We've been sleeping, BUT

We're getting hyped for a whole new year!  Look for more politics, more imagery and film, and more little known or appreciated factoids gleaned from the internet. Right now we're working on a pretty neat end-of-the-year piece; Please stay tuned!

10 Things Stores Don't Want You to Know about Holiday Shopping

From the Learning Channel, pretty neat stuff, worth a look. Click the link below or the headline above to go there.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Hundreds of shoppers wait in the dark outside a Toys"R"Us in Fort Worth, Texas, for the start of the Black Friday sales.

TLC Family "10 Things Stores Don't Want You to Know: Holiday Shopping Edition"

Can we please have a 2012 Reality Check? PLEASE?

Some recent headlines -- only the names have been changed to indict the guilty.
Let's get serious, folks -- if this is the America you envision in 2012, you're playing with 51 cards!

Palin fights to save nuclear arms deal


Palin urges Iraqis to take charge


NATO leaders back Palin on START treaty


Palin tells North Korea to end 'belligerence'


Palin honors inventor of digital camera

Palin Presses China on Imbalances


Bristol Palin talks about curbing obesity during Newark visit



University of Idaho endowment to honor Palin's mother

Ban on Iranian pistachios now in effect

This is not a political article. This is an article that illustrates how the little guy, all around the world, in every country, gets screwed by the people in power.

A U.S. ban on Iranian pistachios went into effect on Wednesday, as the Obama administration ratchets up economic pressure on Iran to open its nuclear facilities to international inspection.

Iranian pistachios are the best in the world. There are NO pistachios that are even close. Any pistachio lover who was alive during the 50s and 60s, when this country and Iran were still friendly, knows this fact to be incontrovertible.

As relations between the two countries deteriorated, the supply of Iranian pistachios dwindled; by 1980 they could be found only through dedicated searches, and usually in Middle Eastern bodegas in places like Jersey City and Brooklyn. Now even that meager supply has been cut off.

The little farmer guy in Iran is getting screwed out of the world's biggest pistachio market, and the little guy in that market who likes pistachios is being forced to eat inferior nuts. And so it goes.

Dancing with the Stars -- Competition, or Con Job?

For those of you unfamiliar with the TV show of the headline, it works like this -- Celebrities are teamed with professional dancers, and they compete against each to become the grand prize winner. A panel of judges rates the performances, and the TV audience votes for their preferences; ostensibly, the judges' rating and the audience voting tally are somehow combined for a final score, and teams are either eliminated or advanced based on that score.

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The Hidden Barack Obama

Well, he's not completely hidden; we're still operating more or less like a free Republic, so the corporations that are attempting to seize economic control over the United States have to put up with the inconvenience of a free fourth estate.

But not for too much longer. Those corporations own most of the media, most of the newspapers and magazines and radio and television stations... just about everything you listen to or watch. And they've mounted and showcased an incredible, media-wide (not just Fox!) campaign to discredit, minimize, and ultimately unseat a man we elected by large majority, a man, who, by almost any barometer, is uniquely qualified to lead America at this point in time.

So... sift through the 'infotainment' sludge and sound bites; brush aside propagandist polls,  'Obama's Socialist Agenda,' and 'He just doesn't grasp what's happening.' Read his biography by clicking the headline; check out his blog; get to know our 44th President.

If one digs around, the real Barack Obama is out there.

                                                        

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet children while touring Humayun's tomb in New Delhi, November 7, 2010.
(Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Holland Tunnel -- Born today, in 1927

Jaxonia was going to post a nice little article about this Wonder of the World, but then we came across this really neat video, which pretty much says it all.
If you would like more information, just click on the above title.  Enjoy.

Fios vs Optimum -- the scoop from someone who had both!

EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA

Final update 11/12/10

As of about a week ago, one of the huge advantages of Optimum - no long-term contract - was stripped away as FIOS now offers the same deal. This, coupled with a growing ease of use, more internet reliability and the big problem Optimum has with FOX contracts, has tipped the scales significantly to FIOS. Optimum's Ace in the hole -- free Clearview movie tickets and other incentives -- has been trumped by long lines on the freebie movie days and a 'what have you done lately?' feeling, Game-Set-Match is on the horizon here.

