Random Notes from a Crank

The Washington Post has an interesting article up about how the building industry should learn from the work of the ancient Romans: "These Old Roman Buildings Could Unlock How to Build in a Warming World." The basic premise is that you can reuse a lot of building materials rather than destroying everything from a previous building and dumping it in a landfill. 

As the author says, "demolition, today, is a perverse luxury of economies where materials are cheap and labor expensive. It is a ubiquitous part of the architectural cycle -- building, erasing, and rebuilding -- with thought to the reuse of old materials, or the environmental cost of creating ever new supplies of concrete, steel, and gypsum board." 

As I am sure other left-leaning pundits have opined, if you are a Democratic candidate for a competitive House or Senate seat in the midterms, whether for federal or state office, you surely want to Elon Musk to campaign for sychophantic GOP candidate. 

Or at the very least the Democratic candidate needs to show how much Musk donated to the GOP campaign. 

The guy gets people angry and motivated. 

Unfortunately, the actor Val Kilmer died. On one of the SiriusXM stations I listen to regularly, the host recommended the documentary about him simply titled Val. 

I enjoy reading newspapers outside the U.S. to get a good perspective on things: "Trump Goes Full Gameshow Host to Push His Tariff Plan - And Nobody's a Winner."

Random Notes from a Crank

The word on my Word-of-the-Day calendar on Monday was "claque," which is a noun meaning "1. a group hired to applaud at a performance 2. A group of servile flatterers." 

The second definition is a good word to describe the GOP and its complicity in what Moscow Don is doing. 

The Athletic had an article about the use of "torpedo bats" in MLB. It'll be interesting to how pitchers adjust to these bats. Here's an article by the AP: "Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Eyes after Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers in Rout of Brewers." 

I wonder whether metal bat manufacturers are going to experiment with similar designs. 

At work I noticed a packet of Domino's red pepper flakes lying on the stairs I climb every time I come into work. It's been there for at least two weeks. I'm waiting to see how long it takes for someone, the custodian or someone else, to pick it up and throw it away. It's like an ad hoc sociological experiment. 

The folks at Existential Comics are doing some great work. Check out "The Frog and the Scorpion from a Rational Point of View." 

Hit the link and follow them. I look forward to their new comic every Monday. 

I watched an old documentary about Thomas Jefferson on my local PBS station last night. It's the second episode. He takes office as President, so it covers his two terms. 

It also brings up the speculation about Sally Hemings, and a number of historians in the documentary say that Jefferson probably didn't have sexual relations with her. 

Time has proven them wrong. Monticello does history right with the site's "The Life of Sally Hemings." 

Two summers ago the Nasty family visited Monticello and Charlottesville after spending a great deal of time taking in the sights of Washington D.C. We visited Mount Vernon on our way there, which was a lot of fun also. 

If you're into American history, I highly recommend visiting Monticello. In retrospect, I should have bought some of the site's seeds that come from the mountaintop mansion and grounds. Jefferson was obsessed with gardening. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Salt-Pepper Seasoning for the Griddle

I got a griddle over a year ago after my grill went kaput. When I got the Blackstone, I also got the griddle paraphernalia that comes along with it. 

So I have one of those stainless shakers to use for whatever I want to put into it. 

Here's my initial recipe that I may modify on down the line. 

Ingredients

2/3 cup of fine kosher salt

1/3 cup of black pepper

1 TB of onion powder

1 TB of garlic powder

1 TB of Penzey's Justice seasoning

1 ts of Penzey's roasted garlic

1 ts of sweet paprika

1 ts of Penzey's smoked paprika

Process

Mix it all together thoroughly and put into a shaker. 

Music Friday: "End Times"

I've been listening to a bunch of albums by Eels this week. 

Here's "End Times" from the End Times album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

This example is just a small segment of the economy, but the small companies are likely to hurt most by President Adolf's tariffs as noted by this article in The Washington Post: "Craft Distillers' Hit Hard as Tariffs Mix with 1930s Rules for Alcohol." 

The Nation had an interesting article about renewable energy. I had no idea that the country of Uruguay was so forward thinking with green energy. 97% of their energy comes from renewable source. Check out "Going for Green: Uruguay's Renewable Energy Revolution." 

This week a Democratic candidate was elected in a special election in a red district in Pennsylvania, which I hope is a harbinger for Democrats winning some midterm elections in the House. James Malone won the seat in a district described by the local media as "Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities." 

Now people are looking ahead to the special elections to replace the House seats of Gaetz and Waltz, two goons of Moscow Don. There's hope I guess: "'Tide's Turning' for Dems in Florida as Special Election Reveals 'Buyer's Remorse' among Trump Voters." 

I don't think the Democratic candidates will win in those special elections. Florida is the crazy limp dick of America (see its shape). The fabled Florida Man meme is out there for a reason. 

And it's safe to assume that Florida Man votes MAGA. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The strip from today for Rabbits Against Magic has it right. 

