Going Gaga

Well, we're still in our low posting/no posting mode, as tasks on the homefront, and appointments, have piled up, shifting our earlier projection back until tomorrow, or, more likely, Wednesday.

We hope ...

However, we do have a couple of "Gaga" moments to report on.

Frist, was the former Court-Appointed-President ((h/t Barry Crimmins)), The Commander Guy, punching the time clock, continuing to work at showing why he is going down in history as the Worst President Ever.



Bush on bin Laden: ‘I guess he is not dead.’

Eight years ago, President Bush asserted with great bravado that al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden would be taken “dead or alive.” “I don’t care, dead or alive — either way,” Bush said at the time. This weekend, while attending a conference of business leaders in New Delhi, India, Bush struck a different tone:

Asked whether al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden could be alive, Bush said “I guess he is not dead.”

He, however, noted that Laden is hiding and “not leading victory parades” or “espousing his cause” on TV.

He expressed confidence that Laden will be brought to justice which “he deserves to be” and it was a matter of time.

There must be a certain level of bliss, for someone that stupid, reveling in their own stupidity.

Maybe we should have this next guy read some of his speeches.

There was a minor buzz on the World Wide Web, over Christopher Walken, appearing on the BBC One program "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" last week,

College Humor dubbed it "For Halloween Christopher Walken became an impression of himself."

Mahalo said;

The actor, known for his strange inflections and awkward, halting manner of speech, emphasized each individual syllable of the pop song's chorus, rendering it comical and ridiculous when spoken aloud.

What Christopher Walken did was read aloud Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face", as only Christopher Walken can do.

As they say on those sports show, "Let's go to the tape";

Christopher Walken performs Lady Gaga's Poker Face

"That's What Canino Said To Little Jonesy ..."

Well, we need to walk around out here a bit, get our bearings, as it has been awhile.

A super-sized Lo Siento, Garlic Fans, for our disappearance this past week.



Now, nothing as the title of the post may suggest, as complicated as 'The Big Sleep' plot, and who killed Sean Regan.

Look angel, I'm tired. My jaw hurts and my ribs ache. I killed a man back there and I had to stand by when a harmless little guy was killed. Do you think I can tell them all that happened because Geiger tried to throw a loop over Carmen? If I tell them that, they'll swarm over your house so fast that every closet you and your family have been in for the last six years will look like a police convention. They'll all ask the same question - where's Sean Regan? Why did Eddie Mars hide his wife to make it look like she ran off with Regan? Why did you hide out there? You're playing with dynamite.

Merely, we had multiple things happening on the homefront, and for a few of the AWOL Days, we didn't even fire up the computer, between dealing with what needed to be dealt with, piled on by major allergies, and just, at the end of the day, being bone-dead tired (perhaps the Full Moon at the end of the week kicked in something, as well).

We're planning on getting back into the groove tomorrow, so hang in there - fresh copy is in the pipeline.

As always, Mucho Thanks for visiting The Garlic.

Bonus Bonus

Since teasing this post with 'The Big Sleep' ....

The Big Sleep Trailer




The Big Sleep - music scene

No Mad Men Here ...

We haven't been taken in my the Mad Men phenomena, so last evening's long-awaited debut of Season 3 of the much-hyped program was a non-event in The Garlic Household.

Even if we were into, it wouldn't have mattered, as we were completely drained by another homefront situation, that was in cahoots with the return of 90-degree, oppressive-humidity weather.

Like, really oppressive humidity.

So we bailed out of doing any posting yesterday, making today (yes, still hot and humid) a "catch-up" day, for the most part.

As always, many thanks for visiting, and reading, The Garlic.

If Only Healthcare Reform Allows Us To Bill Doctors For Waiting Time

Good Evening Garlic Fans

Our apologies for leaving you empty yesterday (Wednesday), as we did have a few posts in the pipeline, that we had intended to get up last evening.

It was the last throes of the oppressive heat and humidity wave, and we were anxiously awaiting the roaring thunderstorms predicted, that was going to rush in cooler, dryer air.

Here in the city, no such storms arrived, however, the cooler, dryer air did, as evening settled in.

Okay, so far, right?

Wrong.

Early evening brought on some trouble on the homefront, and the need to get the Aunt we care for out on, yet another, hospital run, in what turned out to be quite familiar, a reoccurring, and easily treatable problem.

What ended up more cumbersome, was the 5+ hours in the ER, with nearly all but about 10-minutes of that, just sitting around, waiting, waiting, and more waiting.

Maybe we need to get them to add some sort of "Patients Rights" into the Healthcare bills, something that allows said patient, to bill back the Doc's, who, at times, seem oblivious to the fact, that you are there, waiting on them, looking to get answers, and or, action.

Give us that, and I won't mind camping out in the ER, knowing that I, too, would be making some money on the deal.

So, today, we got one, and will be, likely, more of a "catch-up", the next day, or two..

As always, we are most appreciative of your visits to, and reading of, The Garlic.

Of Palin, Ahmadinejad and LaRouche

Another day (and night) on the sidelines, between a busy day on the homefront, and the continued heat, and more so, heavy-duty humidity ...

It's zappin' my writing mojo ...

