Battle of the Bands. Snow Patrol and The Baseballs duked it out over the song Chasing Cars. Honestly, this was a much closer contest than I anticipated and it is a bright spot in an otherwise tongue-depressing week. Snow Patrol did win it but it was actually neck and neck there for a while. Snow Patrol ultimately reined victorious with 13 votes and The Baseballs finished the final inning with 7. My vote is completely unnecessary, but I will still tell you that I would have voted for Snow Patrol, though I REALLY like both versions. I think that 50s sound of The Baseballs is just phenomenal and it makes me want to dance. The thing is that Chasing Cars isn't about dancing (which makes The Baseballs cover a delicious bit of irony to me). It actually expresses a lot of what I am feeling right now. The dude just wants to lie down and forget the world. Yep, he is that darn tired that he "needs your grace to remind me to find my own." I don't know if you have ever been that exhausted, but I know just what he means.
And that brings me to the next bit of business. I have actually made rather tremendous strides on my revision and editing (on the much talked about WiP), but I have fallen terribly behind in my blog reading. And I think I have used all of my intuitive prowess during the writing part of my day -
because I read your posts and struggle to come up with a decent comment. That said, the fiery part of my brain that would normally read something and think of an awesome bit of YouTube footage... it has shorted out. Shut down. Hung out the Closed Sign. You get what I am saying, right? It has been THREE WEEKS since the last HERE'S TO YOU post and my list of collected clips is still pitifully short. I mean, I can do the post... but it really is shameful. ::sigh::
If you don't know what this HERE'S TO YOU stuff is about, let me explain. This used to be a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. When I read your blogs or you say something in the comments that sparks my imagination (or I hear something and I think of you), chances are good I will click over to YouTube to find footage for you. In the old days you wouldn't have to reach back in your memory bank farther than one week. Now... all bets are off. It could be several weeks ago.
The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of YouTube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.
Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.
Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!
This one is for everyone:
This one is for Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out:
This one is for LC at BACK IN THE USSR:
This one is for Sherry Ellis at The Mama Diaries:
This one is for Arlee Bird at Wrote By Rote:
This one is for Stephen T. McCarthy at FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS:
When getting up seems like hard work you know it's time for a holiday or a candle light dinner with your favorite person. A massage for dessert perhaps and a good song.
ReplyDeleteTake good care of yourself.
Sorry about the blah.
ReplyDeleteThe clip for Sherry is perfect.
Can't remember my last clip...
Thanks for the laughs w/the Ice Bucket fail clips, I'm still chuckling!
ReplyDeleteI was actually stunned that Obama took action in Iraq (reluctant or not)-Id have thought there was some kind of hate crime legislation he'd want to be pushing while Ferguson is still in the news.
ReplyDeleteAnd make no mistake-for the people in Ferguson,I hope for nothing other than a quick end to the violence and to some quick answers on what really happened.
I just wish the discussion could focus on "did the office act irresponsibly or not?"
Does it always have to be racially motivated just because a black youth is involved?
Can't it just be a sadistic cop with an itchy trigger finger? Or maybe even simply an inexperienced cop?
No matter which of the above is true, a young man is dead and that is sad.
But how many people are going to be hurt or killed in all of the rioting that has been veiled as "demonstrations?"
And what good is any of that doing?
Sorry to get on a soapbox...that clip was funny...I miss Jon Oliver on The Daily Show, but I'm too cheap to resubscribe to HBO (too many cable company upcharges to get that channel).
Hope you feel better soon!
LC
I hope the blahs feel better soon my friend!!!
ReplyDeleteBlue ~ Aha. I didn't know that was the trick.
ReplyDeleteAlex ~ I don't know the Quick Answer for how to get featured here. I do know that you have to write about something that makes me think of a video or song. I do like the direction your blog is going (in terms of addressing more things that are about you) so that should help me to make some connections for you....
Leandra ~ Why do we laugh at painful funny things????
LC ~ John Oliver cracks me up. I mostly watch him on YouTube since I don't have HBO either. Of course, the flip side is that most of the topics he is addressing are actually quite serious (and upsetting)... but if humor gets people to pay attention... well, I am still for it!
OE ~ Thanks! I hope so too!!!