The MAGA hat should be referred to as a "Ku Klux Kap." 

Moscow Don and his minions are calling what's happening to Tesla dealerships "domestic terrorism." No, it's vandalism. 

Domestic terrorism is what happened on January 6th. 

Or what one of Moscow Don's supporters did to protesters in Palm Beach County. That move, albeit at a slow speed, is reminiscent of what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

What a jackass. 

In related news, Tesla sales are dropping like a lead balloon in Europe as reported by The Guardian: "Tesla's Europe Sales Drop Nearly 45% amid Row over Musk's Trump Links." 

I follow the US Men's National Team. They had a terrible week by losing to both Panama and Canada. I thought Pochettino would take them to another level, but I hope these are just growing pains.  

Poch's comments after the game basically related that it's better for them to find out what they need to work on now rather than later. At least this summer the coaching staff should have a full month or so to work with the players they select for the Gold Cup. 

Musing of the Moment: Bourbon in the Movies

I was watching Bull Durham before a March Madness game began today, and I noticed that in the pool room scene Crash Davis is drinking Jim Beam standard offering. That's not a good choice in my opinion, but the scene got me thinking. 

What other films feature bourbon drinking? 

I know the "Fast Eddy" Felson character (played by Paul Newman) drinks one of my favorite bargain borbons, J.T.S. Brown in The Hustler. 

And I vaguely remember John Wick drinking Blanton's. 

Other than those I couldn't think of others except maybe the Al Pacino character in Heat drinking Jack Daniel's Old No. 7. 

Uproxx has done the work for me though with this article: "The Most Iconic Bourbons Drinkers in Film History." 

Cheers to Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Old Forester. 

Music Friday: "The Wreck"

This song came across yesterday as I was cooking and listening to my iPod on shuffle. Yes, I still use an iPod. 

Delta Spirit is a band I like quite a bit. 

This tune is the final tune on the band's Into the Wide album that came out in 2014. 

Musing of the Moment: Resistance Gardens

I'm a gardener, mainly a vegetable gardener. 

I saw a great post on Tik Tok that talked about how during WWII people planted "victory gardens" because of the war effort, and these gardens produced 40% of the vegetables people ate during the war. 

I like the idea so much that I got a Victory Garden t-shirt from Civil Standard a couple of years back except it's in light blue. 

Considering how much of our produce is imported from Mexico, some folks might want to start planting some resistance gardens. 

President Adolf's trade wars are madness. Plant a Resistance Garden. 

Random Notes from a Crank

President Adolf and his goons and charlatans are planning even more tariffs to happen on April 2 according to The Washington Post: "Trump Aides Prep More Tariffs for April 2 on Imports Worth Billions."

He's wanting to do something similar to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which helped deepen the Great Depression. History often rhymes. 

Here's a political cartoon from Nick Anderson that shows what's going to happen. 

As expected, Putin is playing Moscow Don like a fiddle: "Trump-Putin Call Seen as a Victory in Russia." 

The only positive I can see from a trade war is that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, among other such entities in Canada, have pulled US products from their shelves. I wonder if these moves could reduce the price of bourbon here in the US. 

The prices of bourbon are ridiculous. I used to be able to get all kinds of different bourbons at decent prices, but the flippin' hipsters have latched on to the liquor, which has driven up prices across the board. There are some YouTube bourbon guys who consider "budget" bourbons to be a bottle under $50. 

WTF?

There are some bourbons I used to be able to get on a regular basis, such Very Old Barton 100, Early Times Bonded, and Eagle Rare, that I can't find anymore. 

So if there's an excess of bourbon (supply), perhaps the demand will start getting met more effectively. Hopefully by me. 

Regardless, the hipsters need to become more interested in a different spirit, such as rum or gin. 

At the nudging of Mrs. Nasty, I've joined Tik Tok. I'm using my same pseudonym. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I've heard of French bread, and I've heard of Italian bread. But this is the first time I've had French Italian bread. 

What manner of culinary mash-up of this? They didn't even have the grammatical acumen to use an hyphen. 

I'm sure I've said this before on this blog, or maybe I just have thought it many times. I don't go to Walmart often, but when I do, I feel much better about myself. 

If you want to feel better about your body image or your sense of style, go to Walmart. You'll feel like a healthy and well dressed person. 

The New York Times did an interesting analysis. Apparently the retaliatory tariffs from other countries are going to hurt areas that widely voted for President Adolf: "Trade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardest." 

I think it's pretty clear we are headed to a showdown about the Constitution and about what the Executive Branch can and cannot do. I don't feel good about with the makeup of the Supreme Court. 

Perhaps this trend has always been the case, but based on my history of watching Reels, my trinity of jokesters is Norm Macdonald, Bill Burr, and Seinfeld (the TV series). 

I started watching Krapopolis on Netflix. Episode 11 that uses the Hydra to signify social media was a brilliant move. 

