first?

re-post from the tail end of the last boodle:

I've seen first hand the enthusiasm that many young soldiers have for Obama. It occurs to me that the "experience" issue is not a big deal for them. In a culture where a 25 year old company commander can be referred to as "the old man" and Mr. F is ancient (21 months older than Obama)the appeal of someone who might have a clue about what the world is like today, not "back in the day" is remarkable.

Great Jon Stewart line last night-shows a clip of the Kennedy endorsements ending with Ted's speech. "Was I just inspired by Ted Kennedy?!"

I think this overstates the case a bit, but here's a 3 Quarks Daily column on Bill Clinton's "Jesse Jackson won in '84 and '88" comment-
http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2008/01/below-the-fol-1.html

Third!

I will deign not to hold fo(u)rth.

Texas taxes strip clubs and calls it a "pole tax." AP article on ways states are raising taxes-
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TAXING_STATES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

I'm kind of waiting for e-mail from my Samoan LDS friends. Don't want to contact them and say "So, what do you think of your prophet's death?" My impression is that the Mormons were able to grow so in the past two decades because they embrace local culture and though it has a central authority people identify with their local temple, not SLC. One of my more devout LDS friends went to college in Utah for a while, then transferred to BYU-H "Too many Mormons" she complained of Utah.

Good morning. Thank you for the SOTU play-by-play last night. Nice drinking game too. I couldn't watch it. Didn't read the text so kindly provided by bc either. I thought hard but saw no reason to break my perfect record of not watching W on television the last 7 years. I just can't listen to the man for more than about a minute without experiencing unpleasant emotions. Since he's such a lame duck he's barely quacking I saw no reason to subject myself to our own form of political torture.

On the other hand, I often drift upstairs to watch our governor's state of the state. It is much more interesting and better worded.

In the weather, in 1969 Jan 25-30, in Eugene OR, record snow fall. A 34" accumulation by the 30th, snow driffts of 12'. Over 200 farms and around a dozen industrial buildings collapse due to the weight of the snow.

Hey, omni, I think you might have misunderstood: I'm with you on the Vanessa-Mae thing. Boy, am I with you.

BTW, sports fans, many of you may not be aware that Adolph Hitler was a Dallas Cowboys fan. Yes, it's true (frankly, I'm not at all surprised); it's been on the Internet. You can see it here for yourself (parental warning: Mr. H uses some naughty words that are translated in the subtitles). http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=34562&cat=2

Yes, I'm up for the annual State of the Boodle BPH on Thursday.

Happy voting, there, Floridians. I'm sure you'll give Roooodeeee all the support he deserves. (My prediction: he drops out of the race by this time tomorrow.)

Crazy weather update: when I left the house at 7 this morning it was 59 degrees (F) with a strong wind from the south. Three hours later, is it 36 degrees (F) with a strong wind from the north. Getting colder, too. Alas, I fear this means the contractor will not come today to fix the holes in the house. I wouldn't if I were him.

Perhaps it's appropriate to suggest that Mr. Hinckley will be a tough act to follow.

Good to see that the Post will have someone from the St. Petersburg Times in for a political Discussion at lunch.

But Mudge, there is a big dif between a candle and a spent match. Unless you forgot to say the candle was blown out...

Have you seen her 'Red Hot' video. I don't really care for this video except the end when she says 'red hot', but do like the song...I especially like the end...Red Hot indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn6vnwzpLAI

Yes, it is darn cold here this morning. When I left the house it was -49C wind chill, which is really all I care about at the bus stop.

This from Mrs. Mills, the fake agony aunt in the Times of London:

My wife and I have dual nationality, but we are from Quebec. The British ask us, "Why do you speak French, if you are Canadian?" Any suggestions as to a reply?

HP, Canada

I should have thought it was obvious why you speak French: there's less chance of being thought Canadian and you might even be mistaken for an interesting person.

Whoa, did you know she sings??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MnQbC0ctGk

I Feel Love

Puisque vous êtes un imbécile ignorant et je suis Français-Canadien.

Oops, sorry about that.

I mean to say:

Because I'm French-Canadien.

Curmudgeon, you're a little behind the times. I exploded that fraudulent Hitler clip 2 or three Boodles ago. Hitler (played by Bruno Ganz in the clip) claims to have bought a T.O. jersey. This is just the worst kind of fakery. Nobody buys T.O. gear. Nobody. Whoever did the subs has never been to Dallas, else he would have used Romo, Barber, or Witten. Owens is an embarrassment to the sport in the same way that O.J. Simpson, Lawrence Taylor, and Dexter Manley were in their day. At least those guys waited (mostly) til their playing days were over.

Thanks for the kind birthday wishes, all. I'm begining to sneak up on Mudge's age; in three more lifetimes, I'll be there.

Slyness, thanks for asking about my Cub Scouts. We didn't quite finish the trebuchet we're building. Tomorrow is our church's Missions Conference, so the trebuchet will have to wait until next week. Then we can start slinging grapes, or tennis balls, or melons, or something. A couple of weeks ago we practiced throwing knives into styrofoam. The new parents were at first horrified at the thought of this. But when they saw that: we did it safely, that nobody lost an eye, and that the scouts had a blast, all their apprehension disapated.

omni, what did I say? It's possible I reversed whatever I intended. My intent was, the Ahn Sisters and the 12 girlie band can't hold a candle to Vanessa. Did I get it right this time?

Yes, saw the Red Hot video. I think I like the Devil's Trill and the Sabre Dance vids the best (always liked the Sabre Dance music anyway). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1AB5NowKOE

Ooh - decision time for Mitty.

Does he keep campaigning all day Saturday for Tsunamic Tuesday, or take time out for Hinckley's funeral?

I'm sure he'll go to the funeral and if he loses the GOP nomination, he'll be able to take the high road.

bc

Mornin Boodle
I am sorry to hear of the passing of the LSD prophet, he seemed to have pulled his church together during tough times.

Bc, thanks for the blow by blow of the SOTU speech, I had to work so I missed it as well.

Today rant is aimed at the State of the Redskins.Not being a die hard skins fan and mostly following the team north on 95.I am confused about what they are doing. I thought standard pratice was to hire the head coach and then the coordinators.Of course whoever they hire as a Head coach will say,I am ok with Zorn as OC and the other guy as DC. But do you really think he will be? They screwed it up bigtime getting rid of Williams and Saunders, either of them would make a fine HC. I am waiting for the next shoe to drop. I hope whomever they hired can turn this mess that Snyder created into a winning football team.

Sheesh, just my 2 pennies!!

Hmm.

Did I ever mention that I dig the Donnas and yes, even Shonen Knife (though they don't do a sabre or samurai sword dance that I'm aware of)?

bc

SCC: LDS
"flashback 1977"

Nice story doing some truth-squadding on Hizzoner:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/28/AR2008012802396.html?hpid=topnews

"In 1987, there were 35 pornographic theaters and shops on just one stretch of 42nd Street. When I left office, there were zero -- none," the Republican presidential candidate [Roooodeeee] told the Family Research Council last year. "The pornographers lost, and they were chased out of Times Square."

A closer examination, however, shows the reality to be far more complex, and the claim at best an overstatement.

The cleanup of 42nd Street was in the planning for more than a decade, launched under a previous mayor, Democrat Edward I. Koch, and a former governor, Democrat Mario Cuomo, who used the state's power of eminent domain to buy out the block. The deal that got Walt Disney Co. to refurbish the New Amsterdam Theatre and begin the gentrification of 42nd Street was negotiated in 1993, under Democrat David N. Dinkins, Giuliani's predecessor.

Then there's the issue of all those porno theaters, peep shows, strip clubs and adult bookstores.

"The question is, what happened to all the pornography?" Marc Eliot, author of the book "Down 42nd Street: Sex, Money, Culture and Politics at the Crossroads of the World," asked as he gave a reporter a walking tour of the storied street.

A block west of Times Square on 42nd Street is the Show World Center, advertising a large collection of pornographic videos and 25-cent booths for viewing such fare. Down the block is Lady's World, the DVD Depot and the DVD Palace, all offering the most graphic sex videos.

"All they were able to do is move it around the corner," Eliot said. "It's a real New York story. . . . They shove it off on the side. If anybody wants it, it's there. That's New York City, and it will always be New York City."

