The Oven is Lit

I've lit the oven.

The holiday cooking frenzy begins.  Today I'm making the cornbread for the dressing (no box dressing for me!), the cranberry/raspberry salad, and the pecan pie.  This evening, if I'm still so inspired, I'll chop the candied fruit for my annual fruitcake cookies because they really need to be marinating in good bourbon right about now.

Tomorrow I'll get the turkey in the brine and let it get going.  I'll get the dressing assembled and ready for the broth which I'll add Thursday morning.  I'll also boil the sweet potatoes (no canned potatoes for me!) and get the sweet potato casserole assembled.

Thursday, while the turkey roasts, I'll put together the asparagus casserole (yeah, I'm using canned asparagus) and the green bean casserole (canned, again).

After Thanksgiving, the holiday cooking frenzy begins.  The old Chambers range will probably be lit until Christmas. 

Here's my annual Home for the Holidays clip - the perfect Thanksgiving movie.  It always cracks me up.



Update:  Mmmmmmmmm - Pundette has added to my baking list.  Cranberry bread!  Perfect for keeping the starving hoards away from the pecan pie while dinner cooks!

Richard Cohen Suffering from Palin Derangement Syndrome

Richard Cohen has an especially vitriolic attack on Sarah Palin this morning in his column at The Washington Post.  Cohen has apparently been sparked this morning by a HuffPo piece which criticizes Palin for taking a "cheap shot" at Michelle Obama.  Both Cohen and Geoffrey Dunn of HuffPo suggest Palin is an ignorant racist.

Cohen also manages to take a swipe at Cindy McCain:

It is Sarah Palin who brings back these memories [of America as an "apartheid nation"]. In her new book, she reportedly takes Michelle Obama to task for her supposedly infamous remark from the 2008 campaign: "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback." Instantly, Republicans pounced. Among the first to do so was Cindy McCain, who said, "I have and always will be proud of my country." It was a cheap shot, but her husband's selection of Palin for the ticket and plenty of cheap shots from Palin ("death panels," etc.) were yet to come.

For all the explanation and walk backs of Michelle Obama's much discussed remark, I still contend that no matter the context, it still means the same thing.  She wasn't proud of America until Barack started doing well in the primaries. 

As much as Cohen chooses to criticize Palin for her failure to "appreciate the history of  the Obama family," it seems to me that Cohen is turning an equally blind eye to what Michelle's comment really meant.  If Palin doesn't appreciate the history of the Obamas, isn't it equally true that Michelle was not appreciative of American accomplishments or American history?

Yes, slavery was a nasty chapter in American history.  Yes, Michelle's ancestors were slaves. Does this preclude her from appreciating anything else about American history since then?  Or before?  According to Cohen, it does:

Why do politicians such as Palin and commentators such as Glenn Beck insist that African Americans go blank on their own history - as blank as apparently Palin and Beck are themselves? Why must they insist that blacks join them in embracing a repellent history that once caused America to go to war with itself?

Nobody is suggesting that African Americans "go blank on their own history."  In fact, last time I checked my calendar, February is devoted to African American history.  In fact, earlier this year Beck did a series on African America Founders to highlight the accomplishments of black founders not normally covered in American History classes.

No, all this comes down to is Cohen displaying his Palin Derangement Syndrome:

Sarah Palin teases that she might run for president. But she is unqualified - not just in the (let me count the) usual ways, but because she does not know the country. 

I'm guessing he isn't voting for Bristol in Dancing With the Stars.

Update:  Powerline concurs.

The Cat and the Golden Tree

Sounds like a good title for a book!

Obama Around the Web

A quick check of how The Won is faring in the press this week:


On the Middle East peace process:

Instead of becoming a heady triumph of his diplomatic skill and special insight, Obama’s peace process is viewed almost universally in Israel as a mistake-riddled fantasy.

On the nukes issue:

So has nothing changed in the past quarter-century? In fact, almost everything has - especially when it comes to nuclear arms control and Israel's national objectives. What hasn't changed, it seems, is Barack Obama - who has led his administration into a foreign policy time warp that is sapping its strength abroad and at home.

