Saturday, February 29, 2020

Last Kiss

In terms of quantity, it wasn't an outstanding week for doggie and kitty pics.

But in terms of quality - well, it wasn't outstanding, save one.  You can click to make the bigger, should you want.








Song by: Pearl Jam

Friday, February 28, 2020

Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!


Admittedly, I knew nothing about the Secret Sisters until I started listening to John Paul White a few years back. On a small handful of songs, they sang backing vocals on his last two albums. But honestly, this is how I find music sometimes - though it was easier when there were albums or cds and those releases had liner notes and credits.

Apparently, Saturn Return is the sister's fourth disk. Who knew? Well.........someone I suppose.

The disk is nice, if not low key. Two sisters, singing alto (more or less), intertwining their voices. They provide great harmonies. The Roger's sisters (though the have married names now, I think)  have been referred to the female Everly Brothers, and it's a comparison that isn't grandiose, and one that is fairly accurate. They do hail from Muscle Shoals, so the have a roots background as well.

"Late Bloomer" is a really nice song, if not musically Carole King Tapestry inclined - if nothing else but the piano. Not a bad thing. Not easy to pull off, but they do.  To a degree, "Hold You Dear" evokes the same King vibe.

Most songs are sparse-like, but now and then they change it up. "Cabin" is nice enough, and halfway through, out come the Neil Young / Crazy Horse guitars - but not the distorted ones. The shift / the song, it allegedly about Brett Kavanaugh (ugh) and the women left hopeless and voiceless.

And on "Hand Over My Heart", it is downright pop-like.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, and they do a few non-traditional vocalizations to not make it so standard.

In previous songs, the harmony was constant. This go-round sometimes there is a single lead vocalist.

The "girls" also invoke waltz-like music ("Tin Can Angel"), but with good arrangements.

I don't know if the group uses all female musicians - though two of their videos allude to that fact. It would be nice if they did - as clearly women can do this well and with great talent.

I Saturn Return might not quite be for everyone, but at least sample it via iTunes or YouTube. You might find you like it.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Stepping Out

Well, that was another debate gone wrong. Well, I assume. I did not watch, but by all accounts it was a shit show. While I don't have another solution for whittling down candidates, this seems like the worst job interview ever.

My ballot should be arriving any day now, and honestly, I'm not 100% sure for whom I'm voting. I've narrowed it down for sure, but I'll have to do some soul searching (first, finding out if I have one), to make my final selection.

But dating is like a job interview, no?  Someone on Twitter wraps up in word each candidate as if  they had gone on a date. She's not entirely wrong on any of them.



I have not displayed these in any particular order.  No lie: the Tulsi Gabbard one made me laugh out loud.












Song by: Joe Jackson

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Scared

I am all very angsty today after Fat Fuck BLOTUS' comments about Sotomayor and Bader Ginsberg needing to recuse themselves due them not supporting him in his election. Or some such nonsense.

It's frightening.
  • He's already chipped away at legitimate news being legitimate anymore. 
  • He's already successfully discredited places like the FBI - even if untrue. 
  • He's placed doubt on the intelligence agencies when he doesn't like hearing what is true. 
  • The CDC? For somethings they're just a mouthpiece and possibly withholding information the WH doesn't want to deal with. 
  • The DOJ?  C'mon. 

So, let's start to discredit SCOTUS, shall we?  After that, there is literally nothing left standing in his way.

Nothing.

You can say BLOTUS is the worst president ever, and he might be. But stupid he isn't - though, yet he is at the same time. Shrub was stupid, but he had Evil afoot with Cheney. BLOTUS isn't book smart, but he's wily and manipulative and has putz' like Heinrich Himmler Stephen Miller* to do his bidding.

We are so fucked - 2020 election or not.

And I've said it a few times, and oddly, have seen it come up in the last few weeks, including by Bill Maher to Pete Butt Edge Edge:  he (nor I) think that BLOTUS is going to leave the White House should the vote not go his way.

And I might be paranoid at this point (though I don't think a truly paranoid person would say that), but I'm actually believing this.

I honestly have a doctor's appointment in a week and a half. I am asking for a stronger antidepressant. Totally not kidding.




*sidenote: some stupid cunt (yes, I said it) who worked (works?) for Mike Pence just married Stephen Miller. How self-loathing must one be to be involved with one or the other, let alone both? I'm just assuming step-dad raped her repeatedly and now she wanted to find someone like good old step-dad. 