Music Friday: "Ride to Robert's" & "Crimson and Clay"

Jason Isbell put out a new solo album this week. It's titled Foxes in the Snow. 

I've listened to it a number of times, and I'm warming to it because I'm getting used to just him singing just with his guitar. 

It works, but I always prefer his more rock-oriented work. 

Based on my first few listens, these two songs are the ones that stand out to me at present. 

Random Notes from a Crank

You know it's bad when an article from The Onion is strikingly accurate. 

Check out "Trump Says Recession Unfortunate But Necessary Step to Get to Depression." 

In unsurprising news, the latest polls done by CNN show the majority of Americans disapprove of how President Adolf is handing the economy: "New Poll Crystallizes Trump's Self-Inflicted Wounds on Musk and Tariffs." 

Unfortunately, his approval rating is still 45%, which is preposterous. What a bunch of morons and clowns.

Yet the Wall Street Journal opinion page has described what's happening as "the dumbest trade war in history." 

I suspect those 45% aren't reading the Wall Street Journal. 

I've been watching The X-Files lately because there isn't much on in the evening. The series has reminded me that the GM products of the 90s were pretty damn ugly. 

I wonder if there are any people who got out ahead of all this nonsense and are hoarding alcoholic beverages from abroad since Moscow Don is threatening to put a 200% tariff on alcoholic beverages from the European Union. 

Although I'm not a regular buyer of Ouzo, I do like it from time to time. No "Opa!" for me.

Random Notes from a Crank

I have a couple of favorite Norm Macdonald jokes (1) The moth who went to the podiatrist and 2) The unconventional doctor's solution to a husband whose wife is in a coma), but one of his small observations is spot on. 

I wonder if there is a similar deal with the abbreviation of "number," which is "No." as in No. 2. 

Why the heck is an "o" used instead of "Nu. 2" or "Nr. 2"? But some cursory research shows that it's my old friend the Latin language making an appearance on the linguistic scene because the Latin word for number is "numero."  

This week's Existential Comic is one of my favorites: "The future will have stupidity beyond our wildest imagination." Indeed. "Stupidity will multiply and spread, and new advanced forms of stupidity will emerge that we cannot even begin to conceive of." 

As Stephen Colbert noted in Tuesday's monologue, Moscow Don didn't even say the car company's name right in his photo app. He called it "Tesler," which is probably a Freudian slip since it seems to be a mash-up of Tesla and Hitler. That's on brand because Musk supported a far-right Neo-Nazi-like party in Germany's recent election. 

After watching the first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+, I am wondering if there are plans for a move to San Francisco in the series because we find out that Karen Page is in the Bay Area, and in the comic books under Mark Waid's run, Murdock moved to San Francisco. In fact, I think I have a number of those issues/books down in the basement. 

As Moscow Don cuts the Department of Education, the smallest federal agency, by half, it remains to be seen how these cuts will affect the funding for K-12 education and the FAFSA. I doubt the cuts will improve matters. 

Musing of the Moment: "Up and Not Crying"

Mrs. Nasty posted a reel from "wanderingbird.adventures" on social media that I also posted after I saw it.

Here's what it says: "In Norway 'up & not crying' is a standard response to 'How are you doing?'--and I think that's a very reasonable standard to hold oneself to these days." 

I agree.

I've read or heard that Norwegians have a reputation as the Scandinavians who are the most depressed. So that response "up and not crying" tracks. And I guess you can tie in seasonal affective disorder. 

Yet the saying flies in the face of the reputation of Nordic countries scoring the best on happiness surveys, which they do according to the World Happiness Report.

An article in The Guardian from 2018, "Nordic Countries 'Happy' Reputation Masks Sadness of Young, Says Report," shows some figures. And the numbers support that those countries are doing much better than other countries in Europe. 

Regardless, I like the black/dark humor of the saying.  

Random Notes from a Crank

I volunteered to conduct a couple of mock interviews with graduating seniors in our department. The one I did last week was with a young lady who is intending to enroll in a graduate program at the University of Alberta. 

My first question to her was why that university, and I asked a joking question of "Are you a big fan of the Edmonton Oilers or something?"

Her reply was that part of the reason was the "political situation" in the U.S. 

I suspect Canadian universities are going to see an uptick in applications from U.S. students over the next few years. I know my daughter is probably looking at some grad programs in Canada along with universities in blue states. 

I saw this chart of sorts on Facebook. 

I'm no vegan, but looking at this chart and based on my tastes, here are more go-tos for protein:

• Almonds
• Pistachios
• Tofu
• Hazelnuts
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Lentils
• Garbanzos
• Lima beans
• Spinach

Now that it's warming up, I need to get to making some tofu fried rice on my Blackstone griddle. Tofu is so cheap compared to meat. I wish I would have known how to cook it back in college. 

I'm worried about Ange's future at Tottenham if he doesn't move forward in the Europa League. Thursday's match looms large. 

I see the Vikings moved on from Sam Darnold, and they resigned Aaron Jones. And then they signed Ryan Kelly for the interior line. Good moves all around. 

