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. 

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
• Never 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
• Fight the Youth, Fishbone
• One Day, Fishbone
• Everyday Sunshine, Fishbone
• When My Train Pulls In, Gary Clark Jr.
• This Land, Gary Clark Jr.  
• Nothing Can Hurt You Now, Glossary
• 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
• 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)
• 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
• Ain't Waitin', Justin Townes Earle
• Hangover Heart, Kudzu Kings
• Good Kisser, Lake Street Dive
• Memories Can't Wait, Living Colour
• Fight the Fight, Living Colour 
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Wake Up. Rage Against the Machine
• 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
• 10,000 Chinese Walk into a Bar, Robert Earl Keen
• Soul Refreshing, Robert Randolph and the Family Band
• 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
• Driving the View, Son Volt
• Bandages and Scars, Son Volt
• Down to the Wire, Son Volt
• When the Wheels Don't Move, Son Volt
• 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
• 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
• Come See about Me, Tedeschi Trucks Band
• 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.) 

Random Notes from a Crank

The image below has to be one of the best covers on magazine I've seen in a while. 

It's not a coincidence that I'm currently reading a biography of Napoleon and Prequel by Rachel Maddow.

The present is currently rhyming with the past.  

Speaking of Maddow, she shared an article on Bluesky about a town hall in which many residents were loudly pissed off at a Congressman: "Jay Obernolte Preaches Deficit Reduction, Support Musk in Raucous Town Hall." 

I hope more citizens show their anger and opposition to what's happening at the hands of President Adolf and the complicit GOP. 

The U.S. is currently living in a kakistocracy. 

Here's an advert (as the English say) at a London bus stop. The Swasticar...

In the German election, the party that the above dipshit supported didn't do as well as they wanted thankfully. Merkel's party, the Christian Democratic Union, won, and the incoming Chancellor has vowed not to work with the far-right Alternative for Germany party. 

Mother Jones has a good article up about the election. Check out "Eighty Percent of Germans Voted Against the Far Right. Can That Happen Here?"

Music Friday: "Desperate People"

Yesterday I listened to Time's Up and Vivid from Living Colour. 

Here's "Desperate People" from the latter album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I started watching the Disney+ animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and it's pretty good. It's an alternate take on the Peter Parker/Spider-Man story from what I can tell so far. 

I'm sure there are some anti-woke/DEI morons on Twitter and FoxNews who are complaining that the Norman Osborn character is a black man. 

And the series features the diversity that makes up New York City. 

The Republicans in Congress are a bunch of cowards for not strongly rebuking Moscow Don's misinformation LIES about the Ukraine War, siding with Putin and Russia, and calling Zelenskyy a "dictator." 

What a bunch of craven charlatans.

Siding with Russia does not make America great. Doing so does not even make the U.S. good. 

As reported by the New York Times, a recent Gallup survey shows the 1 in 10 Americans identify as queer, with the bulk of the respondents being of the younger generation.  

The actual percentage is 9.3% with 5.2% of that percentage being bisexual. 

These percentages fly in the face of current administration's rolling back of L.G.B.T.Q initiatives. 

I hope queer folks vote in the midterms and the next Presidential election. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Thomas Friedman has a great opinion piece in the New York Times: "Why Trump's Bullying Is Going to Backfire." 

The basic premise is that all this talk about using tariffs is a bunch of hokum and/or patented nonsense because most products rely on several countries. Friedman uses the examples of the car industry and the iPhone, which apparently uses 50 different countries to be produced. 

If one needs any more proof that Moscow Don is a traitor, consider that he wants to give away territory in Ukraine to Putin and has stated that Ukraine started the war. 

I'm glad Zelensky has called out President Adolf's lies. 

It's clear to our allies in Europe that the U.S. cannot be trusted as detailed in "Musk and Trump Are Causing the Dumbest Imperial Collapse in History" from The American Prospect. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The American Prospect has an excellent article that pretty much describes how President Adolf has united Canadians because of his threat of a stupid trade war based on tariffs. 

As a result, as "Canada's Conservatives Crash with Onset of Tariff War," the upcoming elections for our ally to the North are set to be tightening. Trudeau is stepping down, but the new leader of the Liberal Party might do well. 

Meanwhile, the Senate has confirmed too many people to important posts, recently Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who will endanger the American people. 

While I find RFK Jr.'s anti-vax sentiments and concern about fluoride in drinking water asinine, I do like his focus on food additives and ultra-processed foods. 

