Peter Rowan

And now from the Vatican.

News today that the Catholic church has extended an olive branch out to the Anglicans and let them know that all is forgiven and to come back home.  The initial dissolution took place way back in 1534 when Henry the Eighth found himself in a little hot holy water and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England. They had a few lively skirmishes in the 16th century but there has been a sort of nervous peace since the Battle of Westphalia in 1648, to Pope Innocent X's great consternation.

The poaching of converts by the holy see is best viewed in the context of a nasty family squabble between the Anglicans and the Episcopalians that has just come out of divorce court with a lot of bad feelings. And pissing matches over who rightfully owns the real estate, the locals or the national diocese?

I thought that the major issue was a difference of opinion over the ordination of gay priests but an anglican tells me that it goes much deeper, the conservatives feeling that the whole megillah was sliding to a much too liberal plank in recent years. It's hard to believe that such an insular culture would allow themselves to make a mass conversion to the more ritualistic catholic faith.

Might have to send an a team of mediators over like Al Sharpton to kick a little bootay and get both sides to start talking. The last time they fought was the Thirty Years War and we all know how long that took.

A handshake and a pastrami sandwich...

Today I had two doctor's appointments. They were spaced about 5 hours apart so I killed some time on the coast. My first meeting was with my urologist in Encinitas. I was a little shaky on the expected time and got there several hours early so I ended up cruising the antique mall in Solana Beach in the interim. Almost bought an ugly painting or two but thought better of it.

Anyhow I got to the urologist's office and noticed a strange, rather loud, older man opening up a bunch of doors and sticking his nose in. The vibes were frankly not so good with the guy.

I saw him barge in to the doctor's office while I waited in the adjoining exam room. I couldn't help but listen in as he demanded money for a carpet job that he evidently had just completed yesterday. The doctor came in to my room and I told him to go take care of business and that I wasn't going anywhere.

Now I should let you know that I have been seeing this doctor for over 30 years. He has operated on me 7 or 8 times. He knows every stitch and wart on my body. I rarely see him lose his cool and I thought he just might blow with the carpet nebbish.

"Morris (not his real name), you just put it in yesterday and you're hounding me for a check already!"

"No, no, I just wanted to see how it looked. But write me a check for $2300.00." They kibbitzed and hondled and the doctor groused a bit about the price as opposed to the last time it was installed.

They finally finished their transaction and the urologist came into my room.

"What a jerk that guy was," I volunteered.

"Oh, that's Morris - do you know anything about him? He murdered his partner," he said softly and nonchalantly.

"My god John, he murdered his partner?

"Yeah, the cops stopped him for driving funny and noticed blood in the car. They followed him home and found the poor guy cut up into four pieces and rolled up in a carpet."

Now I am flabbergasted by this point. "You let him install the carpet in your office?"

"Oh yeah, I've operated on him twice. He's ok. Pull down your pants."

By this time I was curious. How did he beat the rap? My doctor explained. The jury convicted him unanimously but the prosecutor made a stupid error, referring to the murderer's jewish ethnicity somewhere along the line.  He took the case to appeal and managed to get the case overturned on account of a prejudicial jury instruction.

"Cross your arms and lean over the table. This is going to be unpleasant. I'm sorry."

The doctor reached down for an extended handshake with my prostate gland. "Soft and pliable - put your pants back on."

Relieved to be finished with the gross violation, I demanded more information.

"He went to all the meetings in jail. Blamed it all on his heavy gambling habit. Promised he would never gamble again if he ever got released. They did release him and he was back at the casino in a week. Now he needs the money so he can go play poker."

Now it all seemed a little cavalier and blase to me that my respected friend could be allowing some guy who was evil enough to cut a business partner into four pieces to handle his flooring needs. And at his house as well. But I must admit that the guy did a nice job. And it's hard to find craftsmen who take pride in their work nowadays. So who am I to judge?

I blew off my intended lunch date and headed down to the deli for a tongue and pastrami sandwich and the New York Times. Wanted to be by myself. Maybe I was still processing the deranged texas hold 'em killer. The sandwich was delicious and I certainly deserved it after being subjected to such bodily intrusion and humiliation and brushing up so close to a once convicted psychopath. The deli has stopped piling all the meat in the front of the rye bread so it looks tall and then you get the big drop off in the back. I hated that. A healthy corned beef or pastrami needs to look good from all orthogonal angles. But the meat was delicious and not too lean, if you know what I mean.

Milton's is a so-so deli. Originally some guys from Chicago, they lost their schmaltz somewhere along the way. Now I don't want to sound like a bigot and I take a lot of grief for harping on the "ethnic thing" but a jewish deli with all latino help and staff is like having a Klezmer band making chile rellenos. You'd run into more yids at a klan meeting. Verite demands sassy waitresses with white starched uniforms and a healthy wing of fat cascading down from their triceps. Cracking gum and taking no shit. The lady next to me ordered a cheddar or jalapeno bagel and bacon. It's just so wrong. Wonder if she needed any flooring?

Anytime a person goes into a delicatessen and orders a pastrami on white bread, somewhere a Jew dies.
 Milton Berle 

Look at the Birdie

There is a great heretofore unpublished Kurt Vonnegut short story in today's Los Angeles Times. I look forward to the new posthumous book from the master.

BigDave, in an attempted extortion/blackmail attempt sent me this picture of myself in college in my islamic terrorist at the beach get up. I won't pay up, you bastard. (shaking his fist in the air)

Millard sent me the excellent book, I killed, a compilation of stand up comedian road tales.

We have been on the total reading jag, especially Les, who is often up at 2 or 3 in the morning lost in a book lately.

Scott loaned me Cloutier's Advanced No Limit Poker book. I think I want to learn the game.

Les has read Dan Brown's new one, and Phillipa somebody who wrote the Other Bolyn Girl.

All is cool - I blind called an 8 off the card deck yesterday morning - you got to love that.