At Lace, a strip club where topless young women offer private lap dances for $20 per song, most of the dancers seemed oblivious to the notion that the former mayor claims to have to rid Times Square of adult entertainment.

"In one sense, it's good," said Mia, a 22-year-old dyed-blond dancer from Belarus, pausing between songs while gyrating topless on a customer's lap. "If there are fewer clubs, then there's more money for us."

---------------

Hope she's got a Green Card. Wouldn't want any o' them illegal aliens taking away jobs from Murikans. (Say, I thought Lap dancing came from Finland; isn't that where the Laps are? I wonder if she likes lutefisk?)

Mudge, you got it right, I'm just saying a candle is to much credit.

The trio and 12 girl band don't hold a spent match to Vanessa, is how I put it. Vanessa knocks those 15 out of the park with her left pinky is all I'm saying. Your way of saying it she needs her whole left hand.

OK, now that we've cleared that up let me explain my SotU drinking game:

step1:Leave work early.
step2:drink heavily of your favorite libations.
step3:pass out by 8PM.
step4:wake up when it's all over.
step5:go to bed.

The Lapps, who prefer to be called Sami, extend across Russia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

gwe, I've been grousing about that, too.

Seems to me that those coordinator promotions mean that whoever Snyder's [and I guess Vinnie the Yesman) bringing in has already approved of them, which is makes me think Fassel (NOOOOO! NO!NO! NNNNnnnnOOOOOOooooooo!) or Mariucci (oy vey).

I suppose I should come to terms with the idea that no self-respecting NFL head coach is going to take a job as Head Coach of the Washington NFL Franchise as long as Snyder is owner and calling the shots.

In the interest of time, why doesn't Snyder appoint himself Head Coach and President, and just have three coordinators (Offense, Defense, and Special Teams) call the shots during those parts of the game, with Snyder to have the final call on any questions. Vinnie can be Chief of Staff, and then everybody's happy.

Dan saves some money, gets to do what I think he *really* wants to, and we know that at *least* he'll care more than Spurrier did during his last season as HOBC here.

bc

I'm beginning to suspect that Snyder is playing coy, and waiting until after the Florida primary, so he can name America's Mayor to be head coach of the Redskins.

I went to school with with a number of Mormons. It is difficult to overstate the importance of community to the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Far more than theology or tradition, what holds this Church together is a powerful web of informal personal connections.

You know those guys you see biking around and knocking on doors? They aren't from another planet. Be nice to them. A lot of them absolutely despise doing it, they they understand that within their community these two-year missions are mandatory for success.

To quote one guy I knew in college, "The RMs (Returned Missionaries) get all the good jobs and the good women."

How well do you know your (US) presidents? http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/education_1/?page=quiz120&Quizid=120

7/10, got 357 wrong.

It'll be ineresting to see how our northern boodlers do if they dare...

A portrait of Lillian Gish from 1921.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Lillian_Gish-edit1.jpg

Gish was one of the first female movie stars, called "The First Lady of the Silent Screen", starting in 1912 and continuing to appear in films until 1987. The American Film Institute named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time and awarded her a Life Achievement Award, making her the only recipient who was a major figure in the silent era. Remarkably, she never won an Academy Award for her work, although she did receive a Special Academy Award in 1971.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=%5b157%2d199%5d%20Lillian%20Gish%20Blvd%20Sw&city=Massillon&state=OH&zipcode=44647&country=US&location=Cajp3pK4YzKGKhgmEBi80LvQVFMPRrl1iX0a5T4FmxdUgPXYuxlwtFeMUZbTkYQVHQTW5zbka31%2fSbjEQySbm6M8LMVnNF%2fr8q7G%2bq72k%2fGsgE6Hyi5O0EHjj0bmmTox8TYUAovXcf27thoUvRhM%2bzl2S8Qf2jCn&ambiguity=1

zoom all the way in

8/10, missed 3 and 7.

7/10 on the quiz, also missing 3, 5 and 7.

*note to self -- don't crib off omni's answers anymore*

:-)

4/10 on the quiz, it sort of confirms a conversation I had with an American friend on the weekend about the difference in how Canadian and Americans look at history. I don't think I could think of one tidbit of any of our PM's lives (definitely not where their birth towns/homes are).

Got 7/10 on the quiz. Missed the salary raise, the vote, and the telephone. Gotta go. Actual work looms.

This is the first time I can recall reading about the death of a prophet.

9/10 Missed 7. Anyone else go for Franklin Pierce?

Just so everyone knows, Iolani Palace (home of Hawaiian royalty) had a telephone before the White House. This is the kind of tidbit Joel could pick up if he visited Obama's birthplace.

7/10. 1, 6 and 7 wrong, and I should have had 6, but mometary uncertainty made me take a wild guess.

I should have had 1. I mean, I have Joel's book. I should have caught that. Hangs head in shame.

Jack, you've never read a prophet and loss statement before?

Let's see, Cassandra (not *our* Cassandra; her namesake in the Illiad et al.), the Trojan princess, was a prophet. You've probably heard about John the Baptist, who lost his head. Muhammed, who got whisked off to Allah on a chariot. The there was David Koresh, down in Waco. And off course Bobby Henderson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Henderson).

Of course, there were lots of other prophets, but one tends not to be aware of their specific deaths. As a rule, it was a job without a lot of job security, and the befits package sucked.

So true dmd. Except I do know John Diefenbaker, but then he is from my stomping grounds.

The best Canadian history is withheld from students. Why waste good stuff on them? Its much more important to keep it quiet. You have to buy it in this magazine.

http://www.historysociety.ca/bea.asp

If you check out the page, you will see, they have kindly built a list of reasons to take the day off.

I'm must go home now.

"January 29: To commemorate the receipt 150 years ago by Lt. Alexander Roberts Dunn of Canada's first Victoria Cross, for courage in the Crimean War. Polish something."

This is going to come in darn handy.

9/10 I choose Okra over tomatoe

See also Atreides, Paul (the Muad'Dib), and also Jay and Silent Bob.

The late great Jimmy the Greek didn't do badly. (Died April 21, 1996, of a heart attack; buried at the historical Union Cemetery in Steubenville, Ohio.)

10 out of 10. I guessed on one - the telephone. I was a history major. Finally it helps.

Wow! Another V8 monent! The prophet and loss guys are the ones fron Wall St. that get gazillion dollar bonuses at their followers' expense.

The dif between Okra and Tomatoe is that while the Tomatoe was thought to be poisonous and isn't Okra actually is.

My standard response to Mormon missionaries (and Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.) is to answer the door grasping the collar of my dog Mick who is straining to get at them and lick them into submission but they don't know that. Then I say something like "Make it quick guys. I can't hold him much longer." Seems to work pretty well.

K-guy, mine would be, since I don't have a dog, is to put on some Alice Cooper or Blacksabbath and crank the volume up as loud as the speakers can handle.

For what it's worth, dandelions (Taraxacum officinale, same as up north) are busy flowering and making seed heads down here. They aren't very common and haven't arrived in my yard, but there's a few flourishing populations.

Oh omni, you can't mean that about okra! You've probably only had boiled okra and gumbo and things like that where the "snot soup" aspect is uppermost. I don't mind the mucous but many folks object. Try to find some good fried okra. You'll change your mind. Ribs, blackeyed peas, fried okra, biscuits or cornbread- mmmmmmmm!

Hmm.

Mudge, a small point: Paul A was the Kwisatz Haderach - the messiah - as *foretold* by prophets.

Muad'Dib had prophetic powers, but so did many in that universe. IIRC, particularly his sister Alia, the Abomination.

I am *such* a dork.

In another context, John the Baptist was a prophet, Jesus Christ the messiah.

bc

9/10 on the quiz, got the Taylor/Van Buren one wrong. Which just goes to show you that all things American matter to Canadians, but things Canadian matter to no-one.

RD Padouk's comment on the importance of community to Mormons is consistent with my own experience with friends and colleagues in Wyoming.

k-guy, I've always found it effective to blow my nose good and hard when someone's boiling okra as a way of getting my point across.

Sometimes I even use a tissue.

bc

Dave: Your post made me think that imported species can be such a pain. You're probably aware of this, however, I read recently that our native N.Am. worms have been displaced by European species that aren't good for ecosystems, although I can't remember why the worms are bad. Perhaps they overgraze mycorrhizae. I suppose the worms came over with plants like the dandelion. I always chuckle when vulgaris ends up as a species name; it's usually appropriate.

dr, I had a notice in my inbox about that magazine today.

dr, the conversation with my friend was a the result of her taking a Canadian history course in preparation for Teachers college. She was shocked at the difference (not in a good/bad way just overall difference), in the way she had previously been taught history, this time no dates, a lot of comparison etc.