On the TSA gropings:

"I think the American people are worried when they see an administration worried about reading Miranda rights to the underwear bomber," Jindal said. "[They're] so worried about rights of the terrorists, what about the rights of innocent American travelers?"

On the psyche of the American people:

It appears that Obama is literally driving us crazy. According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20% of Americans had some form of mental illness in 2009. Which they attribute to unemployment, not the accumulated effect of listening to Barry's teleprompter speak almost daily.

On the outcome of the Ghailani trial:

Obama & Company have been called the Keystone Cops too many times to count. But they are far, far worse than mere incompetents.  They are blowhards who believe in their own mental and moral superiority to the point where they put all Americans at gratuitous risk.

On Obama's failure at the G20:

Has there ever been a major economic summit where a U.S. President and his Treasury Secretary were as thoroughly rebuffed as they were at this week's G-20 meeting in Seoul? We can't think of one. President Obama failed to achieve any of his main goals while getting pounded by other world leaders for failing U.S. policies and lagging growth.

The bloom is off the rose.

(Cross posted at Potluck)

Bobby Jindal Sounds Off on TSA Groping

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal spoke out against the TSA screenings in an interview on Meet the Press yesterday:

I think that the American people are worried when they see an administration worried about reading Miranda rights to the underwear bomber. They worry when they see an administration committed to civilian trials. They wonder, "You're so worried about the rights of the terrorists , what about the rights of the innocent American traveler ?" So, absolutely, I'm concerned that out of political correctness , they're screening people they don't really believe to be dangerous.

Jindal makes a valid point with regard to political correctness; we've gone far amok there.  Jindal does not suggest we go to profiling but does suggest we use "the information we know," the intel we already have such as travel patterns, how the ticket was purchased, is it a one way ticket, etc.


Jindal makes the case that this administration needs to accept the fact that the war on terror is culture clash against an enemy who simply hates our way of life; they are not misunderstood, disadvantaged individuals who are seeking us out, but well financed, educated extremists who hate us and are willing to sacrifice their lives to kill us.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Additonally, Jindal insists he is not running in 2012 but does leave the door open for a VP invitation. 


In Louisiana, not everyone believes this.  Jarvis DeBerry writes:

If Jindal really has the job he wants, it's fair to ask why he hasn't exhibited more passion for solving Louisiana's problems. Could it be that solving this state's problems in a sensible way would make him less attractive as a Republican presidential nominee?

Jindal has been under fire here at home for his cuts to higher education and his extensive travels across the country as he attends fundraisers for GOP candidates and now promotes his new book.


C. B. Forgotston, a Louisiana blogger, attorney, political pundit and former Chief Counsel for the Appropriations Committee of the Louisiana House of Representatives, has long been nipping at Jindal's heels. Forgotston has been one of Jindal's most vocal critics on the issue of transparency in government, or lack of it.

Jindal is now under fire for his questionable appointments to fill three offices in Creola, a village in central Louisiana who recently recalled three of its elected officials.

All this to say, of course, that while some on the national scene see Jindal as one of the rising stars of the Republican party, there are plenty in Louisiana who see him differently.  That said, Jindal is correct in his assessment of the TSA screenings and the Obami approach to the war on terror.

One of the points George W. Bush makes in his memoir, Decision Points, is that on 9/11 as he was insisting on returning to the White House, he did not want the terrorists to have that small victory of seeing him scurrying to new locations whenever a new threat arose.  He didn't want to be manipulated. 

With these new TSA screenings, the terrorists have certainly achieved another victory as American citizens are being groped and humiliated in airports across the country.  It's incumbent on us to utilize better methods available to us than invasive searches or full body scanners.  The bomb sensing scanners were a flop but the technology exists and could be adapted.

I think in the end that Jindal is correct on one point.  We need to use common sense along with the intel we have.  Luck isn't a strategy and we need to get over the excessive political correctness.

(More at Memeorandum)

Take a Trip to The Ansel Adams Exhibit

Steve and I are just back from the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Norton Art Gallery; I have to admit, it was pretty awesome. 

