Meep

Meep

So sue me.

Fall comes to the south

Some of you have already seen the beautiful picture I took of the waterfalls in the Carolinas on my trip last week. This one was my favorite (notice I'm not in it!!!!) The colors were beautiful. I found that I miss the country-gal side of me. I hiked through the woods in the rain and ENJOYED IT! I had forgotten how much I loved just a walk through the quietitude of the forest.

And my trek would not have been more complete unless I saw a SNAKE. Unfortunately, I didn't have my phone or camera with me, but it was about 4-5 feet long and black and ugly (ever seen an attractive snake??). Guess that was my welcome to South Carolina!

And now for something completely different

Wow, what a party that must have been!

Four for Fridays

Hey Everybody! Today is Friday the 13th! How about that? This week's questions are about superstitions.

1) Are you superstitious?

2) Do you believe in karma?

3) Do you believe in ghosts, UFO's, paranormal activity, ect?

4)What do you do for good luck?

Have a good weekend folks! Hope to see you all tonight!

It's time to vote.

Who should be flipped the bird this week?
	Racine Drivers
	RUSD
	Packers
	Timt49
	Yahoos in the Senate
	John Dickert
pollcode.com free polls

What Heppened to Religious Freedom in America?

‘Religious pilgrimage' turns into drug arrest

"TOWN OF BURLINGTON - A 19-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man who said he was on a religious pilgrimage were arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia Monday, according to a criminal complaint.

"Chelsea Milton, 19, and Anthony Siefried, 24, were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession with intent to deliver, according to the complaint. The complaint said that Milton was homeless and it did not state an address for Siefried.

"Law enforcement was advised at about 3:45 a.m. Monday that possible burglary suspects were in a car parked next to a Mormon church at 4207 Mormon Road, the complaint said.

"Upon searching the car, officers reportedly found marijuana in various places, as well as glass pipes, a grinder, a gram scale, rolling papers and empty plastic bags.

"Siefried reportedly 'went on a long rambling story about Burlington being Zion and how it was one of the few places that would not be destroyed during the apocalypse' but when asked to give simple answers, he allegedly told police he has a problem smoking weed.

"When asked if the marijuana was his, Siefried reportedly said, 'I'm sorry for breaking your state laws, but I'm just here on a religious pilgrimage.'"

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_ba957b48-cf28-11de-aa3d-001cc4c03286.html

Wasn't our country founded on religious freedom? How about we start busting down the doors of Catholic churches when the congregants are huffing frankincense? How about we string up Protestant preachers when they propose peace with our enemies? How about we round up all those spaced-out Buddhists chanting and meditating themselves into a stupor? Freedom from religious persecution is one of our most basic rights, and I am appalled and galled to see the Burlington police disrespect our Constitution in this manner. Call the American Civil Liberties Union!

It's Nomination Time again

Sorry for being a day late.

Well, who ticked you off this week. Who put the steam in your kettle? Who soiled your oatmeal. Who deserves to be shown how we really feel. Nominate for the Bird Of th Week., Name and reason please.

Veterans Day

To all who served with honor, those who paid the ultimate price, and those who made it back. Those overseas right now, and those waiting to go. To the families who sacrificed time spent with a loved one. No matter if you were in France, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, or a lucky one who never saw combat. Army, Navy, Air Force Marines, Coast Guard, Reserves. You are our heroes. You made and are still keeping us free. You are part of what makes the USA the best nation in the world. Red state, blue state, Conservative or Liberal, black, white, yellow, brown. If your here today and have the freedom to speak your mind in a land that is free, thank a vet today.