My daughter is currently doing really well in Canadian history, in fact is thrilled with it and is considering it as a future profession (history teacher).

I have yet to live down the time my wife asked me to get the okra ready for dinner and I asked if it needed to be peeled. A Yankee moment.

Hello, friends. finally got a chance to check in, and no, did not hear the President last night. The television was on, and the President there talking, but my lights went out before the man had completed two sentences. I've never been able to look at the President for long, and I don't know why. It's just something about his expression. Taking my meds before the speech didn't help either.

We're taking care of a sick g-girl. Mom had to go and get her from school. Upset tummy from what, I can't say. With the g-girl it could be anything. In between feeling bad, she's her usual self, into everything.

I did not read the speech either. Just too long.

I don't understand the Morman church. One of our members left our church to join the Mormans. He said they treated him much nicer than we did, and he was right. These are the guys that ride on bikes?

I'm still in shock about Kennedy's endorsement of Obama. I just never could imagine that. I thought Hillary Clinton had that locked up. This election is getting stranger and stranger, but it's all good. I'm delighted the young people are showing an interest, that is good. On the Republican side, McCain and Mitt are going at it hard. I can't imagine why Rudy is still trying. And where is Huckabee?

I like the picture at the bottom, although it is very dark. The light above adds to the mystery. Is it water? Very good shot,JA. Did anyone say why they call this man a prophet?

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

7/10 on the quiz, and I was a history minor. Very minor. Do students have minors anymore? I can't remember my daughter having anything but a major.

8/10. Missed the cancer one and the car one.

K-guy, Just joking about the okra. Thing is I don't recall ever having it, but have heard plenty of nasty things about them.

dmd, Its one you should not miss. We got it for a couple of years, but had to let it go when we were in cutback mode a couple years ago. Its a wonderful bi monthly. If she is interested, do get it for her. It makes things come alive and she will keep her history interest.

What I don't get is why schools don't teach this stuff. Kids would be interested in these things. Blood, mayhem, saints, sinners, it has everything.

I grow Okra in my garden every year,last year's crop was pitiful, but I did get enought to fry up two servings.And yes K-guy it is just great fried. I usually do flour and a little old bay, but this past year I threw in some corn muffin mix and it was delicious.

Off to work,enjoy your day everyone!!

RIP, Margaret Truman, presidential daughter and a pretty good mystery novelist.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints aka the Mormon church always refers to the head of the church as a prophet. It's a title like "pope" and usual and expected. And, like the pope, some of his (it's always a he, churches seem to be funny that way, huh?) pronouncements are considered to be divinely inspired.

My Okra story: When I was a wee one, 'bout 4 or 5, my dad, a born and bred southerner who actualy liked the stuff, decided that I should eat some warmed over, canned okra for dinner. "Snot soup" indeed!! I begged and pleaded with him to let me skip my vegetable, and would gladly forgo a month's worth of deserts to skip it. However, he was NOT a man to be argued with, and I tearfully choked down my serving of the gooey glop. It was the most awful experience of my young life, to that point.

My stomach, however, was not so obedient. You guessed it, a moment later, it was back on my plate, indestinguishable from before it was eaten. To his credit, my dad did not make me eat it again, although the thought must have crossed his mind. I didn't feel like I had won that battle, but at least I didn't have to eat okra again.

Steamed okra with tomato gravy. Yum.

Prophets: Jimi Hendrix & Jim Morrison.

Cassandra, they called Gordon Hinckley a prophet because the leader of the Mormon church is always a prophet. Also always a man. God speaks to him. This is true even if God didn't speak to him before he became a church elder and in line to be prophet.

While I have known Mormons with many fine personal qualities, I find the basic religious doctrine unsound theologically, discriminatory, and somewhat risible. I thus do not comment, on the theory that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

My mom once tried to get me to eat cauliflower, insisting I at least try one bite. I lied and said I already did and hated it. I sat at the table while she did the dishes. Then a sat a little longer while she made the coffee. Finally, after about an hour of me sitting perfectly still with my arms crossed she gave up and took my plate away and told me to get lost. I won that battle.

Years and years later I tried it fresh uncooked and liked it, but I does give me gas. Then I tried it cooked and it was completely flavorless mush.

Jack-thanks for the excuse for me to make an early plug for responsible worm disposal this fishing season (early because people are driving trucks on our lakes, and you don't use worms for ice fishing).

Here's a link to an old Natie G piece on the European worm scourge. Note the Chippewa National Forest with the goblin ferns is our very own dear forest. We hope our planned hiking/biking trail will one day extend to a beautiful wayside rest in the forest just 3 miles south of town.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0102_030102_earthworms.html

That wasn't a very nice thing to say Ivansmom

Just kidding

Whew, must call Ma Frostbitten and remind her how much I appreciate never being forced to eat anything I didn't like, or didn't think I'd like. Strangely, I eat many, many foods she would never dream of eating-including virtually every condiment known to man. Make that every condiment unless you count salt, pepper and butter.

Okra-fried and still mouth burning hot is ok, but then what isn't if prepared that way?

Speaking of food tastes. Saw a show on our local PBS station Sunday, New Scandinavia or some such thing. The chef prepared moose with a cognac reduction and roasted garlic and cranberries. mmmmm

OK, look, all you have to do is buy some fresh okra. Get small spears, the big ones are tough and no good. Dip them in milk, roll them in breading (corn meal and flour mixture or panko or whaddayougot) and fry golden brown in hot oil. Some folks like to cut the okra into coins to get more breading and crunch,either way is fine.

My mother comes from Johnson County in east Texas. She and my grandmother could and did fry anything and everything you can think of, and all of it was good. Fried tomatoes, eggplant slices, mushrooms, cauliflower, okra, and on and on. Looking back on meals I had on my grandparents' farm- fried chicken (fried in lard!), mashed potatoes and pan gravy, biscuits, beans or peas, fried vegs, iced tea sweetened to an inch of its life, blackberry cobbler and homemade ice cream- it's a wonder we didn't all collapse before we left the table. Fortunately these feasts were preceded and followed by 4-5 hours of stoop labor picking berries or cotton or digging yams for one of my great uncles, so there was some hope of working off the effects. Although she was a great cook and baker, my grandmother didn't own any measuring spoons or cups. Everything was measured by handfuls til it looked right.

My kids are weird. They love cauliflower and broccoli.

One time a woman in the produce section laughed when she heard my young daughter say, "Mommy! Can we get broccoli, pleeeeeeeze?"

TBG - As a kid I liked broccoli and cauliflower too.

But try not to let that worry you.

Obviously Ivansmom subscribes to the Thumper worldview as expounded by the character of the same name in "Bambi"

"If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all. "

My mother always pan-fried cut okra with cornmeal. Yum. We never had fresh broccoli when I was growing up, just frozen. I was an adult before I ever had it fresh. It's a vegetable I serve often, because it's easy to fix and everybody in the house likes it. I'm the only one who likes cauliflower so I don't buy it often.

My grandfather's favorite breakfast was cut-up okra, chopped tomatoes, and grits fried together. I never tried it, and none of us ever figured it out. But he loved it.

TBG, would you be willing to head up the Opening-Day-in-the-New-Ballpark BPH Ticket Acquisition Committee?

Slyness, that recipe sounds like one of those family things that is only fit to eat if it was prepared by the originator of the recipe, in this case, Grandpa. BTW, your cabin is cool...nice porch.

Absolutely, Jack. My grandmother would fix it but she wouldn't eat it either.

Thanks. Even if we don't have much of a view, it's a nice sittin' porch.

Jack,
Yes, dandelions are European. Florida has especially acute plagues of non-native invasive species. Some of the latest bad ones are Old World Climbing Fern, which threatens to smother much of the Everglades, a scale insect that destroys Asian cycads [ornamental, even if non-native], and an ambrosia beetle that's killing our native red bay trees and just might exterminate the avocados too. The litany of disaster makes one wonder whether biological globalization isn't the true apocalypse, just as it was for the peoples of the Americas 500 years ago.

