It was a wonderful warm shorts and sandals spring until yesterday, when we fell back into the 30s and got a kind of a sleet rain afternoon, and today it is getting warm again. When it gets really cold in Iowa in April people start remembering a bad sudden blizzard we got hit with in 1973, which buried the state in about 2 feet of snow the day after everyone had to get their studded snow tires taken off. So, no one could drive and we were buried for about 3 days and then the sun came out and all the snow was gone in a few days.
I found a tape the other day of the 1972 western The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, with Cliff Robertson and Robt. Duvall (as Frank and Jessie James.) I had seen a chopped up version of it years ago on late night TV, and had never seen the whole movie. Good movie, but somewhat from the hippie era in its outlook and visuals. Pretty much the same story as The Long Riders which came out a few years later. I should rent that one and watch it again. Not much else going on in reading and movie watching so far this spring. I have a rented DVD of The Ice Harvest with John Cusack I should view tonight or tomorrow. I hope Cusack can shed some of his Lloyd Dobler mannerisms and quirks he had made a career out of over the years.
Watched a segment the other night of a press conference held by Amadinejad gloating about how no one will ever push Iran around. The guy is a serious and dangerous character, but he was in front of a huge backdrop of downtown Tehran, that looked a lot like Letterman's set at the Sullivan Theatre. Hard not to teehee while watching the guy. Probably people had the same feelings watching newsreels of the Kaiser, Hitler and Mussolini.
Fox News had a segment a while ago about the families of the people on Flight 93 watching an advance screening of the movie. I don't think I can watch the movie when it is released. Everything that happened on 9-11 is still too raw to relive. I had the same situation for years when it came to watching films of JFK's funeral. I could not watch the stuff.
(This part is being written later:) One good show on the tube tonight. My Name is Earl was all about him trying to return a stolen police badge to the cop he stole it from. Silly show but funny. I tried to get through Survivor, The O.C., and Supernatural, but could not do it.
Cavuto had some economic honchos on talking about the gas crisis, and they contended that we all will just have to drive less. If you live in DC or NYC you could travel by cab, but the rest of us live in a country 3 thousand miles wide. It might be hard to just sit home and not move around the big spaces in the US.
This is going to be all for right now. More next time. Di di mau!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
A Blog of a Sort To Present to the the World
It would have been interesting if Alexander Pope had had his own blog in 1730, in which he could rave about the people he was mad at, and he could have practiced his ryming couplets online, and he might have let us know what the trouble between him and Mary Wortley Montague actually was. But he just wrote lots of letters to his friends, and trashed his enemies in the Dunciad, and never got into cyberspace. We miss you, Al.
This is a nice but windy afternoon, and a long-predicted storm is supposed to be on the way. After the sneak tornado that suddenly appeared in Iowa City last week everyone is a little gunshy about the weather around this part of the heartland.
The news of the afternoon seems to be the Chinese woman who got into the press section at the White House and yelled at W and Hu. I should turn on Fox to get a story on the story, but I feel like leaving the tube off this afternoon. Will probably catch all the news at 5 p.m. Drudge has an LATimes statement by Pelosi, deploring Chinese human rights crimes. Well, where has she been since 1949? I have a feeling that China is becoming Japan of the 1930s--they are building up for a conquest campaign. Do they want to take over the world, militarily, or just economically? Does Chinese Communism amount to anything any more, or is it just an oligarchy in power? We will see.
Thursday night is the night for The O.C., and Earl. Two bad shows I am hooked on. And Survivor is also on. According to the new and improved TV Guide a guy gets his face cut up with a machete. I have not been following this edition of Survivor very closely. I know Shane is the crazy one, but I have not been able to sink my mind into this series. Something mental I guess. I have lost interest in American Chopper, and tried to watch King of Cars, with Chop trying to become the used car king of Vegas, but I can't get interested in it either. Man, is this an enthusiastic blog this time around.
I assume gas prices will hit 3 a gallon around here fairly soon. I had hopes to do some driving around Iowa this summer to see the rural parts of the state and get away from Des Moines' concrete jungle for one summer, but maybe I need to hog as much money as I can, and paying 40+ bucks for a fillup could easily drain my bank account. Magazines and videos are going out of the budget, and books as well. Maybe some simplicity and lack of googaws would do my soul some good--but it will be painful.
