Music Friday: "Thoughts and Prayers"

I got this book this week and started reading it. 

And then the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon happened. 

Here's to second amendment fundamentalists' stupid fucking thoughts and prayers. 

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

If there ever was a game in which I thought the refs were paid off, it was last night's game. 

There was a clear facemask penalty not called. A possible interception was overturned. And the biggest one was a clear pass interference not called to help the Crimson Tide. 

Regardless, the Tide did not play well in the second half. The offense sputtered, and the defense gave up too much ground in rushing game. 

I sent an email question to TiderInsider TV, which airs on WVUA on Tuesday. Here is my question: "This has been a few games coming, but who will be replacing Dijon Lee Jr. as the starting cornerback?" 

What I thought was a clear strength of the defense, the secondary, seems to be one of the weaker aspects of the team. And teams are targeting Lee all the time. 

I hope the Crimson Tide takes out its frustration on Tennessee on Saturday. 

Music Friday: "3 Dimes Down"

I hadn't listened to a Drive-By Truckers album in a good while, so I listened to Brighter Than Creation's Dark this morning. 

Here's the Cooley-led second track on the album. 

Sunday Hangover: Mississippi State

Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion-Ledger

I dislike 11am game times, and I hate cowbells. 

I got treated to both yesterday. 

But it was a solid win against a talented group of Bulldogs. 

The Alabama defense made "SuperKamario" not so super. They had 5 total sacks. The true freshman Xavier Griffen led the team with nine tackles followed by defensive play caller Luke Metz and then safety Bray Hubbard. 

Dijon Lee had a sweet pick six in the first quarter. See above. 

Alabama made Mississippi State one dimensional on offense by holding them to only 18 net rushing yards.

On the other side, Alabama was more balanced by rushing for 179 net rushing yards and passing for 304 yards. 

Brooks had some huge passes from Russell.  

A good sign from my perspective is that the tight ends caught some passes because the offense need to use them more often. 

However, Daniel Hill had two troubling fumbles, which is disturbing. 

Next up is a night game at home versus Georgia. 

Music Friday: Big Modern!

I finally got around to getting the new album by Goose. 

It's a good one. 

Here's the title track. The second video is of them playing at Red Rocks, which would be an awesome place to see a concert. 

Random Notes from a Crank

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Joe Heller's political cartoon reflects the reality of how farmers are getting screwed by the current administration that many of them probably voted for. 

FAFO. 

It's just another effect of MAME: Making America More Expensive. 

And as Nice Anderson relates with the cartoon below, our tax dollars are paying for President Adolf to run a campaign ad he used years ago. 

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The Daily Show covered this issue well. 

And the Daily Beast also covered The Daily Show covering it well: "Daily Show Find Huge Hole in Trump's Campaign Ad Defense." 

Random Notes from a Crank

This week's Existential Comic is a good one. This one addresses the glass half empty/glass half full conundrum via Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. 

You can hit the link above or read it below. The next to last panel got a good guffaw out of me. 

existentialcomics.com

I think most people would consider me a glass half empty kind of guy, but I think I tend to say glass half full. 

I am a skeptic though. 

In a deliciously bit of irony, there's an interesting article in the Daily Eastern News: "Students Petition Eastern to Address Concerns about AI-Generated Curriculum." 

I disagree with the Provost that using AI is an "academic freedom" issue. Professors using AI to comment on student's work is lazy, dumb, and deplorable. 

I'm definitely have a half empty perspective on this situation. 

I hate it when athletes are interviewed after a great performance, and all they do is blather on about Jesus, their "Lord," and other religious bullshit. Leave that crap for your church service. I don't need it mixed up with my football watching. 

An example of this nonsense was Case Keenum after the Bears win on Monday Night Football. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: French Onion Chicken Cutlets

Mrs. Nasty sent me a recipe video, but I modified it, and here's how I will make it in the future. 

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cut in half to make cutlets

2 cans of Campbell's French onion soup

1 cup of French onion dip

1 1/2 cups of seasoned croutons, broken into smaller pieces

3-6 slices of mozzarella or provolone cheese

1/2 to 1 cup of French fried onions

Dan-O's seasoning or Penzey's roasted garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Process

Cut the breasts and pound them out, so they are uniform. Season with salt, pepper, and either of the garlic seasoning. 

In a baking dish, pour out the French onion soup and lay the breast on top of it. Slather the French onion dip, so it covers the cutlets. Spread the croutons on top of the whole dish and top with the cheese. Then put the French fired onions on top of the cheese. 

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and put into a 400 degree oven. After 35 minutes, take off the foil and bake for 10-15 minutes. 

