pics

These old trucks are in Brownsville Pa. near the railroad yards and an old distillery.








About a dozen trains a day run down the main street of West Brownsville as they have done every day for over a hundred years.









Kid as kid with first electric. This was a Fender knock off which I soon traded for a Hagstrom. I still have the Hag, it has a neck as thin as a straw and plays like butter.










The Monongahela River at Brownsville. Tye dyed nature show courtesy of God.








Random living room window.















My son's yard, garden needs thinned out.










Summers gone around here, lest we forget.














When I was in the blues band years ago we opened for Jack " The Oil Man " Johnson from Mississippi at Price's Tavern in Washington Pa. Here's me and his lead guitar player, Roger Montgomery.

Last Day Of Zappadan - Happy Birthday Frank

In the fall of 1969 I was a freshman at Penn State University at State College Pa. Long known accurately as Happy Valley, and was probably never before or afterwards as happy as it was at that time. It was a wonderful place and time in the world. I bought this print on cardboard in town at a hippie store called People's Nation. Most of my stuff has gone by the wayside due to various moves around the country, thieves, two failed marriages and another lady who really took me to the cleaners during her slow slide into the abyss. Somehow this print has always been around, forty years now.
My friend Gary was a grad student at PSU having graduated from Rutgers. We used to make trips back to Jersey to visit his friends and conduct his business. His business was trading 1000 capsule jars of " black beauty " meth-amphetamines for pot and opium which were taken back to our school for Gary to sell at retail. The speed was provided by a guy called Altoona Mack who broke into pharmacies ( I suppose ) to obtain these pharmaceutical treats so coveted by the sleepy scholars on the banks of the old Raritan. Since it was so close we would go into New York City and do the Fillmore East shows. We saw the Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Ten Years After, Pink Floyd ( in Quad with speakers around the theater), Santana, and some others I have never heard of since, like Ballin Jack, Great Jones, Illinois Speed Press ( two brothers played harmonizing lead guitars) and others. I don't remember all, it's a bit hazy now. I do remember that one time we had to turn around on the turnpike and return due to a big snow. The concerts we planned on seeing on that aborted trip were the Who and the Mothers of Invention. I've always regretted missing both of those shows. My old head friends here in southwestern Pennsylvania speak in awed and reverent tones of a concert Frank and the Mothers gave at nearby California State Teachers College in 1972. I think it was 1972, as I said, it's all a little hazy.
Happy Birthday Frank and thanks again for everything you gave us.

On the Sixth Day Of Zappadan Frank Gave To me ...

Fifteen words of wisdom......


For more on the magic of Zappadan go to Mark Hoback's Fried Green Al Qaedas here. or Blue Gal here or Mock Paper Scissors here.
My Zappadan post from last year is here.

Zappadan

One can see, reflected in the face of this little child, that Frank's spirit lives on.....



















For more on the magic of Zappadan go to Mark Hoback's Fried Green Al Qaedas here. or Blue Gal here or Mock Paper Scissors here. Mine of last year is here.

shitmydadsays - Everyone loves a crusty old man !

I don't participate on Twitter but I do have this Twitter feed on my Google Reader. Called shitmydadsays , it is done by a guy named Justin and it is freakin' hilarious. Read some of the quotes and you might find yourself hooked.
Here is his bio:

I'm 29. I live with my 73-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says.



“We’re banned from the dog park. Well, I guess it’s okay to hump, and it’s okay to bark, but both at the same time freaks people out."
1:07 PM Nov 21st from web

"No. Tell 'em we're not doing Christmas dinner at a casino... Don't be an ass about it, but tell them why it's a fucking stupid idea."
12:59 PM Nov 18th from web

"I don't need more friends. You got friends and all they do is ask you to help them move. Fuck that. I'm old. I'm through moving shit."
11:00 AM Nov 16th from web

"A mule kicked Uncle Bob once. Broke his ribs. He punched it in the face.. My point? You have an ingrown fucking toenail. Stop bitching."
11:26 AM Nov 13th from web

