Three O'Clock in the Morning

Random Photo XX: Indian summer

2009-11-02T13:25:00.004-06:00

Temperatures last weekend were almost unbearably pleasant. We spent a lot of time outside soaking up the last of the fall colors.

tagged: weather, fall, autumn, leaves, foliage, photo, picture

Just a little prick

2009-10-30T15:54:00.004-05:00

"You have to relax your muscles if you don't want this to hurt," she said as she finished rubbing alcohol on my skin.

I honestly thought I was relaxed, but this was my first time doing this so there was probably some background anxiety that I wasn't consciously aware of.

So I took a deep breath and tried to relax while I waited for the little prick of the hypodermic needle injecting dead flu virus proteins into my shoulder.

I don't get the flu. My theory is that I've got a super immunity due to a near-fatal (at least it felt near-fatal at the time) pneumonia I contracted years ago.

Still, with a kid in school and a new baby in the house, I bowed to the pressure of my (admittedly much smarter than me) Supermodel Wife to get the seasonal flu inoculation this year.

The nurse who gave me the shot -- I think her name was Becky or Ashley or something like that -- was sure to point out that "this is the seasonal flu shot, not the shot for the H1N1 flu."

According to Tiffany, the CDC identified back in April/May the flu strains that it thought would be a problem. At the time, they didn't think Swine Flu would be a problem.

"If you want a Swine Flu shot, you'll have to come back in a few weeks when we get the vaccines in," she said.

Now this may be my first flu shot, but I know a scam when I smell one. I'm not sayin' that the Swine H1N1 ain't a real thing. I just find it interesting the way things are working out.

I mean, look at it this way. You know how Apple is always working on the next new release of the operating system and they always give is an animal name (usually feline in nature). You had Mac OSX Cheetah, then Puma, then Jaguar all the way up to Leopard...

The point is, it's just good marketing to give something a name that people can latch on to.

I'm pretty sure that's what's been going on with these annual flu vaccinations. They started out a few years ago with the "Bird Flu" (later called "Avian Flu") that was killing people in Asia. Nobody was scared of it when it was just called "H5N1." But when the media got it's talons on "Bird Flu" -- well, there's a hook you can build some hysteria around.

This year it's the Swine Flu -- very catchy. Gets the media excited. Gets the citizenry in an uproar. Gets some much needed demand for the pharmaceutical industry right in the middle of a consumer recession.

Ah, now we're getting somewhere. It's How to Survive a Recession 101: Create A Demand For A Product For Which You're The Only Provider.

Anyway... I'm not really sure where I was going with this.

My arm is kind of sore.

tagged: swine flu, vaccine, Avian Flu, Mac OSX, Panther, conspiracy theory, shot

Random Photo XIX: Foliaged again

2009-10-28T14:31:00.003-05:00

It's been a cold wet fall, but nature (or God, or whatever) has tried to make up for it with the beautiful fall colors. Unfortunately, the show is all too brief.

tagged: random photo, fall, autumn, leaves, foliage, nature

YouTube Tuesday: Life and Death of a Pumpkin

2009-10-27T13:01:00.000-05:00

Halloween is only a few days away. Hope you have your Balloon Boy costume ready.

In the meantime, here's a poignant portrait of one pumpkin's plight.

tagged: YouTube, Tuesday, pumpkin, Halloween, humor

Pleading Galty

2009-10-26T15:16:00.006-05:00

I'm going to backtrack a little bit because I have a couple of things I want to say about the whiny babies running Bank of America right now.

Seems they've wet their diapers over the Obama Collective's plan to slash executive salaries.

Many of the firms, which have together received more than $300 billion in taxpayer aid, issued conciliatory statements, but Bank of America said the ruling would put it at a disadvantage in competing with companies not under the pay czar's thumb.

"People want to work here, but they want to be paid fairly," ~~said~~ whined BofA spokesman Scott Silvestri.

Some people (who haven't thought things through very well) have latched on to the quote and hit the panic button, warning of a Galtian response to the pay cuts (via Cup O' Joel):

If the administration actually follows through, most of these executives will quit and get higher paying jobs elsewhere. Executives not directly affected by the pay cuts will also quit when they see their prospects for future salary gains have been cut. Chaos will be created at these firms as top people leave in droves. Will the administration then order people back to work?

Like I said, I've got a couple of thoughts on this, and I'm going to try to keep it brief.

First, this whiny weasel of a bank executive is vastly overstating the risk of a "Galtian" exodus of talent. (Can you imagine? A bank executive not being 100% honest?) Yes, the reduction is a 90 percent cut over their pay in 2008. But read the fine freaking print: It only applies to "the remainder 2009..."

That's right, these poor, deprived bastards are going to have a whole two months of punishment for the 18-months-and-counting depression they've caused. Then, it's back to buying disposable superyachts on the taxpayer dime.