Serve over rice and enjoy. I took the sauce of sorts at the bottom of the dish and put it over the chicken cutlet. 

Sunday Hangover: South Carolina

I was a bit anxious about this game because South Carolina has played Alabama tough in the last two meetings. 

They had their chances early but missed a field goal and then failed to convert on a fourth and two in Alabama territory. 

Then Alabama scored on a first and ten on a huge touchdown strike from Russell to Brooks. 

At the end of the day, Russell went 21 for 27 for 365 yards and also ran for a touchdown (see above). 

The offense only ran for a total for 124 yards, so there's still room to improve in the rushing game. However, the offensive line excelled in pass protection. 

I was worried when Hubbard went to the locker room, but he came back out and played in the second half. 

The offense did not do much in the third quarter but then finally got it going in the fourth. 

Next up is a very dangerous Mississippi State team in Starkville. 

I hate cowbells. 

Music Friday: "Domesticated Animals"

I'm aware that Queens of the Stone Age will put out a new album at the end of October. 

So today I'm currently listening to Villains. 

Here's a tune from that fine album from 2017. The live video provides insight about the lyrics. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The New York Times has an interesting article/quiz about nuts that's fun and informational: "What's the Healthiest Nut?"

I'm a big fan of almonds, pistachios, Brazil nuts, and walnuts. 

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Alcaraz has it about right with the above political cartoon. 

President Adolf can lie all he wants about how there's no affordability crisis, but people who actually pay for things know what's going on. 

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Markstein speaks the truth. 

I saw that Moscow Don's approval rating is in the high 20s. It's hard to understand how it's that high. 

Then again, MAGA is a cult. 

MAME: Making America More Expensive. 

In other news, there seems to be some positivity going in the other direction: "Hispanic Voters, Abandoning Trump, Are Transforming the Midterm Map." 

Let's hope there is good news with the midterms. 

Sunday Hangover: Florida State

Tide 100.9 FM

Going into this game I had confidence in Alabama's defense. 

My confidence has now been shaken. 

They gave up a lot of big plays. For a secondary that is probably one of the most talented in the nation, the number of long-yardage gains Florida State had is troubling. 

The real star of the game was Keelon Russell. 

With the running game not going well early on, Russell stepped up and threw the ball into tight windows and excelled. 

He had 23 completions for 30 attempts for 320 yards with three TD passes. 

And then there was the 57-yard run for a touchdown. 

The running game got going much better in the second half. Overall, the Tide ran for 247 net yards with both freshmen scoring touchdowns (photo of Brown above). 

The talented freshman Cederian Morgan caught his first college pass for a touchdown. 

Next up are the Gamecocks of South Carolina who have a very talented roster. 

Music Friday: "Haunted"

Another Music Friday another Phoebe Bridgers song. 

She's talented, people. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Poor Man's Noodles with Modifications

Hey Recipe sent me this recipe that's really easy. It's a one-pot deal with humble ingredients. 

Ingredients

1 32 oz. carton of low-sodium chicken broth

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 package of egg noodles (12-16 oz.)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 stick of unsalted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Healthy smidge of Penzey's Justice seasoning

Health smidge of Seasonello aromatic herb salt

1 large baked chicken breast, cut into small chunks

Process

Put the chicken broth and bouillon cub in a large pot. Bring to a boil. 

Add noodles, stir, and bring it to a boil. 

Add the cream of chicken, stir to combine, and bring it to a boil. Boil for approximately two minutes. 

Move the pot from the heat and add the stick of butter. Set the timer for 20 minutes. About halfway through that time stir to combine. 

Add in the cooked chicken breast and incorporate thoroughly. 

Add salt, pepper, Justice, and Seasonello to taste. I leaned heavily on freshly cracked black pepper. 

When I do this dish again, I will probably add in mushrooms and maybe peas. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Thank the Gods that the Supreme Court struck down President Adolf's scheme to disrupt mail-in voting during the midterms. Still though two of his lackeys were in dissent of the ruling. 

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Because of Moscow Don's stupid tariffs, Canada is looking for an economic partnership with the E.U.: "E.U. Offers to Make Canada 'Associate Member' as U.S. Ties Weaken for Both." 

If I were a Canadian leader, I'd do the same instead of trying to reason with fascist dumbass. 

GoComics.com

This strip from Rabbits Against Magic show the utter stupidity of trickle-down economics, also known as "voodoo economics." 

In other troubling matters, the I.R.S. under the is administration is even worse at collecting taxes and auditing the rich: "Billions in Taxes Go Unpaid. Under Trump, the I.R.S. Won't Say How Much."