Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Free Apple Summer Camp & Youth Workshops
Just as they did last year, Apple is offering Free Summer Camp and Youth Workshops."At Apple Camp, kids aged 8-12 learn how to shoot their own footage, create an original song in GarageBand on an iPad, and put it all together in iMovie on a Mac. This free workshop, held at the Apple Store, spans three days and ends with campers debuting their masterpieces at the
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
CUTEST LITTLE GIRL VIDEO IN HISTORY: JOE GALLAGHER, JR./THE DRY DOCK CAFE/"OUT OF CHARACTER" ROCK BAND: 5 STAR REVIEWS
Joe is a Wallingford friend, and I recently became acquainted with his music via a single amateur video which I hereby declare to be the Cutest Music Video Ever Produced. The song is “My Only Son” a tribute song to his young son Joe, and the tune is awesome and the emotion Joe manifests in his playing is evident. But stealing the show is his little daughter, Savannah Jeanne, who tries her darnedest to distract Dad by repeatedly using the “L” word on him, “I love you Daddy” she says, by playing his guitar while Joe plays guitar, and by dancing in front of the camera Joe set up to work on the writing of this tune. You can’t help but believe that Savannah might just have a bit of sibling rivalry going on with little bro and that this might be one factor in her efforts at distracting father Joe! It’s a riot and a beautiful testimony to the love of a father for both his son and for his daughter, for whom he’d written a song years earlier. He does other music which is acoustic and awesome, my personal favorite besides "My Only Son" being a tune he calls "Serenity" and the Youtube.com link to a variety of his work is: http://www.youtube.com/user/JoeJr1234. Joe's Facebook page link is: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Joe-Gallagher-Rocks/168359669874357 and The Dry Dock's Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/TheDryDock?ref=ts&sk=wall.
JOE GALLAGHER IN CONCERT
Joe’s individual orientation he describes as: Profile
Style: Rock
About Me: Acoustic
Rock Record Label: none
Hometown: New Haven
Occupation: automotive paint sales
Schools: Mark T. Sheehan High School
Interests: creative writing, performance arts
Music: anything acoustic
Joe has branched out and is a member of a band which is less acoustic in orientation which goes by the name “Out of Character” and which is playing gigs frequently throughout the area. They describe themselves on their Facebook fan page (linked on FB as: http://www.facebook.com/TheDryDock?ref=ts&sk=wall#!/pages/Out-Of-Character/187736491269365) as:
JOE GALLAGHER AND HIS BAND, OUT OF CHARACTER
Hometown: Wallingford, CT Genres: Alternative / Indie Rock / Alternative Rock
Label: Wicked Talent Productions
"Members: Mark Andersen-Drums, Pat Mace-Bass, Jonathan Sibrava-Lead Guitar, and Joe Gallagher Jr.-Vocal/Guitar Out of Character is a slap in the face, a riot act to replace the free will of mankind. They tear their way on stage as well as off and bring an industrial, hypnotic sound into the world. Formed at a local open mica in a magical place called The Dry Dock, they progressively cut through the scene. By leaps and bounds, Out of Character stormed into their own souls to produce and create fantastic songs. Keep an eye out for these rising stars."
---------------------------------------
The list of venues the band has played in recent months is impressive and stretches from The Dry Dock in Wallingford; to the Bronx; Manhattan; to Danielson, Hamden, Orange and New Haven, CT. Their music is great on video, although I have to admit that I have neither caught Joe's individual nor the group in action onstage yet. That yet will happen very soon, and a review will most certainly follow. That is most certainly a ‘yet’ I’m very much looking forward to, as Joe’s music, Out of Character’s music and Joe’s own character as a man today are amazing, indeed. Hi Savannah! 5 Stars without a doubt! And a link for the advancement of community, please take a look and drop by when you're in the area, I assure you that you won't regret it!
http://www.thedrydock.org/
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
EXAMINER.COM THREATENS TO CENSOR BERNIE SANDERS' ARTICLE WITHIN HOURS OF PUBLICATION!!!!
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
by Steve Alexander on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 9:04am.
Yesterday evening, very late, I posted an article entitled "Bernie Sanders, Ed Schultz, MSNBC, Income Disparity and the Rich Getting Richer." By 8am I had received an email from the publisher, Examiner.com attempting to censor the article less than 8 hours after publication AND before business hours at their west coast offices. I find them to afford editorial freedom, and in fact praised them yesterday for that. However it IS very much imperfect. I've found that they use the 'local pertinence' argument whenever it is convenient to censor the most controversial articles. It's worth noting that this article praises the only member of the U.S. Senate who is an avowed socialist and a member of neither major political party (except my own lame duck Senator soon to say bye-bye and good riddance to his dubious public service, Joe Lieberman) Bernie Sanders. Often they refuse to label newsworthy articles as newsworthy (which would result in more hits for the articles) and my very first submission on food and veganism was deleted altogether--the only time that ever happened. I find that the more economic justice that is involved in the article the more the censorship is likely to emerge. For some reason the article has not been deleted as of this hour (8:53am 6/22/11) and I posted right on the article about their email to me announcing their censorship and my own terse email responses. I'm also publishing this note at my blogspot immediately. First Amendment Matters! And the link to this article is:http://www.examiner.com/government-in-hartford/bernie-sanders-ed-schultz-msnbc-income-disparity-and-rich-getting-richer.
