Traveling Riverside Blues

I was always a Led Zeppelin lover. I really don't know why. It is good music, I can't deny that. This song keeps popping up in my head. So now I play it for you, and you get the song stuck in your head too. Enjoy!

The Funny Thing is...

Well hmmm... So I'm writing this days in advanced. It is pretty much the only way I can update really. I hope that by now my wife is out of the hospital and all surgeries are done, I know the ERCP is done, but it could happen that we need to go back and do it again.

It is funny, or sad really that they, they being the hospital system are so dependent on individuals that it is a wonder that anything gets done, or that anyone really cares. What I'm saying is, two people could go to the same hospital, into the same ER, with the same problem.... and have completely different experiences, based on who takes care of them. And I really don't know how I could change that. I know I can't, and that is a bit frustrating.

Still all's well that ends well right? I hope so.

Cruel Joke... or Frightful Acknowledgment

So no classic film today, honestly it is a wonder I even post at all... given the events of the week. It is hard to have 1/2 of you (my wife) that is down, because I still have to pick up the slack, and that in no way says anything bad about my wife, it just states the obvious. I need her and she needs me. (I'm guessing that I need her about 100 times more than she'll ever need me, but still). And then there is the whole making sure that the sick person gets better thing.

The days sort of run together while she is away. And I'm always tired. I found that the only thing I can do to survive is take advantage of my teenage daughter (making her work for a change) and more than that, plan ahead. Think of everything you have to do and get ready for it the day before it actually happens. Bottles, breakfast, lunches, blankets, all that stuff and more (like clothes and medicine) is ready or half ready before it has to be... and that is a life saver.

Come on and hurry up and get to feeling better... because I need to take a break from the hard work you do, everyday. Maybe I'm lazy, or perhaps I'm inept, or possibly, I just married Mrs. Right and this is a friendly reminder (from god or gods or whatever) that it is so easy to lose that which you may have taken for granted. I don't and I want you home soon!

The Black Keys

The Black Keys, I have to tell you I never heard of them before but thanks to Pandora, I know everything I need to know. Their music is a bit of rock and roll a bit more blues all good. One of their videos (below) says something funny about the whole "making a video" (around 2:16) but then again you have to make one or risk the obscurity of a Pearl Jam.



Not to say that Pearl jam is obscure, but their best album was "videoized" so, they had a success that a lesser group probably would never had known. Anyway I think The Black Keys are pretty darn good, so good they have their own game called TBK Lazerz. You should go there and see if you can beat my high score of 56,000,000. Ok I didn't even make the top ten, or a million points, but is is fun. They also have a discography and a few other videos and some other stuff. Check `em out if you dare!

Ummmm, Huh?

Health Interrupted

What we have here is... A classic case, of what needs to be fixed with the healthcare dilemma. But the current reform really won't address it (the stuff being debated now) and I don't think others will either. In fact I'm not really sure this can be fixed, the what do you do when you have 2 medical events in a short span of time. I'm saying this, at least I don't think it will.

Saturday my wife went into the ER with a "hot gallbladder", she needs to have it removed. Now this will be expensive no matter what gets done, short of take her out of the hospital... and that is not going to happen. So what to do now? Well I have 3 girls to look after, diners to cook, bottles to make, all that stuff, and I got a job to do too. My wife understands, although, I may not. As you know, she has been by my side when I had the stroke, I mean, it was during the Christmas holiday... or part of it was... the other part she took sick days. Other people stepped up to watch the kids... but it was then just two kids, not a baby... Plus according to my wife it isn't like having a stroke... true, I guess, I mean yeah... but no.

Anyway to add to this problem we have the swine flu. What the hell does that have to do with it? My kids can't see momma', because the hospital says no one under 14 is allowed. That's cool, it is for their own good. Now it is hard to explain to a three year old... but anyway.

Now we wait, sit and wait, sit and wait, because my wife has no sick time... because she used it all to have the baby. No disability check... yet. So we are on the verge of financially imploding. Maybe, maybe not. We just don't know yet. If my wife makes a speedy recovery, and everything (except for her gallbladder) comes out ok, then no, but if she has a prolonged hospital stay, or complications with surgery... then only god knows.

I suppose this would be where the emergency money comes in... if I had it.

