Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Thursday, December 08, 2005
A quarter-century without John, B&N pictures, some vegan news, and Jean Jacques rocks
morning all.
always good to see some photos.
can i ask a question of the expendables?
what is all this war on christmas nonsense about? i am sure that none of the exepndables go into it but it all seems very strange....
http://tinyurl.com/a5tt4Posted by michael on from scotland 12/08 at 07:36 AMAwesome post all around; hope I can make it to Mooshoes tonight-- Hey that kinda looks like me, thanks-- I look almost as smooth with that beard as Ewan McGregor in Star Wars, but w/o the annoying CGI, right… been working really long hours at this receng proofreading job, still haven’t figured out how to send that two minute quicktime video of MZ speaking. My Earthlink address still won’t take it. Any suggestions? Some zipfile thing for later tonight?
Gotta go, but like I was telling MZ, regarding John Lennon, do all check out the hidden find of Elton John’s ‘Here and There’ live album, containing JLs final live appearance when he joined EJ onstage at Madison Square Garden for 3 songs.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/08 at 07:58 AMThanks, James. Glad we can finally get an image of you up here instead of just your cats.
Michael: The Xmas thing seems to be “designed” as a preemptive strike by the Right. I say, let’s be as anti-Xmas as possible. Starting next week, I’ll make one post a week on the topic. Why the hell not?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/08 at 08:01 AMRE: the beard… i was getting sarchastic compliments on mine recently. there is a good line you can use in such circumstances..
“Beard? that would be mistaking lethargy for strategy”
Posted by michael on from scotland 12/08 at 08:03 AMI had a goatee for a little while but with my premature graying, it made me feel even older. Now, I shave, shave, shave.
Btw, I’m sorry if the images are kinda small. They were large files and I was afraid to run them larger in terms of loading times for those on dial-up. Anyone have thoughts on that?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/08 at 08:06 AMHi Mickey,
Maybe you could post the high res photos on Flickr?
-Nancy
Posted by Nancy on from arlington 12/08 at 09:42 AMHowdy do all:
Michael, this war on Christmas is a load. Please to ignore. Consumerism isn’t going out of fashin in the USA’s wingnut right, just consumerism outside THEIR stores, which are Godly and deserve our patronage.
James, you look maaaahhhhhvelous.
MZ, “premature” graying...? ROFLMAO, or as us oldsters say, “no fool like an ol’ fool.” We’re officially closer to 60 than 30 this birthday. Youth has thundered away on teeny little elephant feet. Face up. You’re doing far better work now than you did then, speaking as one who met you when you were 33, so what’s this age phobia really about?
All: here’s a blogspot with an hilarious and infuriatingly accurate portrayal of the gym experience:
http://www.paulenglish.com/
Oh, and he also is the guy who went to the trouble of making up the IVR Cheat Sheet for defeating automated phone systems at many companies. I swear by, not at, it.Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 10:05 AMHello...Everyone!
I thought I’d take the liberty to insert some more Canadian history. This is more about Montreal, but much more upbeat than the last...Imagine...http://tinyurl.com/9exwm
I’m still digesting all the information from the last few days comments and links...lots of news to review.
As to all the poison we create / consume (in so many ways...) our Arctic populations have extremely high toxicity levels and many mothers have been encouraged NOT to breastfeed for this reason. Horrid result of our global ‘progress’.
Ironic that their traditional natural diet means that they consume much fat from large mammals(sadly vegetarianism doesn’t work out so well in the Arctic) and this blubber is absolutely loaded with toxins.
PS:
I thoroughly enjoy everyones comments, opinions, information etc. etc… I don’t comment nearly as often as I drop by to read...Glad you’re all here
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 12/08 at 10:55 AMMZ, to your point yesterday about perfection: Well, see above. Do I cound disappointed? If so, it’s unintentional. Like everyone, you’re flawed. So what? Does this mean we should ignore the ways in which you exceed even the loftiest expectations? Pshaw! I admire greatly, and more daily, the passion you bring to your (often wrong-headed) causes. >nudge<
Michael, read above carefully before ranting. >nudgenudge<
James from yesterday: Aaaaahhhhhh. Much refreshed by a good McGregor-ogling.
RMJ, from yesterday: Masterpiece?! What are you smoking, I want some! Seriously, thank you for the praise, though I am certain it’s unmerited based on the crude version you’ve seen of a very slight book.
Joe, fellow sufferer in the booming, booming economy: Does it strike you the older one is, the less likely one is to prosper in these boom times?
Keir, as always a fount of eloquence...novels be damned, what about your own story? I’d buy it.
Big Country, how goes the book? And Owen, dear, there’s a nekkid inbox awaitin’ yer typing....