Special thanks to My Dad who served in the Air Force 1959-1963, and my cousin who was a pilot in Vietnam, and was shot down in 1973 and still listed as MIA. You will not be forgotten.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my nubile niblets. How are you? Have you been taking precautions to avoid the flu? I keep washing my hands, but I remember only long after I’ve had contact with other people. By then I’m sure my hands have been all over the place. Ahem. I really don’t like to dabble too much in the medical arts (MDs and their lawyers are a testy lot), but I may end up giving Racine a hand if they can’t round up some more flu vaccine. Perhaps a shipment or two intended for our over-served neighboring counties could be “accidentally” routed our way. You never know what might happen once the goods leave the facility. Ahem, ahem.

I was going to comment on our beloved Packers heartbreaking loss to the hapless Buccaneers, but I just don’t have the heart. On a related subject, I still haven’t pinned down the elusive Mr. Favre, but when I do, I’m going to use ring shank nails.

We received a couple of emails this week. The first one came from the irrepressible Mr. Huck Finn, who wrote:

Dear Madam,

I’ve felt bad that you’ve not had any questions come your way, and have had some for awhile. Back in 2005 I swore it’d be the year Huck gets a Harlot, but that didn’t happen. In 2006 I tried Bill gets a Babe, but that too didn’t happen. In 2008 I was determined that Denny gets a Diva (I change my name a lot) and alas that too was a bomb. While I did have dinner with a gal that claimed the carpet matched the curtains… nothing came of that but good conversation. I’m wondering what I should name 2010. Would you happen to have a name that’d work some magic? Looking at all the bride brokers, there has to be some girl somewhere in the world desperatexxxxx adventurous enough, so I’m also wondering which country has the best pickings. Those Romanian women are awful hot, what do you think about a fine Russian bride? Maybe I should look into a Taiwanese gal like my cousin did. He’s happily married and living like a king over there now. For some reason it just seems it’d be easier to pull the wool over the eyes… uh I mean impress a foreign gal than a local. What do you think?

Another question deals with gold. I see gold is going up, up, up, and I’m wondering when (date and time) over the next year would be a good time to sell. I have some darts and calendar which may give me as good an idea as any, but you do have that crystal ball, and might give a word more than, “When it’s high enough” for advice. I hear Bride brokers aren’t cheap and those Romanian women can be real gold diggers.

Huck

Dear Mr. Huck Finn, thank you so much for your concern about the number of queries that I receive. I am not troubled by a lack of emails from my friends; I take it to mean that they are doing well. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I seem to do pretty well at jabbering away enough to fill up the space in my blogs. However, I always appreciate hearing from my beloved Irregulars, especially when they are in need of my services.

In response to your request for a name to give 2010, the first thing that popped into my devilish mind was Wade gets Laid, but I’m sorry, that’s not nice. Ahem again. How about Al gets a Gal, or Brady gets a Lady? As for your questions concerning Romanian women, I must admit to some prejudice: Romanian women are the finest in the world. You would do well to meet one. I do not know about bride brokers, they are affiliated with a different union, but you are correct in your thinking that a woman from a foreign land will help you achieve what you desire. A fish out of water, as it were, will be easier to hook.

You know, for that nasty remark about Romanian women being gold diggers, I should give you the wrong date to sell your gold. I’m not that way, though, Mr. Finn. I love all of my Irregulars. The day to sell your gold is Friday the 13th. I think. Ahem.

The second email came from the lustrous Lizardmom, who wrote:

dearest madame zoltar,
would it at all be possible for winter to afflict the south instead this year? I am very certain that those poor souls down there miss the snow that we have seen plenty of. I think it's time to share. We can handle the burden of having to have a warm winter, it's the least we can do, can you hook us up? please???

forever yours, lizardmom
(lizards like it warm!)

Dearest Lizardmom, thank you for contacting me with your question. It’s always good to hear from you. I agree that those in the southern latitudes have been deprived of a white Christmas for far too long. Unfortunately, as I have stated elsewhere, Mother Nature and I are not the dearest of friends. Ahem. She seems to take particular delight in interrupting my astral projection pathways with meteorological events. In any case, MN does not seem inclined to agree to any of my exhortations, nor is she susceptible to my considerable powers. Too bad. I also like it hot. I have been sending dear Mother telepathic communications on a regular basis imploring for mercy this winter, but truly one can only hope.

