The Demon Tide

It's twenty minutes to midnight,
Mother, be sure to lock the door
Keep the children from the windows,
Though they've seen it all before 
The demon tide is rising fast, 
It overruns the land once more

It rolls with quiet, ominous force
So slow it's hard to trace its course
Did this arise from river or coast?
How many victories does it now boast?
How many of us know nobody close
who's suffered? A handful, at most

Shapeless shifting fills the gaps
Where grows the foreign menace
It leaves its mark in blackest dark
When senses are not at their best
It feeds on fear in all its forms,
This tide of dreadful strangeness

No demon tide shall drown this land
Nor wave of strangeness bring an end
to what we fought for way back when
Against the onslaught we will stand
Make this land safe, and free again
We'll stem this tide, anyway we can

We are sitting here in eastern New Orleans, waiting for a mean nor'wester to blow through before heading east in its wake. I don't mind a day or two of standing by, but any more than that makes the hitch seem more like two months than two weeks. I have actually run the boat only 2 1/2 days out of the last 8, and this trip be draggin'!

Right now, Chad, our sole deckhand until Friday, and I are studiously ignoring each other as we stare into our respective screens. We are listening to music that he is accessing from Youtube; not a single song so far was first aired after his birth. Credence, Stones, Otis, Sam Cooke, The Who. He's a good lad. The songs he has chosen to play are subtly influencing my thoughts as I put finger to keyboard:

{Bad Moon Rising}
I just read an article from an English newspaper on Lovegrove's site that put into words my thoughts and feelings on the failures of the Obama administration. Thanks to his corporate pandering (Obama's, not Lovegrove's), the Republicans are about re-take the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate. I rail against the stupidity of the American voter, but, in reality, they are not presented with any better choice than Mick Jagger's 'cancer or polio'. The trouble is, the corporations win, no matter which side controls Congress. The Tea Party is funded by corporate interests, and its platform reflects this:

{Willie and The Poorboys}
1)Privatizing social security, which would give the brokerages a phenomenal amount of new business, and remove the security from from this social safety net.

{Fortunate Son}
2) Institutionalizing anti-muslim sentiments-There is a lot of bullshit out there concerning Sharia law. The fact is, that some banks have created divisions that conform to the Islamic practice of Not charging interest, replacing it with upfront fees. There are also certain provisions that mandate a greater asset/loan ratio than our regular banks are required to carry. In this recent recession, sharia-oriented banks have suffered far less than the gambling joints that our financial institutions resemble.

Also, one needs to keep in mind that having a Muslim majority, which situation we are far from , does not lead to the automatic installation of Sharia law in a country. A simple look at the make-up of the governments of Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, and many others shows this; all the aforementioned are republics with universal suffrage and religious freedom mandated by their respective constitutions.

{Mony, Mony}
3) Tax cuts for the wealthy- Business profits more from tax-based spending on infrastructure and other services(police patrols, firefighting, deductions for capital investment, etc.) than the average tax-payer, yet they pay less. This is topsy-turvy and needs to be addressed by easing the tax burden on those who an least afford it. It only makes sense, the more discretionary income a family has, the more shiny objects they can buy, thus making everybody happy, except those who only sit back, clip coupons and lament that they don't have even more money.  

4)Tax cuts for the wealthy- I just put it twice, because it is such an important part of the Tea-Party agenda. What are these idiots thinking? That they will be one of the rich one day, and by god, no one is gonna live off the money they will (never) make except theirs truly, that's what! And you will never make it, friend, because the big guys you worship aren't going to let you. They will keep your wages low, and send your job overseas if you bitch too much. Wal-Mart did more to destroy small business in this country, with predatory pricing, than any tax ever did.

{Tangled Up In Blue}
5) Repeal the Health Bill- I am ambivalent on this one; It does little for me until 2014, and little more even then. Maybe we should start over....just not with these ignorant corporate-worshipping jerks in charge. (Let's hang on, to what we've got!  Franki Valli & the 4 Seasons, Chad hasn't played that song but the sentiment fits.)

{No More Mr. Nice Guy}
6)Did I mention tax cuts for the wealthy?

{Show Me The Way}
I am tacking straight into the wind here; it looks as if we are facing a repeat of the Bush years, only squared or possibly cubed. Regular folks will just have to button up their coats and brace themselves for another 6-12 years of oligarchic thinking and racial intolerance. Yes, racial intolerance; Tea Partiers pretend to be unbiased, but the make-up of their rallies gives proof to the lie, if there is a black or brown face, it is for show(think Alan Keyes) or the result of a tanning booth. Brown shirts are more suitable to their rhetoric.

