DEPRAVDA

No Deal

2012-01-06T12:47:00.001-05:00

No Deal

And when I died, the devil came and said,

"Now here's the deal: I'll give you your old life

all over once again, no strings attached.

Like an actor in a play, of course, you'll have

to follow the same script that you rehearsed

the first time through—you cannot change a glance,

a word, a gesture; but think of taking your first

steps again, and having your first romance

repeat itself, your love back from the dead,

beautiful and new and seventeen.

What matter if you see the future coming—

The cloven hoof of sorrow, loss's horn—

her dreamy eye, her nodding head?"

Get thee behind me, Satan, I should have said.

No Deal by Ronald Wallace, from Long for this World: New and Selected Poems. © The University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003.

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Anthems of the One Percent

2011-12-28T13:49:00.001-05:00

Here are the two unofficial national anthems of the 1% (and their political lackeys). Sing along with Mitt!

"American The Dutiful"

Oh Dutiful, despite our lies,
For waves of capital gain,
For grim strip mining's majesties
to Cargill's fields of grain;
America, the Dutiful,
God says "You work for us";
Your suffering's our livelihood,
So please don't make a fuss!

"My Country, Not for Thee"

My country, liberal-free,
Sweet land — (and all for me!)
Of thee I sing.
Land where I made some bucks,
But if you’re poor, it sucks;
From ev’ry worker’s hide
Profit I shall wring!

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New Corbeau Seat update

2011-12-15T13:42:00.001-05:00

I bought the new Corbeau classic seat, and it went in pretty quickly, but not without some drama.

I guessed that the custom frame for the older GTA lowback would fit the new seat, and I was right, it bolted right on. Getting the frame out of Charlotte's cockpit was a chore, and once out, the bolts, which had been fastened but nuts and large fender washers, were welded onto the frame, so only the fixing nuts would need to be turned from under the car (the frame bolts directly to the floor).

All went well, and the new seat was installed. BUT, driving it home from the shop, I realized that, even though the dimensions were almost identical to the GTA, the new seat positioned me too close to the wheel and pedals, and worse, way too high in the car. It was driveable, but hardly comfortable.

So Charlotte went back in the next day, and all the work done had to be undone. While driving to the shop, I realized that bolting it to the floor without any frame was probably the only solution, and Steve Mackay of Mackay's Garage agreed. Out came the seat, off came the frame; a cardboard template was made to indicate the position of the four holes in the seat bottom; out came the drill and four matching holes were cut in the floorpan. Back in went the seat, the machine screws were tightened up, and that was that. Now it fits like a charm, and looks great.

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Time for a New Seat

2011-11-18T14:54:00.001-05:00

After the 1968 model year, MGBs began to get cheap. 1968 was the last year of standard traditional leather seats (roll and tuck upholstery with contrasting piping) and 1969 was the last year of leather seats, period. Form then on it was all downhill (mostly) in terms of a traditional classic British sports car interior look.

Luckily, interior bits and pieces can be replaced and upgraded. One good place to begin is the seats— or at least, the driver's seat. A great upgrade is a competition-style driver's seat to hold the driver firmly in the car. Combined with a 3-inch wide competition belt or 4/5 point harness, you'll be esconced in your car as firmly as any F-1 driver (well, sort of).

Some years ago, I installed a Corbeau GTA "lowback" seat in my 1970 MGB roadster, a 1950s-1960s style classic competition seat that did wonders to hold me in the car— useful for when I was autocrossing. When I gave the car to a friend, the seat went with it. Fast forward to years later, in 2009: my friend told me that he had taken out the Corbeau seat, and it was mine if I wanted it. Well, I didn't have to think twice, and bolted it in my current MGB/GT. Luckily, I had not put on too much weight, and still fit in the rather snug seat.

Unfortunately, time and years of UV exposure had done its damage to the nylon fabric upholstery of the seat, and within a year, it had deteriorated to the point where it was held together by duct tape as much as the stitching. So bad that I am not going to show what it looks like today.

Then a few days ago, I got an email from one of our MG club members who drives a MIdget, listing lots of parts she wants to sell, to make room in her garage. One that caught my eye was a brand new Corbeau "Classic" bucket seat, which is the same as my old GTA seat, but with traditional roll-and-tuck upholstery. I had been looking at this seat as a Xmas present to myself, and here it was, for sale at 1/3rd the new price (and these seats are not discounted anywhere).

So tomorrow (Saturday), I will be driving out to see the seat, and bring it back home, where it will be installed as soon as I can get Charlotte up on a lift to get access to the floor bolts that hold the old seat. With any luck, the new Corbeau will use the same steel frame and mounting points as the old GTA. Let's hope.…!

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Let There Be Light!

2011-11-18T14:25:00.001-05:00

My last ex-wife said that my motto should be "More Is Better." In the case of automotive lighting, I agree 100%. Although Charlotte sees her way after dark with Hella E-spec headlamps equipped with 80W/100W Halogen H4 bulbs, I had a pair of trust Hella 500 lamps mounted up front as well: one wide angle fog, and one focused pencil beam driving light, operated sequentially using the OEM fog/spot switch. But the Hella 500s were not doing the trick, so I decided to treat myself to the newer and more advanced Hella 700FF lamps ("FF" for Free Form beam pattern). These are BIG driving lamps: each is 0.25" larger in diameter than the headlights themselves! Although they use the same 55W Halogen H3 bulb as the 500s, they are BRIGHT — as in, light-up-Fenway Park-for-a-night-game bright. They fill in the area just beyond the reach of headlight low beams, and supplement the high beams for night-time fast driving when there is no street lighting. One modification was necessary: I had to fabricate a pair of L-shaped brackets to mount the lights with enough clearance from grille to back of lamp housing. The advantage of the brackets is that they allow adjustment through three planes.

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Motivating the lead-brains, then and now.

2011-10-26T09:08:00.001-04:00

Or to paraphrase The Who: "Meet the new Führer, same as the old Führer…".

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My Last Duchess

2011-09-24T20:07:00.001-04:00

My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

Back in the day when divorce was not something done by gentlemen — let alone noblemen.…

My Last Duchess by Robert Browning (Read By Alfred Molino) Listen on Posterous

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The "British Invasion" at Stowe, Vermont

2011-09-18T15:47:00.001-04:00

On early Saturday morning (Sept. 17, 2011), Charlotte drove from Boston's north shore up to Stowe, Vermont, to see the famous British Invasion car show in Stowe, Vermont. Charlotte drove in convoy with five other British sports cars: two beautiful black 1961 MGA Mk. IIs (each a Steve Mackay restoration), a 1969 MGC (the short-lived 3-litre 6-cylinder engined 'big brother' and planned successor to the MGB), a rare Williams-hardtop MGB, and an early 70s Triumph TR6 that the MGs decided to welcome as company. (!)

Shown here is Charlotte reflected in the shiny black paint of Steve Devine's beautiful MGA Mk. II.

A photo album can be seen here at: http://bit.ly/oS6aCI Unfortunately, the wonderful drive back along winding Vermont country back roads was not photographed, as Charlotte's owner had his hands enjoyably full, steering and shifting at speed.

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Ride Along with Charlotte to the Madfish Grille

2011-08-26T21:44:00.001-04:00

charlotte_on_road_to_rocky_neck.pdf Download this file

After some experiments, I discovered a simple video camera mount that seems to work: a tripod jammed behind the seats! Surprisingly, the video image is nice and steady. This test video is a drive onto Eastern Avenue heading to Rocky Neck, the well-known summer artists' colony in Gloucester, with the Madfish Grill (a laid-back waterfront bar and grille) as a final destination.

You can see the five-minute video on You Tube at: http://bit.ly/qZ6Fw1

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

MG Day 2011, at the Museum of Transportation

2011-08-14T14:33:00.001-04:00

The stately Museum of Transportation on the grounds of Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts once again hosted an annual "MG Day" lawn event on Saturday, August 13, 2011. Although the turnout was on the light side (about 45 cars or so), there were some very pretty examples present.

Charlotte was there, with her righthand front fender in factory primer paint — which seems to be a big hit, visually, for some reason. Go figure… She drove down from Gloucester with some other MGs in a spirited and brisk convoy. As they say, a fun time was had by all.

