Mouse In The House
by Ken Hansen on Apr.29, 2011, under Happy Friday!!, Recipes
I come from a long line of cat lovers; so it seemed quite natural to marry one when I fell in love with my beautiful girlfriend. Both of us believe with our hearts that cats deserve to go outside, so we have dealt with all the interesting antics of the small predators. For awhile, we even went as far as to install a cat door that gave them the freedom to go in and out as they pleased. Seemed easier than opening the door to let them in or out every 12 minutes. OK, maybe it wasn’t quite that often, but at times it sure seemed like it.
We love our cats and all, and we do allow them outside. We also got just a wee bit tired of uninvited “guests” showing up in various corners of the house though. “Ken!! There’s a mouse in the compost bucket again!!” My wife would always dispatch me when “the one that got away” was busy trying to score a free meal after escaping the jaws of one of our feline hunters. Then of course there were some birds… Oh, and you really haven’t lived until you’ve stepped in a pile of guts on the kitchen floor in the middle of the night.
It took several years but finally, thank God, we came to our senses and boarded up the cat door. They still go outside and hunt, but they’re not allowed to bring in any take-out items they may have scored in Mother Nature’s garden. So now we still get the occasional mouse in the house, but it’s the kind we humans love to eat. This delicacy was first introduced to us by Mrs. Spoelma.
God bless Mrs. Spoelma, the “Hollander” (Michigan term for Dutch) lady who lived next door to us when we first moved to Muskegon. She and her husband were often outside cleaning up the yard, and we’d have many a conversation across the fence. That was 35 years ago (wow!!), and one couldn’t ask for nicer neighbors.
When our daughter came into the world, she started bringing us food. Most often, she brought an odd mashed potato dish we’d never had before. “This is mouse,” she said. “It’s an old family recipe: mashed potatoes, kale, and barley. Oh and a little bit of onion, too.” It was simply wonderful. Perfect food for a couple of tree huggers with a brand new baby. Free food is pretty doggoned perfect if you ask me; especially when it’s delicious. “Mouse” is not merely wonderful as a side dish for meat and another vegetable, maybe even some gravy. It is especially yummy the following day, reheated with an over easy egg or two on top. MMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
When I sat down to write this evening, I thought I’d go on the web and try to find a recipe that resembled this remarkable dish. No such luck. After many variations of the words potato, mashed, kale, barley, and Dutch, I found several interesting cooking ideas but nothing that resembled what our dear Mrs. Spoelma made.
However, I feel it’s my duty to share the basics with you. I love to cook but I rarely follow any recipe exactly. Mouse is no exception; but without further ado here is a rudimentary description:
Mouse: Delicious Mashed Potatoes, Kale, Barley and Onion
Ingredients: ½ cup hulled barley (pearled barley is OK but not as nutritious as hulled)
Potatoes : enough to fill a 6 quart pot a bit more than halfway when diced
Kale: 3 cups chopped
Onions: one large onion or 4 or 5 small onions, diced
½ stick of salted butter
1 cup of milk
salt to taste
Place the barley and kale in separate pots.
Add more than enough water to the barley to cover, at least 2 inches higher than the barley
Boil the barley until tender, then drain, cover and set aside
Add 1 cup water to the kale, and cover. Bring to boil, remove from heat after 2 or 3 minutes boiling. Drain, then set aside
Wash and dice enough potatoes to fill a 6 quart pot a bit more than half way. (We leave the skins on.)
Fill with water till the potatoes are barely covered, and boil until tender, drain.
Add butter and mash, adding milk and a dash or so of salt along the way.
When the potatoes are creamy, add onions (raw), barley, and kale to the potatoes and mash together until mixed thoroughly.
Now, don’t just stand there, it’s time to eat!!
Very nutritious stuff this “mouse,” makes me wonder if maybe a certain famous rodent ever sampled any…
Baba Wawa No No
by Ken Hansen on Apr.21, 2011, under Happy Friday!!, My Two Cents
Warm weather is finally sneaking its way into beautiful West Michigan. Before you know it we’ll all be running around naked outside. Well OK maybe not ALL of us. Alright, maybe very few of us will actually do that when you get right down to it. Anyway, we won’t need to wear nearly as much clothing and we’ll certainly want to have a nice cool beverage handy when we’re enjoying the outdoors.