These are purportedly the last words Kurt ever wrote:

When the last living thing
Has died on account of us,
How poetical it would be
If Earth could say,

In a voice floating up
Perhaps
From the floor
Of the Grand Canyon,
"It is done.
People did not like it here."

DeFalla, Three Cornered Hat - The Miller's Dance

Warrenworld

I have a really smart friend named Warren who lives in town. He reads the blast but has never contributed. Warren was a riverboat gambler and Wall St. trader who retired here. Can quote Tolstoy at the drop of a hat. Just came back from Berlin on a fact finding vacation.

Saw him on the street this morning and we dabbled in Wittgenstein, did a Hegel 360, landed on Spinnoza and then I Kant find my way home. Gave me a signed typescript of his friend Denise Levertov's poem,"The Pilots", to sell for him.


He just sent this over. I love the line about fascism being hereditary. Thanks, Bub.

what James Agee once labeled the pretentious audacity of Hollywood ...as "safe fearlessness" has never been more manifest and apparent today as corporate stenographers self proclaim themselves as reporters......while the press preened when Katy Couric trapped Sarah palin in asking her "what books she read...no one pointed out that it might be the dumbest and most irrelevant question that should be asked the ...ole heart beat away from the presidency candidate.......The United States is the sole country where a candidate can run for national office and not be obligated to give even a single un-scripted interview...the debates..as opposed to the often cited historic Lincoln/Douglass ones are really nothing but a form of political slow pitch....now that Lynne Cheney has thrown her helmet into the ring there emerges not only this characteristic of so called political discourse...but other issues. First of all her "hatching gives proof that fascism is hereditary and in many instance the "mere transmission on the male side of a specific gene...although in this instance the feminine contribution is not far behind.....in the law a  judge must be recused if there "is the even the slightest appearance of bias or impropriety......why not simply ask Lynn that while she is so accusatory and agitated about the" Nobel Prize Obama conspiracy" that it should be given to the soldiers here father has placed in Iraq.....that maybe her "dad" who is/was president of halliburton all his ill earned $$$ profits could also give thaw a "toss" in that direction....for the record Halliburton is the major military contractor in Iraq (Actually its spun off subsidiary KBR - Ed.) and adding icing on the cake is presently electrocuting army personal with its short circuited showers in army installations ...they are also the major target of the GAO investigation of enormous cost over runs and out right stealing of $$$$$....i would think that this would snugly fit any
interpretation...of the mere appearance of impropriety...not even the much mourned Tim Russert the dean of "safe fearlessness' would ever approach this area....i think i can safely assert the maxim of even a first year law student of the "but for rule ...in this instance ...but for profit$$$ there would be very few wars........even olbermann and maddow...all respect due....never pierce the ...so called corporate shield that disjoints $$$$ profits...3 weeks ago there was a national out break of "pink" to fight breast cancer...of which my brother died....self preening media and charity cheer leading as $millions were raised by walking and baking cakes...well enough but the sums would be very hard pressed to finance ...shall we say..."drones for a day" as they ravage and kill civilians in Afghanistan...the.media not only self- silenced...but strictly enforced sanctions should this even be hinted at...as we said in the 60s...how about "bake sales...for the
B-1 bomber and the war {hidden behind the word.."defence} department allocate major $$$ for what we all really need..."defense from.......



And more from Warren: my agent will call in the morning....all kidding aside thank you so very much...as being posted on your blog is very complimentary...the visual and aesthetic aspect has been most pleasurable.....how ever i would like to know where i might go.........2 ideas....various  asides and question the JFK murder...that is what  wrote my master's thesis.....JFK assassination and American foreign policy......now this is a teaser....when you view L/Riefen....film Olympiad.....what is characteristic of all the women athletes there, but its absence in America has reached taboo levels ...  ....the thesis i propose is the de-eroticism and sexual repression of American women under the guise of sexual liberation.......many more ideas such as // between ...Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and now Afghanistan...for a historical analysis...the fall of the $$ and the historical essence of "empire....etc....give me a buzz when you have some time on the olmpiad riddle.....thanks for editing as this is the main inhibiting factor for me.......my brother Stuart after recovery earned a phi beta kappa at "U' in Minnesota and is very ahead of me in some areas and would love to contribute......i call him...'google...

and finally from Warren - the de-eroticization of women in modern society:

Sigmund Freud identified two basic necessities for the inception of human civilization......the first was the controlling of violence...."civilization was born when human beings threw metaphors in place of rocks........the second was the strict control of unbridled sexuality lest it destroy the basic structure of civilization itself.........[1].....historically sexuality has been enforced by severe prohibitions and value judgments which invariably place the burden of onus on the woman.....the essence of all religions can be viewed  as the realization of a knowing consciousness that human life is finite and the fear of the consequences of death........the other primal factor is the circumscription and danger that will result be the unchecked existenceof female sexuality      which the male disguises and enforces under the guise of morality on the female...... in Islam the fear of the male  is directly tied to the berka and and covering of the total body ......in orthodox Judaism.....the wearing of a wig to hide the natural hair and literally non physical contact between the sexes in public culminating in the concept of women being inherently dirty and during her menstrual cycle that they must re-purify themselves by going to religious bath termed the mikva...Christianity historically from the temptress jezebel......... to the present the denial of women of and having commensurate sexual pleasure  in the orgasm  this in reality also in the male simply dominating the sexual act... in primitive societies this can take the grotesque form even of  the "brutal right of clitoral circumcision"....in recent time we have seen the chemically induced male erection to prevent the assumed dominance of the women by male non performance in .....the societal stigma of the aggressive woman seeking ...maybe pure sexual satisfaction has given rise to the word 'slut' which simply has no male equivalent that denigrates male sexual promiscuity.....i could assuredly say that if "men bore children abortion would be a sacrament in many faiths........no doubt there have been many societal strides and loosening of prohibitions pertaining to women after a long and arduous struggle in the basic civil rights of women suffrage and even grudging contra to the resentment and actual harassment as women enter the work force and prestigious positions....the successful ........what interests me are the conditions that seemingly attach to the equalization and purported "acceptance of women in the modern  "right" of acceptance of their sexuality....the metaphor i  would employ is that of a see saw...as the side of female sexuality rises there has always been a price to pay in that the other side or eroticism inevitably diminishes........ in modern times the price that is paid is the lose of unbridled eroticism as payment for overt and seemingly sexual equality......not withstanding  the endless blather on popular talk shows in conjunction with the endless stream of self help and realization books.........one of the most primitive aspects of eroticism  the freedoms of the body in  its natural odors and the  unconditioned control of visual display...has resulted in the  role of natural odors as an aphrodisiac as a tenet that is undeniable documented in the evolutionaryprocess......... to that of outright revulsion modern times  to  be eliminated by and endless stream of perfumes and deodorants,,,,,,,....this process de-erotocizes...