Nine in the Afternoon

This song, Nine in the Afternoon, is on Rock Band II. It is one of the teenager's favorites. Which is kind of funny, because she will sing this song loudly, whereas most songs just barely register when she sings. So with that in mind, here is Panic at the Disco, Nine in the Afternoon:

I Endorse...The Saints

Ok up until the last couple of years, I was a closet Saints fan. I mean, you kind of have to be. Because there wasn't a whole lot to be proud of when you think of their record. Well now it is different. Going into the Championship game they are 1 ranked in the NFC, and if they can go all the way... well, lets just say it would be probably the biggest reason to party in New Orleans since Drive-Thru Daiquiris was invented (yes you can get a drive-thru daiquiris in New Orleans... you aint supposed to drink it 'til you get home, *wink wink*) .

My wife keeps telling me, "Why not just be happy they got this far?" but for me it won't be resting easy until they have that super bowl ring on their hands (as the winner) . I have absolutely nothing to do with whether they win or lose, but the whole city projects itself on if they win or lose. Hell, it wasn't so long ago that when a celebrity was in town the running joke would be, have they been fitted for their Aint's bag yet.

That being said, I think this is their best chance they'll ever get. 14-45 was an impressive win, can it be repeated? God I hope so. We've a long way since sucking for the first 30 or so years. The perennial loser, going to get a shot at victory, if you ask me, that is a true life Cinderella story.

Meanwhile, I force myself into reading everyone's opinion about the the upcoming games, and they put the question mark on the Saints. Why because they have never been here before. So I guess I'll sit here and hope that the Saints can pull another one out. Not that they don't think they'll win, but until you do, they (the media) will always be on your back.

The Baby... is Sick

The baby, is sick. You know it had to happen, I mean, look she goes to daycare, as does her sister, and her other sister is in school, so there are all kinds of bugs crawling all over. Plus her mom works at a school, and her dad makes a living off of sick people, it is simply unavoidable. But when it happens it breaks us all up inside.

To hear her cough, is simply heartbreaking. I know she'll get over it. Honestly, when little kids are sick, besides the extra snot, they pretty much stay the same. She still smiles at us, she exhibits the same basic needs/wants... with maybe a bit more rest than usual.

Still my wife needs comforting, because, well just because. I do too, but not as bad. But every now and then, when she is snotting/coughing up a lung... I worry. I think that is what parents do, they worry. Worry for nothing, but still worry.

Classic Film Friday: The Awful Truth

So I figure with all the infidelity going around lately (Tiger Woods, John Edwards, David Letterman) maybe a classic film would set the mood right. Well this 1937 screwball comedy is about a couple's divorce. Irene Dunne is Lucy Warriner and Cary Grant as Jerry Warriner and they love each other.... yet hate each other (or vice versa).

The couple goes through a divorce and as you would guess (with the movie being made in 1937 and all) gets back together again. Except along the way, they both have to get rid of the other's "date" and they have to realize that they are each others "one and only". Watch as these two people figure out what everyone else already sees. This is a witty, and sometimes down right laugh out loud funny movie is just the thing.

We saw this on the Roku, I'm sure it is available on DVD as well. If only real love affairs were this simple... oh well, that is Hollywood.

My Buddy

This song keeps entering my mind when I think about life with a teenager:



Basically, if I don't make her my buddy, she gets into trouble, doesn't do right, that sort of thing. Don't you want a my buddy too?

Maybe it's Lost in Translation

Where Would You Go?

So it comes every year, right about this time... that I grow tired off the cold and start day dreaming of summer. Yes I know, it will be in the 60's, and I know we have some "cold" left to go, and I know it does not really get that cold here anyway, but I want to be warm (never-mind the mosquitoes and grass cutting). I start thinking of the warm places I know, that aren't very warm now... but it is my vacation/day dream.

You know, like Florida, that is suffering from the same cold weather that we have, so that is out. What about a cruise? Ah yes, surely they are warm, yes slip away into the not caring of the Caribbean. I don't have any money though, so I wonder... where else could I find warm? Inside a broken refrigerator? At a local area sweat shop? Perhaps in my own house in a hot bath?