Secondly, even if every single bank executive affected by this pay plan decided to take his keys to the executive Korean massage parlor and crawl into a Randian hole in southwest Colorado, that's only 175 people. I say good riddance. Don't let the balloon payment hit you on the way out. By all rights, these people should be out of work anyway.

Which brings me to my final point. If you're going to run you industry into the ground (oh, and the rest of the global economy, to boot) and then go crying, hat in hand, to the government and beh-heh-heg for a bailout, and if the popular sentiment is hard enough against you, don't fuckin' be surprised when the Chief Executive (your new boss, btw) grabs some political points by cutting your pay.

Welcome to the world you created.

tagged: executive pay, Kenneth Feinberg, Scott Silvestri, economy, Galt, Rand, politics

In case you missed it... KC with "international flair"

2009-10-23T14:05:00.005-05:00

While you were busy trying on your Billy Mays Halloween costume, I was reading the bit on USAToday.com that puts Kansas City in a Top 10 list of "Great towns with international flair."

The piece is part of a celebration of United Nations day, which I'm sure you all know is tomorrow. The list was put together by Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Center for the Living City (whatever that is).

For KC, Goldsmith plugs the KC Irish Museum and Culture Center ...

"The mixture of Irish culture in this city is not competitive but woven into its fabric," Goldsmith says. Kansas City has a thriving pub, Celtic music and culture scene. The permanent exhibit at this center includes ancient and local Irish history. Events include Irish Beer Night and workshops for singing, fiddle, bodhran (drums) and tin whistle.

Check out the rest of the article to see even more international flair.

tagged: Kansas City, Irish, United Nations Day

YouTube Tuesday: The Kitchen Sink

2009-10-20T09:17:00.003-05:00

In keeping with the creepiness of the season, today's edition of YouTube Tuesday is a double feature guaranteed to make you regret coming here all over again.

Actually, Kitchen Sink is a great but creepily weird short movie from way back in 1989. Believe it or not, I actually had an experience not too dissimilar to this back in college.

tagged: YouTube, Tuesday, creepy, movie, Kitchen Sink, Alison Maclean, hair

Guest Post: The Punxsutawney Power Principle

2009-10-19T15:19:00.000-05:00

Today's post comes to us courtesy of MalcomSmith, a frequent poster on the KATG forums. This post was inspired by a conversation amongst some of the more politically inclined on the forums. I post it here (with permission of course) for your consideration.

I am beginning to wonder whether our intrepid young President hasn't already squandered every last bit of his once copious political capital? The prodigal POTUS?

And it appears the Republicans, the reigning maestros of of media manipulation, have already socked away all the malicious material they need to deliver a sound trouncing in November.

Is the Obama Presidency toast?

I think Obama's media presence is indicative of his political profligacy. For example, Obama has violated the Punxsutawney Power Principle. Every year, once a year, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his rat hole or tree stump or whatever, and millions are held in rapt attention anxiously awaiting his meteorological prognostications... then they all party.

Now, were fat Phil to emerge say once a quarter, or once a month, or once a week, how much attention would we pay him? Would there be Groundhog Days? Would there be parties? Would there be a Punxsutawney Phil?

Or, would he be but another rotund rodent?

The Punxsutawney Power Principle hypothesizes that power is inversely proportionate to media saturation. Obama is everywhere, all day, every day. The PPP is but one way in which our precocious POTUS has thus diluted his mojo.

Some might say so what? As long as he's getting things done who cares if he's overexposed?

But, he's not getting needed legislation passed. That's the point. His message is diluted to meaninglessness. He should have been more parsimonious.

Obama doesn't get what the Republicans have known for years: You've got to catapult the propaganda. Americans function on heuristic soundbites. His message is too diffuse, too broad, too vague.

His message is missing its mark.

Brother B-rock needs to focus. He needs to prioritize his goals, assess the resources he has available to achieve those goals, and then direct those resources towards those goals in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

I would like him to spend his time on the economy, Iraq and Afghanistan, and health care; and he's in the Rose Garden with Gates, Crowley, and Biden... piling up the video library for conservative campaign swift-boat hatchet men.

How's that image work: Picture of the soldier with his guts blown out, juxtaposed to Obama drinking beers, bowling, dancing, cooing with babies, and playing B-ball with Reggie Love?

You do the math...

Obama won against an old man and a crazy coo coo woman. He did not beat a legitimate Republican candidate.

Some would submit that the Republicans never intended to win the '08 election. You'd be crazy to take on the $#&* Obama inherited. No politician could fix that $%^&. Better to sit it out, and let the Democrats take the lumps, then point out the problems and swoop in to the rescue.

The Republicans conceded the race.