This is going to be all for right now. I need to take an afternoon snooze, and I know my myriad fans and devotees will want me to rest for a few hours. So, Di di mau!
This is a nice but windy afternoon, and a long-predicted storm is supposed to be on the way. After the sneak tornado that suddenly appeared in Iowa City last week everyone is a little gunshy about the weather around this part of the heartland.
The news of the afternoon seems to be the Chinese woman who got into the press section at the White House and yelled at W and Hu. I should turn on Fox to get a story on the story, but I feel like leaving the tube off this afternoon. Will probably catch all the news at 5 p.m. Drudge has an LATimes statement by Pelosi, deploring Chinese human rights crimes. Well, where has she been since 1949? I have a feeling that China is becoming Japan of the 1930s--they are building up for a conquest campaign. Do they want to take over the world, militarily, or just economically? Does Chinese Communism amount to anything any more, or is it just an oligarchy in power? We will see.
Thursday night is the night for The O.C., and Earl. Two bad shows I am hooked on. And Survivor is also on. According to the new and improved TV Guide a guy gets his face cut up with a machete. I have not been following this edition of Survivor very closely. I know Shane is the crazy one, but I have not been able to sink my mind into this series. Something mental I guess. I have lost interest in American Chopper, and tried to watch King of Cars, with Chop trying to become the used car king of Vegas, but I can't get interested in it either. Man, is this an enthusiastic blog this time around.
I assume gas prices will hit 3 a gallon around here fairly soon. I had hopes to do some driving around Iowa this summer to see the rural parts of the state and get away from Des Moines' concrete jungle for one summer, but maybe I need to hog as much money as I can, and paying 40+ bucks for a fillup could easily drain my bank account. Magazines and videos are going out of the budget, and books as well. Maybe some simplicity and lack of googaws would do my soul some good--but it will be painful.
This is going to be all for right now. I need to take an afternoon snooze, and I know my myriad fans and devotees will want me to rest for a few hours. So, Di di mau!
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Easter Sunday Night Thoughts
Somewhat gloomy and humid day today, on Easter Sunday. Tornadoes came through the midwest last night, hitting Beatrice, Nebraska and Lenox, Iowa. It is supposed to rain in Iowa on Monday. I caught up on some sleep last night, and piddled around much of today. Gas prices keep going up and up and will probably get to 3 bucks a gallon soon. Drudge was ranting on his website and on the radio tonight about the CEO of Exxon getting a retirement package of 450 million, and gas prices going up on Easter Sunday. Nejad is still ranting about destroying Israel, and Matthews and his liberal crew tonight are holding that there is nothing we can do about Iran. While searching through some blogs I found a mention of something Hitler had in '37 called the Hossbach Conference in which he gave his head generals his plans for conquering Europe and getting rid of everybody not aryan in order to achieve lebensraum. The idea from the blogs seems to be that if some leader says he is going to smash his enemies you should take him seriously. I read some stuff in McClure's old book on Abe Lincoln on Lincoln and how he dealt with Stanton, who had the whole Union Army officer crew hating him. Some similarity to Rumsfeld and the generals who want to get rid of him.
This is the birthdays of Sylvia Plathe (who would have been 74) and Nikita Krushchev(who would have been 112.) There are still some people in San Francisco, who were got together for a party, who were old enough to remember the 1906 earthquake (including one lady who is 108.)
A bad tornado last Thursday night came through Iowa City and did a job on the University of Iowa area, smashing a big church and a lot of student housing, as well as a lot of businesses around campus town.
I have been spending Easter week reading the gospels, the book of Acts, and Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus. Acts is much more interesting than I thought it would be, and 1st Timothy has some interesting stuff Paul wrote on Money. I have been using the Jerusalem Bible translation, which I have to read with my fingers crossed, but the translation does make Paul jump off the page and become a real human being, more than the King James version does.
This is going to be all for right now. It is time for bed. So, Di di mau.
This is the birthdays of Sylvia Plathe (who would have been 74) and Nikita Krushchev(who would have been 112.) There are still some people in San Francisco, who were got together for a party, who were old enough to remember the 1906 earthquake (including one lady who is 108.)
A bad tornado last Thursday night came through Iowa City and did a job on the University of Iowa area, smashing a big church and a lot of student housing, as well as a lot of businesses around campus town.
