Today is Lovely Daughter’s baby shower. I was up last night, working on the pattern for the baptismal gown, but I’m not sure about it…may look for another before I commit it to fabric. We have a huge tree to cut down on one of our properties, and Hubby is working on that problem. We hope to be helping our kids move into their new home very soon. I’m excited that the transport chair for moving my mother-in-law arrived yesterday – that was quick! So now I can take her to her doctor appointments without hurting my back (any more than necessary).I’m working on a wall hanging for Baby-in-Waiting, and that will go with me to the baby shower.
On top of that, I still have my workload – which is being affected by the current events.
So, I open the doors, and welcome everyone to The Couch. I have a selection of DVDs from which choose (but no Blazing Saddles, sorry), and we have two remotes (but no fighting over the TV shows, please). I’ll try to make some tea later – I have a breakfast date with Hubby and must fly!
Talk atcha later.
Weekend Busy, Busy Open Comments
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First!
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Second! ‘Bout dang time!
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I’m pole vaulting across north Flarda 0n I 10, just east of Pensacola, be home by 4 or 5. 😉
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When I turned north on S279 to cross the new Bay bridge, there was an SUV in the middle of an intersection’ upside down!?!? This was on a four lane hiway, 45 MPH zone, 1/2 mile from 98.There was a small car sitting sideways near it!
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TimTom, I know, I know, “don’t text and drive, you’ll spill your beer.” 😉 -
Ha! Be safe out there SD!
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Good morning, Hamsterville! Did I tell y’all I am retired now? I can sleep as late as I want to. Usually the cats come look at me, all mournful-like, if they are hungry and want me to know it. I still use an alarm clock, but after it goes off, and I turn it off, if I don’t want to get up, I use a digital timer to punch in some extra minutes I would like to sleep. That works only if I’m not too sleepy to operate it correctly. I’ve been known to get up much later on, with the cats all howling, and 14 hours plus 28 minutes still left on the timer. Or sometimes I had punched in the desired amount of time, but was too sleepy to hit Start.
It’s a tough life now, I tell ya. -
Good Morning Hamsteronianites. It appears that, at least in some cases, the TNs in DC are starting to listen.
HEADLINE: We Killed The Internet Tax!!!
It looks like the good guys have won one, lets get a lot more.
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As far as the federal snooping into the phone records, innanet, etc, all supposedly for our safety goes; a long time ago a real smart guy said something to the effect:
‘those who would trade liberty for security will soon lose both and deserve neither’ -
Holder had another great contribution to the epitaph of the Republic this week. He went on TV to explain that he didn’t really regard Fox News’s James Rosen as a “co-conspirator” but had to pretend he did to the judge in order to get the judge to cough up the warrant. So rest easy, America! Your chief law officer was telling the truth when he said he hadn’t lied to Congress because in fact he’d been lying when he said he told the truth to the judge.
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When the state has the capability to know everything except the difference between right and wrong, it won’t end well. -
Tedtam;
Some comments:I was up last night, working on the pattern for the baptismal gown, but I’m not sure about it…may look for another before I commit it to fabric.
That’s really cool. My mother-in-law made Janisen’s baby blessing gown and she looked angelic in it. I hop the dress turns out well.
We have a huge tree to cut down on one of our properties, and Hubby is working on that problem.
I admit I’m no expert on dresses but I don’t think you’ll find suitable material for one from the tree. Just a though, you know. 😉
So now I can take her to her doctor appointments without hurting my back (any more than necessary).
Well, what better time to hurt your back than on your way to the doctor’s? I”m glad you’re taking care of your mother. Did I miss her moving in recently?
I have a selection of DVDs from which choose (but no Blazing Saddles, sorry), and we have two remotes (but no fighting over the TV shows, please).
I’m watching My Little Ponies since Breelahn loves then show (the songs are actually kinda fun to sing) so can we pop that DVD in?
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Hamous;
You’re only assuming that power corrupts. When in history has that ever happened?
/we’re in a whole lotta caca -
I confess my naivety during the Bush years when I believed (I think accurately) that he would not allow such abuse by his administration. I foolishly never allowed for the possibility of Chicago politics infesting the federal government. In my defense I plead incredulity. I never dreamed that the American people would elect a complete moron with absolutely no real world experience and whose political experience amounted to two years in the US senate. I’m still having a hard time with the fact that they reelected the bozo despite his abysmal record.