Babies will ask for their “baba”… you know, a bottle… when thirst tells them to get a drink. They might also refer to water as “wawa.” Put those together and you’d get “baba wawa.” I suppose that could cause someone my age to reminisce about Gilda Radner’s timeless parody of Barbara Walters on Saturday Night Live. When my sister was very young, water was “joosh.” I distinctly remember this, because she also thought my name was “B.O.” after my mother was teasing me by showing me how to wash my armpits. “B.O., can I have a glass of joosh??” my sister would ask; so I would always oblige and get her a glass of water.
So I guess bottled water could be called baba wawa in baby talk. No, not Barbara Walters; bottled water. Sales of the beverage soar during the warmer months, and tree huggers like me shudder at the sight of it. I’m sorry but it’s completely wasteful to ship water all over the place. Of course, there are certainly exceptions, like disaster areas or other rescue situations.
However, in most civilized areas of the planet, bottled water represents a terrible waste of resources. Think about it: water is pumped, filtered and otherwise treated, then put into disposable containers. Those containers are packed into cases or crates, which are loaded onto trucks and sent to various retail outlets. Then a consumer drives to the store, buys the finished product, and drinks water which is rarely any better than what they can get at home from the tap. Finally, the packaging and the water bottle are tossed out, hopefully in an “environmentally friendly” way. I put that in quotes because disposal of anything always implies that it will be moved to somewhere, either a recycling center or a landfill. All the steps in the process consume energy and resources which could be much better spent elsewhere.
Rather than use all that oil to pump, package, and transport water; let’s maybe do something silly and save a few drops of the precious petroleum for future use. And of course I didn’t mention the trees that die to make the paper for the cases in which these bottles of water are often shipped.
Instead, buy a rugged, reusable container and put your water in it. Personally, I prefer glass, but it does have the drawback of being somewhat fragile. But even if it does get broken, it’s very readily recyclable. I get my glass containers by seeking out glass juice bottles in the store. Only need to buy one! I’ve also been known to keep a Snapple bottle for a very long time. There are metal containers that work well also if you prefer. I stay away from plastic… all these stories about BHA and whatnot.
Call me a radical tree hugger if you wish but I’d like to take this opportunity to ask EVERYONE, all over the planet, to please REFRAIN FROM BUYING BOTTLED WATER!! BABA WAWA NO NO!!
Speaking of Baba Wawa and reminiscing, here’s a clip featuring Gilda Radner and Madeline Kahn, who I truly believe are out there making the angels laugh.
Whoooo’s Your Little Whooozit?
by Ken Hansen on Apr.14, 2011, under Happy Friday!!
Did I mention I never get tired of spring? The peepers are peeping, the crocuses are croaking, the rhubarb is rhubing and the garlic is garlicking. Even the wild cabbage is cabbaging! Yes… the wild cabbage survived the winter and is already feeding us.
What’s this with the wild cabbage you say? Well, my lovely girlfriend bought a pretty good sized package of seeds several years ago that were labeled “Broccoli for Sprouting.” They sprouted nicely but the flavor wasn’t as remarkable as we had hoped, so into the fridge they went to sleep until another day. Month. Year. Long time.
So last year, I got a bit adventurous. I wanted to see just what kind of broccoli we’d get from these “broccoli for sprouting” seeds. This is what we got:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Brassica_oleracea0.jpg
It’s brassica oleracea or more commonly called wild cabbage. Apparently it’s the “mother of all cabbages,” meaning it’s an ancient food plant that’s been grown for many thousands of years; and has been bred into other variations like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.
A tough plant! It survived the winter just fine and is making new leaves in our garden already. I picked several of those and also plucked some newly sprouted elephant garlic leaves. Rinsed them off a bit, then dropped them in the pan with some shrimp, onions, a dash of thyme, parsley flakes, chili powder, and soy sauce. The result was very delicious indeed. We threw the shrimp in the garbage and devoured the greens in nothing flat.
OK maybe we didn’t really toss the shrimp…
Anyway, the wild cabbage is cabbaging, at least for now. Next step in its life cycle will be to send flower spikes up and go to seed. Very nice because I’d love to grow it again!