147 +++ dead and a pile of arms and legs in Iraq.....14 US dead in Afghanistan....and the politicians staunchly defend this slaughter as they go home to their high rise security buildings.......and no one gets it....stay the course .... don"t cut and run....in reality only moiles cut and run not countries....    the world is our sand box..........Kerry with his arm around kharzi calling him "a statesman in[of] the largest narco- state in the world with his own brother running the trade......if soooo many people were not getting slaughtered this would be a  Marx brothers movie with Captain Spaulding in charge............

Vertigo

Brett sent over these recent pictures of the Hoover Dam bypass. I don't know who took them. I could puke just looking at them with my fear of heights. Click on them for a slightly larger picture. Enjoy.

talk dirty to me...

Kerry always says that I get the most lively repartee when I discuss sex and religion. Pictured is a blanket that my mailman's late travel agent wife purchased once upon a time in Ecuador. He gave it to me to protect the tender eyes of his grandchildren. My friend Bri was visiting and saw that I had it up on the wall of my bathroom at work and asked if she could take a picture. Pillowy coitus in all the positions of the rainbow.

We were discussing a fellow in town who is married but who we are pretty sure is gay. I mentioned that the street vernacular for such an arrangement is to have a "beard". Read about the origin of the term here on wikipedia.  Anyhow beards seem to come in familiar flavors, often dowdy, matronly type women who can provide grandma's warmth and comfort or something. But not necessarily titillate the outer extremities. Understand, this is just my unscientific deduction talking.

It says in the article that people can become unwitting beards as well. Sexuality is such a complex topic. I have always been attracted to lesbians and super strong women, what does that say about my convoluted psyche?

The guys at the coffee shop were kibitzing about sex the other day and someone mentioned that men-o-pause in their house had shifted into men-o-deadstop. Twenty something Brian mentioned that one of his friends had a wife who would only have sex with him once a week and he would never want to live like that.  All of the older fellas in the room gave him a look of jealous hatred that could burn through steel.

The current rage is cougars, and cougermen, aged sexual dynamos who must stave off their growling libidos with younger partners who can keep up with their churning heat and passion. It reminds me of that joke where a young woman pops out of the guy's closet at the old folks home wearing nothing but a cape. "Supersex", she loudly exclaims. The old codger thinks for a second and says, "I'll take the soup."

Older women take young mates seemingly to reaffirm their youth and vigor and attractiveness. Older men take younger girls so they can schtup without having to bother to carry on an intelligent conversation or to turn off the ball game. Another ornament that can be purchased and that maybe won't nag so much.

The average male thinks of having his way with some new sexual quarry approximately 11 times an hour, which works out to 2,846,933,518,554 times in the average life span. Don't know about the womenfolk. The ardor seems to cool a bit with time. Thank god.  There is something refreshingly human about looking at people as people and not as potential play partners. Opens up whole new vistas.

I have been a faithful husband for 29 years, through two marriages. Tempted but never strayed.  Because once you cross that line, it's impossible to make a graceful return.  And my wife and I don't have a progressive "arrangement".  I am so guilt ridden anyway I'd be sure to spill.

Got a transvestite retailer in town - pretty much old news.  Shopped with my wife for years.  Wears his brassiere under his t-shirt. Happily married. Straight.  Used to coach the youth hockey team. Takes all kinds.

I hear tell the young girls around here are pretty active sexually, although supposedly anal and oral don't qualify as sex anymore. I heard that lipstick parties are in vogue and I wont belabor the sordid carnal details.  I am glad that I sowed my oats at a time when a shot of penicillin would pretty much cure all that could ail you, now it's a gamble every time. You are making love to every person that person has ever made love to and you know what a foul bunch we humans are.

So I raise a toast to my peers and couples who are managing to still find time to couple. Keep it up.

I heard a different cut from Lucille Bogan on satellite radio the other day on Lou Reed's show that was equally dirty and hilarious. I had never heard of her before - be sure to give it a listen.

Porcine Love

Doug Frazer sent over this cute little picture of piggie tartare taken from his iphone at Pike St. Market in Seattle.

Around these parts, we sell the real thing. Talones in Escondido always had a nice selection of pigheads going but the smell of the place was so gaggy I mostly stayed clear.

You've got to admit the pigs look pretty happy! Send in your favorite shots to the blast.

Shawn from Thailand sent this last one over today. It's raining pigheads, everybody.

The Seeker

Sweat and tears

I was reading about the terrible tragedy where the two people died recently in the sweat lodge ceremony with sadness. Sadness that people died. Sadness that people's lives are so empty and adrift that they have to shell out $9600.00 a piece to join a "spiritual warrior" course. From a guy who was preaching a path that sounds so bereft of balance and wisdom.

"Join me outside the lines in this heroic quest for higher consciousness. There is no sacrifice - only greater and more magnificent results, wealth, adventure and fulfillment."