Now, think about the baggage: Obama is a black Democrat + Iraq + Afghanistan + Gitmo + the health care fiasco + the bailout fiasco + the czars + the $%^&&! economy + the Democrat congress disaster + no bin Laden + GM + too-big-to-fail banks are bigger than before + etc., etc., etc. Could he have won with this stuff on his resume? No way.

This is what Obama is up against and he chooses Geithner and Larry Summers.

It's not a question as to whether or not he's going down, it's a question as to whether or not he can pull out of the dive before he hits the tarmac.

tagged: Obama, Punxsutawney , presidency, Reggie Love, economy, politics

Money, it's a gas

2009-10-15T10:26:00.004-05:00

Hey let's face it people, our beloved greenback has taken its lumps the last few years.

Bush's supposed "strong dollar" policy didn't pan out so well as other currencies passed the buck in value at various times over the past few years (hell even the Canadian Loonie was beating the US dollar for a while).

And, with bajillions of new dollars pumped into the economy to make sure JPMorganChase would get record profits after screwing the country into economic Armageddon, it's pretty much a sure bet that the buck will get weaker before it gets stronger.

But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun with it, does it?

The other day I received a $1 bill as change. On the back of the bill was printed this message: "You have found a wild bill. See where I have been. Enter the series & serial # at www.wheresgeorge.com"

Now, before you go and think I'm all naive and everything let me just say that, yes, I recognized this as the government tracking program that it is. Obviously, it's just one more way for Big Brother to keep tabs on my whereabouts and spending.

Still...

I went to the wheresgeorge.com website and punched in the info from the bill. The tracking report I got on this particular bill showed a previous entry from a fella who received it as change from the KCI Airport Super Shuttle. At the time, it was in "good, nearly new" condition. That was 28 days before the bill came to me.

When I received the bill it was still in good condition, but not nearly new. Lots of wrinkles and folds, almost like it had been crammed quickly into a pocket then straightened out and placed into a money clip, then at some point drunkenly stuck into a g-string. You can use your own imagination to predict where it went from there.

Anyway, you can participate in the fun by pulling a bill from your wallet and checking the wheresgeorge.com yourself. C'mon, the government is already tracking you 10 different ways anyhow.

But if you're too paranoid to play this little game with your dollars, here's something else you can do.

I got an email the other day about Won Park, an origami artist who specializes in folding the dollar bills in to intricate shapes of animals and various objets d'argent. Here are the samples that were in the email I received.

And of course, my poetic favorite...

tagged: money, dollar, bill, fun, origami, Won Park, economy

YouTube Tuesday: Hellholes

2009-10-13T14:43:00.001-05:00

As I've said before, the great thing about online video is that it gives so many talented people a way to show off their goods with a low barrier to entry.

In the spirit of the season, I'm really diggin' this first episode of Hellholes -- looks like it's going to be kind of in the vein of The Army of Darkness.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.atom.com" target="_blank"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Hellholes - Ep 1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Hellholes - Ep 1

tagged: YouTube, video, Halloween, Hellholes, Army of Darkness

In case you missed it... Moom bombed in preemptive strike

2009-10-09T09:37:00.005-05:00

While you were busy polishing your Nobel Peace Prize this morning, NASA bombed the moon.

That will teach the moon to moon us every month.

According to my inside sources, NASA has followed up the initial phase of the "shock and awe" bombing with the covert launched of a lunar invasion force. Here's some video my inside source captured with a cell phone video camera (it's a bit grainy)...

tagged: moon, pop culture, NASA, LCROSS, science

YouTube Tuesday: On the Boulevard

2009-10-06T09:01:00.004-05:00

Most of us locals have been enjoying Boulevard Brewing Co's craft beers for years. We've toured the brewery (and tried the free samples) one or two (or ten) times so we're familiar with the company's story.

Still, this well-produced video is a nice introduction and review of where the company came from and where it's going.

Damn I'm thirsty.

tagged: Kansas City, beer, Boulevard, video, movie, YouTube, Tuesday

I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier

2009-10-05T11:25:00.001-05:00

Well he's done it again, posted something that makes the tiny little gears in my tiny little brain start turning and churning so much that I just can't stop it until I leave a comment. Then the comment turns into a long post and I end up just typing it out and posting it here.

Internet Legend Xavier Onassis, Father of the Internal Bushing, posted his thoughts the other day about his inability to "get" poetry and abstract expressionism.

If you have something to say, if there is something you want me to know, just tell me what it is! Don't make me guess, don't leave it up to my interpretation, don't cloak it and hide it in obtuse phrases. JUST FUCKING TELL ME!

XO believes that poetry is an attempt to obscure a meaning. I'm afraid I can't agree with this characterization.

