PS: TATE

 After my Airborne Toxic Event post, and seeing them in concert, I have been listening to them and poking around online watching videos (mainly covers, which I like and they do well.) So, here are some more. Seriously, this won't be just a music blog, but for now here's more music.  (And as you can tell, I'm having trouble getting things aligned correctly when it comes to videos, whether I post in "compose" or "HTML" mode, so if you have any advice...)

Sunday Morning Coming Down

 The Book Of Love


 A Letter to Georgia


 The Winning Side

 Boots of Spanish Leather

The Graveyard Near the House- they played this in Columbus last week.

I've been pretty busy, and though I am working on a few ideas none are ready.  But I wrote something recently about the ongoing birther movement, so here's a Cliff's Notes version of how I saw the Obama birth certificate issue play out.  Here's how it went:


He's got a foreign name!
So?

Well, his dad's a foreigner.  He can't be president!
His mom's American, so he's a citizen.

Well, he was born before Hawaii became a state so he's not a natural-born citizen!
No, Hawaii was a state by then.

Fine, lemme see his birth certificate.
Here it is.

Wait, it says "certificate of live birth" not "birth certificate!"  It's a fake!
Um, I was born in Ohio, and mine says "certificate of live birth."  What is your problem?

He's not allowed to be president, I tell you!  Look, this says he was born in Kenya!
It's a hoax.  It's an altered Australian birth certificate.  See, here's the guy whose form was altered.

Fine.  But he only showed his short-form birth certificate.  Let's see the long form.
Okay, here it is.  Also birth announcements from the local paper, and a statement from the nurse who helped deliver him. Satisfied?

No!  It might be a fake!  A sheriff in Arizona who's under investigation says so!

And so on... it never ends.  There's no satisfying conspiracy theorists.  Maybe- maybe!- scrutiny was justified, up to the release of the short-form birth certificate.  But after that, it's BS.  And what, pray tell, is Romney going to do to prove he is a natural-born citizen?  'Cause a birth certificate ain't gonna do it for me, not after all this...

I stumbled on these folks a few years ago, and they helped get me through my divorce. Seriously. Their blend of energy and angst fit my mood for a long time. Some of the lyrics may seem trite, but others grab me. I've seen them three times now, and each time was a blast. They clearly have fun playing live. Saw them last night, and though the show was entirely too short it was great. Crowd involvement, 3 guys playing on the single drumset, goofiness with song styles... Okay, here are a few videos. That means I had to pick favorites, and I love almost all of their songs. It's like asking me to pick a few favorite Dead songs- each one has its place, its special meaning.... Numb: Sometime Around Midnight:  First song I heard from them (actually saw, on a live concert show.) The mix of rock and classical, of pain and energy, had an immediate impact. Papillon:  More gut-wrenching when electric, but they have some nice acoustic videos. Does This Mean You're Moving On? I Don't Want To Be On TV I'm On Fire Goodbye Horses

Memories of Ameriflora, a garden show in Columbus in 1992, turned my mind to Robert Cray yesterday.  So, for my first music post (there will be more...) here he is.  An incredible guitar player and singer, he was outstanding live.


Smoking Gun


Right Next Door (Because of Me)


Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark


No One Special


Time Makes Two

Well, finally, here's my blog. It has been gestating for several years; lately I've been inspired to pull all my notes together and put my opinions and interests online. I will talk about whatever is on my mind: politics, music, history, cars, aviation, food, who knows? I suppose I could start a blog for each, but I will probably have trouble keeping up with one. But then, maybe someday I'll spin some off and have a media empire...

I'm doing this mostly as an outlet to say what I want. Maybe someone will find it interesting, whether they agree with me or not. I can't promise to be on here every day; maybe a few times a week. I'll try to be reasonable, and grammatical, but I will slip now and then. I know I'll piss people off. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.

There will be a lot of commentary about politics, particularly as the election approaches. I'm somewhat liberal, somewhat conservative. Depends on the issue and on how you define the terms. I have referred to myself as socially liberal, fiscally conservative. That holds true most of the time. I consider myself moderate and independent; maybe an Independent, maybe a Libertarian, though they have gone off the deep end lately. People who vote the straight party line and otherwise don't bother to think for themselves tend to annoy me.

I intend to flee the country a few weeks before the election; everyone will have made up their mind by then, and I'm sure I'll be tired of the shouting. Even my own...

A quote I like, perhaps as a motto for this site: "Not red, not blue- red, white and blue." It used to be the tagline on the XM POTUS channel. It's not used on the POTUS website or channel anymore; tried to search to see if it's copyrighted, with no luck. Another possible motto (surely copyrighted:) “Think Responsibly,” slogan of the Economist magazine.

Another quote I like, which while it doesn't exactly describe me is certainly said with refreshing honesty: “I'm actually a fairly green, anti-union, pro-gay marriage, fiscally conservative, surprisingly socially liberal Republican.”

You have the right to remain silent- but please don't! I welcome comments. I reserve the right to delete the nastiest, stupidest ones. Though you should know, they might instead get full coverage....

I'll try to follow the “Blogger's Code of Conduct” below. We'll see how it goes. I can tolerate some abuse, but will not tolerate abuse of others. And if it gets really stupid I might delete it. Just so you know.

1) Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.

2) Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.

3) Consider eliminating anonymous comments.

4) Ignore the trolls.

5) Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.

6) If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.

7) Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.