Last week I wrote about the peepers peeping, and a few days ago I heard a lovely ruckus coming from the back of our property. The hooters are hooting! OWLS you silly… barred owls I believe. I haven’t actually seen them but I know they live in these parts. Plus, I found a recording of their call after a search on the web. Thanks very much to Bob Pearson, whose recordings I’m using with permission from here.
I’m certain that this is what I heard:
I’m pretty sure they were pitching woo… they were chattering pretty vigorously. I believe they were singing the owl equivalent to “Who’s Your Little Whozit…”
It’s Wow!! It’s Magic!! It’s Spring!!!
by Ken Hansen on Apr.09, 2011, under Happy Friday!!
I never get tired of watching spring come. The snow is pretty much gone, crocuses are croaking and the peepers are peeping!! Those little froggies simply amaze me. They go to bed in the mud in late fall / early winter. Sleep all winter long, and when the spring rains some they wake up and start singing. The noise is simply musical… Just click on the link below.
Oh wait… wrong sound file. Try this one: Peepers!!!
Oy yoy yoy… this one maybe?? PEEPERS!!!!
Hmmm… ok let me tweak the audio selection variometer a bit. Maybe I should wiggle the floaglit connections too… Oh, and reseat the Fremple memory chips. Ok… I think I have it now…
This time: PEEPERS PLEASE!!!!
Ah yes, much better. You may have to turn your sound WAY UP to hear it well, the recording device was a cheapie… but it works pretty well really. Of course, there’s no substitute for hearing it live and in color. Not sure what color the sound is but I think it might be very dark purple, because the recording was made well after sunset. A farmer friend of mine told me that the old wise farmers know that peepers have to “go to sleep 3 times before the frost is done.” In other words, it’s warm now and the froggies wanna make babies. So, they’re singing their little hearts out from the warm spell we’re having. Sure as heck though, we’ll get some more cold weather before too long and they’ll go back to bed.
On the other hand, Grandpa Bunny always told me, “you got your peas in yet?? S’posed to have your peas and potatoes in the ground by Good Friday.” Not sure how that really works because Good Friday moves around on the calendar. This year, however it’s late in April and that might just be good reasoning.
Pretty soon it will be time to run the rototiller. I know better to run it this early in spring, because we literally live in a swamp. This time of year, our soil is squishy from all the snow melt and rain. Running the rototiller in soggy soil is very similar to tilling chocolate pudding. Plenty of work to do outside anyway, now that the snow doesn’t hide all the firewood debris and doggie land mines anymore.
Tonight was a special treat. Met our daughter and grandson at a local restaurant for dinner. After dinner, she went to her house and we took Ollie to our house. Nothing quite so magical than a young 27 month old guy marveling at the stars in the sky and the peepers in the swamp.
Spring is magical alright.
And now for something… completely different!!
Electronic Osmosis: Beware of “Cyberflu”
by Ken Hansen on Apr.01, 2011, under Happy Friday!!
Just when we thought “we’d seen it all,” yet another internet virus has been spreading like wildfire. However, the latest “computer bug” is the first known case of an organic pathogen that can actually infect humans. Infection is caused via skin contact with an internet connected computer or mobile device. Nicknamed “cyberflu,” what researchers know as the C18x virus has been propagating through e-mail servers in the eastern half of the US. The virus, although not deadly, causes great discomfort and is likely to become a worldwide pandemic if corrective measures are not quickly found.
What’s unique about the C18x virus is the recently discovered transmission method of electronic osmosis. I don’t profess to know the exact technical details of all this, but here’s a quote from the CDC’s Electrocybotics Lab in Atlanta:
“Effective immediately: we recommend issuing a precautionary warning to all computer users to wash their hands before and after using any internet-connected computing device. The C18x influenza virus has been known to travel across vast distances electronically and manifesting contagions on keyboards, computer mouse surfaces and other peripherals. Accidental ingestion of C18x virii can cause symptoms of nausea and other gastrointestinal discomfort within 37 hours of infection.”
As of this writing, the origin of the virus is not verified but researchers suspect that infected food processing plants that use artificial food coloring agents may be a likely source. According to electrocybotic researcher Dr. Javier Montenegro, “this appears to be the brainchild of a disgruntled whistleblower scientist whose warnings about artificial coloring in food went unheeded by industry executives during the late 1980s.” Dr. Montenegro refused to offer the indentity of the whistleblower, as legal actions are already being pursued and therefore cannot be discussed publicly. However, he went on to say, “after repeated warnings of adverse effects of food coloring compounds were ignored, the scientist became withdrawn and quit her job a few years ago.”