"Son, no one gives a shit about all the things your cell phone does. You didn't invent it, you just bought it. Anybody can do that."
10:40 AM Nov 4th from web

"You worry too much. Eat some bacon... What? No, I got no idea if it'll make you feel better, I just made too much bacon."
12:39 PM Oct 28th from web

"The baby will talk when he talks, relax. It ain't like he knows the cure for cancer and he just ain't spitting it out."
9:51 AM Oct 22nd from web

"You sure do like to tailgate people... Right, because it's real important you show up to the nothing you have to do on time."
10:53 AM Oct 20th from web

"Just pay the parking ticket. Don't be so outraged. You're not a freedom fighter in the civil rights movement. You double parked."
12:59 PM Oct 18th from web

"I like the dog. If he can't eat it, or fuck it, he pisses on it. I can get behind that."
10:11 AM Oct 16th from web

"That woman was sexy...Out of your league? Son. Let women figure out why they won't screw you, don't do it for them."
9:10 AM Oct 12th from web

"Son, people will always try and fuck you. Don't waste your life planning for a fucking, just be alert when your pants are down."
10:41 AM Oct 10th from web

"I wanted to see Detroit win. I've been there. It's like God took a shit on a parking lot. They deserve some good news."
9:13 AM Oct 8th from web

"You're being fucking dramatic. You own a TV and an air mattress. That's not exactly what I'd call "a lot to lose."
5:57 PM Oct 3rd from web

"Jesus Christ, Just give the dog his fucking food. Why's he gotta do a trick first? YOU don't have to do shit before YOU eat."
10:28 AM Sep 30th from web

"A scar ain't 13 god damned stitches. I'll introduce you to men with REAL scars, then we'll all laugh at your fucking 13 stitches together."
10:57 AM Sep 26th from web

"I'm sitting in one of those TGI Friday's places, and everyone looks like they want to shove a shotgun in their mouth."
2:56 PM Sep 24th from web

"Sometimes life leaves a hundred dollar bill on your dresser, and you don't realize until later that it's because it fucked you."
10:38 AM Sep 19th from web

"The universe does not give a fuck about you. You are a speck in its shit."
3:00 PM Sep 17th from web

"Fucking Radio Shack. It's a wonder they even know how to use a bathroom and don't just walk around all day with shit in their pants."
12:08 PM Sep 16th from web

Shadow Brings A Gift That Keeps On Giving

Shadow's favorite place is on the lap of anyone who will sit still. I love this cat but the cute little bastard carried fleas into my house a few months back. Thank goodness I was able to get rid of them before they got out of hand.

Truck Crossing

A little excitement outside yesterday. Rain made the hill a little slick and the driver lost control. There's no way they can get that down off there without making more damage. Lucky though, it's about 25 feet straight down to the bottom of the ravine under the left front tire.

Veteran's Day

Bless our veterans. Let us honor their sacrifice by living good lives.




Remember us
we were just kids - the most of us
not militant, not warriors
and certainly not men
but trying just as hard as
any can imagine to be so
just ordinary guys
like you
and had we made it home we would be
standing where you stand,
quiet with the thoughts you think
no different
the same
just guys
........looking to be home.

- Poem on The Washington County ( Pa. ) Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial

My father was a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division . He was in the Battle of the Bulge and other actions in Belgium, Holland and Germany . His brother Alex also served in WW II as did five of my mothers' brothers. My Uncle John was a tanker with Patton and earned the Bronze Star with V, the Croix DeGuerre and four bronze battle stars. My stepfather fought at Guam and Okinawa with the army's 77th Division, US Marines on Guam nicknamed them the "77th Marine Division". Another uncle was disabled in Korea. I have several second cousins who are presently in the middle east. I hope they and all the others safely return from the madness men make.



Terry Kelly on taking a bit of time to remember the ones who served.

Reposted from 2008.