Unfortunately, people think that they can jump on this higher wisdom bandwagon and they tend to peddle it by the pound. Most communities have some "higher consciousness" magazine, filled with ads for people willing to balance your chakras, lube your past lives and change your akashic oil, all for a nominal fee. With no sacrifice required.

Sedona has long been known for it's vortex tours and crystal gazing and other new age hooey and is replete with this sort of garbage and hucksterism.  The city is pretty much ruined. Get out a big bulldozer and start over.

San Diego was a hotbed for this kind of thing in the seventies when Terry Cole Whittaker and a bunch of other people preached a gospel of attaining wealth and prosperity. Add Tony Robbins, Elizabeth Claire Prophet, Avatar, Scientology, Arica, EST, Rama, Lifespring, John Roger, Chopra, Landmark and numerous other systems of new age mind control and you end up with a sad state of affairs. Chogyam Trungpa wrote a great book once called Cutting through spiritual materialism that cautioned against seeking spiritual rank and credentials.  The idea of paying these charlatan guides and teachers makes me a bit queasy. But people are pretty much sheep and tend to want to take the easy route. Instant enlightenment and maybe a certificate to prove it.

I know people that have attended native american sweat lodges. They aren't easy. They are hard. They are difficult. People are closely confined and releasing a lot of shit. I am not much for ritual myself but was involved in this sort of thing many years ago and have a healthy respect for it, when guided by proper and legitimate road chiefs.

I don't know if these people were getting psychedelic, It sounds so lame I tend to doubt it. But when you start playing on that turf, you are playing with fire. Some people get it. Some people flinch. Some people turn into charcoal. I guess there were too many people in Sedona in a small space with far too little air. 19 people remain hospitalized, two critically. Police are considering homicide charges.

The guy that runs the program, self help expert James Arthur Ray, was an ex sales manager for AT&T who recently bought a house in Beverly Hills for four million dollars. I never thought you could buy your way in to spiritual enlightenment but what do I know? He left shortly after the incident and refused to be interviewed by deputies.

I wish people weren't so naive and could see through this kind of come on but they're evidently not.  All waiting to take a big swig on the old kool aid. To hand their spiritual salvation to another "teacher" and surrender responsibility. I am not an expert on the subject but don't think enlightenment can be purchased on any online study course or by hanging out with guys like Ray or in churches where they bend spoons, practice tantric sex or sift through their past lives. In fact if you are paying money for your spiritual flight plan, I think there is a good chance that you are getting jobbed. I think there might be a little better return with a long, honest look in a mirror.

View from the North Pole

Doug Diener sent over this picture of sunset at the North Pole taken last week, with old luna very close to earth.

Very sweet.

Mt. Rushbo

"This is not about the NFL, it's not about the St. Louis Rams, it's not about me," Limbaugh said. "This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative.
"Therefore, this is about the future of the United States of America and what kind of country we're going to have."

Pity poor Rush Limbaugh. The bloviating prescription pill popper has been turned down in his quest to buy an NFL team. Now he and his cohorts are playing the victim card.

This from the guy who has imparted these gems in the past:

 "NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons"
1/19/07


"Have you notice how all the composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?"


"Take that bone out of your nose and call me back"
acknowledged in a 1990 Newsday interview.


"Sorry to say this, I don't think he's (Donovan McNabb) been that good from the get-go," Limbaugh said. "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well."September 2003


Conservative luminaries like the Wall Street Journal, Pat Buchanon and Ann Coulter have all risen to Limbaugh's defense. This is not about a bigoted blowhard with a history of putting down minorities and women, no, this is about Obama's America that wants to suppress conservative speech. Unfortunately for the bloated one, the players union, with its high minority representation (78% black) is reportedly dead set against his ownership. Colts owner Jim Irsay is vehemently opposed to Rush buying the Rams.  Roger Goodell, the commissioner, isn't too keen on anything this risky upsetting the NFL brand.

The owners may be heavily in the Republican column but they are certainly not stupid. Words have consequences and Limbaugh has one person to rightly blame. And it's neither Barack Obama, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.

Raw Video: Boy Floats Away in Hot-Air Balloon

Evidently, the balloon has landed and the kid is not inside.  His brother saw him climb in.  He may have fallen out. If so, it is a terrible tragedy.  I hope there is a better ending to this story.

Postscript:

"What do you mean you were in the can? You got the Tenth Afcon Wing of the freaking United States Air Force flying over the backyard and you were in the can? You unleashed daddy's giant flying jiffy pop machine and caused a national disturbance because you were taking a crap... Restriction, pal, serious restriction."

Boy floats away in balloon

Insane.

(CNN) -- Officials are trying to rescue a 6-year-old boy who climbed into a balloon-like experimental aircraft built by his parents and floated into the sky over eastern Colorado.

The family describes the structure as a dome-shaped "homemade flying saucer," according to sheriff's office.

The boy's family had been building the experimental aircraft at their home on Fossil Ridge Road in Fort Collins, CNN affiliate KUSA reported.
The family has described the structure as a a dome-shaped "homemade flying saucer," Larimer County Sheriff's Office Spokeswoman Kathy Davis said.

"We're trying to determine the best course of action," Davis said. "This is a first and we'll do what we need to do."

Deep Dark Truthful Mirror

Jesus of Acorn

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

I was thinking about the man from Nazareth this morning. I know that some would question the right of an apostate nonbeliever to write about the christian savior and I will not speak of him. I will limit my remarks to Jesus the reformist jew. I don't believe he ever called himself a christian anyway but that is another story.

I was thinking about Jesus this morning. If he was alive today, would he align himself with the liberals or the conservatives? Now I don't know for sure and probably no one does, but if I was a betting man, I would lay a few shekels down on the former.  Maybe there is a third rail and he would wash his hands clean of the entire affair, who knows? Jesus the american independent or green party supporter.

I have read the good book from cover to cover on several occasions, the new parts too, and being possessed of a fairly keen mind would like to make a few observations.

