Music Friday: "Masks Off"

Jesse Welles came out with a new album recently. I've been enjoying it. 

Here's the album's title track.  

Musing of the Moment: World Cup Final from a Spurs Perspective

from The Athletic

Spain dominated the match and held Argentina to zero shots on goal. Heck, Argentina only mounted a mere three shots to Spain's twenty, eleven of which were on target. 

Spain had plenty of chances, and the Spaniards were the clearly superior squad. 

For how much footballing talent that country has, I'm surprised this win is only their second World Cup. 

From a Tottenham Hotspur supporter's perspective, I love that Pedro Porro made the cross that Williams headed to Ferran Torres for the winning goal. Porro made himself a mainstay of the team after not starting the first game (if I remember correctly). 

He sent some perfectly weighted passes Yamal's way on a number of occasions. He worked well with the right winger to pose a serious offensive threat. 

I was surprised that Romero got pulled out of the squad. I know he was on a yellow card, but he's probably one of the best center backs in world football. 

Sensei came in at the 101 minute. 

I love that President Adolf was booed by the crowd: "Trump Booed by World Cup Final Crowd, Takes Part in Trophy Presentation." 

Regardless, it appears Tottenham made a good decision on signing Porro to a long-term contract. 

COYS. 

Music Friday: "Wonderwall"

I'm posting in regret of England's terrible loss to Argentina in the World Cup. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In anticipation of the Argentina vs. England World Cup match, here's the Encyclopedia Brittanica entry on the Falklands War. 

For Father's Day I got this away England kit. Mrs. Nasty got it from OkayJersey, which has great prices. 

I'm thinking about getting the Tottenham away kit for this upcoming season, and I like last season's home kit for Roma. 

The BBC has a good article about the failure of self-checkout machines: "'It Hasn't Delivered': The Spectacular Failure of Self-Checkout Technology." 

I hate those things. 

I'd rather just interact with a human. Plus, there's a great deal of discussion about how businesses are losing all kinds of money because of theft, among other issues. 

However, will businesses persist with self-checkout lanes because of the sunk-cost fallacy? 

Music Friday: "Dollar General"

The new album by American Aquarium comes out swinging with its opening track "Dollar General." 

"Greatest trick ever played was taking our voice

and giving us two sides in the illusion of choice.

It ain't left versus right. It's bottom versus top. 

Until we figure it out, this ain't gonna stop." 

The album is titled New Ways to Lose. 

Random Notes from a Crank

This political cartoon by Jeff Stahler is a good summation of this presidential administration, especially with the answer of "disaster." 

 

GoComics.com

The only time I've listened to Olivia Rodrigo's music is when she was on Saturday Night Live, but I'm heartened by her all-women musical festival that will give all of its profits to Planned Parenthood: "Olivia Rodrigo Stands against Trump as She Raises Money for Planned Parenthood after Defunding." 

It'll be interesting to see who wins the Democratic nomination for running for the Senate seat for Maine: "Graham Platter Just Dropped Out. Here's Who Could Replace Him." 

I don't really care that much about who gets the nomination. I just want Susan Collins defeated. 

It's revealing how one party, the Democrats,  responds to rape allegations compared to the other party, the GOP. 

Speaking of rapists, President Adolf has to pay E. Jean Carroll: "Judge Order $5 Million Trump Judgment Be Released to E. Jean Carroll." 

Random Notes from a Crank

The USMNT got bounced from the World Cup. I listened to the first half on my phone as I was walking the dogs, but I watched the second half. 

The team looked good at the start of the second half, but then Belgium's third goal happened because of a diabolical mistake by the US goalkeeper. What a terrible way to end what has been a good World Cup. 

President Adolf's intervention to persuade FIFA to rescind Balogun's red card was ridiculous. Whatever that guys touches turns to shit. 

Moscow Don provides a reverse-Midas touch. 

Joe Heller depicts it well. 

GoComics.com

I don't know how well covered this topic has been, but the white supremacists marching in D.C. was disgusting. 

Sara Pequeno's opinion piece from USA Today is good read on it: "White Supremacists in DC? White House Claims That's Democracy." 

