To close out the month of January.....with a civil unrest in Egypt, healthcare reform under attack from courts, the lingering images of the Tucson massacre, and much too much snow.....let's say "GOOD RIDDANCE!" to this nasty month with a laugh or two.
Below, from The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur prsents a couple who've written a battle hymn for Sarah Palin and the Tea Party that must be seen and heard to be believed.
The view from my window is a bit monochromatic this morning, except for a some blue from the pool. Which I guess means the 2nd day of December is starting off a bit on the drab side.
Which sort of fits my mood. I am feeling very monochromatic this morning. As in I'm feeling colorless, rather than my usual colorful norm.
Good news on the Texas Sharon front. Google and You Tube have restored her YouTube account, after suspected dirty dealings by entities trying to stifle this particular outspoken feisty Texan.
Those trying to stifle Texas Sharon are obviously not based in Texas. Likely the stifling is coming from Oklahoma. Anyone in Texas knows you mess with a Texas woman at your own extreme risk. Texas women are a mighty persnickety breed.
I am going to go for some ice treatment shock in the pool this morning to see if I can break out of monochromatic mode and turn colorful once more. I'll let you know how that works out.
It is the dawn of the last month of 2010, on a chilly, one degree above freezing, 1st day of December in Texas.
I had myself a restful night last night, no repeat of the night before's bizarre nightmares. Instead, last night's dream theme seemed to mostly involve Kim Zolciak of Atlanta, and me going all sorts of interesting places, without ever leaving Kim's condo. I imagine there might be some who might consider spending the night with Kim Zolciak to be a nightmare, but, for me, it really was not. I awoke well-rested from the experience.
Speaking of nightmares. In the early evening, on Sunday, I was appalled to learn of the fresh hell Texas Sharon is experiencing, thanks to, all evidence suggests, Barnett Shale Gas Drillers. Sharon got messages from Google, warning her that accesses had been made to her account by multiple IP addresses. Soon thereafter, Sharon finds out that when one of her YouTube videos, on her blog, gets clicked on, the clicker does not get to view the video, instead the viewer sees this...
This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.
Apparently, without letting anyone know, Sharon moved to China, where censoring Google and YouTube is allowed. Sharon really should not have made such a rash move and should have stayed in America where free speech is a constitutional guarantee and repression of someone's free speech is criminal activity. As is hacking.
The last month of the year is starting off a bit foreboding. And interesting.
It was a memorable scene for fans of HBO's new series Treme, which takes place in New Orleans in the months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005. Creighton Bernette (played by John Goodman) is a college professor/author and die-hard citizen of New Orleans who becomes frustrated at the pace of government and public response to the devastation of the city and life he loves. Creighton discovers that newfangled YouTube from his teenage daughter, and decides to air his grievances on all those who say New Orleans should be abandoned or left to implode on its own.
What follows is probably something many people in the region want to say about those who seek to minimize the impact the Deepwater Horizon spill on the Gulf Coast region, or to all those who choose to look the other way.
WARNING!!!!If you're easily offended, skip the video.
If the series survives for the next five years, perhaps Creighton should do a followup for 2010.
I'm still catching up on gardening and household projects, and really hadn't much time to take a breath since Friday...so I'm just going to make some comments on old news, new news, and stuff that's news to me. Time for some QUICK HITS! (With a heavier than normal emphasis on pop culture).
(1). Unless you've been living in a cave or shipwrecked you all probably know that the very beautiful young woman pictured above is Rima Fakih, who was crowned Miss USA last night. Rima is an Arab-American and a Muslim; that is a first for Miss USA. And this year it appeared that a controversy like that which erupted last year with with former Miss California Carrie Prejean, a Christian fundamentalist who opposed gay marriage and made those views known during the nationally televised pageant, had (mercifully) been avoided.
So far so good.
But wait! Now pictures of Ms Fakih pole dancing in a contest called "Stripper 101", sponsored by the Detroit based Mojo In The Morning radio show. Ms. Fakih and all other contestants were fully clothed in the competition, and there were only women in attendance of the event. Contestants were instructed by professional strippers on how to present their "best moves" on the pole.
Personally, I think the whole controversy is contrived.
Its all a part of ongoing international plot to dehumanize Rima and all other residents of the state of Michigan.
The whistle blower must have been an Ohio State grad.
(3).And speaking of YouTube, Happy Fifth Birthday to the people who changed it all. And it would be nearly impossible for me to run this blog without delving into their little treasures on a regular basis.
