Ungodly Hour Director's Cut Part 1...

OK, this storm’s been brewing for a while.  So it’s liable to be totally incoherent.

Thoughts and ideas are elusive creatures.  It’s difficult to fit them for cement shoes.

Which, I think, is why we have so much trouble with the concept of substance.  Thoughts, ideas, emotions are things of ether.  Bringing them into the physical diminishes them a bit.

The word bird, is not the bird itself.  The word is a symbol, a reflection.  The word is Plato’s cave.

So any word, regardless of where it supposedly came from, is not the thing itself.

I think we all need to remember that from time to time….

 

Oh for the presence of my Deary Departed.  This would have been a day of sitting over coffee, with something like ‘Art Of The Western World’ or old Loony Tunes Playing and the long conversation progressing.  He would have either made me explain the wild idea better or said something that would make the pieces click….

Left out here on my own, I have trouble finding words.

And when I find them they always seem… lacking.

But well…

There are words that readily spring to mind

Ungodly Hour

Divide & Conquer

These words have been reoccurring for a while.

Watching videos of the feeding frenzy that black Friday has become sent those rippling through my thoughts again.
The PTB have mastered Divide & Conquer.

And we are living in an Ungodly Hour.

 Interesting that they disabled the embedding on this video...

Seriously people, what would Jesus say about this sort of behavior in honor of his Birthday?

(Side note to the creator of the cartoon; I love this image, it’s got everything I need to illustrate the point.  I’ll be happy to give credit where credit is do with a citation.  If you have an objection to its use, please let me know and I'll change it

I found the cartoon at:
http://arewepayingattention.tumblr.com/post/5378601097/idolatry

Rather interesting…)

Yes, Conservative Corporate Jesus would be cool with it.

But is it his birth keeping the Christ in Christmas?

Really?
If that’s the case you need to revise your calendar cuz Conservative Corporate Jesus was born in the 80s.  His father was Ronald Reagan.  His mothers in the unimmaculate conception are the whores of New York, Hollywood, and Washington.

He’s got a lot of Mothers.

Conservative Corporate Jesus is the spawn of Capitalism.  He was conceived in the 80’s with Gordon Gekko...

Conservative Corporate Jesus is the real life Buddy Christ, fully researched, branded, and market tested.  Brought to you by the makers of your gilded cage.

Conservative Corporate Jesus is a wedge in a split.

Cuz, for the last month and all the next, while we pay tribute to the Great Gods of Greed, Commerce, and the Corporate State, we will squabble among ourselves about what it is we are celebrating.

And fight like rabid dogs for the few cheap crumbs our betters throw out of the goodness of their hearts.

Where’s the charity and good will to men in black Friday?  The day that officially kicks off the celebration of Christmas.  How is it Christian to make people work on a holiday so you can buy some cheap ass TV?

If your God is truly present in this festive spirit you’ve missed the substance of the words.

And if you shopped yesterday or any time before 9am this morning you are a disciple of Conservative Corporate Jesus and I don't want to hear any hypocritical BS about how sacred and holy the season is....

Wal-Mart Black Friday fight for TV 2013 (+playlist)

No, I don't have ADD...

At one point this morning I got up and went into the pink room, that's what we're calling the 2nd bedroom on the first floor,

Cuz it's very pink, to get a better view of the kestrel, who had just caught a mouse in the front pasture.  While standing at the front window I caught sight of my father-in-law's lighthouse.  My in-laws did some dabbling with oils paints years back and Steve and I got one of his father's lighthouse series.
I've always liked this painting and I
really want to get it up on a wall.

While standing at the front window, pondering the name Little Hawk and rejecting it, cuz he might be sensitive about his size, I could see into the hallway, and it occurred that the space right outside my door would be a good place for my father-in-law's lighthouse.
And the impulse to get hammer and a nail flashed through my being.
And then I remembered what I'd gone into the pink room for.
And then noticed that the fire needed prodding.
The hawk was just sitting on a post, so I prodded the fire and returned to the post I was in the middle of.
And so began another day of side tracking and lost pursuit.
I did get some things done.  A couple of loads of laundry, I straightened up the dry goods cabinet.  Which was in semi-sad shape after the recent celebration.  I collected more branches.
I also chased the dogs a little more than I'd like.
I did get the post done.
I cleaned up the kitchen.
I made cheesy  potato and ham casserole for dinner.
I did dishes.
I did not get the picture on the wall.
I saw Rusty and Ruth out playing around the big tree at the end of the drive.
As mentioned the resident hawk put in an eye catching appearance.
Just a little while ago I heard an owl outside.

