Smokey if it's a noun,..smoky if it's an adjective.

As in,'Smokey The Bear thinks it wonderful that it's no longer smoky in O-Town'..

Thanks to some selfless efforts on the part of firefighters from across the state,and a mild delta breeze wafting up from San Francisco,we finally got to see some blue skies this very day!
Our air quality has been upgraded to 'hazy'.

I just don't know what 'Hazey' The Ring-Tailed Bandicoot thinks about that,but I'm happy as hell.

Street Kids...

Back in the 50's,when I was just a toddlin' lad,I pretty much had my whole life planned out according to all the up-to date standards of modern life..

When I grew up,I was gonna have to fight the Nazi's,and the Japanese,like my Dad and Uncle Maurice.
Apparently,..it's what we do.
I'd drive a 'Hot Rod',get the girl,and wear a brown suit,with shiny brown wing tips to work.
I would make sure that there was a transistor radio,and plenty of 9 volt batteries in the bomb shelter,so that when the Russians attacked I could safely tuck my wife, 2.5 kids,'Rinny' our German shepherd,and myself into the cozy confines of our little time capsule,and listen to 'doo-wop' all the live-long day.

Well it turns out the best laid plans of mice,and 7 year old boys,oft-times go astray.
It's the nature of things.

Still,from time to time,I reach into my giant stainless steel bomb shelter,pull out my high-fidelity record player,and spin me some 50's hot wax.

..don't ask me why.



'I wonder why'

Dear Barack,

Hi,
I'm writing this letter,in an attempt to bring you up to speed on what I expect from you.
You see,I'm convinced that you will be the next President of my United States of America.
..Yeah,I said 'my'.
It belongs to me,by virtue of having been born within it's boundaries,nurtured in it's bounty,rejoiced in it's glory,and mourned along side my brethren in times of national grief for more than half a century.
So pay attention young man,because I'm just too tired to repeat myself.

I expect you to wake up each and every morning,as if today was your last chance to inspire the nation to listen,really listen,to the better Angels of our nature.

I expect you to accept,with humble determination,the legacy of freedom,and equality that was at the forefront of our founding father's intent,when Thomas Jefferson first penned the phrase,'We The People'.

I know,you know what I'm sayin',so don't even try to pass responsibility on to some nebulous 'Those guys'..
The buck stops with you son,so don't piss down my neck,and tell me it's raining.

I'm confident that you recognize your place in history as this country's first Afro-American President,..and that's the last time I'll ever make that distinction,because from this day forward,labels count for naught.

I expect you to perform the duties of the office of President,as if you only have one term in which to impact the next several generations of Americans for the better.

Can you do that?..I hope so.
Because if you disappoint me,I will fire your ass on the spot!
I can do that,..I'm an American,..look it up.

Your Friend,
Sling

Sunrise on Krypton..

California is on fire!..


From time to time,particularly during Summer,we experience a phenomenon here in the Golden State affectionately referred to as 'Dry Lightning'.
It's really quite impressive,what with the sunny skies,and bone jarring peals of thunder that suddenly erupt without warning.

Well,that's all well and good,but it turns out there is one unfortunate side effect to all of this primal display of power.
Here in the North State,our gorgeous sylvan neighborhoods are especially vulnerable to wildfires.


The pic below is not a dismally overcast day in Los Angeles...Oh no.
It's a photo of the sun,just as it began to rise over O-Town this very morn.

There are 27 fires burning in the immediate area,and the resultant smoke has permeated the atmosphere.
Odd as it may seem,that's the good news!
You see,the smoke is hovering still over the valley because there is very little wind to blow it away,and consequently,no wind to feed the fires.

Thus far,while there are several thousand acres ablaze,the firefighters have been able to stay ahead of the fires,and prevent any damage to homes in the area,and the people and animals that reside therein.

Now,as any one who came of age reading Action Comics in the 50's is well aware,there is yet another bonus to the 'Red Sun' effect..

..SUPERPOWERS!..

Yep,..I fully expect that once the yellow sun reappears,I'll be wondrously transformed,according to the natural laws of cosmic solar hue effects on nerdy superhero wannabees.

Hey!..Maybe I'll finally get that X-Ray vision I've dreamed about,since puberty!

Bonanza!..

The minute I discovered U-Tube,I rushed right over and scoured the site for videos of my favorite guitarist.
Sadly,there were scant few to be found.
I wasn't surprised really,because he's not what you'd call a 'pop' artist,and much of his work was performed in the 70's,before video tape recorders were readily accessible to all and sundry.
Still,I'd check every now and then,hoping to find some footage from the occasional PBS concert,or whatever.