I know when it gets here (the heat) I will likely be looking for somewhere cool to escape the heat. If only I cold bottle up today's cold temp and save it till July, if only. So where would you go... if money were no object? Ok now were would you go if money's tight? Would it be warm, cold, or both?

In about a month, I would go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. I haven't seen a real parade since childhood. But that is a hit or miss thing too. I want to go IF the weather is nice, not if it is raining and/or cold. Otherwise, maybe I'll look at Florida and see whenever it warms up, and visit the beach. The minimum temp is 80 though, so we have a ways to go...

I'm Just Sayin'

I'm trying to not get my panties in a wad... I really, really am. But I can't help but get them somewhat twisted when I see this: A DOG’S-EYE VIEW OF OUR TOWN Which it is a BT story, so you can take it or leave it. I know this is a fluff piece, but the "Dog" has not blogged since September. He is not exactly setting the blogosphere a fire,(look for yourself... Bugsy the Wonderdog) and certainly not deserving of a cover story, even if it is Bluffton Today.
I look at this and I can't help but wonder why. Why some people get all the attention, while others get no attention at all. Yes I know, it makes me sound bitter, but I'm not. At least I don't feel like I am. If people want to pour some love on Bugsy the Wonderdog, then by all means, pour away. I just don't see it. If people would post to their blogs more often, well then I wouldn't really have anything to say. I'm just saying, if I can post everyday, most people could make a post once a week or at least once a month. I mean come on, 12 times a year... go crazy and double it. Meanwhile BT continues to be lost.

Poor Haiti

That whole catastrophe in Haiti is awful. I don't know anyone from that area, but it seems so bad. Back in the 90's, when I was in the Army, we had Operation Uphold Democracy. And I remember the Army taking some Haitians and training them at one of the the training bases I was stationed at.

At the time, it was an area with a lot of poverty and disease. Basically third-world type stuff. The people that we were training were grateful to be here, and I can't help but wonder... what happened to them. I hope they are alright, but there is no way to know, I can't remember their names or anything else really.

I think something is lost in all this. It is the fact that we have no one to blame. Yes I know, we can blame the faulty construction, or the government for whatever. But really you can't blame anyone, unless you fault the almighty, and I don't think he/she is taking calls. I guess I should put some kind of link for aid to these people. But I wonder, and this is just me, but do wonder where and how the money was spent to aid this country in the past. I'm talking about hundreds or millions of dollars.

I'm not saying we shouldn't help them, but I am saying that we should help them in the right way, that is, so we don't find ourselves helping them out again and again.

Sweet Feet

These are very cute and very little feet. They are sweet, because they have no age, or fungus, or anything really.


Here are the same feet, with socks that look like shoes on them. When did they start making these? I have no idea, but it is genius. I just thought I would say it.

Classic Film Friday: Benji

I was kind of arm twisted into this review. Twisted by myself. It is a movie about a dog and it is a movie for the whole family of course. Benji is a lovable mutt who makes his rounds around town, goes to the Chapman's in the morning before school. Paul and Mary are the two kids that pet and love Benji, and Mary their caretaker who helps the children hide Benji from their father (because he just doesn't understand). From the Chapman's he goes and scares a cat up a tree, (the lady who has the cat is Bea Arthur but is never named in the movie). On to Officer Tuttle who you would think would take him to the pound, but he never does. Then on to Bill who owns a restaurant. and then on to his favorite trash can... because somehow he is still hungry, even though he has eaten something at every stop.

He then goes "home", to this abandoned house that he climbs up on the roof, via some trash and a trellis, goes around the house via the roof, then jumps though a broken window, then he goes downstairs. The kids love it, but the adults just think... "why?"

Well the abandoned house get's a visitor. Two guys and one girl are checking the place out, for what we really don't know, but they are happy with their selection. Meanwhile as Benji is happy just tramping around, until Tiffany that is. Tiffany is a small white dog with fluffy long hair.

So things are looking good, Benji has people who love him and a woman, what more could a dog want? Well it turns out that those visitors are kidnappers and they kidnapped the Chapman kids. And now it is up to Benji ah la Lassie to get help. But he is just a dog, a stray at that, nobody will listen to him, or will they? He leaves the abandoned house, and tries to hit all of his friends for help, but they are not there or don't want to be bother with him.

