People (McCain) In Glass Houses...

The Debate. My Take.

They're trying to say that Palin won?

No.

What she did was not openly drool, fall off the stage, or mispronounce George Bush's name.

I guess that's a pass for her.

What did was spew the same old crap. All I could think of was that saying about if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, blind them with bullsh*t.

She not only avoided questions, she even tried to make herself sound gutsy for doing so... The woman deserves some kind of position for sheer baseless confidence.

But I did say it: she's not as dumb as she looks. Maybe I should say that she knows how to make being dumb work to her advantage.

Peace
--Free

I'm SO Busted (or my personality is anyway)

I can thank Mz Newy for turning me on to this handwriting analysis program (free online & even tho they will try to sell you a registration, you can opt for the total freebie) that nailed the good, bad & ugly that is Free...

Mz Newy is so gutsy. She shared her entire analysis. I'm way more guarded (and that showed in the analysis, damnit) and will only share partials.

Ahem. Here goes (My comments in small letters):

Free is moderately outgoing. Her emotions are stirred by sympathy and heart rendering stories. (Heck yeah. The street-corner homeless LOOK for my car 'cause they know I'm good for a handout of a buck or two)In fact, she can be kind, friendly, affectionate and considerate of others. She has the ability to put herself into the other person's shoes.

Free will be somewhat moody, with highs and lows. ("Somewhat?" Nah. I'm "Allwhat" when it comes to moody!) Sometimes she will be happy, the next day she might be sad. She has the unique ability to get along equally well with what psychology calls introverts and extroverts. This is because she is in between. Psychology calls Free an ambivert. She understands the needs of both types. Although they get along, she will not tolerate anyone that is too "far out." She doesn't sway too far one way or the other.

When convincing her to buy a product or an idea, a heart rendering story could mean a great deal to her. She puts herself in the same situation as the person in the story, yet she will not buy anything that seems overly impractical or illogical. Free is an expressive person. She outwardly shows her emotions. She may even show traces of tears when hearing a sad story. (I bawl out loud over those orphan commercials. Can't help it & I don't think that's a bad thing. Just wish I had more money to give.)

Free is a "middle-of-the-roader," politically as well as logically. She weighs both sides of an issue, sits on the fence, and then will decide when she finally has to. She basically doesn't relate to any far out ideas and usually won't go to the extreme on any issue.

People that write their letters in an average height and average size are moderate in their ability to interact socially. According to the data input, Free doesn't write too large or too small, indicating a balanced ability to be social and interact with others.(Yep. Til they start getting on my nerves. Then I just go into hermit mode.)

Free will be candid and direct when expressing her opinion. She will tell them what she thinks if they ask for it, whether they like it or not. So, if they don't really want her opinion, don't ask for it! (Um... I've gotten into trouble for this trait)

Because Free has sharp needle pointed 'm' and 'n' humps, she has a very sharp mind. She instantly sizes up situations, making instant decisions. She thinks and evaluates circumstances very rapidly. Many people with this type of mind are geniuses, thus she may be seen as highly intelligent. Free is often irritated by slow talkers or slow thinkers. If she drives, she gets irritated by slow drivers in the fast lane. She quickly becomes bored when being taught on the level of the slowest student in class. She may be on problem number three when the rest of the class is on problem one. Free is curious and very active. In fact, in school she might have been a trouble maker because she thought so much faster than the other kids, she finished her work first, thus having plenty of time on her hands to make trouble! (And to think that my folks just thought I was being a pain in the ass...)

Kind of cool, huh? The thing is, some of the analysis disturbed me. Not because the observations were wrong but because they were right & I hadn't realized some things about myself. Shit. Now I'm pretty sure I need therapy. Too bad I'm broke.

I'm curious to hear what other people think after trying the analysis.

Peace

--Free

Biased But Interesting... (McCain)

Is it a little shallow of me to say that I so like the background music. Nice.