I also saw that Najee Harris signed with he Chargers for a one-year contract in a run-first offense. I will be targeting that guy in my fantasy football draft. Harbaugh loves running the football. 

As we expected, RFK Jr. is claiming all kinds of nonsense in a recent interview. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I got these stats from some dude on social media. I'm pretty sure it's from the Jon Cooper who is a Democratic strategist. Since Moscow Don has openly talked about how his policies might create a recession, it seems appropriate to share.

The dipshit is affecting markets worldwide apparently. 

In related news, Canada got a new Prime Minister who has harsh words for President Adolf as reported by the BBC: "Canada's Next PM Mike Carney Vows to Win Trade War with Trump." 

 

On most weekdays I've been sharing a word-of-the-day post from The Dictionary of American Slang on social media. I've been discovering all kinds of words I never knew about, and some of them are quite old timey. 

Today I shared a V-word, the "visiting fireman." But the one I thought about sharing was "voos," which is a plural noun signifying "Human female breasts, esp. of a sexually attractive young woman." 

I've heard of all kinds of words used for tits, such as "cans," "headlights," and "ta tas," but voos is a new term for me. I would guess it came about because it rhymes with "boobs"? 

Happy National Napping Day.  

Stay Positive: Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel

As a wine drinker (I'm not a connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination.), I like dry wines, especially reds. 

Cabernets, Zinfandels, Pinot Noirs, and other red wines are the varieties I gravitate to. However, I do like a good buttery Chardonnay. 

Probably one of my favorite budget (I'm frugal) red wines has to be Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel. I think the most I've ever paid for a bottle of wine is $15. At my local grocery stores, this bottle is usually $9.99. So it's in my budgetary wheelhouse. 

The winery's website provides the official tasting notes of "aromas of cranberries and raspberries, leading to notes of red fruit, marionberry pie, and baking spices." 

I tend to agree with those notes, especially the "notes of red fruit." The bottle I drank before the one I'm sipping on now was very fruity--lots of plum-like flavor. 

Like I said with my Wild Turkey 101 post, if Bogle wants to sponsor this blog, I'll take payment in booze. 

Music Friday: "Living in the USA" & "Back Against the Wall"

This week I've revisited a couple of the newer releases from Son Volt, the albums Electric Melodier and Notes of Blue.

I've selected a tune from each that seem appropriate for the times. 

Random Notes from a Crank

If you like a good fact checking like I do, read "Fact Checking 26 Suspect Claims in Trump's Address to Congress" from The Washington Post.  

Journalists need to stop calling what he's doing as "false claims." They are LIES. I do like how the author calls one of his assertions "absurd" though. 

I learned in January issue of Harper's that the "word 'huh' or its equivalent seems to exist in every human language, for unknown reasons." That fact makes sense to me. 

Here are some interesting gleanings from the February and March Harper's Indexes:

• Rank of November 6, 2024, among the days with the most account deactivations on X since Elon Musk acquired the company: 1
• Factor by which the average wait to receive approval for federal disability benefits has increased since 2019: 2
• Estimated number of Americans who died in 2023 while waiting for such approval: 30,000
• Percentage change since 1973 in the average American's carbon emissions: -36
• Factor by which per capita U.S. carbon emissions exceed the global average: 3
• Average percentage by which the opening of a Walmart Supercenter causes nearby household incomes to decrease: 6
• Percentage of U.S. solar-power capacity growth last year accounted for by Texas: 31
• Percentage by which Texas's new solar-power capacity exceeded California's last year: 358
• Chance that an American believes they have undiagnosed ADHD: 1 in 4
• Chance that they do have ADHD: 1 in 17

I wonder how many more deactivations have happened on Twitter because of Musk's work with DOGE? I hope there have been a lot. 

And I imagine the number of Americans who will die while waiting for approval for federal disability benefits will skyrocket this year because of DOGE cuts to the workforce. 

I'm surprised about the solar growth in Texas. However, it makes sense that the state could harness solar power. 

Like ADHD, I think there is a similar difference in Americans who think they have an anxiety disorder and those who actually have an anxiety disorder. 

The U.S. is a well medicated nation because of Big Pharma. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I have a Word-of-the-Day calendar at work, and the word today is compunctious, which is an adjective meaning "1. arising from remorse or regret 2. feeling remorse or regret." 

With President Adolf's tariffs against Canada and Mexico starting this week, a lot of Americans can be described as that. American voters fucked around again and will be finding out. 

Members of the GOP have no spine. 

I'm not all that concerned about out the markets usually, but they didn't respond favorably to the tariffs with both Canada and China set to retaliate with their own tariffs right away and Mexico set to announce how they're going to respond by Sunday. 

I rejoined Facebook mainly because I want to keep in touch with my family members who are on there along with friends and fraternity brothers. I'm no longer using my real first name because I'm paranoid. 