These are the same people who bitched about wearing masks during the pandemic. 

Now they wear masks like ICE agents to hide their identities. 

Music Friday: "This Land Is Your Land" & "This Land Is Our Land"

For whatever reason, after USMNT wins they play "Country Roads" by John Denver. 

If I had my way, they'd play either one of these songs instead. 

Random Notes from a Crank

from GoComics.com

Bill Bramhall is spot on with this political cartoon.

I"m glad President Adolf's stupid fair is a lowly attended event. 

The Democrats need to take over the House and flip the Senate. 

Never in my life did I expect someone like the current president being in office during the 250th anniversary of the United States.

I've been avidly watching the World Cup. I'm disappointed that the Netherlands got bounced out because I really like that squad. The same goes for Senegal. 

The USMNT will face a team against which the US might not be favored. Monday should be interesting, especially with Balogun unable to play because of wrong-headed red card. 

It should have been a yellow. 

If I'm a betting man, I might put money down on Mexico beating England at the Azteca. 

I'd like to see England win it all though. 

Musing of the Moment: Our Colorado Trip

Yesterday we got back from our trip to Colorado. My son had a baseball tournament, and then after that got over, we headed to Keystone for a family reunion with Mrs. Nasty's side of the family. 

The state of Kansas gets a bad rap for its landscape. Both the Smoky Hills and Flint Hills are a heck of a lot more scenic than the places I drive to in central Illinois. At least Kansas has hills. 

I wanted to buy some locally produced bourbon from a distillery from Colorado, but being in a resort town, the prices were high. I did get some Weller Special Reserve though because apparently Colorado is a test market for Weller, which I can't find easily in Illinois. 

On our vacation I got up early three days straight to zip line, white water rafting, and horse back riding. 

I needed to get done with my vacation, so I could sleep in. 

A great factor about Colorado is that they've banned plastic bags. 

Check it out from Ecocycle: "Colorado's 2024 Plastic Bag Ban." 

More states need to do this move. You either use bags you bring to the store, or you have to buy a bag. 

Based on the report by Denver7, "1.5 Billion Fewer Plastic Bags" were used. 

Music Friday: "Coconut"

We just back from Colorado last night, and I'm exhausted from the drive. 

When we were there, we checked out the Red Rocks Amphitheater, which was awesome. 

I'm told Widespread Panic is there for three shows this coming week. 

Musing of the Moment: Analysis of the Iranian Deal

In a detailed analytical article in The New York Times, the journalist Neil MacFarquhar relates how President Adolf's stupid war with Iran has only made Iran stronger and made the U.S. weaker. 

Read all about it in "What Changed after Almost Four Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much."  

One of the big takeaways from the war is that Iran has clearly figured out that they can use the Strait of Hormuz to threaten the global economy. 

The lead Iranian negotiator of the tenuous deal that is likely to fall apart had this to say about how they know have leverage over the Strait: "This was a potential capacity that had never been activated. But our enemies--God created them fools--turned that potential into a reality." 

He called the current administration a bunch of fools. 

And he's right. 

The war has made the U.S. less secure. It's created economic havoc for Americans. And the so-called deal is much worse than the deal Obama brokered. 

What a bunch of fools. 

Music Friday: "I Am the Highway"

We've drove from east central Illinois to Denver this week. I'm really not looking forward to the drive back. It's a hilatious trip. 

Music Friday: "Don't Let It Bring You Down"

I haven't listened to Neil Young in a good while. 

He's gotta be one of my top 20 favorite musical artists. 

One of my favorite albums of his is After the Goldfish, and this fine tune comes from that great album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

You know you've bought good stone fruit when you have to eat the fruit over the sink because it's so juicy. 

I bought some "Southern" peaches here in east central Illinois at a grocery store, and they actually ripened well. Sometimes that positive outcome doesn't happen at all. 

I've had peaches picked in the deep South, and none of the ones I've had here have lived up to those. 

I recently finished Michael Pollan's new book A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness. It's an interesting ride into how people are trying to figure out consciousness.  

Image courtesy of Amazon

Feelings and memories seem to be key to consciousness, and I don't think the people trying to create an artificial consciousness are going to be successful. 

