Silence Is Golden... Sometimes

It's awfully quiet around these parts lately...

The old man's off to Philadelphia, left yesterday for a go-round of Jury Duty in the Federal Court. Sounds important, doesn't it? I've been getting updates all day. They haven't gotten to him yet. Maybe another overnight in the City of Brotherly Love for him. We only live about 80 miles away from Philadelphia... WTF? I hope they're paying for the gas - and not the usual 8¢ a damn mile.

I know, I know - you're supposed to do your duty in a democratic society... but damn that's a bit far to travel. Last time I was up for Jury Duty - I said it would be financially impossible for me to serve - because it would have been. If I was chosen and had to stay for a case, I probably wouldn't have had a job when I returned to work. I know they aren't allowed to do that - but this is the restaurant business we're talking about here. Lots of shady things go on in the restaurant...

I'm blasting the stereo right now. Mott The Hoople is kranking... Yes, Silence Is Golden - except when it's lonely...

Food Trivia Quiz...

1) The following all took place during the same year. Can you guess the year?
· Kellogg introduced Pop-Tarts toaster pastries.
· General Mills introduced Lucky Charms cereal.
· The French dairy cooperatives introduced Yoplait Yogurt in France.
· Maxim freeze dried instant coffee is introduced by General Foods.
· The U.S. government defines Bourbon as whiskey with at least 51% corn liquor and aged in new charred-oak barrels.
· Rocky Aoki opens his first Benihana of Tokyo restaurant in New York.
· The first Arby's restaurant is opened.

2) What percentage of the total world fish catch is caught in the northern hemisphere?
a) 10%
b) 30%
c) 60%
d) 90%

3) What connection does Peter Cooper, inventor and founder of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and Pearl B. Wait cough syrup manufacturer, have to a popular American dessert?

4) Why does peanut butter stick to the roof of your mouth?

5) How many poppy seeds are in a pound?

6) What country has more varieties of crabs than anywhere else in the world?
a) China
b) Japan
c) United States
d) Mexico
e) Norway

7) What herb is used in the production of imitation maple syrup, rum and butterscotch flavors?

...and remember:
"He that lives upon Hope, dies farting."
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Poor Richard's Almanac


(answers in comments)

More News From Nowhere...

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

"Half the people had turned into squealing pigs,
the other half were cooking"
I'll just let it say what it needs to...

Jockohomo has the Lost Beatles Interview up.
Thanks J...

Gay Liberation Manifesto

Festive Litha

LITHA (Summer Solstice, June 20-23, dependent on actual astronomical event)

Held on the longest day of the year, the Solstice is the celebration of lights triumph over darkness and that of the bountiful beauty that light brings into life. Flowers are common in the circle, roses and bright cheerful wildflowers are upon the altar and usually worn by all. It is the changing point of the year, and the celebration of the spiral dance of the year is common among Wiccans. It a celebration with much joy, and much feasting. Many Wiccans will attire themselves in bright colours and equally bright adornments of flowers. Usual food fare may include honeycakes or cornbread. Litha is not celebrated by all sects nor in the same way.

We celebrated Midsummer Day (St John's Eve) yesterday at Columcille.

It was a grand occasion with all the stops pulled out. I wish I had brought my camera along - there were so many colorful people there.

First off, let me tell you how hard it is to convince an ex-Priest that he would have a ton of fun at a Pagan Solstice Festival... LOL.

Finally, he went for it and we got there a bit late - just in time to see NNDT.

My favorite performance of the day would be hard to pick...

• Native Nations Dance Theater was pretty awesome.

Delwin played the flute at the top of the mountain. (pictured above left) Man, it sounded incredible. It brought the whole vibe together.

I wish my Son would have been able to come along so he could have seen some of his heritage in action. The Hoop Dance was very involved and totally inspiring and also Drew's Prairie Chicken Dance (pictured on the right). This performance lit the flame of the Solstice for me.

The Lady who narrated (I think her name was Vaughnda) was very keen to present a concise history of the dances and what they represented. It was marvelous.