Also, I'm going to be more judicious in who I accept friend requests from. If you're a supporter of Moscow Don, you're no virtual "friend" of mine. 

My plan is that I'm going to share my viewpoints on this blog and Bluesky and share  personal stuff on FB. 

Here's the cover photo I'm using on FB. 

Zappa is an artist I've always been interested in, but I have never bought any of his work. I did watch a great documentary about him simply titled Zappa. It's worth a watch. 

Now I'm pondering getting Freak Out! by Mothers of Invention. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In what has become normal for the GOP, they focus on stupid issues. 

For example, the Texas Lieutenant Governor, instead of focusing on the measles outbreak in his state, is more concerned about renaming a cut of beef to be called "Texas strip" instead of "New York strip." 

Read about this lunacy in The Guardian: "Texas Republican Focuses on Rebrand of 'New York Strip' amid Outbreak." 

It will always be Gulf of Mexico, people. 

Distractions keep people focused on the wrong issues. 

I know a guy who works in some kind of government program that's linked to Veterans Affairs. He's a big supporter of Moscow Don. I wonder if he lost his job. That'd be ironic.  

The Executive Branch is clearly a puppet of Russia. At least that's what the Kremlin is saying: "Washington Now "Largely Aligns" with Moscow's Vision, Kremlin Says." 

I got a package today from this company. 

As a Star Wars fan and as a big fan of the character Chewbacca, I dig it. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I've been an avid viewer of Saturday Night Live since I was a kid. 

The sketch about Zelensky's visit to trap in the White House was spot on. And the new agency DOUCHE is strikingly accurate. That's what they're setting out to do: Department of Unmaking Child Healthcare and Education. 

Mike Myers had to have a lot of fun imitating Musk's strange mannerisms. 

I recently watched the Netflix movies about the start of SNL, Saturday Night. If the depiction is true, I never knew Chevy Chase and John Belushi disliked each other so much. 

It's now once again what I call the dead season of sports. I neither watch the NBA nor the NHL. And March Madness hasn't started. Since I quit playing fantasy baseball, I don't watch much MLB. And because Hulu doesn't have the Marquee Network, I don't watch the Cubs. 

Democrats are inviting federal workers who were fired because of the draconian efforts of DOGE to Moscow Don's Congressional address on Tuesday. Many of them are veterans. 

I like this move because it shows how Trump, Musk, and their goons are just indiscriminately firing people. And I like how pissed-off constituents are showing up at town halls. 

Of course, craven Republicans will just stop having town halls if I had to guess. 

Stay Positive: Wild Turkey 101

I like bourbon. And I watch a couple of YouTubers who drink bourbon to see what's good and what's not, often in blind tastings. 

The one guy I watch regularly goes on bourbon hunts and buys more expensive  bourbon than I would buy unless I somehow start harvesting money off my imaginary money tree in my back yard. 

If I had to pick a bourbon that is the best, price per ounce, and really a low-cost bourbon (I'm talking under $30 MSRP), it would be Wild Turkey 101. 

Of course, Wild Turkey hits my flavor profile. It's strong, is spicy, and has strong oak char on the finish. 

It's an old-school bourbon. 

And Wild Turkey, if you willing to sponsor my blog, I'll take payment in booze. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Sausage, Cabbage, and White Bean Skillet

This is a variation of a recipe I found in The Washington Post, but I modified a bit. 

Ingredients

• 3 hot Italian sausages
• 4-6 TB of avocado oil
• 1 small green cabbage, cored and sliced thinly (2 lbs.)
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 2 cans of Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup of 2% milk
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs 
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
• Smidge of Penzey's Justice seasoning (probably a teaspoon)
• Healthy smidge of Penzey's Resist seasoning (probably a tablespoon)
• Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Process

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Drain and rinse the beans and set aside. 

Start with the sausage. Take the sausage out of its casing and plop it into a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a bit of oil. 

Brown the sausage, break apart the sausage into small pieces, and place it aside on plate with paper towels once it's fully cooked. 

Throw in the cabbage and onion in batches. Let the veggies soak up the sausage drippings and add oil, salt, pepper, and Penzey's seasonings. Once you have all the vegetables in the skillet, stir occasionally. Do this for approximately 15 minutes or so. 

Add the milk, beans, and sausage back in. Mix thoroughly. 

Whisk together the bread crumbs and Parmesan and top the skillet with it. 

Put into the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, remove, rest, and enjoy.  

Music Friday: "Where the Night Goes"

I've been listening to albums by Josh Ritter this week. Here's a great tune from one of my favorite albums of his, Sermon on the Rocks. 

"Three cheers for the grapevine." 

"You pay your bills, and still they own ya."

"Let's see where the night takes us./ Let's see where the night goes."

"I feel the pull of the American darkness."

Random Notes from a Crank

I take YouGov surveys on a regular basis. The most recent survey asked about the U.S. and Canada. At the time of me taking the survey, here are the responses to this question, "If you and your family lived in Canada rather than the United States, do you think your life would generally be better or worse?"