Now, I'm no poet. I'm certainly no expert on poetry. Hell, I'm barely literate! So take this all with a grain of salt as the opinion piece it is (we all know about opinions, right). But I have given some thought to this subject, and here's what I came up with...

Poetry (and really all art in general) is a form of expression that attempts to bypass the analytical left brain and communicate directly with the intuitive and subjective right brain. It is an attempt by one soul to express feelings and moods directly to another soul.

So in order to understand what's being expressed, you have to first believe you have a soul. I happen to believe that everyone does, but many people aren't aware of it or may even deny it. For some people, the soul is like an appendix, an unneeded vestigial organ. Or, more like an unused muscle that has been allowed to weaken and atrophy through neglect.

In my opinion, these are the people who have trouble "getting it."

Granted, there's a lot of bad poetry out there, and a lot of bad art in general. This is probably what leads to the conclusion that poetry is an attempt to obscure a message.

But good art created by a skilled artist is just the opposite. A true master of the form chooses words as carefully and deliberately as any novelist, probably more so. Certainly they are more diligent that you ordinary everyday blogger. They devote as much energy and effort into perfecting the meter and rhyme and other non-verbal aspects of the work.

When executed by a master, the affect is very powerful... more powerful sometimes that a well-written treatise on the Unified Field Theory.

In fact, some works are so powerful, so well executed that even someone as soulless as that heathen Xavier Onassis can "get it."

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Or this one...

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by
madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn
looking for an angry fix...

Or maybe...

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

We all experience moods and feelings differently. It's just a function of our humanity. But when good poetry actually connects, the feeling or mood can be like a punch in the soul.

tagged: art, poetry, Howl, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Frost, Yeats, The Second Coming

Random Photo XVIII: Full moon fever

2009-10-03T20:27:00.005-05:00

Really cool harvest moon on Friday. I grabbed the camera and tripod and captured some images before I ripped off my clothes and turned into a wolf monster.

tagged: harvest moon, photo, werewolf, night, autumn

A year of change

2009-10-02T12:11:00.004-05:00

I know there's still a little over a month to go, but I wanted to beat the rush and get this out of the way early.

Last November I shook my head at all of the people who were so easily swayed to such emotional heights by a completely predictable election outcome.

Many people who didn't read closely or chose not to understand my point, assumed I was criticizing Barrack Obama, the man. At most, I criticized his policy recommendations (or lack thereof). But primarily, my disappointment was with the masses who were taken in by such vacuous campaign promises as "hope" and "change" -- my point being that such superficial campaign promises were the complete opposite of change.

Anyway, I just want to bring that up since these days saying anything the least bit critical of the current administration pretty much instantly gets you branded as a racist bigot in much the same way that saying anything critical of the previous administration would get you branded as an unpatriotic commie.

This phenomenon, of course, only serves to support my contention that nothing substantial has changed. In fact, there are many examples of change not happening.

Remember back in the day when there was a lot of criticism of the USA Patriot Act? I mean, a lot of us don't like it. Only the most rabid, tunnel-vision, Republicans dared defend it. But there was some pretty harsh criticism of those wouldn't come right out and denounce it (even though it was a passed as a bi-partisan measure).

Of course, you don't really see any harsh criticism from Obama fans, even though the current administration recently announced plans to extend three of its key provisions, including the infamous "Lone Wolf" provision.

The lone wolf provision was created to conduct surveillance on suspects with no known link to foreign governments or terrorist groups. It has never been used, but the administration says it should still be available for future investigations.

Then there was Obama's campaign promise to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in his first year as president. I know some of you were betting on this happening, but it turns out that as with most of his policy proposals, Obama didn't really know what he was talking about.

The White House comments were the latest indication that the administration had miscalculated from the start its ability to turn Mr. Obama’s campaign trail speeches into reality. Some of his senior advisers have privately concluded that it was a mistake to set a deadline just two days after taking over the White House, when they still did not fully grasp the enormous challenges involved in closing the prison.

No doubt there will be a few people that will tell you that superficial intangibles have been changed -- things like "hope" and "attitude" and "now there's a website."

But really, a year in to this thing it's pretty much partisan politics as usual.

One more thing that never changes.

Barack Obama's amazingly consistent smile from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

tagged: Obama, change, politics, policy, Guantanamo, Patriot Act

Friday Blogthing: I am the 80s

2009-10-02T10:35:00.003-05:00

I really and not as materialistic as this quiz makes me out to be. All I really ask for is a nice computer, a cold beer and a programmable scrolling LED name tag*.

You Are the 1980s

You are a larger than life, ambitious person. You believe that you should live big or go home.

You appreciate the bold days of the 1980s, when no one ever toned it down.

You believe in working hard and playing hard. You can't help but love money and nice things.

You are a bit ruthless and power hungry. The one who dies with the most toys wins, right?