The BBC has an interesting perspective on it all in "Can RFK Jr. Make America's Diet Healthy Again?" The article focuses on food, but the troubling part of his background is his anti-vaccination tendencies and propensity to support assertions with junk science. 

However, with all the hurdles in front of him and under an administration that touts junk food, I don't think he'll change squat. 

I need to find some more outlets--print, video, TV, or streaming service--that will make laugh more often. It's going to be a long four years. 

I rediscovered one, Regular Show, a series my oldest kid got me into. 

Good old Mordecai and Rigby...

That show hits the spot. Yeah!

Another one I've watched off and on recently that is not a comedy but is a sci-fi drama is Battlestar Galactica, a show I didn't watch when it was running on TV.

Of course, I could always watch one of my favorite TV series of all time, Northern Exposure. As I told my daughter, after each episode one leaves with a good feeling. Watching that show can be therapeutic. 

And I've been watching eposes of Seinfeld and The Office, but especially with the former, I've watched it so many times that I might need a break from the "show about nothing."  

Perhaps I need to revisit Parks & Recreation? 

Regardless, I am enjoying the new series St. Denis Medical. 

Music Friday: "Dance to the Music"

Last night I watched the documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). It's quite good, and it reminded me of how much I enjoy the man and his band's music. 

Based on what was related in the documentary, this was the hit single that that propelled the band into popularity in the early part of the band's career.  

Random Notes from a Crank

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that Congressional Republicans are going to reduce funding to or simply eliminate Medicaid to help try to offset their tax breaks for the rich. 

A repost on Bluesky the other day shared a great article shared by Charles Gaba shows by congressional district how many and what numbers and percentages of people are enrolled in such government programs. 

In my district, House District 15 of Illinois, 25.6% of the population depends on them. I would venture to guess that a number of those folks voted for President Adolf. 

If you're interested, it's "How Many People Have Medicaid/CHIP Coverage in YOUR Congressional District?"

I'm not much a gaming kind of guy. I had an Atari back in the day, and Mrs. Nasty and I got a Playstation as one of our wedding gifts, but other than that, there's only two games I've really played in the past five years. The first was Stars Wars Commander, which was a lot of fun and went defunct years ago. 

The past month I've gone back to the 80s. I'm playing Tetris. 

I find the game kind of calming for whatever reason. 

It seems pretty clear to me that President Adolf and his dumb-ass Secretary of Defense are going to "negotiate" in favor of Putin acquiring Ukrainian territories unless NATO gets involved, which they should. 

Read about it in the New York Times: "Warming Trend in U.S.-Russia Relations Leaves Ukraine in a Tough Spot." 

Musing of the Moment: Making California Danish

In what has been circulated via numerous media outlets, there is an online petition to have Denmark buy California, a satirical jab at President Adolf claim of wanting to take over Greenland from Denmark. 

If you're interested in signing the petition, it's aptly called Denmarkification.  

Please check it out and read about "Why California?", "Why Trump Adolf Might Sell," and "The Tremendous Plan." 

Random Notes from a Crank

A video project at UNC-Chapel Hill is brilliant to me. It's discussed in this article from The Washington Post: "A Campus Sign Said: 'Tell Us Something Good.' Students Delivered." 

What the US is currently experiencing is a Trumpdemic, a pandemic of stupidity, spite, graft, and unconstitutionality caused by the executive orders of President Adolf. And it's all aided and abetted by Congressional Republicans who have no spines. 

I started reading Rachel Maddow's Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism. It's topical. 

I will make sure to read this book during the warm-ups and halftimes of my son's high school basketball games in front of dipshits who voted for Racist Tariff Man. 

And this basketball season has been a repetitive exercise in frustration. My son is a junior who is a very good player. He was told that he was going to play both JV and varsity. However, he rarely gets to play varsity games because the coach is playing seniors and one junior who are clearly not as good as him. 

In addiition, our offensive set-up sucks. They don't even hint at trying to do anything inside, and the system they use to press could be described as "next level bad." 

I look forward to basketball season being over and moving onto baseball season. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I'm both a fan of football and American football. 

In regard to the latter and in regard to the Super Bowl outcome, it's pretty simple. The team with the best line play is most likely to play. 

Use Occam's razor. 

What we saw in Super Bow LIX is that the Eagles have a great offensive line and a phenomenal defensive line. You win game at the line of scrimmage. It's that simple. 

Or I could showcase my old-guy self and simply say, "Defense wins championships." 