You can see an album of the various cars here: http://bit.ly/ovZnK7

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Health questions from the doctor

2011-07-14T16:22:00.001-04:00

From a friend…

I recently picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and thorough lab tests, he said I was doing “fairly well” for my age (I recently turned 59.)

A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, “Do you think I'll live to be 80?”

My doctor asked me, “Do you smoke?”

“No” I answered.

He asked, “Do you drink beer, wine or hard liquor?”

“Oh no,” I replied. “And I don’t do drugs, either!”

Next, he asked, “Do you eat rich meats like rib-eye steaks, or barbecued ribs?”

I said, “Not often; my former doctor told me red meat is not very healthy.”

“Do you spend a lot of time getting sun exposure — for example, while playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?”

“No, I don’t,” I said.

The doctor then asked, “Do you gamble, or drive fast cars?”

“No,” I said.

“Have lots of sexual activity?”

“Umm, no…”

My doctor looked at me and said, “Then why do you even give a shit?”

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An Impromptu Drive around Cape Ann

2011-07-14T16:19:00.001-04:00

Friday early evening, Charlotte and I were passing the time at Niles Beach in Gloucester, watching the sunset and observing a tour schooner slowly sail out of the harbor for a sunset cruise. A few more sloops and one handsome Ketch were at anchor in Niles Cove, filling out the view.…

Then a car pulls up smartly on my left and parks. It's my friend Alex and his intrepid wife, in their yellow Triumph TR3-B, out for a drive. Charlotte is hard to miss, so Alex thought he'd say hello.

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Also in the Premiere Issue of "mesh"…

2011-07-06T22:52:00.001-04:00

A great photo of the crazy man who keeps Charlotte running and in one piece: the talented Steve Mackay, proprietor of Mackay's Garage in Wakefield, Mass. Steve was leading our pack of drivers to Stow: Steve in his perfect black MGA Mk.2 (see photo below), me in Charlotte, my red MGB/GT, and Steve Devine in his award-winning black MGA Mk. 2 — restored by Steve Mackay. Each of the MGAs had a 5-speed gearbox conversion, whereas Charlotte was struggling to keep up with her non-overdrive 4-speed box.

Here is Mr. Mackay in his MGA. BTW, the mid-morning air temperature in the mountains in Vermont in late September is around 40º Fahrenheit, or less — as it was on this drive. Brave men, driving the entire way with their tops off the MGs. The leather driving helmet worn by Steve is no affectation!

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Charlotte's Debut as a Magazine Model

2011-07-06T22:43:00.001-04:00

I was alerted to the fact that Charlotte appears in the premiere issue of meshNEW ENGLAND magazine (Spring 2011 issue), in their feature story on the British Invasion at Stow, Vermont last September. It seems a photographer who was also cruising up I-89, headed toward Stow, decided to snap a shot of Charlotte as she passed his car. And the photo ended up in the feature story on p. 14 of the magazine.

The issue is available online as a free download — looks to be very high quality.

Go to: http://meshnewengland.com/uploads/MNE_Spring_2011.pdf

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

The Cold Air Box is back on

2011-07-04T01:39:00.001-04:00

After waiting forever to get the cracked welds repaired, the box got reassembled and re-installed, but this time with a more direct air feed to the steel box. Now I need to remember to wash and re-oil the ITG foam filter.

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Time Passes, Man Changes

2011-06-17T19:53:00.001-04:00

So very quickly…

See the full gallery on Posterous

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A Milestone – The Kid Drives for the First Time

2011-06-16T13:08:00.001-04:00

Isabella_driving.mov Watch on Posterous

I don't usually post family stuff, but this one is a special moment: my daughter's first time behind the wheel of a car by herself (at her grandfather's house in L.A.). Yikes!

(Crappy cellphone video, sorry — not my phone!)

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The Story of Posterous

2011-06-16T13:04:00.001-04:00

The Story of Posterous.mov Watch on Posterous

Posted via an email to Posterous, of course!

(Full Disclosure: I don't work for Posterous.com, but I do think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.)

Posted via email from Preposterous

Finally, a Pull for the Glovebox

2011-06-15T23:40:00.001-04:00

After six MGBs, I finally got sick of not having anything to grip while trying to open the crappy glovebox lid. A trip to the hardware store fixed that, and it looks just like what Abingdon might have done.

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Think Taxes Are Evil?

2011-05-19T19:33:00.001-04:00

If you think government is enslaving you by making you pay taxes, you could always do the work by yourself.…

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Cracking a Tappet Can Lead to Magic & Joy

2011-05-10T11:37:00.001-04:00

NOTE: This post may not interest anyone who knows or cares nothing about scarce and fabled engine parts.…

A few weeks ago, the motor started missing on #1 cylinder suddenly. After swapping plugs around, etc., it was clear that Charlotte needed a visit to the hospital E.R. On her arrival the next day, diagnosis showed that there was a valve-train problem. Unfortunately, a bent pushrod (easy to replace) was not the issue.

That only left… AARGH… the tappets. Further stripping down showed that one of the tappets ("lifters" in American Car-English) was cracked in half (the missing half probably sitting in the sump [oil pan], having worked its way past the camshaft somehow). Only thing to do was to replace it— and while we're at it, replace all the tappets.

Before we get to the punchline in this story, I need to ask the readers who own old sports cars: how many of you have a skilled mechanic who (1) if called on a Monday morning will tell you to bring the car in immediately; (2) will make room in his schedule to do a full tappet set replacement immediately (as in, right then and there), and (3) will happen to have in stock a tappet set for a B-series motor (18V) sitting around?

Well, two out of three ain't bad.

Charlotte was in the bay, on the lift, and the side covers were off the block (without having to remove the exhaust header, I might add). Now time to rummage in the parts bin. Oh dear: surprise, surprise, no set of lifters. So it looks like Charlotte is going nowhere. No parts, no fix.

Now here is where the "magic" comes in. I had always joked that my mechanic Steve could pull parts out of a hat like a rabbit, having seen it happen a number of times. Not "this-will-get-you-on-the-road-temporarily" used parts, but brand-new OEM stuff, seemingly out of thin air. However, Steve does not do major engine rebuilds on the premises, and so I was not optimistic that he would have the specific tappet set needed just lying around.

Oh, Ye of Little Faith, behold and marvel. Reaching deep behind boxes stacked on a dusty shelf, Mr. Mackay rummages around and retrieves… a small box. "I was saving these", he says mournfully (but with a twinkle in his eye).

And now here is the "Joy" part of this story.

Yes, you're looking an original box containing NOS (new old stock) Isky competition lifters from the fabled shop in Gardena, California, so prized by racers in the 1960s. Having gone out of business many years ago, Ed Iskendarian valve train parts are impossible to get. And highly prized. And now, it seems, going into Charlotte's motor.

I won't say what they cost me, but I will say that Charlotte doesn't know just how fortunate she is.

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Well, I Have Lost You

2011-05-08T11:30:00.001-04:00

File under "I wish I were talented enough to have written this"…

Well, I Have Lost You

Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly;

In my own way, and with my full consent.

Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely

Went to their deaths more proud than this one went.

Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping

I will confess; but that's permitted me;

Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping

Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free.

If I had loved you less or played you slyly

I might have held you for a summer more,

But at the cost of words I value highly,

And no such summer as the one before.

Should I outlive this anguish, and men do,

I shall have only good to say of you.

– Edna St. Vincent Millay

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Hogwarts After Dark

2011-04-19T21:56:00.001-04:00

What goes on at Hogwarts late at night when the Masters aren't watching. I wouldn't say NSFW exactly, but it induces certain fantasies.…

"Hermione's Pole Dance".

Hermione_-_Harry_Potter_Pole_Dance.mov Watch on Posterous

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The Avatar Equation

2011-04-18T19:55:00.001-04:00

Some have expressed preferences for one or the other of my various Twitter avatars (these three being the favorites). It may be interesting to note how the first eventually became the third, helped along in no small part by the second.

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The 20th Century's Most Gorgeous Women – Part 2

2011-04-18T11:03:00.001-04:00

The glamorous film star of the 1930s, 40s and early 1950s, now largely forgotten (except perhaps by Mel Brooks). But an absolute gorgeous stunner. "Meet me in the Casbah.…"

And here's a collection of some beauty shots.