And here is the note I attatched to that article including the email exchange between myself and Examiner.com:
EXAMINER.COM HAS SENT ME THE FOLLOWING EMAIL IN AN EFFORT TO CENSOR THIS ARTICLE:
Dear Steven Alexander,
Thank you for publishing your recent article headlined Bernie Sanders, Ed Schultz, MSNBC, Income Disparity and Rich Getting Richer! Unfortunately, our review team has decided that it does not meet our criteria for local coverage. Although you cannot resubmit this story, here are a few easy ways to localize your future stories: Local Info: Add local information or links to local resources that relate to the topic. Local Perspective: Provide a local perspective on the story that is unique to your town or city. Local Angle: Focus the story on a local resident, business or place illustrative of the subject. To help readers relate to your local story, establish the relevance to your location in the lead paragraph or first 100 words.... Find more helpful tips on local coverage in Examiner University.This does not mean that your article has been removed from the site, only that it does not count as a qualified article for the local incentive. Only articles published in the 2.0 pub tool are eligible. Please contact your Category Manager if you have further questions.
Thank you, Examiner.com Review Team.
" I'm not certain why the Censors at Examiner.com have not yet removed this article, I HAVE replied to their emails as follows:
'CENSORSHIP STINKS. I will report on this censorship. Thank you. Steve
And, btw, no thanks on the 'helpful tips on local coverage in Examiner University.' Again, thanks for other matters besides repeated efforts at censorship,
Hartford Government Examiner Steve Alexander.' "
Free WWE SummerSlam Reading Jam Poster
Are any of your children fans of the WWE? If so, here is your chance to get a free poster from the recognized leader in global sports-entertainment.Beginning July 8 through Aug. 26, 2011, if you let your kids join WWE’s SummerSlam Reading Jam and your kids tell them the name of their favorite author along with one of the books they will read this summer, they will
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
INDIAN HELLO KITTY IN A SARI
IT'S AMAZING WHAT YOU STUMBLED ACROSS ON GOOGLE - HERE IS AN INDIAN HELLO KITTY IN A SARI - HOW CUTE IS SHE?
Monday, June 20, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
A WAR POWERS ACT DIALOGUE WITH MORE THAN A FB FRIEND!
Make Love Not War "All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance" Said
John Winston Ono Lennon and Yoko Lennon Ono During Their Bed-In's For Peace
He, Himself Assassinated Of All Things By Handgun, Mr. Peace. Go Figure.
A Victim Of War
War Results In Rape, Killing, Torture And Maiming Of Adults, Men, Women, Children
And Needs To Stop
As Unpleasant As This Picture Is, Imagine Being This Person Or His Lover or Son Or
His Daughter
WAR IS REAL!!!
AND THE UNITED STATES IS A PRIMARY CULPRIT NOW FOR DECADES!
Happy Father's Day?
OMG
:(
ON THE WAR POWERS ACT: A DIALOGUE WITH A FRIEND
by Steve Alexander on Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 2:15pm.
From my friend Ed (Ed's from CT, and has become an awesome friend who is not afraid to disagree very agreeably, is also a Weather Fan from CT and keeps the power on in bad weather as a utility employee) via FB Private Message Thursday June 16th, 2011:
ED:I am soooooo tempted to raze you answering the poll that right now Obama is the best Republican in the field!!!!! after the notion that the war powers act do not apply in the case of Libya.
I personally think they do,but that is another thing.
My question to you ,though,since I was not really paying attention at the time is this: Did Reagan go to Congress before Grenada or Bush '41 before Panama? That would go a long way toward establishing precedent. I am hoping you were into politics enough during those days that you might have noticed.
Maybe sometimes I am too harsh on Obama but sometimes I feel very betrayed that I voted for him because I thought he really would "have the courage to stand up to special interests" like he said he would,but really doesn't seem to.
That brings me to the conclusion that if he is the one person I trusted and he wouldn't, then there really is no one that ever will,and that makes for a very sad vision of the future for the average working joe.
Sometime I need to write more about my thinking a few years ago that the American economy is in a bind it can not get out of and a lot of fighting will take place for those that have something to preserve it. I see a lot of it today in many places.again more on that another day.
I start 12 hour night shifts to night so may not be near the computer as much, but I will look at it from time to time.
Thanks for giving my mind an outlet. I know even when you do not agree you will listen...
To which I replied on Fathers Day, June 19th, 2011:
I'm sorry, I'm gonna make you look at him again. OMG! How horrible!