Then when things seem at their worst, he has an idea. He runs back to the abandoned house, where there is a second ransome note crumpled on the floor, he grabs it but the kidnappers grab him, and then smaller pup, Tiffany, sets him free, and incurs the wrath of the kidnapper's boot.

So now this is it, his plan has to work. He heads back to the Chapman home, note in mouth, and he tries to give the note to Mary. When it just so happens that the girl (of the kidnappers) gets the note first. Oh hell, now what? She puts it in her purse, and Mary is walking Benji back outside, when he had enough, he gets loose and grabs the purse thus shaking the note loose. Mary sees the note... and then everyone realizes that Benji knows where the kids are, and has been trying to tell them all this time.

We have a "chase scene" sorta'... everyone after Benji as he goes back to the abandoned house. The kidnappers are caught (just in time too), the children are saved, and Benji and Tiffany are heroes. The father lets the kids keep the dogs, and we live happily ever after.

I gave a full reveiw, mainly because I believe this movie is for little kids... not so much the adults. In fact, one of us fell asleep and the other one of us wished he could have. It has a slow beginning and middle but it wraps up nicely. I have the entire movie posted (via hulu) so if you have little ones, and you want an hour and a half to make dinner or whatever, this is good for that.

So NOW They Listen

The school district is now moving the attendance zones... oh my if this would have been done two years ago... I mean, I'm just saying, I think throwing children into this jumbled mess right at the end of their primary education is pretty f-ed up. Let's say you have a kid who has been with his/her schoolmates for 8 years, and then you move them.

I mean, you are moving these kids at a fragile time, picture yourself in your freshman year and you don't really know many people, all (or most) of your friends go to that other school. I would survive and adapt, but I don't know if I would flourish. Do the schools offer the same classes? Same level of teaching? Same amount of safety?

Well I would think that if they are exposed to the same conditions a little earlier in life, maybe they would be a little more ready. But maybe not. I guess I'm used to everybody coming together by the time they get to high school, this is kind of the reverse of that.

Final Public Mtg Presentation Jan 11 15 2010

View more presentations from Beaufort County School District.

Here I've posted right off their own website (The school district's) what they might do. I really don't have a dog in this fight. So I can't really say what or which way I would go. It seems crazy, but this is Beaufort County, anything is possible.

Just Let It Come

Stupid TV

Channel flipping, why? I don't know. Mainly what happens on a given night is my wife is watching whatever, falls asleep, and then I'm awake. And thus you get the channel flipping. Because nothing is really on TV. I try to hit the commercial free zones first, which are PBS and TMC. From there, I like History, Discovery, National Geographic... Science/history that is interesting and yet will put me to sleep.

Well I was looking at History and this new program called Earth 2100. This is not history, mainly because it is in the future. I like my history in the past, that is to say, I don't want to fantasize about what might happen or what could happen, I want to watch what actually happened. Hence the name... History.

I thought they were stretching the truth with the whole Clash of the Dinosaurs on Discovery. The Dinosaur looked like this and he would have ate that and it would have behaved this way... According to one way of thinking, but who is to say? That is just it... Sure you can line up these experts, and you can make some scientific guesses, but I don't know if that makes for "good TV" so they must embellish it. Replaying the same CGI crap 40 times because we didn't see it the first 39 times.

I think I would do better to just turn the danged TV off, but it is so easy to leave it on... and I keep hoping that they will have something actually viewable. But no, they really never do. I wonder if a channel will come out with 10 minute real information clips, and put 3 or 6 together and make a show like that, instead of dedicating an hour to one thing and boring us to death with it instead. That will cost more though, so I guess we will never see it.

Who is Greener Than Thou?

On politicing and so forth. My recent trip to Kentucky, revealed some problems. There you have Mountaintop removal mining and we don't really have anything to compare it to. I mean I've seen the trains loaded with coal in Spartanburg... almost daily. There is nothing like that here. What would you do if your job depended on MTR? Also, there is much to be said about what happens once the Mountaintop is removed. On one hand you get environmentalists who say nothing will grow there and you have polluted the water with all of your fill, or the other you have land, that was otherwise unusable. My brother-in-law showed me all of the things... hospital, stores, restaurants, that would have never have found a home without MTR.