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The 20th Century's Most Gorgeous Women

2011-04-13T18:30:00.001-04:00

Woman No. 1: Virna Lisi.

Along with Grace Kelly, Catherine Deneuve, Hedy Lamarr and the young Liz Taylor, Virna Lisi is at the top of my list. Her film career was relatively short and not very distinguished (although "How To Murder Your Wife", with Jack Lemmon and Terry Thomas, is one of my favorite films), but she's an undeniable stunner.

Some more images of this beauty:

And the obligatory bathing suit photo. displaying some of the most delicious legs and feet I've ever seen…

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Judy Collins & Stephen Stills

2011-04-10T20:10:00.001-04:00

05 Last Thing On My Mind.m4a Listen on Posterous

A wistful and touching cover of Tom Paxton's "Last Thing On My Mind" (especially considering their history together, back in the day…). There's none of us who can't sing this song to someone.

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I Command You to Stand Aside!

2011-04-08T09:26:00.001-04:00

the black knight.mov Watch on Posterous

VIDEO: Former Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo, hiding in his basement, refuses to admit he has been defeated by President-Elect Alassane Ouattara.…

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Copywriting Can Affect Public Policy (update)

2011-04-01T16:05:00.001-04:00

(Latest result of the efforts spurred by this print ad: Commerce Dept. Announces Help for Fisherman )

A single print ad, with a single insertion. A target audience of one man. A simple, heartfelt personal message from one local fisherman, speaking on behalf of his fellow New England seafarers.

These were the elements that came together to create a singular pointed message sponsored by the non-profit Northeast Seafood Coalition and addressed to President Barack Obama while he was vacationing on the island of Martha's Vineyard off Cape Cod. The full-page ad, written in the form of a letter by Russell Sherman, Captain of the fishing vessel 'Lady Jane', explained in simple terms the plight of local fishermen being driven out of business by draconian federal rules, and asked for the President's help in facilitating negotiations for a compromise that might satisfy the interests of fishermen, environmentalists and the Dept. of Commerce alike.

The ad was concepted, written and designed within five calendar days, including protracted revision sessions with directors of the Seafood Coalition intent on conveying a data-rich message to support their goal. The ad's publication coincided with a protest by a a flotilla of fishing boats that was heavily covered by print and broadcast news media, helping to leverage the ad's effectiveness.

The result of this advertising effort was a series of renewed initiatives by the Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Senator John Kerry and U.S. Representative John Tierney to achieve a negotiated compromise with the Dept. of Commerce and the N.O.A.A.— efforts which have now resulted in a promise of "immediate special attention and assistance" from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce (full story link: Commerce Dept. Announces Help for Fishermen ).

(Other effective ads can be seen at ZINKWORK )

Posted via email from Preposterous

Poem from a long time ago

2011-03-30T00:14:00.001-04:00

When I was in love with one who was with another.…

"Greener Pastures, Thinner Walls"

Half-asleep, I head her lilting moan

Through the wall. A pause, and then she sighed,

With relief, I thought. But no, a groan

Followed that. Then suddenly she cried

“Oh God!”, and with that loud release announced

The end of my distraction. I tried to sleep,

But couldn’t. Nervously I tossed and bounced

Around my draggled bed. I could not keep

That clutching imprecation from my mind.

I’d paid my court, and then she made quite clear

Her choice. Okay. But still, it seemed unkind

Of her to savor him with such good cheer.

Bitterly, I thought it not quite fair

To feel so little love, yet sheer despair.

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Fender-Bender

2011-03-24T11:03:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, Charlotte went out for some air on a warm winter day. Coming home in the early evening, we were making a left turn only a few hundred yards from home base, when the unthinkable happened: we struck the bumper a parked car on the right-hand side of the road while making the turn (at the breakneck speed of maybe 8 mph!). How or why, we'll never know — although the police officer on paid detail (utility work at night) standing in the road and neither directing traffic, nor making much effort to move out of the way, may have moved me to steer wide to the right.

Felt a bump. Oh damn! Got out to look, and was aghast. The damage is shown here (photo taken next day)…

The slight impact also managed to cut a gash in the shoulder of a brand-new expensive Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tire. Of course, the big rubber bumper of the Saturn suffered no damage at all, confirmed a few days later in a phone call with the owner.

But the tale has a happy ending. As luck would have it, brand-new (still wrapped in shipping cardboard) BGT-specific fender was found offered for sale on Craigslist for a fraction of the price charged by Moss Motors. (In retrospect, I ought to have bought both and kept one as a spare.…) And as icing on the cake, the fender was located only 100 miles away, in the hills of north-central Massachusetts, making for an enjoyable drive along winding country roads!

Hauled back from central Massachusetts, the fender was installed in a little over six hours, thanks to the unparalleled skills of Mr. Steve Mackay of Mackay's Garage (with assistance from MG guy Mr. Steve Devine). After some red paint, Charlotte will be as good as new!

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

A Song Sequence, Part Three of Three

2011-03-16T19:14:00.001-04:00

Truth, acceptance, and the infinite Multiverse.

05 Love Kills.m4a Listen on Posterous

06 Not Now.m4a Listen on Posterous

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A Song Sequence, Part Two of Three

2011-03-16T18:59:00.001-04:00

Conjury, and Compulsion…

03 Magical.m4a Listen on Posterous

04 Stuck On Repeat.m4a Listen on Posterous

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A Song Sequence, Part One

2011-03-16T18:36:00.001-04:00

You know who you are, dear Listener. The order of songs chosen here is of some interest....

01 Hearts Collide.m4a Listen on Posterous

02 Mathematics.m4a Listen on Posterous

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Isabelle Boulay: "Parle-moi"

2011-03-10T18:15:00.001-05:00

You can decide to whom you might sing this sad song.…

(English translation after the French lyrics)

Parle-Moi

Je ne sais plus comment te dire
Je ne trouve plus les mots
Ces mots qui te faisaient rire
Et ceux que tu trouvais beaux

J'ai tant de fois voulu t'écrire
Et tant de fois courbé le dos
Et pour revivre nos souvenirs
J'ai même aussi frôlé ta peau

Oh, dis-moi
Regarde-moi
Je ne sais plus comment t'aimer
Ni comment te garder

Parle-moi
Oui parle-moi
Je ne sais plus pourquoi t'aimer
Ni pourquoi continuer

Tu es là
Mais tu es si loin
De moi

Je ne sais plus comment poursuivre
À cet amour qui n'en est plus
Je ne sais plus que souffrir
Souffrir autant que j'y ai cru

Mais je sais qu'il me faut survivre
Et avancer un pas de plus
Pour qu'enfin cesse la dérive
Des moments à jamais perdus

Oh, dis-moi
Regarde-moi
Je ne sais plus comment t'aimer
Ni comment te garder

Oh, dis-moi
Regarde-moi
Il y a la vie dont on rêvait
Celle qui commençait
Oh, parle-moi
Parle-moi
Je ne sais plus pourquoi t'aimer
Ni comment continuer

Oh, dis-moi
Oh, dis-moi
Dis-moi, si tout est terminé
Si je dois m'en aller

Oh, parle-moi
Parle-moi
Regarde-moi
Regarde-moi
Regarde-moi
Regarde-moi

English translation:

I don't know how to tell you anymore

I don't find any words anymore

This words that made you laugh

And those that you found beautiful

I wanted to write to you so often

And so often I slouched my shoulders
And to revive our memories
I have brushed your skin as well

Oh, tell me
look at me
I don't know anymore how to love you
or how to look after you

talk to me
yes talk to me
I don't know anymore why I should love you
nor how to continue…

You are here
but you are much further away from me

I don't know anymore how to chase
this love which isn't anymore,
I don't know anymore how to suffer,
suffer as much as I believed in…

But I know that I have to survive
and take but a step more
so that this drift of forever lost
. moments would finally end

Oh, tell me
look at me
I don't know anymore how to love you
or how to look after you

Oh, tell me
look at me
there's a life of which we were dreaming
which was about to begin
Oh, talk to me
talk to me
I don't know anymore how to love you
or how to continue

Oh, tell me
oh, tell me
tell me, if everything is over
if I must walk away now

Oh, talk to me,
talk to me,
look at me,
look at me,
look at me,
look at me.

Parle-Moi.m4a Listen on Posterous

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I'm Your Man

2011-03-10T00:54:00.001-05:00

15 I'm Your Man.m4a Listen on Posterous

You know it.