Hawk, is it cold enough for ya? It was 20F here last night...it’s a whopping 30F now...and here in South Central Texas that’s freakin’ FROSTBIT!!! Only a few school districts and a very few state offices are open at all ,and they’re starting late. I see Colorado is largely in the minus category...ewwww. Stay warm.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 10:58 AMAmelopsis, greetings! Canada’s winters are the reason...the one and only reason...I don’t emigrate. A much more sane place, Canada. Negative temps for any fraction of a month, well...born and raised in the Sun Belt, I just can’t hang with that kind of cold.
Still, many thanks for adding to the conversation. I read recently that James Midgley, the inventor of tetraethyl lead anti-knock gasoline, was also the inventor of CFCs! The Arctic, with its exceedingly fragile ecosystem, should be re-named the Midgley Belt if a true disaster >ptuiptui sign of the horns< makes it uninhabitable.
If anyone has a time machine cluttering up the garage, might I suggest a trip back to 1923 so as to remove with extreme prejudice Midgley, this scourge on the planet?!
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 11:06 AMMudge, is EW better of w/beard or w/o? But no, I wouldn’t presume to compete with him. Hope all goes well with work/money stuff for you and everyone else here, and so you should be ready for drearier literary movies by next year sometime. And hey, what are Mickey’s wrong-headed causes? Let me know so I can stay clear of them.
Speaking of work--
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/08 at 11:07 AMJames, I fear the wrong-headedest cause has you already...the dread veganism...the insane conviction that tofu is a food product, not a shock-absorbing jelly for body armor. Or something. I really don’t know what it is, but food it most certainly is not. Not even food should be made to eat that stuff.
But I, living grave of animals that I am, soldier onward wreathed in the certainty that I am correct and vegans are just flat wrong and surrender no jot or tittle of respect for the passion of the convictions.
As to beard or no beard, I personally love kissing men with beards, so I say go to it to any man who can grow one. Lookswise, McGregor’s beard’s not my thing...it’s the smile and the laugh/voice/accent that melt my knees. I’d probably refuse to get near enough to kiss him in real life, unless I had a cold, because he smokes.
Who am I kidding?! Assuming he’d stand for it, I’d pluck the horrible thing from his lips for a snog!
Wait...this wasn’t supposed to be a blog entry, just a response to a comment...I’ll go now.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 11:34 AMHi to everyone.
Canada’s winters aren’t so bad. Heh, Considering Vancouver winters rarely get enough snow to dampen a hobbits toes. I came from LA and got sick and tired of blue skies sunny days year in year out. Give me some dynamic weather and real seasons. Very nice.
I think you would look very distinguished in a goatee Mickey
Posted by Luna_C on from The Delta 12/08 at 11:38 AMYeahhh… I knew that’s what you meant, Mudge, just baiting you. With vegan worms. So okay-- it’s like Michael Moore, left-wing icon says: Put down those sprouts and pick up a T-Bone! Micheal Moore is awesome, why can’t there be more like him… and he has a beard, too. aaaaah, gotta stop websurfing at work, hope mickeyz.net isn’t against company policy here.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/08 at 11:46 AMMudge, our cold winters are getting warmer every year, thanks in no small part to Midgley, et al. That said, there’s always our Left Coast...not exactly a sun belt, but warmer climes prevail to be sure.
The snow can be a beautiful thing though...quite magical when you can actually SEE the snowflake shapes, although it only happens in particular weather conditions, it’s really nature’s magical grace landing right in the palm of your mitten in the form of fractals.You’ve just got to like the snow...and I think it beats all the hurricanes that the sunbelt receives.
Our ‘superior sanity’ is coming into question more and more these days though; especially with our looming election - I dare not think too long about the prospect of a conservative minority gov’t...simply too woeful to consider and sure to ruin any reasonable person’s appetite.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 12/08 at 11:53 AMRan across this gem in Anu Garg’s autumn pledge drive email for A Word A Day:
Words are things; and a small drop of ink Falling like dew upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. --George Gordon, Lord Byron
1788-1824)Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 12:03 PMMudge said: “Hawk, is it cold enough for ya? It was 20F here last night...it’s a whopping 30F now...and here in South Central Texas that’s freakin’ FROSTBIT!!! Only a few school districts and a very few state offices are open at all ,and they’re starting late. I see Colorado is largely in the minus category...ewwww. Stay warm.”
Really cold for this early in the season, Mudge. We bottomed out around ten below two nights ago, and it never got to double digits yesterday. This morning I thought the radio said it was 14 degrees F, so I threw on a couple thick shirts and wallowed across the ice to the bus stop—without a hat. A homeless guy at the corner asked if it was cold enough for me, and I said it was a little nippy. He said it had been five below until an hour earlier. When I got to work, the radio said it was two degrees out.
Of course, on my bus ride home yeterday, I saw a kid wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Some folks figure that, if the sun’s out, that means it’s warm....