Bill Bramhall's political cartoon about 60 Minutes in spot on. 

Courtesy of GoComics

The only thing worth watching from that company (Paramount) is The Daily Show. And we'll see if someone starts screwing around with that fine program. 

CBS cancels Stephen Colbert because they were bribing President Adolf, and now they are destroying one of the best news programs around. 

Music Friday: "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"

When I've been driving in my car this week, I've been listening SiriusXM's First Wave channel quite a bit. 

The channel trucks in 80s alternative music, which reminds me a lot of the early days of Mtv. 

Here's a group from that era for sure. 

 

Random Notes from a Crank

In not surprising news, a pro-Israel lobby has been schmoozing people in Congress on both sides of the aisle: "AIPAC Affiliate Has Funded Lavish Trips to Israel for Dozens of Congress Members." 

There are reasons why so many people in power don't criticize the treatment of Palestinians and the need for a Palestinian state. 

One of those reasons is that some think if they criticize Israel that they'll be labeled as anti-semitic.  

But, also, follow the money. 

So many corrupt officials. And so many more since President Adolf has been at the helm. 

At least some people in Congress and the courts upended the corrupt plan of the current administration to create a slush fund for idiots who claim the Biden administration targeted them, such as the traitors who stormed the Capitol building on January 6th. 

However, apparently the settlement will protect the Putin's Pet, President Adolf's family, and Sleepy Don's businesses from I.R.S. investigations, which is total nonsense. 

More goings on here in Dumbfuckistan. 

Lalo Alcaraz sums up our situation well. 

from GoComics 5-26-26

Musing of the Moment: The World Cup Groups

The World Cup is closing in. 

I checked out USA Today's article, "World Cup 2026 Groups: All 48 Teams in the Tournament," to see which, by my reckoning are the easiest and hardest groups. 

And I did the math based on FIFA rankings of the squads that was published by USA Today. 

I added up the rankings of each group. For purposes of this exercise, the lower the number of the combined rankings means that the group is a difficult one. The higher numbers mean it's an easier group for best squad in that group. 

Here are the combined rankings of each group:

• A: 112
• B: 119
• C: 93
• D: 93
• E: 94
• F: 87
• G: 120
• H: 108
• I: 68
• J: 107
• K: 93
• L: 88

Group I, which includes one of the favorites in France, is a difficult one with Senegal and Norway opposing the Frenchmen. 

Netherlands has its hands full in Group F.

Belgium got an easy draw in Group G just like Canada in Group B even though Switzerland might surprise. 

And England's group is difficult with Croatia and Ghana.  

I'd like to see a country win the World Cup that has never won it before. If I were a betting man, I'd put money either on the Netherlands or Portugal to do that. 

Of the squads out there to win it all, I'd like to see England or Senegal win it. 

Music Friday: "Tomorrow"

I heard this song on one of my SirisuXM radio stations, and it's been rattling around in my head this week. 

It's a quintessential grunge-influenced one-hit wonder from the 90s. 

Random Notes from a Crank

from The New York Times

It's yet another day in Dumbfuckistan, there's an octagonal cage being erected on the front lawn of the White House. 

You can read about this idiocy in "U.F.C. Fight Venue Takes Shape on the White House Lawn." 

Truly deplorable. 

I watched part of the MLS match between LAFC and the Seattle Sounders the other. Wow. Since I'm used to watching the Premier League, I found it astounding how slow the MLS match was. 

It makes sense if one takes into account how countries' football leagues are ranked. 

Like other entities' rankings, the Opta Power Rankings rank the Premier League as the number one ranked league in the world, whereas the MLS is ranked 19th behind the leagues in Belgium (ranked 7th), Portugal (8th), the English Championship (9th), and the Netherlands (18th), among others. 

In fact, I think the English Championship, the second tier of English football, is ranked too low. 

For example, this Global Football Rankings site has the Championship ahead of Liga Portugal and the Eredivisie. However, they have the MLS ranked 10th, which is absolute nonsense. 

Tottenham Hotspure survived, finally. What a terrible season. 