Little more was mentioned about food coloring agents until recently, when copies of a rather scathing letter arrived on the desks of several industry execs ordering them to “stop producing artificially colored foods or suffer dire consequences.”
Dr. Montenegro and his colleagues were alerted about the written threat shortly thereafter. Only eight days later, workers in various food processing plants began getting flu-like symptoms. “We believe she infected them remotely,” Dr. Montenegro stated. “She basically ‘threw the switch’ and zapped some of her least favorite factories with C18x using electronic osmosis technology. We’re guessing she genetically engineered an ordinary bird-flu strain of influenza and injected into her home computer network circuitry; then sent it via spyware infected e-mails to her former employers and their peers.”
The magnitude of the C18x is not easily downplayed. As the CDC’s Electrobiotics lab stated yesterday, “computerized manufacturing machinery in such factories could easily spread C18x throughout the factory via electronic osmosis in a very short amount of time. Since many computers in a typical factory are connected to the internet, that would also explain the rapid spread of the virus. If left unchecked this could quickly become a global pandemic.”
Recent reports have already cited artificial food coloring agents as a possible cause for behavioral problems in children. Other ill effects of artificially coloring foods have long been suspected, including damage to our immune systems. If Dr. Montenegro’s theory is proven, significant vigilance should be taken by parents of school age children. Pre-adolescent youths now spend much of their time using computers. In the US, this age group is also known to consume snack foods; many of which contain artificial colors. Consequently, our young people’s immune systems may already be compromised; leaving them even more susceptible to the hazards of a C18x infection.
“Similar susceptibility exists with elderly populations, who also may have fragile immune systems,” according to Dr. Montenegro. “One should be especially wary while visiting social networking sites,” he added. “Any doctor, nurse, or even mother knows that wherever large numbers of people congregate, the possibility of catching something increases.”
As I learn more about this nasty bug I will be happy to share it with you. In the meantime, I’ll be sanitizing my PC (and everything connected to it) on a regular basis and I would strongly advise all those I love to do the same.
Diet YoYo
by Ken Hansen on Mar.25, 2011, under Happy Friday!!
Hello, my name is Duncan and I enjoy eating. Everything. Especially when it tastes good and is fun to have in my mouth place food taster thing.
For why I call myself Duncan?? Well, it’s the name of a famous brand of yo-yo, and yo-yo describes the method of dieting I find most successful. I mean, there I am, minding my own business, doing rather well at the food control if I must say so myself… Then, suddenly, my pants won’t fit right anymore and I cry for ice cream and Whoppers, not necessarily in that order.
Such a pain this dieting is!! Sure, I could use the excuse that the Holiday season messed me up. After all, I DID eat more during that time. But the bottom line is that I like to eat. It’s one of my favorite hobbies. To make matters worse, I also love to cook.
I grew up before all this fat consciousness stuff started, so I became rather fond of such horrible things as butter and gravy. Mom cooked the veggies until they fell apart, and smothered them with margarine. Of course, when I got out on my own with big money to burn, butter was the only logical choice of healthy fat. After all, I reasoned, it comes straight from the cow. It MUST be good! And it is!! It’s completely yummy. Much better than margarine any day, and the more the health experts discover about hydrogenated oils (also known as trans-fats), the better I feel about butter.
On the other hand, you have greasy fingers and the dreaded Dunlop disease (belly done lopped over the belt). My wife and I got really disciplined for awhile there, and even went out on a limb to try that “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spray. Not too bad! The ingredients aren’t all that intimidating either, which is pretty refreshing. We still use it, too, but I confess the butter still creeps in every now and again. Moderation is the key, and that works really well when we practice it.
My only gripe about products like “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” is that they contribute to the already overpopulated world of diet gimmicks. I mean, what’s next? I Can’t Believe It’s Not Peanut Butter spray might be pretty neat, don’t you think? Or how about some I Can’t Believe It’s Not A Pork Chop? Or Gravy? Doggone it!! I love those things, and although I refuse to abstain from them completely, I know that I can’t have as much as I might have eaten, say, fifteen years ago. I vaguely remember a time when I could eat just about anything and not gain an ounce.
