Nation of Cowards

Our erstwhile new Attorney General, the first African American Attorney General, figured his appointment merited a stab at the citizens of the US, and I can only assume, just the white ones. He called us a nation of cowards when it came to discussing race in the US. Apparently a couple of people in his immediate lineage had no trouble with race issues judging from his appearance, but if he is convinced we are all cowards, and he is the attorney General, he must be right.

So it is only fitting that I apologize on the part of white folk everywhere. Sorry for the slavery stuff, sorry we took your land, sorry about Custer, sorry about the holocaust, sorry that your people are:

misunderstood
downtrodden
unfairly treated
unloved
unwanted
poor
jobless
homeless
illiterate
undereducated
ignored by the system
whatever

There, we're over the apology crap now lets move on and instead of contributing to the problems or standing in a corner bitching, try to solve them together. By the way, anyone that has to have some condition placed in front of the word American, say "African American" has missed the point.

Still Waiting

Well Porkulus, the spending package is official, has been for a while now and I am still waiting to feel stimulated, one way or the other. The houses on either side of mine are still empty, with weed strewn yards giving them neighborhood that "who wants to live here" feeling. I don't, but since our house is now worth half of what I paid for it, I guess we'll stay. The one thing I worried about when I left the military was getting stuck in a crappy neighborhood and that fear has come to pass. My own fault for violating Phos directive number one - never buy anything large without wheels on it.

Wx has warmed, been in the 80s already and looks to stay that way through the upcoming week. Bad news for the huskies - we'll have to find Yukon's fan. I don't mind so much. You'll probably see an uptick in steroid stocks, that is because the baseball cactus league started yesterday. The owners have their circus animals out on the field practicing for another season of bilking morons out of their hard earned money to watch animals fetch a ball. Nice racket...

Anyway, here's wishing you all some nice sunny days...

On the Loaf

One day I am going to take my time traveling to Tucson and check out some of the sites. One is Picacho Peak, a landform which strongly resembles a volcanic neck, but is in fact some tilted faulted layers of ancient lava flows. It is also, believe it or not, the site of one of the last battles in the civil war. There is an Ostrich ranch South of that, it'd be fun to see those, maybe give Little Lamb a break and pick up some ostrich chops for dinner instead of any lamb products.

There are a couple of ranges of mountains that would be interesting to explore, the "Hotpaws" and the Catalina Mountains. Mt Lemmon is one of the peaks in the Catalinas, a very popular place to escape the heat in summer.

Mrs Phos and I are usually in a hurry to get down there and maximize time with my son and his family, so I guess the exploring is going to have to wait a while. My picture taking is goign to have to be confined to the grandson and taking quick shots out the car window...

Price of Oranges

As developers pillage the land in Arizona they stop watering the orange trees and let them die. Kind of makes developers and builders greedy murdering rapists doesn't it? One of them owns the Phoenix Cardinals, meaning he was able to squeeze enough blood from the land that he could finance his own pack of trained chimps to compete in the NFL. Seems as though evil has no bounds.

Alive and Kickin'

Back from the Tucson expedition and it was a hoot.

We saw:

The "Hotpaws Range," named after the rest stop were the sidewalk gets a bit too warm for pups.

The Gem show

Minerals

Fossils

Fluorescent Minerals

Hit our favorite bookstore

A weird motorcycle

A good time was had by all!!!

Gone South

Going to be down South for a few days, see you all when I get back!!

Sitting Ducks

There are many species of duck, but two main types, Dabblers and Divers. Divers head straight for the bottom of the pond, one of the few times aside from skin diving, a game of leaster while playing Sheep’s Head, and golf that being near the bottom is a good thing. Dabblers peck around at the surface in their search for food. When all things are said and done I find myself being of the Dabbler persuasion. I can’ think of too many things I am not interested in, or have been interested in at one time or another. The only situation in which I even came close to being a diver is my courtship and ensuing commitment to Mrs. Phos, proving to be the best and most rewarding long term commitment I have ever made to anything.