Repeal the Patriot Act! LLDJ! -
#10 Hamous: So Holder either lied to a federal judge, under oath, or he lied to congress, under oath, right? So how is that not an open and shut case of perjury? Both cases can not be true without violating the time/space continuum can they?
The perjuring commie bastige Holder, needs to spend some time in prison. -
We are Argentina. We are Chile. We are a third-world country.
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The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue. Mr. Obama is proving the truism that the executive branch will use any power it is given and very likely abuse it.
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Quote of the day:
You’re only as old as the music you hate. -
Darren
So now I can take her to her doctor appointments without hurting my back (any more than necessary).
Well, what better time to hurt your back than on your way to the doctor’s? I”m glad you’re taking care of your mother. Did I miss her moving in recently?
MIL moved into a home just down the street from us shortly after we bought our house. Both a blessing and a curse, it’s been. She and hubby are joined at the hip, so I quite often feel like a fifth wheel, but she loves her grandchildren.
So no, she never moved IN. She just moved in CLOSE.
Speaking of, she just called. I have to stop by and get Lovely’s card from her on my way to the festivities today. Since I’m trying to corral my hair, I must get going.
And little pony DVDs are just fine. Knock yourself out.
All of y’all – behave! -
Since I’m trying to corral my hair,
You need a posse for that 😉
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Blazing Saddles is one of the funniest movies of all time! I kind of like the song sung by Lillie von Schtuup, I’m Tired.
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We are a third world country/Banana Republic.
OBeelzeBubama is an out and out traitor to the USA as is Juan McCain and his Amnesty Gang.
Evil Conniver Holder is the most corrupt AG in the history of the USA.
The Media and Hollywood have been the OBeelzeBubama propaganda machine since the Kenyan born Prince of Darkness appeared on the scene.
95% of all elected republicans are worthless and weak RINO’s
But I can still hearken back to the days of my youth and dream that I am …………..JR. -
Heigh ho, heigh ho, off to yard work I went. Mowed my li’il back lawn, then ventured into the Back 40, where I stirred up a nest of big red ants. Got a bunch of bites above my sock cuffs, but they weren’t painful and doesn’t look like they will leave those fire ant pustules that take about a month to heal. Unfortunately the vegetation is so thick most places back there that it will be hard to tell where to put the ant killer. Wonder if I could rent a pangolin?
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This administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security. It is not. — Mocha jesus, Aug. 1, 2007 speech in Washington
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Since I’m depressed about the state of the country, I’ll have to reach for another classic Saturday Afternoon Matinee to give my mind some relief.
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LOL. Stupid hippies. Wonder what the line is on when she croaks.
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From the starving hippie’s facebook blog:
Blog: Day 30: Monday 3rd June
First I have to tell you that my interview tomorrow on God Discussions has just been postponed until next week. I will keep you informed.
Last night I used some of my knowledge of hypnosis and NLP to find out what was going on with my feelings of nausea. I asked my body to find another way of dealing with what it needed to deal with without producing nausea, as I really hate that!There are some days I so fervently wish Sam Kinison was still with us.
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A bit over an hour ago I clicked on Hambone and got no Hambone but a Google listing of things with Hambone in the name. Was it in a fight for survival with the server? The snooping Obama thugs were examining us? Lightning out of the blue? All of the above?
Good afternoon Hamsters, if you can read this. Pleasant surprise TS formed over us on that 20% chance for rain today, dropped its 20%, and is slowly wobbling on elsewhere.
More interesting stuff seems to be heading this way from the southwest. Would be nice if it crossed our path. Morning was likewise pleasant at 68 and breezy, comfortable for outside chores until about 9:30.
Today concludes a week of blessedly cool morning temps, five of which were in the 60s and the other two 70 and 71. Not bad for the first full week of June. The evenings were also comfortable until about Sundown, so no complaints there either. However, the weather wizards say it’s heading for 100 by late next week. Let’s hope that will be a fluke. -
Adee, glad you got some rain. I don’t see anything very close to 100 predicted for my zip code, well inside the CoH city limits. I see the weather you mention to the southwest on radar, but when animated, it seems to evaporate in place without heading in my direction.