And the video? Interesting. (No mention of that Keating 5 thing)

Recipes (yes, I DO cook!)

Here are a couple of my recipes for those of working with a thin budget...

Dish-o-chicken

Since I've married, I've had to learn to improvise in the kitchen. A LOT! This is a pretty quick and easy chicken dish I came up with:

Ingredients

• chicken pieces (I use whatever's on sale) and I used six legs
  
• about 1/2 cup sour cream
• about 2 cups bbq sauce (I used tangy honey flavored)
• fave seasonings (I used garlic pwdr, italian, and crushed chicken boullion cubes)

Thaw and rinse chicken. While it's still wet, shake on the seasonings & let sit in a bowl, covered in fridge (for at least 1/2 hour, but try for a couple of hours).

Directions

• When ready, heat oven to around 350
• mix sour cream and bbq sauce
  
• pour 1/2 of sauce mix into bottom of baking pan/casserole dish
• layer chicken pieces in bottom
  
• pour rest of sauce mix over chicken, making sure each piece is coated/covered/slathered
• bake for about 30 minutes, then...
• check and turn the chicken in pan, keeping covered with sauce...
• continue baking, checking every 20 minutes or so (to keep chicken coated with the sauce) until done.

I serve my chicken dish with baked potatoes and steamed broccoli and instead of using butter on the taters, I used some of the chicken sauce (since I usually smother my broccoli with butter!) Once you try this, you can alter the sour cream/bbq sauce mix to be more or less tangy/creamy. And, yes, I came up with this one all. on. my own. Shoot, I'm thinking about writing a cookbook called the WalMart chef (for all of us po' folks!)

 

Easy One-Dish Meal

Hi guys. I know I promised something else, but I wanted to share this quickie recipe with you. I call it One Dish:

Ingredients

Hamburger Meat (browned with the seasonings) - or, if you like, chicken or tofu Potatoes (baked) Potatoes (boiled & smashed) Tomato Sauce Tomato Paste Garlic (chopped as fine as you like) Garlic (chopped in large pieces) Onions (chopped) Lawry's seasoning salt Black pepper (other fresh peppers if you want) Italian Seasoning Now - here's the cool part: I don't have any set amounts of ingredients to give you; use what you see fit for your family size. Personally, I use a pound of meat, 4 large potatoes to bake and 2 large potatoes to boil/smash, and then I season to taste. We have 5 adults and 2 kids in our crowd & at least 2 or three drop-ins at meal times! I have had leftovers enough for a couple of small lunch servings after all that. You'll need boiling bots, deep baking dish (or a couple of shallow ones), deep skillet.

Directions

Put the potatoes on to bake since they can take a while to be well baked Peel and chop other potatoes in chunks to be boiled later (When baked potatoes are half done, slit and insert pieces of garlic and finish baking) Start browning the meat & when mostly done, drain the oil (leaving a little in the meat to hold the seasonings) Add the dry seasonings to taste Add the Tomato Paste and Tomato Sauce (save the paste can) Using the Paste can, add water to dilute the meat sauce (it will cook down during the simmering) Simmer covered for at least 10 minutes on a medium heat (add more water if the meat sauce thickens too much) Start boiling your chunked potatoes Add onions and remaining garlic Reduce heat to low, cover & simmer for at least 20 minutes When boiled potatoes are done, mash them as smooth as you can, adding a touch of milk if you need to (can add a little butter, but try for plain mashed to keep down the calories). Set aside. When baked potatoes are done, peel off skin (or not; I sometimes leave the skin on) & line up in bottom of baking dish. With a knife sort of chop/chunk up the baked potatoes so they are spread around the bottom of the dish. Season the lining potatoes with some of your dry seasonings Ladle the meat sauce over the baked potato lining Spread the boiled/mashed potatoes over the top of the sauce Sprinkle top potatoes with seasonings if you want (I use the Lawry's for this) Put the dish in the oven on a VERY low broil just long enough to brown (you don't have to do this, but I like the brown-topped texture. You can serve by scooping portions out with a large spoon. NOTE: My niece likes to top her finished dish with cheese, but she is young enough where a couple of days at the gym works for her food sins! Enjoy!