Gunnison apparently went to forty below a couple nights ago.
It’s Canada’s fault, as everyone knows. They’re sending us big, slow-moving frigid air masses—it’s a conspiracy, I tell ya!
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 12/08 at 12:03 PMMudge also said: “As to beard or no beard, I personally love kissing men with beards, so I say go to it to any man who can grow one.”
Here’s a shot of me from last summer—do I qualify for a little peck?
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 12/08 at 12:08 PMLuna, long time no C! >ararar< As one who left California with the gladdest of hearts, I relate. Los Gatos has gotten along well without me, I without it, and I think that’s just ducky for all concerned.
Amelopsis, for truly urpsome minority government, may I direct your attention Potomac-ward? And “warmer” winters, in a Canadian frame of reference, are still violations of my 8th Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment. Negative numbers, Fahrenheit or Celsius, oh no no no.
James, as to my opinion of Michael Moore and his films, I quote Dr. Samuel Johnson on the subject of females preaching the Gospels:
“It is rather like a dog walking on its hind legs; the wonder is not that it is done well, but done at all.”
As to mickeyz.net being on the No-No list at work, it will be soon if you don’t buckle down and do your job! Now scoot, young man!
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 12:16 PMHey Hawk, I click on the link and get this:
Access control configuration prevents your request from being allowed at this time. Please contact your service provider if you feel this is incorrect.
Hmmm...well, I kiss strangers as a matter of policy, so you can have whatever species of lip-lock suits your mood.
In the SLEET yesterday, there were goobers of all ages in the local spring-fed pool! Barton Creek is always 68F and there were nutballs swimming in it yesterday, sleet getting in their hair and the metal steps...think for a minute how cold those hadda be...accumulating ice, and here are these folks plashing and splooshing and having, to all appearances, a gay old time!
Lithium. They “need” lithium.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 12:25 PMTrue that about Moore; neither one of you sway me much for the v. thing, but still glad you don’t smoke… okay, better NaNo than NoNo…
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/08 at 12:30 PMThat’s really strange, Mudge. I just tried it again and it worked okay.
Here’s a link to my Blogger profile page. If your ISP lets you get that far, you can click on the image for a fuller-sized version.
Hope it works....
http://www.blogger.com/profile/2306806
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 12/08 at 12:35 PMHawk, you distinguished devil you! What a complement of interests! King Crimson and Uncle Tupelo and Milton Nacimento all on one list! Add King Sunny Ade and we’re twins.
And you list one of my all-time favorite movies on your list, too: Harold and Maude was, when I first saw it, a major revelation to me. I still watch it once a year to remind myself that it ain’t over ‘til it’s over. And even then, footprints linger....
No wonder you’re such a cozy fit...I think you’re doomed to places like this (doomed in the ancient Irish sense of dan/fate, not the modern English bastardization of gloom/doom).
Lames, I’m perfectly okay with you being a wingnut as long as you’re okay with me being a factory-farm product consumer. One needn’t agree on all things for amity to exist.
No, I don’t smoke and I really don’t much like it when others do around me, but I have a really strong stubborn streak and refuse to believe that laws should be passed to limit the number of ways in which humans get to kill thmselves while getting high. Legalize it all, tax it, spend resulting budget surplus on housing and food for the masses. not to mention health care for the steak-chompin’ joint-tokin’ cigarette-smokin’ heroin-shootin’ bunch of us.
You vegan body perfectionists? On your own. You don’t need health care, right? Your lifestyle does it for you!
Oh, I am sooo gonna get flamed...
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 01:02 PMLames? (typo, I know)
Need it or not, I don’t have it… that whole temp proofreader thing. Yeah, not sure how I feel about legality, etc.; just wish tobacco never existed, family members had never discovered it, etc. And the time for flaming was long ago, all well past it. Now getting fired, that’s another thing, so--Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 12/08 at 01:16 PMLong day running around the island of Manhattan. Did I miss anything, Mudge?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/08 at 03:23 PMI simply LOVE your graphics, Mickey! And the text as well - and the photos taken at Barnes & Noble and and .. Wish I could have been in NYC, and not only on that occasion. As neither Mr nor Mrs Helga are going to make it to the US again, Mr and Mrs Mickey might just decide to visit Daylesford, Australia one day .. Down under, it is 7:32 am on a Friday morning and it is going to be a pleasant summer day.
And good morning/afternoon to all you MZ’ers/expendables.
Harold Pinter speaks out - go read:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5350697-99819,00.htmlPosted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/08 at 03:33 PMOh, and please do post on the anti-Xmas topic, Herr Z.!
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 12/08 at 03:34 PMHello Helga! Summer day, sigh.