Dandelions are at least self-limiting, somewhat like the numerous African legumes that have become established in the southeastern US. Thinking African, okra is a gift from West Africa. A little googling turned up this enthusiast's page:
http://www.physiology.wisc.edu/ravi/okra/

Globalization of food plants has arguably been a good thing--American squashes, tomatoes, corn, beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, chilis and yuca (cassava)are popular worldwide.

Bikes? I don't know, but the image of a bunch of adherents commanded to ride bicycles cracked me up. I don't mind the bikes so much, but the whole word of God on J. Smith's hatband thing is fabulous.

I *love* okra done South Asian style, crisply just-steamed with spices. I once read a cooking column that purported to have a technique to remove most of the slime before the okra is cooked, but I could never remember what it was. Soaking in acidulated water? Something like that.

Even I think I could eat okra if it were fixed with grits à la Grandpa Slyness.

Nationals BPH? Looks like we'll have to get tickets to an exhibition game in March, which actually sounds like fun. Get a jumpstart on the season and see the new stadium early.

Who's in? I think we'll have to order in advance this time, so we might have to do a PayPal thing. I'm happy to be the point person.

Here's the March schedule (notice the interesting Friday doubleheader vs Cleveland)...

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=was&m=3&y=2008

The Saturday day games should be our first choice, as night time in March might be a little chilly. But whatever works for the most people is fine with me.

Who's in? Email me. If you don't have my email address, you can reach me at boodler [at] mac [dot] com.

Dave Barry held a live chat today-

http://www.realcities.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/qa_forum.html?forumId=3417&mode=display&action=&type=list&pageNo=2

Here's a sample-

"Dave, I just voted...can I change my mind and revote?
eltupid 1/29/08
If you voted in Miami, that has already been taken care of for you.
Dave Barry 1/29/08"

Frostbitten wrote at 12:30: Just so everyone knows, Iolani Palace (home of Hawaiian royalty) had a telephone before the White House. This is the kind of tidbit Joel could pick up if he visited Obama's birthplace.

Obama was born in Iolani Place? Wow. I didn't know that. Cool. So Obama should have no problems with the White House switchboard then? The things you learn on the Boodle.

*inching tongue toward cheek*

thanks, ivansmom, for the answer. sounds a little like the baptist church, as far as the male thing.

okra, I can eat anyway you sling it, except maybe raw. tomatoes, okra, corn, is so good when all the vegetables are fresh out the garden. fried okra, well, k-guy described it to a tee. during the summer I eat okra all the time.

jack, I'm sorry but I laughed at that comment about peeling the okra. Definitely a Yankee moment.

I saw my dad today. He was a tad upset because he had gained five pounds when he went in for his check-up. Plus I believe his glucose level wasn't too good either.

My mother never made me eat anything I didn't want to, although I did bite into some okra once by accident (yuck). At Girl Scout camp I was forced, I mean, strongly encouraged, to eat "three Girl Scout bites" of spinach, and that is my worst food memory. Double yuck. But now, as an adult, steamed spinach is one of my favorite vegetables. Can't get enough of it. Go figure. Regarding cooked cauliflower, I have two words for you: Cheese. Sauce.

Now I must go and read the Dave Barry transcript. (Thank you, K-guy!)

The only time I have knowingly eaten okra is in Shrimp Gumbo. It was very good.

Of course, there is always the possibility that people have been sneaking okra into my food without me realizing it.

The Boodle rides again...

Husband just came home. While we were talking about stuff, he mentioned that his co-worker's wife had a hip replacement and has had terrible back pain no doctor has taken seriously.

Finally a physical therapist noticed that.. yup... one leg was now longer than the other and her resulting gait was causing the back pain.

I know we've talked about this before, but there is a chemical that not everyone can taste in cruciferous vegetables. Those who can taste this chemical describe it as bitter and are, unsurprisingly, not really into the veggie scene.

Those of us who cannot taste the chemical can appreciate the subtle underlying flavor of such veggies. And come to love them.

I think Grandpa Slyness's okra tomato grits combination sounds good. I may figure out how to do it when summer rolls around. Of course my family will not join me, as they do not believe un-fried okra is food.

I often encourage this belief - more for me!

I come by this honestly. When I was very small my mother - then in her forties - told me that cream puffs and shrimp were poisonous to people under 35.

I'll eat most things anyone is liable to put in front of me. As a Georgia boy, I've had a fair bit of okra in my time.

The only time I can recall telling my folks that I didn't feel like eating something, the story played out more or less like Don/270's tale above. I'm sure that they never tried to force me to eat anything ever again, but then there wasn't much that I wouldn't eat. I was never nuts about liver or beets, but was willing to eat at least a bit.

"Those of us who cannot taste the chemical can appreciate the subtle underlying flavor of such veggies. And come to love them."

Especially deep fried or drenched in cheese.

TBG, thanks. I'm in for 2 tickets (maybe more); I vote for the day game on Saturday (don't like freezing my nuggies off, even for my beloved baseball. Been there, done that; umpired a *&^%$#%#@$ doubleheader in drizzly 35-degree weather, worst day of my umpring career, weather-wise).

Padiouk, I am one of those who taste that bitter stuff. I read somewhere that it was a fifth kind of tastebud (as opposed to the four kinds that respond to sweet, sour, etc.).

Mudge -- I just noticed the story about Margaret Truman. Too bad. I've never read her mysteries, but she always conjured up memories of the 50s nevertheless (late 40s, early 50s anyway).

FTB, I've read maybe three of her mysteries--they aren't great, but they aren't bad, either. She's a bit formulaic, but that sub-genre (historical/period/real characters mysteries) can be fun. The one that sticks in my mind featured Humphrey Bogart running around the White House as a guest of Roosevelt (or might have been Truman) helping to solve the mystery. Good, fast "beach/bus" novels.

Thanks for the great tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley. He was a great man who led by example--in truly acting Christlike to all he encountered. I just wanted to add my two cents to the discussion on what a prophet is (as one who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Part of our religion is that we believe God continues to reveal truths to his people, and the prophet is his mouthpiece. We believe he is a prophet just like Moses, Abraham, Elijah, or Paul from the Bible. If fact, we believe that the Church is not new, but a restoration of the Church at the time of the New Testament. If your curious about any of the basic beliefs, you can go to www.mormon.org.

The four kinds of taste buds are sweet, sour, bitter and cauliflower?

Thanks mauri.

Hey.. I wonder how our young Sara is doing? She used to be our resident LDS member.

Has Hillary Clinton gone insane with ambition?

I've been in PTSD all afternoon, caused by reliving my okra story: cold sweats, dizziness, nausea, high anxiety, you name it. I'm going to have to apply the triple-bacon-Whopper-with-extra-cheese cure soon, before I pass out. Is there a defibralator in the house? If not, some cheesecake will do.

Nellie, I think one of them is chocolate. Probably the really big one right in the center.

I read somewhere that we have glutamate receptors so we know when we've eaten enough bunnies.

Oh yeah. The fifth is umami, from glutamate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami

Mudge, as soon as I pressed the "submit" button I realized that fourth receptor was chocolate.

Only those with a highly developed sense of humor--at the Arbusto & Karla Fay Tucker level--should read this article:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18137343/the_fear_factory

On more important issues, I scored 11/10 on the quiz; no guesses, but I did change one answer. It's all in my NSA/FBI file (as is this, of course).

Don't think I didn't notice that Boko...

McCain and Romney? Not quite what it sounds like...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/junkie/archive/junkie070998.htm

I've never had okra so can't say whether I'd like it or not but Don and I have had a similar experience - mine involved lima beans. Still can't even stand the sight of them. My mother never made me eat them again but she still made us all eat liver once a month. Us kids used to drown it in ketchup - plus we all tried to have the dog closest to us under the table so we could sneak as much as possible to him.

or ducks or wombats.

Interesting. With 29% of the vote counted, McCain has a wafer-thin lead over Romney, 34% to 33%. "Other" is whipping Roodee 18% to 15%. (Cue faint background music of Dandy Don Meredith crooning "The party's over..." Milbank's headline: "Cue Vultures for Giuliani")

Meanwhile in the real world, Hillary has beaten Obama 48% to 29%, though there will be some fluctation in that count. Not that it means much.

I did hear that they're calling today Goodbye Rudy Tuesday.

(I think I saw that on the Barry chat kguy linked to earlier).