 

I'm Still In Love (with Michael & Diana)

On a memory kick this morning. I laughed my butt off watching a clip of Chris Rock ripping on Michael Jackson, but then... I saw this:



No matter how much he's been through, you just cannot help but watch this man perform and think: "Damn, if I could move like that." (And I'm not 'shamed to admit that I am a back-up dancer in my fantasies whenever I see M.J. working it. Quit laughing. You know you have those fantasies!)

Chris jokes on the contest between Michael and Prince that "Prince won."

Nah. Don't think so. Prince is hot, but Michael was there first and always better.

And, oh... Miss Ross. She's still the boss. We've all called her "diva," but the thing is, she's Diana who taught the divas their game. They aspire, she did it. Quit hating.

Do your thing, Miss Ross:



Who looks this good & sounds this good except for Diana? Everybody else is as water to wine.


And, finally, this one makes me SOOOO happy. ('Course, I'm jealous! But I love you, Diana & Michael.)
I'm lucky I live in a time where I got to witness this kind of talent...

OMGosh!!!

Um, I don't even have a post of my own this morning. Just go over and check this one out at Head of State. I laughed so hard that my insides hurt...

He's doing what he said he would!!!

I don't know why people act so surprised when Obama doesn't act the jerk. He said from the beginning (hell, he built his campaign around it) that he didn't want to do politics as usual!!! So people are surprised that he's keeping his promise????





And notice how they bring up race? Listen, the reason he doesn't have to address us African Americans as a separate issue is because I think he's focusing on the fact that we are ALL in a leaking boat because of "failed policies." Black, white, brown or red - we are all hurting. And Obama does address that.

Help me! I need this recipe, people...

I am hoping that somebody out there has a recipe for something that my mother called "hoecake." Mama was from Texas & she told me that her mother taught her the recipe. When I asked why it was called hoecake, Mama said she was told that slaves used to make up the dough and cook them on a hoe held near a fire. Oh. Okay.

This was a skillet-fried doughy thing that my mother would serve for breakfast with syrup, or for dinner with smothered potatoes and onions. Let me tell you something. This was my favorite thing to eat when I was a kid. Made me feel all warm and filled up.

I know that it was cheap to make because it was something we ate when money was thin (and we needed to be "filled up!"). I never got my mother's recipe for it & it's one of the few things that my sister did not learn to make.

So, if you have this recipe, PLEASE send it to me.

Peace
--Free

Update: Someone emailed me the recipe! (Thanks, Rae!) Yay. **singing** "I'ma have some hoecake, I'ma have some hoecake & you can't have none..." I'm playing. I'll share.

Being Black Might Win Obama The Election

If Obama wins this election, it might be because he is Black. Think about it:

Hillary didn't take Obama seriously (until far too late - and maybe not now). If she had, she would have run a better campaign from the get-go.

McCain could not have been taking Obama seriously if he thought that picking Palin was going to do real damage.

If Obama was a white man, I'm sure that Hillary would have battled him differently. McCain would have too.

I believe that Clinton and McCain thought something like: "Oh, yeah, he's charismatic, but..." I don't believe that they have taken him seriously as someone who is as intelligent as, say Bill Clinton. Plantation mentality is coming out in a whole lot of people.

But you know what really bothers me about this? It is that in not taking Obama seriously, they were not taking the citizens of this country serious. They didn't give us enough credit for being able to recognize Obama's intelligence, leadership, compassion, and call for change. Americans of all races and lifestyles are at least paying attention to what is going on. We have not, in most cases, just herded up like sheep in behind the same old shepherds.

