Stanley Clarke - School Days

Friday's lesson in bass playing.

The World Naked Bike Ride...

Care to join up for the World Naked Bike Ride?

What to wear? Do not fear! The World Naked Bike Ride dress code is "Bare As You Dare"... How bare is that ? How dare is that ?...Its all up to you, you decide what you are comfortable with. No one is exluded or discriminated against based on levels of clothing, bodypaint, or anything else, for that matter!

Four days until season starts...

Opening day lineup

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1. Alfonso Soriano, CF
2. Matt Murton, LF
3. Derrek Lee, 1B
4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B
5. Jacque Jones, RF
6. Michael Barrett, C
7. Mark DeRosa, 2B
8. Cesar Izturis, SS
9. Carlos Zambrano, P

Got some big bats, pitching still questionable. Got to be a better year!

Another lesson in esoterics.....

From Vernon Howard's Secrets of Life (R)

"Every form of contention, of hostiliity, of argument, every form of it is a loss to you. There is nothing to gain by fighting with any other human being or with yourself."

....CD...Something Higher Than Ideas, Talk2

Wood and Prior earn new positions on Cubs...

The Dysfunctional Duo

Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have only been useful to the Cubs in recent years. This season will be different, the team insists. The Cubs intend to get new value out of the fragile tandem by relegating them to clean-up duties in Wrigley Field's famed bleachers this season.

"I often see Kerry and Mark just sitting around playing cards when they could be doing something more valuable for the organization," Cubs director of stadium operations Peter Richardson said. "We need all the help we can get clearing out the newly expanded Bud Light Bleachers after home games, so I suggested we incorporate the guys on the DL to lend a hand, you know, pitch in, so to speak."

Despite being elated at the prospect of finally getting a return on their multi-million dollar investments in their once promising young slingers, the Cubs will proceed with caution while readying Wood and Prior for their new roles.

"We're going to carefully teach Mark and Kerry proper broom mechanics," said Cubs trainer Mark O'Neal. "Otherwise it won't be long before either of them strain something from sweeping empty plastic beer cups."

...thanks to The Heckler

More big little people you may not want to know...

9. Bushwick Bill & Joe C.

How you know them: Joe C. was a member of Kid Rock's posse and Bushwick Bill was an integral part of 90s rap legends the Geto Boys.

For years where Kid Rock went so went Joe. The ubiquitous Lilliputian could be seen strutting around on stage at Kid Rock's concerts and just hanging out with Rock during MTV interviews. Joe C. died tragically in 2000 when he escaped from his cage during one of Rock's coke-fueled benders and was slain attempting to pilfer cheese from a rat trap.

Bushwick Bill, on the other hand, is alive and enjoying a modestly successful solo career despite having shot out his own eye during a 1991 suicide attempt.

Joe C.'s nadir: Joe's high and low points involved prancing around on a stage alongside one of rock music's biggest mistakes.

Bushwick Bill's nadir: Following his 1991 suicide attempt the photo of a one-eyed Bill recuperating in the hospital was used as the cover for the Geto Boys album We Can't Be Stopped.

thanks to Something Awful

Big little people you may not want to know....

8. Bridget Powers

How you know her: Frequently billed as Bridget the Midget, she is the most prolific and successful of the midget porn stars.

Bridget Powers has appeared in more than 45 adult movies and has subjected her tiny frame to pretty much every depravity you can imagine.

Her career high point: Her magnum opus is 2000's Double Midgetation.

Her career low point: She is now pint-sized Courtney Love for heavy metal band BlakkOut. Her number one influence is listed on the band's website as "The Beetle's".

How to survive the 'cool' handshake...

You become bewildered when faced with an "ethnic" handshake.

It is the fear of all suburbanites: when presented with a fist, an open palm, or any other nonstandard handshake, we freeze up, unable to react. We know that we must act quickly to avoid looking hopelessly square, or worse yet, racist. What do we do?

The most important factor when faced with an "academic" handshake is reaction time. No matter what your response is, slapping a fist or tickling a palm is infinitely better than just tentatively extending your trembling hand and hoping the other party takes the initiative to guide you through the process.

All handshakes are, at their core, tests to measure the machismo and charisma of an opponent; a nonstandard handshake goes above all that, and becomes a test of confidence and will. The slightest hesitation values your opponent's hand above your own. When faced with an unfamiliar handshake, take action, any action, as quickly as possible. Don't think, just shoot out your hand and slap whatever's in front of you.

