Choo Choo Charlie is Taking Us to NYC

Shane and I are going to New York City on the train tonight. I was talking about taking the train with a much younger co-worker today and I started singing the Choo Choo Charlie jingle. She looked at me like I was crazy. She never heard of it. This clip says it is from the 50s, but I remember it from the 60s. I'm not that old.

Blame Kindle for My Blog-Fading

I haven't been posting nearly as much on my blog lately and I blame my Kindle. I got it for my birthday last month (thanks again Shane) and I have been loving it. I have downloaded about 50 books or first chapters of books to read. I love that you get a free sample of the first chapter to read of books before you have to buy them. I also love that there are LOTS of free books to download. I have downloaded a bunch of classics, such as Pride and Prejudice, The Age of Innocence, Treasure Island, A Room with a View, and many others. I have purchased several books also. Right now, I'm reading Kathy Griffins new memoir, Official Book Club Selection. I'm loving it. She is hilarious.

At any rate. Sorry about the neglect of the blog. I'll try and do better.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #209

She's a hottie, but she says her husband is crazy jealous -- a real whacko!

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #209. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #208

I really think this is going to be the best

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang production ever!

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #208. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Grand Central Station" -- 9/11 Tribute

On her album, Between Here and Gone, Mary Chapin Carpenter sings about one man's pilgrimage to Grand Central Terminal in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Carpenter was inspired to write the song "Grand Central Station" after hearing an interview with an iron worker on the first anniversary of the attacks. The man, one of the first at the scene after the towers fell, worked at Ground Zero for days afterward. The iron worker said that at the end of each shift, he felt impelled to go to the train station so the souls of the victims could follow him.

"He'd find himself just going to Grand Central Station and standing on the platform and thinking whoever wanted to go home could catch the train home," says Carpenter.

I listened to this song for years before Shane pointed out to me that it was about 9/11. I'm not always very bright.

Florida House Not in the Cards

We got word tonight that our offer to by the house in Punta Gorda, FL, was not accepted. Apparently, someone with far more money decided to offer "substantially more" than us. Not to be a sore loser, but the people who stole our house are jerks (so much for the high road).

We've decided to take a break from Florida house hunting for a bit. We're not cut out to be real estate tycoons after all. We're extremely disappointed. Extremely.

Name the Book by its First Sentence

"Monday, 5 August, 1918 -- The day started in a downpour of rain."

OK... I have to admit this might be a tough one. The first person that figures it out and can name the book based on the above first line wins everyone's respect and admiration, especially mine. Here's a hint -- Not everything I read is found in the LGBT section, but this one is and is one of my favorites.

Outside Shane's Window -- Little Rock

Shane had to go to Little Rock, AR, on business today. This is the
view out his hotel window. Luckily, it is just for one night.

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Obama Hate is Off the Charts

The right-wing crazies have gone beyond crazy with their assertion that President Obama is trying to indoctrinate school children with his pep talk airing in some schools across the nation today. It is out and out hate against the president and his policies. No uproar was made against President Bush prior to him visiting school children in Florida on September 11, 2001, and hearing about My Pet Goat.

Though there was lots of criticism of President Bush, it doesn't compare to what Obama has coming at him. On Sunday's New York Times Best Seller List for Nonfiction, four of the top 10 books listed were conservative trash (counting Bill O'Reilly's memoir). What is wrong with this country that we pay good money for this BS when you can get if for free 24 hours a day on Fox News?

I looked up the NYT Nonfiction list for Sunday, September 9, 2001, and guess how many ultra-liberal or anti-George W. Bush books made the list? Zilch. Zero. Null. The only thing remotely political was John Adams by David McCullough. I don't remember anywhere near this much hate thrown at Bush at this point is his presidency. That's because there wasn't. Sure, there was some criticism. The man was an idiot. How could there not be? But even GWB was not deluged with nearly this much scorn and abuse this early in his presidency.

I know the crazies are going to say it is because Obama is ruining us, but he is doing (mostly) what he said he would do. He did win the election. He gets to be president for now. Too bad for the crazies.

Back from Florida House Hunting

Shane and I just got back from another trip to Florida. We were house hunting again. We went down certain that we were going to put a bid in on one house and came back bidding on another.