So, yeah, race is definitely a factor in this election. Race is always a factor in just about everything, but this time, race might be a factor in Obama's favor.

Peace
--Free

Why Not A Black Man?

As you can probably tell, this was sent to my email & I just copied and pasted it right over (with my no-formatting behind!) I wish I knew who was responsible so I could give credit...

Why Not A Black Man Why is it that a Black Man can create a tiny piece called a filament (electric light - Lewis Latimer) that allows people to see in the dark? But can't be seen fit to lead a country to the true light. Why is it that a Black Man can create an instrument (clock - Benjamin Banneker) that all people use to tell time? But people don't think it is time for him to run a country. Why is it that a Black Man can design a place for the high authorities to meet in and a place for the president to live in (The Capital and the White House Phillip Reid (a slave) and P ierre L'Enfant)? But not good enough to lead these meetings or live in himself. Why is it that a Black Man was brilliant enough to do the first open heart surgery (Dr. Daniel Hale Williams) and show the world how to get and preserve plasma (Dr. Charles Drew)? But not good enough to put a program in place where everyone can afford this surgery. Why is it that a Black Man was creative enough to design an instrument (traffic light - Garrett Morgan) to bring multiple people (traffic) to a halt? But not seen creative enough to design a plan to bring all this unnecessary and worthless fighting between countries. Why is it that a Black Man could create the soles (shoes - Jan Matzeliger) that people walk on every day? But not seen good enough to fill the shoes of a bad president. Why is it that a Black Man was smart enough and brave enough to teach himself (Fredrick Douglas and Thomas Fuller - both slaves) and others how to read, write and/or calculate math? But not seen smart enough and bold enough to calculate a platform to be President to a country that sure needs another first by us. So you see my Brothers and Sisters what I am saying is let us not forgot our past, which led us to our present and can definitely be the backbone to our future. We were good enough, smart enough, creative enough, and bold enough then, so let us all give Obama the chance to show that we are still these things and more. We all are as s trong as our weakest link, so do not be that weak link that denies our people that chance to show we still can OVERCOME AND BE THE FIRST! OUR NEXT PRESIDENT OF THESE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ! LET US ALL CONTINUE PRAYING THAT THIS PRESIDENT WILL ADHERE TO AND BE LED BY GOD.

This needs to be an Obama ad

I'm stealing from Jill once again.

Saw this and had to just sit for a moment and let my soul be peaceful.

Call It Out, Chris! Call It Out, Campbell!

I'm so mad at the Clintons right now. They are showing their (ahem) true colors. So, thank you, Chris Rock, for calling them on that mess



Then, I see from Jill's spot over at Writes Like She Talks that Campbell was on the Palin game with a rant:

Monday, Monday

I spent a weekend with the satellite screwed up for the bedroom television. So, I did some reading and thinking - all t.v.-free. Read Michael Dyson's analysis of the music of Marvin Gaye in the book "Mercy, mercy me : the art, loves, and demons of Marvin Gaye." (Of course, then I had to jump online and have the Loussac Library hold some Marvin CDs for me. I just HAVE to listen again to the songs to get what Dyson got - cause I didn't get all that he apparently did.

Rounding off my weekend, I read some more Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. And because I have mental spasms at times, I got to thinking that Evanavich's Plum stories are a little bit on the... uh, demeaning side when it comes to character of Lula. First of all, Lula is a "former 'ho." Second of all, she is fat and sassy & usually has pink or yellow or orange hair. Probably I'm overthinking it. Probably Evanovich just thought Lula up with no hidden meanings. And anyway, the main character, Plum (a white chick), is kind of skanky at times. And anyway again, the writing is good and the books are entertaining. I just need to get over myself sometimes, or write my own damn books and even things out!

So that was the weekend. Now it's Monday (dialysis day) which means we had to get to the clinic by 6:30. Good thing Walmart opens at 6:00 cause I can always pop in and get some stuff done.

