Go Navy !

I think the Whole World is in awe of Our fantastic Navy Seals, who were able to take-out 3 of the 4 pirate / terrorists holding the American Ship's Captain hostage.
I'm also impressed that President Obama had no qualms about authorizing deadly force to deal with this scum. Most people can't even imagine the precision marksmanship it took for those Seals, on one bobbing and rolling vessel at sea, to hit their targets on another, (much smaller), vessel, with even more motion on the high seas. The fact that they took all of the pirates out of play before they could shoot the Captain, is nothing short of miraculous ! The sad part of this tale is that there are still 200+ people, aboard several ships, who are still held captive in Somali territorial waters.

This is a country that has had No government or legal structure since the Clinton administration's ill-fated "Blackhawk Down" incident in the 90's. When we sent Cruise missiles in there to take out Bin Laden's chemical weapons factory, we should have followed up with a brigade or two of Marines, and put all those warlords on notice, that if we see you armed, you are dead meat !

By now, those innocent civilians would have some sort of leadership structure, and even if it were radical Islamists, even that would be better than what they have now ! After our horrible experience there, it's a small wonder that the United Nations, nor any country has tried to bring a stop to the violence and anarchy that rules this sorry part of Africa, and that says a lot about Courage and Principles in the 21st Century !

Back To The Future Past !

Hello Folks, I'm smiling and absolutely "chirpy" this morning!
The reason for my elevated mood level, is that as we speak, (read, write, type, whatever), a nice young man is crawling around outside, drilling holes in my walls.
Now, normally when I tell people about someone drilling holes in my walls, I soon have a visit from these nice fellows in white lab coats, who want to give me a ride in their nice padded Van.
This time it's different, and I know he's real because my neighbor spoke to him as she was leaving for work. Plus, I can go online and see where my bank account was debited by AT&T for installation of my New Direct TV dish ! Hooray !
After 5 months in my new place, watching furry pictures on Broadcast TV, aided by 'rabbit ears' of uncertain age, I will at last have Real TV !

Now, you've got to understand that I'm not much of a Television guy. I love History Channel, Food Networks, and all the news I can watch, but I spend too much time Online here at the Webernets to allow for much viewing of 'the idiot box'.

There are a few shows that I like to watch on a regular basis. Two and a half Men, NCIS, Without a Trace, and lately, on my friend TJ's advice, I've been watching Friday Night Lights.

So, my man is gone, and I'm about to hook up my Deluxe Home Theater system for the first time, and blow the neighbor's ears off to repay him for his 3:AM jam sessions ! LoL
More later, Herm

Build A Better Blog in 31 Days !

Hello There BlogReadingans,

Today, April 6th, I began this month-long course through My Blog Guru, Darren Rowse's ProBlogger.com site. If you aren't familiar with Darren, and if you are an avid Photographer or Blogger, you need to Check him Out.
Today's assignment was "How to write an "Elevator Pitch" for your Blog", which told us what an Elevator Pitch was, and how to write or Improve our blog's tagline, and how to work your Elevator Pitch into more than a catch phrase or 'hook' that encourages folks to read your postings. You really really observant peeps will have noticed that I expanded the Head picture of "Change", and added a bit to my blogs title pitch.

The Blog I'm going to focus most of this new-found wisdom on is my old "Casual Catering" blog on my new Domain. That Blog's niche is going to be about "How to Cook", and will be about simple cooking techniques and terminology, that will allow you to cook all the Great Recipes you find on the ten Million Foodie Blogs in the Blogoverse. Here's one of the best "Foodie" sites that I visit: "Off Her Cork".

Isn't it Nice ?

Isn’t it nice to have a First Family We can be Proud of ?.

This week’s G-20 Summit has been a great success, with President Obama making an excellent impression with both his knowledge of World Affairs, and his Candor, as well as his easy rapport with the citizens and press of our EU allies.
Michelle Obama so impressed “The Queen”, that there was a rare display of emotion from the notoriously steely and reserved Monarch.

Not since JFK and Jackie have a First Family made such a splash with the World press on their first outing on the International Stage.
I have a feeling that the Agreements and Policies coming out of this Summit will also be substantive, and do positive things to the World’s struggling economic institutions.

I’m confident that most Americans share my pride and joy at having such fine representatives out there repairing our damaged alliances and friendships, and I urge all of you to express your positive feelings at “TheWhiteHouse.gov”.
The “Office of Public Liaison” page is the place to do it !
Thanks for Visiting; HoosierHerm

The sympathy mangles the overlong baby.

Yes, That's another RGS, Title, that has absolutely nothing to do with the post ! I just can't get enough of the Damn things !
This post is about an interview I just listened to on NPR with John Mellencamp. Now, some of you may know that I've got a long and contentious relationship with John, that dates back to the late seventies, early eighties. We just naturally didn't like each other, and despite a number of mutual friends, we never got along real well. I liked his music, and his band liked my "Party Favors" I would bring to every local gig.
We got along somewhat better, or at least treated each other with respect while our kids were in high school together, but I never really liked John's personality until he had his little heart-attack in 1994, and realized he was Mortal !
His music, and his attitude both improved greatly, and has now evolved Back to Folk !

He discusses his latest album, which apparently is just him and his acoustic guitar, and there are three of the new songs on the site you can listen to, and he plays those and some other stuff during the interview. The Interview is linked to both the NPR above, and to the Post Title, so if you are interested, I think it's worth a listen !

A New Game / Puzzle ? Whatchamaycallit

KelWhy had this brilliant idea, and TJ liked it too, So here's mine !

Here's the Challenge ; Use only 1 Band.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to a gazillion people and include me. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think...