Song by: John Lennon

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Podcast of the Month

I've fallen behind in my podcast listening. There area a fuck of a lot of them out there.

I do not know the ratio of good to bad podcast, but it is so subjective, it would be hard to quantify.

Still, when I heard Paula Poundstone had one called....wait for it....Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone, I figgered, how bad can it be?  Paula's funny, right?  She's good on "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me", right?

As it turns out, the podcast is aptly named. While there was one person who did listen to Poundstone (me!), it also turns out I shan't keep listening.

I opted not to go back to episode 1 and just started at the newest one, which is #84!!!  You'd think with being so far into these things - and some of them lasting well over an hour (some as little as a half an hour) - that Poundstone and her co-host (?) would kind of have this down.

They don't. Or perhaps they do and it's just bad. The guy, Adam Felber, must be there to try to keep Paula on track, which not only didn't work, but everything he did and said sounded forced. The worst part?  It wasn't funny.

I will fully cop to that I'm dealing with an N of one. Well, of 0.25. I could barely make it through the intro and Poundstone's on-going song where she incorporates her word of the week was exhausting to even attempt to listen. Honestly, I never made it to the first guest.

Perhaps I got a bad episode. Perhaps I'll try another one, but I'm hot holding out high hopes.

If anyone call tell me anything different on this, I'd be glad to hear their opinion.

On the plus side: it's not Rita Rudner.

Monday, February 24, 2020

My Music Monday

Je have no theme for this month {feel free to submit one for consideration}, so I'm just going with what moves me.

It turns out, I can't easily use SoundHound when driving, so it's easier to have Siri take a pic of what's playing.

I'm finding a few things out about this:  either, I wait too long from deciding to take the pic to doing it and the title's change, OR I have lousy taste in music in the car, because when I listen to it at home, I go, "ewwww.....what was I thinking?" or "I've never heard this in my life".

So, I actually went through a bunch of options what were on my camera roll........and eliminated quite a few before I got to today's pick: "Sing Along" by Sturgill Simpson.

It's an ok song, but you know, it seems better for driving - and I think you know what I mean when I say something like that.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Old Friend

Friday evening, I was back in Columbus based on an invite from that LGBTQ History Group they have on FB.

As ambivalent as I was with the on-line group itself, attending a "reunion" seemed a bit......well, off-putting. I kind of likened it to going to a high school reunion, but with a lot more potential judgement and bitchiness.......and oddly enough, not even coming from me.................necessarily.

There were hundreds invited, there were about 90 on the evite who said they'd attend. While the organization / host (Stonewall Columbus) were prepping for 500. I told Morty, I think they accidentally carried a 0.

The plan was for me to go with Morty and his husband George........and nothing against those two fine gentlemen, but a long time friend, Craig, "guilted" me into coming down, as he was flying in from Kansas City (that's Missouri, not Kansas!) for this.

Ok, it turns out while he was coming in for this, he was also seeing his father and getting him into an assisted living situation. He just based the timing of his father with this event. And while that might sound crazy to do, Craig was one of these people we all knew (or wish we did), who truly was about gay history. He was a catalyst in many things gay-positive in Columbus, when it wasn't such a good time to be gay, let alone out, in the community.

As it turns out, I'm guessing there were 200 folks who might have shown. Save Craig, I knew exactly three of them and none of them well. Michael, who lived next door to Morty and myself for at least three years, kind of / sort of pretended to remember me.......you know except for my name or the fact that we lived next to each other.

There was Kelvin, who was all like, "heyyyyyyyy", he may as well added, "buddy, sport or pal", which is what one does when one cannot place you. Craig introduced me to people who pretended to remember me, which I know not to be the case, as I had no idea who they were. Friends will tell you of my ability for recall, and I was recalling none of them.

As it turns out I didn't even know Morty and George, as they unexpectedly could not attend. I totally missed them being there. Oh, Morty would have gone off making a dozen or two new friends, but Geo and I would have hung and had fun.

I was talking to the aforementioned Michael when Craig showed up. Along with his husband.

I should mention, while friends with Mr. Craig, I have not seen him in about 28 years. We talk, we chat, etc, but after he left Columbus, and then after I did, well, we were rarely at the same place at the same time.