The hubby and I laughed out loud this morning when we read Milbank's column and his quoting of Jake Tapper's blog about Roodeee....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/28/AR2008012802394.html?hpid=topnews

Do any of you think that the nonsense you are going through is a sane way to choose a government?

Mudge, it's actually just a variation in the bitter tastebud receptors. The fifth tastebud receptor is "savory/meaty" or umami.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4399584.stm

Rats have a taste bud receptor for fat, don't know if humans have the same... (for us it seems to be mouth-feel). In any case, fat such as butter can drown bitter taste and make bitter foods more palatable.

This is why coffee with cream and milk helps. And why some people insist on milk chocolate only.

RD. I don't think all of us who can taste how bitter cruciferious veggies are anti-cruciferious veggie.

My brother hated broccoli for a long time, but after repeated exposure he got to love them after a while, as his taste buds got numbed by sheer bitterness.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_192.html

I know I could barely eat brussel sprouts for a long time, it was always so bitter. I finally saw an Italian show on how to make them, and did the TBG route of buying them FROZEN (before TBG suggested it), and yes, after roasting they did come out less bitter.

On the other hand, I want an investigation into why some people such as myself LOATHE coffee, even its mere smell.

Coffee is the nastiest bitterest thing I have ever tasted, and I will down tea straight, eat dark semi-sweet chocolate straight, and... even eat brussel sprouts straight. I don't believe it's just psychological, because the smell also has zilch appeal for me. There's a reason why Wilbrodog wants to go into every Starbucks he smells, while I'm the dead opposite.

I've had to eat coffee-flavored desserts by accident. The fat and sugar help, but not enough, it remains incredibly bitter to me.

Maybe it also relates to horseradish. I'd have to poll the few coffee-haters I know about their horseradish tolerance as well.

Don, if I tried okra that way, I would be nauseated forever too. Fresh fried okra is great, and it is good in acidic dishes as the tomatoes etc. help solidify the okra while allowing the goo to help soften and thicken the soup or dish.

Okras are just fine in gumbo or jambalaya, helping to thicken it.
I also found an Indian rice-okra-smoked eggplant dish in my Indian recipe book I used to make fairly often and loved. I could cook the okra fairly fresh and raw (it was a dry vegetarian dish, fairly low-calorie).
I'm always on the lookout to make okra in a way that it does NOt taste or feel like snot soup at all. It's best in a supporting role, overall.
Frozen okra (the main way I find it) is best only in soups or in small amounts in dishes where the goo won't be noticeable, because it thaws out so soggily.
Anyway, poor, poor you, Don.

TLF, I was also really grossed out by lima beans growing up, wouldn't eat it at all.
See, lima beans stick to my palate and make me gag very easily. I wouldn't eat them even in packages of mixed vegetables, anything.

Then I dated a vegetarian who cooked those mixed vegetables in tomato curry... and he didn't OVERCOOK the lima beans to mush. I could finally swallow them like a normal bean and not gag, and the sauce helped with the taste. He also would stirfry the vegetables first to thaw and cook them w/o the sogginess.

I've done it since and I now can like lima beans this way-- cook firm, get them firmed up by tomato/acid, flavor them well-- great idea!

But you won't catch me eating lima beans straight from the can ever in my lifetime.

And liver... my parents never ate liver when I was growing up, so I never tasted it until I was around 20-- ordered pate once and was surprised to find it was liver. I like chicken liver, but I won't cook or stand beef liver in the house. Once was enough.

Back in the teaching saddle since Monday; am lurking and trying to keep up.

Funny bit on politics from CPBoy. He thought that the senator from IL was spelled Bar Rack O'Bama. What can I say? We come from the land of O's. He also said that Romney makes him think of the evil Romulan Empire.

Now I shall tell him about Mr. GoodBye Rudy Tuesday, who can hang a vote-chad on you?

We call okra, lady's finger. I used to sliced them up and sauté them with dried anchovies until the gooey stuff from the okra with mostly dried up. That was before I learned that the gooey stuff is good for you. Now, I just steamed the spears and topped them with fried onion or garlic.

I used not to eat veggies I don't like until I learned that those veggies I don't like are actually very good for me. Now, every so often, I force squash and bitter gourd down my throat.

I love squash, but I won't eat anything with the word 'bitter' in its name.

I just flew in from Pittsburgh and boy are my arms tired.

**rimshot**

I'm gonna backboodle and come back in about a half hour. Nobody go anywhere, okay?

Yellow squash is the family joke here. Several summers ago, when I had both dottirs and the third dottir home, I had squash plants that actually produced. We ate squash for dinner just about every night for three months. Fortunately, they all love squash casserole; now they ask me to fix it, and laugh.

OK, so McCain won the GOP delegates in FL, while Clinton won, er, the right to say she won Florida...

Personally, I think the Dems cut their nose off to spite their face with the whole 'no-delegates if you move the Primary' nonsense, considering how important FL was to the presidential election in 2000.

But, that's just me.

bc

Looks like the idiotic property tax cut amendment passed. Now for the courts to throw it out as discriminatory.

Right now, McCain looks like the most likely next president, on the assumption that in the general election Obama could be branded as "too liberal" and Clinton could simply be slimed.

I was kind of hoping Obama or Edwards or Dennis Kucinich would take Florida and make Hillary look bad. What's gotten into me? I think it's silly she's having a "victory" party. You've got a point about the Dem's stand on this though - would've been good to get some campaigning done in Florida.

bc, you mentioned in the last Boodle that the R's seem eager to take on Obama. But I think they're much more ready for Hillary - she and Bill are so polarizing, they unite the Republicans. Obama appeals to some Republican voters, and I think would be much tougher for them to run against. Gene W agrees, FWIW...he mentioned it in his chat today.

So long, Rooooodeeee...

I'm completely caught up with the Boodle and I even watched all the YouTube links and I have to say that watching all those Vanessa Mae videos back to back nearly put me into a diabetic coma. She can play at least as well as the guy in the Charlie Daniel's Band, but it's all speed with not voice or technique. And those syntho-dreck backing tracks. Talk about overproduced. They make Trans Siberian Ochestra sound like the Mouldy Peaches.

Vanessa seems very talented. It's a shame she decided to become the Britney Spears of classical music.

And I can listen to tragically sad women sing in Portuguese all day.

g'night boodle. So cold here they've called off school tomorrow. Predicted overnight low -30F with wind chill around -55. It's already -18, yuck.

Since we won't have to live with the aftermath of FL's property tax vote I hope it holds up long enough to make it easier to sell Chez Frostbitten. Sorry DotC and kb for the nasty potential of unintended consequences.

bc, i agree about florida and the dems. i think they're pretty much toast there in the general election regardless of who the nominees are.

I gotta say the Florida Dems brought it on themselves. Actions have consequences. Hillary can try to get that delegation seated, but it will just further split the party. Which is why people say she's devisive. She's practically a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Yello, I'm next to the very last person to make a comment on music, but not everybody likes very slow music.

I don't, personally, and most of the music I am exposed to is church music, which is extremely "whiny" and drawn-out in its sounds. (A friend one agreed with me completely on the whininess of church music, which she loves.)

When I translate the songs into ASL, I generally complete the songs 3/4 quicker than the original music, and that's adding in extra signs and beats to compensate.

I also have been known to add syncopated beats to songs by switching from hand to hand as well. Those songs have life.

Second, from my experience watching violin playing, most violin music is NOT slow. Most of the technically difficult (read classical) pieces are quite quick.

Each to their own. I prefer energetic music to slow music. I've never been particularly into a lot of depressed, death poetry or romantic gothic novels either.

Obviously Omni prefers not to listen to depressed portuguese women quite as much as you do. He wants music that he can hear clearly and enjoy.

Not all church music is "whiny", Wilbrod.
You should rent the "Blues Brothers".

I already saw Sister Act, Boko :).

Notice you say "not all". A lot of it is, especially the favorites of certain churches.

I mean, Kyrie elesion isn't whiny, because it's really short.

Yet "come ye faithul to harvest home..." or "the tie that binnnnnndss" is very whiny.

dave of the coonties is probably right. if mccain is the republican nominee,
he would probably beat clinton or obama or even edwards.

kyrie eleison, i should add.

kyrie eleison, i should add.

kyrie eleison, i should add.

L.A. Lurker, it would be a tighter match, that's true.