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#28 mharper42
Yup, the blob from the southwest simply vanished–darn. Our rain gauge had a trace only in the bottom, and beggars can’t be choosers. However it’s 77 on the front porch and likely to not go higher since it’s still overcast. One must be grateful for all dividends no matter how small. 😉
By the way, do enjoy muzzling the alarm clock when you feel like it. So liberating. -
Just got back from Lovely’s baby shower. She scored a lot of baby clothes, some baby blankets of several varieties, and other assorted baby stuff. They got their play pen, which made Lovely very happy, so she can corral the young ‘un whilst she’s downstairs.
We had a very delightful time together. Her friends who put the party on did a wonderful job on the food, my sister who hostessed put out her to-die-for artichoke dip and stuff, and Aggie Beau smoked an awesome brisket (he’s very good at that). The games were fun – one I’ll have to share as soon as I get a picture from Lovely’s phone – and Aggie Beau even won one or two of them. Lovely & AB’s dog is similar to my hostessing sister’s dog, and they are inseparable when they are together, so we had a good afternoon watching the two doggies play.
It was a good time. -
Well, ole Dave rolled in about 3:30 and Dang, I’m TARRED! 648 miles in 9 1/2 hours is not getting any easier, of course I stopped at Waffle House in Ocean City MS and had to stop for gas once. I left before the boy did but he ate on the run and wound up about 10 miles in front of me, when he went through Vidor a 20′ ladder fell off a truck a few cars ahead of him and a big 18 wheeler swerved to miss it and almost took out a little rice rocket. He called to let me know and by the time I got there, it was in the middle of the road lined up with the stripes and flat as a pancake, obviously run over by several trucks.
My little psychotic dawg was real glad to see me. I had to bring in the fish first because it was still frozen and she started jumping up and down, coming up to my chest and on about the fourth jump, I grabbed her and she climbed up on my shoulder. I took the girls out for a long walk about 5:30 and now they’re chewing on a couple of rawhide treats. Life is good for them and Me. 😀 -
#30 Tedtam, you put a lot of real good memories in the old memory bank, and in spite of all your trials & tribulations, life is indeed good in your world. I can’t wait for a grandkid!
P.S. I’m jealous. 😉 -
Oh, and the boy left his Denali pickup at home and brought his wife’s neat little Honda and spent a couple of $$$ more than $100 on the whole dang trip!! The first time he filled up it took $34.00!!
@ 16.8 MPG average for the whole trip on my old truck,… U do the math. 😉 -
#30 TT
So there were men at the baby shower? Or just the father-to-be? Glad you had a good time, what with some of your problems lately, you deserved a break. -
We decided to be spontaneous and booked a room at the Hilton in Galveston. Pull up and start unloading, “Sir no ice chests in the room”. What! “We’ll get you a bag for the contents and you can put it in the fridge”. Go to check in, “If you want a fridge that will be a 10 dollar charge” WTF? Go down to the pool, no alkyhall allowed, but you can purchase drinks at the swim up bar. Sigh. I could’ve home watching NASCAR.
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Is Tim on a honeymoon to Galveston? He posted on FB that he got married today.
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It is hard for me to look at a pic of tennis star Serena Williams w/o wondering if she takes testosterone or some steroid to build those arms and shoulders.
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By contrast, here is Maria Sharapova. Does Serena win because she is playing against actual women?
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Nice song from a great flick. Kind of Beatlesque.
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Another great song from the same flick. -
Playing with the Angels – Beautiful Chanson – French Flute & Harp Relaxing Music Of Light & Peace
Original post: A Chanson for a Sabbath Evening
Now, off to church with all ya tomorrow. Except Bonecrusher. I hope he went today. -
I’ve heard rumors that a hotel room sink makes a passable place to ice down beer.
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Now, off to church with all ya tomorrow. Except Bonecrusher. I hope he went today.
Thank you Darren, I did indeed.
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How do you know when you are shopping in Texas?
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wisdom from my inbox:
Part I:
(This is absolutely brilliant!)
A. Back off and let those men who want to marry men, marry men.
B. Allow those women who want to marry women, marry women.
C. Allow those folks who want to abort their babies, abort their babies.
D. In three generations, there will be no Democrats.
I love it when a plan comes together!
Part II:
(Also Brilliant, by other standards)
10 Poorest Cities in America and how did it happen?
City, State, % of people below the Poverty Level
1. Detroit, MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo, NY 29.9%
3. Cincinnati, OH 27.8%
4. Cleveland, OH 27.0%
5. Miami, FL 26.9%
5. St. Louis, MO 26.8%
7. El Paso, TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee, WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia, PA 25.1%
10. Newark, NJ 24 .2%
What do the top ten cities (over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all
have in common?
Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list) hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1961
Buffalo, NY (2nd) hasn’t elected one since 1954
Cincinnati, OH – (3rd) since 1984
Cleveland, OH – (4th) since 1989
Miami, FL – (5th) has never had a Republican mayor
St. Louis, MO – (6th) since 1949
El Paso, TX – (7th) has never had a Republican mayor
Milwaukee, WI – (8th) since 1908
Philadelphia, PA – (9th) since 1952
Newark, NJ – (10th) since 1907
Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over
and over again and expecting different results.”
It is the poor who habitually elect Democrats.
Yet they are still POOR!
Part III:
(Most Brilliant!!!)
“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative
and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and
should do for themselves.”
Abraham Lincoln
The moral ratchet: Yesterday’s vice, today’s “experiment,” tomorrow’s “basic
right.”
“Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government
take care of him had better take a closer look at the American Indian.” –
Henry Ford
In GOD I Trust -
Just for you, Sarge..
Outside Woman Blues -
Is Tim on a honeymoon to Galveston? He posted on FB that he got married today.
Sweetie said my profile showed single so she changed it, I’m quite sure I would have noticed that before but oh well.
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Heh.
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#48 Tim
Are you sure you’re not on a honeymoon? What you doing up at 3:36 a.m.? -
From what I remember of honeymoons, bloggin ain’t allowed at 3:30 in the mornin or any other time. 🙂
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I think the NSAIRS snoop dogs saw me supporting tea parties and went into my FB acct and changed my marital stats just to cause me grief. I mean, they ain’t catchin terrists with all that info so they gotta be doin something with it.
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When you get old like us, harper, you’ll discover the frustratingly cruel joke of waking up at 4am for absolutely no reason at all.
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I live with an old man, I’m already aware of all the cruel ironies.
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More new stupid hippie news.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch… -
I’ll have to report later on whether this Rube Goldberg plan hatched up by my old friend actually works out today. Her 40-yr-old son has been in a cardiac unit at the Medical Center for a month, waiting for a heart transplant. She recently broke her arm and now she can’t drive. The plan is for me to meet her at Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral noonish, leave my truck in the church parking lot, the 2 of us take the Toy Train to the Med Center, visit with her son, then return to get my truck. (After several hours sitting out in the sun, I expect my truck will be blazing hot when we get back to it. I’m not too keen on that part of it.) Then I will take her home. That’s the plan, but I may chicken out and just drive us to the Medical Center.
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Good morning Hamsters. Managed another 69 this morning that must result from our being out in the open and near the river despite no longer being “out in the sticks” as we used to.
Much to be said for being one road back from FM 359 but still easily within reach. From US 90A a mile east of Richmond where it begins to what will be the southern end of Mason Rd. joining it, 359 is now two-lane concrete with left-turn lanes, curbs and gutters, and a grassy median. Very civilized and slowly tending city sterile except for the remnants of the Askew Ranch that still grazes Charolais along side it. The highway improvements begin shrinking at the 90-degree left turn heading west and quickly resume the rural asphalt running past open fields interspersed with large-lot subdivisions and stand-alone businesses, morphing from rural to semi-rural civilization that still offers plenty of elbow room. Just not as much as when we moved out here in 1980 and not as quiet, but that is the nature of things when a county is growing rapidly.
Our neighbor who is a Realtor says with the Houston and Fort Bend County area growth continuing in all directions beyond us, we are now considered to be “close in” regarding access to Sugar Land, Katy, and west Houston’s Energy Corridor. Oh my, what a transformation to observe. As she says, since the Lord is not making more dirt here, property values will naturally increase. Happy are those who have the 65 and over property tax on top of the homestead exemptions on their homes. -
Adee, regarding property taxes, I am glad that I always fought HCAD increases. Did it in person back when we bought this house in 1995, but later I was too busy at work, so hired it out. Thus our appraisal was at a reasonable level when we turned 65 and it was frozen.
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Wagonburner and Hammie conspiring…
“She’s going to be at the Co-Cathedral !”
“We’ve waited for years for an opportunity to grab her!” -
I’ll be in disguise, they will never spot me.
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Vee have vays.
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Getting dark and thundery here at the dome. Our stair light just sparked and went out, right before thunder crashed overhead. Barf Kitty and I both jumped.
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I think I’m unplugging the computers for a while. See y’all later.
