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!

The Birthday Extravaganza Begins

Last weekend started the cellebrations for my big 5-0 Birthday Bashes. Yes, multiple bashes. After all, I'm worth it!

The Mountain Mama, Viking Lass, Saturday Morning Sale-er and the Twisted Gypsey accompanied me to Napa and the Embassy Suites last Friday. We checked into our deluxe but crowded accomodations and began the party. Free wine at the manager's happy hour, a fabulous dinner at Uva Trattoria with wine and palm readings (I'm going to meet a new man says the Mountain Mama). Uva had a great band for dancing and the bandleader told the Viking Lass and I that our dancing inspired him. ;^D

Next we were off to Downtown Joe's where the world famous Twanna Turner (daughter of Ike) was performing. She isn't famous for her singing, which was strictly bar band, but for her Chaka Kahn-like hair. Sorry, but it wasn't like seing Tina perform.

We heard there was a piano bar at the Silverado, so off in a cab we went. The driver told us a Bush joke and I told him - FYI, I'm sure for the first time, you have one hundred percent Republican women in your cab. He laughed and said, Good, I'm Republican too.

But we were wrong. Although Silverado was gorgeous, there was no piano bar. So we went home.

Bag, Borrow or Steal -- Like Netflix for Purses

I have just signed up to promote the coolest business idea. Borrowing Designer Purses! You sign up with your credit card and pick out a completely fab purse from the thousands of purses in their inventory. All the top designer brands - Coach, Lulu Guiness, Isabella Fiore, Chanel, Tod's, Versace, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Betsey Johnson ... When you feel like getting a new bag, you mail the one you've got back and they mail you a new one!

Just like Netflix, you pay a flat monthly fee, and keep the bag as long as you want. If you decide you want to keep it forever, they will let you buy it from them at a special price. The fee is $19, $49 or $99 per month, your choice. I looked through the list and they had lots and lots of cute bags that were available in the $49 range ... bags that probably would cost you $200 or more at Nordstrom's.

Anyway, all the fashionistas should check it out.

Bag Borrow Or Steal, Inc.

Truckin'

I'm going to try and put this idea out into the blogosphere and see if I can get any response. Does anyone know of anybody in the transportation business (trucking, rail) who might be traveling from Sacramento to San Antonio in a week or two? My office has a branch in San Antonio, Texas. I thought we might collect supplies: clothes, household goods, etc.) and ship them to our San Antonio office for Katrina victims temporarily relocating to San Antonio. We have the capacity to give alot, and if we asked our customers, we could fill a truck to overflowing. The question is, how would we transport the items to San Anton?

Our great former Branch Manager is now Branch Manager in that office, and they could locate some effective local charity who is looking to help people set up households. If someone wanted a good charity in Sacramento, we would point them to the Sacramento Food Bank, founded by Father Dan Madigan, Sacramento's most charitable person. My guess is that there is someone just like him working this very minute on helping his cities guests.

So, does anybody know a trucker who might be contemplating a trip?

Truckin'
Grateful Dead

Truckin’ got my chips cashed in. keep truckin’, like the do-dah man
Together, more or less in line, just keep truckin’ on.

Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on main street.
Chicago, new york, detroit and it’s all on the same street.
Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.

Dallas, got a soft machine; houston, too close to new orleans;
New york’s got the ways and means; but just won’t let you be, oh no.

Most of the cast that you meet on the streets speak of true love,
Most of the time they’re sittin’ and cryin’ at home.
One of these days they know they better get goin’
Out of the door and down on the streets all alone.

Truckin’, like the do-dah man. once told me you’ve got to play your hand
Sometimes your cards ain’t worth a dime, if you don’t lay’em down,

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it’s been.

What in the world ever became of sweet jane?
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn’t the same
Livin’ on reds, vitamin c, and cocaine,
All a friend can say is ain’t it a shame?

Truckin’, up to buffalo. been thinkin’, you got to mellow slow
Takes time, you pick a place to go, and just keep truckin’ on.

Sittin’ and starin’ out of the hotel window.
Got a tip they’re gonna kick the door in again
I’d like to get some sleep before I travel,
But if you got a warrant, I guess you’re gonna come in.

Busted, down on bourbon street, set up, like a bowlin’ pin.
Knocked down, it get’s to wearin’ thin. they just won’t let you be, oh no.