Jesus hung out with the poor and the hookers. He went into the temple and threw out the moneylenders. He was definitely a revolutionary in his time and apparently, for all time. I can't see him throwing his lot in with the conservative powers that be. If anything the conservative leaders of today resemble the establishment old guard that he despised. The punitive, entitled, paternalistic types that demanded obedience and refrained from doing anything to shake up the good old boy's club.

Probably would have made a good community organizer. Didn't those acorn guys get into hot water talking to hookers too, recently? And breaking those loaves and fishes up. Doesn't it sound like the original wealth redistribution scheme?


Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
 ⁴²for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
 ⁴³I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
 ⁴⁴"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
 ⁴⁵"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 


It seems pretty clear that you know who was pretty darn committed to the poor and the dispossessed.  Don't read him saying much about tough love, do you?  He might not be much of an advocate for closed borders, I don't know. And I can't really see him having much use for waterboarding or state sponsored torture either, even if John Yoo does say it's alright.


We should not be angry, or judgmental of others. We should be meek and merciful. We should turn the other cheek, make peace with our enemies, love them, and even give them more than they want. Only people who forgive should be forgiven. Do not hoard the treasures of the earth. Do not obsess on getting enough for yourself. Give to the poor. Those who mourn should be comforted. Anyone who seeks help should get it.


I hope the good lord isn't advocating for the social welfare state. If he does return, I think he better watch his back. Some people are going to be awfully upset. And my wife points out that he may not want to see a bunch of crosses. It's not going to make him happy.

GOP.com

 

The Gop has a new website up and its a beaut. It has a bright red banner to go with its red state leaning and freshly washed faces of the "new" GOP. The tomato red banner is so red in fact that I immediately thought of the communist party. I tried to get on and comment but unfortunately it's as buggy as a mississippi diner on an august catfish night.

There are actual polls up on the site such as the following-

Barack Obama is now eligible for the following award:

   a. Heisman Trophy
    b. Bud Light's real men of genius

    c. America's top ten model

So, please check it out, it's really quite sophomoric and about what you might expect from Michael Steele and cohorts.

I wanted to chime in my two cents on "Why I am a Republican" but the thing kept breaking down so here goes:

I am a Republican because I was lucky enough to be born a have and I don't want the "havenots" sniffing around my business.

I am a Republican because it's the party Jesus belonged to.

I am a Republican because I want to go on golf junkets with Jack Abramoff. Or is it too late?

I am a Republican because the infidels need to be bombed into submission.

I am a Republican because we are the party of personal liberty and responsibility - except for that abortion thing.

I am a Republican because Sarah Palin is so hot.

I am a Republican because it is the party that doesn't recognize racial distinctions, like those bigoted democrats.

I am a Republican because the socialist environmentalists have been holding up progress for far too long and god says it's time to drill.

I am a Republican because I pay far too many taxes... to pay for the wars we start.

Thousand-Hand Guan Yin

New York Stan sent this beautiful imagery over, all of the performers are purportedly deaf. The thousand handed deity reaches back to the male Avalokitesvara or Chenrezig in mahayana buddhism and his female form Guan Yin.

One prominent Buddhist story tells of Avalokiteśvara vowing never to rest until he had freed all sentient beings from samsara. Despite strenuous effort, he realizes that still many unhappy beings were yet to be saved. After struggling to comprehend the needs of so many, his head splits into eleven pieces. Amitabha Buddha, seeing his plight, gives him eleven heads with which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries and comprehending them, Avalokiteśvara attempts to reach out to all those who needed aid, but found that his two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitabha comes to his aid and invests him with a thousand arms with which to aid the suffering multitudes.

Manicures must have been a celestial bitch.

And since I hopefully have your attention and can talk about China...An amazing country - Some of the most enlightened religions and teachings in the world sprung from China - Taoism, Chan or the chinese variant of Zen, Confucious, Buddhism after its inception in India.

It is a shame that the country and its Han majority, which went through the ugly cultural revolution and the purges, has had to step on the fingers and toes of so many of it's neighbors and smaller ethnicities, like Tibet, Zhuang, Miao, Hui, Mongol, Tujia, Bai, Yao, Li, Dai, Hani, Kazakh, Buyei, Uighur, Manchu, Falun, etc. I hope that with their new wealth and standing comes a new tolerance and empathy and a hearkening back to their more enlightened roots.

Nobel followup

Conservatives have been generally foaming since the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. Foaming at the mouth and fuming.

Michael Steele put out the following in a fundraising letter which I think says a lot about republican thought:


“The Democrats and their international leftist allies want America made subservient to the agenda of global redistribution and control,” Steele wrote. “And truly patriotic Americans like you and our Republican Party are the only thing standing in their way.” 


Liz Cheney, nitwit scion of the Evil Emperor, had this to say:


"I think the president himself understands he didn't earn this prize and therefore the notion that this White House has said he would go to Oslo to accept the prize would add to the farce," said Cheney.


She offered the following proposal: "I think what he ought to do, frankly, is send the mother of a fallen American soldier to accept the prize on behalf of the US military. Frankly, to send the message to remind the Nobel committee that each one of them sleeps soundly at night because the US armed forces, because the US military is the greatest peacekeeping force in the world today."


She wants to lecture and wag a finger at an ungrateful world who don't appreciate all we americans do.

Bill Kristol decided to take the snarky route:


"It's hard for me to be objective about this because I'm so disappointed personally," he said. "I was up early Friday morning. I thought the phone might ring, you know. Pundits for peace. I deserve it pretty much. President Obama and I have done about the same amount to bring about world peace, I think."

I think that Steele's is the most telling reaction and clearly illustrates the reason that Obama got the prize. The xenophobic kneejerk feeling that the world is trying to redistribute "America's wealth." Might want to read a book on colonialism.  Think its mostly been the other way around.  Bush did have an "us against the world" mentality thanks to the likes of John Bolton and co. and I think the Nobel Prize is merely the sound of the rest of the world exhaling. We have been unilateral to the point of antagonism for too long and the rest of the planet is welcoming us back.