What Decade Are You?

*... and this remote control. That's all I need. Oh, and this paddle game...

tagged: Friday Blogthing, quiz, decade, 80s, meme

Carmen chameleon

2009-09-29T10:45:00.000-05:00

One of the big memes out in interwebland is the stunning pictures of 37-year-old Carmen Electra sans cosmetic augmentation.

The no-makeup pictures are a bit of a career risk in this time of chemical and surgical enhancement (not that Electra has much of a career to risk at this point). But the images show that for a select few at the top of the genetic bell curve, au naturale can be better than the plastic Hollywood version.

Sure studio lighting can do wonders and the image is no-doubt somewhat digitally enhanced. Still, Electra's courageous (and Q-score boosting) move has inspired me.

Many of you who have met me in person have only met the me wearing liberally applied cosmetics. Yes, I know it's still considered kind of weird for dudes to wear makeup, but it's a skill I learned back in my days on TV and I've just never given it up.

Until now.

Here's a picture someone snapped of me at the Drunken Barn Dance a few years ago. Obviously, I didn't "put on my face" that night.

Sure, I'm no Carmen Electra, but still I encourage you all to "come out" and show us the real you.

tagged: pop culture, Carmen Electra, picture, photo, makeup, Uruk-hai, beauty

A pink carnation and a pickup truck

2009-09-25T11:00:00.002-05:00

I'm going to my high school class reunion this weekend, (yes, there was a time when I had class). To mark the occasion I thought I'd take a little stroll down Amnesia Lane and pull this story out of the dusty archives of my past life for your entertainment.

It was the spring of 1989, a completely different time in America. We were euphoric as the Berlin Wall was torn down and democracy erupted and was then crushed in Tienanmen Square.

Gasoline still cost less than a dollar a gallon despite Capt. Hazelwood dumping a bajillion gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound. TV audiences were introduced to a comical animated family known as The Simpsons, and Milli Vanilli had lip-synced their way into our hearts with with Girl You Know It's True.

In Smallville, Kansas, that clear spring evening, we had just finished the formal dinner portion of our prom. Dressed to the nines in tuxes and gowns, we were making our way across town to the sock up in the school gymnasium. But first, nearly every kid in school hopped into a car for the traditional main street cruise.

I'd borrowed dad's car for the evening. My date, Samantha, was riding shotgun and our friend Andie was in the back seat. We were full of smiles and laughter and youth as we cruised the streets jammed with broken heroes on a last-chance power drive. Windows down, radio blasting, waiving and yelling at friends in passing cars as the cool spring air blew through our hair. There was only the now.

We'd completed a circuit of the Main Street cruise and pulled into the convenience store parking lot to do a U-turn and another lap.

The next few seconds were strange, because they seemed to happen in slow-motion and at hyper speed at the same time. I had been waiting for an opening in the heavy traffic to make the right-hand turn back onto Main. When I saw the opening I quickly accelerated into the street. At the same time some unknown traffic obstruction down the street caused a sudden domino affect of seven or eight cars breaking in quick succession.

The result was that the car in front of me hit the breaks just as I hit the accelerator. The result of that was severe front end damage to my dad's car -- so severe that it was undrivable.

So prom night, dressed up, cruising main, smashed up car -- my life had become a John Hughes movie.

It took an hour or so to get everything taken care of, make sure nobody's hurt, clear the street, call my parents, try to explain -- eventually I made my way with my best friend (shout out WT!) to the prom dance. I don't really remember much from the dance, except for the drama between Andie and Blane (it was good to see Blane stand up to his snobby friends, but sheesh, Andie has to make everything about her).

The PTA sponsored an after-prom party (strictly non-alcoholic, thank you very much) which I went to since I was now hitching a ride with my friend Cameron Frye and his date. It was a good enough time, snacks, dancing, movies and stuff.

But what sticks out are the door prizes. Every 20 minutes or so they would have a drawing for a door prize, a gift card for local restaurants for example -- one of my friend even won one of those cool newfangled Compact Disc players.

Well in a final ironic kick in the metaphorical crotch, my number was called for one of the door prizes. What did I win? I'm glad you asked.

It was a gift card for $50 worth of gas a the local convenience store.

tagged: prom night, car crash, ironic, High School, John Hughes, reunion, Hazelwood

Bianco

2009-09-24T02:19:00.001-05:00

It was a minor special occasion in the 3AM household yesterday, so we decided to pop open a special bottle of the special wine we've been keeping in our wine cabinet.

(We have a wine cabinet because we're neither hoity nor toity enough to have a wine cellar. Although, to be fair, our wine cabinet is in the basement...)

The wine wasn't expensive and it wasn't really exotic. Not a vintage that you would find on a list of the World's Most Famous Wines.