• Much better - 21%
• Somewhat better - 26%
• About the same - 21%
• Somewhat worse - 12%
• Much worse - 10%
• Not sure - 9%

In response to the second question, which asks about which country "has a better reputation around the world," here are the responses:

• The United States - 27%
• Canada - 56%
• Both equally - 10%
• Not sure - 7%

Those percentages are rather damning of the U.S. 47% of those polled think their lives would be either much better or somewhat better if they lived in Canada. 

With Moscow Don's dumbass tariffs about to hit, it's going to hurt the economy and raise prices as supported by various smart people in "U.S. Economy Shows Signs of Strain from Trump's Tariffs and Spending Cuts." 

As a supporter of President Adolf says, "At least for now, the economic signals are flashing slower growth and inflation. Not good." 

Measles, of all things, is making a comeback in certain area of Texas. Read the NBC News article "First Measles Death Reported in Texas as Kennedy Downplays the Outbreak." The anti-vaccine crowd did this. As the article relates, measles was considered gone 25 years ago, but now the number of vaccine exempt kids entering kindergarten is 3%. In that area of Texas it is 18%. 

Of course, Kennedy is going to downplay it. He's a moron. 

Stay Positive: Death Wishes

I made my original "Death Wishes" post in 2016, so this is an update. And I cut a number of songs and added a few. There are still too many. Oh well. The living can deal with it. 

Some might consider this post morbid, but it is a way to officially lodge how I want my funeral to happen. 

I remember back to when one of my friends, Roy, died. He knew he was going to go, and he obviously laid out how he wanted his funeral to happen ~ down to music that was played at the service. 

First off, I don't want a religious service when I die. No priest or reverend or other such stuff. Religion need not apply when I die. I'm not "in a better place now." I'm flippin' dead. 

If I'm for anything, I'm for disorganized spirituality and secular humanism. But I'm really just a very skeptical agnostic. 

I want to be cremated. So the place I'll be in is some kind of receptacle, and then after the ashes need to be moved into one of those deals in which my ashes become part of planting a tree. 

I want it to be a pin oak tree because during my childhood I spent a lot of time climbing one of the two pin oak trees in my front yard. 

For the service, just gather people together to have a good time, to celebrate that they're still alive. And you can talk about me if you like, but the point is that you're still alive, you lucky bastards. 

I don't know if a funeral parlor will allow this, so you may have to rent some kind of a hall for the proceedings. Have a potluck dinner where people bring what they like to eat or maybe dishes I liked to eat. Food is important. And I like cooking. It can be therapeutic for me. 

There needs to be libations. If possible, get a keg of Schlitz for the party. If Schlitz isn't available, that's fine.  Also, some manner of a good IPA is necessary such as Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. 

Bourbon is my favorite hard liquor, so have some of that on hand, but not any of the boring and rudimentary bourbons like Jack Daniel's or Jim Beam. Some good choices are Four Roses Single Barrel, Wild Turkey 101, Eagle Rare, Elijah Craig, and Old Forester 100 proof. 

I also like gin, so I suggest Beefeater and Bombay regular. Gin and tonics would be a good choice if I croak in the summertime. But a good dirty martini always hits the spot. 

But overall, you just need to get together and have a good time some night to celebrate life. 

Like my friend's funeral, I want to control the music choices. So what follows is the playlist that should happen. The songs with an asterisk are essential. If you don't play those, I will haunt you. 

This is a long list, and it's done via alpha order (via iTunes) of the artists:

• Burn. Flicker. Die, American Aquarium
• Show Me How to Live, Audioslave
• *Shadow on the Sun, Audioslave
• I and Love and You, Avett Brothers
• *Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise, Avett Brothers
• INever Stop, The Bad Plus
• In 3s, Beastie Boys
• Shake Your Rump, Beastie Boys
• *Professor Booty, Beastie Boys
• Selfless, Cold, and Composed, Ben Folds Five
• Ground on Down (Live from Mars version), Ben Harper
• *Tones of Home, Blind Melon
• Change, Blind Melon
• No Rain, Blind Melon
• *See a Little Light, Bob Mould
• Black Sheets of Rain, Bob Mould
• Welfare Music, The Bottle Rockets
• Keep Your Heart Young, Brandi Carlile
• St. Thomas, Branford Marsalis Quartet
• Everywhere I Go, Caitlin Rose
• When I Win the Lottery, Camper Van Beethoven
• *Life Is Grand, Camper Van Beethoven
• All the Talkers, Centro-matic
• Murderer of Blue Skies, Chris Cornell
• *A Murder of One, Counting Crows
• Holiday in Spain, Counting Crows
• God Shuffled His Feet, Crash Test Dummies
• Afternoons and Coffeespoons, Crash Test Dummies
• *All Your Favourite Bands, Dawes
• The New Year, Death Cab for Cutie
• The Sound of Settling, Death Cab for Cutie
• The Day John Henry Died, Drive-By Truckers (John Henry is my favorite folktale)
• *Grand Canyon, Drive-By Truckers
• Postcard from 1952, Explosions in the Sky
• Holy Shit, Father John Misty
• *Pure Comedy, Father John Misty
• Total Entertainment Forever, Father John Misty
• I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All, Father John Misty
• *Fight the Youth, Fishbone
• One Day, Fishbone
• Everyday Sunshine, Fishbone
• *When My Train Pulls In, Gary Clark Jr.
• This Land, Gary Clark Jr.  
• *Poor Boy, Glossary
• *Headstones and Dead Leaves, Glossary
• *Save Your Money for the Weekend, Glossary
• Trouble Won't Always Last, Glossary
• A Shoulder to Cry On, Glossary
• *Some Eternal Spark, Glossary (I obviously like the band Glossary a lot. It's a band most people don't know about.)
• Welcome to the Jungle, Guns-n-Roses (Delta Delta)
• The Humorist, Ha Ha Tonka (a song about Mark Twain, one of my favorite writers)
• Kiss You Down There, Hackensaw Boys
• *Hey Good Looking, Hank Williams (My mom used to sing this often.)
• There's a Tear in My Beer, Hank Williams
• Stomp and Holler, Hayes Carll
• *Bad Liver and a Broken Heart, Hayes Carll
• Stuck Between Stations, The Hold Steady
• *Stay Positive, The Hold Steady
• *Gone, Jack Johnson 
• *Choctaw Bingo, James McMurtry
• *Something in the Way She Moves, James Taylor (for Mrs. Nasty, our wedding song)
• Ocean Size, Jane's Addiction
• *Grown, Jason Isbell (one of the most underrated Isbell songs)
• The Blue, Jason Isbell
• *Streetlights, Jason Isbell
• Alabama Pines, Jason Isbell
• *Songs That She Sang in the Shower, Jason Isbell
• *Relatively Easy, Jason Isbell
• 24 Frames, Jason Isbell
• *Goddamn Lonely Love (Live in Alabama version), Jason Isbell
• *Hope the High Road, Jason Isabel
• Feel Free, Jay Farrar
• Cahokian, Jay Farrar
• Waiting for the Sun, Jayhawks
• When You're Hot, You're Hot, Jerry Reed
• Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce (one of my favorite songs when I was a kid)
• Come On (Let the Good Times Roll), Jimi Hendrix
• On Fire, JJ Grey and Mofro
• Harp and Drums, JJ Grey and Mofro
• John Deere Green, Joe Diffie (I used lots of quarters for this song to play at The Flamingo)
• Blue Train, John Coltrane
• Satan and St. Paul, John Fulbright
• Human Wheels, John Mellencamp
• *Longest Days, John Mellencamp
• Stones in My Pasway, John Mellencamp
• Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
• *A Boy Named Sue (live), Johnny Cash
• *Man in Black, Johnny Cash (My daughter's favorite Johnny Cash song)
• *Hurt, Johnny Cash (my favorite dance of my daughter's was this song)
• *Thin Blue Flame, Josh Ritter
• Rattling Locks, Josh Ritter
• Another New World, Josh Ritter
• Getting Ready to Get Down, Josh Ritter
• *Where the Night Goes, Josh Ritter
• Lone Pine Hill, Justin Townes Earle
• *Harlem River Blues, Justine Townes Earle
• Ain't Waitin', Justin Townes Earle
• Hangover Heart, Kudzu Kings
• Good Kisser, Lake Street Dive
• Smooth Sailin', Leon Bridges
• Memories Can't Wait, Living Colour
• Fight the Fight, Living Colour 
• Sing Me No Hymns, Lucero
• *What Are You Willing to Lose?, Lucero
• Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology), Marvin Gaye
• *One, Metallica (one of the best music videos of all time)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls, Metallica
• Love & Hate, Michael Kiwanuka
• *Final Days, Michael Kiwanuka
• Piano Joint (This Kind of Love), Michael Kiwanuka
• *Hero, Michael Kiwanuka
• *Yea Alabama, Million Dollar Band (Alabama's fight song ~ please play this more than once)
• Ho Cake, Mofro (mmmm, a song about Southern cooking)
• Brighter Days, Mofro
• Fireflies, Mofro
• I Just Want to Make Love to You, Muddy Waters
