Talking Turkey

Fifteen second silent video vignette of a gobbler strutting his stuff....

 

Friday Music

This song by the Beach Boys was released as a single in 1968 was intended to be a throwback to the band's surfer roots with Mike Love and Brian Wilson performing the lead vocals.  

The song rose to number 20 on the Billboard Top 100 and was the band's second number one hit in the UK.

It's a fun tune.  This 1995 video features Brian along with Wendy and Carnie Wilson.

Do It Again.....

Old School Transportation

I've ridden all manner of public transportation over my lifetime - both here and abroad.  On our road trip MATA (Memphis Area Transit Authority) served-up a real treat.  

Old school vintage trolley cars.

Some background first.  The Memphis Street Railway was created in 1895 as a consequence of the merger of three other smaller rail systems.  Albert Billings of Chicago, bought the company for over $2,000,000, placed electric power on the roads and the company became a great success.  In its heyday the interurban operated nearly 77 miles of track - most of it double-track.  Memphis, then only 44 square miles, could be traversed easily with frequent service to within blocks of any corner in the city.  Fares included a free transfer.

Similar to the evolution of urban transit in other cities streetcars were phased-out in 1947 to be replaced with electric trolleybuses (trackless trolleys).  By 1960 diesel buses displaced the trackless trolleys and in 1961 the transit authority became publicly-owned.   

Fast-forward to modern times.  

Originally proposed as a line along the Mississippi Riverfront the Memphis City Council voted in January 1990 to build the 2.5-mile $33 million Main Street route.  Construction commenced in 1991 however longer-than-anticipated restoration of the vintage streetcars delayed the opening of the line until spring 1993.  The MATA trolley network nowadays operates three routes (Madison Avenue Line, Riverfront Loop and Main Street Line) on ten miles of track.  

If you're a tourist like me a $2 daily fare includes unlimited transfers and easy access to midtown Memphis.  The Riverfront loop allows you to take-in some spectacular Mississippi views.

About the vintage trolleys.

Just about all of the trolleys in use are restored, vintage streetcars.  The first three cars placed in operation were from Porto, Portugal and are Car 187, circa 1927; Car 194, circa 1935; and Car 204, circa 1940. The cars were restored by Memphis company Kerns-Wilcheck Associates with three additional ex-Porto cars (156, 164 and 180) joining the fleet.  

These trolleys are replete with varnished wood, polished brass and pneumatic controls operated by compressed air right down to the bells and whistles.

The fleet has expanded over the years with reconditioned care sourced from as far as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Melbourne, Australia. Milwaukee may have The Hop but the Memphis trolleys have real class.  

Memphis wears this style well for a thoughtfully redeveloped old school entertainment district.

 

Traitor?

From MAGA World and the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP the madness persists....

I wish Putin was president of America.

Nick Fuentes, America First Political Action Conference

February 2022  ·  Quote Source 

 

I don't know if this guy was born an imbecile or if he's been eating lead paint chips from an old house.  

 

What we know for sure is that in MAGA world and the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP Russian war criminals are idolized. 

In my basically normal world view if Fuentes isn't a traitor he's been brainwashed.

 

Or maybe a garden variety sociopath.

 

Maybe all of the above....

Beale Street

Beale Street is situated in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee which dates to 1900.  It stretches from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles. It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in music history - Blues in particular.  

The first significant stop on our recent road trip was Memphis Tennessee and Jill had reserved a room at a hotel located in downtown Memphis a block (and walking distance) from Beale Street.  Two nights and a full day.

It is roughly three blocks and 27 acres of nightclubs, restaurants and shops in the heart of downtown Memphis. 

It's a melting pot of  blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll and gospel.

Good food too.

Memphis is home to significant construction and redevelopment and has a pile of goodness going for it.  If you ever have a notion to visit I'll be posting some tid-bits worthy of consideration....

More about this later

Alley parking

And the late night life explains why this was the first time in my life a hotel provided ear protection....

Big Blue

Sometimes conditions of lighting, placement and timing result in fascinating photographic effects.

Taken under very low light conditions this gobbler is strutting the blues....

The Road Trip Chronicles 2022

Heretofore we have basically resumed normal life post-Covid.  Masks and optional and rare and donned under specific circumstances.  The cancer clinic comes to mind.  We used to hang-out in an occasional bar yet have eschewed the experience.  That's not an altogether bad thing and I suppose eventually I (we'll) resume enjoying a fish fry at the local watering hole before too long.

 

This series of blog posts are a taste of our effort to break-out of the post Covid world and begin to normalize our traveling experience.  We decided to do so with a traditional road trip to the deep south and hook-up with the kids and grandson in northern Alabama.