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In relation to Adee’s report of the citification of Fort Bend, I had an experience last night that definetly points to its demise as the bucolic paradise it once was:
S.O. and I went to the movies last night. Saw The Great Gatsby at the new Santikos Palladium on Highway 99 or, as I like to call it, The Parthenon On The Prairie. I found it ironic that I was watching a movie about ostentasious opulence in a building that was ostentasiously opulent. It has an absolutely huge lobby with restaraunts flanking the sides and second floor galleries all around. There is so much going on in there that there is a “Guest Services” booth in the middle of it all. I have been in airport terminals that were not as big or as busy. Bas reliefs on the walls depicting the Greek military victories of eons past, paintings and etchings of gods and godesses, parquet flooring, Greek columns with pediments and caps, brass bling, and bright lighting everywhere. It looks as if Busby Berkely’s set designer did this thing with an unlimited budget after a long night of hashish and amphetamines.
There are 21 theaters, two of which are called “Art Theaters” and several of which are “VIP” theaters. With my budget I can only wonder what the appointments of the VIP theaters might be. It is rumored there is a bowling alley in there somewhere, but I cannot confirm.
There did not appear to be a ticket booth. There were a dozen or so large flat screen TV monitors on each wall flanking the entrance, about three feet high and proportioned so as to look like very large tablet computers. I began operating said device and we found the movie we were going to see (Now You See Me) and several screens later I found, to my horror, a screen where one must choose the seat one wishes to occupy. That’s right: assigned seating in an American Movie Theater. In a Texas Movie Theater. S.O. and I took a moment to survey the available seating options, chose two together, then advanced to the next screen, which informed us that the seats we had chosen had been sold while we were making the choice. A quick review of the remaining available options suggests that Now You See Me will have a fairly good box office come Monday.
Thus we ended up choosing Gatsby as it seemed not as popular as the other, but alas the only seats available were down in the front and off to the right. The theater was up on the mezzanine by way of a set of stairs guarded by a blue shirted minion who checked our tickets to see if we were allowed access, as the mezzanine is also where the VIP theaters are and I’m sure they want to limit participation by the hoi polloi in all that goes on in close proximity to VIPs. It was one of those sweeping staircases with brass rails and carpet and it was wide at the top and bottom and narrow in the middle but proportioned in such a manner as to only appear opulent—as the narrow part was so narrow that S.O. and I could not traverse them side by side (which was likley caused by the contents of her purse, those being some bottles of water, some candy, and other contraband disallowed in order to boost the bottom line of the theater).
The mezzanine is layed out much like the first floor with a restaraunt on one side and a bar at the end. On the side opposite the restaurant is a large seating area with two very wide screen TVs. There is no charge to sit in these areas, but one supposes their primary purpose is to provide seating for those who wish to spend their days and evenings at the bar. The two “Art Theaters” are located in the corner of the mezzanine furthest away from the top of the stairs and next the bar which has to be sixty feet long (do you KNOW how many bottles of booze and bar impedimenta can be arrayed behind a sixty foot bar?). The entrance, of course, was guarded by two minions, these clad in white shirts with bow ties and black trousers rather than the blue shirt we encountered downstairs. Apparently the duties of the staff is identified by thier attire, much like that of the crew of the Starship Enterprise. I wondered if there was a division clad in red shirts, thought of what thier duties might be in such a place, and prayed for them.
The Art Theater itself is one of those Stadium affairs we’re beginning to see where the owners try to fit a large number of people in as small a footprint as possible, and thus array the seating vertically telling us the lie that its done so as to see the screen without the heads and hats of taller persons in front of interfering with the view. This particular Art Theater was fairly narrow and the seating was arranged on a steep incline, the only other seating I recall having to negotiate that was as steep are those in the nosebleed section at Kyle Field. One got the feeling that one was inside a submarine in an uncontrolable crash dive heading rapidly for crush depth. I suddenly felt lucky that our seats were not at the top as I’m sure the vertigo induced would have killed me for sure, if not the need for oxygen. I did, however, despair about getting out of there in the event of a fire or other event without suitable climbing gear until I saw another exit close to our seats and felt a bit better.
