Everybody's Talkin'

Harry Nilsson. Really nice songwriter, really nice singer, yes?

Update: Oopsie. My dear friend ¢rÄßG®äŠŠ tells me now that Fred Neil wrote this song, and NOT Harry Nilsson. I'm pretty much off the hook, as he gave me the bad information in the first place.

Anyway, though he did not write this one, Nilsson is still a good songwriter. I understand that he did not write Let it Be, either. Not that I had claimed otherwise, but still.
×

Gentle on my Mind

John Hartford wrote this. I think these two do a nice job here.

(click on the arrow in the middle of the screen twice, but slowly)

HAPPY NEW YEAR???

Wishing all of you who get to this Blog a very Happy NewYear!!
However, as I was reading the paper this morning, with my cup of black coffee beside me, I became increasingly wary of the condition of our world, and started wondering what 2008 has in store for us.HEADLINES on page A9:
(1) KENYA IN CHAOS...showing the bodies of some of the 108 victims of violence.
A local and an international rights group said "more than 300 people have died" .....
(2) IRAN HANGS 13 IN SINGLE DAY ...well, that is their political agenda ...
(3) U.K. AIDS PROBE OF BHUTTO SLAYING..."eyewitness accounts and video of Bhutto's last moment suggest she was shot by an assassin just before he detonated a bomb"...
(4) PAKISTAN'S NUCLEAR SECURITY THREATENED..."the country has an estimated 60 nuclear warheads, with 15-20 kilogram cores of highly-enriched uranium and,possibly a few made from plutonium"... ummmm - that's somewhat disturbing ........
(5) AFGHANISTAN - THE CASE FOR STAYING ...the new year begins withthe familiar image of a young soldier arriving home in a flag-draped casket...
"Afghanistan needs Canada now more than ever. Th assassination in neighbouring Pakistan of opposition leader Benzair Bhutto has destabilized an already unsettled region and threatens to undermine the hard-fought gains made by Canadian troops in Kandahar, where stability is slowly but inexorably supplanting lawlessness" ...
Many Canadians want our troops home - such a quandry-where does this end, and how
(6) And we cannot forget the American forces in Iraq - and again, where and how do they get out of that one???
Enough of negativity!!!
Now - do any of you feel that this new year - 2008 - will give us any relief from headlines such as these - I would like to look forward to a great year - but need some positive input from some positive people.......

Small Favour to Ask of Anyone Travelling West

I'm not desperate to be famous by any means, but a slightly higher profile wouldn't kill me. So if you're travelling west, I have some letters I'd like delivered to California, and if you could keep them in order that would be great.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can make you own Hollywood Sign at Glass Giant. This I discovered at Canadian Cynic who found it at World o' Crap.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opus Dei: Illuminati: Bilderberg:Free Masons:

SECRET SOCIETIES RULE THE WORLD????
Have you heard of these organizations? Do you know anything about them? Do we need to sit up and take notice?
The Bilderberg group is an informal,secretive and international association of the world's most powerful business and political leaders. They meet once a year,2007 in Istanbul,Turkey, 2006 in Ottawa, Canada.
This alarms me somewhat, just wondered what your thoughts are on this subject. Perhaps I should just go on vacation to the 'cottage',and forget all about the state of the world in which we live.!!!!!

EUTHANASIA-IS IT MORAL ??

I am taking a page from my friend Nicole, and putting it out there for discussion.
Just five days out of prison, Dr. Jack Kevorkian has a new mission in life, as he calls upon the public to take action on the
'right to die' issue. He claims to have helped 130 people die,
believing they should have that choice.
Is it morally acceptable to help a loved one, who wants to die with dignity,on his/her terms -
I personally believe Dr. Kevorkian to be a champion for individual liberty - But then, I have been exposed to such a situation - and perhaps have a different point of view.
What do you think??

Blogging - what is it??

With well over 9 million participants, it certainly has become one of our favorite pastimes!
If I were browsing, and came upon your Blog, would I want to read it and tell my friends about it? Certainly there are challenges here, ceating new posts regularly, interesting enough to make readers come back.
I often feel that I do not have quality original material, making me very hesitant to contribute. Some of Posts are very Political, some very personal, some profound, some just fun, and interesting ..gotta get just the right mix!!!
Ohhhh, and better think twice before you say it - can't take it back, and apologizing and explanations are not the way to go!!!
I feel we have a responsibility when we create a Blog - there can be consequences!!
Am I being too serious??

HERE'S TO THE MOTHERS...

A special day is upon us - devoted to all 'Mothers' and I want to share something my daughter gave me several years ago ......