You’re sick of hangin’ around and you’d like to travel;
Get tired of travelin’ and you want to settle down.
I guess they can’t revoke your soul for tryin’,
Get out of the door and light out and look all around.

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it’s been.

Truckin’, I’m a goin’ home. whoa whoa baby, back where I belong,
Back home, sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin’ on.
Hey now get back truckin’ home.

Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?

Please give generously to the Salvation Army. You can click on this link and donate without leaving your desk

The Salvation Army is currently providing services to storm victims and first responders in the Gulf Coast states.

A $100 donation to The Salvation Army will feed a family of four for two days, provide two cases of drinking water and one household clean-up kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies.

Michael Barone provides them with a recommendation.

What can we do? The least we can do is to contribute to relief efforts. Instapundit has a list of organizations to which you can donate. My choice is the Salvation Army. In July 1967, I was working as an intern in the office of the mayor of Detroit when the city suffered one of the worst urban riots in American history. At one point I was asked to find 2,000 mattresses for the men who had been jailed. I called various organizations and could come up with nary a mattress. Then I called the Salvation Army. Before the day was over, the Salvation Army delivered. I do not share the Salvation Army's religious beliefs. But I know from experience that they can get things done. I've sent them $500. Please send as much as you can send to the Salvation Army or to one of the other worthy organizations on Instapundit. Or consider contributing to one of the churches identified by Hugh Hewitt. Some 78 blogs have signed up to make tomorrow (September 1) Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day. But I don't think anyone would mind if you contributed a day early.

Blogs from all around the world are raising money for flood victims this weekend. The Instapundit has a list of charities and what they are doing to help our fellow citizens. If you are moved to contribute by this or any other blog, please let us know that our begging has had a positive impact. Click Here. Thank You.

Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
And miss her each night and day
I know I'm not wrong because the feeling's
Getting stronger the longer I stay away

Miss the moss-covered vines, tall sugar pines
Where mockingbirds used to sing
I'd love to see that old lazy Mississippi
Running in the spring

Moonlight on the bayous
Creole tunes fill the air
I dream about magnolias in June
And I'm wishin I was there

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
And there's one thing more, I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans

Listen on ITUNES - Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
Salvation Army
New Orleans
Katrina
Flood Air
Instapundit
Michael Barone

Shopping


Here's a picture Shag painted of my friends Sheila Parks(that's her designated driver who always buys her jewelry next to her) and Marlene Mattsson(she's checking to see if she can get a bargain). Don't forget ... the Shag show starts September 1st and the theme is Los Angeles By Day By Night.

Barone Books and Blogs

I am a huge fan of Michael Barone. 4 or 5 years ago I bought his book The New Americans. Until reading this book, I had never realized that the Irish had more than their fare share of Deadbeat Dads. My mom rarely talked about her father ... bitter because he had left her mom when she was 13. Not to run off with another woman, but because he didn't want to work hard enough to support a family of five. He looked down on Irishmen who worked as cops or firemen, but never could make a living as an insurance salesman. It's the story of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but I had never realized that it was a somewhat typical Irish experience.

Amazon.com
Michael Barone of U.S. News & World Report is one of the smartest political writers in the country. In addition to his journalism, Barone is the coauthor of the biannual Almanac of American Politics--an essential tome for inside-the-Beltway pundits and other political junkies--as well as the curiously underappreciated Our Country, an excellent history of the United States from FDR to Reagan. In The New Americans, Barone brings his vast knowledge and sharp talents to the ever-present dilemmas of race and ethnicity.

As millions of immigrants stream into the United States from around the globe--including many countries that traditionally have not served as sources of immigration--Barone helpfully calms jittery nerves about cultural transformation: "We are not in a wholly new place in American history. We've been here before." In fact, we were here at the last turn of the century, when newcomers from Ireland, southern Europe, and elsewhere flocked through Ellis Island. "Many learned savants predicted a hundred years ago that the immigrants of their day could never be assimilated, that they would never undertake the civic obligations and adapt to the civic culture of the United States. History has proven them wrong," writes Barone. "We need to learn from America's success in assimilating these earlier immigrants, as well as from the mistakes that were made along the way." The bulk of the book is a set of comparative studies outlining the surprising similarities as well as the differences between Irish immigrants and today's African Americans, between Italians and Hispanics, and between Jews and Asians. In each instance, Barone believes the experiences of the former reveal something about the latter as its members struggle to adapt to their new home. The approach is like the one Thomas Sowell took many years ago in his landmark book Ethnic America; in many ways, The New Americans is a much-needed update of that pioneering work.