My fireplace:

Has truly become a place of fire.

And I'm pondering the true meaning of hotbed, while I wait for one log to burn down so I can throw another log on the fire and go to bed.

Jethro was happy sleeping with his dogs.

 

And Oz found a new comfy spot.

FBE...

Or FaceBook echo.
It occurs that a lot of my political/social observations occur as random FaceBook comments lately.
And FB being FB, I'm not sure anybody even reads them.
Not that I think anybody is really reading the blog, but there's more of a potential here than there.....
So, there's gonna be FBEs here from time to time.  Starting with this one.
I think it's worth tossing this pebble into the pond.

Ya know, if we all want things to change in this country all it would take is a minor public sacrifice.
Don't shop this Christmas.
Give handmade gifts, give someone your time or your assistance instead of some cheap coffee mug.  Be gauche give cash.
Stay home this weekend.  Save gas, spend time improving your surroundings in some fashion.  Catch up on whatever it is you need to catch up.  Take a nap, read a book, give yourself a facial and a manicure, take a long, hot, soak in the tub, instead.
If you must shop, shop local, shop direct.  Go to craft fairs and buy direct from the artist.  Shop second hand and antique.  Shop small and unique.
And consider this.

If everybody spent a relaxing weekend at home this Thanksgiving...

The sales the following couple of weeks would be even better! 

Cuz the retailers would freak out over the massive surplus bursting out of their storerooms and try to move it as fast as they could.

Taking money out of Christmas or, at least distributing it lower down the ladder,  Would be a severe blow to the corporate capitalist model.  Many of the large retailers gamble on making the bulk of their income at Christmas....

But we all know that the American population, like sheep at a slaughter house, are gonna line up for the fleecing...

MGA...

He ain't heavy...

How AWESOME was that?

Saturday was our first Thanksgiving here.
We're debating the name for the place, so far we've been calling it The Farm.  I'm lobbying for Happy Dale.
We have the staircase and everything.  Though we'd have to plant some elderberry bushes....
But Satuday was our Thanksgiving dinner.
And all in all, we did good.
We got off to a rough start by loosing power to half of the house for a few hours.  We thought it was a blown fuse, till fiddling with fuses for quite awhile didn't fix the problem.  But one call to the landlord and there was an electrician out in a very short time.  Turns out there's something up with the box at the pole.  He did a short term fix and now we're waiting to see what they decide to do.
The electric in this place is really old.  If they decide to change out the fuse box, they may have to rewire.  But I'm not expecting to hear anything till next week.
And what's Thanksgiving without some sort of hurdle?  Really, is it a family holiday without some sort of trial in the day?

When I was a kid, every Thanksgiving the kitchen drain backed up and we had unexpected company.
And the year we had Thanksgiving early, cuz we were planning on being in Chicago for the holiday, the kitchen drain backed up and we had extra unexpected company...

After the glitch we got to frenzied work and put together a extensive spread of TV munchies and a full Thanksgiving dinner, all the trimmings.  Including fresh baked, made from scratch rolls.  Which turned out pretty well.
And fresh baked, made from scratch bread.  Which didn't,



It's my new recipe from the Baking bread post.  I shaped the whole batch into one big loaf.  It didn't cook all the way through.  But it went in with a pie and I think it was too close to the top element of the oven.  Maybe if it were closer to the bottom element the results would be better.  Gonna try it again before I declare a total failure.  That's an idea for the week.

Our oven kinda sucks.
It's small and electric.  So there's really only one rack that's optimal for use.
With 2 racks in there something's too close to either the top or the bottom element.
The turkey, for Thanksgiving went into a larger oven out in the garage.  The ham went out on the Weber Kettle.
Baking cookies requires juggling pans.
It's a challenge.





But all in all, we did good.
One of the first things that had to happen, and it happened over the last week, was getting the kitchen cleaned out and serviceable.  Not the easiest thing.  K & I both like to cook and we're trying to consolidate 2 fairly well equipped kitchens into one.  We've got multiple of multiples of all sorts of things.
And we both work and we both have animals to take care of, and there's really not all that many hours in most days.
So the kitchen is going slow.  But it's a step further along.  Now what looked like:

 

And then this:

And that was after a lot of stuff had been put away.

