Sunday Rambles

Blame Jimbo for this:

Which American accent do you have? Northern You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

(Born in Massachusetts, raised in Ohio and Illinois -- yep. It nailed it.)

... and this:



... which had me jitterbugging by my ownself in the middle of my living room. I double dog dare you to sit perfectly still while listening to that.

Fabulous.

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Ouch!

In-N-Out is the Barack Obama of hamburgers. Puny, over-hyped, from a union-led blue state that’s fiscally boned, and laughably inadequate once you take time to research it and its alternatives.

That's gotta hurt.

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This sounds like fun, and I'm thinking it could make for some serious mayhem for a blogmeet:

An assistant museum curator who questioned the authenticity of a Leonardo da Vinci has been murdered — but before he died, he left a code in his appointment calendar and a cryptic trail of clues connected to secrets in works of art that point to the killer.

Now, would-be gumshoes must figure out what drove one of four suspects to kill him. Was it greed? Fame? Lust? Or revenge?

That’s the plot of Murder at the Met, a murder-mystery scavenger hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York run by Watson Adventures, a private company offering a series of such games at 27 museums in seven U.S. cities, including Chicago.

Anybody interested?

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Quote of the Day:

Pat Quinn is Jerry Brown without the hot-chick past. Like California Moonbeam, our Governor Soybean is signing the Dream Act. The Dream Act is a boilerplate pander piece that gets good press and WOW Progressive support. A Progressive would step over a starving Mexican blocking his way into Whole Foods.

Who wrote that? The same guy who wrote this:

I worked to help Pat Quinn, become Governor and I voted for Pat Quinn. It took the Governor no time at all to prove to me that he does in fact believe in the Easter Bunny: Gov. Quinn immediately paid off Planned Parenthood by wedging in Terry Cosgrove for a State salary; Quinn sprung more felons than George Ryan in much less time; pushed the Civil Union and made war on Catholic Charities; ran business out of Illinois; crawfished on Real Labor as well as his bet with Gov. Walker; and now is signing the Illinois Dream Act that completely ignores immigration and the economic jackpot that is our State economy in the hope that Ralph Martire is correct that more people will vote for Pat Quinn again. Hug that Bunny, Guv....

Pat Quinn will sign the Illinois Dream Act on Monday.

Way to go, Hickey. Way to vote.

When you alienate your base, you're really screwed here in Illinois.
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Drive-Bys

Why didn't I do a play-by-play recap of the Hysterics at Eric's? Because I knew that nobody does it better than my favorite Jooette:

The only downside to blogmeets are two things: 1) The people you are hoping will show up but cannot, and 2) The kind of painful and depressing knowledge that you will have to go another year before seeing these off-the-charts kickass friends again.

Yes, indeed.
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Rules of the Road, Rule No. 597:

Only asshats bogart life.

I'll drink to that.
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It seems Mitch McConnell has finally gotten the message:

I have seen a lot of elections in my life, but I have never seen an election like the one we had earlier this month. The 2010 midterm election was a “change” election the likes of which I have never seen, and the change that people want, above all, is right here in Washington.

Most Americans are deeply unhappy with their government, more so than at any other time in decades. And after the way lawmakers have done business up here over the last couple of years, it’s easy to see why. But it’s not enough to point out the faults of the party in power. Americans want change, not mere criticism. And that means that all of us in Washington need to get serious about changing the way we do business, even on things we have defended in the past, perhaps for good reason.

If the voters express themselves clearly and unequivocally on an issue, it’s not enough to persist in doing the opposite on the grounds that “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” That’s what elections are all about, after all. And if this election has shown us anything, it’s that Americans know the difference between talking about change, and actually delivering on it.

Too right, Skippy. Now let's see you stick to your word. We're watching...
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So now that Hannity says it, you can believe what I told you here?