I think I lean more or less to the people who say without coal mining, they would have nothing. I understand that it has an effect, a very negative effect, but I like having cheap power, and I believe the people like to have a job. Otherwise, what would you do? Until some kind of alternative is made, I don't guess it really matters does it?

I'm not against the environmentalists. I'm just for people wanting to provide for their families. Could you have it both ways? I don't see why not, but it isn't there yet.

Baby Update

Well I'm not sure if I said this or not but my daughter has tracheomalacia, which is to say some part of her esophagus/trachea is not quite fully developed. She grunts a lot instead of the ah-goo's and ah-gee's of a kid that is not affected by this condition (it also makes her "squeaky"). I don't think she has a severe case, in fact I believe it is quite light. Because every now and then she does produce the ah-goo's just like other kids. And a big smile comes to her face, my face, her mother face, pretty much anybody and everybody who happens to hear.

I know I shouldn't feel sorry for her, but she is my kid, so I do. But they grow out of it, and I treat the grunts just like the clear "ah-goo's", and I can tell that me staying positive makes her stay positive, and really who could resist that toothless smile? Nobody in my house can that is for sure... and I just know, given a few more months this will all be for naught anyway, because everyone that is blood related to me, is kind of like a cockroach, you can make us down, but you can never put us out. Maybe she will not make those sounds the way a normal kid does, but she will improvise and find a way to make sounds, clicks and grunts, that will be equally amazing.

Dumbassery

Yes it was a pretty plant, it strung down about 5-6ft. My dumbass didn't figure it would be that cold outside, my dumbass was wrong... dumbass.

Classic Film Friday: Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan

I know that is is a movie that many seen coming, with the DVD release of the new movie, you knew this one was coming. In this movie, which is taken from a TV episode (Space Seed), which stars one of Captain Kirk's (William Shatter) nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban). Khan is a enhanced human, angry with Kirk about putting him into exile, and the death of his wife, and pretty much anything and everything. He is going to make Kirk pay.

Meanwhile Kirk is an admiral now, and Spock is captain of the Enterprise and they are set to go on a training mission... which basically means the whole ship, with the exception of the stars from the TV show, is a bunch of rookies. Rookies just taking a leisurely stroll around the universe.

So they get to go... or that is must go to back up Space Station Regula I, that is doing some testing on the Genesis Project (basically making life where there was none before). Khan has led the the crew of Regula I to believe that Kirk is taking their research when in actuality he wants it for himself. And to get Kirk to come out there so he can kill him.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is... seriously. Khan has a beef with Kirk, and the Genesis project is thrown in the middle. There are boat loads of "hey, they used that bit or this bit in the new movie" so of course I would recommend watching this movie after watch the TV episode, and then the new movie.

Kristie Alley plays Lieutenant JG Saavik, a Vulcan who for all intents and purposes tries to do things by the book, and Kirk does not, which make for some comical moments. This is probably the best Star Trek movie out there. It has everything, A feud, love interest, science, and the biggest part, an unanswerable question. I won't spoil the end in case you haven't seen it, but it is a dozy.

The Conch Christmas Present

What? Christmas... isn't that over already? Well my wife had one last Christmas present for me (she actually forgot to give it to me on Christmas... but since this is in the spirit of giving... I'll let it slide), it was a conch shell that has been turned into a trumpet. Well more accurately a horn.

If you have ever been on a cruise you've seen them, and probably heard them too. I went on a cruise for my honeymoon, which was about 5 years ago, and we saw them, and of course I wanted one, but it seemed rather silly, so I passed. Well for 4 & 1/2 years I've regretted not getting the conch horn. And my wife can tell you how much grief she has had to endure because I didn't get it the first time.

So fast forward to about 6-8 months ago (or is that rewind?). My brother-in-law and his wife were taking a cruise for their anniversary, my wife told him to get a conch horn, and viola... I have what maybe considered the best Christmas present ever (even better than the HD sunglasses).

So now I have to learn how to play it, or rather how to blow into it. I was trying to remember 1985 band class, in which my instructor is teaching how to blow into a trumpet/trombone/tuba. But that was nearly a quarter century ago, and I think (I could be wrong) me having a stroke may have something to do with it as well. I haven't found that conch sound yet. But in me trying to find it, I have scared the hell out everybody, and I have been called shenanigans... which now that I think about it, is one of the reasons I did not get the conch horn way back when...

