Devil May Care

So last night, before more tequila, we went to go see Hail Satan.

I know - I never heard of it either, but 710 said it had a 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating - which is a total lie. It was 96%.

Hail Satan is a documentary.

The movie has its pros and cons. While yes, it does deal with the Satanic Temple, it turns out modern day Satan worship is not really about well......worshipping the devil.

Their views on government, theocracy (or lack thereof), equality, etc are very enlightened. They use their beliefs to counter the entire construct that the U.S. was not built as a Christian Nation.

They fall through on this endeavour by their name itself: Satanic Temple. And following up most things with chanting "Hail Satan".

No one interviewed seems to really think they're worshipping the devil or evil. None of them seem to be. At least in this slice of their lives, they're challenging state governments about their lack of separating of church and state by pointing out the only prayers they say are christian ones and the presence of 10 Commandments on state property - but only the 10 Commandments.

Most of the people are exactly what you think:  black wearing, metal heads with lots of piercings and ink. Save one Alabama, bow-tie wearing guy who reminded me of Kenneth on 30 Rock.  That all kind of takes away from their goals. Let's face it - people have a hard time looking past the black leather and chanting like you're worshipping the devil.

While I'm not moving to the Satanic Temple anytime soon, they operate by Seven Tenets.  They'd be hard for anyone - even a Christian (save #3 these days) - to find fault with them.

• One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason. 
• The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. 
• One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. 
• The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own. 
• Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs. 
• People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused. 
• Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

Again, their message is lost in the wrapping.

It was an interesting movie, though it made me cringe here and there.



2019 Movie Count / Goal: 06 of 15


Song by: Dianna Krall

Comfort

I might be a wee bit drunk.

....and by "might be", I mean I totally am.   Thanks tequila!

No really. I mean THANKS!   Yesterday, for the most part was a shit day, so as Homer Simpson says, "ahhhhh, alcohol, the cause of and solution to, all life's problems!".

A. Fucking. Men.

But enough of that.  Dog.  and Cat.   Well.......dogs.

Has there ever been a more comfortable dog? 

The question is rhetorical. 

Always the back-up.......never just unrequited love.  

I'm good with it. 

Siggie - up close and personal.  And hairy. 

Cousins and Cousins

I totally pulled a Felicity Huffman and got Siggie into our tres elite daycare. 

Sister, Brother & Sleep Time

Song by:  Alanis Morissette

My Music @ Work

One month and one day into my job, I finally have an "office".

Ok - it's a cube.  .....for now.

The building I moved to, well, I don't have an office yet. That will probably be 3-6 months before I get one.  No worries.

At my last job, before they had us work from home, I had a cube and it was fine. It was fine because people traveled a lot, myself included.

Now I have people near me on the phone constantly - though it is part of their job.

Wireless bluetooth earbuds are going to be my new bestest friend. I also have a pair of noise cancelling headphones (also bluetooth) that might come into play. I've seen others in the work area with them and I'm totally getting it.

What you see is what I have. I don't even have a desktop computer. I put my docking station in the overhead cabinet, so I don't even have that clutter on my actual desk top.

I have an Indians towel hanging and a storm trooper mug (which I use as a pen holder thingy) and that's about it.  And a half pack of post-its.  Right now, and as is my plan: no paper.



Song by: the Tragically Hip  (and yes, I know I used this song before.  T.S.)

Wishin' and Hopin'

Pinch me - I think I'm dreaming.   If I am.............don't wake me.

Song by: Dusty Springfield

Warmer Climate

I'm down with anyone calling out this administration on, well, just about any and every thing. But right now, we have Billy Nye and Geo Clooney. 

Thumbs up to both.







Song by: Snow Patrol

Killing Time

I'm not a woman (this is actually true!) and while theoretically could get someone pregnant, really can't get a woman knocked up, and I'm appalled by the new abortion bills in Georgia and my home state, Ohio (though you can start adding Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Dakota and Texas to the lists).

While yes, social media is all over this - it's unclear if some of the below are even true.

The Georgia governor signed the bill, stating:  “to ensure that all Georgians have the opportunity to live, grow, learn and prosper in our great state.”. 

OMFG.  I don't know it for sure, but he's probably against public funding, food stamps and sex education in schools.  ....and he means all white Georgians, btw.

If actually true, the bill goes into effect January 1, 2020........because...........the law can’t take effect until January because it categorizes fetuses as “minor dependents” under the Internal Revenue Code. I shit you not.  Does this mean child support from absentee fathers starts at 6 weeks old too?

One thing I haven't looked up - doctors who perform the abortions....what are their punishments?