Ran into an old acquaintance in WalMart & it was like seeing a ghost. Had heard a long while back that this person had died (by drunk-falling out of a tipped back chair & cracking his skull). See how rumors get started? Came home to check the news and saw something that tells what others think about Palin:

• British minister says Palin is 'horrendous'from www.breitbart.com "Her politics are horrendous, but actually she's struck a chord with people -- 'I'm a maverick, I'm not part of those powerful people' -- and people identified with that."

Then this (more silliness on the local levels):

• from mudflats.wordpress.com Well, if you’ve been like me this evening, you’ve had one eye glued to the “Obama Sign Cam”. Mudflatter ‘poverty kids’ teacher’ has had an Obama sign stolen from the front yard - twice. So, her son set up a live webcam of the sign in hopes of catching the thief in the act.

Since I'm in a sick-of-politics mood (still), the above was the extent of trolling the Net for more... I moved on to something good (as always) from my web buddy, John Baker:

• from John Baker's Blog by john baker

  At the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival Eleanor Wachtel interviewed the American writer, Lydia Davis. Both of Davis’s parents were writers and her father taught at Columbia University. Wachtel asked her what it was like growing up in that environment:

  It made you very self-conscious. . . But we couldn’t really say anything after a while - I mean after a certain age; I imagine at three I didn’t mind - but at a certain age we couldn’t speak without being aware of how we were saying something, how it was being phrased, as well as what we were saying. So if we made a sort of clumsy repetition, one of them might very well point out, sort of lightly with a smile, but it was a very language saturated household . . .

  . . . my father would consider very carefully what I had said and that made me feel very insecure. I don’t know if this is a good example, but I remembered it just the other day. When he was in the nursing home - you know how you want to say the things that you don’t want to have forgotten to say . . . our family was not, as you can imagine, given to spontaneity - I said to him, “You’ve been a very good father,” I just wanted him to know that, and he said, “In what respect?”

Now my thoughts are all twisted up. I'm thinking about how we sometimes miss part of life by trying to be what others expect (and how sometimes that is a good thing, but somehow it's a bad thing). I'm thinking about how if we just felt free enough to say and do things the best way we know how (no matter what anyone else thinks), we could be so much more for ourselves and for others. I guess this is what makes the great artists, musicians, poets and writers and statesmen great. And I guess this is why there are probably hundreds of people out there with un-shared talents and gifts and thoughts. So many people probably hiding their light under a bushel (is that the term?).

So.

I decided that in addition to ignoring politics for a few days, I'm also going to give up the heavy thoughts. But just for a few days.

Tired of politics

No more posting about politics or politicians. At least until after the debate. I'm sick of it all.

In the meantime, what's everybody else doing? Are you happy or sad? Doing well or not? Feeling up or down? In love or hating on somebody?

I'm feeling nosy and lazy. Give me some gossip or something else to brighten up this day.

Peace

I Got Told

When everyone was chanting about it taking a village to raise a child, I just knew they were talking about my family. My family is a village. We have a big house, but there are eight of us here on a normal day & that can go up to twenty if anyone is sick, graduating, getting married/divorced or is pregnant. We have tribal councils about everything. The men in our family get nervous when the women group up for a chat. They think that we might be having a meeting about one of them (and, usually, they're right).

But I ramble.

Thing is, we're not a family so much as we are a brood of loved ones. On one of those normal days I mentioned, there are five adults and three kids. (One of the adults & one of the kids is not blood, but they are still family.)

Sorry. Still rambling.

Anyway, one of the kids is my nephew Devon. Devon is in the second grade & has the attention span of someone stuck in a boring church service. Everyone around here is always reminding Devon to focus. The other day, I had a serious talk with Devon to explain why it's important to stay focused. I told him that when he's not focused, he wastes time trying to finish homework or chores. Ten minutes later, when Devon was supposed to be doing his homework, he got distracted, lost his pencil and forgot if his worksheet was in his backpack or in another room...