We really like the Norton and try to go two or three times a year.  We always go in the spring (along with everyone else in the city) when the azaleas are in bloom.

Today we had 47 Ansel Adams prints to see.  It was hard to pick a favorite but I really did like this one:

It's hard to see here, but even the tops of the fence posts were triangular shaped, so I loved the repetition of that triangle pattern; then you had the vertical and horizontal thing going...it was just really neat.

I liked this one, too:

It's a Buddhist burial site and was taken in Hawaii.

This one was cool, too:

What is it about an ice storm that makes us all take out the camera?

Of course, there are other things to see at the Norton, too:

Marilyn was there, and so was Monet:

After a quick run through the rest of the gallery we went outside to walk the grounds.  The hardwoods were gorgeous and the falling leaves floating in the water...

Loved the yellow blooming tree - not sure what it is:

It looks like a giant bouquet growing out of the ground.

We left, had an early steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse and are now safely settled in for the evening.  I'm back to Decision Points for the evening.  Tomorrow, the cooking begins.

Sunday Stuff

I had a request for my recipe for the cranberry congealed salad mentioned in my FMJRA post yesterday, so here it is!  It's good stuff!


1 oz. package raspberry flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 16 oz. can whole-berry cranberry sauce
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped pecans
lettuce leaves
garnishes:  celery leaves, fresh cranberries


Combine gelatin and boiling water, stirring 2 minutes or until gelatin dissolves.  Chill until mixture is the consistency of unbeaten egg white.  Stir in cranberry sauce, celery, and pecans.  Spoon mixture into lightly oiled individual molds or a 4-cup mold.  Cover and chill until firm.  Unmold onto lettuce lined plates.  Garnish, if desired.  8 servings.


This recipe came from the Southern Living Christmas Book.


I'm making my final list of things I need to pick up to get Thursday's meal together, then Steve and I are headed to the Norton today to check out the Ansel Adams exhibit. 


No politics today.

Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: The I'm Thankful for Good Books Edition

It's been a grey and gloomy day around here; cold and damp.  I have a big pot of taco soup on the stove and am watching LSU about to blow this game against Ole Miss.

The good news is that I'm out of school for a week for Thanksgiving break!  I'll be cooking this year, as I do every year, and we'll all eat until we're about to explode.  I do all the traditional stuff: turkey (brined), cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, an asparagus casserole (with cream of mushroom soup and hard boiled eggs, lots of cheese on top), and I do a congealed cranberry/raspberry salad with pecans which Steve and I both love.

I'm about over the crud I've had for a couple of weeks, but Steve caught it and had to go to the doctor for meds and celestone.  Then The Teenager got sick yesterday and I took him in this morning and he also got meds and celestone.  It's official now; the whole house is sick.

After we left the doctor's office this morning, The Teenager asked to stop at Barnes & Noble to get something to read (because he only has two books on his 'to be read' stack).  I let him browse around and while he did I picked up Devil at My Heels by Louis Zamperini.  I'd never heard of him, and it looked interesting, so I tucked it in my stack.  On the way to the checkout counter I saw Laura Hillenbrand's book, Unbroken, and found it's about the same guy.  Well.  I liked Seabiscuit, and I thought about picking this new book up, too, but then I wondered, why would I want to read her version of his life when I can just read his?  So, I got Devil at My Heels and left Unbroken at the store.  Maybe later I'll want to go read Hillenbrand's book.  Maybe they're setting it up for a movie.  Don't know.

Let's do some links; I've got taco soup and good books waiting for me:

Professor Jacobson is making predictions.  I'm with ya on that Gitmo thing,  Professor.

Althouse links the circulating new slogans for the TSA.

Another Black Conservative points out that Nancy Pelosi is ... not all there.

American Power responds to Mona Charen as to whether or not Sarah Palin should run in 2012.

Adrienne has ten things you need to know about the DREAM act.

Pirate's Cove is keeping an eye on Fred Upton and wants to check his bulbs.

Mind Numbed Robot is cracking jokes.