Being a diver means total commitment to one’s vocation, whether top chef, consummate artist, or trash hauler. I am currently reading a book titled “Culinary Artistry.” In the first chapter there is a table delineating the differences between burger flipper, chef, and culinary artist. When it comes to cooking I have no pretentions – while I’ll put my barbeque ribs up against anyone’s, I am a little North of burger flipper and a long ways South of chef, never mind culinary artist. A burger flipper is satisfied he or she has done their job when a customer leaves full. The chef is going for delicious, while the culinary artist is going for memorable. The chef has made a strong commitment to his or her craft, going through formal training, paying dues in a professional kitchen and working their way up to the top of their craft. The culinary artist takes that a step further, working outside the box to come up with unique food that not only pleases but leaves a lasting impression. Arguably preparation of food is doomed to the craft label because it is born of necessity. People do not have to create art to survive, but people do have to cook. Permanence is another factor, food no matter how innovative is consumed where as art can be hung on a wall, posted to a web site, or placed in a curio cabinet. Regardless my cooking is somewhere between delicious and filing.

Being a Dabbler isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I have always been more interested in the process vice the end product and dabbling has allowed me an understanding of how things have come about. On the down side I haven’t much to show for my infatuation for different things, a passing fancy that results in a few prints, a couple photos, and a few sheets of paper with some writing on them. Most of what I have done is stored in the noggin, leaving very little for posterity. It can also result in a string of unfinished projects lying about the house and a large eclectic collection of books and tools, bringing down the wrath of Mrs. Phos. It also leaves me with the nagging question of what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe I’ll just be a Dabbler; it’s not so bad after all.

Mute Monday: Addiction

I Can See Clearly Now, the Rain is Gone...

Lots of rain last night and this morning, though it has cleared and made for a beautiful day here in the Valley of the Sun. Just don't get too excited, part two is rolling into the state tomorrow...

Getting Porked

Well, "Spendulus," the new stimulus (now a stimulus and spending bill) package is about to make a debut. Kind of reminds me of people who max out their credit cards then run out and apply for a new one so they can keep on buying crap, but our First African American President assures me it will make everything all right, so who am I to argue, aside from one of the schmucks that will wind up picking up the tab. Interesting to see how free the gov't is with our money, as well as my grandchild's money because it will take a very long time to pay this debt off and that is considering the gov't doesn't decide they need yet another stimulus package down the road. I understand tax cuts don't work, but I don't see how throwing money at a problem will help either. If the gov't was serious they would push to abrogate NAFTA and nay other trade agreement we have blundered in to and go back to only trading with countries that will give us the same breaks we give them. If the gov't was serious about fixing the problem where is a cut in the payroll tax that would put more money in my pocket, where is the ire over the present illegal immigrant situation and the passage of a tough Buy American clause that would put more jobs out thee for us.

The present package is nothing but a big steaming pile of partisan pork, much of it liberal desires that have been thwarted over the past eight years or so. Why aren't the American people up in arms over their representative'sintransigence? And above all what has happened to the independent revolutionary spirit in this country, the work ethic that dictates you work hard to make your way up the ladder?

I do hope some good comes of Spendulus, but I have some severe doubts. I do believe a little revolution now and again helps keep a republic healthy and that we are long overdue.

There and Back Again

Ok, not a very original title, but I am still trying to catch up from the trip to Tucson. It was a hoot to say the least, in fact I tried to talk Mrs. Phos into staying another day. All for naught and I was back at work bright and early this morning. Our grandson has grown by leaps and bounds, tlaks really well for a two year old and repeats everything that is said. Needless to say Ol' Phos had to watch his language around the tyke. I don't want to be the one to teach him the 7 bad words (13 if you're a sailor).

I cooked up a bunch of food including red beans and rice, ribs, hot legs (like hot wings 'cept different), and some refried beans. That stuff was frozen for later so they wouldn;t have to cook too much after we left. Even got lucky and scored some cheap porterhouse steaks, grilled those up and served 'em with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Not too bad. Stayed up to all hours playign video games and watching U-Tube (Angry Video Game nerd and Is it a Good Idea to Microwave This are a hoot) and had such a good time I really didn't want to leave.

I did miss you all and plan to come by and pay a visit tomorrow!!!