What made it special was that we bought the bottle of Avignonesi Bianco during our tour of Italy way back in 2001. It was our last big trip as DINKs. The last time my wife and I threw in with our "gang" our hang-out friends, cashed in our frequent flyer points and took off to show the bella vita in Tuscany.

And what a great trip it was. From arriving in Paris, the overnight to the Ligurian Coast, then two and a half weeks soaking up all of the art, culture and fermented Tuscan grape juice we could stand.

One of the biggest highlights of the trip was a totally spontaneous and unplanned trip to the Avignonesi winery. We just dropped in, unannounced, and were treated to lunch and a tour by the manager and daughter and of one of the owners. we left a couple of hours later with a couple of cases of wine.

One of the last bottles of which we opened last night.

The Bianco di Toscana is what the Tuscans would call a table wine. A blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, it's meant to be enjoyed immediately. As I pulled the cork, I was concerned that we had waited too long to drink it. It's been nearly 10 years since it was bottled, after all.

But it held up from the first sip. The color was more golden that I had remembered and the flavor was excellent, pears and some apricot. A buttery flavor emerged after 15 minutes or so. The it paired will with the tilapia fillets we had for dinner, and even better with the Honeycrisp apples we had on the side (though it was absolutely retched with the Chocolate Teddy Grahams we had for dessert).

Anyway, the point is it was a great eventing with the family, made even more special by reliving good times.

I still recommend any of Avignonesi's offerings. Though I don't think they make the Bianco anymore, if you can find their Rosso and especially their Vino Nobile go ahead and pick up a couple of bottles. You could do a lot worse.

tagged: wine, Italy, Avignonesi, tilapia, honeycrisp, food, Teddy Grahams

YouTube Tuesday: Shadow of the Feathered Serpent

2009-09-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

Today, the feathered serpent god Kukulkan makes his twice yearly appearance at the pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico.

As the sun rises and sets, shadows cast by the precisely designed and aligned pyramid cast shadows that slither down the steps of the pyramid to meet up with the head of the serpent god at the base, signifying continued fertility and prosperity for the people of the Yucatan plain.

Happy Equinox everyone!

tagged: Chichen Itza, Kukulkan, feathered serpent, equinox, Mexico, YouTube, Tuesday, YouTube, Tuesday, Maya, pyramid

What the healthcare

2009-09-21T17:03:00.005-05:00

These days, opinions about healthcare in America are a lot like genital warts. Everybody's got one, and they're all ugly.

While I've pretty much stayed clear of the public debate, we've had some discussions about in the emawkc household, including one heated argument where my Supermodel Wife's Supermodel Sister pulled a switchblade and threatened to perform a DIY tracheotomy.

I've watched some of the president's remarks in press conferences and talking heads shows. I tried to sit through the infamous address to congress, but I get too impatient with all of the standing ovations (when will politicians realize that if every ovation is a standing ovation, then standing ovations have no meaning).

So, yeah. I'm as frustrated about anybody on this. There's plenty to be frustrated about.

After I gave up on Congress' Standing Ovation to the President, I decided to just go get the propaganda straight from the horses website. So I hit up www.whitehouse.gov to see what the president's plan entails.

The answer? There is no plan.

Like pretty much all of Obama's campaign proposals, what he considers a plan is merely a list of goals. A set of preferred outcomes.

There's no actual plan. This is your plan? This? Hell, Wile E. Coyote had better plans for how to catch the Road Runner!

Anyway, it's all beside the point because 95 percent of the national discussion about healthcare has been about how we can get everybody covered by insurance. So right there we've already gone off track.

Insurance coverage isn't the root problem in healthcare. Yes, it a problem. But it's not the problem that needs to be solved.

The problem we need to solve is prices.

The president has given passing attention to the problem of prices, but it's always been in the context of "eventually bringing down the price of healthcare" -- like it's a long-term goal that will happen someday if we let the government take care of everything.

In my view, it's the one thing that we can do something about relatively quickly that will have an impact.

Look people, when you get a medical bill that charges $90 bucks for a 70-cent IV, or $129 for a mucous recovery system (that's a box of Kleenex) you know it's bullshit.

This is why people need insurance in the first place!

Look, an MRI doesn't cost $5,000. Hell, it doesn't even cost $400. In Japan, you can get an MRI for about a hundred bucks.

So fix the issue of prices, make them more in line with costs, and you eliminate a big chunk of the need for insurance because most people will be able to pay most of their bills without help from the government.

Yeah, we won't need the government to take our money from us in order to take care of us...

... which means less for the government to do, which means less control of the citizenry at large which is why this entire post has been a complete waste.

tagged: Iran, Europe, nuclear, Wall Street Journal, EU, Bush, environmentalist

Random Photo XVII: wedding light

2009-09-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

One thing I learned over the weekend while attending a Laotian-American wedding is that weddings are pretty much universally boring when you're not the one getting married.