But I may have been dreaming…
This year our Nazi Health Insurance Providers are promising to reduce our “enhanced benefits” (which are pretty crummy) if we don’t get our Body Mass Index below 30. So I showed those stinky heads, I got off my hiney and got with the program. As a result, an amazing epiphany flew into my brain: when I behave myself and eat correctly and couple that with exercise, I get good blood pressure readings and I feel great. So, my new frame of mind is to remove the concept of dieting from my brain thing and insert the brilliant idea of life change. It all boils down to the fact that if I choose to take care of myself, I can get eventually get off the blood pressure meds. Also, “I’m on a diet,” by nature, insinuates something much more temporary than, “I’m changing my lifestyle.”
Ah well. Back to the carrots and celery for snacking time. Oh, and not to forget the yogurt with rolled oats, and the walnuts with raisins for protein rather than greaseburgers. I’m not complaining, believe it or not; because I love fruits, nuts and my veggies too. For me, eating more natural foods help me feel much better than the gimmick foods. Besides, I feel better about buying them because they are much more ecologically friendly than spray bottles and such.
Only problem with me is, sometimes the natural foods just don’t satisfy a craving so good. I mean, when you’ve had a stressful day at work or whatever, who in their right mind will say, “My day stunk. What I need is some celery!!”? Not this boy. It would be, “I NEED CHOCOLATE!!” Or ICE CREAM. Or A SHAKE!! These are the things that soothe the savage arteries!
I stopped in to say HI to the guys in the Maintenance Department today and they were having pizza.
The aroma wooed my nostrils and my brain started making this MMMMMMMMMMMMMM sound inside my head.
They are my friends. They asked, “hey Ken, you want a piece of pizza?”
I replied, “oh yeah… but I may as well put it right on my butt because that’s were it’ll end up!!” (I didn’t take any.) (Honest!!)
It’s important to enjoy such treats once in awhile, but deep down inside I know I’ll just have to play nice and be a good boy. I’m not getting any younger, and I still have lots to do on the planet yet. So, I have enough common sense to understand that if I clog my circulatory system with goop, I may not be smelling much coffee during the new millenium.
I’ll just have to invent some I Can’t Believe It’s Not A Snickers Bar spray!!
Now Woody, on the other hand, had a much different food issue…
No Nukes Is Good Nukes
by Ken Hansen on Mar.18, 2011, under Happy Friday!!, My Two Cents
There’s so much sadness in Japan… and nuclear catastrophe to make things even worse. Here in the US our industry leaders are reassuring us that our nuclear power plants are “completely safe” and “were built to withstand earthquakes.”
A combination of great economic and population growth is what led many nations to lean toward nuclear power as a viable means of supplying an energy thirsty country. Nuclear power certainly offers the ability to keep up with large demands for electricity. Scientists and investors have collaborated over the past several decades to bring “safe nuclear energy” to the market place. However, the world is watching with horror as the Japanese struggle to keep their reactors from completely melting down.
My question is: how can anyone say nuclear power plants are “completely safe?” And think about it, are the people of Japan so naïve that they would even consider building plants that would not “withstand earthquakes?” I’m pretty certain the Japanese are quite aware that they have quakes pretty regularly.
I could mention many reasons why nuclear energy is not safe, not the least of which is the technology’s opportunities for weapons proliferation. Aside from nuclear weapons; there is a nasty byproduct of nuclear power that is not considered nearly enough. Nuclear waste stays “hot” for thousands of years; and has to be stored somewhere.
Can anyone really be certain that a nuclear waste dump site will be geologically stable for thousands of years? Or do we just continue on and let our great-great-grandchildren’s great-great-grandchildren deal with the poisons we are placing in the ground?
There are several “green” energy technologies available to us now; so if we really wanted to, we could greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil and yes, even walk away from nuclear power in favor of smaller, less toxic options.
The big problem will all of that cockamamie talk is that nuclear power is really BIG business. And we (meaning we, the taxpayers) are all painfully aware that big business all too often gets what it wants.
