Poker Mix

Here's another song on the Poker Mix CD. Songs about gambling, luck, taking chances and winning.


Taking a Chance on Love
Sung by: Renee Olmstead
Writers: Latouche/Fetter/Duke


Here I go again
I hear those trumpets blow again
All aglow again
Taking a chance on love

Here I slide again
About to take that ride again
Starry eyed again
Taking a chance on love

I thought that cards were a frame-up
I never would try
Now I'm taking that game up
And the ace of hearts is high

Things are mending now
I see a rainbow blending now
We'll have a happy ending now
Taking a chance on love

Here I slip again
About to take that trip again
I got that grip again
Taking a chance on love

Now I prove again
That I can make life move again
I'm in a grove again
Taking a chance on love

I walk around with a horseshoe
In clover I lie
And brother rabbit of course you
Better kiss your foot good-bye

On that ball again
I'm riding for a fall again
I'm gonna give my all again
Taking a chance on love


Want to hear it?

Poker Mix

Last night my pal Marlene had a Girl's Night Poker Party. Wine, Women and Song. No I didn't win, but I had a few good hands.

I made a Poker Mix CD as a party favor for the guests. Songs about Luck, Taking Chances, Gambling, Fun. I'm the perfect one for this task as I have 2,600 songs on my ipod.

Something Big

You're walkin' along the street, or you're at a party,
Or else you're alone and then you suddenly dig,
You're looking' in someone's eyes, you suddenly realize
That this could be the start of something big.

You're lunching at Twenty-One and watchin' your diet,
Declining a charlotte russe, accepting a fig,
When out of a clear blue sky, it's suddenly gal and guy,
And this could be the start of something big.

There's no controlling the unrolling of your fate, my friend,
Who knows what's written in the magic book.
But when a lover you discover at the gate my friend,
Invite him in without a second look.

You're up in an aeroplane or dining at Sardi's,
Or lying at Malibu alone on the sand,
You suddenly hear a bell, and right away you can tell
That this could be the start of something grand.

This could be the start of something very big,
Why don't you play your part?
Please give your heart to me and see.
This could be the start of something wonderful,

Why don't you take a chance?
Just try romance with me and see.

You're watchin' the sun come up and countin' your money,
Or else in a dim cafe you're ordering wine,
Then suddenly there he is, and you wanna be where he is,
And this must be the start of something
This could be the heart of something
This could be the start of something big.


Want to Hear It?

That's Entertainment

Finally some movies are coming out that you'd like to see. Pride and Prejudice (the best chick book ever) written by Jane Austen (the best chick novelist ever).


Steve Tyrell has a new CD out!




And next week, Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash movie starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.


I Walk The Line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line

You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

Happy Birthday Marines

I want to wish my favorite marines (one who cannot be mentioned because he is shy) and Lt. Col Pat Malay a Happy 230th Birthday! Did you see the fabulous comments Lt. Col made when I posted about him last?

And if you wish to buy a marine a birthday present, Congressman Cline has a wish list (via Powerline)

A message from the Kline campaign

John Kline is the former Marine Colonel who was entrusted with the nuclear football under Presidents Carter and Reagan. In the course of his 25 years in the Corps, John served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, commanded all Marine aviation forces in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, flew "Marine One," the Presidential helicopter, and served as program development officer at Headquarters Marine Corps. We're proud to count him a friend.

Today he represents Minnesota's second Congressional district and is gearing up for a reelection campaign against Cindy Sheehan's new friend, Coleen Rowley. Yesterday we received the following message from the Kline campaign:

As you may have already heard, Congressman John & Vicky Kline's son, Major Dan Kline, is currently serving as a Black Hawk Helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne Division in the Sunni Triangle region of Iraq. At Vicky's insistence, Dan has prepared a list of supplies that would greatly enhance the daily lives of his fellow soldiers.

