Coldplay Viva La Vida

I thought this was a great song a while back, but I never knew who was singing.  I heard it maybe twice, but it stuck in my head.  Not being a rock fan, I didn't think all that much about it until today when I heard the band Coldplay was being sued by Joe Satriani.  Well, at least I found out who the artist is.  Then I found the lyrics.  Pretty great lyrics, too. If you can, give the song a listen. Powerful stuff, and here are the lyrics:http://www.metrolyrics.com/viva-la-vida-lyrics-coldplay.html

They seem to me to be a direct reference to pre-9/11 America, or perhaps even post-WWII to 9/11 America.  We once ruled the world with good intentions.  Everything went our way.  The world looked to us for the right path.  Then the world changed and America changed.  We live in a castle made of sand.  We buried the tyrant old kings, only to become tyrant kings ourselves.  

"People couldn’t believe what I’d become

Revolutionaries wait

For my head on a silver plate

Just a puppet on a lonely string

Oh who would ever want to be king?"

Let us remember the greatest VP in American history, #44 -- J. Danforth Quayle. I quote, explaining his views on deterring nuclear war: 

"Right now we have a theory of mutually assured destruction that supposedly provides for peace and stability, and it's worked.  But that doesn't mean that we can't build upon a concept of MAD where both sides are vulnerable to another attack.  Why wouldn't an enhanced deterrent, a more stable peace, a better prospect to denying the ones who enter conflict in the first place to have a reduction of offensive systems and an introduction to defensive capability.  I believe that is the route this country will eventually go."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is." J. Danforth Quayle USA Today 5/10/1989

"A politician is a person who approaches every subject with an open mouth." Adlai Stevenson

W Goes to Texas

As he prepares to leave office and head back to Crawford, let us not forget that W. was one of our funniest presidents.  Here is proof:

During a debate, Bush said to Gore: "Mr. Vice President, in all due respect, it is -- I'm not sure eighty percent of the people will get the death tax.  I know this: A hundred percent will get it if I'm the president."

When John McCain dropped out of the 2000 election, he and Bush had a meeting during which Bush said, "I think we agree, the past is over."

Bush to Chris Matthews on Hardball, ""I'm gonna talk about the ideal world, Chris.  I've read -- I understand reality.  If you're asking me as the president, would I understand reality, I do."

Asked once if he would take back any comments he made, Bush said, "I think if you know what you belive, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions.  I can't answer your question."

Bush was discussing Internet millionaires, those "who have become rich beyond their means."

One day before the 2000 election, Bush said, "They misunderestimated me."

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."  Yes, he really said that.

Bush said this of Al Gore, "The fact that he relies on facts -- says things that are not factual -- are going to undermine his campaign."

"If you don't stand for anything, you don't stand for anything.  If you don't stand for something, you don't stand for anything."  Yep, he said it.

"Now, by the way, surplus means a little money left over.  Otherwise it wouldn't be called a surplus."

You can't make this stuff up!  We'll miss you W.  NOT.

Interesting Facts of the Day

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Who volunteers for these tests?) 

The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated. (From drinking little bottles of?) 

Butterflies taste with their feet. (Ah, geez.) 

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that.)

Starfish don't have brains.
(I know some people like that, too.)

And, the best for last?
Turtles can breathe through their butts. 
(And I thought I had bad breath in the morning!)

"Verbosity leads to unclear, matriculate things." Remember J. Danforth Quayle?

The Good Ol' Days

As I get "older" I find myself talking more about the good ol' days.  You know, like the 60s and 70s.  Well, here's some facts about the real ol' days, the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-th ick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood wa s placed in the entranceway.
Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show it off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 cof fins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell... Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

And that's the truth..... Now, whoever said that the good ol' days were really that good!