You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

You know - I find Hillary Clinton to be somewhat vile.

In the 2016 primary, I did not vote for her for a couple of reasons. She was doing well enough on her own that she was already a serious contender for when the convention rolled around. The other reason: she wasn't my first choice.

It doesn't matter now who it was, but events of as late have kind of confirmed what a horrible person she probably always was. And note: I said 'person', not 'woman'. This isn't a misogynistic kind of thing. I voted for her in the general election.

I totally get that anyone who is to be president (present one excepted) has to have balls of steel.....or at least ovaries. The job calls for a calculated personality. And I'm sure it's more difficult for a female in that type of leadership role.

Side note: when in meetings lately, I notice both male and female physicians calling their male counterparts by "Dr. Fill In The Blank", but call their female counterparts by their first name. It's horribly biased. And conditioned, as the females take part in the same behaviour.

I am also not one of these folks who wants to have a beer with a candidate: not you Liz Warren, not you Shrub. First one, it seems like you've never had one in your life, and for Bush, well.......recovery!

Still, it seems that cobalt steel would be warmer and more flexible than Hillary. And less calculating, We can all say 'likeable' shouldn't matter in an election, but we are all kidding ourselves. And there is a difference between unlikeable and loathsome. In office today are both.  Reality is: we want someone we like and respect.

Back in 2015-2016 she and Debbie Wasserman-Shultz (though Deb took the fall........kind of) conspired and exercised bias against Bernie Sanders to favor Clinton - including, but not limited to, halting any access of the Sanders campaign to the DNC databases and to telling DNC staffers to only publicly talk up Clinton. Wasserman-Shultz had to resign. But she landed on her feet.........as the 'honorary' chair of Clinton's campaign.  Yayyyy.......women supporting women........who are just as corrupt as men!?

In lieu of all that, Bernie endorsed Clinton eventually, and did a lot of stumping for her in the last 2-3 months of her failed campaign. Yes. Failed.

In theory, the 2016 election should have never been that close, but Hillary underestimated not only the GOP, but the DNC as well. Presumptive winner doesn't mean 'winner'. She felt she had to only sway enough undecideds to win - and she was wrong.

So, it totally baffles me - and then yes doesn't - when she has the nerve, not only to say that no one likes Bernie, but that she would consider not endorsing him should he get the nomination.

That is cunt-like behaviour.

And in the Hollywood Report you said this, no less. Thanks for setting the tone for what the Right already thinks about your kissing up to the star crowd as opposed to us commoners.

Hill - Bernie put you through your paces in 2016 when you thought it would be a cakewalk to the nomination. That your unfavorables were high is not Sanders' fault. That you couldn't sell yourself to some of his folks after the nomination is not his fault - you dismissed them early on and continually. But you beat Bernie - so let it go.

Who you didn't beat was BLOTUS. If you find him half as repugnant as whomever is running your Twitter feed, then you'd think you'd want him out of the White House should Sanders win the nomination.

I get that Bernie can be hard to take, but honey, look in the mirror.

You don't have to endorse him. You don't have to vote for him. You don't have to campaign for him. Just shut the fuck up and keep your opinions to yourself. If you want to derail him should he get the nomination, go for it - but you'll be reviled by just about anyone who isn't wearing a MAGA hat.

You already have my vote for that.



Song by: Daryl Hall + John Oates

Cooking with Blobby

What does one do on a Tuesday night for dinner?  But not just a regular Tuesday night mind you.

Yesterday marks 35 years with on Mr. 710.

I know, right ?   If I can eek out 15 more years, there is a gold anniversary somewhere for us. For two letters, 'if' is a might big word.

So, there was discussion on going out to eat. Do it up right. But middle of the week can be a non-starter depending on how our work week is going. So, I just told him I'd cook - and he picked up most of the ingredients. Most, because I forgot to tell him 'all'.  Ooops.

Salmon was my dad's most favourite meal. Let me rephrase, my mother said it was turkey, but no matter where he ate out, the order was salmon.

For the longest time - like all my life to the last year, I've never been a fan. Lox, yes. Full on salmon, not so much. But my few forays with it over the last year has made me come around - so that's what we had for dinner. With broccoli. On one sheet.