The club needs to spend smartly in the off season and offload players who are not part of De Zebi's plans. 

However, with so many players coming back from injuries - Kulusevski, Simons, Kudus, Odobert, Solanke, and Romero - it might be difficult to acquire a lot of players with only the league and cups to play in. 

Like Ben on WeAreTottenhamTV (YouTube channel), I want Vuskovic to "bed in" next season and play a lot because I think, like many others, that Romero is gone this summer.

I'd like to keep Papa Matar Sarr even though some people want to sell him because the club have so many midfielders right now in addition to Jamie Donley, Alfie Devine, and Yang Min-Hyeok coming back after being on loan.  

Random Notes from a Crank

It's that time of the year when the state track meet comes to town, so this week the town I live in has an influx of all kinds of people with high school students residing in some of the college's dorms. 

So the dorms' parking lots are full of high school buses that show the mascots of the high schools. 

Some of the most popular mascots are Bulldogs, Tigers, and Trojans. 

The high school my kids both graduated from had the mascot of the Trojans, which I find curious. 

They lost the Trojan War because of silly wooden horse. You would think people would use the side that won that mythical war, but they'd just have to call them the "Greeks." And that's not going to work. 

The closest moniker we got is the Spartans, but that was only a part of the Greek force in the Trojan War. 

I like entities that have interesting mascots, such as Crimson Tide, Wooden Shoes, Cornhuskers, Bunnies, Grey Ghosts, and so on. 

Here in Dumbfuckistan, The New York Times have a succinct article about about how the Iran War is MAME: Making America More Expensive: "What The Iran War Is Costing You." 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had its final episode on Thursday. I'm pissed off because that show was basically my form of therapy during the Trump administration and the pandemic. Check out "Stephen Colbert's Last 'Late Show': Laughing Well Is the Best Revenge." 

It looks like I'll be watching The Daily Show and Jimmy Kimmel from here on out. 

Fuck CBS. 

Music Friday: "Sunny Storms"

I watched a TikTok video a while back in which Bomani Jones was talking about how De La Soul's recent album was one of the best of 2025. 

 I took the guy's advice and downloaded Cabin In the Sky. 

There are tons of great songs on the album, but here's the third track. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Three-Bean Salad

At my son's senior night for the high school baseball team, one of the dads, who is a vegetarian, made a bean salad of sorts.

He made a huge version of it, so here's a much smaller version.

Ingredients

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed 

1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed 

1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup of cooked corn

1/2 cup of diced tomatoes with green chiles (or use the juice of one lime)

1/4 cup of jarred jalapeños, chopped finely

Healthy smidge of Penzey's salsa seasoning

Dash of Dan-Os seasoning

Process

It's pretty dang easy. drain and rinse the beans. Put everything into a mixing bowl and add the seasonings. One can alter this in a number of ways, such as adding bell pepper, scallions, and red onion if you like. 

Musing of the Moment: The Death of Schlitz

In some sad news for beer drinkers, Schlitz is going the way of the Dodo: "Once-Famous Beer To Be Discontinued after 177 Years." 

Back when I was drinking lots of beer when I was in college in the 90s, I would frequent my local Hy-Vee grocery store in Kirksville, Missouri and be able to get a twelve pack of Schlitz for an economical $5.99.

We discovered Schlitz on a pledge skip to Ames, Iowa. One of my fraternity brothers went out to get beer for a bunch a guys and came back with twelve packs of Schlitz. 

We initially started drinking Schlitz because people would not bum beers off you at parties when you were drinking the "Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous." 

It was better tasting than the regular Beast Light or Natty Light that people drank back then. 

But eventually people came around to bumming Schlitzes off we Schlitzophrenics, even girls. 

It's a sad day in the history of beer. 

Music Friday: "Juat the Way You Are"

For whatever reason, this song is one of my favorite tunes by Billy Joel. 

I heard it yesterday as I was listening to SiriusXM's The Bridge channel when Mrs. Nasty and I were driving back from a baseball game. 

Musing of the Moment: The Iran War Creates Inflation

As The New York Times is reporting, inflation has gotten even worse because of the gas prices soaring because of the pointless war in Iran. 