Another update (3/28/2010)

Googling this topic proves there's no shortage of Optimum AND Fios lovers-haters, which may explain why this little post on a personal blog keeps getting so many hits; it's one of a very few even-handed reports. So here's a little more even-handedness:
FIOS continues to be its own worst enemy. Big and faceless, seemingly uncaring service continues to be their Achilles Heel. That, and while they are moving into internet/TV interactivity, they continue to be user unfriendly; your grandmother doesn't have a prayer of using FIOS's new marbles.

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An unusual 'top ten'

David Letterman does this every night, but he's never as exciting as this!

and now... a little self-promotion

Many Jaxonia readers just pay attention to the articles...which is OK, but please don't forget the sidebar links and bottom gadgets. Check them out -- just about everything one needs for an in-depth internet experience can be found on Jaxonia. Grammar help, cool Latin phrases to impress Facebookers... pop in on the Supreme Court, even!
Don't jump over some thoughtfully created entertainment just to score with one article.  Stay a while!


Incredible Play At Home - Watch more Funny Videos

Lunesta side effects -- WOW!

Anyone who takes this drug after listening to the commercial ought to have their head examined! GEEZ!

Get this before they sell out!

Now don't go getting all uppity on this, it's not blasphemous, it's damn cute! It works, too. This guy in Vermont, Owen, dreamt this up the way all good Americans do -- he saw some news report about a 'Jesus' sighting on a piece of toast and thought, 'Hey, maybe somebody could make a buck off that!.' The difference between Owen and you is that he's doing it!

The whole business, Burnt Impressions, LLC, is run out of Owen's barn in Vermont. So far he's doing great, and wants to hire some folks for the Christmas season. So do your part in America's economic recovery -- Buy a Toaster!
Click the headline to find out how to buy one.

Happy Veterans' Day

Making wine in Madison

Madison history and tradition goes back many generations. Much of it is nostalgia, now.  The flower nurseries are history, Bottle Hill is just a name, the Tuttle Oak is gone, even the State championship football teams are decades away.
 But the tradition of wine-making, brought to Madison by Italian immigrants, lives on. Watch the process. Many of the families that started the tradition are still here, still pressing grapes, still enjoying dinner with wine made in the basement,  Watch the credits at the end -- it's almost like reading the local phone book!

Think the CIA is scary? Check out these guys!

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

This (below) is just ONE of the projects they're working on! 

Click either the headline or the caption to go there.

Surprise! There's a hydrogen bomb buried off the Georgia coast! (Is this an upcoming NCIS episode?)**

A trailer for next week's NCIS showed the photo -- for a half-second -- of the bomb shown at the end of this article. Are NCIS story consultants reading Jaxonia? Watch... let us know your opinion!
--------------------------------


Lighthouse at Tybee Island

If you google Tybee Island you get a couple of nice, touristy pages promoting one of the South's premier vacation spots -- bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals, summer festivals. But google Tybee Island 'bomb' and you get some pretty scary stuff!

On February 5, 1958, the United States Air Force lost a 7,600-pound (3,400 kg) Mark 15 hydrogen bomb in the waters off Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia, USA. The bomb was jettisoned to save the aircrew during a practice exercise after the B-47 bomber carrying it collided in midair with an F-86 fighter plane. Following several unsuccessful searches, the bomb was presumed lost somewhere in Wassaw Sound off the shores of Tybee Island.

Starting on February 6, 1958, the Air Force 2700th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron and 100 Navy personnel equipped with hand held sonar and galvanic drag and cable sweeps mounted a search. On April 16, 1958 the military announced that the search efforts had been unsuccessful. Based upon a hydrologic survey, the bomb was thought by the Department of Energy to lie buried under 5 to 15 feet (2 to 5 m) of silt at the bottom of Wassaw Sound.


In 2004, retired Air Force Colonel Derek Duke claimed to have found the possible resting spot of the bomb. He and his partner located the spot by trawling the area in their boat with a Geiger counter in tow. The Air Force released its report in June 2005, which stated that high radiation measurements are from naturally occurring radioactive materials, and that the location of the bomb is still unknown.

Something to worry about besides sharks!

