Rob's blog up

http://christmasyuleblog.blogspot.com/

We are experiencing technical difficulties...please stand by...

We apologise for the inconvieneiance...please stand by...Operators are waiting to assist you in the order you have called...please enjoy this weeks selections of "Lost treasures of Eurythmics" to ease your wait for the return of the blog...

We Mourn A REAL Hero...

http://www.yahoo.com/s/992783

Taken from KATU.com Portland Oregon.

By Elisa Jaffe
Note: This is a story from our sister station in Seattle, KOMO News.

BOTHELL, Wash. -- The day I met Brenden Foster, I met an old soul in an 11 year old's body."I should be gone in a week or so," he said calmly.When I asked him what he thought were the best things in life, Brenden said, "Just having one."I didn't understand how this child, who was a year younger than my own son, could be so courageous facing death."It happens. It's natural," Brenden told me.

Three years ago, doctors diagnosed Brenden with leukemia. The boy who once rushed through homework so he could play outside found himself confined to a bed. But there was no confining his spirit."I had a great time. And until my time comes, I'm going to keep having a great time," he said.Brenden's selfless dying wish was to help the homeless."They're probably starving, so give'em a chance," he said, "food and water."But Brenden was too ill to feed them on his own. So volunteers from Emerald City Lights Bike Ride passed out some 200 sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle.Then Brenden's last wish took on a life of its own.A TV station in Los Angeles held a food drive. School kids in Ohio collected cans. People in Pensacola, Florida gathered goods.And here in Western Washington, KOMO viewers from all over took part in the Stuff the Truck food drive in Brenden's honor. Hundreds with generous hearts donated six and a half huge truck loads of groceries and more than $60,000 in cash to benefit Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline.

Brenden touched hearts all over the world. His wish came true, and he lived to see it.
"He had the joy of seeing all of the beautiful response to his last wish," said his grandmother, Patricia McMorrow. "It gives him great peace and he knows that his life has meaning.""He's left a legacy and he's only 11," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's done more than most people dream of doing just by making a wish."Days before dying, Brenden surprised us with a sudden burst of energy. He wanted to get off the oxygen, hop out of bed and go buy a video game. Wise beyond his years, but still a kid."I have been so blessed to have this child. A mother couldn't ask for a better son," Wendy said.The B-Man, as his family called him, had one more wish before going: sprinkle wildflower seeds to save the bees. He had heard bees were in trouble.Someone answered B-Man's wish. A retired pilot asked his pilot and flight attendant friends to sprinkle wild flowers around the world, from Bali to Brazil, on Brenden's behalf.When asked what made him sad, Brenden said, "When someone gives up."Brenden Foster never gave up. Even as he clung to his last hours of life, Brenden kept giving."Follow your dreams. Don't let anything stop you," he said.

I can add nothing more than this...

...And a little child shall lead them...

Isaiah 11:6 KJV

NEWS YOU CAN ABUSE

A Weekly Dose Of News Items That Amuse Me In Some Way or Another

Source: Associated Press - Dateline: Wilimington, North Carolina

A North Carolina sheriff's official has apologized for plunging a funeral into chaos when undercover agents tried to arrest the dead man's son — and used a Taser on him in the process.
It happened as the coffin was being loaded into a hearse. The officers planned to quietly arrest pallbearer Gladwyn Taft Russ III, The Star-News of Wilmington reported Wednesday.
Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before Tasering him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster.

Russ' sister, Taffy Gause, said when she got out of the car a deputy "was waving a gun at me and my mom and yelling to get back or he was going to shoot." She said some mourners went home instead of going to the cemetery. Russ, 42, had failed to surrender after being charged with threatening his ex-wife who lives in another state, officials said. Following his father's death Nov. 11, Russ agreed to surrender after the funeral.

When deputies approached Russ during the Saturday funeral, he "went wild" and spat on the officers, said New Hanover County sheriff's chief deputy Ed McMahon. McMahon said the officers should have waited until after the cemetery service. "It was never my intention to create any more problems for the family, and I am truly sorry and apologize for that," he said. McMahon said the officers pointed Tasers at people because the crowd was moving toward them.

Russ was charged with assault on a government official, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and felony malicious conduct by a prisoner. "Everybody was so scared. We thought it was a drug deal gone bad," said Ronnie Simmons, a pallbearer and Russ' brother-in-law. "We almost dropped the casket."

Now, aside from the fact that almost anything that happens at a funeral in some bizarre way causes me amusement, there are quite a few "gems" of hilarity in this story.

The riot at the back of the hearse would be a great youtube video posting. I just picture some sort of Monty Python sketch involving John Cleese playing "the Vicar" yelling at Grahm Chapman "the Police Sgt." whilst sliding the casket back and forth between them arguing about jurisdiction issues...

Then there is the name of the arrestee..."Gladwyn Taft Russ III"? Sound like one of the rich bastards from Alpha Beta Fraternity in Revenge Of The Nerds.

And Gladwyn's sister doesn't fair much better in the name game, he gets the classy one while she sounds like a New Jersey Stripper... "Taffy Gause". (Not that I have anything against New Jersey strippers)

"Mr. Russ agreed to surrender to authorities after the funeral"...I guess the deputies figure that once the stiff is in the wagon the funeral is pretty much over. To bad they never heard about the graveside service.

But the winning moment in this news story for me is the name of the Chief Deputy. Ed McMahon. Must make serving summonses and arrest warrents easier. "Honey?...Ed McMahon's at the door and he says you might be a winner!"

This is either really really useful to you... or really really useless....


http://www.instantrimshot.com/


"call it...a hunch!...Rrraa-ching!"

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Get this widget!

America...this is your electorate!

This just sort of boggles the mind!

http://www.visualbully.com/media/464/Idiot_Voting_for_Bush/

Now I certainly have been no Fan of "W" as President. I have nothing personally against the man as a human being, in fact if after he leaves office he starts drinking again, i'd be happy to join him for a pint of Guiness, but even if I WAS a "bushite" I know about the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Bring back DICK NIXON!!!

A Mother Lode for All Of Us In The TV Generation!

I have a habit of doing what I call stream of consciousness surfing. I will just start with a topic and follow links around in no order and with no destination in mind and sometimes I is a vast wasteland of uninteresting information...but every so often I find something marvelous...something that makes the long hours of fruitless searching worth it all.

This is one of wondrous finds. If you are a TV junkie who watches the boob tube 24/7 or someone like me who has a penchant for the classic B/W shows of yesteryear, this website will sate your appetite for reminiscence.

I SOOOO Love the internet!

http://www.televisiontunes.com/

They have almost every TV song on their site and a list of the ones they are on the lookout for.
There are even some BBC shows on here...Can anyone say Blakes' Seven?

It Has Come To My Attention...

...that there isn't enough opinion of the witty, intelligent variety on the web...

and since I am not normally one who is givin to withholding my views from anyone, (just ask my friends and family), I have decided to grace the internet with my services, i.e. in the form of opinions, musings, observations, rants, etc.

I feel that in the general cacaphony that is the public discourse in this wilderness that is the web my voice is sorely needed, and so I launch this blog which will cover a wide range of topics and issues from the earth-shattering to the mundane, the sacred to the profane, the banal to the bizarre.

I find that in my minimal amount of free time away from my work and family, I tend to find myself ruminating on a wide variety of seemingly non-connected subjects, although I am sure a detailed analysis of the subject matter would find a connective thread that runs from point to point between these seemingly disparate items.

So join me in this quest of bringing chaos to heel, and rasing the bar for the internet in general.

Thanatos