GIRL WONDER ~
ReplyDeleteI see you've changed the background color of your blog to a pretty pink. Looks nice!
Thanks for featuring me here. Earlier today at about 2:30 PM I watched the video for me and the one for LC of the blog BACK IN THE USSR. I didn't have time to comment though because I had to crawl into bed and catch some sleep in preparation of tonight's "graveyard" shi(f)t.
But, I shall return tomorrow with stuffs to say. Right now though, there's just enough time left for me to shower, dress, and go face the firing squad. ...Er, well, face the work situation, which really isn't much different from a firing squad.
I shall return and with my 2 cents worth ready to be spent.
Thanks again and... Yak Later.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal Amrican Underground'
Snow Patrol won your BOTB - all is right with the world.
ReplyDeleteThe video clips you featured simply confirm that in the world (or at least the US) today everything is SNAFU!
Loved the Parental Guidance clip! What a cute movie! Sorry about your shoulder and your migraines. Hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteJulie
I hope you're doing OK. I'm in a bit over my head as well right now. Hopefully things change direction for us both soon. The kids around here love this ice bucket challenge and do it all the time -a lot in the pool area which I guess is a good place for that! I usually avoid silly trends but this one seems harmless and even a little productive. I do so hope you are not having a series health issue and plan to get in touch when my nephew heads back home. Vegas was everything and more than he had hoped and of course I thought of you. :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL - I'm just having a drink with Iraq. Sure, Obama.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're feeling better today.
StMc ~ A pretty pink with BUTTERFLIES. It just seemed right:)
ReplyDeleteFAE ~ Well, one thing is right with the world. Snow Patrol won. That is pretty much it. ha!
Julie ~ My migraines are playing second fiddle to my shoulder right now. Although the two together are working much like Abbott & Costello. If they were torturous pain inflicting devices.
Jasmine ~ It is bound to get better. We know that now, right???? For a long while there I wasn't so sure... but now. Well, it is all about phases. You know what... I am glad to be thought of ANY TIME so yay!!!!
Diane ~ That clip cracked me up Diane. Just text me at 10pm and remind me that he was a nightmare! And that bit about "breaches" at the end. OMG. I laugh so hard. Not laughed. But still... every time I watch it.
Two very appropriate clips for my recent posts. Two clips! Two honors! Wow!
ReplyDeleteThe Tractors song has a very relevant message for all of us in this country, but it's the way of the world probably.
The Lambert song is beautiful--so touching.
Thanks!
Lee
Tossing It Out
You know what is interesting, Lee? That song by The Tractors came out in the 90s - maybe even the early 90s - and it was true then and even truer now. I guess all declines happen in waves. If they didn't, the shift would simply be too abrupt and the masses would rebel and then it would be revolution for sure. So... I guess history doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes those bastards at the top learn something and implement it. Ha!
DeleteI was 'this close' to a migraine yesterday too, but thank goodness it didn't catch hold.
ReplyDeleteStupid migraines.
I saw that compilation video. Ouch to some of 'em!
Migraines are sneaky. Glad you outsmarted yours.
DeletePart 1 Of 2:
ReplyDeleteGIRL WONDER ~
I'm back. See? Here I am!
I don't think I ever heard of that guy before, but he was pretty humorous. But it's sad when an "Englisher" makes more sense talking about American conditions than do the American talking heads.
Despite his humor though, as you know, Robin, the subject of police officers and so-called federal "law enforcement" personnel is one that really gets me hot under the collar! Just thinking about cops often makes me feel angry (and I'm really NOT an angry kind of guy).
One website I periodically read is POLICE STATE USA
http://www.policestateusa.com/
And one cannot read that website often and not come to the conclusion that cops are out of control and out of their friggin' minds! I don't mean ALL cops, of course. There still ARE a few good cops out there (one is in Nebraska, one is in Maine, and the other one is in Oregon).
Yes, this country does have a terrorist problem, and most of the terrorists wear uniforms and badges. (Police brutality is widespread, and occurring constantly on a daily basis, in big cities and in little towns.)
