The Woody Guthrie Tribute here will be going on in just two weeks. And as the chairman for the event, I've been going back and forth with different people on just how things will be laid out this year. Our biggest controversy this year is over hot dogs. See, it's my position the hot dogs should be provided for free on the first night. When the issue of cost came up, I offered to donate them if it was a problem. Well, the board voted we'd do the hot dogs for free, and the board would pay. ...

I'm learning something. If you want to get a good look at human nature, enroll at a two year college. See, what I am finding is that, at this two year college, students who actually have goals and are working towards them are in the minority. It's why articles like Brad's about the difference between winners and losers hit home for me. Because they hit so close to where I live. In the time I've spent here, I've met some people I truly admire. These people knock my socks off wi...

OK, I tried to embed this but it didn't work. Here's a "new spiritual" from Lawrence Welk back in the day. If you can't enjoy THIS, man, sumtin's wrong! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg And further, from the "I can't believe it" file, here's the Velvet Underground. Check out the old folks dancin' to it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i48BP1PUoFI&mode=related&search=

It was early summer between my ninth and tenth grade years. It was that special part of summer where school was out, the fragrance of flowers still filled the air, yet the summer heat had not overtaken us enough to chase us into the shade with large glasses of sun tea and a garden hose. When a man's fancy still turned to love. I drove by her house every day upon finishing my paper route. We shared several classes, went to the same church, but no more than fifty words all told had passed betwe...

Another song from the GidMac songbook: The Ballad of a Dime The Beggar he sat on the streetcorner Where they were sellin' apples for a dime He reached inside of his empty pockets But he didn't have a thin little dime He walked up to a businessman Dressed in a suit so fine He asked if he could spare some money But he wouldn't spare a thin little dime He walked inside the churchhouse door Where the preacher was sayin' his lines When they passed the plate, he feared he wouldn't ...

I have to admit, I've truly, genuinely, not been doing well. I'm at the end of my rope, and everytime I think I'm done with this nasty little town, they throw something else at me. I look forward to the day I see this burg in my rear view mirror. And I've never ever felt this way about a city. Even Pahrump was one we left with some degree of sadness. As I stated earlier, my faith is still strong, but my dogma's gone. I don't want to play Christian Crips n' Bloods anymore, the whole denomin...

In a soldiers stance, I aimed my hand At the mongrel dogs who teach Fearing not that Id become my enemy In the instant that I preach My existence led by confusion boats Mutiny from stern to bow. Ah, but I was so much older then, Im younger than that now. (My Back Pages, Bob Dylan ) A couple of recent projects have really made me think about the person I once was vs. the person I am now. Over the years I've travelled a path I could not have even remotely imagined at 18, nor at 2...

We don't need another hero We don't need to know the way home All we want is life beyond the thunderdome (Tina Turner, "We Don't Need Another Hero") As a folklorist and a folk historian, I've found myself often in the role of folk anthropologist. While I definitely have a "niche" of people who respect what folk music is as an art form, the general responses I get when I tell people of my avocation are an assortment of screwed up faces and a comment or two analogizing the music to some bac...

I am currently watching "V for Vendetta", a movie that I must admit I've pretty much loved since   I first watched it, entirely in spite of its politics, not because of it. While we could get into the discussion of the politics of the movie, that's irrelevant to the subject I have chosen. I merely made mention of it to paint the backdrop for the discussion and to introduce you to the thought processes that inspired it. I am a fairly rational mind and not prone to conspiracy theories. But...

As we come into yet another Presidential race, we're again going to be pressured to choose between candidates from one party or another to represent us in leadership. As a techie, I can't help but think of how this is oh-so-similar to the O/S wars, which I see played out on the forums all the time. How are you supposed to choose between two options when they BOTH suck? As in politics, computer manufacturers have long been able to get away with offering limited options and features. As the ...

On another blog, a blogger stated that "their God" loves gays. Besides wondering if they have little wooden tiki guys they worship, that allow them to definitively state what their God does and doesn't like (eg: "God likes broccoli", "God likes to watch Wapner at 7"), I have to wonder why they would think God loves gays, when nature clearly does not. See, the ultimate goal of a species in regards to natural selection is its own advancement. This can only happen when people are procreating (I ...

"Ever'body might be just one big soul Well it looks that a way to me. Everywhere that you look in the day or night That's where I'm gonna be, Ma, That's where I'm gonna be. Wherever little children are hungry and cry Wherever people ain't free. Wherever men are fightin' for their rights That's where I'm gonna be, Ma. That's where I'm a gonna be. "Tom Joad", Woody Guthrie The illegal immigration debate is nothing new. In fact, the debate about illegals destabilizing the ...

We have a new guest in our house. Bobomono. See, Quinn's thre now, and he's all boy. He and Lani, our five year old, have the kind of relationship I have ONLY heard of twins having. They share a secret language, and each is automatically in tune with the other's feelings. They look out for each other pretty diligently, and they share a number of "inside" stories and jokes that they leave the rest of us out of. And so, a few weeks ago, when "Bobomono" (pronounced "Bob-oh-moan-oh") came on t...

I want to preface this article by stating very clearly that much of the following does not apply to all of the left. Or even all of the left's lunatic fringe. But I was very specifically called out with some very specific allegations by one particular representative of the left's lunatic fringe (who, I would hope, would be regarded by most libs as an embarassment to their ideology). Because of the response of the individual, I am not going to let sleeping dogs lie, nor let bygones be bygones. ...

On Friday, August 10th, 2007, Lt. Col. James Henry Ayres will be laid to rest in Pampa, Texas. What makes this special and of note are the circumstances behind this. Lt. Col. Ayres was born on June 30, 1937, and was commissioned into the US Air Force on Jan. 25, 1960. on January 3, 1971, his plane went down over Laos during a night time strike. Last Friday, the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office positively identified the remains of Ayres and Lt. Col. Charles W. Stratton of ...