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Saint Etienne

2011-03-10T00:09:00.001-05:00

10 I'm Falling.m4a Listen on Posterous

For you...

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Ottmar Liebert – Barcelona nights

2011-03-09T18:44:00.001-05:00

"Barcelona Nights", and "To The Night" — from "Nouveau Flamenco".

03 Barcelonia Nights.m4a Listen on Posterous

06 To The Night.m4a Listen on Posterous

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Ottmar Liebert – "Santa Fe"

2011-03-09T17:54:00.001-05:00

02 Santa FE.m4a Listen on Posterous

For when we need to calm ourselves.…

This piece carries a lot of baggage for me — good baggage; good memories of Venice Beach, CA.

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Untitled

2011-03-07T16:02:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2011-03-07T12:11:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2011-03-07T11:47:00.001-05:00

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Comfort Ye, My People

2011-03-07T02:10:00.001-05:00

Comfort ye, my people_.m4a Listen on Posterous

The great Jon Vickers.

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Untitled

2011-03-06T22:56:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2011-03-06T16:47:00.001-05:00

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Chanson de la Vache

2011-03-02T23:45:00.001-05:00

Governor Walker & Tea Partiers

Everywhere, This Cud's for You!

I Am Cow.mov Watch on Posterous

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Chanson de la Vache

2011-03-02T23:09:00.001-05:00

I Am Cow.m4p View this on Posterous

Wisconsin GOP and Tea Party, this Ud's for you!

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The Oenophiliac Dissolute's Lament

2011-02-21T22:25:00.001-05:00

I wandered ‘neath the stars, onto the shore,

And stood there still, gazing at the sea.

The ocean, sand: I needed nothing more,

Except, perhaps, a sip of Burgundy.

I thought of Love, of Death, of friends grown old,

Of Passion’s Universe, of Life, of Time.

But then I noticed it was growing cold;

I really could have used a glass of wine.

With fevered brain, imagination fired,

I wrestled with the questions my soul posed,

But not for long; I soon grew somewhat tired.

I checked my watch: the liquor stores were closed.

Alas, dark sea, Farewell! I turned to go:

At home, glad thought, I had some nice Bordeaux.

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A Bedtime Fugue

2011-02-21T00:47:00.001-05:00

Download now or listen on posterous

Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 No. 1 BWV 846.m4a (7666 KB)

For the young ones, this is not a Casio keyboard with reverb, but something called a Harpsichord. It's nice. Enjoy.

J.S. Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 No. 1 BWV 846 (that's an acronym for "Bach Werkverzeichnisse")

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Some nights, Twitter is… Girls Talk

2011-02-20T23:54:00.001-05:00

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Girls Talk.Dave Edmunds.m4a (7091 KB)

Oh yes, it is.

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This one is for you

2011-02-18T17:37:00.001-05:00

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The Last Thing On My Mind.m4a (6234 KB)

Composed by Tom Paxton, performed by Judy Collins & Stephen Stills.

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Pining for Lost Love – with Grace and Wistful Dignity

2011-02-15T15:58:00.001-05:00

The Countess Elvira ponders why she has lost the affections of her husband, in the most achingly beautiful aria in all of opera: "Dove sono i bei momenti…" (sung here by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa).

Download now or listen on posterous

Dove Sono.m4v (4808 KB)

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It's Winter? Yeah, So What?

2011-02-14T18:17:00.001-05:00

When the temperature climbs to the mid-40s on Valentine's Day in the middle of a New England winter, and the sun is shining, who cares if the snow drifts are still four feet high? It's time to open up the sunroof and take advantage of the balmy weather!

NOTE: Do not try this at home in your minivan; this sort of behavior is only for extreme hardcore sports-car people.

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Help Save Bison From Slaughter

2011-02-08T18:20:00.001-05:00

All these bison wanted was some food. Now some of the last wild bison in America face slaughter outside Yellowstone National Park.

These majestic animals—some of the largest land mammals in North America—were driven from the park by harsh winter conditions that have made food more difficult to find in the park. Now it’s up to federal officials to determine whether they will live, or die.

In the past 150 years, we massacred these animals to the point of extinction. Enough is enough: join me in urging Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to find an alternative to killing these amazing animals. Take action online. now, at http://dfnd.us/i7k8ZV

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Tell Me Darlin', Please Tell Me True

2011-02-03T18:54:00.001-05:00

A musical interlude to escape all the current news: "Song Up In Her Head" and "Darlin', Please Tell Me True" by Sarah Jarosz, from her recent album "Song Up In Her Head".

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01 Song Up In Her Head.m4a (5713 KB)

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03 Tell Me True.m4a (8304 KB)

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Prescient remarks by Mohamed ElBaradei

2011-02-03T17:22:00.001-05:00

Excerpt from an address by Mohamed ElBaradei in Spring 2008, as part of the Commencent exercises at my alma mater, Amherst College, where he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree.

Audience member: "What do you see as the political future for Egypt?"

ElBaradei: "Well, I think it is uncertain. I mentioned last week that what I worry about there is the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. Democracy has not yet taken hold there. Democracy has to come from within. Democracy takes time—we all know that. But we have to take certain concrete steps in that direction. People have to feel that they are being treated fairly, that they have a say in who is governing them and how they are governed. When I mention people saying we are poor but not stupid, I mention the fact that people know the difference between genuine democracy and fake democracy. I still think Egypt has a lot to do, and the most important things to me are democracy, education, fair distribution of wealth. We have in Egypt right now, I think, seven or eight people who are on Forbes’ list of the richest 500 people in the world. That’s in a country where still the per capita income is $1,000. That’s something which is not sustainable to me."

The full transcript of his remarks can be read here, where you will also find a link to the full audio recording of his address. http://bit.ly/fWBy1X

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"Bye Bye, Hosni"

2011-02-01T17:49:00.001-05:00

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BYE BYE HOSNI.mp4 (2840 KB)

A perky song for the Egyptian people, with the assistance of Ann-Margret. Bye-Bye!

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"Bye Bye, Hosni"

2011-02-01T17:47:00.001-05:00

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BYE BYE HOSNI.mp4 (2840 KB)

A perky song for the Egyptian people, with the assistance of Ann-Margret. Bye-Bye!

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Seeing is Believing?

2011-01-24T16:42:00.003-05:00

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your_lying_eyes.flv (4766 KB)

Kokichi Sugihara, a Japanese scientist, shows how he can fool your eye by knowing how your brain works. If you thought you knew optical illusions, think again.

The full story can be read/ seen here, with a link to a longer video showing more amazing illusions:

"Your Lying Eyes: Can This Be Happening?" : Krulwich Wonders : NPR http://n.pr/eEtMxy

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Seeing is Believing?

2011-01-24T16:42:00.001-05:00

Download now or watch on posterous

your_lying_eyes.flv (4766 KB)

Kokichi Sugihara, a Japanese scientist, shows how he can fool your eye by knowing how your brain works. If you thought you knew optical illusions, think again.

The full story can be read/ seen here, with a link to a longer video showing more amazing illusions:

"Your Lying Eyes: Can This Be Happening?" : Krulwich Wonders : NPR http://n.pr/eEtMxy

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First Pete, now Gerry Rafferty RIP

2011-01-04T18:25:00.001-05:00

Singer & Songwriter Gerry Rafferty died today, 4 January 2011, of liver failure. Like Pete Postlethwaite, also in his early 60s. R.I.P.

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Right Down The Line.m4a (4098 KB)

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'Round Midnight

2011-01-02T21:33:00.001-05:00

A moving 1944 song by Thelonius Monk, Cootie Williams and Bernie Hanighen. Sung by the incomparable Linda Ronstadt, accompanied by the great Nelson Riddle and his orchestra.

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'Round Midnight.m4a (4155 KB)

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Love To Love You Baby

2011-01-02T19:23:00.001-05:00

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Love to Love You Baby.3gp (3048 KB)

"Love To Love You Baby", Donna Summer's sexy disco hit, with full orgasmic SFX, presented here in the full "not suitable for radio play" version.

Put on your leisure suit, sit back and pour yourself a White Russian, and enjoy!