The President's Remarks At Fort Hood

Following is the prepared text of President Obama's speech Tuesday at a Fort Hood memorial service for those killed Thursday:

We come together filled with sorrow for the thirteen Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great American community. It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that has been left. We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers. You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know: your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - that is their legacy.

Neither this country - nor the values that we were founded upon - could exist without men and women like these thirteen Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill had served in the National Guard and worked as a physician's assistant for decades. A husband and father of three, he was so committed to his patients that on the day he died, he was back at work just weeks after having a heart attack.

Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager. But he put himself through college, earned a PhD, and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment. He is survived by his wife, sons and step-daughters.

Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow joined the Army right after high school, married his high school sweetheart, and had served as a light wheeled mechanic and Satellite Communications Operator. He was known as an optimist, a mentor, and a loving husband and father.

After retiring from the Army as a Major, John Gaffaney cared for society's most vulnerable during two decades as a psychiatric nurse. He spent three years trying to return to active duty in this time of war, and he was preparing to deploy to Iraq as a Captain. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Specialist Frederick Greene was a Tennessean who wanted to join the Army for a long time, and did so in 2008 with the support of his family. As a combat engineer he was a natural leader, and he is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Specialist Jason Hunt was also recently married, with three children to care for. He joined the Army after high school. He did a tour in Iraq, and it was there that he re-enlisted for six more years on his 21st birthday so that he could continue to serve.

Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was an athlete in high school, joined the Army shortly after 9/11, and had since returned home to speak to students about her experience. When her mother told her she couldn't take on Osama bin Laden by herself, Amy replied: "Watch me."

Private First Class Aaron Nemelka was an Eagle Scout who just recently signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service - diffuse bombs - so that he could help save lives. He was proudly carrying on a tradition of military service that runs deep within his family.

Private First Class Michael Pearson loved his family and loved his music, and his goal was to be a music teacher. He excelled at playing the guitar, and could create songs on the spot and show others how to play. He joined the military a year ago, and was preparing for his first deployment.

Captain Russell Seager worked as a nurse for the VA, helping veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress. He had great respect for the military, and signed up to serve so that he could help soldiers cope with the stress of combat and return to civilian life. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Private Francheska Velez, the daughter of a father from Colombia and a Puerto Rican mother, had recently served in Korea and in Iraq, and was pursuing a career in the Army. When she was killed, she was pregnant with her first child, and was excited about becoming a mother.

Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman was the daughter and granddaughter of Army veterans. She was a single mother who put herself through college and graduate school, and served as a nurse practitioner while raising her two daughters. She also left behind a loving husband.

Private First Class Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child. He was a husband and father who followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service. He was preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan.

These men and women came from all parts of the country. Some had long careers in the military. Some had signed up to serve in the shadow of 9/11. Some had known intense combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some cared for those did. Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity and the decency of those who serve, and that is how they will be remembered.

That same spirit is embodied in the community here at Fort Hood, and in the many wounded who are still recovering. In those terrible minutes during the attack, soldiers made makeshift tourniquets out of their clothes. They braved gunfire to reach the wounded, and ferried them to safety in the backs of cars and a pick-up truck.

One young soldier, Amber Bahr, was so intent on helping others that she did not realize for some time that she, herself, had been shot in the back. Two police officers - Mark Todd and Kim Munley - saved countless lives by risking their own. One medic - Francisco de la Serna - treated both Officer Munley and the gunman who shot her.

It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know - no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice - in this world, and the next.

These are trying times for our country. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the same extremists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans continue to endanger America, our allies, and innocent Afghans and Pakistanis. In Iraq, we are working to bring a war to a successful end, as there are still those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that Americans and Iraqis have sacrificed so much for.

As we face these challenges, the stories of those at Fort Hood reaffirm the core values that we are fighting for, and the strength that we must draw upon. Theirs are tales of American men and women answering an extraordinary call - the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country. In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans.

We are a nation that endures because of the courage of those who defend it. We saw that valor in those who braved bullets here at Fort Hood, just as surely as we see it in those who signed up knowing that they would serve in harm's way.

