a birthday to celebrate

today in 1931 the star spangled banner became our national anthem
youtube doesnt allow embeding of this video
she sang it beautifully and i like they way she smiles while singing. an incredible sing

an optimist

ok a bit of a blogette crush here

the boys of summer

in the past week, the boys of summer (as i call them) had birthdays - my nephew and godson, my twin brothers, my father, my brother in law and his twin. both of my grandfathers were in the first week of august, i believe. i grew up with a bunch of male leos! (i am a scorpio, so survival was guaranteed) other nephew was born on memorial day - the start of summer - although a bit out of range, still acceptable. my sister's stepdaughter's husband was born in june. my youngest nephew (in calif so he won't be there) also in july. whew! so this saturday we will be celebrating all of their birthdays. cards only, thank heaven. it is always a great time especially when it comes to reading the cards! surprisingly, the duplicates can be counted on one hand - we have been doing this for years.
now all the women in the family pretty much have birthdays sept (my daughter is the earliest - labor day) through february. but do they throw us a girls of winter party? ha!

the death of the right wing blogger is the new black (or why i blog)

everyone is familiar with the john hawkins article about our demise so i wont bother to link. i read it and thought, oh well, so what, fiddlee dee.
i dont know why i blog, it was just something i started when tim blair went to the telegraph and sold out. just kidding tim (like he reads this). his personal blog was great fun and full of energy and creativity from commenters as well as hisoner.
so paco started his blog, then kae. i had been a contributor to tizonas, but decided to go on my own as well.
i am not a prolific blogger, and i rarely have points to make, or even the writing ability to express my views as well as others. i have my favourites and usually bounce off their favourite blogs. (keep your links up to date people, please!) for me, it is just fun and keeps me out of trouble. i think.
i was very fortunate to meet paco for lunch way back in another lifetime when i worked in dc, my daughter spent a day with kae when she was in australia. thanks to both of you. even our dear ash sent me a jar of vegemite.
i entertain myself mostly and hope some of you like what i do. if you dont, then you dont need to come back. i appreciate comments and dont mind when i dont get any. i read a lot of blogs and rarely comment.
like choosing my friends i dont have a niche - i am all over the place.


thanks
and thanks to minicapt who sent me that pic just today. how timely

in defense of the english defence league

edl

The origins of the EDL can be traced back to Luton, England in the spring of 2009, after British troops were harassed by militant Muslims. Scandinavian blogger Conservative Swede commented in April 2009 that “The police broke up a march on Monday 13/4/09 by British people wanting to reclaim their streets from Muslim fanatics. Officers said it was illegal to stage the protest in Luton where extremists were allowed only last month to shout abuse at troops home from Iraq.

like our tea party, this group has been the recipient of horrible misconceptions from the leftist, anti british, british press.

ht: gates of vienna

lovely elizabethan song

thanks minicapt, for the idea!

dog bites shark

what fun!

guess who said what

‘I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth… If we were to go only half way or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, it would be better not to go at all.’ His speech set America on a course that saw it achieve its goal, putting Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969.

‘I have tasked the men and women of NASA with an ambitious new mission: to break new boundaries in space exploration, ultimately sending Americans to Mars. I know they are up to the challenge – and I plan to be around to see it

spiked

when the dog bites

this was the song twirling in my head today
where does this come from. i am engrossed in my job and all of a sudden the dog bites

goosebumps

you know pat boone felt strongly every word he sang. i had this tune swirling around in my brain all day. now it's your turn

some people have to stop

being so damned sensitive

something to remember

sister toldjah remind us

minicapt sends me another reason

to think of putting BC on my travel list
lately i have been receiving lots of emails about the charms of vancouver and BC in general. time to think about broadening my horizons.

blogger

blogger wont let me delete or edit what i have done wrong. bastards

friday night music

quote of the day

The only way for Obama to stimulate the enormous private sector job growth needed to ensure Obama’s reelection is for Obama to announce he is not running for reelection, which would unleash a wave of investment and economic activity not seen since the Great Depression.

ht: legal insurrection

the real sacrifices

http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/07/04/what-july-fourth-means-to-meThe legend says that at that point a man rose and spoke. He is described as not a young man, but one who had to summon all his energy for an impassioned plea. He cited the grievances that had brought them to this moment and finally, his voice falling, he said,
“They may turn every tree into a gallows, every hole into a grave, and yet the words of that parchment can never die. To the mechanic in the workshop, they will speak hope; to the slave in the mines, freedom. Sign that parchment. Sign if the next moment the noose is around your neck, for that parchment will be the textbook of freedom, the Bible of the rights of man forever.”
He fell back exhausted. The 56 delegates, swept up by his eloquence, rushed forward and signed that document destined to be as immortal as a work of man can be. When they turned to thank him for his timely oratory, he was not to be found, nor could any be found who knew who he was or how he had come in or gone out through the locked and guarded doors.

another anniversary to celebrate

and i will bless them that bless thee and curseth him that curse thee
got this from almost everyone - sister toldjah, the other mccain and of course its source

what we must defend/what we must defend against

jihad watch
ht/ sister toldjah

happy independence day

from the great Ronald Reagan
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

and to add to the bliss of the occasion here is a little humour

Five Englishmen boarded a train just behind five Scots, who, as a group had only purchased one ticket. Just before the conductor came through, all the Scots piled into the toilet stall at the back of the car.
As the conductor passed the stall, he knocked and called"Tickets, please!" and one of the Scots slid a ticket under the door. It was punched, pushed back under the door, and when it was safe all the Scots came out and took their seats.

The Englishmen were tremendously impressed by the Scots' ingenuity. On the trip back, the five Englishmen decided to try this themselves and purchased only one ticket. They noticed that, oddly, the Scots had not purchased any tickets this time.

Anyway, again, just before the conductor came through, the Scots piled into one of the toilet stalls, the Englishmen into the other. Then one of the Scots leaned out, knocked on the Englishmen's stall and called "Ticket, Please!" When the ticket slid out under the door, he picked it up and quickly closed the door.

i fixed it, and here is a little funny

who reads the papers?
thanks minicapt!