The Daley Gator has Gloria Allred at her worst, which is going some...

I miss Smitty, already.

Pundette is liking some Mike Pence right now.

Fuzzy takes a new look at John Boehner.

Finally, my friend Kim has a cooking blog and since it's Thanksgiving, you should check out her good stuff!

I know, it's short this week, but so has my blogging been short this week.  Besides, LSU just scored and they're giving me heart attacks.  I have to go get a Sam Adams and some soup.  And a good book.  Have a good Saturday.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

Eric Holder Must Go

Two excellent pieces calling for the firing of Eric Holder:  one from the Wall Street Journal and one over at Hot Air.

In short:

The right policy is to separate the laws of war from the laws of civilian society. Burglars and muggers should be tried in civilian courts. Unlawful enemy combatants captured on the battlefield deserve to be held in Guantanamo and tried in military commissions. And if Mr. Holder can't tell the difference, he should find a new job.

Exactly.

Of course, the New York Times thinks Holder did a fine job, a fine job!  Way to go, Eric!

The verdict in the first federal trial of a former Guantánamo detainee has unleashed the usual chest-thumping and fear-mongering from the usual politicians. They are disappointed that the defendant was only convicted of one count of conspiring to blow up American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 — a crime for which he will probably serve a life sentence. 

Figures.

Not Guilty of the Mass Murder of 224 People

The Ghailani verdict is stunning.  It absolutely stuns me how close this terrorist came to being found "not guilty" and technically having to be set free.  Would Team Obama have set him free?

As everyone knows by now:

Ahmed Ghailani, an al Qaeda terrorist who conspired to blow up American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, was acquitted of more than 280 charges, including one count of murder for each of the 224 people killed in the simultaneous attacks. The jury found Ghailani guilty of only one charge: conspiracy to destroy U.S. government buildings.
 

Over at Hot Air, Allahpundit wonders:

If he had walked, Obama would now be in the excruciating position of having to decide whether to let him go, which would be an utter political disaster, or to re-arrest him and hold him on some sort of preventive detention grounds, which would be a civil libertarian nightmare (and a political disaster among his base). 

Thomas Joscelyn wants to know:

It is a mystery how the jury could find that these facts failed to add up to a guilty verdict on all of the murder counts. How can a terrorist be guilty of conspiring to blow up two buildings, but then be found not guilty of the ensuing deaths?

The White House is "pleased" with the verdict.  Hell yeah, they are.  That one "guilty" verdict saved them from a PR nightmare.

Liz Cheney at Keep America Safe has issued this statement:

“Bad ideas have dangerous consequences. The Obama Administration recklessly insisted on a civilian trial for Ahmed Ghailani, and rolled the dice in a time of war. The Department of Justice says it’s pleased by the verdict. Ask the families of the victims if they’re pleased. And this result isn’t just embarrassing. It’s dangerous. It signals weakness in a time of war. The Ghailani trial was supposed to be a test case for future trials of 9/11 terrorists. We urge the president: End this reckless experiment. Reverse course. Use the military commissions at Guantanamo that Congress has authorized. And, above all--accept the fact that we are at war.”

I would agree with the many other pundits this morning who suggest that this puts the final nail in the coffin to holding the KSM trial in NYC.  Could the administration risk a "not guilty" on the 9/11 mastermind? 

This verdict shows that terrorists need to be tried by military commissions and they need to be tried at GITMO. 

Charles Krauthammer said on Special Report last night that he believes this verdict means Gitmo stays open and stays open for good.  I'd have to agree, there.

What an amateurish, and nearly costly blunder, by the administration.  Children playing where grownups should be.

Follow the rest at Memeorandum.

Is This Offensive To You?

The perpetually unhinged Andrew Sullivan is entering a few new "code words" into the lexicon of racism today.  Apparently it is now RAAAAACIST to call anyone a "juvenile delinquent" or to use the word "graffiti" or "gang."  The gang at the coffee pot this morning will be interested in learning they are now part of a racist conspiracy.  