I have been spending Easter week reading the gospels, the book of Acts, and Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus. Acts is much more interesting than I thought it would be, and 1st Timothy has some interesting stuff Paul wrote on Money. I have been using the Jerusalem Bible translation, which I have to read with my fingers crossed, but the translation does make Paul jump off the page and become a real human being, more than the King James version does.
This is going to be all for right now. It is time for bed. So, Di di mau.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Bloggin is a cummin in; lude sing cuku
I know that all 20 million bloggers on spaceship earth have been waiting for my next blog entry--and here it is. I started one a few days ago, but never got it finished, so the date on this one may be wrong. It is 11:45 p.m on 12 April right now. I am currently overwhelmed by the current events of the world, and am finally getting over that flu I had for a week or more at the end of March, but spring is finally here, and it may get up to 80 by the end 0f this week, so a certain amount of happiness is due. Iraq and Iran and the Duke U. lacrosse team rape case, and the Mexican immigrant demonstrations are the issues of the week.
There is a mess going on in Iowa right now, involving a number of people who were in charge of a state jobs training agency, who were discovered to have been making very large salaries it did not seem seemly for them to have been making. And this has opened up a lot of Iowa social class and political grudges involving a number of local political figures someone or other has had grudges against for years. The lady at the center of the scandal is a high school dropout with a GED, and several local blue collar and Italian-American politicians are getting slimed, and a local black activist is in on the situation, and it is score-settling time in Iowa, especially since at least one guy at the center of the situation has had people mad at him since some stuff he pulled during the flood of '93. Des Moines has a somewhat irritating social class system, which ever so often comes to the surface. It is now.
In 1749 Lord Chesterfield wrote to his son, telling him to keep himself clean and to dress properly, or he would be a fop at 20, slovenly at 40, and stink at 50. And keep your hair powdered when you go out in public.
I am going to let my fans and readers go to bed now, even though this has been a fairly short blog entry, and it has been several days since I have typed anything. Some time I may pour out all my political and social opinions, and let Everybody have it, but it may turn out that I have opinions and no hard cold facts to suport them, and just have a lot of rants. So, you all take care. Di di mau!
There is a mess going on in Iowa right now, involving a number of people who were in charge of a state jobs training agency, who were discovered to have been making very large salaries it did not seem seemly for them to have been making. And this has opened up a lot of Iowa social class and political grudges involving a number of local political figures someone or other has had grudges against for years. The lady at the center of the scandal is a high school dropout with a GED, and several local blue collar and Italian-American politicians are getting slimed, and a local black activist is in on the situation, and it is score-settling time in Iowa, especially since at least one guy at the center of the situation has had people mad at him since some stuff he pulled during the flood of '93. Des Moines has a somewhat irritating social class system, which ever so often comes to the surface. It is now.
In 1749 Lord Chesterfield wrote to his son, telling him to keep himself clean and to dress properly, or he would be a fop at 20, slovenly at 40, and stink at 50. And keep your hair powdered when you go out in public.
I am going to let my fans and readers go to bed now, even though this has been a fairly short blog entry, and it has been several days since I have typed anything. Some time I may pour out all my political and social opinions, and let Everybody have it, but it may turn out that I have opinions and no hard cold facts to suport them, and just have a lot of rants. So, you all take care. Di di mau!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
As the General Blog Turns
Well, a couple hours ago it was 1:02:o3 on 4-o5-06. In a couple of months there will a time and date of 6:06:06 on 6-06-06.
My health has been improving all day and I must be finally getting over this week-long flu bout which has just about decommissioned me. I know all my fans really want to know this.
Have been looking into opera websites and chatsites and the big news in operaland is the sudden arrival on the scene of Erika Sunnegardh, a blond lady who was put into a Met broadcast Saturday of Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, and a very demanding vocal part. No one seems to have known anything about Ms. S., and she wowed the opera house audience and got wild applause and a big write-up in the NY Times, and overseas. The Met publicity machine seems to have pulled out all the stops to get the lady famous. The radio broadcast is generating great controversy as to whether the lady can really sing or not, and who she really is. The chatrooms are burning up with debate about what went on April 1.