Well dont'cha know I was rummaging through some Jimmie Rodgers tunes on U-Tube,when I hit upon a link that took me to a treasure trove of Leo Kottke vids!..Apparently some fan whose name I can't remember right now has uploaded buttloads!

Now don't worry,I'm not gonna play them one after another,because I like to post other bits of melodic esoterica,just to keep things interesting..at least for me.
I'm playing this particular song because it highlights Leo's mastery of the 12 string acoustic,and pays some small homage to another favorite of mine,Doc Watson.

Enjoy!



'The last steam engine train'

China Lung Ching Green Tea costs $9.99 a pound

..look it up.
I'll wait.

Each and every groggy morn,I set about the same routine.
My alarm is set for 5:21 am,so that I might hit the snooze alarm,and gain that precious extra 9 minutes before rising at precisely 5:thirty-something ...it depends.

• Fire up the computron
  
• Turn on the TV,already set to the morning news
  
• Nuke myself a cup of coffee,left over from the day before
  
• Go out on the front porch for a morning cigarette
  

By the time I'm done with my smoke,the coffee is piping hot,bitterly delicious,and young Ashley of the blonde persuasion is chirping merrily over the
bountiful bowl of pablum she's about to serve up,thinly disguised as 'news'.

I told you that story,so I could tell you this one.

I really look forward to the,'Today's Birthdays' segment.
Not that I give a particular damm about which celebrity is celebrating her 46th birthday today,even though Paula still cleans up pretty good when she's not stumblin' around drunk down on the farm,..Oh no.
I just have a thing about marking time,and I was reminded this day of a couple of fortuitous anniversaries of my own.

Not only is tomorrow the first day of Summer,but it also marks the third anniversary of my employment with K's Kustom Kabs!
If you've wandered into my corner of the blogosphere for any length of time,you know how this has proven to be a red-letter day in my life.
Plus!!...I get a buck an hour raise..so there's that.


On an equally joyous,albeit somewhat nefarious note,three days hence marks the fourth anniversary of my release from the San Luis Valley Community Corrections facility.
I was the adamantly reluctant guest of that fine establishment for three years,(plus ten days,..on account of that thing I did that time),so I figure staying out,and doin' the whole law abiding citizen thing for four years pretty much wipes the slate clean!

What does any of this have to do with the price of tea in China??
..not a damned thing.

We hold these truths to be self evident..

You know,it's long been acknowledged as a matter of course,that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day.
One of those universally accepted theories that pass,without question,from the intellectuals on high,to the lowly serfs dwelling in the valley below,in an effort to bring some measure of certainty to their very uncertain existence.
Other fundamental tenets of well informed doctrine include;

'The world is flat'.
'Man will never fly'..
'Thar be Dragons here!'...

Okay,Right off the top,..we may now revel in the sure and certain knowledge that two of the above examples simply are not true!
In light of this,allow me to offer an opposing view to the whole Friday the 13th mystique.

This very thirteenth of June fell on a Friday,and I found myself clean up to my cynical heart in beautiful women!

Lorraine:.. 'I thought you said we were going to visit Booda Baby?'..

Auld Hat:.. 'I smell pie!'.

When in doubt,go with the classics.

Here's the last piece of Rainey's world famous applesauce cake!

I accidentally forgot to save it for Sage...*burp!*.

I finally got my copy of Unbound Press autographed by the author of 'Will write for food'.

Three pearls rare,and wonderful.

Cheetos and Champagn-ya!

..'I wonder what the poor folks are doin'?'..

Auld Hat making the flowers jealous.

On a decidedly more,'WTF!!' note,..blogger is being a huge butt,and not allowing me to upload the other FULL DOZEN!! pix I have ready to share.
..No matter.
I think the following video pretty much says it all.

Sunday Sneak Preview...

I know,I know,..The Hat,Lorraine,The Child,and I have been conspicuously absent from Bloggertown 'lo these past several days.
It really wasn't a deliberate effort on our parts to keep everyone in the dark about our activities during their visit you know..
Okay,..it was.
But still,I'm sure you all understand that we were simply going about the business of basking in the glow of a friendship that has been incubating for as long as the three of us have been blogging.

No doubt,you will also understand that it's gonna take some time to sort out all the photos,(and yes Doralong,..video!),so that we may all do proper blogs,after our own fashion.

My dear friends are safely in transit,motoring towards their next exciting destination,even as we speak!

I most assuredly will be posting a more complete account of the goings on that transpired over the weekend,but in the meantime,I can say with confidence that a wonderful time was had by all!!...