UNABASHED LEFT: OK, here goes Ed. I did NOT want to short shrift your comments about the War Powers Act and Libya. I personally believe that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional in and of itself. It's simple. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land and amending the Constitution or changing any aspect of it requires 2/3's vote in Congress and approval by 2/3's of the States' legislatures. Article 1, section 8 reads as it gives EXCLUSIVE power to CONGRESS, without Presidential involvement whatsoever: "Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water." The War Powers Act, passed in 1973 over Nixon's veto grants specific war powers to the President, via a 2/3 vote, because a veto had to be overridden, however a Constitutional Amendment was never proposed and NO State Legislature has ever had the right to vote on changing this usurpation of power by the politicians in DC, both in Congress and in the White House. Every president, Dem or Rep winds up wanting to exercise more power than allotted constitutionally. Wikipedia describes the War Powers Act: "The War Powers Act requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30 day withdrawal period, without an authorization of the use of military force or a declaration of war. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of Congress, overriding a presidential veto." Clearly in violation of the Constitution's reservation of all dispatches of U.S. troops and military hardware to Congress, and Congress alone. As Commander in Chief the President's job is to implement the declarations of war that ORIGINATE with the US Congress. I agree that the President needs to have some flexibility beyond that granted by the Constitution, but the only legal way to do it is to amend the constitution. Anything else is actually treason, to be honest, it's just been 'acceptable' since the last officially declared war in 1941. We've only declared war 5 times in US history, the 1812 war against Britain, WWI, the Mexican/American War, and Japan and Germany in WWII. As far as George HW Bush, his use of the War Powers Act was summarized by Wikipedia as follows: "Congress invoked the War Powers Act in the Multinational Force in Lebanon Act(P.L. 98-119), which authorized the Marines to remain in Lebanon for 18 months. In addition, P.L. 102-1, authorizing the use of U.S. armed forces concerning the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, stated that it constituted specific statutory authorization within the meaning of the War Powers Act." His son, Dubya, on the other hand violated US Treaties by launching his Iraq misadventure in violation of UN Resolutions, and, like it or not, we have treaties in place compelling us to abide by UN Resolutions, and international Treaties, which necessitate 2/3 votes in the US Senate, supersede "Acts" by Congress, so the entire Iraq mess since 2002 has been illegal. Regarding Ray-Gun and HW in Panama and in Grenada, I think it's all irrelevant, with regards to whether these usurpers sought Congressional approval after the fact, and illegal as well as treasonous in actuality. In addition the Dubya administration provided false info to Congress on the presence of weapons of mass destruction to Congress. I oppose American militarism. Politics is the art of compromise. Barack Obama and the Democratic Party itself, are a compromise for me my friend. Thanks for the comment, and I hope for your response, I value your opinions, indeed! Happy Dad's day! Peace pleeeeeze, Steve
Yoko Ono, John Lennon's Widow
Has Carried On Much Of John's Work And
Has Instituted The Lennon Peace Prize
Worth Reading About:
Free Summer Crafts For Kids E-book
Are you always looking for fun things to do with your kids while they are out of school? Do you need to entertain a large group of kids? If so, the Summer Crafts for Kids E-book is for you.One of our favorite websites, Favecrafts.com is offering the Summer Crafts For Kids E-book for free. This book is full of 22 different craft projects for kids, including
Ceád Mile Fáilte
A hundred thousand welcomes.
In the Irish language, this is what Ceád Mile Fáilte means...
KAY-ed MEE-luh FOIL-cha
That's how you pronounce it I checked my counter this morning and I realized that not only has the blog reached this amazing number, we have gone past it by over 600 hits! So,
Ceád Mile Fáilte
and
THANK YOU
for taking some of your time, to visit here, at for the love of a horse. A hundred thousand welcomes.
Ralph
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Bozos and Clowns
"What the hell happened to me today?"
he wondered out loud.
David had worked hard, did everything he was asked to do and then some. Underscore "some", definitely a lot more of "some". Still, that did not protect him in the end, as he unfolded the letter of termination that he had shoved earlier into his pants pocket. What bothered David the most, was the reason given for the termination, non-performance.
NON-PERFORMANCE???
"Are they kidding me?" He thought of the many invitations he had declined because he had some kind of report due on Monday. He was unpopular with friends and family, who had been conditioned over time, that David, would forever be a “no-show” for their important somethings. How many nights had he worked until midnight or later? Social life? What was that? The truth was that his "non-performance" had made millions of dollars for his company, over the last five years of his life and he, had nothing. He remembered what his father had once told him about the cold, hard business world, "…don't tell me the stories of what you did for me yesterday; tell me what you are going to do for me TODAY."
What had he been doing in his string of todays?
Had he fooled himself into believing that he was working on his next big deal, when he really had been working on all the roadblocks that kept him from defining the bigger deal of his life or the quality of it? Was he even working on anything that would help him live a life that was worthy of a big deal? And now, did the next big deal matter anyway?
"Get a grip David!"
he shouted out loud.
Worried, that he was losing his self-confidence, David knew what he needed to do next.
.
He needed his Dad.
David needed to hear the sound of his voice and he needed the encouragement that his Dad would generously offer. He needed his Dad’s wisdom but most of all, he needed his Dad's understanding and unconditional love. These things would help him find his way back to his old self. "C'mon son, you are being too hard on yourself. Lighten up. Even on your worst day, you are twice as good as those bozos you work with." he would tell David.
He needed that.