Between him and Hillary... I just might vote for him, depends on who his VP is and who he might pick. And that's saying a lot right there. I liked him in 2000 for the republican nominee.

In fact, I commented then that if Bill Clinton had been running for a third term in 2000, McCain would probably have won the nomination, and that election would have been more interesting... in a better way than the aftermath turned out to be.

Al Gore was very low-key in 2000 (he improved considerably since then his public speaking). So, they were able to put up a guy who couldn't talk his way out of a paper bag but could do a lot of dirty politics and toss the core what they wanted to hear as the republican nominee.

And now we have Bill, wait, Hillary Clinton running. The more Bill sticks his face out there, the more credo McCain will get among anti-clintonites because he's survived Clinton politics before.

What I said is probably mostly right, for all the wrong hypotheses, but that's how I feel this is shaping up to be.

Obama vs McCain would be such an interesting debate, I would love to see that happen. (Mind you, any of the democractic frontrunners would be interesting to watch against McCain.)

How odd. I got woken up by a thunder storm.
This doesn't look good for skating on the World Whatsis.

dang, a triple post. lord have mercy.

Billary already caved in to media conglomerates and allowed the finacial institutions to create a one stop fiasco.
How about a President that got rich screwing the corporations back. John Edwards.

I like him, Boko, but if he looks fair to negotiate to give his delegates to Clinton in exchange for the vice presidency... I really don't know, Boko.

NY Times has a bloggingheads video with Robert Wright and Francis Fukuyama discussing McCain and Romney on foreign policy. Wright, who has talked to Joel, remains interesting to watch.

On a column in the stacks at the Duke biology library, were scribbled, in chalk, "Kyrie Rana. Rana Eleison". Froggie Mass?

I personally figure that Obama's forward-looking rhetoric might win the nomination and election. In Mac-advertising terms, he makes the other candidates sound like PCs.

good morning, friends. well, the florida thing is over and mccain wins the day. also hillary clinton wins, but no prize.

thanks k-guy for the answer to my question about the prohphet. i did not see your comment at first.

today is wednesday and it's the busy day. have much to do, and need to start early. i haven't slept very much, and this more than likely will make the day long.

slyness, love squash casserole. my mother used to make the best squash casserole. mine does not come close.

mudge, scotty, martooni, and all, good morning.*waving*

hope the day goes well for everyone. the radio program starts at eleven this morning. we taped this sessions.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

I have a challenge: Find the link to today's (1/30) Reliable Source column. Can't get to it from the Style page or the Reliable Source page. Is it just me or are the WaPo interweb hamsters terribly forgetful?

'Morning, Boodle. Yes, the campaigns are getting ineteresting, all right. And next week cometh Super Tuesday, when about half the nation finally gets a chance to weigh in.

Dave, love the "Rana" thing. An old crossword-puzzle lovers' word, of course.

Wilbrod's 98% dead right about church music being so bad. There are a handful of exceptions that I think she'd agree with me about, such as Christmas carols in general, and the odd piece of church music written by the odd genius, such as "Amazing Grace," "The Grapes of Wrath," and one or two others, plus pretty near anything Handel wrote. But by and large, take the average hymnal with 300 to 400 hymns in it, and there's some pretty dreadful stuff in it. I think there are a handful of good reasons for this. Let's start with the fact that there's some great poetry and scattered pieces of great writing in the King James version--and so several hundred years of subsequent hymn lyricists ever since have felt compelled to write in bad 17th century English. The result has been lousy, dull, sanctimonious lyrics written by many talentless people--but whose work has slipped into the cannon because it's "religious," so it must be good. Next, a similar attachment to slow, dirge-like, dull 17th century music, much of it written for the church organ, and later, the piano (and, probably subconsciously, written so it can be played by any relatively talentless parishioner, rather than requiring large degrees of skillful musicianship, so it is "accessible" virtually everywhere). Third, the bulk of it is anywhere from 150 to 300 years old, hence written in a time of great, stodgy sanctimoniousness and piety...and sounds like it. Fourth, in the overwhelming majority of mainstream churches in America, it is performed grudgingly by small audiences of white people on Sunday mornings (which always include a large minority inside the main group who think they can sing and devoutly pound out hymn after hymn in talentless monotone.) So yeah, no wonder most of it is so bad.

The exception proves the rule: go into nearly any black church, where the hymns are sung by talented singers with passion, with joy, with excitement. Many of them are relatively newer (Civil War era and post-Civil War), are much closer to vernacular, are paced faster and livelier, and are often "accompanied" by clapping and dancing. It is pretty darn hard to nod off to sleep during a hymn sung in a black church...and that's good. If one is going to go to the trouble of attending a church service and participating in it, then at least for god's sake put some kick-a$$ energy and enthusiasm and vitality into it! Black churches do; the average run-of-the-mill whitebread mainstream Christian church service --taking theological content aside -- are basically social and theatrical funeral parlors. (And worse yet, attempts to "modernize" them with "hip, modern" updating such as guitars etc., have been executed so badly they are even worse than the "older" kinds of services they were ment to update.)

So yeah, Wilbrod's right. I mean, when even a deaf person knows your music sucks, that oughta tell you something. (No fair trying to offer up the 2 percent or 3 percent that doesn't suck; that's just denial. The fact is, 97 percent does.)

One consideration that churches as institutions don't seem to realize is that music involves a combination of factors, not just "content of the lyrics"; it is the overall performance itself that counts. Who bothers with the content of anything Elton John wrote? Half his lyrics are incomprehensible if you parse them, as is well known. The actual content of lyrics is almost the least important thing about any song. Yet in church music, the content is supposed to be paramount, because heaven knows, the others aspects are dreadful. So what is the purpose of asking the congregation to stand, turn to Hymn 497, and drone listlessly for four and a half minutes? I have no earthly clue. Never have.

Good morning, all--

Here's my morning after analysis on the Florida primary:

Giuliani, well, goodbye and good riddance. He actually won the race in Broward and Miami-Dade County. That's where all the New Yorkers are. But Florida is a big state, although we in South Florida tend to forget about everything north of Palm Beach County. Central and northern Floridians are a lot more like Alabamans than New Yorkers, and there's no way they're going to support a guy like Rudy.

Clinton celebrated a victory. I think she benefitted greatly from the Democratic candidates' pledge not to campaign in Florida. People who don't know who Obama and Edwards are naturally cast a vote for the familiar name on the ballot. Hillary shouldn't get overconfident.

If McCain is nominated, the boodle thinks he can win? I say, it depends on who votes. When the evangelical Christians got their vote out, they got what they wanted. If blacks or young voters (OR BOTH!) can do that, they can dominate the scene too. Neither of those groups is going for McCain. If Obama is nominated and the black community comes together, and the young people get on the internet and encourage each other, he could beat McCain. (Obama got twice as many votes as Clinton among black voters in Florida. On the Republican side, they couldn't do an analysis of the black vote because there essentially weren't any black voters in the Republican primary. 'Nuff said.)

If Hillary is nominated, she's definitely not going to win in a landslide but again, if the Democrats are organized and get out the vote, it could happen.

I woke up feeling sick this morning but now am drinking organic chai tea with honey and I believe I will soon be feeling better than I usually do even when I'm well, due to the mysterious spices, the extra calories and the caffeine. Caffeine is a strong drug to me, since I rarely ingest it.

Jeez, Wilbrod and Mudge, my church just bought a new organ, so I hope not all the music is whiny! It's even Canadian, the exchange rate was in our favor when the contract was signed. It was delivered last Sunday and everybody helped bring the pieces into the sanctuary. The company will spend the next several weeks putting it together. It's supposed to be ready for Easter, two full months ahead of schedule.

Our tradition is that the postlude on Easter is the Toccata from Widor's Fifth Symphony. It's a rousing piece, and I can hardly wait to hear it:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dJCt-4VMlms

Here's the slideshow from the local paper:

http://videos.charlotte.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=1679255

I always liked "Battle Hymn of the Republic" sung by a full choir. Then I attended a black church service with a friend of mine and learned how it's REALLY done right - lordy, lordy, it blew my socks off. Actually, the whole service did - the idea of celebrating your faith appeals to me. You're right, Mudge - attending mainstream whitebread services is like going to a funeral.

Unfortunately, I now live smack dab in the middle of Planet Whitebread. There's no black churches - because there's no black people. Or Latino. Or Asian. Plenty of Redneck, tho.