While I wouldn't say we have a complicated relationship, it is...........ummmm.......viewed differently. Not in a bad way, just in a perspective way. He seems to think I'm the one that got away, which is odd, as we never dated. Still, we've always had a close and deep connection, so that's fine.

We were both emotional when seeing each other. A few times during the evening, he got a little, well, weepy, when expressing his thankfulness for my friendship.

As it was the first time I was meeting his husband - though I'd seen him on FB - I was on good (ish) behaviour. It turns out, Dan and I got along extremely well, and no awkwardness, which is kind of a feat in itself.

While I didn't really want to be there the full four hours (well, three, as I showed an hour into it), I figured Craig would be, which was fine. I did stay for the speeches, which focused mostly on census and voting issues, along with how far the Columbus gay community has come. However, it was Craig who wanted to leave early, and was good with my suggestion of getting dinner.

The three of us (710 could not join for the trip, but knows Craig as well), had a great time.

I'm glad I went, more for Craig then the FB group reunion. They didn't need me, nor I them.



Song by: Marti Jones

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Kiss

This week - more than just Sophie and Shep. Enjou

Dining Room Chillaxin'. 

Behind bars!

Actually, he was at the dog park and inside before I was. 

Boomer. He was just hanging.

More Soph. 

....and a Bailey close up. What a cutie. 

Shep loving the off-leash of the dog park. 

Yet more Sophie - this time with 'tude. 

Baily again. She's all about the running, jumping and licking. 
....and those are some wet sloppy kisses. 



Any thought we ever might have had of a Corgi was laid to rest.  That puppy is unstoppable, and no down time. Fun, but I was ok leaving her with my sister.



Song by: Prince & the Revolution

Friday, February 21, 2020

Turn to Stone

I firmly apologize for my fourth political post in as many days.

As you (or most of you) know, I've been trying to stay away from these, but sometimes they have to be done and the Fucktard in the White House just can't go unchecked........though nothing seems to stick to him, so, maybe it doesn't matter.

So for all of Barr & BLOTUS attempted workaround of 'the system', it seems Roger Stone is getting 40 months in prison.

Ok, who'm I kidding? He might get 40 hours. 40 days, tops.

I like that the judge didn't kowtow to the administrations wishes of a lighter sentence. I mean, three years and four months IS a lighter sentence than the proposed nine years.

Bet it appeal or pardon, this guy isn't staying in prison, though it's a nice idea.

I'm not one to say, "I don't have ill will...." or "I don't wish harm on......".

No, I want this guy to be sodomized in prison on a daily basis. It'd be nice if it sent a signal to all those who bend over for the White House that they'll have to bend over in the Big House.  ....and it's just as nonconsensual.....but this time, it's with people of colour.   ......ad you know, that's gotta hurt....on every level, which I'd be loving......on every level.



Song by: Electric Light Orchestra

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Kiss Them For Me

The scenario was going to come up at some point, I suppose. I guess my surprise is that it took so long.

Maybe "folks" though Pete Butt Edge Edge wasn't going to be in the race this long?  Maybe "folks" didn't think he'd actually be a threat to a potential nomination?

So someone - Rush "help me, give me a Medal of Freedom, I'm dying" Limbaugh wonders how people will have to explain to their kids, about two men kissing.

Sigh.

You mean, of course, more basic than that. You mean - gays.......because ewwwww.  And of course, by "gays" you actually mean "fags".

Naturally, as Pete would do - as any true candidate should do (yes, I'm inferring that BLOTUS isn't a 'true' candidate.......for anything) - he answered professionally, but accurately and with a slight sting.



Good for him.

I'd like to think in a debate between BLOTUS and Pete (I refuse to demean him by calling him 'mayor' - it's rude) that BLOTUS wouldn't dare bring up the gay thing, as that just opens up the multiple marriages, affairs, hookers and payouts to hookers.

....but on the other hand, BLOTUS isn't really that smart. Actually he is, but he's reckless. And he'll lose those odds.

That said, Pete's response was nice, but I like this one much much better......



Actually, the version I saw, but cannot find, was a response back to Rush saying, "explain it to your kids the same way you did about "grabbing her by the pussy".

So, at some point the gay thing will come up again.  How or when is unknown, but it's in play.



Song by: Siouxsie and the Banshees

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

King for a Day

I don't know if BLOTUS know this or not, but he made a serious mistake when he did some of his pardons and commutations.