The network of Congressman Kline's supporters has always been more than generous in our previous charitable endeavors like "Toys for Tots," which is why we're coming to you first to assist us in honoring these brave young soldiers. The following items are what we are still looking to collect:

-DVDs (used or new)
-Movie posters or other decorative (music, television, plays, etc...)
posters
-Small fake plants or bushes
-Holiday Decorations
-Any other appropriate (non-monetary) items

We'll be collecting these items in the Kline campaign office, whereupon the items will then be sent directly to the 101st Airborne Division, c/o Major Dan Kline. If you're interested in helping, please either drop off or mail your non-monetary donations to:

Kline for Congress
101 West Burnsville Pkwy, Suite #104
Burnsville, MN 55337

John Doolittle's Voters Reject Him

There is nothing to be happy about today. We lost.

But kind of funny that with his own constituents, John Doolittle's arguments failed. Only 5 counties approved Prop 77, three of whom have been repped by Doolittle for 25 years. In Placer, El Dorado and Nevada Counties, voters approved Prop 77, despite having their own guy tell them that it would hurt him.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Says Yes on 75

Or at least this one member does!

You may not know it, but I'm a member of the IBEW. I've served as a steward and attend all the union meetings. And my Chief Steward appreciates my assistance. I support the union's efforts to create good working conditions and salary for it's members.

But I'm voting Yes on 75.

Many of my co-workers take The Irish Lass voting guide with them to the polls, but a few have asked my why, as a union member, I'm supporting 75.

In private sector labor negotiations, there are both active and silent participants at the table. Management and labor are active negotiators, but shareholders and customers have a stake and no one can afford to ignore them. Senior management will quickly lose their jobs if the shareholders are dissatisfied with results. Labor cannot overreach because the customers will abandon them. Both sides know that there is a limit to how much they gain.

In public sector negotiations, labor tries to hold both active seats at the table. By using their coerced dues money to contribute to political candidates, they can assure that their opposites in the negotiation are really their allies. Few legislators, councilpersons, or school board members can be elected in California's cities unless they are pro-labor. With the active negotiators united, the silent participants (taxpayers, parents, citizens) can easily be ignored.

If my company management gave me a contract that allowed me to retire early with full pay and benefits, they would be fired. The company couldn't afford it, even though it would be personally fabulous for me. But when Gray Davis and his legislature reclassified hundreds of employees as public safety workers, granting them the most generous retirement in the country, Union leaders contributed millions of dollars to his campaign coffers to make sure his management remained in power. Labor was essentially negotiating with itself.

The most recent Wisconsin survey the Comparative Study of Major Public Employee Retirement Systems was published in December 2003, with data through 2002. It looked at everything from the basic benefits themselves to employee and employer contributions, retirement age, how an employee's final salary is computed and cost-of-living adjustments.

The report doesn't examine special benefits for public safety employees, where California policy is indisputably at the extreme end of generosity, granting pensions that give Highway Patrol officers and most local police and firefighters 90 percent or more of their final salary for life and allow them to retire with full benefits as early as age 50.

But even the state's less generous benefits for the general work force are at the high end of the national spectrum. California's standard retirement formula is known as "2 percent at 55," which means that a retiree gets a pension equal to 2 percent for each year worked and can retire with that benefit as young as age 55. Employees who work 30 years for the state and quit at 55, then, get pensions of 60 percent of their final salary.

Workers who stay longer see their final pay multiplied by a progressively larger factor, up to 2.5 percent per year worked at age 63. So an employee who retires with 30 years service at age 63 would get a pension equal to 75 percent of his or her final salary.

-Daniel Weintraub, San Diego Union Tribune, October 26, 2005

I understand why the union members want better and better salaries and retirement. Don't we all?

But as shareholders in the state of California, we have to reclaim our right to set the priorities for our government spending. As long as the union dominates, our priorities cannot be given fair hearing.

Proposition 75 does not prohibit union members from representing their members politically, but it creates a hurdle that will require them to focus on the issues that are most important to their members and diminish their dominance a little.