• Vicki Doney — Her beautiful voice followed us through the park as we left the circle of stones to explore the wondrous nature of the park at the edge of the Appalachian Trail...

• Next up was Circle of Stones Ritual Theater - also truly awesome.

• Jack McGavin did his two-tone chanting with the shruti box while I meditated - Butch thought I was crazy, but I didn't care. ;o)

The day was magical - especially in the beautiful setting of Columcille. Butch and I wandered off a few times to visit the megalith formations. I thought of Sister Sorrow as I walked the Labyrinth.

I'll make my way back up there again soon and take some pictures...

Happy Jāņi Everyone.

शांति
इंद्रधनु राक्षस


Link: Pocono Record Article - Celebrating Summer
**note: If you read the comments in the newspaper article, it will remind you that some people are just never satisfied unless they can feel superior to others.

Current Events

Looking for a new job at my age is really frustrating. Especially at this time of the year when the market is flooded with young people...
Sheesh. Fagedda bout it.

Truck driving is looking more and more attractive. Even though I'll be out and about on the road - away from here (I'm a homebody at heart) I do love to drive. Picking a "company" to drive for is getting to be a job in itself. Soon, I'm just going to close my eyes and let my finger fall on the page - as a way of deciding. That's called being definitive I suppose.

In other news, my nephew decided (rightly) to get back together with his girlfriend and move back to Indiana. we are happy for them.

We nearly lost part of the house on Monday. falling trees, lightning and high wind have a way of reminding us that Mother Nature is a force that sometimes cannot be reckoned with. Our thoughts are with the people in the Midwest at this time.

BU$H has ignored disaster victims once again. The Katrina Debacle has taught his administration absolutely ZILCH. Gallivanting around Europe like a lost little schoolboy on summer vacation - he should be ashamed of himself.

Then when he does return - pushing Congress to legislate for offshore drilling like the mad idiot he is. This is just what the Big Oil Corporations needed as an excuse to push their agenda on the American People and the Planet...

Let's all bet on oil speculations like the big boys do and make billions off the little people (see Enron Loophole) fudging their possible 'futures'...

Rock's Forever 27 Club... Top Ten

1. Jimi Hendrix: Asphyxiated in his own vomit after an OD on sleeping pills. Ask Eric Burdon what actually happened...

2. Janis Joplin: Heroin overdose, a magical singer, originally with Big Brother and the Holding Company, her version of "Summertime" is an incredible example of her work...

3. Jim Morrison: Listed as dying from heart failure but almost definitely Heroin OD, massively influential, including inspiration for Iggy Pop...

4. Brian Jones: Drowned in his swimming pool under mysterious circumstances; one of the most dangerous characters around if you were his girlfriend, lots of domestic violence and paranoia overshadowed his brilliance as a musician. Predicted the world music scene with his Moroccan experiments...

5. Kurt Cobain: Made into a popular saint after his death from a 'self-inflicted' gun shot wound in 1994. Ironically he expressed a desire to join the 27 club as a young teenager...

6. Robert Johnson: Pneumonia from strychnine poisoning, 1938; the Father of the Blues would never see 30... Inspiration of a great British Blues movement in the 60s and 70s. Such great bands as Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac and Climax Blues...

7. Alan Wilson: Possible suicide, leader of blues outfit Canned Heat...

8. Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan: Alcohol related gastrointestinal hemorrhage, founding member & keyboard / vocalist of the Grateful Dead...

9. Gary Thain: Bassist of Uriah Heep...

10. Peter Ham: Keyboardist and singer from Badfinger, suicide by hanging...

Wave that cross on high

I've about had it up to here with radical evangelicals...
...who insist on calling themselves 'Christian Conservative'.
I swore also not to blog about it here, but goddam it it's got to be heard.

My nephew has been thrown out in the street by his mother because he said he believes in global warming at a church meeting. She was embarrassed when the whole church laughed at him...

She said to him that Jesus is teaching him a lesson. She left him to sleep in his car in a parking lot somewhere in Florida's panhandle - leaving it in "god's hands"... thus absolving herself of any guilt. What a perfect excuse that is...