So, tonight we point you to the post-of-the-day, honors going to Juan Cole, with a post over on Salon;

Sarah Palin, meet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ...You two right-wing populists have a surprising amount in common

Is Sarah Palin America's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? The two differ in many key respects, of course, but it is remarkable how similar they are. There are uncanny parallels in their biographies, their domestic politics and the way they present themselves -- even in their rocky relationships with party elders

Check it out ... It is most entertaining ...

Hmmm ...

Now, we once tied Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Lyndon LaRouche ...

Does that make, extending the degrees-of-separation, Ms. Ya'Bet'cha the female LaRouche?

Oh well ... Here's a tune for them all, from one of our all-time favorite vocalists (and getting mighty peeved that no one has posted his rendition of 'Send In The Clowns', for you can throw out all the others, it's the absolute best treatment of the workhorse tune - Seek it out, for you will be rewarded.)

Bill Henderson - I've Got A Crush On You

Ive Got A Crush On You - Bill Henderson

Flamenco Sketches

Well, it was Sunday, and another hot, humid day, so we didn't spend a great deal of time at the computer.

Rather then force anything, we found a pretty good tune to close down the weekend with (or, for that matter, anytime you need to chill out).

Back tomorrow, with, hopefully, a few posts.

Meanwhile, enjoy!

Flamenco Sketches-Miles Davis

Well, It Hasn't Really Been A Vacation ...

Good Evening Garlic Fans;

We trust that you are, wherever you are, hopefully, enjoying the Summer season (it's, finally, heated up here in the Northeast, big-time).

As you have seen, we have posted very lightly over the past week.

Not necessarily planned, more so, just the confluence of a few different factors, including the above-referenced heat, taking care of some things on the homefront, and, the arduous task of, while continuing to juggle things, recharge the batteries.

We may go light again this week, make it a more official break, but don't bet the house on that.

Too much is going on, to sit on the sidelines

So, keep popping in, to see if we do have any surprises.

And, as always, a thousand-and-one thanks for reading The Garlic.

Peace
JTD

Bonus Bonus

Fortunately, we found this old favorite out on-line, to help with the chill-down stuff ...

Herbie Mann - Comin' Home Baby

Comin Home Baby - Herbie Mann

Editor's Note ... The Pearl Is In The River ...

Good Morning Garlic Fans

We hope you are all well, on this very sunny, fine day here in the Northeast.

Well, our latest episode of the Elderly Aunt is wrapping up, as she returned home from the hospital yesterday, all repaired, healthy and more than happy to be in her surroundings.

Now, back to getting in the routines.

I wish I could say my low posting over the past week was due to a relaxing, restful, totally-chilled out vacation.

It was anything but that, with long days, doctor consultants, family updates and light sleep.

So, I hope to get something up today, as I did endeavor to stay plugged in to what was/is going on (and absolutely not looking forward to the unending loop that started last evening, of when Hillary bows out, with every blowhard pundit offering every possible scenario, regardless of how plausible it may be).

It may take a day, or two, to get back in-stride, so hang in there.

As always, many, many thanks for visiting and reading The Garlic

Peace
JTD

Editor's Note ... Still Jammed Up ...

Good Morning Garlic Fans;

We hope you are all well ...

Boy, it has been a week, and then some ...

The saga of my caretaking gig, and elderly aunt, continues through this weekend and into the next week.

While she is doing well, pain-free and comfortable, she does need to have a procedure done, and we thought that would be taken care of Thursday.

However, due to a timid staff at the hospital, and the feisty disposition of my aunt, she train-wrecked the procedure by being uncooperative and combative, to the point they could not complete it ... Or get it started ...

And I say "timid" as they are deferring (against my stated wishes, direction and information) to a 95-year-old with dementia and memory loss, as opposed to being assumptively assertive and finessing things, to the point of not getting blood work done, and the above-referenced procedure.

During the procedure on Thursday, at one point, it became a Marx Brothers movie, with the doctor performing the procedure calling me on the telephone, and then relaying what I was saying, to my Aunt, who was sedated some, thereby eliminating even the faintest hope of comprehension, which is a long-shot to begin with, when she is not sedated.

So the game plan is they go into the Operating Room on Monday, and using a stronger sedative and/or some level of anesthesia, to get the procedure done .... Barring complications, it's likely she will come home Tuesday, or Wednesday.

My game plan is to attempt to carve out some time, either today, or tomorrow, and get a few posts up.

Not sure how that will play out, so hang in there ... We'll be back on track within a few days.

Once again, many thanks for visiting The Garlic.

Peace
JTD

Editor's Note: Maybe, Only Treading Water For The Next Day, or Two ...

Good Evening Garlic Fans;

Just a quick note of trouble on the homefront today.

I had to take the Aunt that I am caretaker for to the hospital, and there went the day ...

I won't go into all the details, other than it was a close call to make, as to taking her to the hospital, however, with what went down this past winter, better to roll the Safe-Rather-Than-Sorry dice.

She's doing fine (yelping to come home), the prognosis is to keep her overnight for observation and monitoring and, likely, she'll be back home sometime tomorrow.