I was rooting for the Eagles because of Jalen Hurts, Devonta Smith, and Landon Dickerson.

I'm not a fan of the Chiefs, but I'm a fan of the Kansas City area. I lived there for a year and enjoyed it immensely. The metro area on Sundays is very much like a college football town. 

And the barbecue. People rave about the barbecue in Memphis, North Carolina, Texas, and various parts of the Deep South. But I prefer KC barbecue. 

As for the Royals, I've always liked them. I grew up as a kid loving the Royals when they were really good in the 70s and 80s: George Brett, Willie Wilson, Hal McRae, Frank White, Amos Otis, Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza, Dan Quisenberry, et al. 

And one of my favorite small breweries in the nation is Boulevard Brewing Company.

Unfortunately, I don't see it around my parts here. 

With all these funding freezes of federal grants by President Adolf, a lot of farmers, some of whom probably voted for the autocrat, are going to get fucked financially. 

Check out the article from The Washington Post: "Farmers on the Hook for Millions after Trump Freezes USDA Funds." 

I don't know much about Kendrick Lamar, but I enjoyed his performance and the choreography of his dancers at the Super Bowl halftime show. 

The article, "The Subversive Genius of Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl's Halftime Performance," covers it well as far as I can tell. 

 

That image above is pretty straightforward and symbolic: the American flag created by the backs of black men. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Apparently, according to American Opposition on Bluesky, President's Day looks like it might be a national day of protest. 

I used this dressing the other day. I got it from my local Ruler Foods. 

What the heck is California French dressing? What does the Golden State have to do with French dressing? 

 

I think I should make my own anyway. It'll be Illinois French style dressing. 

Speaking of a European country, I just read an article in the New York Times about how the E.U. is preparing how to deal with President Adolf's tariffs. Like Canada, the E.U. plans "hit specific, politically-sensitive sectors--like products made in Republican states--with targeted tariffs meant to inflict maximum pain." 

Music Friday: "Little Things"

Baroness is a band that I like, and I need to get more of the band's more recent work. I have the Purple album and the Yellow & Green albums. 

This tune comes from the Yellow & Green album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I strained and tried the oxymel recipe I talked about in a Random Notes post on January 26. I did the one for cold and flu season. It's not harsh or anything. It initially hits the pallet with honey and has a subtle tang of vinegar on the finish. 

Can you tell I've been watching bourbon videos on YouTube? 

I'm subscribed to Bourbon Junkies, TheRow, and Brewzle. Even though it appears the guy from Brewzle is an Auburn fan, I like his videos in which he goes bourbon hunting in certain towns. He has way more expensive taste than I have though. 

And I like my bourbon more on the spicy and oaky side. 

President Adolf's plan for Gaza is insane. I think it's just a wild political proposal to distract the American people and journalists from all the damage he's doing to our republic and creating a federal government full of his flunkies. 

Or Dictator Donald is just a madman. 

The ultra-right Israelites love the plan because it destroys the dream of a Palestinian state. 

Here's a reaction from Informed Comment: "Ethnic Cleansing for 'Gaza's Riviera'?"

There's ultra-right reasoning behind what is proposed because of leaked documents in Israel. Kushner might be behind all of this. 

A house a couple of blocks down from our home is displaying an inverted flag. 

The traditional meaning of flying an inverted flag is used to show "a signal of distress in instance of extreme danger" or as a sign of protest, as noted by The Free Speech Center's "Flying Flag Upside Down." 

I'll assume that the residents of the home are displaying it because of President Adolf's unconstitutional actions. 

I hope it's not a symbol supporting this autocratic goon. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Spicy Ham and Cabbage Stir-Fry

The base of this recipe can be found in this recipe article (gifted) from The Washington Post. 

I modified according to what had at the house. I use minced ginger from a small squeeze bottle that I got from one of my local supermarkets.  

Ingredients

• 2-3 TB of avocado oil
• 1/2 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 small sweet onion, cut thinly
• 8 oz of ham cubed
• 1 TB of minced ginger
• 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce
• 1 TB of fresh lime juice
• 1 ts of Sambal Oelek
• Salt and pepper to taste

Process

Put the oil in a cast-iron skillet and heat to medium-high heat. Once it's properly heated, put the onion and cabbage in. Add salt and pepper. Cook for approximately 5-8 minutes stirring frequently. 

Move the heat down to medium. Add the ham and ginger and stir from time to time for about five minutes. 