Anyhoo.......some social media items from this all.

This is actually a possibility. A probability?  Most likely not, but.........it seems like this state would try to float this test balloon to see how it goes. They tried in 2015 without this law. Now they have the law. 

Song by: Clint Black

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 110th 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore. Now it's just Erik and myself - that I know of.....as it's the only blog post he's still doing......for now.  

I still continue to do this, because of all my consistent post topics, I actually like this one the most.

05:45.  Leashing up for a.m. walk. 

This is an hour later than usual, so thanks for letting me "sleep in", Shep.

05:50.  One raindrop. 

The beginning of sprinkling after an overnight rain. 

06:10.  On-line purchase. 

06:55.  Cheerios b'fast.  Same as every day. 

09:10.  Let's just say my car didn't need repaired. 

10:30.  I'm not sure our yard has looked better. 

11:45.  Darks. 

12:45.   Sleepy. 

I'm not normally a 'nap person', but I had a 2.5 hour one here on Saturday and two different ones on Sunday. Shep was ok with letting me use his sofa. 

16:40.  Park Walk. 

I totally forgot to take pics at the store or while visiting my mother for her day, but afterwards we took Shep on a 2 mile hike through a park near my mom's new place. 

17:00.  Geese and Kids. 

This was one flock. There were three others at the same area on the path. 710 had to carry Shep as to not upset the families. You can see a parent duck (on the right) actually hissing at us. 

17:05.  10,000 Steps. 

Honestly, with all the naps, I expected to hit maybe 6,000 steps. I'd go on to get 11,331. 

18:15.  Dinner time. 

....well, for Shep. Not so much for us. 

That's it.  I had lots of missed opportunities, but you get the idea. 

Mother

Yep.   Well, I'm assuming.




Enjoy your mother's day.




Song by: Natalie Maines

Sleeping

Here is the best time of your blog week............well, when reading mine, that is.

One tired pooch, 

I love being the object his affection - which goes away as soon as we get home for him to see 710. 

Q:  When is an ottoman not an ottoman ? 

The ducks have fallen out of favour. Sebastian, the dragon is still #1.  But Mr. Bun is a close second. Both were give to him by our neighbor. 

Song by: the Band

Low Life

I've said this again and again, and yet, I still surprise myself:  how fucking lower can BLOTUS go?

You know in Sunnydale when there was Hellmouth?  That even had a lower level and nice creatures came out of it.

"And don't forget, we don't let them {immigrants} and we can't let them use weapons. We can't. Other countries do. We can't. I would never do that. But how do you stop these people?" the President said. 

Someone in the audience interrupted Trump, shouting: "Shoot them!" 

Trump chuckled at the shouted remark before shaking his head, as the crowd began to laugh. "That's only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement," the President then said with a smile, with the crowd erupting into laughter. "Only in the Panhandle!"

As abhorent as he is - and he is - the crowd laughed.........and cheered........at the thought of shooting people.

So, keep in mind, when one of those fucktards actually goes and shoots people at the border (not if, but when), IF he bothers to mention it at all, he will say it was a "joke".

We are going down the drain so quickly. I actually get nauseated.

Song by: Screaming Trees

Billionaire

Hey BLOTUS - How much money did you lose in between 1985-1994 ???

(I'm hoping the video works)



Song by: Lisa Stansfield

Skating Away

Man - I was three quarters of a way through my draft of another post only to find out the item was real, but like two years old, so I scrapped it.  I had nothing else really.  Work has really gotten in the way of blogging.

But my sister sent me this:

The guy on the right is, well....was, my uncle. He died 10 days after I was born, so I don't really remember much about him.  {the eye roll is implied}

Skating was the thing in the 50s in Cleveland. That's where my parents met. Until a few years ago, they'd have a party with their skating club every year. I'm not sure anyone but my mother and aunt (Ernie's and my father's sister) are still alive.   If they are, it's doubtful they can drive after dark.

For those who knew my father - and Jon, Morty, Becky and Dith might be the only ones here - I'd normally say Ernie doesn't bare a resemblance to him, but this picture tells me otherwise. Maybe it's the angle.

Ernie died at 41 and was a confirmed bachelor. I don't know if he was gay or not - and it wasn't a question I really could ask my father. He and Ernie were tight. And even though the second born, was seemingly their parent's favourite.

Ernie wasn't buried in the family plot for some reason, and it was enough for his mother not to be too, as she is laid to rest next to him. I found that weird.

By all accounts, Ernie was a ne'er-do-well. The above picture does nothing to deter this thought. I'm not 100% sure he ever worked after the war.  That would be WWII.  I'm not 100% sure he didn't live at home his entire life.