Obama is Muad'Dib.

Although I can't see myself voting for him, I think that America could survive, and even thrive, under a President McCain so long as the institutions that normally buffer Presidential excesses wake up and do their jobs. So I view the results out of Florida as being hopeful.

'Mudge, ya think Santana will actually report to Mets camp in two weeks? I was frankly shocked the Red Sox paid as much attention as they did to that trade situation.

And to return to the topics at hand, I like "Goodbye Rudy Tuesday," I do!

*holding-my-hat-against-the-gathering-wind Grover waves*

:-)

I have to say that I'm feeling very wounded that no one was inspired to comment upon (or, apparently, to look at) the video of the "spinning leek girl" (Loituma girl) that I linked in the last Boodle. Because, you see, that means it's just me that finds it weirdly infectious, maddeningly addictive. That's a truth that I can't handle, thank you very much.

http://dojo.fi/~rancid/loituma__.swf

Ivansmom can help us out with better churchy music.

Here are mine:

Be Thou My Vison (Gaelic, as it should be)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m6N3h2XgwE

Just a Closer Walk with Thee (Mahalia Jackson is fine, so many other version are insipid: here is Mahalia and Louis A.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuQNmmjmvCQ

What Wondrous Love from the Sacred Harp or Kentucky hymnal (Appalachian, hill people -- an original sound that is plaintive not whiny- Blue Highways, here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKbH6Dga3zo

Now the Green Blade Rises (Fr. Med. Carol)

and, I would love to stand next to Ivansmom and hear here hit the high note on O Holy Night.

Thanks, Tim, you made my morning. I shall tuck this link away and use on a slow class day. The leeks are a national symbol of Wales, so perhaps we can segue into Shakespeare with that.

Scotty, I'm just glad the Sox aren't going to be giving up Ellsbury, I love watching him run the bases.

RD, McCain is certainly the least objectionable of the Repubs, but I worry about who his VP might be (Huckleberry) because of McCain's age. Although if he was a one termer, then Obama would have a bit more 'experience' and could run again and perhaps win. McCain's warmongering bothers me but if we could get a solid majority of Dems in both houses, it could be an actual check and balance against anymore right wing rubbish. It would be hard to find anyone in either party who could come close to being as bad as what we have now.

Mudge, you have clearly not been to an Evangelical service lately.

Typically they have a fully outfitted pop/rock band and appropriate arrangments, playing the Greatest Hits of the Evangelical Christian Pop/Rock genre.

If you watch some late light cable TV, you'll see ads for the Time/Life CD 'Beautiful Worship' with songs like "Open the Eyes of My Heart" (I did not make that up) and "Come Now is the Time to Worship." I think this two-CD collection is probably the closest thing to an Evangelical Hymnal at this point.

These Church House Bands seem to pretty much play everything on those CDs from what I've seen and heard.

Those old Handelesque dirges don't seem to get a lot of energetic people into the pews the way a 4/4 beat from a full kit, a Fender Strat, a fretless Jazz bass and a stack of Marshall amps do.

bc

There are whispers (last night, cable coverage) that McCain might pick Huck as Veep to carry (sweep) the Southern states and the evangelical and cultural conservative votes.

Mo MoDo, you still around?

Still looking for this? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/01/29/DI2008012901884.html

And for *Tim and CP, a live version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1738842995641330414

Southern Harmony was a huge success at preserving early American church music. I recall a comment from a few years ago that this tradition has pretty much been ousted from its original homes by pop music. It seems you're now more likely to hear shape-note singing in college towns.

If you're in a hurry: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3933227298902653978 or perhaps are big fans of the Alvin sound, hehe

FWIW, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, could do more to make me sprint away from a presidental ticket than for a candidate to include Mr. Traveling Theocracy Road Show in any fashion. *shrug*

bc, do ya think the GHECP/R folks might worry the Big Daddy/Momma Upstairs has grown hard of hearing? :-)

kb writes:
Clinton celebrated a victory. I think she benefitted greatly from the Democratic candidates' pledge not to campaign in Florida. People who don't know who Obama and Edwards are naturally cast a vote for the familiar name on the ballot. Hillary shouldn't get overconfident.

I find it hard to swallow what you wrote in this graf, kb. What with satuation coverage of the campaigning lately on both television and in the newspapers, the South Carolina vote last week, you mean to tell me that Floridians don't know who Obama and Edwards are? I'm open to you explaining your comment a bit further.

Are Floridians really that backward and ignorant? I thought (and pundits said last night) that Florida is a rather cosmopolitan state--on average (sure there may be pockets...).

News for TBG: Sara's last blog post was a month ago. She said she finished her thesis and turned it in. Had a great Christmas. And Jeremy got her a diamond ring. All good stuff.

bc;

Fair warning -- strap yourself down before clicking this link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22826327/?GT1=10755

:-)

Jan 30, 1966 the northern parts of Mississippi and Alabama got 6" of snow and with bitterly cold air mass all time state lows were set in these states. -19º in Corinth, MS and -27º in New Market, AL. Do people that far south even own winter coats? Yikes.

Watching Rick Mercer last night, this clip made me think of bc - ice racing in Thunder Bay.

http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/

Don't forget "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear."

Michael Gerson thinks GWB is as compassionate as ever (Katrina notwithstanding).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012902212.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

He has forgotten, or perhaps he does not know, the very first rule, the Prime Directive, of recreational drug use- IT'S NO FUN IF YOU DON'T SHARE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE, DUDE! How can you expect anyone to agree with what you say if you're stoned out of your skull and they're all straight?

kb writes:
If McCain is nominated, the boodle thinks he can win? I say, it depends on who votes. When the evangelical Christians got their vote out, they got what they wanted [Bush? And look what the nation got!]. If blacks or young voters (OR BOTH!) can do that, they can dominate the scene too. Neither of those groups is going for McCain. If Obama is nominated and the black community comes together, and the young people get on the internet and encourage each other, he could beat McCain.

Frank Rich wrote in his op-ed last Sunday in the NYT:
In a McCain vs. Billary race, the Democrats will sacrifice the most highly desired commodity by the entire electorate, change; the party will be mired in déjà 1990s all over again. Mrs. Clinton's spiel about being "tested" by her "35 years of experience" won't fly either. The moment she attempts it, Mr. McCain will run an ad about how he was being tested when those 35 years began, in 1973. It was that spring when he emerged from five-plus years of incarceration at the Hanoi Hilton while Billary was still bivouacked at Yale Law School. And can Mrs. Clinton presume to sell herself as best equipped to be commander in chief "on Day One" when opposing an actual commander and war hero? I don't think so.

Anyone want to write the scenario in a match between the freshman senator from Illinois vs. the format combat veteran and senior senator from Arizona?

I would certainly need to brush up on the biographies and voting records of both. But if the campaign between McCain and Obama got really nasty, I could imagine something like this..."While I was heading to the Naval Academy at age 17, I believe you, when you were 17, were wandering around Hawaii's Punahou in a daze, getting a blow when you could afford it." And so forth.

And to circle back to kb's argument, the young (whatever that means) vote and the African-American vote comprise what percentage of the electorate? In what presidential election--say the last 20 years--was the turnout of young voters the highest? So, more identity politics--young and black?

MSNBC reporting that Edwards is dropping out of the race.

Did you ever get the feeling you were being...

watched?

That the eyes of strange creatures were upon you?

Look! Out in the audience!

=^..^=

bc, I think you and CP may have missed my point, which is mainly based on a numbers game. And no--I sure haven't been to an Evangelical service--you couldn't GET me to go to one if you pointed that 10-inch Charleston mortar at me. What Wilbrod and I are talking about are the majority of whitebread, mainstream churches--Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, UCC, probably a good many (non-southern-state) Baptist, etc. What you and Cp have brought up are the general exceptions, which we grant, not the the majority of cases. And I seriously doubt you're going to hear the Time-Life hymnal series being sung on Sunday morning in my wife's Methodist church in Waldorf -- nor any run-of-the-mill Methodist church anywhere in America. (Can you see Hillary wailing like Mahalia? Please.)

I'm on record as saying I love "O Holy Night" as a piece of music, and that I'd love to hear Ivansmom sing it. Now, all you have to do is find a way to convince me that that experience is typical of an ordinary, run-of-the-mill musical exoperience in any garden-variety church -- and I'll eat my hat.