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The Merger of Commerce & Culture

2011-01-02T09:42:00.001-05:00

From a Groupon email offer (for a car wash & oil change) comes this encouraging sign that America is not entirely about greed and low-brow lifestyle:

More proof here that Google was nuts to offer $6 billion for Groupon: they pay cash and collect future revenues in — Haiku? Sonnets?

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A Non-Offensive Holiday Greeting

2010-12-24T12:38:00.001-05:00

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues, but it’s difficult in today's politically correct world to know exactly what to say without offending someone, somewhere.

Now, those who know me will understand that giving offense is abhorrent to me. With that in mind, I met with my lawyer yesterday, and on his advice, I wish to say the following:

A HOLIDAY GREETING

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious or secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make the world great and without regard to the species, race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith (if any) or sexual preference of the Wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you agree to the following Terms & Conditions:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal at any time. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise or obligation by the Wisher to the Wishee to actually implement any of the wishes for her/him or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the Wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the Wisher.

Best Regards (without prejudice)

Name withheld (Privacy Act)

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Trouble With My Blackberry!

2010-12-23T15:48:00.001-05:00

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Trouble with my Blackberry.flv (13523 KB)

Ronnie offers a new perspective on Tech Support for his Blackberry and obsolete Apple.

(The line "let's try it on Orange" refers to Orange, a large ISP, phone, wireless/Wi-Fi network in the UK, Europe and Africa.)

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Copywriters of the World, Arise!

2010-12-21T12:34:00.001-05:00

Calling all copywriters: it's time to stand up and proclaim your creativity.

For some years now, the word "creative" has migrated away from the art and skill of writing, and is now widely applied to design and art direction—but not copywriting. It's often assumed now that a Creative Director has come up from a design rather than copy background, and, as in the example shown here, a writer has to classify him or herself as other than in the creative arena.

It's time to stop this careless — and possibly unintended — denigration of our craft. Point out to anyone who will listen that great copywriters are just as creative as great designers. That great ideas can come from anywhere, but they're articulated with words and language. If you don't stand up for your creativity, you may soon find yourself wearing a Tee shirt like this:

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Something to Soothe the Soul

2010-12-21T01:36:00.001-05:00

Bach's Sonata for Violin and Continuo, No.1 in G minor/1: Allegro (violin part played by flute in this performance). Relax and enjoy.

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Sonata for Violin and Continuo, No.1 in G minor_1_ Allegro.mov (10107 KB)

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When You Need The Big Dog

2010-12-17T19:57:00.001-05:00

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I Wish I Could Call This My Holiday Card....

2010-12-17T19:54:00.001-05:00

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Digital_story_of_nativity.m4v (7643 KB)

The Nativity in the Digital Age (video).

Hats in the air to these fine folks at ex centric for a clever idea and lovely execution!

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Sarah Palin Phones Tail-Gunner Joe

2010-12-14T19:51:00.001-05:00

"Hi, this is Sarah Palin. Is Senator Lieberman in?"

"No, Governor, this is Yom Kippur."

"Well, hello there, Yom! Can I leave a message?"

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Definitions of Various Shop Tools

2010-12-12T11:32:00.001-05:00

Charlotte has heard her owner, Paul, describe, in colorful language, the various merits and failings of many of the tools listed below. Charlotte believes that some of these tools have been used on her, with somewhat less than optimal effect.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted part which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, ”What the...??"

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert Minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

WELDING GLOVES: Heavy duty leather gloves used to prolong the conduction of intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub you want the bearing race out of.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles with the speed of a ballistic missile for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG YELLOW PINE 2 X 4: Used for levering an automobile upward off of a trapped hydraulic jack handle.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool ten times harder than any known drill bit that snaps neatly off in bolt holes thereby ending any possible future use.

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Little Boots — "Mathematics"

2010-12-02T21:17:00.001-05:00

"Mathematics", also from the "Hands" deluxe album. Love this song too.…

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08 Mathematics.m4a (7461 KB)

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Love Little Boots!

2010-12-02T19:58:00.001-05:00

This Brit-Pop-Girl's music is great. Have a listen to "REMEDY" from her new "Hands" album.…

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05 Remedy.m4a (6967 KB)

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Charlotte takes her friends for a ride

2010-11-25T10:06:00.001-05:00

On the eve of all Hallow's Eve (Hallow'een to you colonials), Charlotte lead a group of 13 cars from the Boston Area MG Club on a nice ride through Gloucester and Rockport, around Cape Ann, through Essex, Hamilton and Ipswich, Mass., up to the old ship-building town of Newburyport, Mass. The fall weather was perfect: sunny, with pleasant temperatures. We only had one casualty, an MG Midget that lost its clutch after lunch — at the excellent restaurant "Fifteen Walnut" in South Hamilton, MA — and had to drop out (accompanied by Steve Devine's MGA, who volunteered to stay with the Midget until the tow truck arrived.)… The drive was approximately 70 miles and took around five hours. We ended up at "The Grog" in Newburyport, a dark and pleasant pub dating back to the 1850s, where several pints of ale were enjoyed by all.

Besides Charlotte herself, there was even another red MGB/GT on the drive. Charlotte was not terribly happy, as this was like two ladies wearing the same dress to an event.

Photos can be seen here: MG Club North Shore ride

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Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T09:15:00.001-05:00

My best wishes to all, may you have a great day.…

(And please Lord, may the Patriots beat the Lions!)

Click here to see your card: A Thanksgiving Card for you

A Thanksgiving Card for you

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Word of the Day

2010-11-21T18:35:00.001-05:00

Witzelsucht

Who knew Wikipedia could be so straight-faced when ending an entry with a bir of levity?

Witzelsucht, from the German witzeln, meaning to joke or wisecrack, and sucht meaning addiction or yearning, is a set of rare neurological symptoms characterized by the patient's uncontrollable tendency to make puns, tell inappropriate jokes and pointless or irrelevant stories at inconvenient moments. The patient nevertheless finds these utterances intensely amusing. It is associated with small lesions of the orbitofrontal cortex.^[1]

It is distinguished from pathologic laughing by virtue of congruent affective experience and expression, and an admixture of irritability and mirth. It is most commonly seen in patients with frontal lobe disease or injury, particularly right frontal lobe tumors or trauma. Elderly people are very pron to this disorder because of the decreased mass of their gray tissue, for instance the stereotype of the wise-cracking grandfather may have originated from as it became a comon part of every day life. Larry king is said to have this disorder but refuses to be tested.

Quick show of hands: who knows someone with this unfortunate yet very annoying disorder?

Thanks to NPR's radio show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! Sunday, Nove 21, 2010, and to Wikipedia.org

[1] Mendez, M.D., Ph.D, Mario F (2005). Moria and Witzelsucht from Frontotemporal Dementia. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences.

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Why do I even bother?

2010-11-19T17:54:00.003-05:00

Today I received an automated email from Twitter about a new follower. As I almost always do, I went to his page to see if I wanted to follow back. His reason for being on Twitter was clearly business, and his tweets were repetitive (about digital broadband), but I thought I'd click on his link anyway, which took me to his blog. I wanted to see what he had to say about Satellite vs. Broadband, but got a page of—well, hard to describe writing. I offer the final paragraph of his post, quoted verbatim, as an example:

"Broadband internet access provides the sincere of way in place of our processor needs and wants. Processes in haste amendment on the internet and skillful minds persist innovating and inventing with productive advances, and stretch the limits of services and cyber solutions. Furnish your humankind with the nearly everyone efficient and fastest netting user-friendliness, and skillful velocity to you in the same way as you join two billion online internet users."

I now mourn my lost opportunities to have passed mash notes to cute girls in Junior High English class, having wasted my time instead paying attention to the teacher. I say wasted my time, because this cutting-edge blogger quoted above has 7,800 followers, all of whom are evidently dying to read more about furnishing their humankind with skillful velocity.

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Why do I even bother?

2010-11-19T17:54:00.001-05:00

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When Dogs Pray

2010-11-08T11:36:00.001-05:00

To: God

From: The Dog

Dear God: Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another?

Dear God: When we get to heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it still the same old story?

Dear God: Why are there cars named after the Jaguar, the Cougar, the ustang, the Colt, the Stingray, and the Rabbit, but not ONE named for a dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We do love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the 'Chrysler Eagle' the 'Chrysler Beagle'?