Although Bolton's Realpolitic in regards to North Korea and Iran might prove more realistic in the long run. The paddy caking stupor of Mohammed ElBaradei at the United Nations doesn't give me much solace either. We will see.

The King

Monday Morning Melange

Saw this guy playing his unplugged electric guitar in the middle of the road in Murrieta the other day. Oh, my kingdom for an outlet.

We had a really nice weekend. Good day in our respective shops on saturday. Leslie and I got up at four yesterday morning, drove up to the Rose Bowl for the swap meet (where we cut our teeth in the business) and it was like old home week.

I go maybe once a year and Leslie even less frequently, but we saw a million friends and managed to score some neat stuff.

I found a 1963 Frank Patania Sr. silver and turquoise belt buckle from the New Mexico State Fair Commission. Then Rick Pettiford and I bought a large Roycroft chair.  I went across the river and got a really nice trench art vase and an Archibald Knox tudric bomb or bullet vase from another guy who didn't bother to research the marks. Ran into Eliot from New York there and just tons of other folks and I sat down and even played a little guitar with Dane Heller.  Sorry we couldn't hook up for lunch Eliot. Hope you can make it to the shop one day.

We cruised over to the greatest mexican restaurant on the planet, La Cabanita in Montrose and had sopas and chuletas and read the Los Angeles Times while drinking the excellent coffee. It really doesn't get any better than that.

Speaking of the times, we got the first installment yesterday of Robert Hilburn's interview regarding his new book. Quite fascinating stuff on John Lennon, a very personal view.  Most fans of the genre are aware of the competition between the Beatles and the Stones, with the Stones tending to pillage and copy the fabs every move, and Lennon's disparaging remarks about Mick Jagger are pretty hilarious.

Also Lennon's reverence for Elvis and recollections of their meeting and Elvis's nervousness are recounted. Talk about different paradigms connecting.  I think that Elvis had the best male voice of the last fifty years, with Dean Martin a close second.  I was listening to Elvis Radio on Sirius this morning and can't remember the tune, but a song from 1968 was playing and the jazz guitar sound just knocked me out. Such a great band. And he displayed a physicality that few others shared.  Otis Redding, Mick, who else?

I have just finished a great book on Vietnam, Patrick Hearden's The Tragedy of Vietnam.  There are so many corollaries to the current situation in the middle east, I can't even begin to express.  But one thing that struck me was how lame the South Vietnamese ARVN seemed compared to their crafty and motivated foes, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong.

And I get the same feeling when I see the Taliban daringly march in to the Pakistani Army Headquarters and take hostages. Makes you feel really secure about Pakistani Nuclear armaments. But why do our local allies always look and perform like the gang that couldn't shoot straight? When their countrymen are so crafty?

We went to Ted and Sandy's Golden California Antique Show after breakfast. Along with Eric Berg, these guys have really put together a beautiful show with very fine dealers in paintings, prints, monterey furniture, mission, early california, the whole enchilada.  Sandy even let us get in for nothing. Saw more friends than I can even name, the show looks better every year. Diane Keaton was there, and Byron and Jill Crawford, Roger Genser, Robert Bijou. Terry S. and Jan and Bill Warmboe. Danny V. and Theresa. And the really great thing was I could just leave and not have to worry about breaking down, and smiling and being nice
and all that shit.

Terry Schurmeier told me that her son, who lives in New Mexico, saw me in a restaurant in Fallbrook ranting and raving at somebody and remarked that I was a bit scary. Felt the same way at the show. Perceptive kid. She penned a new name for me, the Jewminator.

Got a great mass email from Michael Grimes, the Del Mar promoter the other day.  He thinks it would have been nice if someone had let him know that his jewelry appraiser was suspected of theft.  They caught the guy red handed up in Temecula. Always thought the culprit was a good egg. Big expose in Collector Magazine this month.

Speaking of thieves, someone reached into Leslie's helper Cher's purse at the store on Friday and helped themselves to her wallet, which police returned missing money the next day. It had been thrown on somebody's front yard. Leslie thinks she knows who the culprits were, two young girls.

The weather in Southern California lately has been so perfect.  About a week to 10 days ago, fall arrived, with chilly nights and gorgeous days and a beautiful October full moon.  Hear tell it was the brightest of the year.  Used to meet my spiritual advisor in New York on October full moons. Strange. It just happened.

Business has continued to be brisk and I am starting to enjoy life without a boot on my windpipe. Hope that things go well for all of us. Saw an article about some very normal people who have lost their jobs and are now living under bridges. And something in the WSJ about the experiment in credit democratization being officially over. And Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman doesn't feel the least bit guilty. I think that Paulson, Geithner et.al. should be ashamed and might even consider public suicide like they used to do in Japan. They have strengthened the big guys and let everyone else sink.  And the big guys aren't doing much lending, just eating the smaller prey. Absurd and disgusting.

The mayans say that the doomsday hippies don't know what they are talking about and that they have calendars that extend to like 4775. Whew, that was close!

The San Diego Chargers are going to beat the unbeaten Denver Broncos next week. Not close, I am talking serious ass kicking. Go bet on it, right now.

Most of the time.

Bob Dylan - Skin Deep

I was in the gym a few weeks ago and did a total double take, or should I say triple take.  Sitting down on the bench press, I recognized a prominent member of the community, a man who was on the school board for years, and whose left arm bore these images of Bob Dylan.

Jim Hutcherson is a longtime fan of Dylan's. We got to talking, had the same favorites (Blood on the tracks, Nashville Skyline, Blonde on Blonde) and saw a lot of the same tours. He put the poet laureate's image up close and personal in ink for eternity. Jim is an educator and is 62 years old.

The work was done by Greg at Body Graphics in Temecula. I am not a huge fan of tattoos but this one was so amazing that I begged him to let me put photos up on the blog.  He graciously acquiesced. Click on the individual photos and look at the incredible detail and artistry. He may add another image.  I am voting for early protest Bob.