The seats are arranged behind long tables. They are just slightly higher than would be optimum for eating from, and I’m six feet tall. They had a shallow ridge around them and were about 18 inches wide by twelve to fourteen feet long and thus resembled feeding troughs for Lilliputian pigs with exceedingly long legs. Each seat is an entity itself with two, count ’em, TWO cup holders—but affords no opportunity to snuggle with your sweetie. I wondered why there might be two cup holders, then rembered the bar, just a long climb and a short walk outside the entrance and deduced that they made provision for whiskey and chaser. Large whiskies and large chasers. Twelve ounce whiskies, at least. The seats are on tracks and slide up to the table or, rather, are supposed to slide up to the table—mine did so in fits and starts while S.O.’s slid back and forth with the grace of a gazelle. The seats are very roomy and lean back—but do not remain so. The movement is not so fluid that it could be used as a rocking chair, but as soon as one gets leaned back far enough to see the entire screen when seated near the front and off to the right, it begins to lean you back forward to a position some designer thought would be better for viewing. It is a constant battle to maintain equilibrium. My guess as to who might have designed them was informed by the sudden unemployment of Soviet Special Police in the late 1980’s.
Gatsby, however, was not the disappointment I thought it would be. The sound track, while not the early 20th Century Jazz one associates with the story, was not as obnoxious as I thought it might be. The story is well told and well acted, the pretty people are all as pretty as they are supposed to be, and the dreary ones are all as dreary. The narration of Nick Carraway is well handled as a means to tell the story in as literary a manner as possible, but of course none of this is Fitzgerald and so much is lost in translation no matter how well the period is reproduced (or exaggerated where it needs to be). The book will always be better no matter how much money one throws at the screen. It is definetly an Art Film, but one with a big budget, big stars, and a well written story to follow.
In sum, I’d recommend the movie, with caveats, but the Parthenon On The Prairie is for those who go in for excessive opulence married to alcoholic high technology with a high maintenance mistress. It was like someone took Astroworld, shoved it into a cube a hundred feet on each side, then dumped in the contents of Liberace’s jewelery drawer and gave over management of the establishment to Paris Hilton. -
Finally. Some rain!
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Since Friday I’ve been curious as to why the media have not identified the Santa Monica killer. My thinking was that they hadn’t because he wasn’t a “white right wing teabagger”. Had he been “white” it would have been plastered all over the news and the Sunday talking heads would be beside themselves.
But you can’t keep it secret forever. -
So the leader of a couple billion people comes to visit your country for an Official State Visit. Your country owes his coun try a couple trillion dollars, and most of the stuff sold in your country is made in his. What do you give him as an Official State Gift upon his departure.
One of these,of course. -
The rain started about 90 mins ago out here in Glorious Copperfield. It started with just a few drops then slowly progressed to full blown “cow wizzing on a flat rock” for 20 mins or so. Now the rain appears to be past, nothing but thunder rumbles in the distance. The radar shows that we are just on the east edge of a big nasty red blob moving to the north east.
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It seems that I have caused injury to the blog . . . . .Bummer!
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Calienta,…..You’re welcome. 😉
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Went into Sugar Land for lunch a block off 59 on Hwy 6 about 11:40, just ahead of some rapidly darkening sky. Barely got seated at our table when the wind began whipsawing the tall trees at the edge of the parking lot as the merely dark suddenly became really dark. Then came a booming thunderclap that rattled glasses on the table, pretty much startling everyone inside. Spouse commented he didn’t see any lightning before the crash, though from the boom it could have been just about simultaneous. A few minutes later some big drops splashed against the windows followed by hard rain that almost obscured the waving treetops.
Spouse kept checking the radar on his cell phone to see what was overtaking Sugar Land and what was coming toward Richmond and our place, as the mares were in the pasture.
Lunch lasted until the rain let up enough to get to the car and drive home through light rain and lots of mist thrown up by trucks. Today we hit the jackpot and got 2.1″ early this afternoon, though the mares were out in some rather heavy rain and were ready to come in the barn with little encouragement. That beats yesterday’s 20% of the 20% chance and Friday’s 20% of nothing. Looks like more might drift up from the coast before all is done. -
#58 mhaper42
I also did the appraisal protesting for years before spouse hit the 65 threshold and got to freeze the school taxes plus the exemption as well as an increased homestead exemption. Since then we’ve been having Paul Bettencourt’s company handle the protests, successfully so the past couple of years. Tired of doing it myself and certain that they know more ways to accomplish a reduction.