Dear God: If a Dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a Bad Dog?

Dear God: Dogs can understand:

Human verbal instructions…
Hand signals…
Whistles, horns, clickers and beepers…
Scent IDs…
Electromagnetic energy fields, and
Frisbee flight paths.

What do humans understand?

Dear God: More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God: Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

Dear God: Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a Good Dog.

I will not eat the cat's food before she eats it or after he throws it up.
I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, poop, etc., just because I like the smell.
The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.
The sofa is not a 'face towel'.
The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable way of saying 'hello'.
I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee table
I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house - not after.
I will not come indoors from outside and immediately drag my butt across the carpet.
I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch.
The cat is not a 'squeaky toy', so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.

P.S. Dear God: When I get to Heaven, may I have my testicles back?

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Yes We Can find Common Ground!

2010-11-04T12:24:00.001-04:00

Download now or watch on posterous

cross-culture_dating.wmv (2053 KB)

Why does this video strike me as a metaphor for Tuesday's election results and the GOP's subsequent plans to reach across the aisle?

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I cut a Big Hole in Charlotte, oh dear!

2010-10-13T11:56:00.001-04:00

Well, it was done purposely, to install a Webasto-style folding fabric sunroof. The manufacturer, SlidingRagtops.com, said it takes 4 to 6 hours to install; try more like 12 or hours! And we're still working on sealing the edges against rain and weather, although the rattling latch has been fixed with a temporary but effective solution. Overall, it's a lovely enhancement that provides open-air motoring with much less trouble than a folding or stow-away convertible top. Many MGB/GTs in England had dealer-installed fabric sunroofs, but for some reason, the custom did not cross the pond.

Too many photos to upload to Posterous, so I will show just one here, of the finished job (minus the useful wind deflector aded a day later), and provide a link to the extensive photo album. No photo captions yet, sorry. But you'll get the idea.

Sunroof Installation on the MGB-GT - Paul Zink - Picasa Web Albums: http://bit.ly/duBTtO

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

A Modest Proposal (updated)

2010-10-05T20:04:00.001-04:00

cc: G. Beck

bcc: R. Limbaugh

"It's perplexing that so many upstanding Americans are opposed to an Islamic cultural centre and mosque being built near Ground Zero in New York City. I think it should be the goal of every citizen of the United States to be tolerant. The construction of the centre should be encouraged, in an effort to promote religious tolerance. I say 'religious' tolerance, because of course, ethnic and racial issues do not for a moment enter into the deliberations of those objecting to the center's construction.

It has been pointed out by various news media that in the same neighborhood, a well-known and long-established gentleman's club is open for business. Therefore, protesters might well propose that a gay nightclub also be opened next door to, or in the vicinity of, the mosque/cultural centre, thereby promoting a certain level of tolerance in return from those using the cultural centre. As a welcoming gesture of camaraderie, the club could be named "Turban Cowboy" or 'You Mecca Me So Hot'.

Across the road, a butcher specialising in pork would be just the ticket; adjacent, perhaps a lingerie shop called 'Victoria Keeps Nothing Secret', with shapely long-legged mannequins in the window modeling the risqué goods.

With such a variety of new establishments, the tolerance of all might well be tested in equal measure. On the other hand, all concerned might simply forget the whole issue and quietly go about their business."

(via a naughty countryman of the late Mr. Jonathan Swift)

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Don't Fry For Me, Argentina

2010-10-02T22:32:00.001-04:00

I drank a bottle of very enjoyable 2006 Argentinian "Alma Negra" wine (Mendoza) this evening. The back label reads as follows, verbatim:

"There has always been a mistery behind a mask.
The seductive game of discovering who is behind
the mask is a tradition still celebrated today at parties
and rituals. To keep those celebration alive, we pay
homepage to them with this great wine. Within this
black soul you'll find the secret esence of this wine,
only to be revelated in the last glass."

The mistery of who wrote the instruction manuals to my digital camera and stereo system is now revelated.

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Carpe Diem Dactylic

2010-09-29T20:27:00.001-04:00

Why, Lady, thus squander your prime

In debate between Fear & Temptation?

If adulterous love be a crime,

Why quarrel with plain fornication?

Anon.

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Charlotte at Faneuil Hall, Boston

2010-09-10T12:04:00.001-04:00

Charlotte made an appearance,, complete with her race numbers on display, at the most recent Boston Area MG Club summer car show at historic Faneuil Hall in old downtown Boston on Sunday, August 29th.

It was a beautiful sunny & warm day, with lots of tourists and passers-by stopping to look at and sit in the various lovely MGs parked there on display. The shows, complete with a seasoned DJ playing "British Invasion" rock 'n roll and 60s American car songs, have been very successful, raising the visibility of the club under the leadership of club president Kurt Steele of the British Consulate General here in Boston. One of the high points of the day is the close-order drill performed by re-enactors in period British "Redcoat" uniforms, ending with a "fix bayonets and advance!" steady march towards the crowd of nervous tourists!

Posted via email from CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Meet America's #1 Religious Zealot

2010-09-08T08:39:00.001-04:00

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Braveheart Show | Dove World Outreach Center.flv (23957 KB)

So-called "Pastor" Terry Jones, up-close and personal:

http://www.doveworld.org/braveheart-show

I'll bet he would love to burn witches at the stake, given half a chance.…

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More David Hasselhoff

2010-09-07T18:51:00.001-04:00

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David_Hasselhof_Norton_ad.flv (3587 KB)

Norton Antivirus goes all WTF with this one.

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It's David Hasselhoff Time!

2010-09-07T18:22:00.001-04:00

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DAvid Hasselhoff literal video.flv (14444 KB)

Just the thing to start off the school year.

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"Stand By Me", sung around the world

2010-09-07T00:46:00.001-04:00

I've never heard it sung like this. Music & Lyrics by Ben E. King.

http://bit.ly/cAZNmj

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My Newspaper Ad to President Obama

2010-08-24T09:28:00.001-04:00

My full-page newspaper ad appears in today's Martha's Vineyard Gazette newspaper (Tues. Aug 24 issue), delivering a message to the vacationing President Obama on behalf of the non-profit Northeast Seafood Coalition and the New England commercial fishermen they represent. The ad was created to raise awareness of the severe economic problems created by the new May 1, 2010 "catch share" rules for groundfish (cod, haddock and flounder among others) imposed on fisherman by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

My Art Director on this project was Keith Lane, former Partner at Arnold Fortuna Lane in Boston, who worked with me to create the ad from strategy and initial concept to finished pub-ready materials in just over three days.

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A Letter to President Obama

2010-08-24T08:48:00.001-04:00

Posted via email from Preposterous

Mortal Woman Lies with The God of Surfing

2010-08-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

And it was written that Apollo, God of Sun and Surf, came down from Olympus and lay with the mortal woman Krystal, for she was exceeding cute, and he did get off in her. And when the god had returned to Olympus, he did send Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods unto her. And Mercury did come down on fleeted foot in his chopped 1959 Colony Park Woodie with roof rack and give unto Krystal the Tee Shirt that symbolized her tryst with the god. And he did deliver the message and command of Apollo that she should name their demi-god son as "Lance."

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He Forgot to Include "Zoroastrians" & "Harry Potter Fans"

2010-08-05T14:32:00.001-04:00

Just in case you can't decipher this clearly troubled man's laundry list of who is going to Hell, it reads:

REPENT

Fornicators
Homosexuals
Liars
Thieves
Masturbators
Obama Voters
Buddhists
Dirty Dancers
Hindus
Gangster Rappers
Muslims
Drunkards
Feminists
Immodest Women
Democrats
Liberals
Evolutionists
Atheists
Potheads
Sodomists

HELL AWAITS YOU!

Notably missing from the List of the Damned are upstanding future residents of Heaven such as Murderers, Rapists (hetero, of course), Wife Beaters, Pederasts (even if they're Priests), Animal Abusers, War Profiteers, Environmental Polluters, and last but not least, Dick Cheney.