"Devon! You have got to learn to focus," I told him (yet again). "We just had that talk, baby."

Devon rounded up all his stuff and finished his work.

Later that evening, I was fixing dinner and realized I didn't have onions and bell peppers for the spaghetti sauce. I figured I'd just run up to the store. Then I couldn't find my purse. Devon found my purse for me. (It was in the hall closet. I don't know why.) Then I couldn't find my shoes. Devon found my shoes. (They were in the garage instead of on the shoe rack in the house. I don't know why.) Then I couldn't find the car keys. Devon helped me look everywhere until he gave up and decided to get some juice. Devon found the keys. (They were in the refrigerator. I don't know why.)

Finally, I got to the store, got back and started back on making dinner. No garlic cloves. Devon was watching while I substituted garlic powder. People in our village expect cloves.

Everybody got in from work, we sat down to eat and I apologized for the sauce, saying I'd had a crappy day, lost my purse and shoes and keys, blah, blah, blah...

"Yeah," Devon told them. "She needs to learn to focus."

White Privilege and the 2008 Election

Heads up on a Buzzflash article I found on Digg:

Context is everything in politics and journalism, and author Tim Wise has the inside track on white (and male) privilege, a concept that most white voters don't comprehend but whose relationships and decisions are governed by this inescapable concept.

That was someone else's lead in to an article I caught earlier. Summarizes beautifully everything to do with the mess that is 2008 elections... Everything.

read more | digg story

And Sarah Came Marching Home Again...

Big thanks to Mudflats for keeping up on the town hall meeting in Anchorage (where Alaskans got to sound off about Guv Palin). I hear it wasn't pretty...

And Mudflat got us a scoop on how Alaska women feel about the guv. Still not pretty.

Talk radio here is all abuzz with how Palin dissed indigenous Alaskans (and don't forget about the disrespect shown for Juneteenth organizers). But no biggie. Apparently she can't do a whole lot right (pun intended) for anybody but her own ego.

Oh, boy, winter is a'coming...

Peace
--Free

P.S.: BTW, since Alaska is so in the news lately, I highly recommend the Mudflat site for all your political news an info from a real perspective.

field negro: Sarah's sit down.

Beautiful. I can't wait to see what has to say after Part II of the interview. Yeah. Palin's pretty pathetic, but she could very well end up in the Number Two spot...

field negro: Sarah's sit down.Field

My Other Bog (er, I mean, BLOG)

I love computers, the internet, my cell phone. Unfortunately, I am still such a goof when it comes to using them. I mean, I use my computer like it's a part of me and get around the internet just fine, and I have even learned to do things on my cell phone that would be amazing to a time-traveler from, say, 1998.

But (and you knew this was coming) I get caught up when it comes to the finer details of these techno-wonders.

For instance, I have learned to check my email on my phone, but I'm still troubled when trying to do things like adding a signature to text messages. *shrug*

The thing with this blogging hobby is that, apparently, I don't have a handle on all the settings features. I can't get my "feed" to work on both blogs, Technorati is apparently BLIND to one of the blogs... You get the picture.

Anyway, I found out from one of my readers that, even though they have been reading THIS blog of mine from almost the beginning, they had NO idea about my other blog.

Hmmph.

So here's the 411:

My OTHER blog is called BLinks (for Black Links - cute, huh?) and I originally intended for its focus to be on links to resources for Black folk. However... I realized that no matter your race, we ALL like info on resources about things like... Well, like just about anything. So BLinks ended up being my blog giving out links and info to resources about all kinds of stuff - writing, reading, shopping, glamorizing, loving, computing... EVERYthing.

Now, if like my one reader, you didn't know about BLinks, that was the link. If you have ideas for posts - ya know, if you want me to scavenge up some info about some-something or other, shoot me a line. (And, good grief, if you can help me out with getting my Blogger settings under control, don't hesitate.)

Peace
--Free