 

2500+ miles later it feels cooler yet terrific to be back home. 

Jefferson Barracks Bridge, officially the Jefferson Barracks Memorial Arch Bridge, is a pair of bridges across the Mississippi River on the south side of St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Each bridge is 3,998 feet long with a 909-foot long arch bridge spanning the shipping channel.

Folks, that white stuff you see on the side of the road is hail!

And the further we traveled the direction of our destination on day two of our trip the worse the weather grew and the deeper was that stuff on the side of the road. 

Fortunately, the tornadoes and hail preceded us. Nevertheless, Ma Nature slapped any worthy road warriors with 2-6 inches of rain on the road to Memphis. 

It’s been a spell since I drove a white-knuckler.

Stay-tuned for more roadside curiosities and other fun stuff…..

 

Friday Music

This gospel, folk, country artist is an American two-time Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter.

And this song has been covered by multiple additional artists and is easy on the ears.

Iris DeMent and Let The Mystery Be....

GOP Kremlin Apologists

The GOP that I associated myself with for more than four decades no longer has a place for me.  

Translation:  If you do not demonstrate sufficient fealty and obeisance to the Orange Man Child there is no room for you.  You have no role.  Exile is your fate. 

Blind obedience is what passes for Republicanism nowadays.

 From MAGA World and the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP there is this...

Putin is taking over a country for two dollars worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart.

Donald Trump

February 2022  ·  Quote Source 

 

 

 

As a candidate, president and ex-president, Trump has repeatedly gushed over Putin. Praising him for being "strong,” “savvy” and “genius.” Trump has also echoed Putin’s ideology, by harshly criticizing NATO.  He suggested that in his second term of office he would withdraw the US from the NATO alliance.

 

Just the other day Trump criticized NATO and dodged Russia's 'evil' actions on Fox News.

Conspicuously, Trump has not denounced nor condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

Crickets.

 

The quote in this post and Trump's passive-aggressive dance with friendly Fox media speaks volumes.  I don't know about you but I find this approbation and adulation of a vile and murderous war criminal disturbing.

Maybe some of the inhabitants of MAGA world have an affinity for the conduct of Russia in their unprovoked aggression against Ukraine?

The butchery of thousands of civilians and flattening of Mariupol. This is the Russian way of war. 

The gruesome discoveries in Bucha, Troyanets, and other Kyiv suburbs newly freed from Russian occupation have shifted the discourse on Russia’s war in Ukraine, putting the focus on Russian atrocities against the civilian population.

The horrific photos and videos - bodies buried in mass graves or lying by the roadside, some victims with hands tied execution-style behind their backs - have been seen around the world and have shocked the conscience of everyone except the habitual Kremlin apologists and the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP.

Gosh, I hope this continues to remain a shrinking minority of individuals. Maybe some day the fever will break.  Who knows?  But I digress.

This is how Putin’s forces fought in Chechnya and Syria — and before that, how Soviet forces fought in Afghanistan and in central Europe during World War II. 

They commit war crimes to terrorize the noncombatant civilian population into surrender.  Barbarity is embedded in their DNA.

Not a bit of this comes as a surprise to this blogger.  I expected it as it was entirely predictable.

And so far it hasn’t worked in Ukraine. 

Russia’s savagery has simply caused the Ukrainians to resist all the harder because they know they are fighting not just for their freedom but for their very survival.

I am reminded of a subjugated collection of colonies throwing-off the yoke of tyranny two and a half centuries ago.

It sure isn't my daddy's GOP anymore.

Sociopaths the Putin apologists are.

All of them.

What To See In The April Night Sky

The month of April brings us the Lyrid Meteor Shower which will reach its peak The evening of April 22-23 with a moon that is a late arrival at 1 AM.

Why is this important?  The early dark sky provides better viewing conditions to observe the Lyrids.

 

This meteor shower is made up of the remains of the Comet Thatcher and could produce up to 10-20 meteors per hour. Your best viewing opportunities begin late night tonight until sunrise on tomorrow.  They're expected to peak in the early morning hours on April 22.  But you can also catch them Saturday night and before sunrise on Sunday.   

Look to the northeast for these shooting stars to originate from the radiant.          

What To See In The April Night Sky

There doesn't seem to be a universal definition of what constitutes a planetary parade.  Nevertheless, it is a visual phenomenon that occurs when planets of the Solar System appear in a small sector of the sky at the same time as seen by observers from Earth.  To be clear, they're not equidistant from earth - although their alignment in the eyes of an earthly viewer lends that illusion.

