Nixon Now

I love the authentic 1970s feel of this ad. The fact that it is for Nixon makes it even better.

Hot New Look and Nostalgia

Yet another hot new look for unwilted. I wanted to upgrade to the blogger beta, which required the change and more traditional look.

While playing with the blog, I've been streaming today's A Prairie Home Companion and it is in Pullman, Washington back in the Palouse. Nostalgia. Two things come to mind. First we need a Western Garrison Keillor. Garrison's talk about the wheat and rolling hills and sunsets make me want to hop in the damn car and drive 1500 miles to be there again. Second, the Palouse is probably the ideal place in this country. Although this won't happen, just for a minute I did think about throwing everything away and taking the family up to some town like Dayton (Washington -- NOT Ohio). Buy a cheap house and make do.

Barenaked Autumn

I guess Barenaked Ladies have a new album. Saw them on Conan O'Brien last night (not a show I normally watch, but I noticed they were on so I recorded it). I think the song is just okay. They rely on being catchy and quirky, and I guess not every song can be that way. What is left is just blah pop. I'm sure they still put on a hell of a fun show, though, and I'm going to try to catch them on this tour if they play a smaller venue near me.

My Life is Back

The computer is up and running again, and I feel like my life is back. It is like being broke for a month and then all of a sudden getting some money. A great feeling. It is about time for a reformat, however, so I may do that over the long weekend. And I've already decided on an early Christmas present -- one of the new, cheap MacBooks and a home wireless network to go with it. It took me a while to get on the whole laptop / wifi thing, but I'm all about it now.

Freakin

Well, my desktop computer (which is also our TV, radio, phone, etc.) has officially freaked out completely. Hardware issue, and let's hope the answer is in the mail. Meanwhile, I'm on a borrowed laptop stealing wifi from a neighbor across the street. I'm in a corner of the house that we never use because I can only get signal quality from there -- and just barely at that.

So to all the loyal readers of unwilted (and there are about four of you), the updates will remain a bit infrequent.

Meanwhile, if you've not registered to vote against the pricks, please do. I'm sending in my Idaho absentee ballot tomorrow -- not that it will matter much there.

Best Song Lyrics

From Kris Kristofferson's The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me:

I can read my fortune in the bottom of a glass
And I can see its time for me to make my last request
Will you fill my grave with whiskey when I'm laid away to rest
So the boys can say I drank my way to hell.

Update

Not many updates lately -- I'm traveling a lot right now. However, I did put up an Amazon book store (with a Western American Literature theme) and also updated the unwilted homepage. I've never made money as an Amazon affliliate -- and I don't expect to. It is just interesting to see how it works. If somebody wants to buy a book that way, fine. Also, I don't love the look of the new homepage, but I used Photoshop to create it and I was interested in that process.

Hackett and Taylor on Hardball

This is a bit old already (from about a week ago), but it was too good not to repost. Hardball ususally does not live up to the name, but here Chris Matthews goes after Van Taylor, an Iraq vet who is running for Congress in Texas as a Republican. Contrast his BS with Paul Hackett, who should have run for the Senate from Ohio but somehow didn't get support from national Democrats.

Why I Dislike Myspace

This is a bit of a spur of the moment post. At the risk of sounding old, I just have to say that I don't like myspace. And I don't really get why it is so popular. My critique is mostly technical/visual. I think I get the social networking concept and how that could be cool -- if it were done right. Myspace just does not do it well. It is not a visually appealing site -- it almost has a retro 1998 look to it (as if 1998 could be retro). Plus, perhaps due to its overwhelming popularity, it seems to still be full of bugs and glitches. Again, this is a spur of the moment post. I've not really thought this through, although I've known for a good while that myspace is overrated.

Edward Abbey's Bean Recipe

I'm making beans today, and am inspired by the below recipie (at least in part -- I'm doing my cooking in an old iron pot rather than an aluminium one). This is from the Orion article that is publishing several Abbey letters in anticipation of a bookthat will do the same.

**********

Victoria McCabe
19 May 1973

Dear Victoria,
Herewith my bit for your cookbook. This recipe is not original but a variation on an old (perhaps ancient) Southwestern dish. It has also been a favorite of mine and was for many years the staple, the sole staple, of my personal nutritional program. (I am six feet three and weigh 190 pounds, sober.)

I call it Hardcase Survival Pinto Bean Sludge.