....thanks to somethingawful.com

Moon Eclipse

A few week ago, we had a full eclipse of the moon on a clear night which made the viewing very enjoyable. It was an awesome site. Got this picture from Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive which has lots of astronomical photos.

Sunday's lesson in esoterics...

Vernon Howard's SECRETS OF LIFE (R)

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"This world that you live in is not governed by human beings at all.
This globe is not run by human personalities, it is not run by events at all. Already this may be something of a surprise to you because our minds are slanted so much toward believing that people, men, women, great men, ungreat men, that they control the events of the world.
Nothing could be more distant from the truth. This world that you live in, that you existed in today is controlled by attitudes. It is run by unconscious attitudes."

The New World Above Your Mind DVD # 23, Talk 1

Saturday with the terrorists and Rosie O'Donnell

POOR, POOR KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED

"The media is now downplaying the claims of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed...saying he may be exaggerating his testimony. Of course, this is being done to try and minimize the threat of Islamic terrorism. As if being responsible for 9/11 weren't enough. Democrats, who are in denial about the terrorist threat, are seeking to minimize any success the Bush Administration may be having with fighting the war on terror. And naturally the media is along for the ride.

You know what the implication is here. We obviously tortured him, right? He's just telling us what we want to hear....lying about his conquests. One man couldn't possibly be responsible for all of that. Funny how every time we capture or kill an Al-Qaeda bigwig, Democrats downplay it as just one person. But in the same breath, they turn around and mock the Bush Administration for not capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden yet. Wait a minute...I thought he was just one man?

So now we get to watch the media and liberals stir up sympathy for an Islamic terrorist. Rosie O'Donnell defended poor Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on 'The View.' That's not far off the mark when it comes to the latest Democratic response." (thanks to Neal Boortz)

Donald Trump has funny hair, but I have to agree with his comments about Ms. O'Donnell.

The Flying Imams
The six imams who were kicked off a flight in Minneapolis are now not only suing the airline, but are also targeting passengers that reported them to airport security. If this goes through, people are going to be afraid to report Islamic terrorism in progress. This is just the kind of political correctness the 9/11 hijackers relied on.

Bring Him On...

Come on down Fred.

Economy Model Cat Carrier...

This one is few bucks cheaper than the last carrier I advertised and offers the added value of thirty free beers!

Real Intelligence...

'I am now aware that intelligence does not consist of a mere
collection of facts, but exactly what is real intelligence?'

'It is a freely flowing whole mind. Our task is to remove the need-
less barriers to this natural flow. Any negative thought is a barrier,
including antagonism, jealousy, self-glorification. An intelligent
mind flows freely and quietly, like a mountain brook.'"

There is a Way Out, p. 113....Vernon Howard

Chik-a-filet trained cows.....

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) -- When dozens of chickens went missing from a remote West Bengal village, everyone blamed the neighborhood dogs.

But Ajit Ghosh, the owner of the missing chickens, eventually solved the puzzle when he caught his cow -- a sacred animal for the Hindu family -- gobbling up several of them at night.

"We were shocked to see our calf eating chickens alive," Ghosh told Reuters by phone from Chandpur village, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Kolkata.

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New Thinking

An individual does not have dozens of problems. He has only one fundamental problem. Realizing this is like leaping over a high fence that blocked our path.
What is it?
It is the illusion that ordinary thinking can solve problems. Ordinary thought, conditioned thought, cannot solve problems because it is the very cause of problems. Habitual thinking, frozen thinking, cannot teach us anything new, any more than a polar bear can teach anything about tropical bananas. It is strange how we fail to see this. Furiously and frantically, we battle for years in an attempt to think our way out, but new walls appear at every turn.

A totally new way of thinking is required. This thinking does not look to conditioned memory for an answer. Instead, the mind waits quietly for something higher than memory to speak. The resulting answer solves all problems."


Esoteric Encyclopedia of Eternal Knowledge, p. 144....Vernon Howard

A Democrat with sense.....

Ed Knoch is the only Democrat since JFK that I would support and give him a vote.
Yeah, I was a flaming liberal once.
Go here and read any of his essays. I recommend this one first. Its one of my favorite grinds. Rich, privileged, ungrateful celebrities bashing the USA.