The three pictures are I believe from top to bottom clockwise, the 2006 Rolling Stone cover, Reynaldo and Clara and Don't look back. I am totally impressed. Bravo Jim.

Mr. President?

Our president has disappointed me on several fronts. Nothing terminal yet but I think he has mishandled a few things. Continuing Bush era policies on civil liberties, including warrantless wiretapping. Backtracking on some environmental issues. Not repealing "Don't ask, don't tell." Several other matters that I don't need to broach.

He's still my guy and I support him, but I think he has kowtowed to an opposition that means to dismember him and he is playing their game.  Guess he won't get one republican house vote on health care.

Anyway, I salute him for trying to institute change in our inertial society. Can't be easy. But he does seem to be a bit of a pussy at times.

I have taken this president at his word on several issues.  I want to believe that he will treat Israel and the Palestinians in an even handed fashion. I hope that he will protect the sanctity of our environment and National Parks. One thing that the president stated early on was that the federal government would respect the state's marijuana laws including Proposition 215 in California.

Unfortunately there appears to be a disconnect between word and deed. The head of the DEA, in a turf guarding statement last week, said that law enforcement must be a player in any drug policy scenario or shift. Last week, James Dean Stacy, a marijuana cooperative owner in Vista, was federally indicted after conducting his business in a way that was precisely outlined in state's propositions 215 and 420.  Donna Lambert, Eugene Davidovich and many other innocent victims are facing draconian penalties while seemingly following state law in a letter perfect way.

Now Steve Cooley, District Attorney of Los Angeles, has joined the San Diego D.A., Bonnie Dumanis, in trying to outlaw cooperatives. The city of Fresno is also undertaking similar actions. The law says that cooperative owners can reasonably charge to recoup their costs. The D.A.'s say that any money exchanged is illegal. They are trying to zone  dispensaries out of existence. Dumanis says that patients need to grow their own. Who can take them at their word?

Now as a proud marijuana user who has been helped through kidney cancer, bladder cancer, ureter cancer, open heart surgery, etc. by the evil weed, which allowed me not to use any narcotics post surgery, I have to cry foul. I can't believe their intention is merely to lower the price of grass, which I agree is too high. Somehow, I don't think they care.

I smoked pot prior to being sick and I am honest enough to admit it. If Obama wants to do something positive and get his constituency engaged again, he will push for legalization now and stop this silly drug war. There was an article in the New York Times this week about how Mexican cartels are suffering financially because domestic marijuana growers are cutting into their turf. Time to BUY AMERICAN! If the president does not call off his dogs and turns out to be prevaricating on his intentions to respect state's rights on this issue, he will lose me. He needs to have the balls to set policy and to see it followed through by the ranks.

Californians need to draft a new proposition that these troglodytes can't dismember.  And they need to take names and remember during the next elections.  These tin horn sheriffs care about one thing and that is their own power. Time they start looking for new jobs.

Royal Pho

Royal Pho
1717 E. Vista Way,
Vista, CA 92084
760-643-9333
Open 10 to 9, 7 days a week

Friends and long time blog readers know that we love ethnic food, the spicier the better. Unfortunately, besides mex, there are not a lot of options around these parts, except for Yama, our local sushi bar. Last week Leslie and I were driving to Vista and noticed a vietnamese restaurant had opened up in Vista. It's really not too far from home.

We went there for dinner last night. It is located in a small strip mall. The lights were not turned on when we drove by and we almost missed it. Decor is spartan and slightly funky, usually a good sign with both vietnamese and chinese restaurants. Steve Stoops and I eat a lot of vietnamese on the road and we have learned to steer clear of the fancy palaces.

We were practically by ourselves when we arrived and were greeted warmly by the very friendly and happy waitress. The menu is really pretty expansive for a small restaurant with a large selection of vegetarian items. Portions were large and the food was relatively inexpensive.

We started our meal with lettuce wrapped cha gio egg rolls with large portions of mint. They were generous and delicious.

Pho is the staple of vietnamese cooking, a noodle soup with various cuts of meat added. We ordered a large bowl of Tai Gau Pho with rare steak and brisket. It was lovely and fragrant with a five spice cinnamon type smell.  We added a bit of sliced jalepeno, cilantro, mung beans and mint.

We went on to share a Banh Xeo Chay, or vietnamese crepe, which was a bit greasy for our taste.  I have had it better elsewhere.

Our last dish was a bowl of spicy shrimp over vermicelli with carrots, cucumbers and peanuts. It was delightful, refreshing and my wife's favorite dish.

Leslie drank a perfect pot of jasmine tea.  I had two glasses of the homemade lemonade.  Lemonade always tastes better in Vietnamese restaurants, like iced coffee in Thai restaurants.

I am by no means an expert on this cuisine but I look forward to exploring more of it and learning its nuances and secrets.  I want to try the Pho with the tripe next time and the salty garlic squid.

Royal Pho rates maybe a 6.5/7 on my supercritical culinary scale. Food was cheap and got to the table quickly. It's all we have nearbye and there are many dishes there waiting to be discovered. Maybe with some of you?


'The person who says
it can't be done
should not interrupt
the person doing it.'
Chinese Proverb

The Count Five - Psychotic Reaction

Crossed up.

I am reluctant to once again wear the mantle of aggrieved minority. Friend Brett has commented that the blog is much too Semitic lately. Interesting because friend Brett has fully dove into his cherokee identity without much negative feedback. I used to joke with him that it was tough being the only indian in your own family but his brother has come on board and I have seen pictures of his great grandfather with the squaw so it is copasedic.

And I must admit, native americans are cooler than jews, can you imagine watching episodes of F Troop with hasids on the old prairie instead of indians, scratching, hokking and whining. Ratings disaster.