Now looks like this:

The chairs came from the building out back.

It's still far from done.
But we can cook and serve a Thanksgiving Dinner in it.  Today, I'm gonna get the windows taped up.  Right now it's like a wind tunnel in there.

And Saturday Nov. 23, 2013 was the 50th. anniversary of Dr Who.  The world's longest running Science Fiction TV show.

And for once, I got to watch the world wide simulcast.  I was a part of the 10 million plus audience Saturday night.  10 million and counting, cuz that figure doesn't include people who watched the 50th in theaters or on the net.
It was awesome.
The episode answered and posed questions and left me wondering about the future of our beloved Time Lord.
Can't wait for Christmas day!

And since I got distracted and didn't finish this post yesterday this is a Monday post.  Today I'm in a optimistic mood.  No, everything's not perfect.  The house still needs lots of work.  I'm totally broke for the next week.  There are still big concerns and worry in the mix.  I'm still pondering an Ungodly Hour.
But I don't have to go anywhere this week.  I have a roof over my head and food in the fridge.
So it's not all bad.
I've named our resident squirrels Rusty & Ruth.  Would be cool if they were a mated pair.  Unfortunately, they seem to be nesting in the back building somewhere.  That may be a problem way down the line.
Since we are, at present time small rodentless...

I want a rat.  Rats are better pets than hamsters.

Basil, the long tailed hamster.

K's more of a rabbit person.
But at the moment we are rodentless, at least pet wise.  The body count on mice stands at five so far this season.
But since there is a lack of small, furry pets to eat kitchen scraps, they are going out to the horse pasture.  What the horses don't eat, Rusty & Ruth, and Bob, the bunny that lives in the barn, will get.  The horses are enjoying picking through the piles.  So far nobody likes cabbage.  There's a rush for the carrot bits and Rose and Koda will both take the time to get every last bit of carrot peels.  Celery has been a big hit.
Still pondering a name for the Kestrel.  Considering Pippin or Fred or Kenneth.
Today we are experimenting with the fireplaces.  So I get to, legitimately play with fire.
Indoors yet.
I have hope for better things to come....

Wah Hoo!! Today's the Day!

Ungodly hour part deux....

Not that I'm up at an ungodly hour today.
But some of the things that have been on my mind lately lead me to that title and they are still running around my head this morning.
Cuz we're also coming up on the annual Christian hissy fit.
And it all clashes.
And trying to wrangle all that clashing into orderly thought is not coming easily this morning.
And now there's someone ringing the doorbell...

Just had the handy guys out taking a look at the barn, kinda anxious to hear what is going to happen.  We, those of us in residence and pending residence, want to save the barn, and not for purely selfish reasons either...
Wow, stealth synchronicity kicking in.
Cuz our barn:

 Is kinda an interesting real time parallel occurrence.
Our old barn, with the sign painted, we think, 46 years ago, symbolizes what is great about the idea of this country.  It stands for all that we could and should be.
And I still don't wholly agree with the whole wording.
Yes the followers of Christ had a big hand in settling and building this country.  But so did the followers of many other beliefs.
And the guys who laid the foundation were a bunch of rational humanists and Deists, in full revolt against Christian oppression and intolerance.  Anybody that seriously believes that the guys who cobbled together the Constitution actually wanted this to be a Christian nation are seriously deluded.
And to those of you who want to argue the point, I challenge you to bring me quotes from any of the major names supporting a religious government.  Maybe the simple act of trying to find one will penetrate all the layers of delusion.
But that aside...
The barn is a symbol of our, professed, values.
And it's coming up against the modern capitalist system.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with the barn.  Will the owners decide to attempt to save something old and symbolic.
Or will they decide to cut losses and demolish it?
And it's Thanksgiving....
Jeez, this has all the making of a Hallmark Christmas special.
And that still isn't the post I set out to write.  The wild muses are still dancing around my head.  But they are slippery and elusive and I'm outta time.
Cuz it is Thanksgiving, and our Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and there's a big house to clean, and I'm burning serious daylight right now.
Tomorrow is a BIG day.
Tomorrow we're having Who for Thanksgiving!