FYI, anyone turning 65 this year can claim the over 65 exemption this year and does not have to wait until next year. Hie thee to the Appraisal District’s office on your birthday to claim it as a birthday present to yourself that will keep on giving. -
It is NOT a woman’s prerogative to change her mind
OR
You get what you pay for. -
Well y’all, the Spanish Inquisition got me and put me through the wringer. I feel lucky to have escaped with my life. Would have traded what all happened to me for the Soft Pillows, not to mention the Cosy Chair. The church services were running half an hour late, and delayed the 11 a.m. worshippers, until the bottom fell out of a downtown thunderstorm. There was no way we could walk 1 block to the train line in that downpour. Nor could I go fetch my truck, because friend had her mentally impaired younger son with her, and my small Toyota seats 2. She called for a cab to take the 3 of us to the Med Center.
Fannin was so flooded that many blocks had only 1 passable lane in the center. We began to wonder if the train was able to run in this flooding. After the visit with the grumpy heart patient, it had become 3 pm and I had missed lunch and was going to miss my nap. We ate miscellaneous things in the Hermann Hospital cafeteria. We heard the trains were running and made our way to the stop. It was still sprinkling a little but we had a train in only a few minutes. We got off one block from Sacred Heart, sonny boy was put on a bus headed to his group home, then friend and I walked to my truck. I drove her to her Houston house, where her 3rd son, wife, and grandchild live, and she stays in the apartment over the garage when she’s in town. Aside from accident-related traffic jams, the rest was uneventful. But I’m sure worn out. Retirement can be hard work!
TT’s video of the jumping woman reminded me of how I reacted to the escalator down to the hospital cafeteria. It was very steep and seemed to be moving at about 80 mi/hr. I could not step out onto it. We had to take the elevator. -
Got home to 1.8″ in the rain gauge. I drove past some tree damage a mile or so from my house, but everything OK here. There were downed branches with pronounced twisting on their broken ends.
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#73 TT: Your linkie produced this:
Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request -
Bless you mharper42 for your great kindness to your friend today and the extreme adventure y’all had in the rain and after the rain going to and from the Med Center. Fannin still does not handle deluges well to make matters worse, and perhaps the Toy Train’s presence has something to do with it. That the Med Center is built in sort of a bowl nudging Brays Bayou has even more to do with it. 🙁
Well, you’re home now and can curl up in the Cosy Chair, perhaps indulge in an adult beverage, and relax. Hope your yard got some decent rain while you were adventuring. Oops, just saw that it did.
The rain gods decided our early afternoon storm was it for the day here, and we are pleased with their gift of 2.1″ that pretty much soaked in the pastures already. The fountain barely escaped overflowing, but now it won’t need more water for a few days. -
Another good thing from the rain is I won’t have to haul water to my adopted oak this coming week! I hope all the Texas Hamsters got some rain today.
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Lovely Daughter and Aggie Beau showed up for dinner tonight. Lovely and I were going over the placement of my wedding gown lace on the baptismal gown I’m working on. They both needed to talk to us also about the schedule for the upcoming week(s) regarding the house the SHOULD be closing on this week. We were finishing up our dinner when Aggie Beau said “Are those raccoons in your yard over there?” There was a brief discussion on the fact that we’d never seen raccoons in the yard, but plenty of possums – but no! It was a momma raccoon and her four babies. Cute as the dickens they were, but the activity at the windows eventually scared them off. AB got some pics on his phone, but my camera needs repair so my pics all came out as a foggy mess. The last raccoon I saw was about 20 years ago, and the coon was large enough for me to mistake it for a big dog in my driveway.
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The reason most politicians in D.C. are shameless liars with no character is because most Americans will knowingly choose a shameless liar with no character who says what they want to hear over an honest man with morals who tells them the hard truths they’d rather ignore.
Truer words were never spoken.
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Looks like everybody’s of a mood to turn in early. Me too.
G’night all. -
Here are 5 terrifying scenarios:
1) China manages to get the NSA data.
2) Russia manages to get the NSA data. (It isn’t like they never succeeded in placing spies in our government before.)
3) Pakistan manages to get the NSA data. (They pulled off stealing the West’s nuclear secrets.)
4) Iran manages to get the NSA data.
5) Saudi Arabia manages to get the NSA data.
Of course, it could be a non-state actor that gets ahold of the data too. Perhaps a successor to Al Qaeda.
What if one of these entities breached the database’s security without our even knowing?
Even assuming the U.S. government never abuses this data — and there is no reason to assume that! — why isn’t the burgeoning trove more dangerous to keep than it is to foreswear?Good point.
What If China Hacks the NSA’s Massive Data Trove?
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