Sullivan's defense will likely be that it's the "context," so please, what's "racist" about saying "Obama and his gang"?   Are we so politically correct now that we must say "Obama and his appointed Cabinet members, czars and advisers" when we refer to those people in Washington who are dismantling America as we know it?  This pushes the "racism" canard a little too far methinks.

Is this picture "racist" to you?  Sullivan thinks so. 

(H/T:  Memeorandum)

Dr. Death Panel Testifies Today

Dr. Donald "Death Panel" Berwick is scheduled to testify before the Senate Finance Committee this morning but I'm not expecting any fireworks.  According to Politico, the meeting will be an abbreviated one:

Senate Republicans speculated Tuesday that CMS Administrator Don Berwick’s hearing is likely to close after one hour this morning, and they’re not happy about it. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., and Senate votes are tentatively scheduled to start an hour later– a convenient reason for Democrats to gavel the hearing out. After waiting this long to hear from Berwick, Republicans want some more time with him. 

Convenient for the Dems, no dobut.  Berwick, as you recall, was given a recess appointment and has not been grilled by Senate republicans on his policies, plans, or love of rationing as of yet.


His testimony today is scheduled for 10 ET.

Related:

Red State:  Rationer-In-Chief of ObamaCare
American Spectator:  Don Berwick's Death Panel?

Hendrik Hertzberg Doesn't Think Much of the American Voter

I've written so much against Obamacare (177 posts, to be exact) that I'm not sure I have one more post in me about it; I ranted and railed against the bill and most of its provisions for months and then when it passed in March something in me just died.  I could not believe it.

My copy of The New Yorker arrived today which I only still take for the fiction and the cartoons; the political opinions I can do without.  I try to scan through "The Talk of the Town" section just to get a glimpse of the other side, but sometimes I can't get through it without screaming out in rage and throwing the rag into the wall.  Such was my experience with Hendrik Hertzberg's column, "Electoral Dissonance."

Hertzberg begins his piece as an analysis of the mid-term elections but wastes no time in taking swipes not only at Republicans but at the poor dumb American voter who was too stupid to realize that it was all the Republican's fault that we're in the mess we're in right now:

As for “the American people” themselves, it seems clear enough that their rejection of the Democrats was, above all, an expression of angry anxiety about the ongoing economic firestorm. Though ignited and fanned by an out-of-control financial industry and its (mostly) conservative political and intellectual enablers, the fire has burned hottest since the 2008 Democratic sweep. By the time the flames reached their height, the arsonists had slunk off, and only the firemen were left for people to take out their ire on.

Hertzberg's "fireman" analogy is somewhat akin, I guess, to Obama's earlier demand that conservatives just "get a mop" and help clean up the mess:

“I don’t mind cleaning up the mess that some other folks made, that’s what I signed up to do," Obama said. “But while I’m there mopping the floor I don’t want someone saying ‘You’re not mopping fast enough or you’re not holding the mop the right way.’ Grab a mop! Why don’t you help clean up?”

Mr. Hertzberg may have forgotten that George W. Bush tried to enact reform to stem the economic crisis, to reign in Fannie and Freddie, but the Democratic Congress wouldn't jump.  It's not exactly accurate for Mr. Hertzberg to put all of the blame in the laps of the Republicans.

Yet, it's the poor dumb American voter who just doesn't understand:

Frightened by joblessness, “the American people” rewarded the party that not only opposed the stimulus but also blocked the extension of unemployment benefits. Alarmed by a ballooning national debt, they rewarded the party that not only transformed budget surpluses into budget deficits but also proposes to inflate the debt by hundreds of billions with a permanent tax cut for the least needy two per cent. Frustrated by what they see as inaction, they rewarded the party that not only fought every effort to mitigate the crisis but also forced the watering down of whatever it couldn’t block.

I'll agree with Hertzberg on the fact that voters are "alarmed by a ballooning national debt."  Obamacare alone has added $917 billion in new entitlements, although Hertzberg doesn't seem to blame the Democrats for that.  In fact, he falls back on Obama's favorite explanation that the message just wasn't delivered clearly enough to the poor, dumb American voter. "Another part of the problem," he says "is public ignorance."