Wednesday 411

Yesterday on the way back from our install,we were forced to take an alternate route to the shop due to a raging fire,South of O-Town.
It turns out one of the fellas had to leave work around 1:00 pm to evacuate his wife and sons from his house!
Well I kept an eye on the local news,and they reported that more than 20 homes had been destroyed.
Needless to say I was pretty concerned for my bud,but when I got to work this morning he reported that everything was fine,and that the fire had shifted direction just short of his home.
One of the contractors that we build for wasn't so lucky however.
He lost everything...No real point here.Just thinkin' about how quickly,and unexpectedly these kinds of things can happen.

Switching gears..

WOO HOO!!..(how's that for some blogger whiplash?).
In just two days,as many of you know,I'll be graced with the delightful presence of Honey's in Triplicate!

Hat,Lorraine,and The Child will be arriving from Monte Carlo,via private jet,and will be the honored guests of Sling's Domain.
Gotta love this blog thing of ours,that brings together people that would otherwise never have met.

I know these gentle folks,as surely as if we had been next door neighbors trading anecdotes over the back fence for the last 3 years.
Still,I can't imagine anything more wonderful than actually getting to sit,and talk,and laugh with them in person.
Plus!!..I have it on good authority that applesauce cake will be involved.

It's Wednesday,and life is good in Sling's Domain.

Trailer Trash..

More previews of coming attractions!



Have a great week kids!

Back when I knew everything!

There are some few things in my life that I can say without fear of equivocation,
had a profound impact on the person that I was to become in later life.
..Well that just sounds really heavy don't it?..No matter.

No doubt,each of us can trace some aspect of our developing personalities to this person,that book,or a song that spoke to us when it seemed as if there just wasn't a single soul on earth that understood what was going on in our heads.

By the time I was 16,My Godfather had taught me,by example,what it meant to be an honorable man.
George Orwell's Animal Farm,had opened my eyes to the evil that men do.
And Harry Nilsson put lyrics to music,that defined that restlessness I had been feeling,but couldn't quite articulate.

'Bankin' off of the Northeast wind,sailin' on Summer breeze,and skipping over the ocean like a stone'



'Everybody's talkin' at me'

Drunken Blogging..

I don't have a lot to blog about today,but there's something that's been on my mind for the last couple of days,and I wanted to put it out there into the blogosphere.

Stay with me..

Obama has clearly won the Democratic nomination for President,and there has been much speculation as to whether or not he should choose Hillary as his running mate.
The talking heads that are getting paid big bucks to analyze this situation,are saying that Obama should offer Hillary the VP spot,as a matter of political courtesy,and that Hillary should decline in favor of something more substantial.
I mean,face it,the Vice-President really only has two functions.
Speaker of the house,(yawn)..and taking the helm in the event that the President is incapacitated...Slim pickin's indeed.
Okay,all that makes some measure of sense to me.
There are future forces at work that need to be considered.

These same pundits however,are saying that should Hillary decline the office of Vice-President,it would be bad form for Obama to choose another woman as his running mate...It would be an egregious act of disrespect towards Hillary,as a political pioneer in this country.
After all,Hillary has been at the forefront of breaking ground on this new political turf,women holding one of the top two positions in the executive branch of government.
That she deserves to be the first,seems an historical imperative!

How many women are thinking at this moment,'You go girl!'?..

Here's my question;
What do women want?..Seriously.

The only way I can interpret this,is that it's admirable for Hillary to stand in the way of some other woman's opportunity to set this new standard of achievement.

And not just admirable,but 'politically correct'!

I can't for the life of me,wrap my mind around this disparity of logic.

Put it this way..
What would our reaction be,if two men had been in the running,and after his successful campaign Obama proclaimed,..'Oh,..I wouldn't even consider a woman as my running mate'? ..

..just wonderin'.

I'm Sling,and I approve this message..

'Senator Obama's office,how may I help you?'

'Yeah,..hi,..this is Sling...May I speak with Senator Obama please?'

'What is this in regards to sir?'

'Well,..I've done the math,and it seems clear that I've fallen just short of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination,so I'm making this courtesy call by way of concession..You know,..protocol and all that'.

' Umm,..I'm sorry.Who did you say you were?'

'Sling!..You know..Bloggertown candidate for President'.

..'Mr. Limbaugh,..if this is another crank phone call'..

'I'm Sling dammit!..Now get Obama on the horn so I can eat some friggin' crow, and see if I can't weasel some sort of Cabinet position outta the deal!'

'I'm sorry sir,but Senator Obama is much too busy to talk to every crackpot blogger suffering delusions of grandeur!'

'OH YEAH!!..Well you tell him that I'll meet him anytime,..ANYPLACE of his choosing to settle this shit!..Got that!!'

*CLICK!!*..

..thanks for your support.