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He Forgot to Include "Zoroastrians"

2010-08-05T14:20:00.001-04:00

Just in case you can't decipher this clearly disturbed man's laundry list of who is going to Hell, it reads:

REPENT

Fornicators
Homosexuals
Liars
Thieves
Masturbators
Obama Voters
Buddhists
Dirty Dancers
Hindus
Gangster Rappers
Muslims
Drunkards
Feminists
Immodest Women
Democrats
Liberals
Evolutionists
Atheists
Potheads
Sodomists

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Crafting New Words, One Letter at a Time

2010-08-05T11:23:00.001-04:00

Note: This list seems to come around every year or so via email, but it's worth reading each and every time. Brilliant work, and an inspiration for English-speaking copywriters everywhere.

The Washington Post's "Mensa Invitational" once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing only one letter, and supply a new definition for the altered word.

Here are the winners:

Cashtration: The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.  
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole. 
Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. 
Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly. 
Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.  
Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late. 
Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.) 
Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
Decafalon: The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you. 
Glibido: All talk and no action.
Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Arachnoleptic Fit: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
Beelzebug: Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
Caterpallor: The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

The winners of the "alternate meaning" contest are: 

Coffee: The person upon whom one coughs.
Flabbergasted: Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
Abdicate: To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Esplanade: To attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly: Impotent.
Negligent: Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
Lymph: To walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle: Olive-flavored mouthwash.
Flatulence: Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash: A rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle: A humorous question on an exam.
Rectitude: The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
Pokemon: A Rastafarian proctologist.
Oyster: A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Frisbeetarianism: The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
Circumvent: An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

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Word Manipulation Winners

2010-08-05T11:16:00.001-04:00

Note: This list seems to come around every year or so via email, but it's worth reading each and every time. Brilliant work!

Here are the winners:

Cashtration: The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.  
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole. 
Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. 
Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly. 
Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.  
Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late. 
Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.) 
Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
Decafalon: The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you. 
Glibido: All talk and no action.
Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Arachnoleptic Fit: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
Beelzebug: Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
Caterpallor: The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

The winners of the "alternate meaning" contest are: 

Coffee: The person upon whom one coughs.
Flabbergasted: Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
Abdicate: To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Esplanade: To attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly: Impotent.
Negligent: Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
Lymph: To walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle: Olive-flavored mouthwash.
Flatulence: Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash: A rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle: A humorous question on an exam.
Rectitude: The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
Pokemon: A Rastafarian proctologist.
Oyster: A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Frisbeetarianism: The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
Circumvent: An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

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Had she Just Watched the Movie "Signs"?

2010-08-04T00:22:00.001-04:00

Nevada wingnut senatorial candidate Sharron Angle protecting what passes for her brain from alien liberal radiation.

That , or pretending to be Johnny Depp.…

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Adolph Hitler Foresaw Conservatives' Continual Lying

2010-07-31T00:10:00.001-04:00

As Adolph Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, "It would never come into their [the people's] heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation."

—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. 10

Read on.…


	July 30, 2010

Media Matters: Conservatives' perpetual dishonesty machine Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh regularly tout their supposed accuracy and often claim their critics never prove them wrong. Fittingly, this in itself is a complete falsehood. Limbaugh and Beck are wrong for a living, but have been rewarded for their perpetual wrongness by assuming the role of the two most important cogs in the conservative media. Every day, the conservative noise machine -- Fox News, Beck, Limbaugh, and other prominent conservative talk radio hosts and bloggers -- hurl false accusations with the hopes of damaging the Obama administration, Democrats, and progressives politically. Make no mistake: this is the primary motivation for the majority of the stories they promote. Pesky things like "facts" and "reality" are, at best, a trivial concern. Often, these attacks are baseless, easily debunked, and laughably absurd -- yet conservative media outlets rarely (if ever) offer corrections when they are proven wrong. Instead they either double down on their attacks or simply ignore that they were wrong in the first place and move on to the next overhyped bit of nonsense. While it may seem like a minor story in the grand scheme of things, one example from this week perfectly exemplifies the utter lack of journalistic standards endemic to conservative media. Early this week, conservatives were in their usual panic mode over what they claimed was evidence that the Obama administration "backed" or "preferred" the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the terrorist better known as the Lockerbie bomber. As we pointed out, reports -- often the same reports these conservatives were linking to in order to make their arguments -- indicated that the administration wanted Megrahi to remain imprisoned, with the stipulation that if he were to be released, he should remain in Scotland rather than risk him receiving an "extremely inappropriate" "welcoming reception" upon being transferred to Libya. Fox News twisted reality to claim that the "U.S. Backed Freedom, Not Prison, for Bomber." Matt Drudge splashed a huge headline across his website announcing that the "White House Backed Release Of Lockerbie Bomber." Pam Geller -- whose deranged rantings have earned her frequent appearances on Fox News and bylines on Andrew Breitbart's "Big" websites, Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller, and the American Thinker -- called for a "special investigation" and a "charge of treason" for Obama. Rush Limbaugh -- while bragging, as he often does, that he was "executing assigned host duties flawlessly" with "zero mistakes" --claimed that Obama "backed the release" of the Lockerbie bomber because he wanted to "make nice with the Muslim world." Late Monday, when the State Department released the administration's correspondence with the Scottish Ministry of Justice, it confirmed in unambiguous terms that the administration was "not prepared to support Megrahi's release on compassionate release or bail," and that "it would be most appropriate for Megrahi to remain imprisoned for the entirety of his sentence." So, after this story completely fell apart, did conservative media figures correct the record and let their readers/listeners/viewers know that the administration did not "support" or "prefer" the release of the Lockerbie bomber? Of course not. Conservative blogger Jim Hoft -- whose ongoing popularity and influence in conservative media says a lot about their complete indifference to accuracy and credibility -- linked to the letter and proclaimed that the administration "preferred" his release. This was akin to pointing at the ground and saying "this is the sky." Fox Nation, almost 48 hours after the story had completely fallen apart, still had the following headline and image on their front page: And you can be sure that in a few months, whenever Sean Hannity or anyone else in the noise machine decides to twist a news story to claim that the Obama administration is "weak on terror," they'll point to the time the administration supposedly "preferred the release of the Lockerbie bomber" in order to buttress their point. It's a perpetual dishonesty machine. If this were an isolated incident, perhaps it would be possible to (partially) excuse conservative media outlets for their shameless performance "covering" this story. But as we detailed this week, the right-wing media routinely promote fake stories (for example, the epic freak-out over the imaginary Obama proposal to "ban sport fishing.") For another good example of how the perpetual dishonesty machine works, have a look at this segment from Tuesday's Fox & Friends. In it, Glenn Beck, Steve Doocy, and Peter Johnson Jr. seized on reports of the U.K. supposedly "admit[ting] its socialized health care is a mess" in order to attack health care reform. They rehashed some old favorites from conservatives' misinformation campaign about health care reform, claiming that we "modeled" reform on the British system and fear mongered about imaginary "death panels." Neither of these attacks were true when they appeared last year, they weren't true this week, and they won't be true the next time Fox's hosts bring them up. This pattern is undeniable, and at this point is just expected behavior for the conservative media. The larger problem is that "mainstream" outlets still frequently treat garbage from conservative media figures as newsworthy, and ombudsmen at major newspapers like The Washington Post regularly chastise their colleagues for not seizing on conservative nonsense faster. It says a lot about the state of the media when Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, and other prominent media conservatives can be caught pushing a blatantly false story, offer no correction, and have their behavior met with a collective shrug. Conservative media outlets retain their unfortunate power and influence over the public discourse because they are able to lie largely without consequence. They did it all this week, they did it all last week, and they'll do it again next week. Dishonest damage control: Shirley Sherrod edition Though conservative media outlets mostly avoid accountability for their shameless dishonesty, occasionally, one of their overhyped "scandals" blows up in such epic fashion that they are forced to publicly defend themselves. Fittingly, their defenses often rest on provable falsehoods. In the wake of Shirley Sherrod's firing and (attempted) rehiring, Fox News, Andrew Breitbart, and conservative media figures have transitioned into damage control mode, a large, shameful part of which entails attacking Sherrod as a radical Marxist race-baiter. While Breitbart (whom Sherrod announced plans to sue this week) deserves a hefty dose of criticism for revealing yet again that he is a dishonest hack, it's worth taking a closer look at Fox News' role in this story. Fox originally defended their journalistic integrity by unequivocally stating that they did not cover the story prior to Sherrod's resignation. Among the Fox personalities making this argument were Dana Perino, Steve Doocy, Glenn Beck, and James Rosen. As we pointed out repeatedly, Fox News did cover the story prior to her resignation on both FoxNews.com and FoxNation.com, and Bill O'Reilly taped his segment calling for Sherrod's resignation before she stepped down. Fox News VP Michael Clemente eventually conceded to Politico that Fox had covered the story online before Sherrod resigned, which he blamed on a "breakdown in the system." Give me a break -- Fox should not get a pass on this one. How low a bar has Fox set in terms of journalistic responsibility that they think a legitimate defense for their behavior is saying "well, only two of our websites and our top-rated TV host planned to run with this story before we got the facts straight, so we mostly did a good job." Really? The fact that Sherrod happened to resign before O'Reilly's segment aired has absolutely no bearing on the lack of journalisticresponsibility inherent in O'Reilly's segment in the first place. And Fox's online coverage of the story, coupled with their past transgressions, seem to indicate not that there was a "breakdown in the system," but that the "system" doesn't even exist. Glenn Beck's dangerous game On July 18, an apparently deranged ex-convict named Byron Williams packed his truck with guns and allegedly set out to kill employees at both the ACLU and the Tides Foundation in the hopes that his actions would "start a revolution." Williams' mother indicated that her son was angry because of his unemployment and "what's happening to our country." According to her, Williams watched television news and was upset by "the way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda items." Sound familiar? While the ACLU has long been a bogeyman for conservatives, the Tides Foundation is far more obscure and hasn't earned nearly as much attention from the right-wing media. There is, however, one media figure who has made the little-known Tides Foundation a focal point of his attacks: Fox News' Glenn Beck. As we detailed, Beck has repeatedly demonized the Tides Foundation on his Fox News program - referencing the organization at least thirty times by our count. Beck often includes Tides in his bizarre conspiracy theories, and has referred to them as a "shady organization" that is a "major source of revenue for some of the most extreme groups on the left" and wants to "warp your children's brains." In the wake of the attempted attack, Beck has stood by his attacks on Tides, going so far as to brag about "turning the light of day" on Tides while also pointing to their inclusion on his blackboard as "the first time that I really realized its success." Beck's denial of any responsibility for this incident is complicated by his almost-daily use of overtly violent rhetoric. Among many, many other examples, Beck has: Suggested Obama is pushing America toward civil war and deliberately "trying to destroy the country." Capped two weeks of violent fear mongering about progressives by warning that when their attempts at a "soft revolution" fail, eventually progressives "just start shooting people." Said the "people around the president" support "armed insurrection" and "bombing." Repeatedly insinuated that the Obama administration will kill him. Used a quote from Jefferson to launch into a warning about coming "rivers of blood." Compared himself to "Israeli Nazi hunters" and announced that "to the day I die, I am going to be a progressive hunter." Included in his advice to Liberty University grads that they should "shoot to kill," and that graduates "have a responsibility" tospeak out, or "blood...will be on our hands." Informed viewers that the "world is on edge" and said that "those who survive" will "stand in the truth" and "listen." Said that some progressive groups don't have "a problem with blood in the streets." And just today, Beck claimed the present day will seem like good times "when we're behind barbed wire and just eating rock soup." Despite the fact that he routinely suggests progressives are going to kill or imprison his viewers and listeners, Beck tries to thread the needle by urging his followers not to resort to violence. As Media Matters' Matt McLaughlin asked this week, what does it say about Beck's rhetoric and his audience that he feels it necessary to tell his followers not to kill people? This weekly wrap-up was compiled by Media Matters' Ben Dimiero