{Hurricane[the Dylan Song, not Neil's]}
The wind is coming from the west now. It will gradually shift around, coming more from the north and increasing to 20-25 knots(23-28 statute mph). Temperatures are expected drop by 20°. {Button Up Your Overcoat}

 

 

....and other recession-oriented t-shirt slogans and bumper stickers

 

Omar Khadr has confessed to numerous crimes during his incarceration. It was a smart move, as he was threatened with gang rape if he did not. He was also deprived of sleep, slapped around, kept naked and cold for days at a time, and possibly tortured, as if all the previous items were not torture to a 15 year-old boy.

Two days ago, he was brought in front of a military magistrate, where a military prosecutor read off a series of charges, to all of which the now 24 year-old pled 'guilty'. It was a smart move; had he gone to trial, the court would have heard his forced confessions read out loud, as a judge in the country in which the 15 year-old had been imprisoned decided that forced confessions are okay. He would have faced life in prison had he gone to trial, under a plea bargain, the young man confesses, spends another year in Guantanamo Bay, and then seven years in Canadian prisons.

Yes, this gross miscarriage of justice was miscarried out by the good ol' USA, and I have never been more ashamed to be an American.

Omar was the son of a friend and ally of Osama Bin Laden. At the age of 12, he was already training to fight in Pakistan. At the age of 15, he, his father, and his uncle were in Afghanistan when the US invaded. The house they staying in came under attack by Us forces, and was bombed into rubble. Khadr survived, though he was wounded, and threw a grenade at the troops who were entering the house, thinking the inhabitants all dead. An American soldier was killed, and Khadr was shot and severely wounded. He was taken prisoner and his status as 'enemy combatant ensured that he was not treated according to the Geneva Convention.

If Khadr had, at the age of 15, killed his father for being grounded, he would be most likely be free today. He killed in self-defense during a battle. It was war, and POW's aren't supposed to be tried for killing the enemy during conflict. Nor are we supposed to coerce confessions out of people, but we did.

I voted for Obama, but I may as well have voted for George W Bush to serve a third term, if this is the sort of justice he endorses.  President Obama, if you don't pardon Khadr or commute his sentence, you will have participated in the Soviet bloc-ing of America.

Oh, by the way, the military commissions have succeeded in garnering 3 convictions so far. In regular US courts, 400 terrorists have been convicted in the same time frame.

You want to read about what this kid was put through? Click here, but it ain't pretty. Hey whaddya expect? We're talking about America here.

I would have no problem with the proverbial new, uncorrupted Senator
riding into DC on the back of a mule. But when the ass turns out to be
the newly elected official, as in the case of  'Uncle Bud'....

-- Keith Olbermann, on Countdown, November 3rd, 2010

"...and to The Media's claim that I only supported airheaded, clueless
women who are unfit for office, I campaigned for 'Uncle Bud', didn't I?
(points fingers, winks) Gotcha there, media!"

--ex-Gov.(AK) Sarah Palin

Overheard at a Victory rally
"..Really, you call the winner in each race, no matter what
party? ....That's real sportin' of you Mr. President....well, thanks
again, and let's have us one of those beer summits after the fuss is
over....you done your homework, sir, I do like the purified spirits,
that is true,..see you at the Impeachment, just a joke...sir.(hangs up)
That was the President, calling me! And to think, only a few weeks ago...

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

Announcer: ...And in tonight's Man Off the Street segment, Uncle Bud is
going to show our audience the steps one must take in order to run for
office. If Uncle Bud can do it, then you can too. Isn't that right,
Uncle Bud?

{switch from street camera to inside local gov't office}

Uncle Bud: What business is it of yours who I affiliate with, young feller? You
temp with the FBI or something?

Clerk: Sir, I mean your Party affiliation. Democrat(Bud holds his nose),
Republican, or Independent, perhaps.

Uncle Bud(seeing he is on the air again): Oh Hi folks, Uncle Bud here,
to let you know the steps one has to take before getting your hands on
our tax money, or, in other words, how to run for office. We live in a
state with no filing fees(In a stage whisper) now don't go tellin' the
gub'mint, they would fix that oversight in one big hurry.
Behind the counter here is Sandy, who has been assisting me in the
process. So Sandy, all I do is sign here, here, initial here, here...

Clerk: Sanjay, Mr. Bud. And yes, once you have signed these, and you get
10,000 signatures, you are a candidate for the office of US Senator from
the state of...

Cameraman: Bud, don't sign those, we are just supposed to demonstrate
how easy...

Uncle Bud: Sanjay? That's Indian, right?

Clerk: Yes, I am son of immigrants. (Sees Uncle Bud's raised eyebrow)
Legal immigrants, I might add.