Check out "Inflation Accelerates after Weeks of War in Iran." 

The Democrats need to campaign with showing how the GOP is tied to President Adolf's dumbass policies and decisions. 

It's pretty simple. 

MAME: Making America More Expensive. 

Music Friday: "Dan"

 I've been listening to Noah Kahan's new album The Great Divide a lot since it came out. 

One of my favorite tunes on the album is the final one titled "Dan." 

Random Notes from a Crank

 

I got 100 of these stickers of President Adolf the other day. Every time I get gas, I will be affixing them to gas pumps. 

Other people need to do the same. 

It's been over sixty days since the lunatic started the Iran War. Congress needs to take away his wartime power. 

The New York Times has a great article about the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "When 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' Goes Away, What Do We Lose?" 

I wonder what Colbert is going to do next. 

Young Americans don't have a good opinion of the economy right now: "81 percent of Young Americans Say Economic Conditions Are Bad or Terrible."

With terrible gas prices and inflation happening on all kinds of products, the average person is getting screwed. 

Music Friday: "Spanish Castle Magic"

 I'm on time for a change this week. 

For whatever reason, I have this song rattling through my head today. 

Music Friday: "Down Home with Homey"

 I'm late again. Damn it. 

Here's a classic tune from Uptown Ruler Soul Gestures in Southern Blue Vol. 2 by Wynton Marsalis. 

Music Friday: "The Great Divide"

I got so busy with matters yesterday that I forgot to put out a Music Friday post. So here's a Music Friday post on Saturday. 

I watched the Netflix documentary on Kahan this past week. It came out a couple of weeks before his new album comes out. 

Here's the single that has been played quite a bit. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Apricot Banger

In my most recent Random Notes from a Crank post, I brought up the cocktail of the Baltimore Bang, and I mentioned I might play around with the recipe. 

I did. 

I cut the lemon juice and upped the sugar a bit to highlight the apricot flavor more. I also wonder if a half ounce or an ounce of triple sec might make it interesting because the original recipe calls for an orange garnish. 

Or maybe adding some bitters to the mix? 

So here it goes for now.  

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces of bourbon (I use standard Evan Williams instead of crap like Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 or Jim Beam)

1 1/2 ounces of apricot brandy

1 teaspoon of sugar or half a teaspoon of simple syrup

Process

It's pretty dang simple. Put the ingredients in cocktail shaker, fill with ice, shake, and drain into a high ball glass or chilled cocktail glass. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I discovered a new (to me) cocktail that I'm taking a shine to. It's called the Baltimore Bang. 

I'm a huge fan of bourbon, of course. But I also love apricots. The current recipe includes 1 oz. of lemon juice, so I may experiment doing without the lemon juice to bring out more of the apricot flavor. 

But I'm also a fan of the classic Manhattan cocktail. 

I was recently alarmed by the high prices for blueberries. I was in my local supermarket, and a carton was over seven bucks. 

Apparently, there are a number of factors why they are so high right now: climate change, the lack of migrant workers, and shipping problems. This article from 2025 explains it all: "Why Your Blueberries Are Suddenly So Expensive." 

Also, a more recent article in Business Insider cites the Iran War as a major factor for higher grocery prices across the board.

And the New York Times has an article on just that issue because, as an expert says in the article, "Berries are often the first category where consumers notice fuel inflation. When fuel prices rise, those costs move through the supply chain almost immediately." 

Read all about in "Where Might the Iran War Hit Your Grocery Bill? Start with Raspberries."  

Other significant factors are President Adolf's stupid tariffs, a weak US dollar, and a lack of migrant workers to pick produce. 

The political cartoonist usually isn't this blunt with his work, but I like it. 

Jeff Stahler 4/9/26 GoComics.com

In what is great news, the dictator Orban lost his election to remain Prime Minister of Hungary: "Orban, Beacon to the Right, Concedes Defeat in Hungary Election." 

And the new PM Magyar plans to get back on the right footing and stop the propaganda machine that Orban created: "Hungarian Election Winner Magyar Vows to Rebuild EU Relationship after Stunning Defeat of Orban." 