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Don't trust Andrew Breitbart.

2010-07-24T22:56:00.001-04:00

(via Media Matters for America, July 23, 2010 )

Media Matters: "Context is everything": Why you should (still) never trust Andrew Breitbart

Don't trust Andrew Breitbart.

It's a phrase

Media Matters has been repeating ever since the conservative web publisher burst onto the national stage by coordinating the release of deceptively edited tapespurporting to show "illegal activities" and criminality by ACORN employees.

Breitbart's ACORN claims fell apart: after the media firestorm died down, multiple investigations found no evidence of criminality in the "severely edited" ACORN tapes. In other words, countless hours of hysterical news coverage did little more than promote meaningless videos, while propping up Breitbart as the leader of conservative new media journalism.

A similar debacle played out again this week, as Breitbart released another bogus tape, this time smearing (then-) USDA official Shirley Sherrod. The video, Breitbart boasted in a Monday post on BigGovernment.com, showed "evidence of racism coming from a federal appointee and NAACP award recipient" "against a white farmer," and that Sherrod's "federal duties are managed through the prism of race and class distinctions." Breitbart opened his post: "Context is everything."

Fox News and the conservative media initially lauded Breitbart's "great work." Fox Business host David Asman hailed the video from "our friend" as the "triumph of Andrew Breitbart over the establishment." Unfortunately, even members of the Obama administration gave it credence and forced the resignation of Sherrod.

Breitbart's triumph, however, was short-lived. As conservative blogger Allahpundit wondered when the video was released, "Doesn't it sound like Sherrod was building to a 'but' before the clip cut out?" The alleged victims of Sherrod's racism, Roger and Eloise Spooner, toldCNN that those who were smearing her as racist "don't know what they're talking about," and that Sherrod did "her level best" to help them successfully save their farm. And on Tuesday evening, the NAACP released the full video of Sherrod remarks, which exonerated her and showed that Breitbart's descriptions were false. Sherrod was speaking about her actions 24 years ago (not during the Obama administration), and was telling a tale about learning that she needed "to work to help poor people" regardless of whether they were black, white, or Hispanic.

Breitbart, apparently operating without having "slept in 40 hours," doubled down on his heavily edited clip and even bizarrely suggested that the farmer's wife was a plant. Breitbart also offered an avalanche of false claims about his original story, like his scoop wasn't actually "about Shirley Sherrod," and that the real story is racism in the NAACP, asevidenced by supposed "applauding as [Sherrod] described how she maltreated the white farmer." Throughout his flailings, Breitbart never offered an apology to Sherrod.

Fox News similarly circled the wagons. On Tuesday, Special Report anchor Bret Baier absurdly claimed, "Fox News didn't even do the story" on Sherrod. On Thursday, Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy claimed that the "Fox News Channel" didn't touch the story "until she had actually quit." A Los Angeles Times article that day reported that Fox News senior vice president Michael Clemente defended the channel's coverage by claiming he "urged the staff to first get the facts and obtain comment from Sherrod before going on air." However,Fox News commentators ran with the story before getting all "the facts," and reporters for FoxNews.com published a story based on the deceptively edited video before Sherrod resigned and without comment from her.

Even after the facts came out, Fox News personalities continued to attack Sherrod. Juliet Huddy claimed that Sherrod's "incriminating" "present tense" statements still "raise questions" about whether she should be federally employed. Glenn Beck said that Sherrod "obviously has some sort of Marxist or redistributionist qualities to her." Dick Morris saidemploying Sherrod is like "having Reverend Wright on staff." And Fox News contributor Monica Crowley suggested Sherrod may be among "radicals, racists, socialists" in Obama administration.

Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, and Rush Limbaugh even ludicrously speculated that Breitbart and the conservative media may have been the victim of a "set-up" "orchestrated" by the White House.

After Breitbart's implosion, some -- but certainly not all -- in the media correctly noted that the case illustrates that Breitbart has no credibility. MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said, "I think [Breitbart] has lost his standing to present videos to the country at any time." CNN's Anderson Cooper said that Breitbart's actions are "a classic example of what is wrong with our national discourse." Politico's Ben Smith noted, "Breitbart's sites now have a growing credibility problem."

In the end, Breitbart is Breitbart. This was not his first dishonest video, and it won't be his last.

The question is whether Fox "friend" Breitbart's scoops about supposed misdeeds will still be given prominent news coverage, and taken as fact. As MSNBC.com's First Read wrote, "you would have thought that all of us in the ACTUAL news business would have learned this lesson about Andrew Breitbart and his protégés: They're not out for the truth; they're out for scalps."

Fox News anchor Shep Smith, frequently the station's lone voice of reason, may have been speaking to his colleagues (once again) when he said on Wednesday that he declined to run the story "because of the history of videos on the site where it was posted. In short, we did not and do not trust the source."

The way to avoid another ACORN or Sherrod debacle is simple: Don't trust Andrew Breitbart.

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