A big flap brewing in Iowa concerning some people at the top of a state employment agency and the somewhat large salaries they have been receiving. Much less salary than several college coaches are getting, but it has struck a nerve among various state citizens. Maybe a storm in a tea pot, but a kind of a scandal. We are shocked--shocked!
You know, I am going to bed, and will continue all of this sometime tomorrow. I hope you understand. I know you will. So, Di di mau!
My health has been improving all day and I must be finally getting over this week-long flu bout which has just about decommissioned me. I know all my fans really want to know this.
Have been looking into opera websites and chatsites and the big news in operaland is the sudden arrival on the scene of Erika Sunnegardh, a blond lady who was put into a Met broadcast Saturday of Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, and a very demanding vocal part. No one seems to have known anything about Ms. S., and she wowed the opera house audience and got wild applause and a big write-up in the NY Times, and overseas. The Met publicity machine seems to have pulled out all the stops to get the lady famous. The radio broadcast is generating great controversy as to whether the lady can really sing or not, and who she really is. The chatrooms are burning up with debate about what went on April 1.
A big flap brewing in Iowa concerning some people at the top of a state employment agency and the somewhat large salaries they have been receiving. Much less salary than several college coaches are getting, but it has struck a nerve among various state citizens. Maybe a storm in a tea pot, but a kind of a scandal. We are shocked--shocked!
You know, I am going to bed, and will continue all of this sometime tomorrow. I hope you understand. I know you will. So, Di di mau!
Monday, April 03, 2006
After the Storms Comes the Spring
OK, the title of this opus comes from the last section of Beethoven's sixth symphony. A big musical storm section, and then the sun is supposed to come out and there is a lilting folk tune that builds into one of Bs hymns of joy, and all is lovely in the world. I think B was trying to convey a When Napoleon is Gone All Will be Peace message. Anyway it is nice in the midwest tonight after a stormy weekend all over the US.
This has been the third bad-sick in bed session I have had in life since the end of '98 when I had a bad flu bout. Then in '02 I had the diabetic heart attack, and this weekend when I did another flu spell that came on Wed. night, and finally put me flat on my back, and I am still in the final stages of shaking it. So, my health is what is on my mind, even though I know Iran now has underwater missiles, and Florida whupped UCLA tonight and a stupid Indian girl won a lot of money on Howie's Deal...show. She irritated me because she looked too much like M. Lewinsky. And I know the immigration issue gets uglier as more people get to open their mouths about it.
This actually is going to be all in this blog for right now. My fingers are not working good at all, and Jimmy Kimmel is coming on in a little while, and when I am just as healthy as a peach I will be funny and will have a blog that all my countless fans will think is the happiest thing they have ever read in cybspace. So you all wait and I will be back. Di di mau!
This has been the third bad-sick in bed session I have had in life since the end of '98 when I had a bad flu bout. Then in '02 I had the diabetic heart attack, and this weekend when I did another flu spell that came on Wed. night, and finally put me flat on my back, and I am still in the final stages of shaking it. So, my health is what is on my mind, even though I know Iran now has underwater missiles, and Florida whupped UCLA tonight and a stupid Indian girl won a lot of money on Howie's Deal...show. She irritated me because she looked too much like M. Lewinsky. And I know the immigration issue gets uglier as more people get to open their mouths about it.
This actually is going to be all in this blog for right now. My fingers are not working good at all, and Jimmy Kimmel is coming on in a little while, and when I am just as healthy as a peach I will be funny and will have a blog that all my countless fans will think is the happiest thing they have ever read in cybspace. So you all wait and I will be back. Di di mau!
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Where Do You Hurt? Everwhere!
There is not much to report on dealing with the woes of the world. Not that human events have stopped--but I have spent 2.5 days in bed with a really wicked April Fools flu, and Fox and CBS and the other MSM have actually been shut off for much of that time, and I have been Sleeping. All day and all night, and an occassional trip to the peepee can, and then back to bed. My back hurts, my eyes are out of focus, my feet hurt, and this typing is a mess because I cannot control my fingers on the keyboard. Ain't this interesting to read? I do hope that tomorrow I will cast off what ever is making me a woeful thing, and will jump up happy and healthy. In fact my typing is getting so bad as I go along that I may just let this be my blog for the night. More tomorrow or when I get to feeling better. I had a bunch of stuff about today's Met opera broadcast, but I should check with La Cieca first. You all be good. Di di mau!
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