So yesterday Antonin Scalia, diminutive italian catholic member of the Supreme Court, fashionably called SCOTUS in some circles, has a little shit fit about memorial crosses on public land.  He makes the absurd statement that crosses do not honor a particular religion. The lawyer arguing the case for the plaintiff, happened to be jewish (great shock) and said that his World War II veteran father would disagree.  Scalia was in a tizzy and said what would you want, some memorial polyglot ( I'm paraphrasing) ? Someone asked on a forum yesterday if christians would view stars of david as appropriate symbols on their memorials, devoid of religious symbolism?  I think a memorial that does not honor a particular creed makes good sense.

From the WSJ:

“Justice Antonin Scalia disputed the premise behind the lawsuit, telling Mr. Eliasberg that it was unfair to view the cross merely as a Christian symbol.
“The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of the dead,” (Scalia) said. “What would you have them erect? Some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Muslim half moon and star?”
“I have been in Jewish cemeteries. There is never a cross on a tombstone of a Jew,” Mr. Eliasberg said. “So it is the most common symbol to honor Christians.”
“I don’t think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead,” Justice Scalia said. “I think that’s an outrageous conclusion.”

So now the cross is suddenly devoid of religious connotations? It is merely a big white "t"? I am not going to get to far into the cross discussion here, because I admittedly have mixed emotions about the subject. And its not my cross to bear. Christopher Columbus himself was a Colon and experts agree was probably jewish.  There were many jews amongst the early residents to the continent. The framers took careful and precise steps to not endorse a state religion, principally being theists.

I live in the early of some of the earliest Spanish conquest, Cabrillo arriving on the shores of San Diego around September of 1542, spreading the good news of the savior and subjugating the local indians. Crosses are an important part of our historical landscape and do not offend me whatsoever. Yet crosses and creches in a public forum are burdensome to me and I don't know why the majority feels it important to invoke Jesus name at city council meetings for instance. It is heavy handed and insensitive to both alternate creeds and nonbelievers as well. The notion of a christian majority dictating the spiritual landscape by their superior numbers cuts across my grain.  There is ample evidence of christian indoctrination occurring in our military, as has been most visibly demonstrated at the Air Force Academy.

Ditto deeding a small section of public land to a private group to "end around" laws separating the demarcation of church and state.

Anyway I was a bit surprised when one of my coffee klatch this morning, a longtime friend, let loose with, "if people aren't happy with it, find a new country." Because last time I checked this country was constructed for all of us, believers and nonbelievers.  It is not your county but "our" country. Worship as you wish, whomever you wish to, or don't, but don't make us join in your religious observations on any public lands or in any governmental forum.

I hope that Justice Kennedy, who tends to be the swing vote in these decisions, will make a principled stand on this issue.

In other matters, Scalia weighed in favorably on the free speech rights of people who like to crush small animals with stiletto heels and videotape the proceedings.

Main Avenue, U.S.A.

My town is starting to show a little wear and tear. Fallbrook calls itself the Avocado Capitol of the world, although I am not sure that is still true. Located in a stretch of southern california foothills known for it's citrus and avocado production, once green vistas are now succumbing to exorbitant water rates, fire and the axe.

My rural town is a bit off the highway and it's distance helps it keep an insular, Mayberry like quality. It is known for its very friendly people, its proximity to Camp Pendleton and a few other peculiarities. Until recently, one of the most notorious racists in the country, Tom Metzger lived here. Once upon a time, some great pot, fallbrook redhair, was grown here. And there are a lot of artists and retirees living here. It's not pretentious and is also known for mostly lousy restaurants, although you can get some pretty good cheap mexican food here.

I have served on several boards in the town and just gave up a seat on one because I didn't have the commitment to do the job it required. I was asked yesterday to help a group that wants to combat blight that is evident in some parts of town.

What once was a lovely north entrance to town is now a hodgepodge of rundown trailers, hispanic markets, tattoo parlors and junky looking stores. When I came to town 29 years ago, it was much peppier. You now pass a rotting closed up nursery on Mission that was once called Nickerson's on the way in as well as a huge grove of Avocados that burnt up in the fires two years ago and probably won't be replaced.

In a way I like living in a funky town without pretensions. It's cheaper and it cuts down on traffic. But the merchants on Main St. are closing their doors and pulling in their shingles one by one. People would rather shop at the big box stores. So like what is happening in many towns across the country, Main St. or Main Ave. in our case, is suffering. We want to sell the town, but there's more sizzle than steak.

So I don't know. One of the ways the town has changed has been with a great influx of illegal immigrants. You don't think those avocados pick themselves, do you? Now you can find caravans of strollers of miztecos and guatemalan women crossing the street at many weird angles, multiple babies in tow. The hispanic immigrants to Fallbrook seem to be a law abiding bunch for the most part, although they have a strange notion of what it means to drive a car at times, either driving exceedingly slow or racing out in front of you like its the survival of the quickest.

I had a woman and her daughter in the other day who moved here from the exclusive community of Rancho Palos Verdes. I asked the comely daughter what she thought of Fallbrook and she said, she liked it but parts of it were "ghetto". The schools, which were once the pride of San Diego County are now a source of embarrassment. Much of the decline is attributed to students curriculum getting bogged down by those students who do not speak english as a first language.

Anyway, my answer to this woman was that Fallbrook was just like Palos Verdes, only the people who did their landscaping work in P.V. went home to Compton or wherever at night.  Our working and labor class lives with us. And while some citizens would frankly wish that the labor force would disappear out of sight at night, in reality that doesn't happen.

So what we have are two worlds that coexist but don't commingle.  There is a minimal amount of social interaction between the worlds. I don't know if the hispanic community is monolithic, stratified, or has any internal representation. For some reason I doubt it. But there is a definite cultural disconnect between anglo and hispanic. My hope is that we can join together to make this a better place to live for all of us.

I know that a rising tide lifts all the boats. There are a lot of white owned businesses that are getting semi slummy as well. A recession will do that. Here's to a recovery.