We are a nation of laws whose commitment to justice is so enduring that we would treat a gunman and give him due process, just as surely as we will see that he pays for his crimes.

We are a nation that guarantees the freedom to worship as one chooses. And instead of claiming God for our side, we remember Lincoln's words, and always pray to be on the side of God.

We are a nation that is dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal. We live that truth within our military, and see it in the varied backgrounds of those we lay to rest today. We defend that truth at home and abroad, and we know that Americans will always be found on the side of liberty and equality. That is who we are as a people.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. It is a chance to pause, and to pay tribute - for students to learn of the struggles that preceded them; for families to honor the service of parents and grandparents; for citizens to reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made in pursuit of a more perfect union.

For history is filled with heroes. You may remember the stories of a grandfather who marched across Europe; an uncle who fought in Vietnam; a sister who served in the Gulf. But as we honor the many generations who have served, I think all of us - every single American - must acknowledge that this generation has more than proved itself the equal of those who have come before.

We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.

This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in a time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different and difficult places. They have stood watch in blinding deserts and on snowy mountains. They have extended the opportunity of self-government to peoples that have suffered tyranny and war. They are man and woman; white, black, and brown; of all faiths and stations - all Americans, serving together to protect our people, while giving others half a world away the chance to lead a better life.

In today's wars, there is not always a simple ceremony that signals our troops' success - no surrender papers to be signed, or capital to be claimed. But the measure of their impact is no less great - in a world of threats that no know borders, it will be marked in the safety of our cities and towns, and the security and opportunity that is extended abroad. And it will serve as testimony to the character of those who serve, and the example that you set for America and for the world.

Here, at Fort Hood, we pay tribute to thirteen men and women who were not able to escape the horror of war, even in the comfort of home. Later today, at Fort Lewis, one community will gather to remember so many in one Stryker Brigade who have fallen in Afghanistan.

Long after they are laid to rest - when the fighting has finished, and our nation has endured; when today's servicemen and women are veterans, and their children have grown - it will be said of this generation that they believed under the most trying of tests; that they persevered not just when it was easy, but when it was hard; and that they paid the price and bore the burden to secure this nation, and stood up for the values that live in the hearts of all free peoples.

So we say goodbye to those who now belong to eternity. We press ahead in pursuit of the peace that guided their service. May God bless the memory of those we lost. And may God bless the United States of America.

When I Go.........

When I go .........sing me out .......with the voice of an angel..............



As each long day rolls by and falls behind me, in the lonely night, there's a peacefulness I've found
Tho' I'm weary even then
When I rise to start again
There'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown
I have wasted all that life has laid before me, I have watched as all the green fields turn to brown But I shall not disavow
All these ties that bind me now
There'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown
Shinning down some day I know
Brighter than all their streets of gold
When the burdens that I carry I will lay down
And the sorrows I have known
I'll see them all be overthrown
Ther'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown
Through the passing of the years
I will grow stronger, just as sure as this old world keeps spinning 'round
Then the closer I will be to my sweetest victory
There'll be a diamond, a diamond in my crown.........

Yeah ..........Why ?

Why aren't there citizens in the streets raising hell about this little (inconvenient) truth ?

H/t to Two Political Junkies, my favorite Pittsburgh political blog.

Halloween ...Ice Scream, Use Cream !