It seems like a lot of ingredients, but this is super simple and relatively quick.

INGREDIENTS 
4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 pound broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets, thick stems discarded
2 scallions, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch segments, plus thinly sliced scallions for garnish
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing the salmon
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets
½ lime, for serving
Sesame seeds, for serving

PREPARATION 
Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons sesame oil with the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, ginger and garlic until smooth. Set the glaze aside.

Place the broccoli florets and 1 1/2-inch scallion segments on a sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, toss well and roast for 5 minutes.

While the broccoli and scallions roast, place the salmon fillets on a plate and pat dry with paper towels. Brush all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Toss the broccoli and scallions and move to the edges of the pan, clearing spaces in the center for the salmon fillets. Place the salmon fillets, evenly spaced, on the center of the pan. Brush the fillets generously with the glaze.

Return the pan to the oven and roast until the salmon is cooked through but still slightly rare in the center, about 12 minutes.

Squeeze the lime over the broccoli and sprinkle with salt. Scatter the sliced scallions and sesame seeds over the salmon, and serve hot.


First off, the broccoli was great (though way too much for two people)!  I know I should lead with the salmon, but if you roast broccoli the wrong way, everything is ruined. The lime really adds something, as most people use lemon. This was much better.

The salmon was flaky and cooked well. The glaze was nice, but next time, I think half way through cooking, I'd put on another application.

The fillets seems large, and we figured there'd be leftovers. Alas, there were not. Broccoli, yes. Salmon, no.

This one we'd definitely do again.

Take This Job and Shove It

Impeachment proceedings continue - as faux as they are, or are going to be. Yeah, I called #moscowmitch about not allowing C-Span cameras in the room.

I am SO tired of their behind closed doors bullshit. But unfortunately, I don't think my call will do a thing.

But in other news...........

Devin Nunes' cow's owner * - Devin Nunes - has his lawyer trying to get California representative Ted Lieu to publicly apologize for insinuating that Nunes has met and knows serial political interferer, Lev Parnas. Oh and that he worked to conspired with Parnas to undermine the US Government.

Oh - and if there is no apology, then Lieu will be sued by Nunes - and by association, his cow too. Naturally.

But Lieu, for whom I have great admiration, wasn't about to just stand down so not to get hit with a lawsuit. No. He did one better. And he didn't even have to call his lawyer to do it.

....and yes, you have to read the whole letter.

Personally, I would have liked him to add, "up your ass" to the last line, but I get that not everyone is as crass as I am.

For the life of me, I cannot find a response from the lawyer, Nunes or the cow!  Has anyone else seen / heard of a response? I'm curious.



*for those unaware, there is a Twitter account called "Devin Nunes' Cow" (@DevinCow), to which Rep Nunes is suing...................a made up twitter cow. 




Song by: Johnny Paycheck

My Music Monday

Released tracks from artists I like that I somehow missed. 'tis the theme.

Fleetwood Mac has been through like 89 different iterations. At least six alone since Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nick joined the band.

So in that regard, how difficult could it be to miss a transition? Not very, I say.

After Buckingham departed in 1987, the band brought in Rick Vito and Billy Burnette as replacements. This version of the band lasted one album and maybe two tours - one for sure.

Somewhere in 1991-1992, the band became a foursome - with Nicks and Vito leaving the band.

Allegedly on their 1992 collection 25 Years - the Chain, the quartet of Christine McVie, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Burnette recorded a McVie song called "Love Shines".

Like a lot of her music in the 1987-1995 years, this was written with her then second husband.

McVie was the ground between Nicks flightiness and Buckingham's wanna-be quirkiness. They all needed each other to off set the other two - no matter which way you look at that triad.

"Love Shines" is nice and harmless. That is the McVie way. But this is ok, but not overly interesting. It's also not as lightweight as the disk she did with Buckingham back in 2017.

History

I got invited to a private Facebook group, which I immediately accepted, but then immediately thought I should have given it more thought.

The group is on Columbus LGBTQ History.