Below are just a few stories currently featured on the home page at POLICE STATE USA:
Police beat innocent man in handcuffs, charge him with bleeding on their uniforms
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/henry-davis/
Indiana grandmother suffers violent SWAT raid after a neighbor uses her wireless internet
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/louise-milan/
Police taser 8-year-old girl when babysitter calls for help
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/pierre-police-taser-child/
Police stage realistic hostage drill on nursing home, terrorize unsuspecting staff
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/michelle-meeker/
Family pet shot in the head by plainclothes cops searching at wrong address
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/justice-for-lady-erie-county-ny/
Continued Below...
Part 2 Of 2:
DeleteAnd if someone wanted to REALLY dig in, they could read the following:
The Police State in Review, 2013
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/police-state-review-2013/
That article starts with these two paragraphs:
While some “journalists” would have you believe the biggest stories of 2013 were about twerking celebrities and over-hyped real-life courtroom sagas, much bigger events were happening with far more lasting national significance. The foundation of an American police state is already laid and making its existence known, while most of the country remains blissfully focused on sports, reality shows, establishment pseudo-news, and other distractions.
It would require an encyclopedia to cover all of the injustices, scandals, and brutality that took place in 2013. This list is designed to illustrate certain trends and significant stories from the past year. If Americans don’t fix their apathy and disengagement toward causes that matter, we can expect these trends to continue toward their logical conclusions: an increasingly repressive police state dominating the lives people inside these borders and beyond.
The real reason that the Pentagon is giving away military weapons and equipment like armored vehicles and tank-like battering rams to police departments across the U.S. (even to tiny towns like Podunk, Montana, and Palookaville, Iowa) is because they are preparing the police departments for the time that's coming when martial law is going to be established in this country. (And that's what all those empty FEMA concentration camps are just waiting for - that day when your friendly neighborhood police department, now a paramilitary outfit, is called by the White House to enforce martial law and arrest innocent Americonned Sheeple.)
Of course, it's not something you and I should give much thought to, Robin, nor something we need to alert other Americans about. We believe in You-Know-Who, so we will get raptured out of here before the shit hits the fan. That's a comforting knowledge to have.
[;-)}
Sorry if I took the fun out of it, but you know what this topic does to me.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Stephen-
DeleteWhat makes matters worse (in my opinion), is that the only time these incidents get major attention is when it involves a white cop and a black suspect.
In my opinion, and I think yours, if I interpret you correctly, this is not a racial issue so much as an absolute power corrupting absolutely issue.
And be fair-don't we have that one good cop in Arizona that was either featured in or had a letter printed in The New American a few years back?
And I know for a fact there is at least one good one in Philadelphia, even if I never did get along with the bastige!
Sadly, I do not think this is limited to police. I grew up in a Philly suburb, where firemen were all volunteers, and they were friends and relatives, and I admired them.
Phoenix is the first place I have lived where they are not volunteer, and the handful I have met display the same qualities as those stories above describe.
I remember one young man I took classes with at ASU bragging about how he and his "brothers" would all gang up on anyone who ever crossed them.
Real tough talker...and this was a guy in his thirties, not a high school student as you would expect.
Sadly, even setting aside your thoughts about setting the tone for Federal martial law...these departments simply recruit bullies and reinforce that behavior.
I've never cared much for bullies...that's simply another word for chickenshit.
StMc ~ Well I know/knew how worked up you get about the militarization of the police which is why you got this clip. It is actually rare for anyone in The Biz (that would be the TV biz) to even talk about how Crazy it is. John Oliver doesn't go so far as to fill in what is between those dots... but any thinking person should be scratching their heads after watching that and wondering, "Why do these tiny towns need armored vehicles? Why is this so pervasive that it is happening everywhere?"
DeleteI bought a hydroponic system a while back (thinking that I would muster the energy to get it going... blah blah blah) and it is still assembled in my garage, but that is a whole other blog really. Anyway, about the time I bought it I remember reading about how SWAT scared the crap out of some family in the midwest. Their raid was solely based on the fact that they knew this family had a hydroponic system and thought they might have pot in there. Turns out, no pot, just tomatoes and other veggies. I don't think their system was much bigger than what I have. Not saying that reading that kept me from putting mine together (migraines, I am looking at you), but... it didn't make me enthusiastic either. About the last thing I need (or anyone needs, really) is for SWAT to come barreling through my door - and likely shooting my dog - because I am growing cucumbers and tomatoes in my garage.