Add the hoisin sauce and Sambal Oelek and stir thoroughly. Cook for about a minute or two. Check for seasoning and serve over rice. 

When I do this again, I'd probably add more cabbage, reduce the amount of ham, and maybe add some other vegetables.

Music Friday: "Linus and Lucy"

I'm thinking about getting a t-shirt from TeePublic that features two dancers from the Charlie Brown Christmas special as a concert-like t-shirt for Vince Guaraldi. 

The tune featured today is one of my favorite songs of all time. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Kristian Ramos has an excellent article in Salon: "The High Opportunity Cost of Trump's Economy." 

The dark irony is that, as he says, "Latinos, as much as any group, are poised to bear the brunt of Trump's corrosive MAGA policies. This is particularly ironic given that Democrats lost ground this cycle with Latino voters because some believed Trump would improve their economic well-being." 

With labor shortages set to happen in the agriculture and construction industries because of mass deportations happening and President Adolf also wanting to impose tariffs on imports, the price of everything is going to go up. 

All of these changes aren't going to affect the rich. They are going to fuck the poor, working class, and middle class (what's left of it). 

Yesterday I was in the men's restroom at work filling up my watering can to water my jade plants. A colleague was at the urinal as I came in. He finished taking a leak and just walked out.

Without washing his hands...

Disgusting. He's spreading dick cells around. 

Also, why the hell do we can call it a "restroom"? I remember back in grad school, one of my comrades, an Englishman, made fun of this term for the place you go to pee and poop. His statement, with a wry smile, was "Yeah, I'm going there to rest." 

I prefer the term "crapper" or "the John." 

At least with "John," it's accurate in that Sir John Harrington invented the flushing toilet. Thomas Crapper, on the other hand, was just an English plumber but a very successful one.  

What's the deal with people backing their vehicles into parking spaces, so they can drive out with the front of their vehicle going first? Most cars nowadays, if it's a more recent one, have back-up cameras. 

Do these people seem to think they're better than the rest of us backing up their vehicles into parking spots. 

In addition, when I came to work today, all the vehicles that were parked that way were pick-up trucks. Is there something going on here with male fragility? 

I've had a hypothesis for decades about pick-up trucks. Unless you're actually a farmer who uses the truck to do chores, the size of the pick-up truck is inversely proportional to one's penis or brain size. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Comeback Sauce

I got the basics of this recipe from watching either Cooks' Country or America's Test Kitchen on my local PBS station.

It's a common sauce to pair with fried fish in the Deep South. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1/4 cup of minced yellow or Vidalia onion
• 2 TB of avocado oil
• 2 TB of chili sauce
• 1 TB of ketchup
• 2 1/2 ts of Worcestshire sauce
• 2 1/2 ts of hot sauce (I used Alabama Sunshine)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 ts of yellow mustard
• 1 ts of lemon juice
• 1 ts of Penzey's Justice seasoning
• 1 ts of cracked black pepper
• 1 ts of paprika

Process

It's pretty simple. Put it all into a mixing bowl and whisk. I sautéed the onion for a bit because I'm not a fan of raw onions. If I were to amp up the recipe a bit, I might put some cayenne pepper and smoked paprika into the mix. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Black and White Bean Chicken Chili

I made a recipe tonight that I'm sure I'll try again. It's based on a recipe from The Washington Post, but what I provide here is how I modified it and how I plan to make it in the future. 

Ingredients

• 2-3 TB of olive oil
• 1 medium size yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped finely
• 1 serrano pepper, chopped finely (more if you want it spicy)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 TB of smoked paprika
• 2 TB of ground cumin
• 2 TB Tastefully Simple Wahoo Chili seasoning
• 6 cups of low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 can of cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 lb. of chicken breasts or boneless thighs, cooked in a slow cooker and shredded
• 2 4 oz. cans of diced green chili peppers
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 TB of Penzey's Justice seasoning

Process

Some of the modifications I made were amount of chicken stock, the chili seasoning, and the canned green chili peppers. Also, I wouldn't use an immersion blender to half of the cans of the white beans. What's the point? 

Use the slow cooker for the chicken for about 6-8 hours on low. I've been marinating my chicken in pickle brine, so I just marinate it overnight and put the bird parts into the slow cooker. 

Once ready to make the chili, put the olive oil into a pot, add the onions, and sauté on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add in the hot pepper and cook for two minutes. Then add in the garlic and cook for a minute.