No one had a bad word to say about Ernie.............................until my father died.  Oh, how my mother loathed him. I think she knew better than to say that while Ernie was alive.  And then to not have to say it to her husband.

One story I have heard is that he'd hide tape recorders in people's houses and then listen to what they had to say.  Ick.

Maybe he's not buried with the family by his choice.

I didn't ask all the questions about Ernie when people were alive. Both his brothers are now dead, with only a sister left, and that's not a person I want to go to for verification of anything anyways. And it's her long dead brother. Doubtful she'd say anything unflattering. I'm not sure I'd get biased stories from my mother.

As Ernie looks so much like my father, and their brother Eddie ended up looking so much like my father.........well, I know my fate. I caught a glimpse of myself in a picture taken at the beach last year. There is no doubt I'm my father's son.  ....and apparently, my uncle's nephew.




Song by: Jethro Tull

Shopping with Blobby

Yet another installment in the drudgery that is everyday shopping. The camera-phone makes it a bit more fun - though I get looks whenever I take pics of products. Like I care what people think

Ok - I can't take credit for this.  This is a Shopping with Becca segment. Actually, this blog thing would be WAY easier if I had other people write my posts for me.

Becky texted me:  Who knew Asbury was such a shithole?

My response:  Everyone. 

Here are two good reasons we are both correct.  Though they both made me laugh.

My Music Monday

I won't even pretend I know or knew who Craig Finn was. Going by his accent, I'm pretty sure he is no relation to Neil or Tim.

I saw Finn on CBS' Saturday Old People's Show, which is TOTALLY different than their Sunday Old People's Show......because they're on different days.

Sunday's show has nature shots and Jane Paulie. Saturday's has bands and a segment from a chef you'll most likely never hear from again.

I can't say Finn grabbed me with his first number, but on the other hand, I didn't change the channel or mute the segment either. That's not a small thing, believe it or not.

The show closed out with his second number, "Blankets".  This garnered a more immediate reaction to his music.  The guitar and the rhythm section were great and was giving a great beat.  The horn section, while you couldn't hear wonderfully, has down the moves.

But I loved Finn's lyrics. They rhyme and they don't. The words easily create visuals for you, and he knows how to write that. No one will accuse Finn of being an outstanding vocalist, but that's not the point.

I will look at his other material and see about potentially purchasing some.

As for the version I have here?   The CBS show has a better vibe with the instrumentation, but the mix as muted, possibly due to the studio venue.  The one here has better acoustics but I don't feel the vibe as much - though the guitarist is playing a different guitar.

I was going to go with the studio version, but the live ones grab me more.

All said, I've probably played the song a dozen times in the last two days.

Chicken

I am not a Cinco de Mayo guy - though I do like tequila - but it's nice to know I could show my face at an event without touting white supremacy

My semi self-imposed moratorium on news isn't over over but things have been sneaking in, as they tend to do.

First off - John Kelly?  REALLY??

I think the biggest surprise of this is that somehow I am surprised. For futures generations who come back to read this, he helped enforce policies separating immigrant children from their parents, when he was White House Chief of Staff for BLOTUS.

He is now on the board of the company that runs (and gets paid to) shelters for these families. It's like war-profiteering without the war. Or at least traditional war. Make no mistake, it is a war on the disenfranchised.  Kelly is as reprehensible as the president he served.

I've kept my distance from the Bill Barr sitch. Has anyone asked the three democrats who voted to confirm him if they regret that decision by late last week. Or earlier when he gave his 4-page summary.

I keep hearing about 'impeachment'. Can one impeach an Attorney General, or any 'staff member'?  I honestly don't know.  I've never truly heard of this. Or is 'impeach' just a word people throw around?

I did find this funny amusing video out there of Señor Barr.

Song by: Sly & the Family Stone

Fences

Doggie and Kitty day, everyone.  Enjoy.

Being contemplative at Nana's apartment

Being contemplative up at the Lake

Being indignant on an ottoman

Lonely at the dog park.

We were the only ones at Tails and Trails.   ....so then we just took a trail. 

Close, but never close enough.  

....in my opinion. 

Song by: Paramore

Bliss

I don't know if ignorance is bliss, but fuck if it's not serene not watching or reading the news.

Wait.  Did that come out right?

This is why I might be struggling for blog posts. You've been without political posts for a bit now.  ....well, a week.  But it seems longer.

I hear that Barr did, and then did not, testify before Congress.  No idea what he said / lied about.  And I don't care. We are deep in it and I don't see how even caught in a lie will mean a thing.