For those who need a slight Blobby history lesson of their own - I spent 14 years in Columbus and THE Ohio State University, where I met not only 710,  but my besties of whom you read about here......often.

I was "happy" enough just to be a voyeur to this group for the first few days. There seemed to be a lot of drag show pictures. Unlike many, I'm not a huge fan of the art. I don't disapprove of it or anything, but I have seen far far far too many bad shows. My thing is: if you're gonna go to all that effort and get all dolled up (let alone the prep to get make, wigs, shoes, etc), at least know how to lip synch.....or the words to the song you selected.  (though Mr. Larry. who used to cut my hair, was excellent at his drag craft!)

So the drag aspect of this history was not in my social circle. A lot of those posts were lost on me. Ditto with the gay softball stuff - as I never played.

I did kind of on-line stalk some people who posted and commented. I knew some of the folks - adjacently. And then there were the posts from 2012, and while yes, it's technically 'history', it's past my time in Columbus and that all felt foreign to me.

710 and I left town in 1995, and you know before that, homos weren't really taking their SLRs out to the gay clubs, so I have way fewer pictures than most that I could even contribute.

Morty texted me Friday night, asking if it was ok to tag me in a picture he was wanted to post. Of course it was, I said right away...............and then I double-backed making sure it wasn't from one certain night of our lives. He assured me it wasn't, so I said, 'yes'.

You see the picture above. I don't know what look for which I was going back in 1992 (?), but thankfully for all, it didn't stick. I'm there with Mitchell and Morty. I adored both, but it took a long long time to gain Mitchell's approval. In retrospect, I can't say I blame him. I miss him daily!

From that post, one comment came back to me - a very casual friend, who was doing his own pseudo-stalking. He said something we were both thinking - and I'm guessing a lot of people who are posting and finding each other after years are doing the same - {paraphrase} "yes, I'm still alive". 

From that era, if it wasn't potential od'ing or prison time, it was AIDS. There is a lot of statistical evidence present to assume we might not still be roaming this planet. Oh - and since many of us are now in AARP land, natural causes cannot be ruled out anymore.

My melancholy, I think, set in the same way I had it when living in that town, participating in that life.

I had great friends, but the friends of friends, never warmed up to me, nor I to them, so my circle never expanded. I think, some might have recognized me by site, but certainly not by name. Me, being me, I knew who they all were. The odd thing is: I felt left out of groups I didn't want to be in the first place. I'm sure there's a psychological term for that.

Still - those feelings arose while going through all these posted images.

There are some Bruce D posts with all his 'friends' who were all shirtless, tanned and handsome. I was never going to be in that group or get an invite. I couldn't even get an acknowledgement from him when in P-town in 1990. Sometimes you're just not worthy.

I did throw up a test balloon on this group. I posted one of my own pics, the few I had, from a party I had. Two - count em - people liked it. I laughed to myself. Others are racking up dozens and hundreds of likes. I confirmed my absence for the last 25 years didn't really make a mark on anyone.

Honestly, I'm not moping - I totally get these were and are my own insecurities. I just kind of thought I was beyond those - and I am mostly. It was just a weird flashback.

I did reply to one post - a still dear friend - who truly was about the history, and asked to remember those who are no longer with us. While Craig didn't mention AIDS, that's really what it was. It was somber, sobering and endearing.

This also sent me down a rabbit hole for a friend of mine, Stuart, who died in 1995.

I would take him to the hospital and stay with him. I would call his brother collect via a hospital pay phone (no cell phones yet!), to update on progress. Stuart's parents came in the middle of the night - literally - and took him home, where he died. I never saw him or talked to him after they showed up.

So the hole of rabbits of which I speak, has been trying to identify his death notice and place of internment. I know, should it exist at all, it is here in Cleveland. But I think their 'shame' won't have me finding a record anywhere. I haven't located his brother either, just to drop a note. For me getting to think about and process that, I do thank this group.

We will see how long I stick with this Facebook group. It will most likely run in the background. Perhaps my perspective will change, perhaps not.  If we're being honest about FB, some posts are for recognition. I'm not going to get that here - outside of my friend's of 30+ years. And that's ok.