Dump in the smoked paprika, cumin, and chili seasoning. Stir the spices around to coat the aromatics. Add in the chicken stock and scrape the bits off the bottom. 

Get it simmering for ten minutes. During this time shred the chicken. Add the chicken, beans, and green chilis to the broth. Simmer for approximately ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in Penzey's Justice seasoning. 

Musing of the Moment: Missing Howard Cosell

I watch a lot of sports on TV, and the other day I was thinking about the legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell. 

When I was a kid, my parents let me have a small TV in my room, and one of few times they let me stay up after my bedtime was to watch Monday Night Football. 

If Peanuts comics and Marvel comic books (Daredevil, Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Power-Man and Iron Fist) are part of my literacy narrative, then I think I should also include Cosell also because I was fascinated by his language use, the big words and interesting turns of phrase. 

He was a legend. 

Unfortunately, most people today would not recognize what is going on in these scenes in Better Off Dead, a great 80s comedy. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I'm trying this concoction called oxymel. It's apparently a health that dates back to Ancient Greece, back to Hippocrates. 

At base, it is equals parts honey and equal parts apple cider vinegar. I got the recipe from this blog post I found on the InterWebs: "Herbal Oxymel Recipes & Benefits." I'm doing the one for cold and flu, so I some used dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, and ginger. 

We'll see whether if it's worth my time. At the very least it has polyphenols that create antioxidants. I wonder about the taste though. 

I'm leaving Facebook. I've already deleted my Instagram account, and I'm abandoning FB on Feb. 1. 

I'm not sure if I'm going to delete my account or just not interact with people on FB with a dim hope that the platform will reform its ways. I may just delete it, and if I rejoin FB at some time, I'll befriend the good people who are my "friends" and not befriend the President Adolf supporters I have accumulated over the years. 

Regardless, I just cannot be on a platform that has given up fact-checking/moderation because Zuckerberg is genuflecting and licking President Adolf's asshole while that autocrat, the GOP, and his oligarchic cronies further game the system for the rich and the 1%, destroy the social safety net, foment lies and disinformation, deport hard-working people, deregulate all kinds of things that should be strictly regulated, stack agencies with pro-business  lackeys, pardon the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, and spread anti-science and anti-intellectual hokum while the poor, working class, and middle class lose out. 

Yet poor, working class, and middle class dipshits voted for President Adolf. 

I just have to remind myself that 54% of Americans read below a sixth-grade level. 

I can see why my daughter is looking at graduate schools in Europe. 

One of the books I'm reading right now is biography of Napoleon, Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts. I have some gaps in knowledge of European history, so it's an interesting read for me. The author's premise is that Napoleon is misunderstood for a number of reasons, one of which is because of British propaganda and Hitler being compared to Napoleon by Churchill during WWII. 

Napoleon was a brilliant military mind, and as I have found out, he was an intellectual. Here's a quotation from him that struck me as quite wonderful: "The true conquests, the only ones that cause no regret, are those made over ignorance." 

The world would be a much better place if people followed that statement. 

Music Friday: "Small Changes"

Michael Kiwanuka has a new album out. It came out last year, but it's new to me. 

Here's the title track of the album. 

I've listened to it a few times, and I'm warming up to it. On first listen, most of the tunes were a little too low key/slow for me.

He's not known as a rocker, but I tend to like his more up-tempo songs.  

Random Notes from a Crank

A while back one of the words of the day was "kakistocracy," which means "government by the worst people."

With Adolf's number of executive orders and with the GOP having majorities in the House and Senate, that is the country the U.S. is living in, unfortunately, 

It's all very depressing. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert helped get me through his first administration, but I haven't girded up my emotional loins to watch the program since Adolf took office. 

But what can we expect with 54% of Americans reading below a sixth-grade level?

One of the better editorials I've read is from Bernie Sanders in The Guardian: "What Trump Didn't Say in His Inauguration Speech." 

Here are the last two ¶s of the opinion piece, but I recommend reading it all. 

Bottom line: as we enter the new Trump presidency, we have got to remain focused. We can’t panic. No matter how many executive orders he signs and statements he issues, our goal remains the same. We have got to educate. We have got to organize. We have got to bring people together around an agenda that works for all, not just the few.

Now more than ever, we have to fight to create an America based on economic, social and environmental justice. Let’s get to work.

He's right. 

But what's happening is damn depressing. 

Nothing like "backing the blue" when you release the Jan. 5 insurrectionists.

And repealing civil rights protections.