Hertzberg laments the misinformation and ignorance of the average American on several topics including:

The health-care law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says, will bring the deficit down.

This is pure misinformation.  This one statement is one that I have railed about for months.  This is as much a lie as Obama's statement that you can keep your health insurance.

By now it would seem that everyone (except Mr. Hertzberg, it appears) knows that the CBO score is skewed.  There are many problems with the way the CBO scored the bill, most of which include trickery by the Demorcrats just to get the score they wanted, such as the "doc fix."  Equally egregious is the evisceration of Medicare that is to come.  When Hertzberg and the Dems say that Obamacare will lower the deficit, what they are not saying is that  they've got to raise taxes, raze Medicare and deceive the CBO to get to that statement.

What you're left with is a new entitlement program that most Americans now realize we can't afford and which strips them of the freedom to manage their own health care decisions.

Hertzberg closes with this thought:

There will be no more transformative legislation; it will be all Obama can do simply to protect health-care reform from sabotage. The economy, like the climate, will be left to fend for itself. And the world will watch, wonder, and worry

All I can say is thank GOD there will be "no more transformative legislation."  I think the voters have spoken, and I don't think they're in the dark anymore.

Christmas Open House at Second Hand Rose

We're back from our afternoon at Second Hand Rose!  I found this stack of "paper" on the third floor, just spilling out of a pile of boxes.  When Milly buys estates sometimes it includes "paper" and you never know what kind of treasures you'll find.  She was showing Steve a calendar today from 1944;  Steve was pointing to specific dates marveling at the history from that year.  Milly also had a scrapbook of antique valentines that was awesome.  I wanted to sit down and rifle through these letters, bills and scraps, but didn't have the energy.

I didn't take a lot of pictures today because I'm still feeling sort of punk from this head cold.  I just didn't have the energy today to do much but aimlessly wander the shop and play with the dogs.  Today was the Christmas Open House and several of the stores downtown were open.  They had some sort of game thing going on where if you visited each participating store and collect a game piece from all of them, you're entered into some sort of drawing for fabulous prizes.  Milly's was one of those stores.

Milly had lots of new stuff.  Steve and I both liked these crates:

Don't have a clue what we'd do with them, but they were neat.

How about an armadillo to sit on your bookshelf?

This armadillo is sitting on a neat Hoosier cabinet with one of those built in flour sifters up top and a metal lined bin at the bottom.  Steve really liked the cabinet, but again, no room for it!

Milly, Debbie, and the dogs were all decked out for Christmas:

Milly sang several Christmas carols for us and again, I wish I'd had more energy or I'd have done a video, but I'm sure she'll give me another chance!

This is cute, and I could use it right about now:

So what did we come home with today?  Well, Steve bought "Give Me a Penny" because he makes us laugh.  He also bought me a cute tiger pin from the '60s.  And he bought a cute clothespin baby doll for me that's wrapped in an old antique quilt.

I bought The Story of Cuba for a price that convinced Steve it must be hollowed out and filled with diamonds.

And you know me...I always have my eye on something for next time:

It's prettier than it looks here; it's sterling and has sparkly crystals in the legs and neck.  I love it.

I'm sure we'll make another trip over before Christmas; I'll get video next time!  Meanwhile, I'm going to get under the covers, finish my Laura Bush book and nurse this cold. 

Sunday Open Thread

Here's a photo from The Times gallery of yesterday's Highland Jazz and Blues Festival.  That's me, Steve, and my brother Hutch sitting out there in the cold, probably between acts, here. 

The FMJRA will be delayed until later; Steve and I are getting ready to head over to Milly Rose's Christmas Open House today.  Today, the sun is shining!  Yesterday - it wasn't.

What are your Sunday plans?

Photo Credit:  Val Horvath/The Times

Turkey Legs, Camera Cards, and The Highland Jazz Festival

The Highland Jazz and Blues Festival was today and there I was, head cold and all, right out there in it!  The skies were gray and the wind was cold, but we toughed it out and it was worth it.

