Monday, May 31, 2010

Video: A man reunites with old gorilla friend

Another Jeff Clinton find...as he wrote, "Man reunites with gorilla after five years. Bring a handkerchief."



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Thanking the vets on memorial day (especially my two favorite vets).

Can we say Happy Memorial Day, or should you? But then you can't wish someone a glum day either. In any case, thanks vets, and especially my mom (Marines, World War II, still sharp and cranky at 86) and my dad John 2nd, (both in the Army and the Navy in WW II, died in 1964).

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Colum and Del. . .way back


A photo of Colum and Del by our friend David Grosten taken around 15 years ago.

Click to enlarge...










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Friday, May 28, 2010

Wow. Bill Withers sings a stunning song at the Rumble In The Jungle

This song is a real knockout.  He sang this at the concert before The Rumble In The Jungle in Zaire, where Muhammed Ali knocked out George Foreman.

A couple of interesting Bill Withers facts:  1) he was making toilet seats for the Boeing Company when he was working on his first album, and 2) in 1985, he just stopped making music (publicly anyway).


---o0o---

Orgy In The Pantry

Orgy In The Pantry
By Jack Brummet



Soft pulses murmur in the distance:
Muffled voices murmur counterpoint music,
Sing-song transactions hum
Through wood and plaster, doors and walls.
The push and pull of iambic conversation,
And the percussive boom of laughter
Skein a polyrhythmic framework
On a symphony of voices.

A rustling sound upstairs
Wakes me.
I get out of bed
And edge up the stairs.
The sounds pull into focus
And the parts emerge.
Heavy breathing, moaning,
A rhythmic thumping, groans and giggles.

I shuffle to the pantry
And ease the door open,
Walking between nylons, belts, a bra,
T-shirts, striped trousers, a housedress,
Skirts, vests, shoes and socks,
Camisoles. panties, and sweaters,
A toque, monocle, and top hat.

I step in and nearly trip on
Mr. Peanut, lying on his back
With a Grand Coulee grin on his mug
And Sara Lee in fishnet stockings on top,
Rubbing peanut butter
On her breasts and nether parts.
Snap, Crackle and Pop are naked
On the floor, daisy chained
In various conjugations
With the Campbell Soup Twins.

Aunt Jemima and Chef Boy-Ar-Dee
Are in the corner, half undressed,
Staring into each others eyes
And sharing a bottle of wine.
Duncan Hines is against the wall
Watching. . .getting solo kicks,
Digging the scene at the voyeur remove
Where watching trumps participation.

Uncle Ben and Speedy Alka Seltzer
Sip mint juleps, watching the Doublemint Twins'
Messopotamian strip-tease.

Mr. Clean and Tony The Tiger are oiled up,
Greek style, grappling on the pine floorboards.
Enveloped in a churning cloud of flour,
Betty Crocker's housedress is hiked up around her hips,
Arms on the Pilsbury Doughboy's shoulders.
The Jolly Green Giant and Mrs. Butterworth
Waltz around the pantry
And Mrs. B's feet never touch the floor.

Captain Crunch, Colonel Sanders,
Bazooka Joe and The Frito Bandido
Sit in a circle, passing a bong
And laughing at the show.

I don't know if I'm dreaming or awake,
If I should go to sleep or wake up,
Quit dreaming I'm awake
Or quit imagining I'm asleep.
I don't know whether to
Spectate, participate, or abrogate.
---o0o---

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Help Jack stay out of jail by raising his bail!

I NEED YOUR HELP!               
I'm going behind bars for "GOOD"  
PLEASE HELP BAIL ME OUT!

Your donation is my key to freedom! I need $2,400 to get out. The good news, aside from getting me off the streets a while, is that we're providing help and hope to kids and adults served by MDA in the Seattle area, and nation-wide.  We've raised a lot of money for MDA in the last week, and we're about $250 from our goal.  Give me a hand here and push me over the edge...








 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Click here to donate and help me out.
 
