Am I the only one looking forward to the elections being over?

"On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does."
-Will Rogers

I have a confession to make; I haven't watched any of the debates, and I don't really plan on doing so. I'd rather look over the candidate's records to make any decisions.
The first thing to consider with anyone running for office is that politicians lie. What you have during a debate is the equivalent of two used-car salesman competing to see which one of them can sell you an overpriced clunker. No matter who you choose, it's still BOHICA time. As far as I'm concerned, those clowns can yammer all day, what counts is deeds, not bullshit. You want to know what those bullwinkles will do? Look at what they've been doing all along. Remember that both of them have been screwing over someone, it is part of the game. The only difference is who is getting it, and how hard are they getting it. Always check their past, and make sure to go to different sources. Some sources are more objective than others, so I like to try and find sources that lean in different directions, and compare.

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"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right."
-H. L. Mencken

Looks like the bailout may be settled, but the dust is still settling, so nothing is dead certain as of yet. No matter what they do, the citizens are going to be footing the bill. Seems that everyone in both parties screwed the pooch on this; and everyone is getting sprained fingers from pointing at the other guy. I still don't like the idea; it is essentially nationalizing the organizations, and that just digs you deeper into socialism. Socialism never ends well; either nations go broke, collapse from ennui, or turn into totalitarian regimes. Personally, I distrust all wealth redistribution programs unless they are completely voluntary, and taxes are NOT voluntary.

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I'm hoping to get up in the hills and do a little photography sometime soon; the leaves are changing and it is going to be full of snow in the higher elevations, so I'd like to get up there before the roads get closed.

I've been feeling a bit down and melancholy the last few days; I don't know if it is the weather, the news, my health, or what. It does seem to show in the playlist I'm currently listening to, however. Anyone familiar with this top ten from the list?

"It Was a Very Good Year" by Frank Sinatra
"Ain't Even Done With the Night" by John Mellencamp
"Never Comes the Day" by The Moody Blues
"American Pie" by Don McLean
"Misery and the Blues" by Maria Muldaur
"Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
"Night Moves" by Bob Seger
"Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin
"Someday Never Comes" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot

I remember when the first one in the list came out during the sixties; it was ok, but I wasn't really crazy about it. As I've gotten older, however, it seems to sound better and make more sense.

Whoops...

Last time I was here I said I was going to try to blog more often. Notice how well that worked.

I like taking this test from time to time to see if any of my outlook has changed much. It doesn't seem to vary a lot, other than I seem to be floating toward anarchy. I'm not sure if that is good or bad.

You are a Social Liberal (80% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (85% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

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My brother sent this to me in an email for a good laugh. (Thanks, Rich.)

This video proves that stupidity knows no borders.



Even though Mexico send a lot of drugs up here, they must be keeping the best stuff at home. I have to wonder if these people are hitting the local mushrooms. Instead of village idiots they have some idiot villages.

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The presidential contests are getting into full swing now; the sniping, lying, shit-throwing, and name-calling is starting to get to really obnoxious levels; I don't think half of the idiots out there are even checking any of the facts they hear, they just pick the ones they like and take them on faith. The politics is getting to a level of slime that would scare a cockroach.

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Feeling like something a little different, this list has a lot of stuff other people don't listen to a lot. Anyone familiar with the top 10 on the list? The songs or the artists?

"Classical Gas" by Terrence Farrell
"The Fool on the Hill" by Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66
"Slaughter on 10th Avenue" by Rodgers & Hart
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" by Diana Krall
"Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix
"Hell Hound on My Trail" by Eric Clapton
"Someone to Watch over Me" by Reneé Olstead
"Yakety Axe" by Chet Atkins/Mark Knopfler
"More Than a Feeling" by Boston
"I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper

Hello again, it's just me

I'm trying to blog more often; hopefully before the 3 or 4 people who visit give up on me.
The Greek Festival was a success; as usual they had tons of food and lots of visitors. Prices have gone up, but that is true anywhere you go these days. I quite enjoyed kalamaria, dolmathes, keftethes, souvlaki, spanakopita, loucomades, and various other dishes.
The Greek Orthodox Church of Salt Lake is a nice example of byzantine architecture. I got this photo from across the street; to the left is part of the building that housed the kitchens.



In one part of the festival they had Greek dancers demonstrating the various dances from Greece that have been passed down; some are mixed gender, but a lot are either women only or men only, as many dances are in that area of the Mediterranean.
In the other part of the festival there was a local Greek band. I got this picture of the singer/bouzouki player. If you want to hear an example of bouzouki music, there is a clip here.



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The presidential campaign is starting to warm up; the sniping is getting busier. I don't know why politicians can't act like adults and talk about issues. Instead, it's like watching a bunch of 13-year old schoolgirls getting all pissy and bitching about each other from behind. And some schoolgirls would be a lot better at it. I still wish one of our choices was "None of the above".

“Washington is a stud farm for every jackass in the country.”
- Mark Twain

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."
- Aesop

"Alexander Hamilton started the U.S. Treasury with nothing -- and that was the closest our country has ever been to being even."
-Will Rogers

"It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged."
-G.K. Chesterton

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More golden oldies.

"If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" by Willie Nelson
"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones
"Perfect" by Sara Evans
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" by The Lovin' Spoonful
"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys
"The Fool on the Hill" by Sergio Mendes
"Promises in the Dark" by Pat Benatar
"No Fair at All" by The Association
"Valerie" by Quarterflash
"To Beat the Devil" by Kris Kristofferson

It's bad enough that my muse ran away from home...

...but you'd think she could at least send me a postcard once in a while.

Not a lot in the news to blog about; the majority of the stuff out there is the presidential campaigns, and those seem to be revolving around two types of responses; orgasmic happiness on the right, and pant-soiling hysterics on the left, all concerning the vice presidential Republican runner, not the Republican presidential runner. Seems people are more concerned about Palin than they are about McCain. A question to the left: Why are you so concerned about comparing the Republican #2 to the Democratic #1? For a group of people who act so dismissive of her, they sure seem to be obsessed with going after her. While they're busy throwing all of their mud at her, McCain is skating along. Personally, I don't favor either party. To me the Democratic Party has morphed into socialists, and the Republican Party seems to favor an aristocracy. The only reason I am even considering voting is the fact that I have a mental block against socialism; I detest it as much as I do monarchies, and for the same reason, they are both totalitarian governments.
Just my opinion.

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One of my favorite events is happening this weekend, the Greek Festival. It is a charity event put on by the local Greek Orthodox Church, and is extremely popular around here. I grew up around a lot of Greek and Italian people in south Salt Lake, and this is a great place to get the sort of food I remember from friend's families while I was growing up. I'm really looking forward to some good food and a glass of retsina, followed by baklava and Greek coffee.

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Some old stuff in my playlist today; the more I hear of the stuff on the radio, the more I like the older stuff. Any day now I'll be on the porch yelling "Get off the lawn!"

"Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
"Substitute" by The Who
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers
"California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas
"Uncle John's Band" by The Grateful Dead
"Magical Mystery Tour" by The Beatles
"For Ladies Only" by Steppenwolf
"Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" by Santana
"The Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin
"Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky

How many of these do you remember?