• *Don't Let It Bring You Down, Neil Young
• Heart of Gold, Neil Young
• *Thrasher, Neil Young
• Pocahontas, Neil Young
• This Tornado Loves You, Neko Case
• In an Aeroplane Over the Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel
• Zigaboogaloo, Nicholas Payton
• *Elephant in the Corn, Nickel Creek
• Lithium, Nirvana
• Shake Em On Down, North Mississippi All Stars
• I Can't Turn You Loose, Otis Redding
• Evenflow, Pearl Jam
• Go, Pearl Jam
• *Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, Pearl Jam
• Love Boat Captain, Pearl Jam
• *Faithful, Pearl Jam
• Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam 
• *Wishlist, Pearl Jam
• *Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
• *Everybody's Trying, Poi Dog Pondering
• Fruitless, Poi Dog Pondering
• *Spirits in the Material World, Police
• When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around, Police
• To Defy the Laws of Tradition, Primus (one of the best shows I saw was a double-bill of Primus and Fishbone)
• Harold of the Rocks, Primus
• Tommy the Cat, Primus
• Rye Whiskey, Punch Brothers
• *Who's Feeling Young Now?, Punch Brothers
• Magnet, Punch Brothers
• Little Lights, Punch Brothers
• Find the River, R.E.M.
• It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine), R.E.M.
• Feeling Gravity's Pull, R.E.M.
• *Driver 8, R.E.M.
• These Days, R.E.M.
• *Sad Professor, R.E.M
• *Take the Power Back, Rage Against the Machine
• Wake Up. Rage Against the Machine
• Know Your Enemy, Rage Against the Machine
• *Life Is a Highway, Rascal Flatts (My son loved this song when he was a little kid)
• Two Birds, Regina Spektor
• All the Rowboats, Regina Spektor
• Unsatisfied, The Replacements
• Left of the Dial, The Replacements
• I Don't Know, The Replacements
• *Valentine, The Replacements ("You wish upon a star, and it turns into a plane." For whatever reason that sentence has haunted me for years.)
• Can't Hardly Wait, The Replacements
• Anywhere's Better than Here, The Replacements
• Happy Town, The Replacements
• Blues Jam, Rollins Band
• Of Kindred Souls, Roy Hargrove
• *Strasbourg/St. Denis, Roy Hargrove Quintet
• *Working Man, Rush
• Ring Them Bells, Sarah Jarosz
• Broussard's Lament, Sarah Jarosz
• Sing a Simple Song, Sly and the Family Stone
• *Everyday People, Sly and the Family Stone
• I Am One, Smashing Pumpkins
• *Out of the Picture, Son Volt
• Live Free, Son Volt
• Automatic Society, Son Volt
• Driving the View, Son Volt
• Bandages and Scars, Son Volt
• Down to the Wire, Son Volt
• Candle, Sonic Youth
• *Rusty Cage, Soundgarden (If I could have a "walk-up" song before I teach like baseball players before they hit, this would be it.)
• Jesus Christ Pose, Soundgarden
• *4th of July, Soundgarden
• Superunknown, Soundgarden
• Non-State Actor, Soundgarden
• Rowing, Soundgarden
• Cuckoo, Stephen Wilson Jr. 
• Grief Is Only Love, Stephen Wilson Jr. 
• Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), Stevie Ray Vaughn
• Testify, Stevie Ray Vaughn
• Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder
• *Consider Me Gone (Bring on the Night live album), Sting
• Another Day (Bring on the Night live album), Sting
• Life Ain't Fair and the World Is Mean, Sturgill Simpson
• Turtles All the Way Down, Sturgill Simpson
• Let Me Get By, Tedeschi Trucks Band
• Hunger Strike, Temple of the Dog (basis for our pledge class song)
• Monk's Dream, Thelonious Monk Quartet
• Birdhouse in Your Soul, They Might Be Giants
• *This Land Is Our Land, Todd Snider
• Moon Dawg's Tavern, Todd Snider
• Statistician's Blues, Todd Snider
• *D.B. Cooper, Todd Snider
• *Keep Off the Grass, Todd Snider
• *Ballad of Devil's Backbone Tavern, Todd Snider (great message)
• Happy New Year, Todd Snider
• In the Beginning, Todd Snider
• Big Finish, Todd Snider
• Runnin' Down a Dream, Tom Petty
• *Wildflowers, Tom Petty (For my daughter ~ I want it to be the song played for the dad-bride dance at her wedding.)
• *Even the Losers, Tom Petty 
• Suburbia, Trombone Shorty
• Hurricane Season, Trombone Shorty
• Gin, Smoke, Lies, Turnpike Trobadours
• Mooshiner, Uncle Tupelo
• Chickamauga, Uncle Tupelo
• *Linus and Lucy, Vince Guaraldi
• Thanksgiving Theme, Vince Guaraldi
• Skating, Vince Guaraldi (Some of my favorite childhood memories are watching Charlie Brown specials with my parents. Reading Peanuts and then comic books primed my passion for reading.)
• *Thank God for Girls, Weezer
• Hard Luck Story, Whiskeytown
• Tennessee Square, Whiskeytown
• Ain't Life Grand, Widespread Panic
• *Coconut, Widespread Panic ("Gone" by Jack Johnson and this one are songs I used to play in my daughter's room in St. Louis, and we'd dance.)
• *This Land Is Your Land, Woody Guthrie
• Uptown Ruler, Wynton Marsalis (I listened to Soul Gestures in Southern Blue, particularly vol. 2, often when revising my dissertation.)