The other thing I learned is that I really like Laotian food (probably more accurately Laotian-American food). I don't know what I was eating, but it was de-freakin-licious!

tagged: wedding, Laotian, candle, random photo, food

Friday Blogthing: eco chamber

2009-09-18T15:40:00.008-05:00

Because I'm such an active and concerned environmentalist, I periodically take some time to assess my ecological footprint. And while I'm the first to admit that my lifestyle has a lot of room for improvement, I have to say my footprint has been reduced significantly since I stopped flushing the toilet and showering regularly.

It's clear that unless we find four or five more Earths out there somewhere, we're all going to have to start making some sacrifices.

tagged: Friday, Blogthing, quiz, ecology, Earth, footprint, environmentalist

Random Photo XVI: You say tomato, I say it's about freakin' time

2009-09-17T09:50:00.001-05:00

Way back in the days of yore, about the end of April, I invested twenty bucks in some potting soil and a couple of those TopsyTurvy upside-down tomato planters.

It was springtime. My mind was full of dreams of July when I would be picking fresh, vine-ripe tomatoes and eating them right off the plant while they were still warm from the heat of the summer sun.

But then a few storms hit. My tomato plants were pummeled with rain, the new vines broken. Sure, they recovered. Tomatoes are hearty plants. But the combination of spring abuse and a relatively cool, cloudy and wet summer meant that it wasn't until late September that I would be able to enjoy the upside down fruits of my labor.

But they are still delicious.

tagged: Kansas, summer, tomato, photo, gardening, Topsy, Turvy

We only roast the ones we love

2009-09-16T01:52:00.011-05:00

Today is a big, big day in our little corner of the blogiverse. It's a day we honor one of our own, one Mr. Xavier Onassis, is coming face-to-face yet again with another year of his seemingly eternal misery.

Although we know today is his birthday (he's told us as much) nobody knows for sure how old XO actually is. We sent a DNA sample away for carbon dating (kudos to Keith for obtaining the sample, that couldn't have been pleasant) and the result pegged his birth to sometime in the late Triassic.

But today we come not to praise XO, but to bury him. A few of his best online friends have come together to present this bloggy birthday present.

Happy B-Day XO! Here's your Virtual Birthday Roast!!

You know how this works. We all submitted a few short remembrances of our favorite stories about XO. For example, there's the time when a slightly less geezery Xavier Onassis yelled at Moses to "Get off my lawn, ya' damn kids!"

In fact, Xavier Onassis is so old, he calls Walt Bodine "sonny."

Anyway, I don't want to hog the stage. Let me surrender the dais to some other people who have contributed their thoughts. Just remember, it's all done out of respect.

We kid, because we love.

"XO is still trying to figure out how to tweet with his abacus!"
-- Logtar

XO amazes me! Have you seen his balls? They're spiked. Really! I've seen photos. I bet they clang when he walks."
-- Spyder

"Legend in Ireland has it that Xavier Onassis was the model for all the Old World carved phallic stones, but he left for the New World when the Christians came and started carving crosses on every phallus they saw"
-- Eolaí gan Fhéile

Absolutely Feisty says...
XO... Okay... I LUMI XO too much to ever provide you with an insult... but I will say this... XO IS the best friend I have ever had in my life. I am a better person for having met him. I consider myself a lucky person to know him. I tried all day to find an insult.. and as much as I do insult him in person... regularly =) Today, I am short of those words. I appreciate every fiber in his being.

okay... wait. lol I can't be the only one who doesn't have an insult... lol how about this...

XO is SO old... the only gift he could think to ask for was a video of Woodstock, as if those were the BEST days ever, and I'm not even sure in what city Woodstock was held... maybe my mom knows?"

Muddy Mo says ...
XO's idea of an exciting night is to sit and watch his leg fall asleep.

I was so impressed when I first met XO. He seemed so life-like.

XO is so old, his favorite porn download is "Debby Does Dialysis".

When XO dreams, everyone has @ symbols where faces should be.

People don’t invite XO out anymore — they go without him and livetweet him about it.

Shane says...
Eve's original sin: She was XO's first wife.

XO's an atheist. As a Christian, I'd have a problem with that but then again, he's old enough that he was around for the Creation, so he would know..."

from Meesha...

Nightmare says...
XO was asked once "Boxers or Briefs?" he responded "Depends"

XO is so old that when he takes a walk in the park Trees salute him.

XO is an avid left wing anti Gun nut or as we like to call him.......Bait

Saying XO is a leftist liberal wing nut, not only is unfair to Wing nuts, but also means he is wrong.

XO is so cranky his hair died outta spite.

XO has a collection of Playboys dating back to when they were known as cave paintings.