The People Of Walmart

It does seem to me that many at Wal*Mart have their own sense of style, however I did not realize there were so many wackos just sauntering around like a monkey with a parasol ( h/t to Mark Twain ) , unaware of the swath of humor and pathos they were cutting. Be prepared to howl with laughter when you see this site. I see by my Google Reader that this site is updated several times a day and the pics and commentary just get better and more absurd, and hey, it's all real !
A few samples:

If you think big enough, and you work hard enough maybe you can get yourself a mobile home! But don’t get too cocky, you ain’t gettin you no double-wide! So cool it there mr. big time dreamer.
Michigan

Retired Poison Groupies

Now kids, before Bret Michaels had Rock of Love skanks he had Poison groupies. Years later some of them still refuse to accept the new skank-style and delusionally live in their past; others died of syphilis, but i digress….. California

If you’re going to wear a nice summer skirt like this, don’t ruin it with those boots mister, because that is just wrong! California

We were just about to hand out our “Most Gangster Jacket of the Year” award to fuzzy spider, but out of nowhere comes Scarface with a bedazzled necklace and the magically delicious Lucky Charms guy; even Mr. Skulls is a dark horse in this race…..We need your opinions people, this is too hard! Minnesota

Cabbage Patch Man comes complete with a birth certificate, application for adoption and they are each sold separately. California

Sarah's Book Is A Stimulus Package For The Comedy Industry

"The book costs $24.99, but it has a $5,000 jacket." --Jimmy Fallon

"Sarah Palin's 400-page memoir is going to be released on November 17th, and it's called 'Going Rogue: An American Life.' And critics say that it starts out okay, it get's really exciting and then confusing, and then the last 100 pages are blank." --Jimmy Fallon


"People in Alaska are looking forward to Sarah Palin's memoir. They're already calling it 'The Book to Nowhere.'" --David Letterman

"They say she finished the book ahead of schedule so they moved the release date up to November 17th. So, turns out she can finish something." --Jimmy Kimmel

"It's a big, huge book. But when you go into the store, you can use that big book to step up so you can reach a better book." --David Letterman

"But the book has got a lot of beautiful color photos that Sarah has taken from her front porch -- beautiful pictures of Russia that she took from her front porch." --David Letterman


David Letterman's Top Ten Sarah Palin Tips For Writing A Book

10. Close curtains so you don't get distracted by Russia.
9. Increase vocabulary -- use words like "slanket."
8. First buy yourself 100-grand worth of writing outfits.
7. Don't write a word until the check clears.
6. Limit yourself to one "you betcha" per chapter.
5. You can never have enough stories about ice fishing or killing things with your bare hands.
4. When in doubt, just type (wink).
3. Don't let writing cut into attending "Fire Letterman" rallies.
2. Have a book translated for sale to European countries like London.
1. I'll try to find ya some tips and I'll bring 'em to ya!

Florence Foster Jenkins - Worst Opera Singer Ever Recorded

This lady's voice reminds me of Alfalfa's when he used to sing opera on the Our Gang shows .

Florence Foster Jenkins was born on July 19, 1868, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. She received music lessons as a child, and expressed a desire to go abroad to study music. Her wealthy father refused to pay the bill, so she eloped to Philadelphia with Frank Thornton Jenkins, a medical doctor. She earned a living there as a teacher and pianist. Upon her father's death Jenkins inherited a sum of money which allowed her to take up the singing career that had been discouraged by her parents and now former husband. She became involved in the musical life of Philadelphia, and later New York City, where she founded and funded the Verdi Club, took singing lessons, and began to give recitals, her first in 1912. Her mother's death in 1928 gave her additional freedom and resources to pursue singing.



From her recordings, it is apparent that Jenkins had little sense of pitch and rhythm and was barely capable of sustaining a note. Her accompanist can be heard making adjustments to compensate for her tempo variations and rhythmic mistakes. Her dubious diction, especially in foreign language songs, is also noteworthy. Nonetheless, she became tremendously popular in her unconventional way. Her audiences apparently loved her for the amusement she provided rather than her musical ability.

Despite her patent lack of ability, Jenkins was firmly convinced of her greatness. She compared herself favorably to the renowned sopranos of the day and dismissed the laughter which often came from the audience during her performances as coming from her rivals consumed by "professional jealousy." She was aware of her critics, however, saying "People may say I can't sing, but no one can ever say I didn't sing."

The music Jenkins tackled in her recitals was a mixture of the standard operatic repertoire by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi and Johann Strauss (all of them well beyond her technical ability), and songs composed by herself or her accompanist, Mr. Cosmé McMoon, who reportedly made faces at Jenkins behind her back to get laughs.