'The bomb' -- just in case you're snorkeling this summer.


**(Originally published 4/10)

John D. Solomon, 1963-2010

John Solomon, the NPR journalist, died Monday, November 1, from complications following a bone marrow transplant for leukemia. He was 47.
To readers of his blog, this news is not only devastating but also shocking. We knew that John was struggling for the past two years, but it was sometimes easy to get the wrong idea about the seriousness of what he called �this pesky� condition. It�s not that John ever hid anything � on the contrary, he was refreshingly candid at all times. It�s just that he was so consistently sanguine that his illness often seemed like more of an annoyance than a life-threatening event.
John is survived by his wife Abby, his two children Rebecca and Sara, his parents Ann and Richard, his brother Jimmy, and by his many friends and admirers. The funeral service was Wednesday, November 3rd, 10:00 am at Temple Emanu-El, on Fifth Avenue at 65th Street.

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For the rich, the Great Recession never happened

An open note to our Congress, contemplating tax cuts for the rich: This is what they're doing with their money. Can I hear an 'Amen'?  Geez!

Christie�s Auction Sets Records for Matisse and Gris - NYTimes.com

Juan Gris's 1913 'Violin and Guitar' sold for $28.6 million.

Lovin' that Blue Jersey!

A site that gives you some real insight into the Off-Ramp State.Click the headline to go there. Here's an up-to-the-minute sample:

Election Night Hangover by:�Rosi Efthim Wed Nov 03, 2010 at 02:32:35 AM EDT

The picture below is cold reality, but I am not going to waste my time mourning. New Jersey battled back. Good candidates fell all over the country Tuesday. In New Jersey, we held on by our teeth.The big loss was�John Adler, in a series of self-inflicted wounds. We knew months ago when Adler tried to play both sides on health care reform, that he'd sacrificed his base. We knew when Jane Roh's Courier Post account of the mechanics of�Peter DeStefano's�sham Tea Party candidacy that the�Adler campaign had been pulled down the rabbit hole by the Camden County Democratic Committee. We can't be stung by that loss anymore, we grieved it a long time ago. But�what fresh hell�Jon Runyan�will be, we'll leave to the light of day, or at least until tonight's Glenlivet wears off.

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The classic Immelmann

(If videos do not appear, click 'read more' to restore them)



German WWI ace Max Immelmann invented it, barnstormers built upon it... today, no air show would be complete without at least one 'Immelmann Turn.'



In the world of charitable giving there are immense caveats, and many of us are loathe to donate, simply because we really don't feel that either our money �makes a real difference, or that too much of it is spent on'administrative expenses.' �Watch this short film. (Click on 'read more' to go there)
You'll discover a place where you can actually feel good about your donation,

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It's time

Pull the lever --- do your job --- VOTE!

LIVE from D.C., it's SATURDAY AFTERNOON!!

�� � � � � � � � � � � � �Click the headline for the complete story!

Rally co-hosts Colbert & Stewart

Click 'read more' for rally pics.

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Time for a reprise -- Happy Halloween!

The trouble with most New Yorker magazine covers is their built-in timely uniqueness. They are alternately funny, poignant, newsy or socially relevant, and then they fade into obscurity. A month, a year, a decade later, the meaning of many covers is forgotten.
Some covers do buck the trend. Saul Steinberg's classic New Yorker's world map, for example (see read more) is one example. �Herewith Jaxonia publishes its candidate for enduring fame:

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When was the first ticker tape parade?

A�ticker-tape parade�is a�parade�event held in a downtown urban setting, allowing the jettison of large amounts of shredded paper products from nearby�office�buildings onto the parade route, creating a triumphal effect by the snowstorm-like flurry.

The term originated in�New York City�after a spontaneous celebration held on�October 29,�1886�during the dedication of theStatue of Liberty, and is still most closely associated with New York City. The term�ticker-tape�originally referred to the use of the paper output of�ticker tape machines, which were remotely-driven devices used in brokerages to provide updated stock market quotes. Nowadays, the paper products are largely waste office paper that have been cut using conventional�paper shredders. The city also distributes paper�confetti.^[1]

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A tea party update

The right-wing tea party movement likes to affect the use of the Gadsden Purchase flag as a symbol of their discontent with the government; they translate the 'don't tread on me' motto as an implicit warning to the�constituted�governments of America to 'back off.'
While contemporary usage does make allowances for the use of that flag as a symbol of discontent, its original meaning was one of American unity and solidarity. Indeed, no less a formidable figure than founding father Benjamin Franklin saw the rattlesnake as a fitting emblem for the country. In one of his famous essays he wrote of the snake:


"I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids�She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.�She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.�As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal:�Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of stepping on her.�Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?"