THANK YOU
Thank you for stocking me up with poems and tunes to last me all my life.
Thank you for showing me the setting sun for the first time.
And scrunching down winter beaches.
Thank you for letting me bring home rocks and shells and fallen branches.
Thank you for housing my frogs..
Thank you for the excitement of being alive.
Thanks for never saying, "I told you so."
Well -- not often.
Thank you for always being there.
Not intrusively. Not demandingly.
There.
Availavle at all hours for advice on coughs, spelling, good books, stains, Mozart, friends, presents, using librairies, crossword
clues.
Et al.
Packed and ready to come if needed.
At once.
Shoulder to cry on.
Someone to tell the news.
Someone to laugh at the Funny.
Someone with an inexhaustible supply of love.
Whatever I've done.
Always.

I treasure these words, and I'm sure you all have similar stories .
HERE'S TO US - MOTHERS OF THE WORLD!!!

HAVE YOU GOT A FAVOURITE MOTTO?

Just came upon this one - and I love it:

"Life should not be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely,
in an attractive and well preserved body ..
but rather
To skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand ..
Diet Coke in the other, body thoroughly
used up, totally worn out and screaming ...
WOO HOO
WHAT A RIDE!!!

Now, that sounds like a life well lived,
with no regrets!!!
Let's hear some great philosophical words of wisdom!!!

FENG SHUI

CLEAN UP TIME - SPRING AROUND THE CORNER - LET'S DEAL WITH CLUTTER....
"Things: or "stuff" constitute a major problem in most homes, and it accumulates
day by day. Useless kitchen gadgets, empty gift boxes to recycle,presents we
hate or have outgrown,inherited objects which fear of embarrassment or guilt will not
let us part with, an endless list of other items.
We hold on to clothes 'in case' we might need them. Books - so difficult to get
rid of----
Clutter represents stagnet energy, and with this in mind, I am going to start to bring a little FENG SHUI into my space--
Where to start? Think it will be the 'storage room' which is home to-you name it- it's there!!
I could use some company - I'll match you - junk for junk!!!
Sooooo - I'm on my way downstairs, can hardly wait to get started!!
I'll let you know if good karma enters - think it's supposed to come in the front door.

FAVOURITE POETS

Walt Whitman; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Robert Burns; Edgar Allan Poe...

Has a poem ever grabbed you with such interest you would read it over and over, even try and memorize a few lines - and you would recognize it immediately if the subject came up over casual conversation - so many out there -

One of my favorites - by Walt Whitman:

Oh Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

Seveal more verses complete this one, and you may remember it from the movie "Dead Poets Society".

Ok you literary people - What have you got??

Born to be Wild?

post redated to remain prominent following Pest Control update below...




















OR MAYBE NOT??




















Inspired by some discussion in the previous thread, "ZODIAC SIGNS", I wonder what people think about this. Which elements of your personality might have been with you from the start, and how much was learned and developed in response to how those around you reacted to whatever it was you were up to?

I don't have the answer, but I'm formulating an opinion.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pest Control: UPDATE!!

THIS JUST IN

Courtesy of Crabgrass, here is another photograph of the Flying Saucer that plagued me a few weeks back. I don't know how the hell he snapped this picture. It appears for all the world to have been taken from exactly the same vantage point as my original, but with perhaps a wider lens.

This whole thing, inexplicably, has me recalling a run-down cabin that I stayed in a few summers ago while travelling through a lightly populated region in Northern Ontario. I can not say exactly why... the photograph seems somehow eerily familiar. I can tell you that I'm confident, in my own way, that this whole episode was not just a bizarre dream or some hysterical flashback to that nightmarish trip.

Don't get me started on the talking moose.

ZODIAC SIGNS

Astrolgy is an attempt by humans to interpret and correlate planetary actions with human existence.
Are the Zodiac signs credible - do you believe that personality traits can be predicted by scientific principles, our future being determined by various celestial movements?
Do you believe that stuff?
"You will fight for just or humanitarian causes. You tend to be rather independent and must be free to do your own thing. You may become very rebelllious when angry. You are quite innovative when it comes to problem-solving. You would probably do well working in the field of electronics or engineering, working with computers or machinery of any kind. You want to make a special c ontribution to humanity. You march to a different drum and dance to your own tune.Most likely,you would also make a good social worker or therapist."
Does anyone recognize this Blogger?
No - it's not me - I'm a technical nightmare!!
"As a rule, you are a sunny, adventurous, outgoing individual. "Don't tie me down"-you are one of the original free spirits.Curious and forthright, you constantly seek knowledge to expand your world view. You need to be careful as to how you present your information, realizing that an attitude or idea is not necessarily right just because someone says it is."...........................
Yeah - a typical Saggitarius

Let's hear it - do you believe this stuff, do you think it is crap -
And last week, I went to a Physic, who did lots of very strange things, and ultimately read my left palm. He saw two children there, saying I should have had three.
He did not read my right palm - guess that's where my other two kids were hiding!!!
Don't have much faith in that medium!!!