What really sucks, though, is that I lost my memory card for my camera.  I discovered this last night, so I went right out to Best Buy today to get a new one so I could record parts of the festival today.  Naturally, of course, I get out there and my camera "can't read" the card.  I fussed with it for a while, totally missing the entire 25 minute set of Robin and the Bluebirds, before I called Steve and had him pick up my back-up card before meeting me there.

The back-up card was too small; that is to say that 10 pictures and one video and the thing was full and even then the video just converted to sound only.  SUCKS!

So I have no great evidence or things to share with you from the Highland Jazz Festival today except this shot of turkey legs.

The video I shot was GREAT:  it was David Egan, who was fabulous, and he called Miki Honeycutt up from the audience to do "Sing it One More Time Like That."  It was great. Great!  I don't have it.  But, there were lots of other folks filming, so I'll watch YouTube and see if something shows up.

Beyond all that camera drama, the day was still fun.  Steve and I had a great time looking at all the dogs that were there.  We saw a German Short hair Pointer named "Bird", several Labs, several Pits, big BIG dogs, little dogs, and everything in between. 

What is so fun about the Highland Jazz and Blues Festival is people watching.  Old people, young people, kids, hippies, ex-hippies, artsy people, business people, black, white, hispanic, asian people, and everyone knows each other.  Old friends meet and hug, people you haven't seen in thirty years, new friends, kids with hula hoops and chicks dancing alone.  Every kind of person you can imagine is there and is having a good time.

Of course I thought about Rocque.  He wasn't there last year, but the year before I took this picture of him and we sat together after running into each other there.  I stood in the same spot where we had been and said a little prayer and offered a little toast to him.  He was there.  He was, I suspect, really enjoying David Egan, who was just great!

You know, I realize the logistics would be a nightmare, but I would love to see a reunion band at The Highland Festival.  I mean, get Buddy Flett, Miki Honeycutt, and the usual suspects, but pull in some surprises like Hassell Teekell, Michael Coker, Dennis Zimmerman, Michael Grady, some of the old Southpaw folks....the possibilities abound.  But I promise you, people would turn out to see it.

So, tomorrow we're off to Milly Rose's Christmas Open House.  I was hoping to video her singing something tomorrow but I'll have to figure out this camera card deal first.  Drat.  Meanwhile, I'm going to fix some hot toddy something or other and knock the chill off.  The FMJRA will be delayed until tomorrow.

Highland Jazz and Blues Fest

Robin and the Bluebirds

Did Rubio and Haley "Out Jindal-Jindal"?

A drive-by post here...

...I have a cold and and I'm stuffy, sleepy and cranky.  I find it better not to blog in such cases or else I say things I'm sorry for later.

I'm off to work extra early this morning as I have an ever growing stack of reports and documentation due and need to get it done before Monday morning.  I was up at midnight working on them because it was all swirling in my head and I couldn't sleep.  I had a to-do list of some 28 things.  Oh and there are classes to teach, too. 

We're still planning on doing the Highland Jazz and Blues Festival tomorrow; the weather calls for some rain in the morning but then it's moving on out.  It should be fine for festival time but maybe a little damp at first!

A couple of good posts this morning via The Dead Pelican which I wish I could go in to in more detail.  Speculation is that Bobby Jindal has peaked and is fading, especially now with the "arrival" of Marco Rubio.  Many in Louisiana have complained long and hard about Jindal's frequent jaunts around the country to attend fundraisers for Republican candidates rather than stay in Louisiana and take care of the state.  Now he's out and about promoting his book. 

This is, of course, not exactly as defensible as fundraising for the party and has raised hackles among some.  Read Stephanie Grace in NOLA and The Hayride on the book tour.  There's some wiggle room in both cases.  But did Rubio "out Jindal-Jindal"?  The case seems to be that between Nikki Haley and Marco Rubio, Jindal's "brand" isn't as marketable as it was.  He missed his window.

Now I don't know about all that.  As I said, there's some wiggle room there.  I'd be looking more to policy than ethnicity, actually.  But I see the point.

At any rate, check those out and leave your thoughts.

I'll check back later.