Random Notes from a Crank

As expected, the Vice President's trip to negotiate with Iran was a total failure. 

And then President Adolf talked about blocking the Strait of Hormuz. How the Hell is that going to help anything? 

Meanwhile at home the cost of gas/diesel is driving everything up. 

Bill Bramhall 4/12/26 GoComics

In news not related to a stupid war the US is waging for no good reason, A-Day at the U of Alabama was Saturday. 

From the report I read from TiderInsider, the sophomore QB Keelon Russell had a solid day and stood out among the quarterbacks. 

I'm really interested to see which NFL team takes Ty Simpson. Will he be a first round pick? Teams have to love his footwork as a quarterback. He's so fundamentally sound but only has the one season to look at from a standpoint of experience. 

Music Friday: "One Thing At a Time"

I recently discovered that Courtney Barnett had a new album out this year. Its titled Creature of Habit. 

Here's the fifth track from the new album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I"m guessing this so-called cease-fire in Iran isn't going to last. And what President Adolf has done is damage the credibility of the U.S. 

The New York Times has a great analysis of this situation in "A Cease-Fire for Now in Iran, but a Blow to American Credibility." 

As one expert states in the article, "There has never been a time when the United States was more distrusted, by both traditional friends and by rivals, as at the present."  

Here's a visual representation by Bill Bramhall. 

And here's a cartoon by Clay Bennett that sums up his war crimes and financial crimes while in office. He's grifting America for his own personal gain. 

Music Friday: "Grown"

I'm in a grouchy mood for a number of reasons today.

One song that consistently puts me in a better mood when I hear it is Isbell's "Grown," which is from his first solo album. 

Here's to getting in a better mood.  

Random Notes from a Crank

Existential Comics is back it again by taking down Plato through David Hume. The comic explains why people vote for imbeciles and take positions on issues without a lot of forethought. 

As reported by The New York Times, The U.S. is back to bombing civilians in Iran: "New U.S. Missile Hit Iranian Sports Hall and School, Analysis Shows." 

As a result of President Adolf "excursion" (sarcasm intended), gas prices are skyrocketing, especially the price of diesel that drives up the costs of lot of products because semis haul all kinds of stuff around the U.S. 

Inflation and possibly stagflation here we are. 

Making America More Expensive

And the idiotic attacks on Iran are simply going to create less safety for Americans because many terrrorist groups are aligned with Iran from a philsophical standpoint. 

Making America More Dangerous

Here are some interesting stats and figures from the March "Harper's Index":

• Portion of people detained by ICE between October 1 and November 15, 2025 who had a prior violent criminal conviction: 1/20
• Who had no prior criminal convictions: 3/4
• Port of U.S. small business owners who plan to hire new staff or otherwise expand this year: 1/10
• Who worry that their business will not survive the year: 3/4

The cost of diesel fuel is going to drive costs for everyone. So I see why business owners are worried. 

Music Friday: "Behind the Sun"

This week I watched the documentary about the Red Hot Chili Peppers that's on Netflix. It's titled The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother Hillel. 

It covers the period of albums that I got into the band--the albums I prefer. I don't have any of their albums after Blood Sugar Sex Magik. 

Here's "Behind the Sun" that featured prominently in the documentary. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Bourbon Chicken

After watching a video about this dish from America's Test Kitchen, I made it tonight with some modifications. 

It's called Bourbon Chicken, but it's very Asian inspired because of the use of soy sauce and ginger. I added peas since when they made it had no vegetables. 

Ingredients

2 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/2 cup of diced onion

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/2 cup of light brown sugar

1/4 cup of water

2 tablespoons of bourbon

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1 cup of frozen peas

1 tablespoon of corn starch

1 tablespoon of grated ginger

2 cloves of minced garlic

2 green onions, chopped finely 

Process

Trim the fat off the chicken thighs and cut them into small pieces into a mixing bowl. 

In a glass measuring cup, add the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, bourbon, sesame oil, and black pepper. 

Microwave the sauce for two minutes and set aside to cool. 