After inviting him from Indiana to come and stay with her after the breakup between his girlfriend and he (of which she was the major cause) she pulls a stunt like that... at the demand of her 'pastor'. Mommie Dearest indeed. So much for "family values". The whole kit and kaboodle are evil bastards.

At the request of his father (my brother, who has been divorced from her for a number of years now - and who's job is on the road); we have opened our house to him - until he can get back on his feet.

If being "CHRISTIAN" means abandoning your family in their time of need - I'm so glad I'm Pagan. I use the "X" to identify these people - they are X-tians in my book...
They don't deserve to be associated with the name of The Christ.

Wait til she finds out he's coming here to stay in our Gay Household. She'll be going off the hook, I guarantee it. Absolutely bonkers.

Stay tuned for the soap opera which will be ensuing, I'm quite sure...

Supreme Court of California says it's on...

...some Hippy Music

Peace, Pot & Microdot

Tradition

Last night I went berserk and shaved my head again this year for the summer. What a clean fresh feeling, but sometimes at night it gets cold... (LOL) so I wear a nightcap after drinking one.

This was a tradition that started back in '95 with the passing of Jerry Garcia. He was always like a member of the family to me, and after the countless Grateful Dead Concerts I'd seen over the years - it was like the passing of an era... I am glad that THE DEAD have finally picked up the banner again, but I'll never forget the Jerry Era...

When I'd heard of Jerry's Death, I was deeply saddened and - I'd gone to the bar and had a countless number of shots of Old Grand Dad in his honor. When I got home after that (about 3am, a bit sloppy) I decided to shave my long hair... with a straight razor! Never do that! My dark red curly hair was almost waist length at that time (August 1995).

The next day, the bathroom was full of blood and hair - and I couldn't remember much - until I touched my head... LOL. My poor Grandmother didn't know what the hell happened - and she was worried. Man did she laugh at me after I showed her my naked skull... She called me "Baldy Sours". I always wear a bandana, and the first time I put it on afterwards it felt pretty strange.



Now "the shaving" has kind of become a tradition, except that I've moved it to the end of spring... Go Ahead - Have a laugh.

I still miss my Jerry...

The following quote is from "SKELETON KEY":

"To be a Deadhead is to live at the boundaries of social convention, and the status of homosexuals in American culture has likewise been that of outlaws. Both Deadheads and queers assert the sovereignty of the individual over society's idea of what it means to be a man or woman, and both are privy to insights about oneself as an evolving spiritual being that come only from viewing one's own culture from the *outside in.* The values which appear fixed and rigid to an unquestioning member of the mainstream culture appear fixed and relative to an outsider. In the instant of seizing the opportunity for personal autonomy, growth, and self- exploration, Deadheads and queers share the transcendent experience of "being in the world but not of it."

-- from 'Skeleton Key/A Dictionary for Deadheads' by David Shenk and Steve Silberman

...Now, if you're a queer deadhead like me - that's two strikes... PAGAN makes three. I guess I'm "OUT" ;o)

STONEHENGE DECODED

I'm looking forward to this one ...
Sun June 1 @ 9pm National Geographic Channel

Legend states that Merlin summoned the stones that make up Stonehenge from the Giant's Circle in Ireland.



Mid-12th Century pseudo-historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose book Historia Regum Britanniae (“History of the Kings of Britain”) presented the legend of King Arthur as fact, was perhaps the first to come up with an elaborate, fanciful explanation for Stonehenge’s existence. According to Geoffrey, the monument’s bluestones originated in Africa, where ancient giants scooped them up because of their healing properties and transported them to the mythical Mount Killaraus in Ireland, where they formed the Giants’ Circle. But when Aurelius Ambrosius, King of the Britons, wanted to create a memorial to slain warriors, the magician Merlin suggested to him that the stones (preseli bluestone) would make excellent building material. The king sent an army to defeat the Irish in battle, but they were unable to move the stones, until Merlin used his sorcery to dismantle the structure and transport it across the sea—proving, in the process, that the supernatural was more potent than brute force.