XO was brought to the Florida Hospital ER with a fractured hip. The ER doctor knew that surgery would be in order for the patient

“Have you ever undergone surgery?” he asked.

“Yes,” XO said.

“Remember what type of surgery was it?”

“I’m not sure,” XO said. “It was a long time ago.”

The physician noticed a scar on the right side of XO’s abdomen. He pointed to the scar. “Is this where you had the surgery?” he asked.

“No,” said XO. “It was in Brooklyn.”

Cara says...
I'm not saying XO is old, but damn has he had his share of wives. When his first wife used to say, "get out the plastic" he'd get out a condom. When his second wife said, "get out the plastic" he'd get out his credit card. Now when a woman says "get out the plastic" he gets out his bed sheets.

from Doc...
It is said that one of the most unexpected things that happens to a man is old age. perhaps that's just a perspective thing: reading X.O. you just know he was old loooooong ago, perhaps as long as 20 years ago...when he was 40.

from what Spyder says, X.O.'s aging with a vengeance: first he just forgot the occasional name; next it was faces, followed closely by asses. Then, so Spyder swears, he started forgetting to pull up his zipper. Now he has now forgotten to pull it down...

Orwell once said that at 50 every man has the face he deserves. if that is the case, X.O must be ashamed of his. why else would he post an image of himself on his blog from 30 years ago?

but enough with the insults, a piece or two of advice, X.O. i barely remember when I turned 54. it is nowhere as bad as I had thought . sure, all of a sudden i had many, many little lit rooms inside my head, and people in them, acting out various conversations, plays and memories. that was the fun part. and, eventually, i got used to the fact that i knew all these people, but just couldn't quite put names to them. you'll adapt also. after all, as bush was heard to mumble between misunderestimating children books to himself, "Old age is no place for sissies."

Many happy returns on the day...as far as you know.

from Nuke718...

No wonder why XO is single, I have seen no picture of him with women but I HAVE seen a picture of him with The Batmobile.

I'd pick on XO's age, but with that many digits it is too easy a target.

If we all pooled our nickles and dimes we could buy XO a dream present for his birthday, a trip to space. One way. I didn't say it was HIS dream present.

from Midtown Miscreant...

When emaw asked me to take part in this Eulogy, I jumped at the chance to say a few words over XO....What's that? He's not dead? Shit, and here I thought I wouldn't have to suffer through another, "Why conservatives suck" posts.

What can you say about a guy who is over a half a century old, who once drove an Ice Cream Truck, plays with swords, heh, and has been known to wear tights and a cape? I've checked the sex offender registry, so I can say "he's clean", at least in Missouri.

All kidding aside, Xo is a generous guy. I met him for lunch a couple of times. He left the waitress 50 cents and a jesus fish with the head bitten off.

And don't even get me started about XO and his Obama love fest. If XO was any more infatuated with the President, the Secret Service would have him under surveillance.

And lonely! Jaysus christ, this is one lonely fucker. Ladies, hookers, short balding men, send him an email. If I have to suffer through another of his Dating Website posts, I'll remove my eyes with a spoon. At one point he thought he had made a love connection. Her name was Lena. She had a wooden leg with a kickstand on it, a Star Wars Millennium Falcon tattoed on her ass, and was a card carrying member of the World Socialist Party. Then he found out she was also packin a light saber. XO don't play that, at least not since that drunken transgender drum circle back in the 70's.

I kid. Happy Birthday XO. Here's hoping you get everything you have coming to you, even if it means more taxes for the rest of us.

from Chris Packham...
I want to descend into old age gracefully, or at the very least not with a wet, farty splat on the pavement accompanied by a clattering spill of loose dentures and insulin injection paraphernalia. So I've been looking around for old-guy role models other than Colonel Sanders (I cannot tie a string tie) or computer-generated Orville Redenbacher (I cannot tie a bow tie). So when my grandchildren ask me why I'm wearing a Kangol hat with my Star Fleet dress uniform and my replica of Legolas' sword, the answer will pretty much be that George Clooney set way too high of an Old Guy standard and I had to lower my sights. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, X! --

from Erin...
XO is so old that the first time I met him he told me he would send me an Internet to tell me where his tube was in the series.

XO is so old he thought Tumblr was a dryer setting and Twitter was a part of the female anatomy.

XO is so old that back in his day kids didn't have computers, they just drew on the walls in their caves.

XO is so old that when AOL told him he had mail, he went outside to check.

So there you go, XO. We all did our best to make your birthday a memorable one. Sure, maybe you didn't get the Samurai sword or the Bugatti, but maybe next year.

At this time I would invite anyone else to say a few words of encouragement/condolence in the comments.

tagged: Happy Birthday, Xavier Onassis, roast, old, humor, XO loves George Bush