Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Rainy Day, Dream Away” (1968)
I wanted to talk about how directly this traces back to Jimi Hendrix’s origins in the Pacific Northwest and the various indoors activities that get us through the long rainy winters. Hendrix grew up in Seattle, leaving for military service when he was still a teen. But then a funny thing happened this week—a dump of snow on our collective heads comparable to what I used to take in stride in Minnesota, but the kind of thing that absolutely paralyzes us around here. It’s not that many inches but I saw a local news segment where a man-on-the-street referred to it as “snowmageddon” (I thought it was “snowpocalypse”?). Anyway, this tune works for a winter wonderland too—as much as I dislike the inconvenience, I have to admit snow looks better out the window. Stay warm, everyone!
Readership Capture
Thursday Night Recipe Exchange
(Photo from JeffreyW’s mouth watering collection)
New weekly feature — assuming y’all respond as you should. Welcome back to TaMara, Recipe Goddess of What’s 4 Dinner Solutions:
Aloha Balloon-Juicers. I’m back. I wish I could say I was back from a long trip abroad, but no, life has just been very busy. That has not changed, but after quite a few requests, I think I have figured out a way to bring recipes back to Thursday nights with the limited amount of time I can devote to it. Unfortunately, for now, I won’t be doing full menus.
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What I proposed to John and Anne Laurie was to have a recipe exchange. Each Thursday we’d have a theme (I’m a sucker for a theme) or an ingredient to focus those recipes (but by no means restrict them) and everyone could share their favorites. Each week I’ll give you the next week’s ingredient or theme so you have a whole week to think of something great to share. Anne Laurie would probably gladly accept photos, too.
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Now I expect all those people who emailed me and touched base with me in open threads wondering when I might post recipes again, to participate in this endeavor. Don’t make me come in there!
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This week we’re starting out simple with my favorite comfort food and a recipe I thought many of you would have a favorite variation they could share. Like most of my recipes, this is pretty simple and even a novice cook should be successful. Experienced cooks will tweak it beyond recognition, as all good cooks do.
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Next week our secret ingredient will be spinach. So come prepared to share a favorite recipe with spinach in it, in some shape or form. Here’s some baked macaroni and cheese to start things off. Hope you enjoy – TaMara (BHF)
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Baked Macaroni & Cheese
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Open Thread: They’re Beginning to Catch On…
(Nick Anderson via GoComics.com)
Erick “Voice of the Gated-Community GOP” Erickson did not have a happy Hump Day. First, his fervent plea to man-crush Rick Perry to become “the catalyst and kingmaker so many have been looking for” — by dropping out and endorsing, gawd save the marks, Newt Gingrich — was not well received among the RedState faithful. (I haven’t read all 600+ comments, but the only concensus seems to be that Romney is an untrustworthy flip-flopping quasi-liberal RINO who will inevitably lose to President Obama. Go, Team Dem!) Later, the day’s events reduce him to mingling tears with Senator James DeMint (R – Crazification Factor):
Republicans in Congress cut deals with Democrats. The Republicans’ favorite reporters and pundits tell us just how awesome those deals are. Then those deals blow up in our faces…
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On Facebook yesterday, Senator Jim DeMint noted this folly. Republicans were supposed to have big wins on the debt ceiling and on the Keystone XL Pipeline. They told us they had played the Democrats. Instead, we played ourselves. From Senator DeMint:The two political victories leading Republicans planned on celebrating today only showcase how much we have to lose by compromising with the Democrats.
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The non-binding vote of disapproval on the debt ceiling increase held in the House today and the Obama Administration’s decision not to authorize the Keystone Pipeline were supposed to be excruciating political exercises for the Democrats. They turned out to be a walk in the park.
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Instead of generating a great public uproar over the debt, economy, and jobs, all President Obama had to do was reiterate his long-held positions—that the debt ceiling should be increased and the Keystone Pipeline should not be authorized.
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Giving the President exactly what he wants and then asking him to remind the public that he wanted it after the fact isn’t a strategy to win. It’s a strategy to cover-up a stunning loss under the guise of a compromise.
That’s right, Senator DeMented… the GOP’s big failure has been too much compromise with that crafty fella in the Oval Office. It’s almost as if President Obama were smarter than you guys…
Open Thread: They’re Beginning to Catch On…Post + Comments (71)
Open thread
Do not miss your chance to blow.
Song of the week
James Brown, “Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like a) Sex Machine” (1970)
Sometimes you just have to go with the classic tried and true and perhaps no one and nothing is more so than James Brown doing this song蓉nless it’s James Brown doing any of dozens of his masterpieces across the length and breadth of a stellar career (“Star time!”). The ridiculous construction of this title, with the strange parenthetical, always makes me laugh for some reason (maybe that’s the peevish copy editor in me). But the groove makes me shut up and move. JB rides it like a professional surfer, focused and obviously relishing each moment as he consults with the band, directs it “to the bridge” (if not the first time he has resorted to this trope it may well be the most famous), and ultimately brings it to a close with an astonishing flourish, all poise balanced by power.
Open Thread: Hate Is Not A Family Value
And those of us who understand that now have an excuse to buy more Girl Scout cookies.
On the one hand: Yes, this is a blatant attempt at attention-grabbing by a handful of sad authoritarians using children as puppets for their twisted agenda. On the other hand: Generally, I feel about GS cookies the way Homer Simpson feels about beer. And besides, congratulations to the Girl Scouts for not folding to the whims of these nasty little people!
Open Thread: Hate Is Not A Family ValuePost + Comments (139)
Song of the week
From JPK….
Percy Mayfield, “The River’s Invitation” (1952)
Percy Mayfield was a rhythm ‘n’ blues performer and songwriter whose best-known song is probably “Hit the Road Jack,” the Ray Charles hit from the early ’60s. Mayfield was known as the “Poet of the Blues” performing in Texas and ultimately moving to Los Angeles in the late ’40s and ’50s. The reasons for the handle are more apparent in this song: “I spoke to the river / And the river spoke back to me / It said man you look so lonely / You look full of misery / And if you can’t find your baby / Come and make your home with me.” The ups and downs and various turns of Mayfield’s biography (which include an auto accident that disfigured his face) only make the high points of his early career more eerie and intriguing. Worth tracking down.