Jenkins often wore elaborate costumes that she designed herself, sometimes appearing in wings and tinsel, and, for Clavelitos, throwing flowers into the audience while fluttering a fan and sporting more flowers in her hair. After each performance Cosmé McMoon would collect these flowers from the auditorium in readiness for redistribution at the next one.

After a taxicab crash in 1943 she found she could sing "a higher F than ever before." Instead of a lawsuit against the taxicab company, she sent the driver a box of expensive cigars.

In spite of public demand for more appearances, Jenkins restricted her rare performances to a few favorite venues, and her annual recital at the Ritz-Carlton ballroom in New York City. Attendance at her recitals was always limited to her loyal clubwomen and a select few others — she handled distribution of the coveted tickets herself. At the age of 76, Jenkins finally yielded to public demand and performed at Carnegie Hall on October 25, 1944. So anticipated was the performance that tickets for the event sold out weeks in advance. Jenkins died a month later.

Take The Teabagger Socialist-Free Purity Pledge

Read it................ sign it and send it on to your friends, because affordable healthcare for all Americans and saving the country from a depression will be the final straws and make us a socialist country :

I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

Social Security

Medicare/Medicaid

State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)

Police, Fire, and Emergency Services

US Postal Service

Roads and Highways

Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)

The US Railway System

Public Subways and Metro Systems

Public Bus and Lightrail Systems

Rest Areas on Highways

Sidewalks

All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)

Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)

Public and State Universities and Colleges

Public Primary and Secondary Schools

Sesame Street

Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children

Public Museums

Libraries

Public Parks and Beaches

State and National Parks

Public Zoos

Unemployment Insurance

Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services

Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)

Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)

Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)

Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking

Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies

Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies

If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:

Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History

The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments

The government-operated Statue of Liberty

The Grand Canyon

The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials

The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery

All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.

_____________ _________________________

Signed Printed Name/Town and State

This by a reader on one of my " must read daily " sites, Daily Kos.

Car Tossing In Merry Olde England

This is another video that's too good to not share. Flinging compact cars into the sky !

So How About These Wacky Birthers Anyway, Huh.... Huh ?

You gotta love them. So dedicated, and so batshit crazy ! "Always mistaken, never in doubt" was the way I heard it put once. This short animated vid explains what they think is the real story behind our President's birth. A very entertaining 2:49.

One Year Ago We First Met The Wasilla Hillbillies

It has been a good ride Sarah and we will continue to follow your career as it shifts gears from forward to reverse, to neutral and back again. You've given us a lot of laughs, even tears (from laughing so hard) with your Tweets, Facebook wall and and even your so called "prepared" speeches. One of my favorite sites for mockery is Mock, Paper, Scissors , This from Tengrain there today :

One year ago today, Mooselini was thrust into the national spotlight, thanks to the failing and flailing presidential campaign that Grandpa Walnuts was running. And in some sort of act of desperate daring-do, the old fart unleashed upon an unsuspecting public perhaps the greatest grifter and her clan of hillbillies in modern American history.

Besides the animal-like Todd, we have:

•Track: the alleged meth connection sent to Iraq to head off a criminal charge, and to clean him out, but it’s pretty close to ground zero in the heroin supply chain.
•Bristol: the single mother of Trip, ex-girlfriend of Levi and noted abstinance educator.
•Willow: the mysterious Palin with a vacant Jan-Brady smile. bristol, Bristol, BRISTOL!
•Piper: perhaps the one to keep an eye on, she might snap any moment now that she is the second-place human shield when her brother…
•Trig/Algorythm: who may or may not be Mooselini’s kid, and served as the campaign’s prop and took first place as a human shield away from Piper. Trig is the likable Palin.
•Levi: the handsome but stupid sperm donor and father of…
•Trip: who probably is another likable Palin, because he is really a Johnston.
Sweet Jeebus? Only one year? Really?