Uncle Bud: So what's that about? We haven't outsourced enough jobs to
India, they gotta send ya'll here to InSource the rest of our jobs?

Clerk: Sir, I was born here! This is my country!

Uncle Bud: Yeah, one generation, and you own the place. Ain't nuthin' in
the Constitution okayin' that!

Clerk: Actually,....

Uncle Bud: Don't interrupt me, son. Respect your elders. That's the
trouble with America today.

Clerk: My elders, I respect. You are an old coot, and I pray to the Gods
that there are not 10000 people in the state stupid enough to....

Quote from People magazine:
...When he was awakened from a nap and informed of his victory,
Uncle Bud said, "Call the bar, start me a tab."

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (
 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

Uncle Bud:...And now the President calls me Senator! You people are
gonna be proud of me, I'm gonna change your lives. We're gonna drive out
the communists, the unions, the communist unions, and the socialists,
and the, and the...Look! It's Jimmy, my manager. Hey Jimmyyyyee! We did
it! Now what! (Uncle Bud spits out a laugh and staggers towards Jimmy).

Jimmy: You're undoing it Uncle Bud, is what. This is the wrong hall, and you
you just called a bunch of Teamsters communists. Oh hell, Uncle Bud how are
you going to give a speech in this condition?

Uncle Bud: It's Senator Bud now, get me one for the road, son. Hey, can
I start a war with India, get our damn jobs back?

Jimmy: (sighs) I'll get right on it, Uncle Bud.

* for previous adventures with Uncle Bud click here

I took some pictures this morning, when I was on the salt mine run. We'll get to those in a moment, after I clear some of the clutter on my hard-drive....

 

The Cochrane Bridge, in Mobile, Alabama,
always looks at its best at night.

 
St. Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach, Florida

 
I hope to one day get a clearer shot of one of these beautiful bugs.

 
I was lucky to get this shot. Dolphin monsters are very camera-averse.
Seconds after I took this shot, it it attacked and fed ravenously on this unfortunate man

The Judson B works at a fleet above the Cochrane Bridge.

The fog lifted after sun-up, and I saw how close I came to hitting this inset

I love this reflection

 
An old fuel dock, now an abandoned relic, this barge is sitting on the bottom.

 more reflections...

 
Do you see a pattern emerging?

 
Jack-up boats,  all jacked up

 I love these flowers

Dragonflies were all over the barges this summer

I am still looking for one picture of an iridescent blue butterfly, and one of an Osprey in flight; these will have to do for now...

Walkway at Meaher State Park, Mobile Bay, Al.

 Hummingbird at Ricky's feeder

 
Butterfly at Meaher

 
Morning glories

Ageratum, growing on the trail at Meaher

 
Wal-Mart has greeters, so why can't we? This guy inhabits a bromeliad on our front porch

 I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille

 
Sunset south of Morgan City, Louisiana

Land ho!

I empty the trenchwater from my boots, dry socks but a memory
Dean peers over the top, sits down in the mud, lets out a last sigh
The medic's team drags him away, south, where other friends lie.
I wonder if he saw the bullet before it blew away his left eye?

"It's your unit now, Sarge", the lieutenant says as he slouches past,
"Tell your men, we go over the top in ten. Stay low, fire, move fast." 
Ma, I made sergeant. Tell Sis and Davey, tell the priest after mass.
In my pocket I feel Susie's last letter, in which she finally said, "Yes!".

"Tell the boys at the shop, your students at school. Tell Pa in his grave.
Has Prince caught that rabbit? Tell Susie how much her letters I crave.
I will come back to you, one and all, when I am through acting brave.
Dim figures beside me add new shades of gray, the night has become day.

I want to sleep in a warm bed again, and wear a new shirt, one made of silk.
But today I may die. If so, make it quick. I've no wish to die slowly nor sick.
"Fix bayonets!" My first command. "Shoot or stab the boche and their ilk.
Let this thirsty French soil drink Hun blood the way an infant sucks milk."

"I'm scared, Sarge." "Me too", I reply. "Those not scared have already died."
"Got mit uns!" A guttural cry from men like us, though on the wrong side.
They're as ready as we are, we both have our orders, both have our pride.  
It's time; "Over the top!" We scramble up out of the trenches, into the fight.

I hi-jacked Melfamy's weblog so I

could say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

to the love of my life!

 

 

Sometimes I only get one picture I feel is worth posting...

It took some time, but I finally left MySpace,
booked faces and twitters have taken its place
Too much information on those old sites I visited
I'm fine confined, to a hundred forty letters limited

I've sat here  so long, I have back and butt-aches
I only leave for chips, cokes, and nature-call breaks
Linked in, logged on, I bought 600 friends more
Don't know a one, but  how else to keep score?

