Weaseldog's Lair: 08/01/2008

Lawns to Gardens Makes the News

Arithmetic, Population and Energy

Thanks FMW!

Dr. Albert A. Bartlett

The Draft Is Coming.

They know it. They just don't want to talk about it much. The corporate wars can't be expanded without more cannon fodder.

Obama won't come out and say he'll support the draft, but if s-elected, he'll find he has no choice. Our upcoming attack on Iran will guarantee it.

A Couple of Tunes

I wrote these two a few years ago. They were inspired by a songs from a hat event at an open mic I used to attend.

I got similar titles two sessions in a row, but managed to find different topics to use for them.

Stars In the Sky

Under Starry Skies

Hype On Russia And Georgia

As this scenario has evolved, I've found myself caught up in some of excitement, anxiety, hysteria, what have you.

And I've accepted a few assertions made by various folks at face value.

This morning, I thought I ought to do something out of the ordinary for an American, and look at a map. I'm embarrassed to say that I usually do this first when learning about a country I don't know much about. This time around, I didn't and as a result I wrote a few comments here and there, that are a bit silly in retrospect.

Here's the map from the CIA World Factbook.

The PDF Version is here.

Some folks have told me that you can't trust any of the data on the CIA site. But I think we're fairly safe when it comes to maps.

As you can see in this map, Russia is at the top in the center. Georgia, is just South of it.

From the geography, it's clear that this conflict doesn't influence anything in Afghanistan at the moment. So I had a complete 'foot in mouth' moment on that one.

If Russia wants to supply Iran, the Caspian Sea provides a route for shipping.

As to the theory that Russia is going to use Georgia as a conduit to Iran for military assistance..., I think this is problematic. There are other countries in the way. Turkey is awfully close to where the supply lines would be. At the moment, I don't know that these countries would welcome a Russian supply line running through their countries. But maybe they won't have much to say about it?

The map does make it clear why Kuwait is asking that we not start a war in Iran. They are in a vulnerable position.

UPDATE: I've just learned that Russia has taken out Georgia's oil fields. So maybe this does have an impact on Dick Cheney's prized pipeline through Afghanistan.

The Kitchen Floor - Do Over...

Here's the promised do over for 'The Kitchen Floor'.

I'm much happier with this one.

It only took about 15 takes to get it to this state. :)

I'm Baack!

I wasn't really gone. Just real busy.

I saw Nancy Pelosi on The Daily Show, and I guess she's doing the talk show circuit pushing her book.

She says that her plan was to hope that Bush would change in 2006, when he saw how the polls went. And she says that impeachment would be easier if someone could show that Bush committed a crime.

I always thought that Pelosi was a smart but crooked woman. Now I think think she is a brilliant, but uncommonly evil woman. She is pulling off the blond airhead act, with uncommon grace as she laughs at us, all the way to the bank.

Will Rove see a trial? Will he be judged? I doubt it.

******************************************************

Now off to other stuff. I am struggling to learn some basic jazz styles on the guitar. With that comes some new fingerings, and repetition of fumblings in front of sheet music, in ritual frustration. I'll get it eventually.

For the last few weeks, I've been practicing my new tune 'The Kitchen Floor', for a SongPull. But the event has been canceled. This weekend I want to try to put that tune together in a better recording style than I've been doing and get my friend Spider, to put some harmonica behind it. Here's a video with him playing harmonica with some other folks I've been seen hanging out with.

Right now, I'm trying to learn 'Night and Day', by Cole Porter as arranged by Fred Sokolow. Sokolow's version isn't quite as exciting as Ella's. But he doesn't sing like her either. :)

Oh and that Gibson ES135 he's playing? That was my first guitar. My grandfather gave me his. It disappeared in a burglary back in the mid-80s.

Here's Ella Fitzgerald performing this 1932 classic in 1983.

Here are a few examples of Fred Sokolow. This includes some of his video lessons from Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop.

Fred Sokolow teaches "Summertime"