I also intend to make an appearance at the JTI Bowling Extravaganza and Bake Sale. Wait till you try my home made baklava. Because of my “extra” abilities, I’ve been banned from bowling tournament play, but I promise to go easy on my friends. I’ll be the one with a turban.

Don’t forget to forward your anagrams and launch codes to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Thank you all for reading my blog. I really appreciate you taking the time to spend with me. Have a beautiful week, each and every one of you. Vivaldi!

Brooklyn Guy Makes Pizza Pies Fly

I grew up not far from DeRango's on High Street. (Now "Chubbies.") Back in the day, they had big windows looking in on the kitchen, fronted by a large table where they used a machine to resize the pizza dough, but still gave it a whirling toss up into the air occasionally. It was something to watch them do that, and then apply the toppings. When they were busy, they had two guys doing it. Nothing that I saw rivaled what shows in the video above, but it brought back some good memories.

Some Autumn Pics

I took these pictures by Wingspread over the weekend. Enjoy!

20 Years Post Berlin Wall

Yep, another pretty big anniversary today: 20 years ago today the Berlin Wall came down and with it, a whole mess of governments and a major realignment in Europe.

I was in college at the time. I heard the news from a friend and went back to my dorm room to turn on All Things Considered and listened to the coverage. I was sitting there using my dial up modem to call into the campus computer system and wrote some emails to a couple of friends who were studying in Germany at the time (yes, email existed back that and I had an account). I also remember it was a Thursday. The next night my college improv troupe had our first off campus show (ever) and did several scenes set in and around the Berlin Wall which was rapidly being torn down at the time.

And of course it was one of the biggest spontaneous parties of the century, probably the biggest since the end of World War II...and I was missing it (yep, that's how college students think).

I have been to Germany, but not near the old border or Berlin. Last year when I was in Romania, I intentionally found several of the places I remembered watching on television when they overthrew communism. I went to the monuments and saw where Nicolae Ceauşescu was made his last appearance before he was executed and even found his grave.

It was just such an amazing time in history. Although there are still some growing pains in some of the former communist countries, the fall of communism in the early 90's definitely made the world a safer and better place.

In Case of Emergency - A Mask for H1N1

In case we run out of masks during the H1N1 flu season, here is a ‘homemade’ mask you can make yourself.
It is even compatible with the wearing of glasses.
One thing though ---

MAKE SURE YOUR MASK IS CLEAN!!!!!!!!


Yes, that's me modeling it.

Prison System Overhaul

I'm a strong believer of an overhaul of our country's prison system. It seems to me that our prisons and jails are overcrowded with non violent inmates that can rehabilitated. Many of them are drug addicts. Our war against drugs is dysfunctional. As long as there is a demand, there will always be a supply. So why feed into this? We need to take the demand away. We need to focus on rehabilitation and prevention. Studies have shown that it is cheaper and more cost effective to rehabilitate than it is just lock them up for their crimes. We Americans as a society need to stop thinking of this "just lock 'em up'" mentality and start thinking outside of the box. Some of these "prisoners" could use a second lease in life.

The state of California has already started a program that works. I've seen it in the works.

Here is an excellent article on the subject. Check it out, please.

Impromptu get-together

HEY GANG -

I know it's not much warning,
BUT...

THIS FRIDAY, Nov. 13th

(oh ya, Friday the 13th is about
as classic irregular as it gets!)

BOWLING!!!!!!!!!
6pm @ The Usual Place

Hope you can come out,
we'll have fun!!

RSVP here, and see you THERE!!!

(if this will be your 1st time out
with us, contact me and I'll
make sure we find you)

lizardmom@wi.rr.com

Arthur Benjamin does "Mathemagic"

"TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize."

http://www.ted.com/