He needed to know that although his world seemed to have been pulled inside out and upside down, the real world, the one that mattered to him the most, was basically the same as he had known it. He needed the stability and the security that this real world, his Dad's world, offered, before the new world David had tried to live in, took over his life and stole it. As the phone rang and he waited for his father to answer the line, he imagined the kitchen, an ivory colored house phone hanging on the wall and the faded blue gingham curtains that his Mom had sewn years ago, rippling in the light breeze of a warm June day. He imagined standing in front of this window, the strong smell of vanilla, carried on the breeze and washing his body with it’s sweet fragrance. His Mom loved scented candles and he could almost see the flame flickering in the glass container. Home was still that real to him. He longed for home, so far away from the place where he stood now. Beyond the curtains was the farm, with the back pasture coming up pretty close to the house, bright green, luxuriant and so soft-looking. He loved taking his shoes and socks off and walking in the grass, always amazed by how cool the grass felt against the soles of his feet. From far away in his mind, he heard the sound of a familiar horse nickering. Isabella. Gosh, beautiful Isabella. The white mare galloped in his mind, tossing her head regally as she circled around him. Isabella was the foundation mare of his Dad's breeding program. She was the Queen of Brazos Valley Arabians. Nothing made his Dad happier than seeing beautiful Isabella grazing in the field behind the house. David had agreed with his Dad. She was extremely beautiful, like the horses that were depicted in the paintings that hung on the wall of the museum he had visited in New York. Many other people had also agreed with his Dad, as Isabella had been shown extensively, including the Egyptian Event, the premier show of the year for Egyptian Arabian horses, where she earned the title of World Champion Senior Mare. Things were never really the same for his family or for Brazos Valley Arabian horses. Things were better, far better. Dad's breeding program had become well-known and his horses were in demand all over the world. Many people came to visit his Dad after the Egyptian Event, including some from far away places, who offered a great sum of money for Dad's Isabella but his Dad would have no part of it. Isabella was his best mare and the cornerstone of his breeding program. Isabella had helped Dad to give flesh to that imaginary horse in his head. David was still a little kid, maybe seven years old, when Dad purchased Isabella from her breeder. Some people said that his Dad had worn the woman down, finally consenting to sell Isabella, in order to be rid of David's father and his never-ending phone calls. He wasn't surprised. At that point in his life, David's Dad was a high powered Tax Attorney, feared by many who foolishly got on his warpath. His Dad always got what he wanted, when he set his mind to do something. David would be forever grateful to this woman, as Isabella became the miracle in his Dad's life. David learned to understand that horses are very special animals, as he had witnessed very personally what Isabella meant for his Dad. She had produced eight foals and six of those foals had paid for his brother and him to go to college and for David, his MBA. Now, in his Dad's retirement, the horses allowed for his parents to live comfortably, without worry. In this day and age, that was unusual. But aside from the financial rewards, his Dad enjoyed a deep satisfaction that filled every part of his life, giving him good health both physically and emotionally. The horses had made his Dad a better person, a better husband and definitely, a better Father. He was the most understanding person David had ever met, even when pushed to the very edge. "Yup, I had done more than my fair share of pushing." David laughed, as he remembered some of the more forgettable escapades of his life. His Dad had wanted him to take more of an active interest in the farm, in the hopes of one day taking over. And David really wanted that. Especially on a day like today, when he had completely run out of all the excuses he had offered not to. He needed an out now. There was stability in that feeling that he realized he was unconsciously drawing from, a feeling that gave him more security in fragile moments like this one.
"Hello, David?" were the words that suddenly reeled him in, as his Dad, out-of-breath, answered his phone call. "I was down at the barn, finishing up with the lunch haying, when I heard the phone ringing. Is everything okay son, you're calling a bit earlier than you usually do." I hesitated and then said, "no Dad, everything is not okay" and paused for a second, "I lost my job today and I really don't understand why." The sound of his Dad's long sigh almost made David come unglued with emotion, as he realized the severity of the situation and the disappointment he may be creating for his father. "That's a tough one son, really tough" he said. "But you know the truth, right Davey?" he asked. "What's that Dad?" David asked back, afraid of the answer that may come. "You know, and I know, that on your worst day, you are a hundred times better than the clowns you work with. C'mon home son, I need you.You've got a farm to run and a horse named Isabella who misses you." And David smiled, when he couldn't even find a reason to. "That's my Dad and that's why I love him, Egyptian Arabian horses and all" he said.
Happy Fathers Day,
Ralph
Monday, June 13, 2011
PAULA POUNDSTONE UNABASHED: TALKS ABOUT EVERYTHING! :D
Paula On The Letterman Show
PAULA POUNDSTONE INTERVIEW – TUESDAY JUNE 7TH 2011 WALLINGFORD/L.A.
Last Tuesday I did a phone interview with 32 year veteran stand-up comedienne Paula Poundstone. She has an appearances coming up in the Connecticut area on the following dates: June 24th she'll be at the Union County Arts Center in Rahway, NJ (seeya there Paula). On July 8th she'll be at The Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, MA and on July 9th she will be appearing at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center in Westhampton, NY. Thanks to Derek and especially to Paula for taking the time she did for this and for the laughter and good works she does.