Do you think he knows he let a black woman and a Hispanic one out of prison?  I mean, that's gotta be a mistake, right? Two black women, actually.

I totally get the white men. BLOTUS might really need those 11 votes later this year. But the Hispanic woman confounds me - we all know BLOTUS thinks brown women and their kids should be in cages.....but separated from each other.

What he's hoping with Angela Stanton is what I would call a very loose affiliation with Martin Luther King.  She is the goddaughter of MLK's daughter, who later in life adopted her, so she has tacked on the 'King' moniker....as opportunists normally do.  So basically, she's nothing in terms of race relations.

On the other hand, she was on the Real Housewives of Atlanta, so chance are she knows NeNe and Tootie. 'Cause you know Black Sue ain't gonna be swayed to the BLOTUS, and while Blair might, Tootie is gonna be a hard pass on that ticket.

And since this chick wasn't even alive when MLK was assassinated, but way to co-op the brand, sweetie. Oh and she also was involved in a car theft ring, but you know the mcmansions in Atlanta don't pay for themselves..........a girl's gotta eat!

Anyhoo......it's not like Stanton-"King" is bring the black vote over to the BLOTUS side. I mean, gurl, even Kanye could only bring the cray-cray, but not the black vote.

But when it does come down to the white folk - and I do honestly believe the three females of colour were to distract you from rich white men - it's all about who you know.

Honestly, I could be wrong, but I do not remember any other president (save Ford pardoning Nixon) to use their powers so blatantly for people they know.  Blagojevich, DeBartolo, Kerik, Milken all have had ties to this fat fuck of a president.  And yes, all white. all male.

Up on deck:  Barr. Stone. Flynn. Guliani. Kushner. Trump. Trump. Trump Jr.. 



Song by: Procol Harum

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Ironic

So it seems that Ted Cruz isn't just a dumb fuck, and an evil one at that, he's also irony impaired.

Rape and incest are "horrible" according to Ted, but he "doesn't believe it's the baby's fault. Ted supports cutting all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and has co-chaired some pro-life events with Tony Perkins, who has advocated for the execution of abortion doctors (another irony).

It should be noted that Ted is in favour of the death penalty. But if fetuses (feti?) went on a killing spree, he'd be put in a really really tough spot, n'est-ce pas?

But Ted just confirmed what every woman who has ever had her body and reproductive system regulated by government has thought. ....but he's too stupid to see that too.   (psssst.....that is all women!  ....whether the realize it or not.)




.....and yes, Alanis, that IS the appropriate use of the word.




Song by: Alanis Morissette

Monday, February 17, 2020

My Music Monday

I'm not a fan of rap music, per se. There are some aspects to it that I agree with are an art form, but a lot of it, isn't what I'd call pleasant to listen to.
And it's not the cursing. I have a great appreciation for salty language. I can do without the misogyny, homophobia and violence. That said, ironically, rap is one of the music forms I don't usually listen to the lyrics.

Oddly (?) the only other rap song I can remember featuring here was Eminem feat Skylar Grey and Dr. Dre. This time, it's the same, minus Dre.

Maybe it says something about me that the only rap I feature here has been a white dude. I might have done Macklemore once? ......but he's white too.

There was that big hoo-hah over Eminem performing at the Oscars the other week. Allegedly, the Academy asked him, as he didn't perform it (or show) to the 2002 show where he won, so they offered him the chance.

It's nice gesture, except that his songs from the past hated on women and homos, which one might say they could over look...............except for the Kevin Hart being fired from the Oscars for Tweets he made about the same things. So the Academy - shock of shocks - does not ring true when it comes to rationale.

So today's selection, "Leaving Heaven" may or may not contain any of that. I honestly haven't listened that closely. When his new disk came out a month ago, pre-dawn, I sat and sampled his disk the morning of its release.

Regardless of what I think of his music per se, Eminem has a certain style, one I have never heard in anyone ever before or since.

I honestly do not expect anyone here to sit through the entire song. Still, I challenge you to get up to 2:04.  What I'm really wanting you to hear is his art - and yes, it is - from say, the 1:30 mark to 2:07. It's quite impressive to say the very least.


Sunday, February 16, 2020

Cooking with Blobby

Lately it seems, the dinners I've been attempting at home have come from the liberal, failing NYT. Failing so hard, that of their $800M in Q4 2019 revenue, $420M came from new subscribers. Take that, BOTUS.