A small alignment will occur tomorrow morning on April 20, when Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus will create a near-perfect line in the predawn sky. Bonus: the moon joins the parade on the 21st and brings-up the rear of the parade by the 23rd.  

The viewing conditions will be more favorable than in March: all the planets will be within range of naked-eye visibility and will rise higher above the horizon before sunrise. Because it sits lower in the horizon than the other three planets you will still need a clear horizon to view the planet Jupiter.

If you don't catch it tomorrow - revisit the early night sky before sunrise thru the weekend.

photo Stellarium

Incidentally,  all the planets of the Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune plus the dwarf planet Pluto – lined up on one side of the Sun at the same time on July 4, 2020.

This will next occur in 2161.

See you then!

Marriage

A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband is not in bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall. She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.

'What's the matter, dear' she whispers as she steps into the room, 'Why are you down here at this time of night?'

 

The husband looks up from his coffee, 'It's the 20th Anniversary of the day we met'.

 

She can't believe he has remembered and starts to tear up.

The husband continues, 'Do you remember 20 years ago when we started dating, I was 18 and you were only 16?' he says solemnly.

 

Once again, the wife is touched to tears. 'Yes, I do' she replies.

The husband pauses The words were not coming easily. 'Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?'

 

'Yes, I remember' said the wife, lowering herself into the chair beside him.

The husband continued. 'Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, either you marry my daughter or I will send you to prison for 20 years?'

 

'I remember that, too' she replied softly.

He wiped another tear from his cheek and said 'I would have gotten out today.'

Selfie

Modern day equivalent of forty acres and a mule.

Back-end of a tree farmer climbing onto his mule....

The Trouble With Nazis

Godwin's law, short for Godwin's law (or rule) of Nazi analogies,is an Internet adage asserting that as an online discussion grows longer (regardless of topic or scope), the probability of a comparison to Nazis or Adolf Hitler increases to near certainty.

I have some trouble with individuals flippantly making Nazi analogies.  Or associating those who behave badly with Nazis.  Fundamentally, it is lazy thinking.  A cop-out.  Not every bad actor is necessarily a Nazi.  Nevertheless, it hasn't stopped congresswoman, thinker of lazy thoughts and championship Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene.

From MAGA land and the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP there is this:

NATO has been supplying the neo-Nazis in Ukraine with powerful weapons and extensive training on how to use them. What the hell is going with these #NATONazis?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)

March 2022  ·  Quote Source

Greene, Trump, Putin and their Kremlin apologists call for the deNazification of Ukraine -- and ironically advocate Nazi-like methods to do so. 

 

Russia has applied such methods in Mariupol and Bucha.  War crimes like rape, torture, murder and the indiscriminate slaughter of civilian noncombatants to terrorize the population into submission.

 

Perhaps Greene and Trump need to be mindful that Putin's mind works like this - every Ukrainian who has taken up arms against Russia's aggression must be eliminated.  

 

Rubbed-out.  

 

By definition, the Soviet de-Nazification campaign means the destruction of the idea of Ukraine and its national identity.  It calls for the elimination of the country’s political elite and the infliction of all of the horrors of war on Ukraine “as a historical lesson and atonement for their guilt.”

 

As a consequence should not Greene, Trump and Putin be wary of channeling Nazi analogies?

 

Not surprisingly Nazi's are sociopaths.

 

All of them....

What To See In The April Night Sky

If you are reading this you have ample notice about tomorrows' full moon - called the Pink Moon. 

The term ‘Pink Moon’ actually does not imply that the moon is pink.  The term derives from the spring appearance of native ground phlox and their pink blooms that coincides with the April full moon.  I recommend that if viewing conditions are good late tonight or very early Saturday morning that you drag yourself out of bed so you can witness the moon at its largest. 

The April full moon is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and the Fish Moon.  The Algonquin people knew this as the Breaking Ice Moon while the Dakota identify this as the When The Ducks Come Back Moon.  These native tribal names ring true around here.

More here from the Old Farmer's Almanac...

Friday Music

This song was written, composed and performed by Neil Diamond and released on his 1970 album:  Tap Root Manuscript.

The song muses about mortality with the first section featuring a fast-paced recitation of twenty-five historical figures.  The second part of the song is slower and more retrospective reflecting-upon the commonalities of these individuals.

It spent five weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart as the B-side of I Am...I Said - which coincidentally reached number 65.  I guess I had forgotten how much I liked it back in the day.

Done Too Soon....