Me: First question: You’ve got 16 cats.
Paula: I DO have 16 cats.
Me: WHY???
Paula: Because I had 15 and then I got one more. That’s my traditional answer. I DON’T know! It probably is like some weird mental thing. I’ll tell you, we were walking, my kids and I on Sunday, down by a busy populous Street here in Santa Monica and there was some cage of kittens some rescuer was giving away and I had the nerve to stop and think about it. I’m dumb! I don’t know why! My whole life is cleaning up someone’s waste product. I clean litter boxes, like four times a day! The honest truth is they’re really fun and their entertaining and that’s why we have them. But it is a pain in the neck.
Me: After I had seen you in Manhattan you sent me a card with a picture of your cat named Hep.
Paula: Oh yeah. Good old Hep.
Me: Why did you name her Hep?
Paula: Oh its Hep cat, as in… he’s a hip cat, you know, jive talk.
Me: Oh. You wanna know where my mind went? I thought you named him after a social disease. Hepatitis.
Paula: Is there a social disease that’s Hep?
Me: Yeah, hepatitis.
Paula: OH MY GOD! That’s too funny! I never thought of that. Some of our cats are named after Harry Potter characters. Some when the kids were littler after the color of their fur, but I had to put my foot down and say that I had to do the naming because you’re gonna be off in college and I’m gonna be stuck with Fluffy. Like they wanted to name one cat Olive. I hate the name Olive. I don’t want a cat named Olive, I don’t even like olives. And another cat’s name is Sham Wow. It’s a long-haired cat – it’s the only long-haired cat we have.
Me: Feralcare.org is a good organization that rescues feral cats.
feralcare.org
Paula: OH! There’s some organization – how can I forget the name of it, it’s something feral cats as well. You know 50% of cats are feral! They need to be trapped and fixed….
Me: It’s a good cause.
Paula: Yes it is, definitely.
Me: Another sort of serious question. Are you political? In your comedy and in general? In other words to you have a political orientation?
Paula: I have a political orientation. I’m a Democrat. However… and I do...
Me: It’s hard to say that on the post-Weiner day.
Paula: Yeah I jumped on the Weiner bandwagon to some degree. You know frankly I wasn’t quite inclined to do so. Frankly I don’t care if he Twitters pictures of his penis or not, I don’t care. Or his crotch or whatever the Hell he’s doing, I don’t know. But it makes no difference to me. I just think his word ‘certitude’ sounds vaguely sexual in itself. I thought that that part was all kind of weird. But no, I talk about politics onstage, but not because I’m always right. You know what I mean. There’s some comics who if you think differently than them then your cast as somewhat of an idiot. I don’t join in that I don’t think. I just try to make jokes; I don’t always think that I have any answers at all. I just like to make jokes. I don’t know anything about how to make a budget. It makes me nervous. I flipped by Suze Ormand a few times on television and she scares me! And I even fear that my credit card is gonna get cut up when I use it. And also that she’s going to jump out from some kind of display case and shout at me.
Me: She kinda makes me wonder what she does when she’s Tweeting.
Paula: Boy, she scares me. Yeah I do talk about politics from the point of view of just an average citizen trying to glean what I can to cast a half way decent vote. I wouldn’t tell somebody else how to vote.
Me: Are you an Obama supporter?
Paula: DEFINITELY! And I have come out for one President or the other and done fund-raisers and this or that, but when I’m talking to the audience onstage at a show where they’ve paid to come see me, I certainly don’t say you have to do this or you have to do that, other than recycle.
Me: Let me throw out a few names and see what you have to say about them. Comedians. What do you think of Jon Stewart?
Paula: Well I think I’d love him if I saw him, I don’t watch television much. I haven’t watched prime-time TV since Radar left M*A*S*H*. I used to work with Jon a hundred years ago. That was before his show and I liked him a lot. But I get nervous about people saying they get their news from Comedy Central. It’s not a source for news it’s a source for opinion and its fun.
Me: It’s kinda like getting your news from Fox.
Paula: Well, I get nervous watching MSNBC. I agree with it mostly, but it’s not a source of news, editorials really and silly.
Me: Speaking of comedians let me throw a couple more out there. What do you think about Sarah Palin?
Paula: Ohhh. She’s just a…she’s just a… I don’t know... Just look what she’s done! I went onstage the night after Mitt Romney announced and the first thing I said to the crowd was ‘Mitt Romney is running for President.’ Because I really feel that anyone who knows that he’s running for President needs to turn to the person beside them and say it. The man’s been done an injustice. The media have the NERVE to follow Sarah Palin. Instead of someone who is throwing his hat into the ring for the Presidential election. We need to hear from Mitt Romney, not Sarah Palin. If she’s gonna run then she should talk. But the media should be following the man who’s gonna run for President.
Me: Between Anthony Weiner and Sarah Palin, Romney’s announcement didn’t stand a chance.
Paula: I don’t know if it’s the chicken or the egg. I can’t tell if the media does that or if WE make the media do that. You know, salivate for this stuff.
Me: What do you think of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O’Reilley?