I know I say this often, but we can vote to change the world. Every dollar we spend determines what our world will be like. Conversely, every dollar we do not spend sends a big message too. And of course, we mustn’t keep quiet when big business tries to convince us that something is “completely safe” when we know better. “Green” technologies run on a smaller scale; but may offer the safest alternatives to nuclear power. Of course, decreasing the demand would be helpful also. You know, really stupid stuff like turning off the lights in the parking lots of the shopping malls from say 11 PM to 5 AM; increasing the use (and availability) of transit services rather than having 3,000,000 cars on the road carrying 3,000,000 people to work.
OK… that’s enough of that. Can you tell I feel strongly about this?
Well sorry folks, but I really don’t want to be anywhere near a nuclear plant if it malfunctions and makes radioactive “poo.”
Here’s how one artist in Japan has used a cartoon to explain the crisis to the youngsters. (Thanks to my friend Scott for sending me this link today).
Black & White Stress Relief
by Ken Hansen on Mar.12, 2011, under Happy Friday!!
I’m not afraid admit it: I’m an antique. When we were kids, Mom would literally tell us “go watch television” to get us out of her hair. Mind you this was mostly when it was too crummy to go outside; but we grew up spending some time in front of the TV.
When family life got stressful, I found myself clinging to the relief provided by good old black and white TV programs and movies. I mostly enjoyed black and white programs because, well, that’s all we had at our house until well into the ‘70s.
Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, oh and of course there was Our Gang, the Bowery Boys, Bug Bunny, Felix the Cat, Betty Boop…
I could go on for a very long time.
I count myself as one a privileged generation who were blessed to be wowed by the old time greats, yet also blessed by newer talents of today.
But when life gets really icky, I find myself reaching for the Three Stooges or Marx Brothers DVDs. Or maybe Monty Python. OK, Monty Python episodes were not filmed in glorious black and white, but you get the idea.
So there I was, 10,000 feet in the air, no plane, no parachute… oh wait… different story.
So there I was, working my hiney off, being grumpy, not being very grateful. Silly me, a spoiled American, being grumpy because I am working harder than ever. Many, MANY people in this world would be very happy to have the high-class problems I have. However, I’m human and therefore I get grumpy from time to time.
For me, one of the best remedies for stress is laughter.
Therefore, I’m going to treat you to one of my favorite black and white stress relievers.
Please remember that it’s always better to be you than for you to be me; and although you can count to it, “eight” is a word.
OK… now to make with the video!
Hippies Go Gaga
by Ken Hansen on Mar.03, 2011, under Happy Friday!!
We love music, and we also have a passion for concerts. My lovely girlfriend and I grew up during the 60s, so one can imagine the influence the music of those days had on our adolescence. When our paths first crossed we were both 17, skinny like stick people and quickly smitten with each other. She was a bra burning peace marcher from the Detroit burbs, I was a transplanted Long Island kid turned country boy. Both of us loved music and embraced the philosophies of equality, peace, and responsible stewardship of our Dear Mother Nature.
One of the best compliments she gave me in those days, was, “you know Ken, you could easily be a hippie.” Me, the short haired kid who had never taken a mind altering substance or even used 4-letter naughty bits in conversation, a hippie? I was flattered. We got married while I was in the Air Force, and from our home base in Tampa, Florida we ventured to concerts too numerous to mention here.
Fast forward 39 years: here we are now, skinny like log people (in other words, not quite so skinny). I have long hair (on the sides anyway… a bit sparse on top) and wear peace sign t-shirts. I’m really really done with mind altering substances; but a 4 year stint in the Air Force has indelibly sprinkled my speech with several 4-letter naughty bits. They are especially audible when I’m stressed.
Since my job got much bigger I seem to be sprinkling a bit more than usual lately…
Anyway, we still love music and love going to concerts. This past October I stumbled upon a notice that Lady Gaga was coming to our area. We actually managed to get in on the pre-sale thanks to a friend who forwarded me an e-mail with a special code. The normal sale date came and the show was sold out in minutes. Of course our seats were in the nosebleed section, but we didn’t care. We bring binoculars!
I called my aunt for her birthday this past Sunday and mentioned we were going to see Lady Gaga. She had no clue who that was, so she paused and asked with her strong Brooklyn accent, “oh… is that a strip teaser?”
“Well kinda,” I replied, “she doesn’t wear a lot of clothes.”