Thanks for making a difference!
---o0o---

Poem: Explosions

Every cell in the body
is replaced every seven years
I'm no longer the Jack

I was in 2003
poems and explosions
go off in my skull

as each cell fades
my brain rewires itself
and the new circuits

begin to sing
in a synaptic chorus line
and I don't know

if I will wake up
in the morning
as Adolph Hitler,

Bishop Tutu
or something
in between.
---o0o---

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Long Winters and Grand Hallway

Saw a great show at the Crocodile last night.  It's the first time I'd been since the rehab/reopening.  It's so much better now for viewing shows--we were in the balcony...a small bar overlooking the stage.  Nice.

The Long Winters, particularly John Roderick were good, and Roderick, as he always is, was hilarious.  They play a hard driving kind of power pop, and very few downtempo tunes.

Grand Hallway

I was really knocked out by Grand Hallway.  A really interesting, energetic, and different band that;s been getting a lot of buzz, and great notices at South by Southwest.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Meth, Porn on the taxpayer's nickel, "free" tickets and other graft: how would the off-shore drilling watchdogs ever find time to regulate?
















By Pablo Fanque
National Affairs Editor

The Inspector General released a report today that details major abuses, graft, and corruption at the agency that "oversees" off-shore oil drilling.    The Minerals Management Service abuses are shocking but hardly surprising.  As we've seen in dozens of other cozy relationships between government employees and vendors, the lines rapidly become blurred as the employees *cough* regulators nestle snugly in the pockets of the dirtbags they were hired to control.   Interestingly the IG, Mary Kendall notes that "we discovered that the individuals involved in the fraternizing and gift exchange both government and industry have often known one another since childhood."

Curiously, the MMS is located in Denver--about as far as you can possibly be from the sites you are charged with overseeing. 

None of this is new.   The previous Inspector General--Earl Devaney--in 2008 reported a "culture of ethical failure" and numerous conflicts of interest at the minerals agency.

You can read the entire story of the new Inspector General's report here, on WKRG.com.

"Staff members at an agency that oversees offshore drilling accepted tickets to sports events, lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies and used government computers to view pornography, according to an Interior Department report alleging a culture of cronyism between regulators and the industry.


"In at least one case, an inspector for the Minerals Management Service admitted using crystal methamphetamine and said he might have been under the influence of the drug the next day at work, according to the report by the acting inspector general of the Interior Department.

"The report cites a variety of violations of federal regulations and ethics rules at the agency's Louisiana office. Previous inspector general investigations have focused on inappropriate behavior by the royalty-collection staff in the agency's Denver office."
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Monday, May 24, 2010

We're almost there--$300 will push us over the top!





Wow. Thanks to everyone for your generous donations to the MDA, and to keeping my out of jail. I'm already on the home stretch--it's not too late if you still want to kick in a few sheckels or piastre...

https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/154711/Participant/jack/Default.aspx

We only have three hundred dollars to go...step on up!

jack

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Help me stay put of jail--donate to the MDA today!

MDA fundraising update: 


As you may recall, I have just been arrested and will be going to jail (I know, some of you are thinking "what took so long?") for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Executive Lock-up.   Don’t bother asking what crime I have committed – it’s not really that important. And most of you probably have a good guess. If I raise bail of $2,400 before the Lock-Up, they will go easy on me, but I need your HELP to post my bond. Don’t let them haul out the rubber hoses, or “tase me ‘bro!”

Your donation will help MDA continue research into the cause and the possible cure of the 43 neuromuscular diseases they cover. Your support of the MDA Lock-Up will also help MDA provide medical equipment, clinic visits, support groups and a much-needed week of MDA Summer Camp for the families served by the Association.




If my FB pals, blog readers, friends and family each kick in a few bucks, we'll make my bail. Please donate $5, $20, $100, or even $1,000. It's 100% tax deductible. If we all pull together, I can avoid bunking with cellmates like Tiny, Psycho, or El Cuchillo.


If you donate $500, I'll come to your house with a staff of three and make and serve a four-course dinner with wine and beer pairings for you and seven of your friends--Paella, North Carolina barbecue, Mexican Nayarit/Jalisco, Italian, Vietnamese, or NW cuisine--you name it--carnivore, gluten-free, vegan...whatever works for you.   This offer will expire after two people take advantage of it--so hurry!


Thank you ever so much. I know you’re going to push me over the top. And, hey, Jerry Lewis thanks you too. /jack
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