Paula: Well Beck is going to be an internet presence. You know I’ve never seen more than 2 seconds of any of them. None of that really appeals to me. You know what appeals to me, early ‘Leave It To Beavers.’ I just get nervous when people are doing masquerading as one thing and doing another. My son is Eddie Haskell. He’s always complimenting my necklace. I’ll tell him you have to get up now and he’ll say ‘Yes Mom.’ And then not a move. Not anything. But it all sounds so good. He presents so smoothly in that Eddie Haskell kind of a way.
Me: You know your son might wind up with a political career.
Paula: Yeah, there are two that would make great politicians. [lol]
Me: When I saw your show at the Gramercy in Manhattan there was a guy in the audience, a Madison Avenue guy, who claimed credit for the Clorox bleach ad campaign, do you remember?
Paula: [laughs] Ooh yeah!
Me: He claimed credit for making Clorox popular. You dismantled him and Wall Street.
Paula: Well Wall Street is doing a pretty good job of dismantling itself. I saw a bank ad the other day that was really reprehensible. They’re trying to make themselves look real friendly, I can’t remember what bank it was, but ‘you know, come on in tell us what we can do for you.’ That was like their little slogan, it’s more like ‘Come on in, none of us ever went to jail.’ Gawd!
Me: Yeah, well they got one, Madoff, that’s it.
Paula: Well he wasn’t doing what they were doing, it was just coincidence that he did it right around the time that they were doing what they were doing.
Me: Wrong place wrong time, he was caught at a bad time for him.
Paula: Yeah, it must have been the air they were all breathing.
Me: Do you have a script planned for your shows or not?
Paula: No. Not exactly, I’ve been doing my job for about 32 years now. I’ve told a lot of jokes. It’s certainly unscripted. My favorite part of the night is the time honored part: ‘What do you do for a living?’ And I allow for the biographies of the people’s jobs steer the topic and where I go. I happen to have obsessive compulsive disorder and literally everything somebody says reminds me of something else that I feel that I MUST say and so that’s what sorta drives the show. And then I ask people questions and then everything they say reminds me of things that I MUST say.
Me: You have a great job
Paula: I have a really hard time getting off the stage actually. That’s why my shows are very long. Everything reminds me of something else I want to say. I could go on forever!
Me: Let me ask you about the library cause. The Association of Library Trustees… You’re the national spokesperson.
Paula: That’s quite a name. Huh?
Me: Yeah a bit bureaucratic. ALTAFF.
Paula: They used to just call themselves ‘Friends of the Libraries.’ The come around to some of my shows and sell books and the money goes to that organization. I didn’t know until I met them, I always thought that all tax money paid for libraries. Although some tax money goes to the libraries, a lot of it is raised through fund raising arms that help raise money to not only help keep libraries going but it’s for books, and CDs and after-school programs, sometimes literacy programs—even for adults—it depends on the library. Because they’ve morphed over the years. When I was a kid we had a library in Sudbury [MA]—there was this hill, and kids used to run up this hill to this low window and there was a rock. And we believed that a kid had hit his head on that rock and there was blood there and so we would run up to look at that and looking for the kid’s blood on the rock was the most exciting thing we did. So libraries have changed. There’s more than just looking for blood on the rock. I’m not even sure if there was, but by God we’d convince ourselves there was.
Me: I joined the local library fund-raising group here in Wallingford and got two free coffee cups.
Paula: Well eventually you’ll get a tote bag.
Me: Libraries really are a First Amendment thing, and that ties in to another project of yours. Could you talk about NPR [National Public Radio] a bit?
Paula: Listen, I love public radio and I love public television. And I feel really strongly that we need their good journalism. And it’s not a good idea to leave things in the hands of the citizen reporters. That’s lovely, but we need good, well-trained unbiased reporting. And I really think that public radio and public television gives us that. Otherwise we can’t make good decisions. That’s really all there is to it. I don’t really want to hear someone else’s opinion. Not when I’m getting my news I mean. The truth is, when I watch CNN what I come away with often is the name of the person doing the story. As much as I listen to NPR and PBS whenever I listen to them I can’t remember the name of the person who did the story. Because that’s not what the story was about. It’s a real important distinction. It was never the Margaret Warner Show. Or the Gwen Ifill Show. As opposed to Anderson Cooper. You don’t know anything about the stories he’s talking about, what you come away with is knowing about Anderson Cooper. ‘Look he’s in Haiti.’ Anderson Cooper was assaulted by someone; it turned out it was an agent or something. I couldn’t figure out how he got from Haiti to Egypt that quick…They’re out to aggrandize Anderson Cooper.
Me: Someone wanted me to ask you this: What personality characteristic do you think we need more of?
Paula: Oh gee! I don’t have a clue! I really don’t have a clue. I have so few answers it’s just embarrassing. I mean to anything.
Me: I think that’s a good answer.
Paula: I don’t know. I don’t know how we’re supposed to be. A while ago there was this push to get celebrities to come out against bullying. Do you remember that?
Me: Yeah.
Paula: You know there’s bullying going on in school, blah, blah, blah. There has been since time began and the odds of eliminating bullying are very, very slim. So in the middle of that I was interviewed by this lady, and it was a taped thing and she was hoping I’d say some kind of pissy thing. And she said ‘Can you talk about bullying?’ And I said ‘Well you want to get them when they’re small!’