Piss on `Em Too

The Trip (Photoblog)

So most (but not all) of these pictures are 1. from the inside of the car, because it was cold outside and 2. taken on the way home. It was a lot harder to take pictures when it was in the single digits outside, all I really wanted to do is get under the covers. Strange how being three makes you immune to the cold, but I looked at it as her problem (the songbird) not mine.


Here it is actually snowing... which it may here later this week...




Here you can see massive icicles, and if you look closer, the road is literally carved out into the mountain.




This is on the boarder between Kentucky/Virginia.

There was nothing special in Tennessee, this is in North Carolina, at a scenic overlook.



Finally this is my old stomping grounds, the dam at Glendale in the Upstate of South Carolina. It was maybe 2 or 3 blocks from my home.

The Trip

So my epic trip from Bluffton to Kentucky, is forever ingrained in my memory... but not for anything that good:

I'll start out on my journey with what I'm now calling "the worst drive-thru food ever". We stopped at a Hardee's in Orangeburg. We should have just kept going. And it wasn't even our first choice, heck it wasn't even our second choice. But it was available, and so we stopped.

The burgers were ok, not horrible, not excellent, just blah.... But they did not have any fries... they ran out or something... I really don't know. Their chicken strips... were questionable. I'm not saying I ordered chicken and they gave me ham, but I am saying the chicken was suspect. Also the soda machines needed a recharge. Seriously, worst meal of all time.

The rest of South Carolina was uneventful, besides a little rain. Once we got into North Carolina, the rain turned into snow, and the snow got heavier and heavier. Then it turned to rain, then sleet, then snow again. It was not supposed to do that until the next day... according to the weatherman anyway.

It was all good, until we got into Virginia and we had a tractor trailer jack-knifed across the whole highway, (this was around Pound, VA). We took a back road, and were on our way again. Nothing more happened, other than driving on some questionable roads, but I think it is adversity like these things that make the trip memorable. Sure I could do without them, quite well actually, but there is no such thing as a trip without some kind of event happening.

Like the trip home, in which we left, it was 9 degrees outside, I don't care where you are from, that is cold. We made it all the way through the ice and snow and cold, only to be stopped before Walterboro. The I-95 jinx hit us again. The fix was in, I swear every time we go some where there is always a wreck on the way home. We wound up taking 17 home. Thank god for the GPS.

The Beatles

One of the Christmas presents that I got was Rock Band, The Beatles. I love this game. But I can say that the songs are rather simple. I have actually completed some songs on hard, and that is something I never could do before. This really isn't "new music" but I can't help but wonder if we will ever have another group like this again? Enjoy the videos...

HD Vision

So here it is. Yes the HD Vision Wrap Arounds. Notice that these will fit over your prescription glasses. They offer maximum protection!


Here are the glasses taken out of the box, and as you can see, they've sweetened the deal with the sun glasses clip... though I don't know why, I mean would you ever take these off? Maybe to sleep, maybe.



Here you can see me, wearing the HD's. I know you can't see me in HD, (unless you happen to have a pair of HD sun glasses too) but trust me, everything looks so much better in HD. I actually feel sorry for all you SD (standard definition) people out there. Not sorry enough to buy you a pair of HD's, but sorry enough to suggest/recommend that you pick up your own pair...

Classic Film Friday: Sherlock Holmes Scarlet Claw

So this Friday I had my daughter the 14-year-old to write a movie review. Here it is, a Sherlock Holmes flick:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are battling the supernatural in Canada. The death of Lady Penrose messes with Holmes and Watsons' departure back to Britain, because she has been murdered by some sort of animal with claws. Sherlock investigates the surprising murder. The people of the town think the murderer is apart of the supernatural. Holmes and Watson set out to find some answers. They come across a man named Judge Brisson, who sentenced a man named Ramson to jail.

Ramson kills Judge Brisson and Maria, the daughter of the Innkeeper,because of a grudge he has held against the town. Sherlock and Journet (innkeeper) make a trap to capture the killer once and for all. Ramson got what he deserved, he was killed by his own weapon , the five pronged garden weeder.