• Legends

• The Legend of Stonehenge

• Aurelius, Merlin & Stonehenge

Joe Says: "awwwww..."

Nabbed From Joe

• Ellen Challenges John McCain on the Right to Marry for Everyone

From A Spo Meme: A Short, Personal History of Blogging

My blog bud, Ur-Spo (who I had originally seen over at Daniel's Reality and Presence would have to fall under the category of "Our Mutual Friend" [more later*] he just enticed me) ... has an interesting post up about blogging. (go read it) I have chosen to respond here because I do love to give endorsements to the blogs I love to read.

He gives 5 Categories...

1) The first blog

I had ever followed was Where Is Raed? by Salam Pax - a gay Iraqi. I used to get so caught up in worrying about him between posts. He is a lover, not a fighter - but in saying that, I've come to realize that he is one of the biggest fighters of all time - fighting for human rights - living the cause day to day in his war-torn country... Thanks to BU$HCO. He was the one who first got me thinking that I might try my hand at it, and of course many of you now know that =CoffeeHouseStudio= was my attempt.

2) "FATE"

My second category (as chronologically - that's how I started blogging) would have to be "FATE" as I went scurrying about in the Blog-o-sphere... I stumbled upon the now defunct PBA (Progressive Blog Alliance) in the early days and joined. Many of the other authors there were politically open-minded and liberal, but not of the same "sexual persuasion" as myself with a few exceptions. I made quite a few cyber-friends there over the years.

• Cul @ Ratboy's Anvil has grown to be a very close friend from those early days. It's funny, he probably knows more about me than my own partner does.

• Jim @ Mockingbird's Medley has recently put his blog on hiatus. He was kind enough to let me co-author over there from time to time.

• Doug Ireland @ Direland was also an early friend. This man is amazing. He writes about global human rights issues from the homsexual viewpoint. From him I learned many injustices in the world that happen against the LGBT community.

• Natalie @ All Facts & Opinions, Another Early Friend in the many causes we've tried to advance - politically over the years. She is of a like mind - even in the music. (I'm not your typically gay taste in music... I like about anything if it's done well). Every Song Is A Voice.

• Michael Hawkins @ Spontaneous Arising has also been a good friend, offering much needed spiritual support from time to time.

There are many more examples and if I left anyone out, I'm sorry... This one's off the cuff.

3) Our Mutual Friend

*Urs fits into this one for me, as I've said before. I saw a few comments he left over at Daniel's (which was then "The Guy In The Dessert" ) who I happened to meet through "A Big Fat Slob" - who I happened to meet through Rick @ Homo Superior...

4) Reciprocal

I had been blogging quite a while before I'd ever gotten a comment... I wasn't very interesting back in those days (still not ;o)) ... but
One of my best friends, One that has sent me "goodies" in the mail - and TONS of spiritual support is my awesome Sister Sorrow @ Walking The Labrynth Of Life. I first remember her leaving a comment on a post I had over at the =CoffeeHouse= about the Icelandic Peace Tower for John Lennon. We've been close ever since.

Pax Romano @ Pax Romano's Ramblings is another truly awesome friend. Always lending support and good vibes, his blog is a daily read. After I get my coffee in the morning - his site is usually the first place I stop on the web. He always makes me laugh. I could see us palling around the Mall.
It's funny... he refers to his partner as "Whatshisname" - and Urs calls his S.O. "Someone".
I simply call mine "Butch" (sometimes I change the 'u' for an 'i')

Christopher @ From The Left (What a Hunk!) His politics are about the same as mine. He and his partner may be relocating to Portland Oregon soon. I wish them well.

5) "Caught My Eye" Blogs... Tons...

Here are a few:

• Jockohomo

• City Woof (WOOF!!!)

• Joe.My.God

• The Life Of Pinky Bear

• Ashram At Pooh Corner

and so on and so on and so on... Hope the post isn't too tedious. Go check them out, you won't be disappointed.

Time... Time... Time...

***

Look what's become of us...



Between the times of birth and death - we're supposed to make a little story.

Be Creative, Brothers & Sisters. Enjoy it.