Look closely at the Gadsden snake -- coiled and ready to strike, her tail brandishes no less than 13 rattles. A UNITED country, not a divided one.
Click 'read more' if you'd like to see the original Naval ensign that inspired the Gadsden flag



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Maybe all is not lost

After more than 200 years of trying, it is exasperating to the point of ultimate ennui to realize that America, with all its incredible riches, both natural and philosophic, and in the face of natural and man-made catastrophes, STILL cannot get its act together.

As we face a Presidential mid-term election that is in scary lockstep with the 'two-steps-forward, one-step-back' doctrine of the past 30 years, isn't there ANY hopeful signs out there? Have we accomplished nothing of value in the last decade or so?
Well, it ain't much, but Jaxonia would like you to consider the International Space Station. In little more than ten years, this little blip in orbit was created and has flourished and grown in worldwide cooperation. Look at what has been accomplished so far, while the rest of us have spent the decade car-bombing or Predator-striking each other.
Make friends with a nerd -- they know what they're doing! Click the headline -- watch the space station grow!

Happy Birthday Sammy

(The area immediately below this line should contain a video. If it is blank, click 'read more' to restore it)




Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born on October 21, 1772 in the rural town of Ottery St Mary, Devonshire. He was the youngest of ten children, and his father, the Reverend John Coleridge, was a well respected vicar.

He is probably best known for his long poems, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Christabel. Even those who have never read the Rime have come under its influence: its words have given the English language the metaphor of an albatross around one's neck, the quotation of "water, water everywhere, ne any drop to drink (almost always rendered as "but not a drop to drink")", and the phrase "a sadder and a wiser man (again, usually rendered as "sadder but wiser man")". Christabel is known for its musical rhythm, language, and its Gothic tale.

Kubla Khan, or, A Vision in a Dream, A Fragment, although shorter, is also widely known. Both Kubla Khan and Christabel have an additional "romantic" aura because they were never finished. Both poems are revered for their "exquisite metrical movement" and "imaginative phrasing." (Click the headline for the complete 'Rime' )

In an incredible juxtaposition of the 18th and 21st centuries, the heavy metal rock group Iron Maiden produced the following tribute to Coleridge's signature poem. It is in two parts, the second of which can be accessed by clicking 'read more.'




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The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Hieronymus Bosch

A few years ago we published a small article on Greed that carried the illustration headlined and shown here. Since that time the article has consistently registered on our 'most popular' list. If a reader clicked the headline  they would get additional information on the painting. But if  readers didn't know that, they would miss out.

In case you're a reader who missed out, here's your chance at redemption: Click the headline!

If you're curious about the original article, click here.

It's that time again!

Winter is Icummen in, by Ezra Pound

Winter is icummen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm,
Raineth drop and staineth slop
And how the wind doth ramm!
Sing: Goddamm.
Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
An ague hath my ham.
Freezeth river, turneth liver
Damn you, sing: Goddamm.
Goddamm, Goddamm, tis why I am,
Goddamm.
So 'gainst the winter's balm
Sing Goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm
Sing Goddamm, sing Goddamm,
DAMM.

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Time Burnishings -- Through a Glass Darkly

Dave Flack died of Hodgkin's Disease in the early 70s. He was a co-worker, a friend, and a steady golfing partner. He couldn't have been 40 years old.

For the longest time after his death his memory centered on Sloan-Kettering hospital, his stark room, and a last visit... from me and another mutual friend, Frank Spezzano. �Frank was one of those guys who always did the right thing, so you'd expect him to be there, but me? I could wriggle out of a hospital visit with any number of classic excuses. Why not this time? �I had no clue.

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Hooray!