Really, I know, it seems time flies when you're having a good time.

How To Tell The Age Of A Horse

Whenever I see a horse I want to ask " Hey, why the long face ?"

The Age of a Horse

To tell the age of any horse
Inspect the lower jaw, of course
The six front teeth the tale will tell,
And every doubt and fear dispel.

Two middle nippers you behold
Before the colt is 2 weeks old,
Before 8 weeks 2 more will come,
Eight months the corners cut the gum.

The outside grooves will disappear,
From middle two in just one year,
In two years from the second pair,
In three years corners two are bare.

At two the middle nippers drop,
At three the second pair can’t stop,
When four years old the third pair goes,
At five a full new set he shows.

The deep black spots will pass from view,
At six years from the middle two,
The second pair at seven years,
At eight the spot each corner clears.

From middle nippers upper jaw,
At nine the black spots will with draw,
The second pair at ten are bright,
Eleven finds the corners light.

As time goes on the horsemen know,
The oval teeth three-sided grow,
They longer get project before,
Till twenty, when we know no more.

Author unknown

Les Paul RIP

Thanks Mr. Paul, for creating the instrument that has inspired so many players.

Some Western Pennsylvania Stoneware

from the days when craftsmen made functional things of great beauty. These were made in the middle and late 1800's here in western Pennsylvania, were shipped down the Monongahela river on flatboats and steamboats and distributed around the country. Local historians mention that stoneware often went downriver as far as New Orleans in the 1850s and 1860s. Factories in New Geneva and Greensboro became the most prolific producers of salt-glazed wares in western Pennsylvania. The names of Atchison, Boughner, Dilliner, and Hamilton & Jones and Reppert became associated with large-scale stoneware manufacture in the 1800's. Smaller shops were also built in the towns of Rices Landing, Fredericktown, and West Brownsville.

Even everyday items like a flower pot or chicken waterer were wonderfully executed

C. Baker Cake Crock, New Geneva, PA., attributed to Enix and Frankenbery Collection of Paul R. Stewart Museum, Waynesburg College

This food storage jar decorated with a baseball player brought a record price for local pottery at auction last year.

Food was stored / canned in these sealer jars

Many of the things needed in early western Pennsylvania, domestic wares in particular, could be fashioned from stoneware clay. These included water pitchers, churns, crocks, and canning jars, which were sold by the millions prior to the arrival of cheap glass. Any early order form would have also listed milk pans, spigot jars, various pots, chambers, bottles, and steins. Some potters made agricultural and industrial objects, such as poultry fountains, liquor jugs, and ware that could safely store acids and strong chemicals. On rare occasions, banks, doll heads, grave markers, twine holders, and whimsical novelties were created. Nineteenth-century consumers, especially homemakers, found these handsome vessels appealing because of their distinctive freehand cobalt blue flowers, vines, animals, birds, people, and abstract patterns.
All the potteries in western Pennsylvania produced large, masculine pieces, whose bold rims and strong shoulders were a reflection of the men who made them. Occasional flaws never detracted from their honesty.
In the 1870s, as the region's stoneware industry peaked, it turned to stenciled decoration both to cut costs and to give its image a makeover. Countless patterns were applied to vessels at this time, at first incorporating the pottery's name and later displaying the names and addresses of new customers anxious to self-promote. The stenciled crock, often viewed as synonymous with southwestern Pennsylvania stoneware, lacked the spontaneity of brush-decorated ware but was a superior article economically. Ordinary day laborers could learn to use a stencil in a day or two. This technique foreshadowed the decline and demise of the master decorator, whose handiwork is rarely seen after 1880. The more interesting stencils showcased eagles, flowers, fruit, shields, animals, abstract patterns, and -- though rarely -- people in action. Well-designed stencils produced patterns that fascinate in their great variety.


This was taken from an article called Western Pennsylvania's Stoneware Potters by Phil Schaltenbrand, written for the Westmoreland Museum of American Art