(4). And STILL speaking of YouTube, my mind just did a cross reference to one of my new favorite shows, HBO's Treme.The show takes place in New Orleans in the months after Hurricane Katrina, and centers on the lives of a disparate group of citizens; musicians, a restaurant owner, her ne'er do well neo-hippie boyfriend, friends, lovers, ex-friends, ex-lovers, and all in between. One of the more entertaining characters is Creighton Bernette, played by John Goodman (left). Creighton is an author and college professor who discovers the wonders of YouTube in late 2005, and posts a profane tirade on YouTube blasting government on all levels, and to those he deems responsible for the tragedy of Katrina and its aftermath in the city he loves. Creighton soon finds out that his YouTube video is among the first to go viral...he becomes an overnight sensation, and the demand by his publishers for the novel he has been writing for five years reaches a new peak. And you have to love a 300 plus pound guy who dresses his daughter, his attorney- wife Toni (played by Melissa Leo) and himself as sperms (complete with tails) for the Mardi Gras parade. Its a great show, and addicting, but it takes some work for the audience to get to know the characters. Its as if the viewer has parachuted into New Orleans in late 2005, and you have to figure out who these characters are, and what is their relationship to each other. The writers don't spell it out for you, and it becomes the viewers job to sort it out. Also, the music is great, including longtime standard bearers of the New Orleans scene, plus gust stars like Dr. John and Elvis Costello making cameos. If you haven't checked out Treme, do so....you'll enjoy the trip.
(5). Somewhat opposite of Treme is SHOWTIME'S The Tudors in its presentation of characters and giving information about those characters to the viewer. Last night we met Catherine Parr (played by Joely Richardson, right), twice married, with no children, and soon to become the sixth and final bride of the charming despot Henry VIII.
The episode was a break from last week's marathon of torture, blood, hanging, drawing, quartering (Dereham), and multiple beheadings (Lady Rochford, Culpepper, and the unfortunate and immature former Queen Catherine Howard).
And watching Ms. Richardson in the episode I was quite taken by her resemblance to her mother, screen legend Vanessa Redgrave (right with Robert Shaw), and that Mom once played a wife of Henry as well; Vanessa was Anne Boleyn in the Academy Award winning film A Man For All Seasons in 1966. Its been a tough year or so for both Richardson and Redgrave. Last winter Joely's sister Natasha (wife of Liam Neeson) died in a tragic skiing accident, and recently Vanessa's sister, actress Lynn Redgrave, lost her battle to cancer.
(5). I didn't know of this last bit of news until I was reading my morning paper (the old fashioned way) on Monday, and I saw the following, taken from Ronnie James Dio.com.
"Message from Wendy Dio
Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.
- Wendy Dio "
He began his musical career in a band called The Vegas Kings in 1957, and fronted Ronnie Dio and the Prophets from 1961-67. Then he formed The Electric Elves in 1967; by 1970 they morphed into Elf. The group had some limited success, but Ronnie James Dio really burst onto the scene when Ritchie Blackmore, late of DEEP PURPLE, co-opted ELF as his backup band, changed their name to Rainbow, and immediately started to dispense of musicians, except for Dio. Later he went on to replace Ozzie Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and served three tours of duty with Sabbath, as well as its offshoot Heaven and Hell. And of course, he fronted his own group, Dio, in all its incarnations for nearly 30 years.
Ronnie James Dio was 67 years old when he succumbed to stomach cancer yesterday. He was one of the Godfathers of Metal. His music will go on, and in that sense he will never truly leave us.
Above- Question; "How is this elephant like Bette Davis?"....Answer; "They both said 'What a dump!!!'"
Its better late than never in showing this video. Its from one of the last Tea Party Anti-Healthcare reform rallies last week in Washington, and is from the NewLeftMedia You Tube Channel.
After seeing this you might get angry, or you might feel sad....but I'll guarantee one thing- some of these protesters will have you laugh at some of their "WTF" answers and ideas.
Be careful where you step!
A backward marching pachyderm might have been there first!
(4). And STILL speaking of YouTube, my mind just did a cross reference to one of my new favorite shows, HBO's Treme.The show takes place in New Orleans in the months after Hurricane Katrina, and centers on the lives of a disparate group of citizens; musicians, a restaurant owner, her ne'er do well neo-hippie boyfriend, friends, lovers, ex-friends, ex-lovers, and all in between. One of the more entertaining characters is Creighton Bernette, played by John Goodman (left). Creighton is an author and college professor who discovers the wonders of YouTube in late 2005, and posts a profane tirade on YouTube blasting government on all levels, and to those he deems responsible for the tragedy of Katrina and its aftermath in the city he loves. Creighton soon finds out that his YouTube video is among the first to go viral...he becomes an overnight sensation, and the demand by his publishers for the novel he has been writing for five years reaches a new peak. And you have to love a 300 plus pound guy who dresses his daughter, his attorney- wife Toni (played by Melissa Leo) and himself as sperms (complete with tails) for the Mardi Gras parade. Its a great show, and addicting, but it takes some work for the audience to get to know the characters. Its as if the viewer has parachuted into New Orleans in late 2005, and you have to figure out who these characters are, and what is their relationship to each other. The writers don't spell it out for you, and it becomes the viewers job to sort it out. Also, the music is great, including longtime standard bearers of the New Orleans scene, plus gust stars like Dr. John and Elvis Costello making cameos. If you haven't checked out Treme, do so....you'll enjoy the trip.
The episode was a break from last week's marathon of torture, blood, hanging, drawing, quartering (Dereham), and multiple beheadings (Lady Rochford, Culpepper, and the unfortunate and immature former Queen Catherine Howard).