This doesn't mean anything to most of you out there, but for the last TWO years I've been trying to get animated GIFs to work in this blog. �Now, thanks to �Peter @ Enviroman and an app called Photobucket, they work!�

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Bread... Revisited

Just about a year ago we wrote this article on the demise of real bread.  Since that time we began to realize that not only was real bread disappearing from grocery shelves, but that most fast-food joints served up disgusting substitutions as well.
McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's -- ANY hamburger chain has totally unacceptable mushy buns that disintegrate within minutes of its marriage to a beef patty, and ditto goes for the franchised sandwich stores like Subway or Quiznos.
Please -- we're begging here -- support local bakeries, not just for cakes, but for their staff of life bread products, too.
Here's a clue to a great bakery -- they usually won't have a website. Why? Because baking a good loaf of bread is a FULL TIME JOB! As a community service, we recommend a bakery that is worth the drive -- just click on this article's headline for directions.

A Classy Way to Die

From the NY Times, by Phil Patton

Albert Camus, the existentialist philosopher and novelist, died in a car crash 50 years ago last January. His quirky death -- and the car in which he died, a Facel Vega, both quickly became notorious.

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

Camus was 46 when he died while returning to Paris from Provence after the holidays on Jan. 4, 1960, in a car driven by his friend and publisher Michel Gallimard.

In the small town of Villeblevin, Gallimard lost control of the car, and Camus was killed. Gallimard was injured and died a few days later. Camus had with him a ticket for the train he had originally planned to ride and the manuscript of his last book.

Camus, known for his ideas of the absurd, is supposed to have said that the most absurd way to die would be in a car crash.

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Googling Chile

Time was, when miners were trapped and ultimately rescued, it was a big story. But with the internet, 'big' takes on a whole new meaning.  Big isn't just big... it's HUGE, almost unfathomably so. And you can watch it LIVE
Here's what you get if you google Chile mine rescue. Videos, background stories,  -- you can even find out how Al Jazeera is handling the news.
Let's suppose the mining rescue has triggered some curiosity about Chile itself. Now you're getting into Google's wheelhouse. Chile?  How's THIS?
Oh, they had a dictator? What was his name, Pinochet?
And on and on. Before the mine, the most famous attribute of Chile -- at least in restaurants around the country -- was Chilean Sea Bass.
So, thanks to Google, Chile's 15 minutes of fame now includes a history lesson, a fish story, and even more: The location of the mine,  the northern Atacama Desert, is also the site of neighbor Bolivia's long-standing claim of Pacific Ocean access.

OK, I need another cup of coffee.

In search of the giant pumpkin

Giant Pumpkins

BY ERIC SLATKIN AND BLAKE SMITH

�Pumpkin� Pete Glasier, Jose Ceja, and Leonardo Urena are Napa growers competing against each other for the Peanuts-esque title of Biggest Giant Pumpkin, as awarded by the International Pumpkin Association. To find out how large these pumpkins actually get, and who won the 2008 competition, click the headline of this article. But before you do, take a guess:  How big will the biggest pumpkin be? 

Editor's note -- Will someone please comment on why this article has become so popular?  Yesterday it became Jaxonia's top hit getter.  PLEASE?  Comment anonymously if you want.

OK, here we go again

Facebook is just getting too scary and complicated. I'm getting selfish in my old age -- I can't solve all the world's crises. East Timor, Somalia, Palestine, Pakistan... plus there seems to be at least a couple of dozen 'friends' on Facebook who seem to have all the answers and don't mind telling me... at great length, too!

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Jax's Trip to Mars**

...and it was easy! I actually kicked myself for not thinking of this sooner. All it took was a little imagination and there I was. I even brought along a little Earth bubble-- some gravity, atmosphere, a lawn chair, pack of Camels, bottle of bourbon -- and I eased myself down to check out my homeland.

Earth, and moon, as seen by Jax



First impression: DARK
There's lot of space out there, folks; I wouldn't worry so much about asteroids whacking into us.


Second impression: Tiny
Even though I was sitting in a field box seat, there was plenty more eye candy out there vying for my attention. My little blue ball-house was just that -- little, and blue, and not much else.

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We've always had crazies -- Happy Anniversary!