Darwin Awards

Russian soldiers invading Ukraine spent weeks in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, digging trenches and bunkers in one of the most toxic places on earth, seemingly without concern for their own safety.

 

Russian Checkpoint - Exclusion Zone   Photo New York Times

 

As reported in the New York Times - as the staging ground for an assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, one of the most toxic places on earth, was probably not the best choice. But that did not seem to bother the Russian generals who took over the site in the early stages of the war.  The Russian war criminals dug it up anyway.

“We told them not to do it, that it was dangerous, but they ignored us,” Valeriy Simyonov, the chief safety engineer for the Chernobyl nuclear site, said in an interview.

Apparently undeterred by safety concerns, the Russian forces tramped about the grounds with bulldozers and tanks, digging trenches and bunkers — and exposing themselves to potentially harmful doses of radiation lingering beneath the surface.

As the assault on Kyiv collapsed and the Russians fled their toxic accommodations in retreat the imbeciles looted and sacked the place for radiated souvenirs. 

These goobers are angling for first place in the 2022 Darwin Awards.

 

Story here....

 

Russian War Criminals

 

Double Suicide

This is periodic and reoccurring phenomenon. 

 

Almost a decade ago we learned that our AC unit wouldn’t power-up. After a brief inspection the HVAC technician came to the door with good news and bad news. The bad news was that the AC unit was fried. The good news was the house didn’t burn down. He reported that mice had accessed the unit, chewed the wiring, electrocuted themselves and then in the resulting self-immolation set the controls on fire.

 

The unit was kaput.

 

Assessing the cost of repairs versus replacement we opted to install a four season heat pump. The thinking was electricity was cheaper than propane and if we could reduce propane use during the shoulders of the heating season we could save some money on our annual heating bills.

 

As it turned-out cost recovery took about five years.

 

Anyway, the outside unit is more mouse resistant. Nevertheless, mice are persistent and while they can squeeze their head thru the grate the balance of the mouse will not pass.

 

Easily anyway.

 

Recent double suicide…..

 

 

 

Beer Showdown

It isn't important to know how this beer came into my possession.  What matters is that it was lurking in the garage fridge for awhile so I decided to do something about it. 

Namely drink it.

It's a Bud Light Orange. 

An intriguing flavor combination that from all outward appearances was deceptively refreshing.

I tried a sip.  Followed by a couple of swallows.  Overall:  All I can say is it was not horrible but it did not taste like beer.  Likely a consequence of the ingredients - water, corn, barley, cane sugar, natural flavors, citric acid, orange peel, and hop extract.

I poured the remainder down the drain.

This is an excellent beer..... 

Tucker Rhymes With?

Answer:  Sucker.

The thing about the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP is that the supply of material is virtually endless.

These Kremlin apologists have their noses so far up the back sides of Trump and Putin it isn't funny.

Not that it was funny from the get-go.

I'd never put my nose there.  Gross!  Of course, I haven't demonstrated anywhere near sufficient obeisance, fealty and humiliation before the Orange God King either.  I don't worship false idols.  But I digress.

Consider this...

I think we should probably take the side of Russia, if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine.

Tucker Carlson, FOX News

December 2019  ·  Quote Source 

 

Yeah.  Old quote, old news.  Yet just like Donald Trump he hasn't changed his tune either.

 

This guy is nothing more than a tired, Russian propaganda mouthpiece.  Putin's useful idiot.

 

The rapes at gunpoint, murder of civilian noncombatants, looting and other war crimes have made it more cumbersome to self-identify with the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP.  Nevertheless, there is no shortage of Republicans who feel an affinity for the Russian president.

 

It's a crazy, mixed-up world for sure.

 

And it isn't the GOP I used to included-in.

 

 

Bring-on The Songbirds

 

 

Last week the last family of deer mice was evicted and all 52 nest boxes had been cleaned and made ready for new tenants.

Two rebuilt and two new boxes were deployed as replacements.

 

Bring-on the migratory songbirds!

The Siege of Crailsheim

Some of you readers might know I was born in Stuttgart and raised on a US Army installation in Crailsheim, Germany  - McKee Barracks to be exact.  If you didn't already know that - you do now.   The town of Crailsheim has been around a long time and noteworthy of old, walled, German towns it also has a colorful history.     

During the internecine warfare of the years 1379 - 1380 Crailsheim was under siege at the hands of more powerful neighbors from the cities of Schwäbisch Hall, Rothenberg and Dinkelsbühl.       

The armies that had laid siege to Crailsheim were attempting to cause the surrounded town to submit by means of starving the citizenry.  After some time had passed they figured they were close to forcing the townsfolk to capitulate when the encircled residents of Crailsheim resorted to an ingenious plan.       