Dearly blogged, we are gathered here
to raise crops on Farmville and brew virtual beer
to link to new friends and post silly jokes,
to drink Virtual Marys whilst sending out pokes

What new social networks will be the next crazes?
Instead of words typed, will friends smiley-face us?
You can count on this, cyber-friends and relations,
The next big thing won't enhance communication.

Paradis (pronounced Pair-a-dee) is an unincorporated area of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Justin Wilson would not sound out of place there, but you would...

(Act I, scene 1; Perry is opening up the shop for the day. The phone rings, and he answers....)

Perry: Paradis Lost and Found, dis is Perry, me.

Des: Halo,'statue?

Perry: Yeah, I said dat, dis is me, Des. where y'at, you?

Des: Pulling up. (sounds of a poorly tuned Ford truck come from outside the store)

Perry: You late, you. I had ta open da store, me.

Des: well, open da door, an'  I'll finish dere.

Perry: You gotta key, you. You forget how to use it?

Des: I can't find dat ting nowhere I look.

Perry (sighs): Okay, I come open door dere. Don' be tellin' no customers 'bout you losin' dat key.

Des: Dat's easy, we ain't had a customer all week, us. (They hang up)

(Opens the front door, Des walks past with a sack; Perry turns on the 'Open' sign.)
Perry: Today is da day, I got dis feelin', me.

Des: You better take someting for dat.

Perry: Someting? Like a smarter partner? Dis is a good feeling.

Des: So is dis (pulls two plastic 16-oz. glasses of frozen pink liquid from his sack).

Perry: Where you get dem daquiris?

Des: Where you tink? The Parrot Ice, is where, dere.

Perry: Dey open dis early now, dem?

Des: Shirley was dere, getting ready ta' open, dere. Dese are from last night's batch.
         She gives them to me, I trow out da big garbage sacks for her.

Perry: Des, you one big spender, you. (A car pulls up in front of the Paradis Lost and Found)
           See dat? A customer, in de first hour. Look busy.

     (a nicely dressed man and his good-looking wife get out of the car.
    They are not locals, as Perry doesn't know them. Or their car.)

Perry: nice lookin' lady, see dat rack?

Des: Dat's a pair a' D's, 38 double.

(The door opens, the couple walks in)

Des: Good morning, you!

Perry: How you all are?

(Customer reaches out to shake Perry's hand first.)

Customer: Pete Thomas, my wife, Ann

Perry: Welcome! (shakes hand) Perry, Des(points to his daquiri-sipping partner.)

Ann: I thought it was pronounced Para-DEES

Des: No, mamou always said Des, short for Desmond.

Ann: No, I meant the town...

Perry: So you lose a ting? Or you found someting?

Pete: Both. We lost two of the Scary movies

Des: Dat Saw? Char, dat was a scary one.

Perry: Silence of Dem Lambs?

Pete: no, no, the Scary movie franchise. We lost One and Three.

Des: Dey ain't scary, dem movies.

Pete: No, they're satires, you know, parodies.

Perry: Para-dee

Pete: It was two. So plural, parodies

Des: Is only one town(looks at Perry, raises his eyebrow)

Pete: (Looks at Ann, raises eyebrow) Has anyone turned in any DVD's?

Perry: No, when you lose dem?

Pete: At a picnic ground off Hwy. 90. They kept the kids entertained.

Ann: I could use a daiquiri right now.

Des: Dey got 'em in Parrot Ice.

Ann: (hearing paradise, says huffily)Well, I'm sure I don't want one That bad.

Perry: Is just 'round da corner, dere. (to Pete) You look good?

Pete: Say what? Oh, yeah, we looked all over dat.. that picnic area.
          And that is where we found these. 
    (Ann hands him two fuzzy dice connected by a string.

Des: Dat's my pair a'  dice!

Perry: Dey hang from your look-back mirror. How you lose dem?

Des: When I took out Darlene, she said she liked my pair 'o' dice.
         Den she get all mad, her, when I tol' her dat she got one fine pair 'o' thighs.
         She trew dem out de truck.

Perry: Darlene Perrault? She too young even for you, horn-dog.

Des: No not her, Darlene DuBois. But she got dem Perrault eyes, kinda crooked, you know.

Pete: I guess we helped you, but you can't help us. That's a real shift in the paradigm.

Des: You lost a pair 'o' dimes? We got us a metal-finder. Still in da box.

Pete: No, you see a paradigm is a ...

Ann: Come on, honey. We'll be late for,...well for something. (she turns to leave. Des makes an hourglass shape with his hands.)