Next I purchased Hard America, Soft America. I work for a Seriously Big Corporation. Their management style is very Hard - aggressive and unsympathetic and under the previous management is was Soft - supportive and cooperative. As a worker, I'd love a little more softness.

From Publishers Weekly
In his latest book, Barone, a writer for U.S. News and World Report and a well-known political commentator, describes America as comprising two diametrically opposed characteristics: hard and soft. "Hard America" is characterized by competition and accountability, while "Soft America" attempts to protect its citizens through government regulation and other social safety nets. While Barone's book is not without its political overtones-he identifies Hard America with the political right and Soft America with the left-his book should not be seen as the latest installment in the conservative-liberal cultural wars. Rather, Barone provides a deeper look at the way in which ordinary people live and work and the meaning behind the decisions they make. His concrete historical examples highlight the advantages and disadvantages of Hard and Soft America, creating a compelling picture of two very different ways of looking at the world, without degenerating into mudslinging or name-calling,. Although Barone, a conservative, clearly favors Hard America, he appreciates the necessary difficulty that comes with balancing the two Americas. He concedes that a society without some softness would be a cruel one, but warns that "we have the luxury of keeping parts of our society Soft only if we keep enough of it Hard." Despite his conservatism, Barone (The New Americans) writes with moderation and insight. Even those who do not agree with his normative conclusions can enjoy his thought-provoking and perceptive analysis.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Now I'm reading Our Country - The Shaping of America from Rosevelt to Reagan I've just begun, but so far it's as good as his others. I had to buy it used on Amazon, since it's out of print.

The big picture and the small picture, March 7, 2000
Reviewer: Todd Weiner (Gambier, OH) - See all my reviews
Two warnings: First, the book is long. Second, the author is conservative and doesn't make an effort to hide it. If these facts don't disturb you then I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is a wonderful story of twentieth-century American politics, crammed with polls, stats, and insightful commentary. Why has ethnicity been a more important factor in politics than class? How did the political pendulum shift from conservatism to liberalism to conservatism again? Who are some of the most important statesmen in history that you've never heard of? And much, much more. If Michael Barone's "The Almanac of American Politics" is the Holy Bible of politics, then this work is a book of prayer.

Michael Barone is a fascinating writer, and now he's a blogger. You can check his site daily for interesting bits.

Shag Show Starts September 1

Last week I posted about Josh "Shag" Agle's art show at the La Luz de Jesus and Earl McGrath galleries in West Hollywood. Here's some more Shag artwork for you to enjoy.

This is The Impossible View. I have this print and it started my love of Shag.


I Love Oz. I've been 3 times to Sydney. And America has no greater ally than John Howard and the Aussies.


My pal Marlene is going to Rome, Venice and to the Octoberfest next month. Am I jealous? Oh my God, am I jealous!

Time to Reconsider

I've always thought the best movie line was

Impetuous. Homeric.

or

Take the gun. Leave the cannoli

or

I want you to remember that no bastard every won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. Then, all this stuf you heard about American not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.

or

Bluto:What?! Over? Did you say over? NOTHING is over until WE
decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
HELL, NO!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
Bluto: It ain't over now! For when the goin' gets
tough,..............the tough get going! Who's with me!? LET'S GO!
C'MON! OOOOOOOOOOOO!

or

"Ty, what'd you shoot today?"
"Oh, I don't keep score, Judge."
"Oh, well, how do you measure yourself with other golfers?"
"By height."

or

There's no crying in baseball

but Ridgecrest has his own ideas

Best Movie Quote Ever?
Thank you to Mr. Bob Hope for this gem from the 1940 movie The Ghost Breakers:

Richard Carlson: "A zombie has no will of his own. You see them sometimes, walking around blindly, with dead eyes, following orders, not knowing what they do, not caring."

Bob Hope : "You mean like Democrats?"

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Doc Rampage perfectly articulates what I've been thinking about the Kodee Kennings story.

I can empathize with the University officials who were hoodwinked because they don't know anything about the military. They have sources to check and verify info, but because of their basic lack of knowledge, they didn't see the red flags.

But if you've ever known an 8 year old, you would know that those letters were not written by a young child.