Photo credit:  Charles Dharapak, The Associated Press

History Lesson

Via The Corner, here's a Veteran's Day history.

Veteran's Day 2010

It's Veteran's Day.  Thank a veteran today for his service. 

Hey La La La, Hey La La La!

I know probably nobody really watches videos embedded in blogs because, well, blogs are sort of quick hits, you know?  And you don't really visit blogs to watch music videos.  But, sometimes when life gets toooooo busy and too heavy and things feel like they're crashing in music makes it better.

I know Dave Matthews is a huge lib, but I'm willing to over look it.  He hooks me on this one about 2:10 but at 2:43 into this one, my heart soars and I'm flying with Dave the rest of the way.

Hey la la la, hey la la la!  Makes me want to roll down the windows and sing LOUD!

It's on my iPod.

Stacy Hits 5,000,000!

Congratulations to Stacy & Smitty who hit 5,000,000 today! 

It couldn't happen to a nice couple of guys! 

Meanwhile, I'm still working toward the 200,000 mark.  Yeah.  Some days are like that.

Tuesday Sift

This is shaping up to be a busy week and I'm not getting much blogging done, it seems.  Yesterday was non-stop all day long; I finally sat down, literally, for the first time at 6:15 p.m.

Today I've been designated to give the PLAN test which means no planning period and no break all day.

Tomorrow looks wicked as well.

Oh well.  Life rocks on.  I'm 2/3 of the way through the Laura Bush book and I guess Decision Points will arrive in the mail in a day or two; however fast Amazon feels like getting it here.

I got an email from Milly Rose inviting Steve and I to her Christmas Open House at the shop Sunday; we'll definitely be doing that!  Pictures, of course, will follow.  Highland Jazz & Blues Festival Saturday. 

A quick sift of the news makes me wish I had time to fisk Richard  Cohen's column today in the Washington Post.  How ridiculous he is.  I bet he has a Michael Moore poster over his bed.

Aaron Goldstein has some interesting observations about the "jihad" question everyone is talking about this morning; or rather the response to the jihad question.  Goldstein has some questions of his own.

Stephen F. Hayes has a great profile of Marco Rubio.

I've got to run.  Testing awaits.  Happy Tuesday.

Must Have Clapton

Mondays.

Mondays after a time change.

I need some Clapton.

Shhh! Reading.

I've been quiet the past couple of days because I'm busy reading.  I'm trying to finish Laura Bush's book before George's book hits my mailbox this week. 

There's something about the onset of cooler weather that makes me long to just curl up on the couch with a dog next to me and read a book.   I always have a stack of books waiting to be read and always feel "behind."  I think I have an unhealthy compulsion when it comes to buying books.  I pass as many along to others as I can, although there are some that I just want to keep and re-read. 

As far as Laura's book, I'm really enjoying it.  She has a lovely, easy style in her prose and I've been sort of surprised at the very personal, and not always flattering, things she reveals. 

She writes of her ailing father and how it just never crossed their minds to have him brought to the inauguration when George was sworn in as the governor of Texas.  Her mother was there, but they thought it would be too difficult to bring her father, who by then needed an aide and a wheelchair.  Mrs. Bush writes that at one point during the ceremony she looked into the crowd and saw an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair sitting there and you can feel the pain and remorse at her neglect to make the extra effort to have her father there. 

It's been an absorbing read so far and if you haven't read it, I'd recommend it. 

Otherwise, it's been a quiet weekend.  We went to The Vintage last night for our steak dinner and felt like total rubes when we opened the heavy menus to discover they light up.  Steve was looking around the dark room trying to figure out how he was going to read the menu, I was fishing in my purse for my little flashlight and voila!  He opened his menu and it lit up.  Country comes to town.

I heard from a couple of my Bama friends over the weekend; our friend Ray called me from Massachusetts with a hearty "Roooollllll Tide!" before the game.  I got back to him after the game, "Heh, heh, heh!"  Good times.

All in all, a nice weekend and a busy week to come.  Don't forget Veteran's Day this week.  Did you read today's Beetle Baily comic strip?