Perry: (As the door closes behind the couple). So you like a pair 'o' dose pants?

Des: Ol' Noser an' Bullet chased down a pair 'o' does last week, on our huntin' lease. Dey was pantin, dem.

Perry: (shakes his head)Des, I tol' Father Cheramie at the Diocese to pray for you. He said a pair 'o' Dioceses couldn't pray enough. 

(Curtain)

 

 

 

1)Frozen, microwaveable corn dogs are atrocious.

2)Canned chili tastes like dog food

3)People who eat white bread would eat boiled newspaper, if it was smothered in ketchup

4)Potato chips are not gourmet food, even when they are sprinkled with sea salt and cracked pepper.

5)Speaking of ketchup, if  you use it in spaghetti sauce, or As spaghetti sauce, you are a dork. Sorry, but it's true.

6)Salt is not a flavor, and nothing 'needs more salt'.

7)Taco Bell's fare is MINO(Mexican In Name Only).

8)The chocolate in an M&M is of a very poor quality.

9)Coke in glass bottles tastes better. I don't know why, but it is true. Fountain coke sucks; why do you buy it? Coke has a bite to it, a tang that Pepsi lacks. But Diet Pepsi is better than Diet Coke; go figure.

10)Although it is great as gravy, or poured over baking meats, nobody has ever sat down and eaten a bowl of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup.

 

 

 

 

Call me a shill, call me a corporate whore, call me when the check clears. Chide me, reprove me, express aghastness at my naked greed, but click the ads as you do so.

Yes, I have partnered with Google who, having noticed that my viewers ranked in the 92-100% of the coolest people on the planet, wanted a piece of that demographic. From now on, whatever I blog about will accompanied with ads that are deemed relevant to the topic discussed. How they do this is a mystery; I am guessing poorly-paid Malaysians working 14-hour days, matching key words from my blog to a databank of ready-made ads, and pasting the results on my site, all the while laughing at my deficient command of my native tongue. Chortle til the durian stop stinking, Amir and Farah, which of us lives in a structure with CH&A and electrical wiring that doesn't call for a prayer to Allah every time it works?

As near as I can tell from a hasty read of the legalese, the checks should start arriving monthly sometime in Mid-November. Will this compromise my art? Will I be less outrageous, fearing off driving away my customer base? Or will I be more outrageous, hoping to attract more viewers in this attempt to leverage my brand?

Actually, I am more curious as to what ads will appear with what subject. So far, it has been what I expected, my photographic blog of our recent trip to Colorado was paired with ads for real estate in Colorado Springs, direct tv hook-ups in the same city, and a B&B or two. My last pic post matched the chain-saw carvings with ads for tools, and arts and craft lessons, I think it was (I will look later and change this if my memory did fail, If I remember to check, that is. Sometimes my memory fails).

Anyway, if my readers will do their part(hint: click!*), I promise not to pepper my posts with obvious commercial tie-ins (the body was half-in, half-out, of an Ikea™ chair of impeccable design and craftmanship. The glass of Glen Morangie® spilled onto the carpet was more of a shock than seeing her like this; what a waste of one of the world's finest single-malts, I thought to myself, one of the last locally-owned distilleries. Sighing, I called the cops on my Razr©...), and let the chips fall where they may. Intel Semiconductor chips, that is, why settle for less?

*I don't think that I'm supposed to encourage mass-clicking, nor use bots for same in order to beef up my profits.
   Nor enter into "Click-mine-and-I'll-click-yours' agreements. There was someting about bad language, too.
  Tough s#*t, Google, I'm my own man.

Manitou Springs, Colorado

We bought a tiny wood carving of a bear for our friend down the road,
but we wanted to buy the big ones, which were carved with a chainsaw.

This fellow was hitching a ride on our tow

 I snuck up on him and got this shot, just as he saw me...

 Human approaching, must remain calm, nonchalant...

 Sorry, gotta run!

afternoon fishing

The one I love doesn't have much charm
My sweetie's neither sweet nor petite
But I don't need beauty or loving arms
When I frolic in between the balance sheets

Of my sub-chapter 'S' corporation
My favorite artificial entity
We avoided any taxing situations
As I registered the firm in Ta-hiti

The Supreme Court said that you're a person
You've got the same rights as me
it ain't no crime to buy a public servant
with cash or preferred securities

I had to share my love with someone
You see, incorporating takes three
To my wife, to be fair, went a two-percent share
five points more to my shady attorney

I never wanted a limited partner
And I was never a good company man
Now I write off  hookers as advisors
who help my business to expand

I love my sub-chapter 'S' corporation...(Fade out)