Look, I'll repeat it: we grant you some exceptions here and there. We're talking about what we perceive to be the routine "average" experience in most mainstream churches. If you don't agree, fine. But don't throw the Time-Life CD set at me.

----------------

In other matters, Michael Gerson's column seems to be claiming Bush is both (a) compassionate, and (b) better than his critics claim. I simply canNOT bring myself to even try to read it. I'm all in favor of a diversity of opinions on the op-ed page, but Gerson is pushing the limits of my tolerance.

omni,
I recall "Prairie Home Companion" doing a show in a snow-stricken Birmingham, Alabama. They managed to do the show, but I think the audience was sparse. Maybe performers too. Similarly, Saturday Night Live once had David Spade out on the street during a horrendous storm, pretending to be jabbering away, unaware that the mike was on.

Good thing they can't force us to read stuff we don't want to, eh Mudge? I tried to read that piece but it wasn't making sense so I stopped.

WaPo now has story that Edwards is quitting.

I'm very sad that Edwards is quitting the race -- he's always been my favorite. I wish him and Elizabeth and his family well. He will continue to do good things, and for that we should be grateful.

*sigh*

Good morning boodle, and toodles in the same post. Drive by boodling today, and probably for several more days. On my way to pick Mr. F up from the airport in Duluth this afternoon.

Loomis-did you send any time in Florida leading up to the primary? It was like a parallel universe where the Democratic party didn't exist. However, I must say that it wasn't just because the Dem's weren't campaigning there. Even before this election cycle (was there a "before" in this election cycle?) a daily reading of the state's major papers would lead one to conclude the Republican party was the only party in the country.

Bad Sneakers - yep you are right. The VP choice for McCain will be crucial. But a dreadful VP is better than a dreadful Pres.

Well. At least that used to be true.

Gosh. Edwards is gone. I'm glad nobody was ever silly enough to predict he might emerge as a compromise candidate. (That silly person would be, of course, me.)

Clinton's "victory" in Florida shows that absent any other campaigning Clinton would win in Florida. That's about it. This is why people campaign. It isn't just about name recognition, it is about seeing the candidates.

Reading some of the other political blogs I am reminded why I despise identity politics. It is so corrosive. It stops being about ideas and more about raw power.

Remember the theory that some women voted for Clinton in New Hampshire to stick it to the Sexist Male Commentators? This kind of thinking is not good for democracy. Unfortunately, a similar type of reasoning could come back to haunt both Obama and, especially, Senator Clinton.

Then again...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

Journalist Adam Clymer sees McCain's nature as possibly misfit for the Senate: "McCain is an impatient man -- perhaps because he lost five years of his life as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam -- in an institution that worships delay and rewards endurance." Clymer further notes that, "There is no question that he sometimes loses potential allies by his penchant for telling off other senators," Purdum remarks upon a "temperament that routinely put[s] him atop insiders' lists of the most difficult senators on Capitol Hill," and a 2006 Washingtonian survey of Capitol Hill staff ranked McCain as having the second "Hottest Temper" in the Senate. Indeed, the characteristics that led to McCain gaining hundreds of demerits at the Naval Academy have never fully left him; by his own admission, he has an "irremediable" personality trait of being "a wiseass," and as he added: "Occasionally my sense of humor is ill-considered or ill-timed, and that can be a problem." Others have concurred: A 2007 Associated Press story was titled "McCain's WMD Is a Mouth That Won't Quit". Over the years this trait has led to a series of controversial remarks:

Two examples:

In 1998, McCain was chastised for making an off-color joke at a Republican fundraiser about President Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, saying "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."[212] McCain later apologized to President Clinton and Clinton accepted his apology.

On May 18, 2007, during a meeting to negotiate immigration legislation, McCain swore at fellow Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) after Cornyn expressed concerns about the number of appeals that illegal immigrants could receive. According to multiple sources, Cornyn told McCain, "Wait a second here. I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line," to which McCain replied, "[substituting...Eff] you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room."

Frosti, been to Florida thrice--not before the primary, however--the first time to visit my naval aviator (and college beau) boyfriend at Pensacola.

OTOH, Loomis, there will be questions about McCain's age, his health, his age, his Senate voting record, his age, his support for the Iraq war, and, of course, his age. And then in light of his age there will certainly be heightened scrutiny of his VP choice, which will likely make Huckabuck more of a drag on the ticket than a plus in much of the country, specifically that part that thinks the earth is round and Darwin was right.

I guess I should add that not just identity politics, but any situation in which hostility towards a group swamps rational thought is corrosive.

For example, here is another very excellent Ignatius column where he talks about the situation in Iraq:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012902726.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Now Ignatius is no partisan hack. I take his analyses very seriously. But part of me finds myself irrationally rejecting his thinking because the conclusions could give quarter to the neocons. This is a horrible way to think. Yet I would be shocked if I am the only one who reacts this way.

omni,

That link was close. It was to the Reliable Source chat later today. Maureen Dowd's column today was about The Snub, Obama deliberately avoiding shaking Hillary Clinton's hand at the SOTU. The dead trees edition had a great picture of it and I wanted to use it on my blog. As of 7 am, today's Reliable Source wasn't on the web, but it is now:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/30/AR2008013000386.html

But it doesn't include the picture I wanted. I ended up using a different angle from an AP/USAToday report.

I read between the lines and decided that Dowd was channeling her inner Lindsey Lohan in taking a rather school yardish look at Hillary and Obama.

http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/01/mean-girls.html

And Maureen never misses a catfight.

My wife and I regularly went to Mass at the campus Catholic Center which only had that guitar and tambourine folk music. As a result we grew rather fond of the hippie-dippie religious music and prefer the anybody-with-an-instrument-can-join-us spirit of the "modern" services. Whenever we hear a song that was in heavy rotation from our college days at a Mass nowadays, we just glance at each other and grin. Good times.

The point is that McCain would be the lesser of evils *compared* to the other Republicans.

Think Edwards and Rudy are angling for VP nominations?

With Thompson out, that GOP VP nom pool's getting crowded quickly...

bc

As a boy in parochial school we all sung in church. Not well, but in tune. Sister Gabriel and her pitch pipe ensured that. She also made sure we got the idiosyncratic melody of "Faith of our Fathers" correct. I still remember the day they started playing a guitar in church. Darn near killed that dear old nun.

I'm sorry to see Edwards out of the race. He's been sending lots of requests for money... what happens to that money now?

I do think the only way he'd bow out is with a firm promise of the VP spot. Of course, what the heck to I know?

I also agree with RD that McCain is my least scary potential Republican president. He may have anger issues, but he's also shown he knows how to compromise and work together with folks from both parties. This doesn't mean I'd vote for him (not hardly!).

In fact, I wish the Dems also had a candidate who came out of the days when Congress did work together. When folks from both sides of the aisle were out to breakfast together or out playing golf together before facing each other in debate. Those days are gone for now and I wonder what it will take to bring them back.

And last... we must all remember that a criticism of one's favorite candidate is not to be taken personally.

RD, "Faith of our Fathers" just proves the horror that is white bread church music, that song is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

Hey, they're all taking money from the same set of lobbyists. What could be more collegial than that?

Worth a look, lists of best and worst of Congress, 2007, by categories:

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/mediapolitics/1666.html

John McCain:
#1 -- Straightest Shooter
#2 -- Worst Follower
#2 -- Showhorse
#2 -- Hottest Temper, Ted Stevens of Alaska coming in first
#3 -- Senator I'd most like to see win the presidency in 2008, tied with HRC

Ted Kennedy
#1 -- Workhorse
#1 -- No Altar Boy/Girl
#3 -- Most Eloquent
#3 -- Ethically Challenged

Hillary Rodham Clinton
#1 -- Brainiest
#3 -- Senator I'd Most like to see win the presidency in 2008, tied with McCain

Barack Obama
#1 -- Rising Star
#2 -- Most Eloquent
#2 -- Hunk
#2 -- Best Dressed
#2 -- Senator I'd most like to see win the presidency in 2008, George Allen of Virginia taking first

Polling list for House members follows the Seante list

I think we have also proven that the moaning and, well, moaning about Joel putting up to many political kits is unjustified.

No matter what the topic of the kit, during this crazy time we will end up talkin' politics.

Also, I wanted to point out that although I know nothing about Florida I have visited the place six times. We once momentarily considered naming our son "Walt."