“There are some Democrats that cue me into things. I got to tell you that the feeling among some people in the White House is that this president is unhinged, that he’s detached, that he’s losing it, he’s obsessed with critics, very specifically obsessed with Fox News, he can’t stand Biden, he hates the Clintons, the Clintons hate him. That the only thing he is passionate about seems to be ESPN and playing golf and and playing some basketball, the only thing that gets his interest. Infighting apparently, and finger pointing is at an all-time high, if the President is brought bad news on the economy he has a meltdown every time he hears it. And this is what people — and I’m telling you my sources are reliable — are telling me. And I don’t know how he’s going to deal with this a story, ‘One and done, to be a great president President Obama should not seek re-election in 2012′.”

Scary stuff, that, though.
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Chartered Excursions - The Hysterics at Eric's

Wonderful people. Fabulous food. A gorgeous setting. Bonfires. Pool. Incredible music. Poetry. A walk in the woods. Laughter -- lots and lots of laughter. So, a huge THANK-YOU ...

... to Eric and his lovely wife Fiona for the invite, and Fred and Bob for the cat fix.

... to Teresa, who bummed me a ride and entertained me enormously.

... to Erica, who blows me away with her gorgeous photographs and her big, beautiful heart.

... to Elisson (who'll get the humor in the above) and the lovely and charming SWMBO.

... to Jimbo for the music, and to Ken the Bodyguard for making sure Jimbo can make the trip.

... to KNine, whose blogging I've missed so much and for the breakfast at Tellico Junction, and to Jack, his faithful companion.

... to Jerry, who's always got an eye for the absurd.

... to Denny, for the music and the fun (and, usually, the wine).

... to Bou, for the ziti and for the great conversation.

... to Rick and Georgia -- it wouldn't be a blogmeet without you.

... to John, for the great conversation about books and the chance to finally get to know you a little bit better.

... to El Capitan, because he inspires me, makes me laugh, and pushes me to be a better writer.

... and finally, to Tommy, who I've heard so much about, but never met before. I promise that next time we'll sit down and have a good long chin-wag.

Don't let anyone kid you -- it is possible to make lifelong friends on the internet. I can't imagine my life without these folks, and I have a smile on my face for days after one of these shindigs.

It's always hard to say good-bye until the next one... and this earworm has been rattling around in my noggin ever since:

Boots 'n Bluebonnets 'n BlownStars

Bugger.

'Pup is in the hospital, and Miss Nancy and I are going to have to reschedule our get-together. I don't know which of us is the most disappointed. (And, yes -- my bottom lip is stuck out so far you could land a big ol' birdie on it at the moment.)

I'll get there for the wild flowers next year for sure.

In the meantime, say a prayer for 'Pup's quick recovery, please!

Boots 'n Bluebonnets 'n BlownStars

The lovely and talented Miss Nancy and I have been trying to plan a date for a blogmeet around Bluebonnet season for years and have finally just said, "Screw it! Let's do it!"

Here's the plan, and it's a loose one:

Thursday, April 8th:

• Noon - ? Sightseeing in Austin.
  
• We're parking our cabooses at the Super 8 Austin Downtown/Capitol Area (1201 N. I-35).
  
• Dinner/drinks with whoever might be in town and want to meet for dinner. We're open for suggestions.

Friday, April 9th:

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (bring your cameras!)
• If we have time, the LBJ Library and Museum, as I'd really like to see the moving, talking figure of LBJ. (I've read the Robert Caro books. So sue me.) It's so kitschy that it's got to be great.
  
• Off to Houston!

Saturday, April 10th:

• Sightseeing in Houston (my first trip, yay!) with 'Pup and/or anyone else who's interested in making sure I see the best of your city.
• Dinner at Goode Company with as many of y'all as possible.

Sunday, April 11th:

• Take Miss Nancy and 'Pup somewhere really nice for brunch as a thank-you. (Suggestions, please!)
• Hit a garden center or two. It's a tradition.
• Head home!

The airfare was cheap (under $250 round trip) and the hotel was cheap (under $75/night). Anyone is welcome to join us; just give us a shout so we know to be looking for you!