So they had a fast 'sesame noodle' dish.  ehhhhhh......yes and no.

First. Fast-ish. It probably did take 30 min. I wasn't quite a prepared as I could have been.

Second. Not as much sesame as you'd think, or taste. But give me noodles, peanuts and sesame, and I'm kind of all in.  ...and so I was. ....and so I did.

Look very very very very carefully at the first ingredient. Most any recipe I've ever used for ANYTHING, has somewhere between 1/8 and 1/2 TEAspoon of red pepper flakes. Nothing has 1.5 TABLEspoons of it.  Ruckiry ? (not Jon's boss), I stuck with 1 T and didn't do the other 0.5.

I put four 'very' up top because I had to read it four times to make sure I wasn't misreading. Everything else, it seems, is fairly straight forward.

INGREDIENTS 

1 ½ tablespoons red-pepper flakes
1 ½ tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil, plus more as needed
 Kosher salt and black pepper
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon neutral oil, like grapeseed or vegetable
6 tablespoons roasted, salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Rind of 1/2 orange, peeled into 2- to 3-inch strips
1 pound ground chicken
10 to 12 ounces ramen or udon noodles, preferably fresh
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives

PREPARATION 

In a medium heatproof bowl, stir together the red-pepper flakes, soy sauce and sesame oil. Set next to the stovetop.



Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, cook the 1/2 cup oil, peanuts and orange rind, shaking the pan occasionally, until the peanuts are golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes.



Immediately pour the contents of the skillet over the red-pepper mixture (be careful of splattering!) and set aside.


Meanwhile, in the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add the chicken and press it down with a wooden spoon into a thin layer. Season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper and cook, without stirring, occasionally pressing the layer of chicken down, until the bottom is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Break the chicken up into small pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more.


In my haste, I totally forgot to salt and pepper the chicken. I don't know if it would have made a difference or not, but I suspect they both would have helped in the end.


While the chicken cooks, cook the noodles according to package directions, until chewy but not soft. Drain and toss with a bit of sesame oil.  I don't know what a "bit" is. I used two tablespoons. I suspect I could have used more.


Remove and discard the orange rind from the chile oil. Off the heat, add the chile oil to the chicken and stir to coat, scraping up any browned bits from the pan.


Add the noodles and toss to coat.




Top with chives and serve at once.


A. This tasted good. I do believe the salt and pepper (especially the latter) would have been beneficial.

B. It IS hot.....on the initial serving. I honestly don't know how people do it with that additional half tablespoon of red pepper flakes. I like spicy, but that would be far far far too much.

C. With leftovers, I suspected the oil would infuse more into the pasta and make everything that much hotter. This was not the case. The flavours mellowed out, though the peanuts were still the spiciest, which stands to reason as they saturated in the chili oil for a while before incorporating them into the dish.

We both agreed we would keep this in rotation, but honestly, next time I will dose down the red pepper flakes......maybe to 3/4 of a tablespoon.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Valentine

It's a post-Valentines post.  Complete with animules.

Two weeks in a row where I have too many pictures to use, so I'll save some for a possibly slower week.

Makin' Out in the snow. 
It was a picture for 710 who was still at work. Shep was so excited to have me on his level, he ended up jumping on me and knocking me on my back. THEN the kisses really started. It would have been hilarious if a car had driven by. 

Lounging Sophie. Always near by. 

Bailey watching the Westminster Dog Show. Intently, at that. 

Shep likes to get close when we are putting on shoes. He knows it means, we usually take him somewhere. He doesn't realize this act slows us down. 

Lord the cat loves the radiant flooring as much as we do. Maybe more. 

Siggie's name is misspelled, but he was featured on the doggie daycare IG account - schmoozing the ladies. Or lady. Well, I'm assuming it's a girl. 


Bailey also made it updstairs, which is not allowed at my sister's house. 
Wally looks on, unimpressed. 

Love Soph on this rug. 

Valentime's pick up. Everyone is all dolled up in their kerchiefs. 
Cleveland Jones Jr. is looking right at me. He's the little brown beagle mix. Love him. Love his name.

Shep got one too. And came home with a bag of treat. 
He was very good to pose here, and not just be a hound. 




Song by: Belinda Carlisle