Wall Street bombing

Wall Street bombing
The aftermath of the explosion
Location	New York City, New York
Date	September 16, 1920 12:01 pm (UTC-4)
Attack type	horse-drawn wagon bombing
Deaths	38
Injured	400
Perpetrator(s)	unknown; the Galleanists(Italian anarchists) are suspected

The Wall Street bombing was a terrorist incident that occurred at 12:01 p.m. on September 16, 1920, in the Financial District of New York City. It was the deadliest bomb attack on American soil for seven years, until the Bath School disaster. Thirty-eight were killed and 400 persons were injured by the blast.^[1]

Attack

At noon, a horse-drawn wagon passed by lunchtime crowds on Wall Street in New York City. The wagon then stopped across the street from the headquarters of the J.P. Morgan Inc. bank at 23 Wall Street, on the Financial District's busiest corner. Inside, 100 pounds (45 kg) of dynamite with 500 pounds (230 kg) of heavy cast-iron slugs exploded in a timer-set detonation, sending the slugs tearing through the air. The horse and wagon were vaporized. Dozens of bodies littered the street, and the bomb caused over $2 million in property damage, wrecking most of the interior spaces of the Morgan building. An automobile was hurled into the air, and glass was shattered for blocks (the damage can still be seen on the buildings today [1]). Later a janitor may have swept glass out of a broken window, further adding to the injuries. Word soon spread that another bomb was nearby, creating further panic.
Shortly before the bomb exploded, a warning note had been placed in a mailbox at the corner of Cedar Street and Broadway. The warning read:

Remember we will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners or it will be sure death for all of you. American AnarchistFighters.

The bomb failed to kill any high government officials, instead claiming mostly messengers, stenographers, clerks and brokers as its victims.^[2]
(For the entire article, click the headline)

Just a little Madison drive...**

 Is there a road or neighborhood or home you'd like to see? WRITE A COMMENT! Kings Road, under the overpass, past the YMCA, stopped at Prospect (new Police and Fire Station on the left); past Borough Hall, right onto Waverly Place; across Main St. to Central Avenue; Central Avenue School; right past Dodge Field to Greenwood Ave; up Greenwood to Knollwood.


** Originally posted 6/6/08

A Tale of Two Cities

Two unrelated factoids:
1)

As of this writing, the 'hallowed ground' of the 9/11 tragedy remains an essential hole in New York's heart. While we have managed to raze and build three state-of-the-art sports arenas,  the Ground Zero Memorial continues to plod along; they're 'rushing' to finish it in the next year.




2)

Three years AFTER 9/11,  the Arab Emirate of Dubai broke ground on the construction of the world's tallest building. Despite numerous setbacks -- worker strikes, a tanking worldwide economy, lightning hazards -- The Burj Dubai skyscraper opened in January. It is widely considered a world wonder.

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

In 1931, America built the Empire State Building in 410 days.  Over 3,000 workers -- mostly immigrants and Mohawk Indians -- toiled in the teeth of this country's Great Depression. The skyscraper was widely considered a world wonder.

From then til now -- what the hell happened?

100 MPH car crash caught on police cruiser cam

The 19-year-old driver in this horrendous accident has thus far survived, albeit in critical condition. Drive safely; the life you save may be your own. (Click the headline to view the crash.)

Stick a fork in 'em, they're done

Let's all sit shiva until after Labor Day, when Jaxonia will expand this article with some additional thoughts. Until then, click the headline for some trenchant, pithy Mets news.

The sad road of progress**

For more than half a century the premier train of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, initially the Lackawanna Limited and later, more famously, the Phoebe Snow, whooshed through the Madison station at 7 AM, enroute to Buffalo and Chicago. Phoebe's last, almost empty run was sometime in the mid-60s; a simple elegy was scrawled in chalk on a pillar of her Hoboken home track: 'Phoebe Snow died an Erie death.'
Time marches on. Nobody was going to Buffalo any more, and Chicago was a two-hour plane ride.

Who was Phoebe Snow? Before she was a talented composer/musician ('Poetry Man' 1975) she was a fictional New York socialite who mysteriously rode the rails to Buffalo, her snow-white dress promoting the clean-burning anthracite coal of her luxury train.