Me: Try doing that on Ellen Degeneres’ show and see what happens. You can’t do it on Oprah anymore. Omg. [Lol]
Paula: [Lol] I Tweeted the last Oprah by the way!!!
Me: Didja?
Paula: Oh man did I have fun.
Me: Did she put it on?
Paula: No, Heavens’ no. No I just Tweeted her into the Tweetosphere, and I got a lot of feedback from it. But it was really, really, really fun to do. I probably never watched more than 5 minutes of Oprah. I remember one time back in the early 80s I saw probably half of the show maybe. And since then maybe one segment. And since then I haven’t watched except maybe 5 minutes. So who could not hear it was gonna be the final episode. So I Tweeted it and it was glorious—the Tweet. I mean, I’m an atheist, but I couldn’t help wondering during the show the people who are believers were supposed to thank God for Oprah or thank Oprah for God. It was a hairline distinction.
Me: I didn’t see the final episode, but I do believe there should be an ‘Anti-Peace Prize’ like the opposite of the Nobel Peace prize for Oprah for giving the world Dr. Phil McGraw. [lol]
Paula: Ooh! Do I agree with that! I totally agree. That’s one of the things I wrote, ‘anybody who gives us Dr. Phil can’t be all good.’ But you know as bad as Dr. Phil is, in the battle of good and evil he would be in a white suit compared to Dr. Drew. Now that’s evil incarnate.
Me: I don’t even know Dr. Drew.
Paula: OMG!! He’s a heinous guy! He sets himself up as this celebrity drug and addiction guy. Oh he’s on like CNN a lot. He’s awful. Here’s the thing that he does. I personally hate A.A. However there are people who feel it’s been helpful for them. More power to them. One of the main tenets of it is anonymity. You’re not supposed to go around telling people. That’s one of the ways that it functions and it works. Well this BONEHEAD…he’s the guy who has the show with the celebrities and the rehab, that’s him. The other thing he does, maybe it’s even worse than that, at least those poor guys who have decided to sell their souls to the devil and do that show during the most miserable time of their life… but ok, at least they actively chose it. But he’s this guy who goes on CNN with a person with a fall from sainthood, somebody with a problem with alcohol or whatever it is they’re doing and they call up this idiot to come on the show and talk about them. The problem is he’s talking about them as if he knows. If he knows them, then it is illegal for him to do that and certainly immoral and if he doesn’t know them then it’s immoral. He’s talking as if they’re clients of his. He’ll say ‘Well, she is in a decline now…’ or whatever. I mean really awful. It’s like paid gossip.
Me: Like a local A.M. talk show or something?
Paula: He did a call-in show. It’s like the evil juicer from which he was distilled. It’s underhanded and the notion that he’s profiting from somebody else’s struggle is reprehensible to me. It’s like the plane has crashed and you can’t move and somebody comes over to take the money out of your pocket.
Me: Like ‘Caught on Camera’—taking the change off a cadaver.
Paula: I would rather have Charlie Sheen do sensitivity training with my children than have this guy talk to them. You should watch him for 2 seconds – he’s really, really awful.
Me: He’s with CNN?
Paula: He’s with any slimy vehicle that will hire him. He had a reality show…if you look very close at the top of his head there’s two little buttons where the horns come in.
Me: Comment on Bob Hope?
Paula: I met him once. When I did backstage coverage at the Emmys, and Angela Lansbury [Murder She Wrote] was the host and Bob Hope was a guest and he was very elderly at that point and he was backstage. You know where they kind of wind him up and send him onstage and then wheel him back in. Very elderly at that point. And I met him then, that was the only time.
Me: What did you think of his comedy—his stand-up?
Paula: I’m not that familiar with it! When I was a kid I definitely knew who he was. I love it that he was a USO guy. That I certainly have undying admiration for. I wish that now, that we are absolutely abusing these young men and women, who go into the service—I wish that we had more for them than a planeload of comedians every so often. At the same time I really respect that he made such a notable contribution to the USO. But I don’t know that much about his comedy. I love Abbott and Costello,
Me: How about Rickles?
Paula: I loved Mr. Potato Head, I can tell you that! I remember him from when I was a kid. But I’m not really all that familiar with his work. I loved the Three Stooges. I loved I Love Lucy. I love Mary Tyler Moore. There’s a woman named Christine McIntiyre who was the blonde, really beautiful woman who was often in Three Stooges shorts. And she was a genius. Larry said she would do anything. I love Margaret Dumont.
Me: I’m a big fan of Gracie Allen.
Paula: I drive on her street! In Beverly Hills there’s a street named after her. And there’s a street named after George Burns.
Me: Do you ever do any venues in CT?
Paula: I do go to CT a good deal. I don’t remember exactly where. I’ve been to Hartford a lot, I know I’ve been to New Haven a lot. I’ve even been to where you mentioned, begins with a W?
Me: Wallingford?
Paula: Yes, there used to be a club there I’d work in a long, long time ago.
Me: I really want to thank you for doing this, I’ll see you in Rahway on the 24th.
