I’m glad there is room for Alison Krause…

Well…have been watching a concert on tv with Alison Krause and Union Station and the thought came to me that I am glad there is still room in the music business for a group like that…with all of the new country crap that I hear all the time, some clean and clear bluegrass is like a palette cleanser….and to hear them do “Of Constant Sorrow” made me laugh out loud…the joy that comes through from these talented people; the simplicity of the music and Alison’s easy voice just made me feel better and isn’t that what music is supposed to be about? Well…sometimes, anyway,….just some thoughts….

Meandering around…

Well…I have been trying to get a political one out here for a few days and have not had much luck…one thing I did want to comment on is a trend I see..or at least I hope I see..that the repubs have taken control of many states but, as they implement their radical reverse Robin Hood nonsense to reward their rich donors, destroy womens rights, and keep on hating the gays…people are starting to see then for what they are and it is not pretty…and most people are seeing that the “vision” of the repubs is not the vision they want. We just have to look at gun control and the obstructionism that the repubs are using to serve their masters in the NRA…over 90% of the people of this country want some form of background checks before a gun can be purchased and yet the repubs will not let that pass….exactly who are they representing? Here in Michigan we had CEO bonuses paid for by taxing the pensions of retirees and finally people are starting to try to do something about it….I really do hope that we can keep the groundswell going against this nonsense and just maybe we’ll have a country that we can be proud of again, one where everyone has the same rights and can freely exercise them…I have to hold on to that hope….

April 9th

Well…running late again today and I blame it on basketball…and I am a little disappointed that Michigan lost…and I do feel a little crappy after the g and t’s but I knew that was going to happen so I’m not surprised….it was an okay day yesterday but I didn’t do much…skipped the bike ride even since the wind was blowing almost 40 at times and that is just too much…have to stop being so lazy and get some stuff done around here today…the leaning tower of papers is looking quite ominous reaching over my head as it does….so that will be one thing I will get done today….I did get out to Target to buy some new t-shirts that I desperately needed…and got 5 of them for 20 bucks…100% cotton Champions so that was pretty cool…not much to do today…if it ever warms up, I will get a bike ride in later…but that is about it…more later…

More fallout from Citizens United…

Well…you’ve heard me rail about the stupid CU decision by the SC many times here, and while the effect of unlimited money has not swayed national elections, if we take a look a little lower down into state elections, we can see where the real mischief is being done. Here in Michigan, you have the DeVoses who have bought themselves a legislature and with it their own pet right to work for less laws, and huge tax cuts for business while everyone else pays more…and the bit by bit dismantling of the public school system. In North Carolina…one man and the companies he is connected to gave over 80% of the money that was used to buy repubs seats in the legislature, and with those seats come laws that want to establish christianity as the state religion, right to work for less being enshrined in their constitution, more abortion restrictions along with the continued discrimination against anyone who is not a white, male, religious bigot. This is where we need to concentrate our efforts if we want to get back to a country that doesn’t spend it’s time and money taking away rights or preventing people from gaining those rights they are already entitled to….this crap just can’t be allowed to stand…geez…

April 8th

Well…running late again today but this time it is entirely by plan…had to run some errands this morning and then wanted a leisurely coffee and papers and that takes time….I think I slept okay last night but up at 5:30 or so so that only makes about 6 hours…feel okay, though, even with it being a cocktail night…had to have a cocktail with “Mad Men” after all….it looks like kind of a busy day today with needing to get the workout in right now…then Man U plays City this aft…out for a couple with G, and the Michigan in the championship game later….and I do need to do another of these today since I was lazy over the weekend and only did two…so, I need to get going…more later…

April 7th

Well…it was a long day yesterday with staying up to watch Michigan win and go to the championship game Monday night…and of course, it was a cocktail night so that doesn’t help….but, I don’t feel that crappy, just tired and I hope the coffee will take care of that…slept okay but tossed and turned as always and I think that doesn’t help either….might have to skip the bike ride today with the wind blowing over 20…it’s just not a lot of fun with it being cold, too…I do need to get the slow cooker loaded to make another batch of chicken stew but just can’t get motivated right now…and I am going to grill the last two chops for lunch so I think I’ll just wait until later to do that….not much to do today…sports and cooking is about it….more later…

Tennessee Republicans are bastards…

Well….I have been reading about this story for the better part of the week and I still can’t believe what I’ve seen…always looking for more ways to punish the less fortunate, the repubs in Tennessee have sunk to to the lowest low I have ever seen…this week, these assholes pushed two bills in the legislature that would punish kids of poor families who are on assistance by taking money away from the family if the child is struggling in school and doesn’t meet some arbitrary standard….yep, these pricks want to put whether the family eats or not on the performance of a 6,7, or 8 year old who is probably already doing poorly because of going to school hungry every day. What kind of a person would torture children this way? It is nothing less that child abuse being pushed by these son of a bitches and they should be ashamed of themselves and their continuing attacks on the disadvantaged…how can they live with themselves? Geez…

April 6th

Well…as you can see, I didn’t come back for another one yesterday since I just couldn’t work up the outrage to put together a good one…and, as always, I’m running late today for no reason other than I wanted to read the papers and have my coffee first….it was a nice day with putting the top down out and back to shoot pool…and winning the week…slept okay last night but the dreams didn’t come and the is becoming the new normal…skipped riding the bike since I didn’t want to go back to the full thermasuit after being out in shorts Thursday and it looks like I’ll wait for it to warm up enough for shorts today….if it doesn’t rain, that is…I do have to get some stuff cleaned up around here today and I am going to grill some pork loin chops that I have in the brine…have used the grill every day since I got it up and running and that is pretty cool…bad for me, but cool…not much to do today…Michigan plays tonight in the final four and I am really looking forward to it even if they lose, it has been a great season….have to find my gear and wear it all day…after the bike ride that is….

April 5th

Well…it was an okay day yesterday but with it being a cocktail night, I feel like crap this morning….at least it’s above freezing so I don’t have to melt the car down….woke up to grease spots all over the kitchen floor so I must have found more of the grease that fell off the bike when I was working on it…what a pain having to clean it up….not much to do today…I do have to get this place cleaned up but right now I need to go back to the couch for some water….

Okay…it’s been a couple of hours and I feel so much better that I thought I’d come back for a little more…have even gotten a bunch of stuff done already and that might be part of it…I was going to go out on the bike early but I forgot about that plan and put the thermasuit in the washer so I guess I’ll have to wait…want to go in shorts anyway….and my back is giving me fits again so I have to wait for the painkillers to kick in anyway…I am so happy the bike is working well…probably better than new in how it shifts and I already have 150 miles in towards the goal of 3,000 for the year….that’s enough for now…more later…

A second one…

Well…I have been searching around…kinda…for a topic to talk about in politics but haven’t really found anything that grabs me….there was a little bit of bad news today when I heard that Roger Ebert died….I just loved his movie reviews and his “Siskel and Ebert Show” was so much fun to watch…RIP…..now, on to the day….i did get the car detailed today and just had to take it out to show it off…it is so cool to have everything clean and shiny and no mechanical problems….but that meant that the rest of the things I was going to do around here will have to wait another day since I am a little worn out with no sleep last night and the calorie restriction that I have been doing the past few days to get back down to an acceptable weight….oh, there was a little outbreak of sanity in NC today when they killed the bill to establish a state religion and ignore the constitution….what a bunch of maroons…geez…