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On April 14, 2008, here's what Obama said:

"But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

And here's what Jaxonia said:

OK, does anybody out there believe this is a FALSE statement? GEEZ! Haven't they been reading the bumper stickers? Haven't they heard the coarse jokes about Mexicans taking jobs, Pakistanis running Dunkin' Donuts, Indians in gas stations? Haven't they experienced trying to get their computer fixed with a phone call to a telephone help line that has been outsourced to God-knows-where? Haven't they read the signs outside churches, extolling the flock that Jesus will solve their problems? Far from being elitist, it seems to me that Barack Obama is right there at the crux of one of this country's gravest problems, the alienation of the middle class.

Who do you think has a better handle on the collective identity of this country, a mixed-race black man who has daily experienced the worst this country has to offer -- prejudice, favoritism and discrimination -- or two white breads who have lived the glossy American dream that continues to elude the majority of us?

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An Observation

For people over the age of 65, friends and family who are either dead or dying begin to encroach on everyday life. It just happens, is all, like the glut of engagements and weddings in your 20s and 30s, or the birth announcements in your 40s. 
 "Did you hear about Fred? Terminal Gout.  Young, too... just turned 80." It starts with a trickle, so innocuous as to be barely noticeable, but somewhere in the 70s this inevitable phenomenon kicks into high gear; scarcely a week goes by when some friend, relative, former classmate, business associate, neighbor or whatever has to turn in his or her Bucket List. 
All this is without benefit of any obituary notices.  Hell, if you're macabre enough to read those, dead people back up from your door to the street!
But that's not the observation hinted at the headline.  The observation is this: Men and women apparently approach these announcements very differently. For guys, it's like a casualty of war. No matter who it is, the reaction to the news is unvarying.  "Who? No shit. Of what? No shit. How old? No shit." And then it's back to Obama or the Mets or credit default swaps.
Women, on the other hand, Get very gender-specific. A female's demise is cause for an expository lunch, an afternoon of chain phone calls, a Proustian recollection of all that has passed before good old Prudence's eyes.
Men?  Hah! Maybe it's because they're kicking off faster, but the announcement of a male departure is treated by the distaff side as something like a geranium croaking on the side of the house. "Didn't get enough sun... surprising he lasted as long as he did... wonder what Mabel will do with that bare spot."
Fair warning guys -- if you want some respect after you're gone, start lobbying NOW.


(Click the headline for a neat funereal surprise!)

You want Progressive? YOU CAN'T HANDLE PROGRESSIVE!

Progressive means hard work. You don't just pick up a newspaper or tune in a channel or surf the net for an article; you don't just check the comment box and scribble your seat-of-the-pants take. You challenge, you question, you prepare to change your opinion, even if it hurts. You boldly go where you've never gone before (luv that Star Trek).

If, however, you are a little lazy like me, here's a great CliffsNotes.

Be careful; it's as habit forming as Sumatran Extra Bold.

Don't like mosques? Think being born here is not enough to make you a citizen? Well, you just may be...

How to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower

Most of us hear about meteor showers the next day, over the water cooler. Well, you have no excuse now -- here's advance notice, with six steps to enhance the experience, PLUS video, thanks to wikiHow (not wikiLeaks!)

How to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower: 6 steps (with video) - wikiHow

The Jersey Turnpike -- Classic blacktop!**

In contemporary poetry and music, the New Jersey Turnpike has been reflective of its times. In the 1950's, the Turnpike represented the efficiency and freedom brought by fast automobiles. These feelings were depicted in the Chuck Berry song "You Can't Catch Me," in which the singer decides to take his new Cadillac out for a ride on the New Jersey Turnpike. In the 1960's and 1970's, sentiment toward the turnpike turned negative, as the turnpike was represented as the spoiler of the environment and the cause of national malaise. This was best described in the line, "counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, and they've all gone to look for America," written by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. By the 1980's, there was a coming to terms with the turnpike, as evidenced by songs written by Bruce Springsteen that have a nightmarish, survivalist vision of life in New Jersey. When the NJT was featured in the opening credits of the HBO hit series, 'The Sopranos,' the legend continued.



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Rainbow Warrior -- R.I.P.

The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior | Greenpeace International