Sam and Max are back....

Our favorite goofy detectives are back at work.
I played a game many years ago called "Sam and Max Hit the Road". I still laugh at how foolish that was or maybe it was me?
Anyway, guaranteed laughs here and don't we all need that?

Yestereday was the first aniverasary of the death of my cat Lucy-Susy. That baby had been with me for fourteen years and had transformed from being a cat into a blessing. I'm not over her yet. She slept with me from day 1 and even when I was working odd hours for the Tennessean and sleeping like from 9am to 2 or 3 she would climb up there and snuggle in my armpit. She liked the outside in good weather and she could hear my vehicle coming up the street and would meet me at the end of the drive. It was a special relationship and I'll always remember it.

POLITICS: Friday Afternoon Poll: Electric Al Gore Edition!

Went here looking for Hot Stove League Baseball news and, of all things ,found a Goreland poll.
Go on over and vote.

Quote of the Day Department:

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”— Marcus Tullius Cicero

Burka Band -Burka Blue

"So many people, so little purpose."....Sherlock Holmes

On Geroge Clooney and Hollyweird actors in general...

"days of salt and vinegar
by J.C. Phillips

A French philosopher once remarked that a civilization that feels guilty for everything it is and does will not have the will or energy to defend itself. I thought of these words when I read the recent Newsweek interview with actor George Clooney. When asked about the failure of the international community to act to end the genocide in Darfur, Clooney blamed it on the United States’ lack of moral authority since our invasion of Iraq.

Curiously, Clooney did not blame the lethargic international response on the inertia of the European Union, the duplicity of Arab states that funded the conflict while Muslims were slaughtering Christians and now seem content to sit by as Muslims slaughter Muslims. Neither did he ascribe any blame to the Chinese and Russians that have routinely blocked U.N. action. For Clooney, the fault lies solely with the United States because we are currently in Iraq, oddly enough doing exactly what Clooney wants the U.S. to do in Sudan.

Of course, to hear Clooney tell it, his perspective on U.S. foreign relations is due to his being raised to look at this country from the outside in as opposed to the inside out. Why is that Hollywood celebrities hide their hubris behind claims that they are simply more sophisticated than the rest of us? No doubt, it is this same sophistication that leads them to embrace totalitarian dictators and become enamoured of all things European. The same Europe, by the way, that is so morally superior that they were paralyzed during the Bosnian crisis, sat on their hands during the genocide in Rwanda and now sits impotent in the face of a soon to be nuclear armed Iran; The same Europe that witnesses suffering in Sudan and fails to act because they disagree with our Iraq policy. That can’t even sound right to Clooney.

There is a steady stream of anti-Americanism that runs through Hollywood and is infecting the rest of the country. From Hollywood actors that wear their contempt for America like a badge of honor to former presidential candidates that bad mouth America in the ears of despots and beyond, the ranks of the guilt-ridden and self loathing are growing. The irony is that the ambitions of so many of these Hollywood types – treatment for AIDS, ending starvation, preventing genocide etc. – hinge not on the soft socialism of Europe, but on the very American values they disdain. It is those same values of self reliance, decentralization, capitalism, freedom of speech and religion and rights to private property -- and not European secularist socialism -- that is the blueprint for world peace and prosperity.

Perhaps in another era I could listen to actors like Clooney hold forth on their designer soapboxes and just ascribe it to Hollywood arrogance and eccentricity. But these are times of salt and vinegar. We are at war and I am not talking about Iraq. This nation is engaged in a life and death struggle with Islamic fascists, Jihadist -- or whatever the term du jour is -- for our very existence. If we are going to be victorious, we had better reject Hollywood anti-Americanism (no matter how pretty the face) and begin to feel good about ourselves. If our culture and our ideals are going to survive, we had better start feeling good about America. We had better begin to feel good about our values. We had better begin facing the world with confidence in who we are and with clarity about what we stand for. Or we could follow sophisticates like Clooney down the garden path and begin work carving “Rest In Peace” on America’s headstone."

Well said and I would like to add the names Jane Fonda, Susan Saradon, Sean Penn and their ilk to this letter. People of privledge, wealth and power who are ungrateful and even hate the country that has allowed them this success.

...thanks to The Cook Shack from whence I borrowed this letter

Al in Teslaland....