Paula: Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
Free Print and Color Father's Day Cards
I am a big believer that cards that are made or ones that you can print out and have the kids color and decorate are far nicer than the ones we buy in the stores. More heart and soul go into cards that are made from scratch, or printed out and decorated, than the store bought ones (i won't even get started with the price of cards).On the following websites, you
Sunday, June 12, 2011
UNABASHED BIOGRAPHY: (EYE OF) NEWT GINGRICH
A sad country/western Cheatin' song
This here's the curriculum vitae for Newt Gingrich, officially a candidate for President of the United States as of this week by (un)popular demand.
Newt's had 3, count 'em, THREE wives thus far!
Not that any of them are the lizards that he is. Just a dramatization on a theme. It's sorta how he looks at women.
I think I have 'em all in the right order:
1) Wife Jackie--he went to her in the hospital while she had cancer to discuss his intent to divorce her.
2) Wife Marianne, don't they look happy. Not for long! She had recently been diagnosed with MS when he divorced her.
Someone Newt was cheating with for awhile.
3) Wife number Three, current wife, Calista. How doya keep track Mr. Speaker?
With wife #2 Newt tried to make his deadbeat Dad status 100% legally legit by going to court in order to avoid alimony and
child support. Newt is a "Family Values" candidate!
A man of virtue and upstanding moral character.
N O T !
*In some manner, Newton Leroy Gingrich emerged from an egg somehow June 17th 1943. Unfortunately in 1974, inspired by Richard Milhaus Nixon we can only suppose, "Newt" decided to run for Congress in Georgia. Fortunately the "Newtster" lost in 1974 AND 1976. The voters of Georgia's 6th Congressional district obviously knew their stuff back then!
*Selfish guy that he is, as well as persistent, patient and self-serving like the lizards from which he earned his nickname, "Newt" finally managed to con the 6th District into electing him in 1978. :( His only notable acheivement before becoming House Speaker of all things was succeeding 'Dick'(those Republican 'Dicks' get us every time, don't they, just years prior we were stuck with a Republican 'Dick' of a President in Nixon) Cheney as Minority "Whip." Meanwhile he was 'whipping' the women in his life by declaring the moral equivalent of a private misogyny war in his relationships, a pattern that emerged early in his life and continues to this day.
"Neglectful" a song for Newt
*Newt commenced to cheating on his wives in his personal life. He chose this as a life pursuit, having evident animosity for half of man and womankind. Oh Heck. Having evident animosity for all of man and womankind, "Newt" deserves full credit.
*Newt conned the Republicans (not too hard, since the members of that same party had recently nominated a chimpanzee movie co-star to be president, AND a guy who had pardoned a criminal, and a criminal as their Presidential nominees) in the U.S. House to elect him Speaker. As Speaker his primary accomplishment was achieving the first American government shutdown because he wanted to get President Clinton mad.
*Newt, as Speaker did everything he could to stymie Democratic President Bill Clinton, including the government shut down. He even went so far as to arrange for Mr. Clinton's impeachment for the moral transgression of marital infidelity, even as "Newt" was himself engaging in a 6 year campaign of abusing his family and wife with marital infidelity, via a 6 year fling! What a guy! The August 28th 1998 Salon Newsreel quotes Newt's one-time mistress Anne Manning, who had an affair with the married Candidate Gingrich in 1977 as follows: "We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operendi because then he can say 'I never slept with her.'" She added that Gingrich threatened her: 'If you ever tell anybody about this I'll say you're lying.'"
*During Speaker "Newt's" term he was charged with 84 ethics violations. And, according to Wikipedia, "On January 21, 1997 the House voted 395 to 28 to reprimand Gingrich, including a $300,000 "cost assessment" to recoup the cost of the investigation. This was the first time in the House's history that a speaker had been disciplined for ethics violations." Thank YOU Speaker "Newt!" His own party pretty much ditched him as the leader of the House Republicans by 1999, and in 2000 he didn't even bother running for re-election to his own house seat.
*Newt laid low for a couple of months, but eventually got himself a contract as a talking head on Rupert Murdoch's Faux Newschannel, a right wing TV station that is a comedy channel lampooning the notion of "Fair and Balanced" journalism, joining colleagues such as alcoholic-without-a-program Glenn Beck, and elderly flirter Bill O'Reilley.
*Newt made news recently by explaining to Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody why he cheats on his wives: "There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."
*Not happy being just "one of" Faux News' stable of has-beens, he announced his latest gambit, a Presidential run this week. What a national treasure and hero, Newt Gingrich.
*Newt's moral qualifications for the office were well summed up this week by Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall: "Let's remember, Newt famously dumped wife #1 for wife #2 while wife #1 was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery...He eventually dumped wife #2 for wife #3 shortly after wife #2 was diagnosed with MS back in 1999. And he was having the affair on wife #2 with wife #3 while he was turning the country upside down trying to drive Bill Clinton from office for his affair with Monica Lewinsky."
Unabashed Left continues to Unabashedly and Unreservedly Endorse the re-election of our Awesome Incumbent President Barack Obama. Yes, We Can!
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