The women collected all the remaining flour to bake rounded buttocks-shaped pastries.  These were hurled from the town walls in the direction of siege forces.  At the same time, the mayor’s wife courageously mounted the town’s ramparts and revealed and displayed her magnificent buttocks to the attackers. 

She mooned the invading forces!  

Faced with this brazen display of abundance the besiegers realized the hopelessness of their cause and disconsolately departed.   

As the story goes, the mayor's wife's buttocks resembled a hairy ape - Haariger Affe - or ‘Horaff’ in the vernacular of the locals.  As a consequence (and in recognition of the heroine's bottom) yummy Horaff pastry buns in the form of a lady's buttocks are baked on the anniversary of Crailsheim’s victory.  Everyone - including the children - delight in them.  

It is a legendary symbol of the resistance.      

It's a fun story.

And quite true… 

 

Snow Birds

Gobblers gotta do what gobblers gotta do.

Tough bird the wild turkey is.....

Friday Music

The lyrics of this song revolve around a guy who is infatuated with a married woman, knows he can never have her, and is relegated to confessing his love for her audibly, but alone.Yeah - that's a sappy plot line.

What set this song apart from the rest was that it was the Grass Roots' first to feature a horn section.  The band worried that this would preclude it from becoming a hit.  Nevertheless, it was well received and became their biggest hit in the United States.  The single peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold with sales of over one million units by the end of 1968.

Still going strong in 1975 there is this blast from the past on American Bandstand.

Midnight Confessions..... 

Rules of Warfare

The California National Guard has had a close working relationship with the Ukraine military and national guard since 1993. It’s one of the many worldwide partnerships that multiple US states’ National Guard participate in.  Evidence of this partnership in training has played-out over the past five weeks.

It shows. 

After the dismantling of the Soviet Union, as Ukraine emerged as a sovereign nation, its military operated by the tactics and strict top-down strategy of the Soviet Union. 

The Russian military is still run on that Soviet model.

The Ukrainian military partnered with western armed forces, and trained in western military principles that empower strong on the ground leadership and ability for non commissioned officers and troops to make decisions in real time on battlefield. 

I listened to an interview of HR McMaster* the other day on Sirius XM radio and he juxtaposed civilized warfare (there is such a thing) with the undisciplined barbarity of the Soviet invaders. He not only pointed-out the unprofessional conduct of Russian military forces but he also shared his observation of the total breakdown of Russia's military command and control. He reminded Sirius listeners of the rules of war:

• No targeting of civilians

• No torture or inhumane treatment of detainees

• No attacking hospitals and aid workers

• Provide safe passages for civilian non-combatants to flee

• Provide access to humanitarian organizations

• No unnecessary or excessive loss and suffering

Having violated every single rule of warfare it appears that Russian barbarians have demonstrated that cruelty and depravity is an integral component to their manner of prosecuting a war.

Ukrainian forces know and understand the rules of conduct and warfare taught by our own citizen soldiers.

It shows. 

Thank you and respect to all of the citizen solders who serve and have participated in these exercises with our allies in other countries.

Especially to Ukraine for courage and fortitude...

 

*McMaster is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 26th United States National Security Advisor to President Trump from 2017 to 2018.

All Hail the Queen

I awoke Monday to snow.  Two inches to be exact - followed later in the evening by another two inches.

Welcome to false spring in northeast Wisconsin.

Monday also found us visiting the vet for a Labrador retriever that had the shits over the weekend.  Application of the universal bland diet (boiled rice and chicken) wasn't making a difference.  An exam along with lab work followed and we returned home with a broad-spectrum antibiotic and a probiotic to stabilize the dog's digestive tract.

She's better.

And something that hasn't changed throughout - she simply likes to lie in the snow.

Sie ist ein Schneehund....

Sympathy for the Devil

 Some things just have to be said.

Click on the link above to redirect to Axios and listen to what the Congressman has to say...

Kitchen Curiosity

If you're looking for something to make you nuts there is this...

Not my house.

Pro-Putin Republicans

From MAGA World and the Trump-Putin wing of the GOP there is this...

Every American who wants to know what’s *actually* going on in Russia and Ukraine, read this transcript of Putin’s address…WE are at fault.

Candace Owens, Daily Wire

February 2022  ·  Quote Source 

 

The Soviets engage in the destruction of entire cities, intentional targeting of civilian noncombatants, rape, looting, murder, an entire breakdown of command, control and discipline.  In MAGA world this is our fault.

 

Sociopaths.

 

All of them.