Maybe I'll be a voyeur, or maybe not.



Song by: Bush

Beware

Another week; another set of doggie and kitty pics.  Not all doggies are mine.

Daycare can really take it out of a guy

Double trouble. 

This guy was SO sweet. He wouldn't let me let him go. 

 

Got to see Sigge, when I picked up Shep. He's such a love bug. 

His excitement to leave daycare has not waned. 

I love Sophie all the time. But she looks so good on this rug. 

Yes. He's ferocious 

Song by: Etta James

I Know Him

Oh BLOTUS & Co.

The tangled web you weave. Webs, I suppose.

My lord, now we are onto illegally spying on our own ambassadors - and the whole impeachment thing, which is just going to go nowhere.

It's this Lev Parnas thing that is just killing me. Not necessarily in a bad way.

First off - I am ah-mahzed that a man under conviction would go on any talk show, let alone Rachel Maddow. Of course, the barrage of, "I don't know him" statements that came out from just about anyone.

People. It is the digital age.

It seems there isn't a BLOTUS family member this guy didn't get pics with - other than Ivana (no k) and Tiff. It's hard to believe they were a series coincidences that everyone below just happened to get a pic with a person they don't know.

At the very very least - Secret Service is NOT doing their job.

Song by: Jonathan Groff

Baking with Blobby

You know how I say "I'm not a baker", and then I do something awesome like make great cookies?

Then I try to make homemade rolls (for the very first time, I might add) and I get to go back and say something exactly like, "I am NOT a baker".

I'm 91% I followed the directions to a T., but.....I dunno.

I won't go as far as to say they were like Ellie Mae Clampett's biscuits, but I'm not about to say they were good either.

I would say they are 'edible', but only because I ate one.

Ingredients

1½ cups warm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
3½ cups flour
1 tsp Salt
1 Egg
1 tablespoon milk
4 oz Asiago Cheese, shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degree and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix warm water, sugar and yeast together. Let that sit for 5 minutes.

Add flour and salt to the water, sugar, and yeast.

Mix this until smooth and let it raise for 10 minutes. I used my stand mixer with the dough hook and it was so easy and worked great!

Divide the dough into 12 sections.

Roll each section into a ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let rest for 10 minutes. Whisk the egg and the milk in a small bowl.Brush on the top of each roll with the egg wash.

Sprinkle generously with asiago cheese.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.


They looked nice. Maybe you need to serve them right from the oven. Honestly, I never tasted any cheese at all. My sister either liked them or was lying through her teeth, but I know what I tasted (or didn't) and 710, I believe was honest with me - and

Site of the Month

.....and then there were nine.

Booker is out. So save Yang, we have a pretty white race. And that includes Warren's Native American heritage.

Truth be told, come primary day, I don't know who I'll vote for.

Of course, truth be told, come March, I don't know which of these nine will remain, though I'm guessing they'll all be on the ballot. Filing deadlines, and quitting timelines and all.

I mean, I know who I'm NOT voting for in the primary:  Uncle Joe being #2 and Tulsi Gabbard being #1.

Steyer would be a tough sell and maybe even Klobuchar. So that really leaves Yang, Warren, Bernie, Bloomberg, and Mayor Pete. But they're not equal in the rankings of my mind.

The Washington Post has a 20 question quiz to let you know which of the candidates agrees with you most. It touches on healthcare, gun control, education, some foreign policy, etc. You know the drill.

My results?

Well.........not what I would have thought at the beginning. Buttigieg being the biggest one.

Mind you - with all that said, there are extenuating circumstances with them all - and some of those might override those few things, and rearrange the ranking.

What does yours say?


If anyone is picking BLOTUS (who is not part of this quiz), give me a logical reason why.

1917

I thought I knew everything I needed to know about World War I.

1. That Archduke Ferdinand thingy.

2.  Thomas Barrow purposefully gets his finger shot off so he can get out of the war and back to being a footman for the Grantham family.

3. Snoopy flew his doghouse in air duels with someone in a Kaiser helmet.

 ......and then everyone lived happily ever after!  .......except Ferdinand, naturally.

THE END.

