M is for Music

M is for Music





From my good friend Patsy (PJ) Jolly, bassist for the classic rock band "Raw Dawgs" in Clarksville, Tennessee:

I'd like to nominate Ed Scaife as "Super Star of the Week". As many of you know he is the one that started this awesome FB page to keep us all abreast of what is happening in Clarksville with LIVE music. He also introduced this feature. He is a loyal and devoted fan of live music and many people enjoy this page to keep track of the great things our city has to offer and the amazing talent worthy of our support! thank you Ed for this amazing idea!

L is for Looming

L is for Looming

You know which word I see much too often in the news these days? Looming.

Now, a loom is a device used to weave cloth and that is hardly ominous or threatening. But looming is not about using that device. That's called weaving.

Looming is the perilous narrative ('looming budget sequester') that is being weaved into every conversation in Washington and fed to the media and to the masses.

Don't be duped.

This is all self-inflicted drama that is the result of ideological gridlock that has become the fabric of this Congress. Their inability to compromise on critical issues that deeply affect the nation is the only looming crisis we should be addressing.

Strict ideology is more damaging than any dollar figure that could be held up and used to frighten and divide the people of this nation.

K is for Knave

K is for Knave

The man servant we knew once a Knave
'Twas the mighty Kings very fine slave
But the face on the card
Called 'K-N' was too hard
So Jack is the rogue we now favor.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_(playing_card)

J is for Job

J is for Job



In 1997 I had a job at Circle K--the leading convenience store in the Phoenix market. I was going to school part-time and working part-time. It was an alright job--close to home and school, and the hours weren't too bad.

I worked the 2 PM to 10 PM shift with another guy, Bob. He was a portly old fellow with a very dry sense of humor. Most people thought he was just cranky or even mean. I never had a problem with him. I assumed he just wasn't one to talk much. Despite that, I thought we had a good working relationship.

One afternoon I showed up for work and Bob wasn't particularly happy (as if anyone really knew the difference between him being happy or not). The manager had left just before I showed up, and it turns out that he had given Bob a list of things that our shift was to do--things that the day shift normally did, but the manager felt we didn't do enough and wanted to make some changes. He said we needed to pick up the pace and that we could get it done if we worked faster.

Well--I'm not sure what the day shift did altogether, but for Bob and I it was non-stop selling of gas, beer and cigarettes. I barely had a chance to leave the counter late in the shift to restock the beer cooler before the next shift came in, and Bob knew that whatever the manager wanted us to get done probably wasn't going to happen.

He mumbled and grumbled for hours about that list before he finally turned to me and said, "You know, I've got two speeds--and if he doesn't like this one, he sure as hell isn't going to like the other one."

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I is for Inspiration

I is for Inspiration

I believe in serendipity--making desirable discoveries by chance; happy accidents. I do not believe in fate or predestination. The entire universe is characteristicly composed with chaos and sometimes we're just in the right place at the right time purely by coincidence.

H is for Humor

H is for Humor



I know a lot of people that are trying to lose weight. To shed the pounds they walk, run, hike, bike, swim and join a gym. Personally, I prefer the old fashioned way to weight loss--just a tiny bit of E. coli and lots of rest!

G is for Guaranteed

G is for Guaranteed.



God. Guns. Government. Gas. Grass.

Guaranteed someone will talk about one of these every single day.

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A Statement Rocks Rome, Then Sends Shockwaves Around the World
(Pope)"Benedict read a statement that said, in part, that after examining his conscience “before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise” of leading the world’s one billion Roman Catholics. He was resigning on Feb. 28, he said, becoming the first pope to do so in six centuries."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/world/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-says-he-will-retire.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

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Mo. Bill Would Criminalize Lawmakers Who Introduce Gun Control Legislation
Amidst all the crazy rhetoric out there about gun control since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, this stands out today:
"State Rep. Mike Leara filed legislation Monday that would make it a felony for lawmakers to merely file legislation that would at all restrict gun rights."

http://stjoechannel.com/fulltext?nxd_id=327742

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Obama presses Congress for stopgap sequester fix
“It won’t help the economy. It won’t create jobs. It will visit hardship on a whole lot of people,” He added, it will “add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls.” - President Obama

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-to-press-for-sequester-fix/2013/02/19/e647cd70-7a5d-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_story.html

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32 days of higher gas prices comes at tough time
"What's behind the higher prices at the pump? It's a confluence of factors, from rising crude oil prices, to production cuts and refinery closings.
"Right now, things are tight worldwide," said Ray Carbone, president of New York commodities trading firm Paramount Options. "Refineries going down, unanticipated maintenance, and higher demand ... going into driving season."

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/17/news/economy/gas-prices/

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Arizona court ruling upholds DUI test for marijuana
"An appeals court has issued a ruling that upholds the right of authorities to prosecute pot smokers in Arizona for driving under the influence even when there is no evidence that they are actually high."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/free/20130213arizona-court-ruling-upholds-dui-test-for-marijuana.html

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