The Supremes

Tomorrow I'm going in for a dental procedure and they're going to use Sedation Dentistry. My dentist, Hector Fernandez, tells me that I'll have amnesia when it's done. If I'm going to lose my memory, it seems like I should be doing something risque that I'd be embarrassed about if I remembered. Who knows, maybe I will.

But really I want to tell you about the small world we live in. Carolyn, my office mate,(we sit across from each other in our cubies) is a native New Yorker. She's just a little interested in politics, but her Grandpa was a Republican politico and served as Boxing Commissioner for New York state. And an Italian. Last Monday my pal's Mom called all excited about the nomination of Sam Alito for the Supreme Court. It seems that they were family friends, and her Grandpa had encoured Sam to apply to Princeton, At the time Princeton was a W.A.S.P. school, but her Grandpa told Sam the teenager, "You're very smart -- they'll have to accept you." Carolyn's mom was excited and talked about Sam's 91 year old mother and how she'd love to see her again.

I'm sure she'd be very upset to read this report from Matt Drudge

JUDGE ALITO'S MOTHER HARASSED BY PRESS
Thu Nov 03 2005 16:33:47 ET

The DRUDGE REPORT has learned from exclusive sources that Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s 90 year-old mother Rose has become a prisoner in her own Hamilton, NJ home because of a barrage of media requests.

The quiet neighborhood Mrs. Alito has lived in for over 50 years has been turned upside down all week by a swarm of national reporters who have phoned and shown up at the doorstep of not only her but many of her neighbors.

In the last 24 hours alone, she and her neighbors have been contacted by national reporters from NEWSWEEK, CBS’ “EARLY SHOW,” THE BOSTON GLOBE and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Outside of a trip to a local pizzeria and quick junket to her son’s home an hour and a half away, Rose Alito has been stuck inside all week.

One neighbor, who asked the DRUDGE REPORT to withhold their name so the press wouldn’t call them at home, was stunned at the treatment the 90 year-old grandmother had received. “Mama Alito is just a sweet lady and we don’t understand why she is being hounded by these reporters. She can’t even go outside and tend to her fall flowers. She’s just a proud mother, what do they want?”

When told of the latest Alito episode one Washington insider said, “Why are they harassing Judge Alito’s 90 year-old mother when he has written over 350 legal opinions? The media should leave Judge Alito’s mother alone. ”

Developing...

Blog Contest

You may know that I've started another blog, Things You Should Do in California. Please stop on over and comment on one or more of the 100 Things. Is it Piano Bars, Sports Car Racing, Surfing or Mud Baths that turn you on? Would you rather hike, drink or shop? My Bear Flag League pals may remember when I first started the list, as many of you helped suggest items to include for my application to serve on Governor Schwarzenneger's California Tourism Commission.

To build traffic, I'm going to be having a series of contests with great prizes. From November 1st to 7th, blog about the Best Breakfast in California, add me to your sidebar, send me a link to the post at my new email Things You Should Do @ hotmail dot com (leave out the spaces) and the one who sends me the most traffic will receive a gift certificate to Paragary's, one of Sacramento's finest restaurant groups.

Keep coming back for more contests - We'll be looking for the Best Burgers, Pies, Mexican Food and More.

And please, tell your blogging friends about Things You Should Do.

Getting My Votes Out, One at a Time

On Friday, my lesbian, democrat friend at work came to me with questions about her absentee ballot. As I gave her the straight (no pun intended) scoop about each of the initiatives and gave her my recommendation, she said I agree with that.

Aren't I good!!

I've been telling my friends we have a straight flush Yes on 73, Yes on 74, Yes 75, Yes on 76, Yes on 77. Do we have any artist readers who could do a poker visual with that hand?

Happy Birthday To Me
I've been having a grand time. First the weekend to Napa, then last Saturday night a full-on dance party with a dj, bartender, delish food and fab decorations.

And the Gov sent me a letter!