I guess there was more to it. Who knew?

If you haven't guessed, we saw our fourth (!!) movie of the year (or, half-month). I think I low-balled this year's movie goal, but you know they'll be a dry spell in February and March. Our friends David & James told us we must (must??) go see Bombshell, but...........I don't wanna.

To be fair, I didn't wanna see 1917 when they started previews for it...............back in OCTOBER!!!!!

But I'm tellin' ya folks, this is what incessant propaganda will do. If you show the preview 1,917 times {see what I did there?}, eventually you're gonna go, "oh........I should see that!".

And that is exactly what happened!

While I won't get into particulars of the movie, maybe you've seen the previews as often as I have. From the get go, that plane crash coming directly at that scene. DUDES - run perpendicular to the plane, not try to outrun it. Sheeesh. I was just about yelling at the screen each of those 1,917 times.

But, 1917 did get best movie at the Globes, which means it will probably be up for best picture for Oscar - (and it is!), and I need to do my homework if I am (and I will!) beat Mike.   (Jebus, I'm two pages into this post and haven't even really started the review!.  Maybe Mike is right: I CAN go on and on!)

If you break this movie down too much, you might not go - but let me be there to say:  the story has been told before, in some way or another.

The imagery has not.

There is no way 1917 can win best original screenplay. While it is not adapted, it is hardly 'original'. Get a message to the front / save a family member....at the front, etc.  You get it. Yes, you've all see Shaving Ryan's Privates - so you've all seen battle scenes and bodies. This is a war movie, so none of that will surprise you.

Actually, while war is hell, you see some of the effects, but little of the actual war. This movie isn't about that portion of conflict. Still there is some.

Director, Sam Mendes does an incredible job telling that story.

I had heard the entire 1hr:50min movie is one tracking shot. It certainly looks like it, but it is not. Whomever did cinematography and editing should have Oscars coming their way. The effect is amazing, in both technical terms and being in the moment with the two soldiers traveling from their platoon to the front, to deliver the message.

The two main actors are not well known. Mendes pushed for that, as he did not want someone famous to distract the audience from the role (take that Tom Hanks!). Both Dean Charles Chapman and George MacKay do an outstanding job.

The more "famous" actors, Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch, do nice work as well......for the 3-4 minutes they are in the film.

1917 avoids some pitfalls, while in other regards falls right into others. There are certain lines that are heavy foreshadowing that never arrives. Good for Mendes for not suckering us into that. But on the minus side - and I get it - there are some Indiana Jones-lite scenes. I get the need for action, but......

Oh, and it seems Stormtroopers were seemingly recruited from the German army - circa WWI. Those bastards couldn't hit a thing.

For those paying close attention, the opening and closing of the movie are somewhat bookended, which was nicely done. I had not expected some of the emotion that crept through me at the final scenes - again, a testament to the acting and directing.

Sure, there are some slight flaws you heard me mention above, but as much as a war movie can be enjoyable, 1917 still manages to be a 'good' movie. Acting, direction, cinematography and score. You can kind of overlook the lack of original story. It's a solid A- film.



2020 Movie Count / Goal: 04 of 18




Song by: Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 117th 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 myself - of which I know. 

02:27. First awake time. 

I did get back to sleep until 03:23. Then 04:30. But didn't get out of bed until.....

05:07.  Getting my socks - and rest of clothes on. 

Shep needed / wanted to go out. 

06:30.  Reading the obits. I do it daily. 

08:33.  Nap time 

Fuzzy blanket. Sofa. Sleep. For exactly one hour. 

09:40.  Gotta run the dishwasher. 

09:50. I didn't earn this.  ....and I don't care. 

11:00.  Finally taking down decorations. 

We were just lazy.......and tree pick up was today. 

12:15.  Well........it's not gonna empty itself. Or so I was told. 

12:25. Kitty Kat and kitty kat treats. 

Sophie gets them when we take Shep out for his hikes. 

13:00.  Shep hike!

14:45.  ......it ain't gonna fold itself.....or so I've was told. 

We'll see if puts itself away. 

15:35.  Waiting for a movie to start. Review on Tuesday. 

There you go........until #118