What the hell HAPPENED?

You may well ask, "WHAT the hell HAPPENED to all the blogging I was going to do this summer?" I had two good friends (also, incidentally close family members) tell me I should start writing again. But...truth be told...I haven't been even a little inspired to write. I actually sat down on several occasions specifically to write, but nothing happened. And....I got none of that random inspiration I usually do. So... all I can say is I WILL eventually write something when and if the inspiration comes. Time will tell.

Inspiration and Encouragement

A cousin with two Master's Degrees and a son with one recently encouraged me to work on some poetry or essays or SOME form or writing, so...blogging will be happening soon. That's a warning. :-)

What's a Blog?

I have a buddy at work who asked me what a blog is? What's a blog? Where are blogs? How do you blog? Well...here's a blog. It's about writing...about expressing yourself...about venting your spleen? So...whatya think, Skid Johnson?

A Recent Letter to the Times Lacked Logic

Another recent submission to the Times...

A recent letter to the editor told the story of a young man who screams out the name of God just before his car crashes head-on into a semi truck. The man who wrote the letter gave this as his reason for being against the separation of church and state. I wonder how many people who find themselves about to have a head-on collision would, instead, scream out a vulgar slang term for excrement at the last second. I guess this is an argument against the separation of excrement and state. Oh, I forgot...there IS no separation of excrement and state; that's why the Bush administration was able to get into office.

George Bush...a Laugh Riot

A recent submission to the Times...

I was very amused by the Griffith resident who made that great joke about Democrats blaming George Bush for the eventual flooding caused by the melting of Greenland's ice caps. I laughed and laughed. It was almost as funny as those darn Democrats who blame George Bush for an unnecessary, immoral war that has already cost 2,500 American lives.

7 Songs I'm Into Now

Yes, I've been tagged by my son at http://www.bergamatt.blogspot.com . And I'm supposed to list seven songs that I'm into now...hence the title. Some of these songs are new; some not so much. At least one is VERY old, but off a recent classic jazz recording on the Verve label. I like much of the newer music that's out, but newer music seldom swings like the old stuff. I'll let you guess which song I'm speaking of. Here they are...my list of seven, in no special order:

1) All the Time in the World - Lowen & Navarro
2) Busting Up a Starbucks - Mike Doughty
3) Soul - Healthy White Baby
4) Asshole - Jim's Big Ego
5) Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - K T Turnstall
6) Deja Vu (All Over Again) - John Fogerty
7) Steppin' Out With My Baby - Fred Astaire

I'm also listening to anything by Jack Johnson, "A Bigger Bang" by the Stones, and a lot of old stuff by Ricky Nelson and Johnny Cash. I kind of like the sound of high-pitched women's voices in songs like "Ooh La La" by the Ditty Bops and "Walking With a Ghost" by Tegan and Sara. I like bluesy performers like Daniellia Cotton and Shemekia Copeland. And I think David Gray has an excellent voice...specifically the song "The One I Love". Let's see...that Hassidic-looking Ska guy, Matisyahu is pretty interesting. And...the Subdudes just released an excellent album that was produced by the very excellent Keb Mo. But...now I've talked about more than 7 songs, haven't I?

Davester

All About Me

A big "Thank You" to Mike Anonymous who listed this little slice of self-exploration at www.okplusthree.blogspot.com .

Four Jobs I've Had
Busboy/Waiter/Dishwasher/Janitor in an Italian restaurant
(Crappy pay, but excellent home-made pasta and frisky waitresses)
Automobile air conditioning trainee and car transporter
(Porches, Audis, VWs...SWEET!)
Pipline mechanic for gas company
(Repairing gas leaks and shutting people off for non-payment...sucked)
Chemical Technician
(Current)
Worse Job...Loading books into mail sacks at a book factory.

Four Movies I Can Watch Again and Again
The Godfather (Parts 1 & 2)
Rain Man
Highlander
Stripes

Four Places I've Lived
Chicago (Roseland)
Calumet City
Hammond, IN
Griffith, IN

Four Fav TV Shows
The Daily Show
Medium
Numbers
The Late Late Show (with Craig Ferguson)

Four Vacation Spots
San Francisco
Smoky Mountains (Tennessee)
Thunder Bay (Ontario)
Mammoth Cave (Kentucky)

Four Web Sites I Visit Daily
www.nwitimes.com
www.usatoday.com
www.wxrt.com
www.amazon.com

Four Foods I Love
Scones
Pizza
Pasta
Waffles

Four Albums I Can't Do Without
Crosby, Stills and Nash - Greatest Hits
The Beatles - 1
They Might Be Giants - Dial A Song
(Ok, ya got me...that's a 2 CD Set...I'll take Disc 1)
Frank Sinatra - Classic Sinatra, His Great Performances 1953-1960

Four Vehicles I've Owned
1972 Mustang Sprint (302 V8, White with red and blue trim)
1977 Buick Regal (350 V8, Firethorn red with white landau top)
1985 Le Baron (Burgundy...it's a pretty hot model with kids nowadays)
1998 Grand Voyager Expresso (I like coffee so much, my mini-van is named after it)

Here's one I added...
Four Favorite Authors
Orson Scott Card
(Ender's Game is truly AWSOME!)
W.E.B. Griffin
(His novels were described to me as "soap operas for men")
Gordon Dickson
(Wolf and Iron...one of the greatest futuristic survival stories ever)
Ray Bradbury
(THE greatest short-story writer)

OK...here's another one I added...
Four Most Amazing Sights
The births of my son and daughter
The Northern Lights while driving across Manitoba
The panorama from one of the tallest peaks in the Rockies
Niagra Falls

And...appearing in TODAY'S Times

Bush honoring Parks rings false

In response to Kanye West saying, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," Bush decided to make a show of allowing Rosa Parks' body to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda. While Ms. Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat did spark the civil rights movement, I don't believe this single action, however noble and courageous, deserves such an honor. I believe it was a transparent ploy by Bush to show he does, in fact, care about black people.

And in October...

A Times submission for October...

Democracy doesn't mean giving in

A number of people have written to say that we should accept Bush because he was duly elected by a majority of voters, that this is the basis of democracy. Using this logic, slavery, which was once legal, should still exist. Women should never have been given the right to vote. And, of course, people who protest abortion should stop because that issue was decided legally more than 30 years ago.

More Times Submissions

AUGUST

God and Punishment

I used to get angry at such stories. Now I'm amused. A group from a Baptist church in Kansas travels the country, picketing funerals of servicemen because they think Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq are God's punishment for society's acceptance of homosexuality. How delusional is a group to relate two unrelated items to fit an agenda of protest? Maybe God punishes people for not minding their own business. Or, maybe the Iraq war is God's punishment for Americans who were gullible enough to elect a murderer like Bush.

Times Submissions

I've been a bit remiss in listing my submissions to the local newspaper. Here's one from:

JULY

Bush's Imposition on Iraq

If you believe you have the right to defend yourself and your family against home invasion, then you can begin to understand why some Iraqis feel the need to defend themselves against an invasion from the United States. Bush has no more right to try to impose democracy on Iraq than a terrorist group has to impose its beliefs on others.