Because of the no news things - I don't have any silly stories I read getting to these pages either.

It's the price you pay.

It's a dangerous game one plays not knowing the news. Before you know it, then things are happening which, in theory, could be prevented.

I'm sure I'll back to my soapbox soon, but that day is not today.


Oh - and I overheard that Chewbacca died, and just 48 hours before Star Wars Day.  Bummer.



Song by: Tori Amos

Beat It

I'm sure I'll totally get copyright busted, but it will be worth it.

If you haven't seen the Kids are Alright, you totally should to back to the beginning and watch - not that they have to be sequential, but it helps a little.

710 and I could not stop laughing at this week's episode which semi-addresses a boy's exploration of self-love.  The parents are ineffective in speaking to the teen, so they enlist their oldest son to talk to the kid.

Hilarity ensues.  Or at least, I thought so.


There is no official clip of this of course, so with the DVR, my iPhone and YouTube, I'll make it yours, until it gets shut down for copyright infringement.

Song by: Michael Jackson

Slave to Love

First off, for the first time in 3-4 years, I've opted to not do a Pic a Day in May.  It's too difficult. Well, it's not if you don't want to be creative. I'd like it to be more creative.  Maybe next year.

Secondly - just a photo post, because I saw it and couldn't stop laughing.

Song by: Bryan Ferry

Social Cues

Social media is a "funny" thing.  I understand it, but I don't get it - if that makes sense.

I guess blogging is social media, though I don't put it in the same category as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. I use all those things differently - if at all.  You see my blogging here. My IG has artsy-fartsy pictures I try to take, Twitter is for viewing, not participating, and Facebook actually has more nonsense than this blog.

With the latter, I rarely post political things - as that just devolves into flame wars (remember those, when there were "message boards" circa 1992???).

I use FB to post some pics or share stupid stuff, mostly. Usually, it becomes a faux flame war between Mike and myself. All loving jabs, I'm sure.................on my side.

I can no longer find the tweet (I think it was) that was posted on Facebook, but it sums up the app perfectly - and of something I am guilty of here and there:  As Notre Dame burned, people (moi aussi) put up their pictures of the cathedral.  The tweet accurately read {paraphrasing}:  when did this tragedy become about you bragging about your trip to Europe. 

SLAM!   ....and accurate.   Internally I laughed.  710 did so externally, as I read it to him.

Over this last weekend, an acquaintance of mine died. Cut to the chase: he committed suicide.

We couldn't call each other friends, and while he'd be nice to me here and there, more often than not, any little thing I said would get him in a huff. I never really took it personally because, well, we weren't friends and I had to believe that I wasn't the only one this type of interaction took place.   I could totally be wrong about that too.

Oddly, while a little sad, I wasn't horribly surprised either.

It was the social media (read: Facebook) responses to his death - and I'm sorry in advance - that had me rolling my eyes.

Of course, there were the "so sorry you passed". Mind you, it's possible most people didn't know he took his own life. But I watched is start to creep the the "me", and it went beyond "I remember when...." stuff.

It got to the "I talked to him, I was dealing with other, stuff, WHY couldn't I have saved him......" to the point where it was no longer about the victim.........except now there was a new victim.  Everyone jumping in to absolve this guy.  Hence the rolling of my eyes.

Or the guy who started his post with a remembrance which quickly went south. He chided others (no names) for him having to find out via social media of this death......and then signed off with a FUCK YOU ALL !!!!

Klassy.

My first thought was these people were acting out in grief - which might be partially true. But deeper down, it became a the "look at me" culture. My opinion, of course.

I had nothing to contribute to any of the conversations, not even the insincere "condolence", as who would I even give it to.  I just read for a while and shut down the laptop.

I need to do that more.



Song by: Cage the Elephant

My Music Monday

We got home from a dinner on Saturday night and was listening to the Rock and Roll Hall o'Fame induction ceremonies on the radio (oh oh oh). 

We heard the Cure play live, and damn if they weren't excellent. For a 43 year old band (I know, right??) they did a great job.

But the Zombies were a great selection to join the Hall. Janet Jackson?  ehhhhh.............no. She wisely didn't even try to perform as you know, well, her vocals are whisper thin and pre-recorded tracks might go over in concert, but not at an event where everyone truly plays live.

Anyhoo......the Zombies are great. Rod Argent's keyboard work is truly phenomenal, as are their harmonies. While they didn't perform "She's Not There" during the induction concert, it was my go-to selection.

They did a very decent job on "Time of the Season" and "Tell Her No".  But since that Saturday airing, I haven't been able to get "She's Not There" out of my head.

....and now it's in yours.