Add two tablespoons of the sauce mixture to bowl of chicken and then add the tablespoon of corn starch. Mix thoroughly. 

Add some avocado oil to a skillet and heat to medium-high. 

Put the chicken and onion in and brown the chicken. Once the chicken is browned, add the ginger and garlic and cook for roughly a minute. Add the rest of sauce mixture, add the peas, and let the sauce simmer until it thickens some. Add in the green onions at the end. 

Serve over rice and enjoy. 

Music Friday: "Call to Arms"

I'm patiently waiting for the new album (in CD form) from Sturgill Simpson Johnny Blue Skies to arrive.

In the meantime, here's the final tune from A Sailor's Guide to Earth, which is one of my favorite albums of his. 

The lyrics are below the videos, lyrics that are highly relevant to what's going on. 

Lyrics

I done Syria, Afganistan, Iraq and Iran
North Korea. Tell me where does it end?
Well, the bodies keep piling up with every day.
How many more of em they gonna send?
Well, they send their sons and daughters off to die for some oil
To control the heroin.
Well, son I hope you don't grow up
Believing that you gotta be a puppet to be a man. 
Well, they cut off your hair and put a badge on your arm
Strip you of your identity. 
Tell you to keep your mouth shut boy and get in the line
Meet your maker overseas. 
Wearing that Kim Jong-Il hat, 
Your grandma's selling pills stat. 
Meanwhile, I'm worried I can't pay my fucking bills. 
Nobody's looking to up to care about a drone. 
All too busy looking down at our phones. 
Ego's begging for food like a dog from our feed
Refreshing obsessively til our eyes start to bleed. 
Serve up distractions and we eat em with fries
Til the bombs fall out of our fuckin skies.

Turn off the TV.
Turn off the news.
Ain't nothing to see.
They're serving the blues. 

Bullshit on my TV.

Bullshit on my radio.

Hollywood's telling me how to be.

Bullshit's got to go. 

Random Notes from a Crank

For the US to elect a pathologically-lying, corrupt, bloviating, narcissistic, pedophilic criminal twice and be run by a total kakistocracy right now, we should be renamed Dumbfuckistan.

Carlin said it well with this joke, which is dark humor and not really funny when you think about it. 

  it. 

And by the way, Dan Quayle would be a help to this administration. At least that guy might have some morals and respect the Constitution. 

And speaking of crazy people like Carlin did, during Covid Facebook showed me who the crazy people are. 

Once The Late Show with Stephen Colbert goes off the air, I'm not watching CBS anymore. 

I'll more likely frequent The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Myers more often. 

As mu hometown TV station reports, the Iran War is going to drive up fertilizer costs for farmers: "Fertilizer Costs Soar: Strait of Hormuz Closure Impacts Farmers." 

FAFO, farmers. Many of you idiots supported President Adolf. 

Nice job, you chuds. 

I'm interested to see who shakes out as the winner of the Democratic primaries here in Illinois. I voted this morning. I'm closely watching the U.S. Senate race. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Gas prices are crazy high because of President Adolf's Iran War to distract us from the fact he's a pedophile. 

The tire pressure point is a good one. It's one factor I've paid more attention to over the past few years. 

When I was at a car dealership today to get my car's oil changed, it is difficult not to overhear the salespeople talking to one another and to customers. The one sales guy on the phone and in his interactions with other males has a tendency to call those guys "brother." 

As someone who grew up watching then WWF wrestling, I automatically associate the term "brother" with the likes of Hulk Hogan and other wrestlers who liked using that word. I just find it odd that "brother" when addressing a male person is a constant in some peoples' lexicons. 

The idiocy of President Adolf is on full display with European leaders not willing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guardian informs us about Moscow Don trying to get help with the Iran War: "European Countries Reject Trump's Call for Help to Reopen Strait of Hormuz."   

Musing of the Moment: Attacks at Home

The Iran War is only going to motivate people prone to violence to attack the U.S. 

It appears many of the recent attacks on Americans on our own soil is the result of President Adolf's attacks on Iran and the bellicose rhetoric from the senile white supremacist and his drunk Secretary of Defense. 

There are all kinds of terrorist groups sympathetic to Iran. 