1. Take one fifty-pound sack Colorado pinto beans. Remove stones, cockleburs, horseshit, ants, lizards, etc. Wash in clear cold crick water. Soak for twenty-four hours in iron kettle or earthenware cooking pot. (DO NOT USE TEFLON, ALUMINUM OR PYREX CONTAINER. THIS WARNING CANNOT BE OVERSTRESSED.)

2. Place kettle or pot with entire fifty lbs. of pinto beans on low fire and simmer for twenty-four hours. (DO NOT POUR OFF WATER IN WHICH BEANS HAVE BEEN IMMERSED. THIS IS IMPORTANT.) Fire must be of juniper, pinyon pine, mesquite or ironwood; other fuels tend to modify the subtle flavor and delicate aroma of Pinto Bean Sludge.

3. DO NOT BOIL.

4. STIR VIGOROUSLY FROM TIME TO TIME WITH WOODEN SPOON OR IRON LADLE. (Do not disregard these instructions.)

5. After simmering on low fire for twenty-four hours, add one gallon green chile peppers. Stir vigorously. Add one quart natural (non-iodized) pure sea salt. Add black pepper. Stir some more and throw in additional flavoring materials, as desired, such as old bacon rinds, corncobs, salt pork, hog jowls, kidney stones, ham hocks, sowbelly, saddle blankets, jungle boots, worn-out tennis shoes, cinch straps, whatnot, use your own judgment. Simmer an additional twenty-four hours.

6. Now ladle as many servings as desired from pot but do not remove pot from fire. Allow to simmer continuously for hours, days or weeks if necessary, until all contents have been thoroughly consumed. Continue to stir vigorously, whenever in vicinity or whenever you think of it.

7. Serve Pinto Bean Sludge on large flat stones or on any convenient fairly level surface. Garnish liberally with parsley flakes. Slather generously with raw ketchup. Sprinkle with endive, anchovy crumbs and boiled cruets and eat hearty.

8. One potful Pinto Bean Sludge, as above specified, will feed one poet for two full weeks at a cost of about $11.45 at current prices. Annual costs less than $300.

9. The philosopher Pythagoras found flatulence incompatible with meditation and therefore urged his followers not to eat beans. I have found, however, that custom and thorough cooking will alleviate this problem.

Yrs, Edward Abbey—Tucson

Cyborg

The most unpleasant development lately is the bluetooth headset for cell phones. I see these cyborgs walking around the city. The headsets look like they've been implanted into their heads. Peraonally, I've trashed my cell phone. I was in the heart of Los Angeles where coverage should have been perfect. I was calling another person who was also in the heart of the city. And it kept cutting in and out. Typical. So I let the contract expire and canceled the damn thing. There have been a few occasions when it would have been "nice" to have a cell phone. But I'm sure there were probably more occasions when it was nice to NOT have a cell phone. I don't WANT to always be available. And I certainly don't want to become a cyborg. I'm not up on the technology enough, but in Europe I never seemed to have problems with reception. And the rates were much cheeper and favorable to the consumer. I had a pre-paid plan there, and the minutes never expired. Here, the pre-paid plans include minutes that expire after 30 or 60 days or whatever. So you are essentially on a contract. In Euorpe, I could have the convenience of a cell phone for several months, make a few calls, and only pay a few cents. Plus, the reception was consistently good -- even when I was not in the town or when I went to other countries. Maybe I could become a cyborg if the reception were at least good.

How to Treat My Woman

I have the pleasure of listening to an "urban" radio station for much of the time I'm in the car. It is either that or light hits. The songs in this podcast inspire me, and teach me how to treat my woman.

Nick Cave Podcast

CAF had asked what I liked about Nick Cave, so I decided to do a podcast featuring him. As is typical, I don't include the most famous songs. Some of these are pretty obscure. I also added some spoken word from Nick Cave. For anybody interested in an album, I'd start with The Boatman's Call. Note: this podcast is a bit larger than normal, but not unreasonable for those with broadband connections (which should be everybody by now).

Kris Kristofferson Podcast

I had the luck of getting to see Kris Kristofferson in concert recently. Of course, he's a country artist. But the crowd was of the wine and cheese variety. Goes to the split within country music these days between the braindead mainstream and the leftist-artsy roots country. Of course, the mainstream will honor the patron saints, such as Kristofferson. But they don't go to his concerts.

In any case, it was brilliant. Just an old songwriter and his guitar. So here's a Kristofferson podcast with a few favorites songs from him.

The Empty