We had seen a few interviews and couldn’t help but like this Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta who calls herself Lady Gaga. Very down to earth, very much the activist for equality. Definitely an “in-your-face” performance style, yet after seeing her perform it’s obvious to both of us that she’s a very capable musician.
So yeah, we went Gaga this past Tuesday. It was a blast. Sort of a cross between Alice Cooper and Madonna. My lovely bride enjoyed it more than me, but we both had fun. Watching the crowd before the show was almost as much fun as the concert. Even though she’s raking in the bucks, this Lady is definitely aware of the folly of all things commercial. Reminds me of another favorite band of ours: Queen.
One of my favorite anecdotes about Lady Gaga is how she got her stage name. Producer Rob Fusari would sing Queen’s “Radio Gaga” every time she came into the studio. He texted her “Radio Gaga” and apparently the autocorrect feature on his handheld changed “Radio” to “Lady.”
The rest, as they say, is history. Or is it “Radio?”
Something In The Air
by Ken Hansen on Feb.24, 2011, under Happy Friday!!, My Two Cents
If you’re a dinosaur like me, you may remember: “Call out the instigators, because there’s something in the air…” way back in 1969 sung by a one-hit-wonder group by the name of Thunderclap Newman. That one hit has been on the radio and in TV commercials for quite awhile so even if your not a dinosaur you have probably heard it.
Something in the air alright. The world is changing in a pretty big way these days. Folks are getting tired of being stomped on all over the globe and are busy trying to effect change. Nothing new really… this type of thing has thousands of years of history behind it. However, the internet has made instant worldwide communication possible; so things are in flux perhaps now more than ever.
My professional opinion (worth at least 2.4 potato peels) is that this will all result in good things. Of course we have some of the more “stable” governments here and abroad trying to shape the outcome; but ultimately the only ones who have any business in such matters are the Egyptians, the Libyans, the Yemeni folk, and so on.
Every time I hear the phrase “American interests” I feel a bit of indigestion coming on, to put it mildly. We still don’t seem to learn from the past; or even wish to embrace what grandma used to always say: “keep your nose out of other people’s business.” Well of course that’s not going to happen when there are big dollars at stake.
More indigestion….
Our addiction to petroleum seems unquenchable. Although we have large reserves here in our own country we allow business folk to chase after oil and other resources outside our borders. Too often the countries providing us with resources that keep our economy one of the richest in the world are blighted by millions who can’t afford to feed themselves. And too often we working folk here in the US (along with our other brethren in other well off lands) are caught between a rock and a hard place trying to make ends meet. We chase an ever elusive “American Dream,” yet the story never changes: the rich get richer, the poor become more numerous, and we, the working class, pay for all of it.
We’re told our governments are deeply in debt and there are not enough jobs; yet we continue to wage war and waste lives and resources to accomplish dubious goals. Too many of our representatives in Congress are mostly interested in keeping wealthy pockets lined. Defense and oil are big business, and by golly we don’t want to mess with big business. We continue to leave all the lights on in shopping mall parking lots at 2:30 a.m. We continue to run away screaming from planet saving energy policies in favor of bigger, “better” toys.
Now we have forces emerging that are beyond our control and we really should be grateful for that. These people only want what we’ve had for many years: enough to eat, a safe place to sleep, and the freedom to be who they want to be. Their struggles will change the dynamics of the globe; and again, my professional opinion (OK maybe only worth a few radish roots) is that the end result will be good.
Sure, that may take a few hundred years…
That guy in the Whitehouse often uttered, “yes we can” during his campaign. I still admire him and believe he’s doing the best he can under the circumstances. However, we citizens of the free world (not just here in the US) are not trying nearly hard enough. All of us can vote; not just at the ballot box but with each dollar we spend (or don’t spend). Every time we purchase something, we are making a statement about what we want the world to be. If we do our best to purchase items produced locally, our communities will benefit. If we absolutely must have the latest and greatest electronic toy on the market; someone in Asia will benefit. Then it has to be shipped here, which means more oil is used than for locally made stuff. Oh wait… we don’t make much stuff here anymore!! Well OK, not nearly as much as we once did.
Rather than growth oriented economies, dearly loved by the rich; we need sustainable economies where everyone has enough. If everyone on the planet had enough, wars would become obsolete.
Silly me… there I go dreaming again. Just like these guys did way back in 1969…