LC ~ I think racially charged brutality will always make the airwaves before the other kind. Not saying that there isn't plenty of the other kind. I think it is very much like StMc quoted from that Police State in Review article... If the media actually broadcast all of the cases of police brutality and showed a VERY REAL CONCERN about a possible police state and martial law... Well, folks would get excited about it. But they don't. And so the people don't. Just that simple. Because, as we all know, if CNN isn't talking about it... well, then it just isn't happening. CNN would never fail to not completely, honorable, adequately, truthfully, and without bias report The News. So, really, nothing to see here folks. Move along.
LC ~
DeleteYes, you've got a handle on my viewpoint regarding this issue.
No one could follow the websites PoliceMisconduct.net, Police State USA, and Blogspot's own Pro Libertate for long without realizing that police brutality is widespread and it affects every race and both genders.
For sure the communists in the media like to focus on the White Cop / Black Victim cases because they help to promote communism's agenda, but I generally do not like cops at all, with good reason, and I am a White, law-abiding man. So that should say plenty.
And the good (former) Arizona Sheriff you were trying to remember is Richard Mack:
http://xtremelyun-pcandunrepentant.blogspot.com/2009/10/finally-law-enforcement-officer-i.html
But, you know, if we add too many good cops to my list then my joke about there being a few good cops ceases to work as a joke.
What's amazing to me is that they are configuring everything in preparation for martial law as most Americans sit in front of their boob tubes and watch "unreality" TV programs. And when they finally blow the whistle and institute martial law - and tanks are rolling down Main Street in Palookaville and Nowhereburg - the Americonned Sheeple are going to say (to quote my Brother) "But how were we to know?" SHEESH!
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
ROBIN ~
Delete>>... and likely shooting my dog - because I am growing cucumbers and tomatoes in my garage.
Oh, yeah, they have become really excited about shooting dogs - it's now one of their favorite pastimes. If anyone doesn't believe that, they can try Googling "POLICE OFFICER SHOOTS DOG" and see the results they get. To many cops, shooting the family dog has become a new sport.
Girl Wonder, if you ever do get that hydroponic system set up, would you mind sending me some of your "veggies" to smoke--- er, I mean, "eat". Would you mind sending me some of your veggies to EAT?
*Wink!-Wink!*
~ Stephen
I thought Snow Patrol might win. Glad to hear the WIP is coming along. Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Snow Patrol win didn't surprise me either. Just happy that The Baseballs did as well as they did. :) Thank you... Have a great weekend!
DeleteYay for tremendous strides on your WIP! Nothing better. Best feeling!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are working on your WiP. I always did wonder about why you picked people cool to know it comes from comments or blogs.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on making great strides on your WIP!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great party! You're right. You don't pick bad footage. Really enjoyed seeing what you connected with the blogs you chose to feature. Great job.
ReplyDeleteObama and the USSR. Seems to fit. I heard that just before the Senate elections he is planning to threaten to slap Putin across the face.
ReplyDeleteStephen is absolutely right. Do away with law enforcement. That is logical. After all, the First Amendment guarantees us the right to loot.
I think your reply about law enforcement is a bit tongue-in-cheek. I think that what StMc means (and I agree with him) is that law enforcement as it is today is not what The Founding Fathers had in mind. They didn't/don't want law enforcement to be militarized and used as a weapon against We The People AND I remember reading one of his posts about the LA riots (he lived there at the time) and apparently there wasn't even ONE law officer who was brave enough to come out during the looting and rioting that happened back then.
DeleteI think that you both (and I) can agree that this country is sitting in a sad state right now, and the police departments are not acting like part of the solution much of the time. And that is sad.
Robin: Yes, I agree with both of you. It was tongue and cheek. We are trapped in a world we did not create. America is divided. We are given only two choices, and that is not the way it was designed. As a nation, we have lost the ability to speak to one another.
DeleteI hope you feel better soon. It's hard to feel good when you're in pain. It sucks a little of your energy from you. Good to hear you're making progress on the WiP. I'm like you, if I'm doing well on one, I am most likely slacking on the other. We do our best. That's all we can do.
ReplyDelete