Both houses are in Punta Gorda, FL -- about 2 hours south of Tampa. The house in which we were first interested was in the Historic District of Punta Gorda. It was built in 1927 (or 1930) and was on a residential street about three blocks from Charlotte Harbor and a beautiful park with free tennis courts. The house is a Key West-style house with a fireplace, beautiful wood floors, a beautiful front lanai, and two "Florida Rooms" in the rear. It also has drop ceilings, a bouncy kitchen floor and a really ugly kitchen. We loved it mostly for the location. We could walk to great restaurants, galleries and that park with the tennis courts.

The House in Town

We were all set to make an offer on the in-town house, but the Realtors took us to another house. It is in another part of Punta Gorda, further south. I walked into the living room and saw the view out the lanai and said "Oh My God!"

We all but forgot about the other house and wanted to make an offer on this one with a salt water canal. The house is a foreclosure (more than $500K was owed on it). It was built in 1980 and is in pretty good shape. The bathrooms are nothing to write home about, but who cares with that view? The photo of the view above does not do it justice. It looks out over a mangrove (who doesn't love a mangrove?) that can never be built on. That view will always be there. The sun sets over the water behind the mangrove. It is a dream house nearly in our price range. The house is surround by big beautiful homes, many with pools. It is by far the worst house in the neighborhood.

We would have been perfectly happy in the old house in town, but now this house has ruined it for us. We put an offer in, hoping against hope, but we know deep in our hearts it is a long shot. Though the listing price is relatively low and its only been on the market a few days, we know there are other offers already in. We put in the highest and best offer we could -- far more than we were planning on spending. We are half terrified that we'll lose this house and half terrified that our offer might be accepted.

Look at that view! How could we resist?

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #207

Yes, he's a great dancer, but buying him pants is a bitch.

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #207. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

Ben & Jerry's "Hubby Hubby" Ice Cream Celebrates Vermont Marriage Equality

The Vermont-based ice cream maker, Ben & Jerry's, is renaming its "Chubby Hubby" ice cream "Hubby Hubby" for the month of September in celebration of the State's new same sex marriage law taking effect. Though my Hubby loves Coffee Heathbar Crunch, we would buy "Hubby Hubby" if we could. It won't be sold in retail grocery stores, but will be given away for free across Vermont from wedding-themed ice cream trucks. Let's hope they expand on the idea and sell it nationwide!

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #205 + #206

Yeah, they ran out of the ankle things, so

my house arrest is a bit more obvious.

Aren't you Daniel Radcliffe?

The above are the cartoons for New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest for the weeks of #205 and #206. Since I was on vacation, I never got the chance to enter #205. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter (#206).

Another Amazing Maine Sunset

Just after Sunset at Pumpkin Light

Sunset on Pumpkin Light in Maine

Isle of Haut

View from the Porch

Little Deer Isle, Maine--we're on the porch, watching the lighthouse.

Help Save Marriage in Maine

Shane and I are starting our second Maine vacation of the summer. We're staying at Moose and Squirrel, a house on Little Deer Isle with a spectacular view of Pumpkin Island Lighthouse. Shane is from Maine, and I am hoping that one day we can get married in there. We have purchased land in Maine and we're planning on building a house there when we retire.

Though Maine is one of the States that reportedly allows same sex marriage, it hasn't happened yet. There is a referundum up for vote this fall that could take that right away before any same sex couples get married there. Much like Prop 8 in California, Referendum 1 can take the civil rights away from LGBT Mainers. Do what you can to help win this fight. Go to Protect Maine Equality and help if you can. If you live in Maine, vote NO on 1! Thanks.

Police Ignite Wood with Taser

Police in Lancaster, Ohio, got new tasers on Sunday. That was bad news for Daniel C. Wood, 31, who was huffing a substance from an aerosol can and running in traffic. An officer caught Wood, but he was resisting arrest. He allegedly was kicking and biting and"made gestures with his hand as if he were reaching for a firearm in his waistband," according to Lancaster Chief Dave Bailey. That is when Mr. Wood's day started going very wrong. The officer zapped Wood with a taser, which caused him to catch on fire. The officers on the scene were able to pat out the flames, but I'm guessing Mr. Wood suddenly ceased in his resistance.