Name The Artist: The Eagles

Are you male or female: Outlaw Man

How do you feel about yourself: Peaceful Easy Feeling

Describe where you currently live: Seven Bridges Road

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Hole in The World

Your best friend is: Doolin' Dalton

Your favorite color is: Tequila Sunrise

What's the weather like: No more Cloudy Days

If your life was a tv show, what would it be called? Take it ti The Limit

What is life to you: Busy Being Fabulous.

What is the best advice you have to give: Get Over It.

If you could change your name, what would it be: James Dean

Your favorite food is: Eagles Live.

What's your favorite time of the year: Hell Freezes Over

What are you wearing? Those Shoes.

So, there you have my answers. Those of you that read this, I ask you to play along.

Oh, and if you do, please leave me a comment letting me know that you're playing along.

Thinkin' bout Music 'N History

Earlier today, while filling out a profile on iLike.comI was writing about my earliest exposure to popular music. Those early listening sessions took place on my Morgan County, Indiana schoolbus. That would have been around 1952-53 school year. Truman was President back then, and my "Old-Maid" teachers hated his picture being in their classroom, and were fond of saying, "The General's picture will be up there soon".

Back to music. We listened to WIBC AM radio out of Indianapolis. FM stations didn't exist, at least none we knew of, so the bus drivers chose the one that played the most music, because us kids were quickly bored with grain and cattle reports. Early on, we would hear a lot of country. Hank Williams, Ferlin Husky, a lot of Grand Ol' Opry people, plus Patty Page, Perry Como, Spike Jones,( almost said Spike Lee ! lol), and whatever songs were on "The Hit Parade" that week. As time went on, we began to hear some Little Richard, some Bo Diddley, and finally, about 1956, some Elvis ! Hooray !

We would pretty much all sing along, to songs like "Big John", Tennessee Ernie Ford singing "16 tons", and the novelty songs, like "One-eyed One-horned Flying Purple People Eater", and a big favorite, that nobody understood, "Hey Louis Louis". The song "Duke of Earl" was another sing-along favorite, and the high-school boys would compete for who could hit the lowest low notes in the chorus.
Now, I understand how you younger folks can have a hard time imagining a whole bus full of kids from 5 to 18 singing along with AM radio, but it was a simpler, and less self-conscious time.

OK, I'm back after the "Service Break" for Blogger!

Anyway, from the schoolbus days of music appreciation I moved on to attending some "Hootnannies", which were basically bluegrass and folk music concerts. My friend's older sister took us to some at Butler U, and then some of the cousins and church friends drove us to some in Bloominton at IU.

I think it was at those early concerts that people like Joan Baez and others began to make me politically aware. Things like civil rights, the Mine Worker's Unions, and the growth of corporate powers and the "Military-Industrial Complex" began to reach my brain. Before those days, I guess I thought that colored people, and poor folks had it just as easy as we did?
Not that we were rich, but my Mom's family made sure we never did without anything, and our parent's divorce was only scandalous to other people, to us it just meant we were free of our Dad's Nazi domination !

Anyway, Baez led to Alan Ginzburg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights Bookstore, Beatnik poets, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and me being in San Francisco for the start of the Hippy Movement, and the decline of the Haight-Ashbury. Of course my involvement with the "Scene" was a little impaired by my Navy Haircut, and a lot of people thought we were Narc's, but a chance encounter with Pigpen of the Grateful Dead, led to my friend Dave Johnson and I getting to trip with the Merry Pranksters, meet and get to know Bill Graham, ( He called us his "Silly Swabbies", for our goofy ability to always get back-stage) , and we got to meet and see people like Janis, Grace Slick, and really all the Bay Area Groups on a regular and "Up-Close" basis.

"Speed" and Tourists really spelled the end of the Haight-Ashbury, but a hard core of cool people still chose to live there, and ignore the speed freaks, cops and rip-off artists that thrived on the tourists. For anyone who has ever done much acid, you'll be impressed to know that we met "Owlsley", and had his "Orange Barrel" acid long before the masses ever heard of it!

Quicksilver Messenger Service eventually became my favorite Bay Area band, with Santana, Ten-Years After, Lee Micheals & Frosty, and then Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, and all the LA bands that spawned The Eagles, Stone Ponies, and the whole Country-Western Rock thing.

Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, Eldon Bishop, and of course The Dead, were bands that we saw, followed and partied with all the time. Procol Harem and Steppenwolf were around a lot too, and we saw Hendrix at Monterey 67, and made a lot of trips home to Santa Monica, so we could cruise "The Strip" and see folks like Mama's and Papas, Lovin' Spoonful, and tried several times to see The Doors at the Whiskey-au-Go-Go, but Morrison was always screwing up thier gigs there and at The Trip. Oh Yeah, LA groups, Saw the Beach Boys jam for free at Zuma Beach, and I think Paradise Cove, but it could have just been North Malibu? I'm drawing a big blank on this one Black artist who had like a jazz-rock fusion group that was killer, but I'll have to add their name later, like when it pops into my head at 3 AM. LoL

After all that music, and all those experiences, Today, I listen to more Country artist than I do Rock.

I hate Hip-Hop, Rap, whatever that negative, repetitive crap is the kids love to boom their bass lines of, I can't stand it, and don't think it's music, maybe dirty lewd poetry poorly done !

In recent years, Country is full of young and brilliant artists,( like my Favorite "Taylor Swift"), and the only rock bands I've liked in decades are people like Dave Mathews, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Green Day, Matchbox 20, of Course Darius and Hootie were great, and now Darius is a Country star too !