I am, possibly, going to attempt to get a post up later this evening (finishing one I started early this morning, before all the excitement commenced) ... If I don't, and only manage the housekeep Garlic History posts, don't hold it against me ...

Many Thanks, as always, for visiting The Garlic

Peace
JTD

Editor's Note: Down, But Getting Back In The Groove

Good Afternoon Garlic Fans;

We hope you're enjoying a fine day, wherever you may be ...

Lo Siento, once again, for the low (and lack of) posting the past few days.

While there have been homefront commitments that have cut into writing time, it has more to do with being absolutely hammered by allergies the past week.

We're talking sledgehammer, wrecking ball levels of discomfort, with, on one day, the medication taken didn't even put a dent in it.

Disconcerting it is, as it has been quite some time since I felt it this heavy, this early in the season.

Trees here have just started blooming, and I know the rest is following over the next two months (Oh boy, I can hardly wait for early June and all that grass popping up).

As the week progressed, both creativity and energy was draining out of me, such to the point, it came to not even wanting to sit at the computer and attempt anything beyond the most perfunctory reading of email.

The allergies are low today, and a good nights' sleep has the energy levels back up ...

So, taking it while it's here, we'll start the process of completing some half-written posts, as well as creating new ones and get back on track, today and tomorrow.

Many Thanks, as always, for visiting and reading The Garlic.

Peace
JTD

Editor's Note: Slow Boat To Posting ...

Good Evening Garlic Fans

Just a note to say we've been stuck in the much-dreaded Computer Hell the past two-days, though, not completely singed.

The issue has to do with a computer, operating at a snail's pace (causing, for instance, it taking nearly three-minutes-plus for a single email to drop in; and it going to error message and constant recycling if multiple emails are arriving).

Needless to say, I have been as frustrated as a superdelegate waiting for this campaign to end, and spent the better part of yesterday, running scans, tests, reloads, etc, all to no avail.

So, I called the "Big Bad ISP Computer Company", full expecting, as happened last month, when this issue first surfaced, of being dumped over to "Larry" in India, and enduring "Larry" reading down his sheet of prompts ("Are you at the computer? ... Is the computer turned on?").

It was painless.

A test email showed the technician that I was not exaggerating, and he then "pinged" my modem and it sounded like he said, a low, mumbled "Oh shit".

It be the modem, he indicated and the earliest I can have it replaced is Saturday (for some reason, the problem, or the modem is not such that I could unplug everything, go to their service center to return it, get a new one, come home, plug everything back in and be back in, presumably, operating business in less then 2-hours).

In the meantime, I can, likely (and that has been erratic) have normal operations - all I have to do is turn off my virus protection.

So, I will stagger and endeavor to get back up to speed on the posting (beginning this evening) and, hopefully, keep my sanity (yeah, right, like I had that to begin with).

As always, many thanks for coming to The Garlic!

Peace
JTD

Editor's Note: Another Delay In Posting ...

Good Evening Garlic Fans

We hope this post finds you all well ...

Well, as you can see, with no posts yesterday, or earlier today, you may ask, with all that's going on, what's up?

We have another homefront situation we're dealing with, having to rush my, now 95-year-old (we had a big B'Day bash this past Sunday) aunt to the hospital again, early yesterday (Wed) morning. The diagnosis, without going into unpleasant details, is that she is anemic, and a procedure will be conducted tomorrow to see just what-is-what (She is doing well, and in normal demeanor).

So, I am going to attempt to get a post (maybe two) up later this evening (or early tomorrow morning) but don't hold it against me if I don't.

There's a lot of good posts to catch up with, and, as always, a right sidebar chock full of good things to explore.

And as always, thanks for visiting, reading and supporting The Garlic

Peace
JTD

Editor's Note - Posting Delayed

Good Morning Garlic Fans

We trust that you're doing well ... Especially the folks up here in the Northeast, as we got our first snow of the season (here in Boston, not much, a few inches before it turned to freezing rain).

Following up on my post of Saturday, as well as previous notes of this matter, we had another family crises late yesterday/early evening and had to get my Lawrence Welk-loving Aunt to the hospital again. Prognosis is good, as it, surprisingly, is something rather ordinary and not related to her most recent issues (but then again, at the age of 94, that's all relative).

So, likely it will be a day, or two, where I am of time (and clear mind) to get back in the grind with new posts.

In the meantime, there's much to do during your visit to The Garlic ... Catch up on the daily offerings, or scroll down the right sidebar to indulge in some Garlic Classics, or check out some of the other great sites via the bevy of links available to you (and those folks would, very much, appreciate a visit, I'm sure).

Thank You again, for visiting and supporting The Garlic

Peace
JTD

Editor's Note - Another Mea Culpa For Absence and Low Posting

Good Evening Garlic Fans ...

We lower our head to offer another apology over the lack-of-posting the past three-days ... It was, very much, an unplanned absence, due to the on-going situation on the home front, that required our complete (and exhausting) attention ...

We are - hopefully - getting back-on-track today with some posts and, if all goes well, will be able to continue ... There's just too much going on to be regulated to the sidelines ...

Thank you again for your understanding, as well as visits to The Garlic!

Peace
JTD