Pest Control

I have finally solved my rodent problem by at long last embracing cats. I guess I hadn’t written about it, but I was getting pretty tired of battling mice armed only with a hockey stick. So it's rather sudden, but my current estimate is that I have 34 or 35 mostly adorable felines draped all over the place in my home. And I'm totally letting my hair go, too, cultivating a sort of "Crazy Cat Lady" personae. Neighbours truly leave me alone now. It's kind of nice.

But I digress; something else has come up. For the last five nights, a "ship" has been hovering in the sky over my house. High in the sky, but directly above my house. I think it’s been showing up at about 2 or 3AM. It hovers and emits an eerie low hum together with some kind of smoke or steam, while unrecognizable bits of debris seem to almost dance around its circumference. Last night I finally got a picture of it (see above). As is so often the case in these instances, clarity and detail in the photo are somewhat lacking, but there’s no mistaking what it is. Let us not fuss over the quality of my camera lens in this difficult time.

The last couple of nights have seen me out in my yard cussing and throwing tomatoes and eggs up into the air, but it’s a pitiful effort, really. I am not getting anywhere near it. I fully expect that the occupants are laughing at me.

If any of you have had this problem and can offer advice, I would sincerely appreciate it.

Mother Mary Carol Anne.

Remedial Blogging

Does anybody else have difficulties with the technical aspects of Blogging? I am at the mercy of my severely distractable son "Crabgrass" for guidance. I feel a bit lost, and at the moment can't find my sliderule.

This is a picture of Crabby (right) in a more focused moment, teaching me , under hypnosis, how to Blog. His sparkling eye scares me, though I bravely meet his gaze.

Feel The Birthday Love

My two sons (see Fig. 1) obviously love me, and sent this beautiful birthday card. Blanco took the unprecedented step of shaving before the picture was taken, and Rondo appears to have stopped cussing, at least briefly. Not everyone is fortunate enough to ever know such devotion. To be honest, neither of these boys is particularly blessed with a gift for tender heartfelt expression, and their twist on the usual birthday song lyrics betrays a wee bit of that. But you can be sure their hearts are in it.

My warmest thanks to a few friends who popped by with kind birthday wishes in the Siamese Cats discussion immediately below.

My God, I can't believe I'm 101.

Siamese Cats

Siamese cats scare the hell out of me.

They are taking over the neighbourhood, and my street is next!!!

Before the Big Bang

This is just before the rose-coloured glasses.

Potential Reunion Buoys Mary Carol Anne

Update:
As I had suggested, my youngest son, Rondo (pictured above, 68 yrs), is in fact looking for me. However, I believe that this time he truly hopes to "mend fences". I had unfairly assumed that he was again cooking up a scheme whereby I would be the hapless victim of yet another grand piano falling from high above, just like in 1979. And 1983.

But the news now is good - Rondo is in town, and offering to meet me in a public place for lunch. He sent the photo above so that I'll recognize him. Unfortunately, it appears that while out of my auspices he learned at least one new word (you may have noticed), and this, of course, just as I'm doing absolutely everything in my power to institute this bloody Gentler Language© standard. Christ almighty.

On Blanco:
Blanco is home again (hat tip to the FBI who found themselves unexpectedly in Chatham with a bit of free time). Turns out he was at the bowling alley, as suggested a while back by Brunswick. He's in the yard now, on a longer leash than before (I added nearly 2 metres), and seems to be just loving it. God, what a sweetie.

_______________________
I'm not sure where Blanco is, but I think my other son is looking for me. I've been hiding on him for quite some time, but I'm afraid the worthless sap is on to me. GAH!!

What shall I do? Signed, Low Profile backstage.

Have You Seen This Boy?

This is my son. I usually keep him tied up in my yard; however, he appears to have gotten away. I have reason to believe he is in Tilbury. He's taken to smoking cigars, and now calls himself Blanco. He appears animated but considers himself way dangerous.

If you see him, please contact me ASAP.

(this cartoon was created in part using South Park Studio)

Are we having fun yet?

No problem. I'm sure my son can get this off my sunglasses.