Check out the article in the New York Times: "'Sleeper Cells' and Lone Attackers: Security Experts Brace for More Violence at Home" 

Making America More Dangerous. 

Music Friday: "Home Again"

I've been listening to the albums of Delta Spirit a lot this week. 

I just really dig their sound and the lead vocalist's timbre of voice. 

Here's "Home Again" from the 2020 album What Is There. The band's most recent album is One Is One that came out in 2022. I'm hoping for a new album sometime soon. 

Music Friday: Mutiny After Midnight

Johnny Blue Skies (Sturgill Simpson) has a new album coming out on LP, CD, and cassette, but it's not available to stream although he did drop the whole album on YouTube. 

So here it is. Enjoy the country-rock-disco mashup that it is. 

Musing of the Moment: MAME-Making America More Expensive

I gassed up my vehicle before President Adolf initiated a war with Iran. At that time the price per gallon in my area of east central Illinois was $2.91. 

I drove past the station where I get my gas, and if I remember right, the price jumped to $3.19. 

As The New York Times relates, gas prices are soaring because of the administration's dumb military strikes in Iran: "Oil and Natural Gas Prices Extend Rally as Iran Attacks Escalate." 

The MAGA brand is really MAME: Making America More Expensive. 

And it's also maiming democracy and the Constitution. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Gary Markstein provided a great political cartoon related to how the administration is using the Justice Department for their own ends and to cover up President Adolf's pedophilia. 

The strikethroughs are true. 

So the guy who ran on no more "foreign wars" is doing all kinds of unconstitutional foreign wars while the craven GOP sits back and does nothing. 

Markstein is on the mark again with his latest. 

The US attacking Iran is simply going to move up someone else similar to the previous leader. 

President Adolf is a puppet of Netanyahu in regarding the Middle East. 

And the attacks are going to create more terrorists who will target the United States. The GOP has learned nothing from Afghanistan and Iraq.  

Music Friday: "Banditos"

This song came across SiriusXM's Lithium channel when I was driving around this week. 

It's a classic one-hit wonder of the 90s. It has that 90s pop-rock alternative rock sound that was so prevalent during the decade. Very Third Eye Blind like. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I finished the documentary on the ABA the other day titled Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.

It's quite good, and I learned that the ABA started the three-point shot and the slam dunk contest. And during the 70s the ABA served up a better brand of basketball than the NBA. 

I'm not much of a watcher of the current NBA although I grow up watching the Bulls on WGN when they were a bad team, suffering through Jordan's Bulls losing to the Pistons, and finally reveling in the glory of the Bulls dynasty. 

If you want to slog through the lies and bullshit that were spewed on Tuesday night by President Adolf, check out "Read NPR's Annotated Fact Check of President Trump's State of the Union." 

I've gotten to the age that half the time I don't know much or if anything about the guest host of SNL. And I usually don't like the musical guest. 

One of the books I'm currently reading is Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. 

After he finally took over as Khan and united all kinds of clans on the steppes, he instituted "The Great Law of the Genghis Khan" that, for its time, was quite progressive and helped stop the cycles of exploitation and violent paybacks.  

The Great Law of Genghis Khan instituted these rules (and I'm quoting directly from the book):

• "forbade the the kidnapping of women"
• "forbade the abduction and enslavement of any Mongol"
• "he declared all children legitimate, whether born to a wife or a concubine" 
• "forbade the selling of women into marriage"
• "outlawed adultery" - "adultery applied to relations between married people of separate households. As long as it did not cause a public strife between families, it did not rank as a crime." 
• "made animal rustling a capital offense"
• "forbidding the hunting of animals between March and October"
• "decreed complete and total religious freedom for everyone" 
• "exempted religious leaders and their property from taxation and from all types of public service"
• "extended the same tax exemptions to a range of professionals who provide essential public services, including undertakers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and scholars"

So in the 13th century, the Mongol leader instituted reforms that would reduce strife and conflict, moved the perception of how women should be treated, created a hunting season, established religious freedom, and gave tax exemptions for people who work for the public good. 

I would especially like that tax exemption for teachers and scholars.