No, MZ, not really. You were gone long enough for us to talk about you behind your back and have a little bit of fun. All harmless, for certes.
Lames...hmmm...this bears Freudian fruit....
I’ve decided to enter one of my less execrable stories in the Austin Chronicle shorty-story contest. First prize is money, so I have an incentive. Been whangin’ away at that all day, plus trying to reach bureaucrats who either aren’t there or have forgotten where the phone is.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 04:35 PMQuick hello...has anyone pointed out this Lennon interview yet?:
later on,
JOS
Posted by JOS on from PR 12/08 at 06:17 PMHeya,
Just saying hi.
I’m vaguely, kinda, sorta, possibly considering veganism as a new years resolution. I’ve drastically cut my egg and milk consumption, but FISH (you know, those vegetables with fins) and cheese are still huge staples…Bearing in mind I’ve never even made a resolution, much less kept one, my cynical devil-on-my shoulder says it’ll last until my birthday (3rd January). I don’t know, I can just about stomach aubergine now, surely thats half the battle? :D
Posted by Mew on from England 12/08 at 06:24 PMGreat link, JOS. I’ve only read 1/3 so far & must get to it again later but it’s not like most others I’ve read before. Thanks for turning me on to it.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 12/08 at 06:29 PMMew, have you investigated and experimented with the world of lentils? I’m not vegan btw, vegetarian only, but lentils are the protein way to go in my opinion, since I’m not so keen on the tofu myself. Tempeh yes, tofu not so much.
If you’re not so hot on the aubergines chop them up and throw them in a pot with curry and lentils and whatever other veggies you like and you’ll be loving it in no time!Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 12/08 at 06:34 PMAmelopsis,
When my family went veggie (to differing degrees) about 15 years ago, mum just cooked everything with lentils. Lentil shepherds pie, lentil tart, lentil ice-cream etc etc.
If I see another fucking lentil as long as I live, it’ll be too soon.
But aubergines, I can eat in a stir-fry, along with various other previously hated fruit and veg. And tofu is OK, with a decent sauce. I’m just not sure I can eat enough to make up for the penguinesque quantities of fish I won’t be scoffing.Posted by Mew on from England 12/08 at 06:44 PMI’m happy to join in the doing down of Xmas to a degree. A colleague (a thoroughly splendid bloke) hates the season & its commerce. Instead of a card I’m going to give him a print out of Johnny Cash flipping the bird at one of his prison gigs; an ideal antidote to the bullshit this season can bring out.
Regarding East Timor, I’d recommend “The Trial of Henry Kissinger” by Christopher Hitchens. I disagree with a lot of what he says elsewhere, but he does list a frightening amount of info on The Kiss. I got about halfway through (K was involved in around 14 million deaths minimum) before getting overwrought; hard to avoid regarding that man.
As to vegetarianism, I agree the lentil gets veggie food a bad name. Anyone familiar with Chorlton in Manchester will know that many of the houses there are rancid with lentil farts due to unvaried diet. Not a good advert!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/08 at 07:03 PMOh - that does sound like lentil overkill.
Understood.
I was once introduced to a new food (as a child) and found it to be the most delicious thing I’d ever had. I can’t remember the name (some chick pea flour creation intended as a starter or snack - like egg rolls) but I ate so much of it that I ended up getting sick and to this day I cannot bring myself to even try it again.Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 12/08 at 07:09 PMHello Expendables...and a hearty welcome to all the new voices. Glad to have you, hope you’ll make this a regular stop.
Sorry to have been so incommunicado today but it’s been a hectic one. One of the may things I love about this comment board is that anyone can take a “day off” and there’s still plenty of good conversations and interesting viewpoints. We’re not only expendable, we’re replaceable.
Btw, Mudge, my “premature” comment was referring to the fact that I had a goatee many years ago and even then, it was salt and pepper. Nothing premature about my gray today. I agree.
Okay, as for all the most-welcome the vegan talk, I’d like to point out that there’s plenty to eat that doesn’t fall into the officially “vegan” category: rice and beans, pasta primavera, salad, hummus, tabouli, falafel, cous cous, many Indian dishes, etc. The trouble starts when something gets labeled “vegan.” People tend to get edgy about it. Anyway, part of a link I feature today offers some “vegan” dishes: http://tinyurl.com/742bl.
It’s cold here in Astoria with lots of snow allegedly on the horizon. I’ll be back soon.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/08 at 07:18 PMBizarrely, my goatee is two tone black with tiny spinkles of light brown, whereas my hair is dark brown and grey. However, my head still looks like a potato. (photos available as evidence)
Prematurely grey is an interesting idea. I was at school when Stock, Aitken & Waterman first began massacring musical ears everywhere. Frankly I’m amazed I have any hair left at all.
As an easy dish for people suspicious of veggie food, I find pitta bread with some hummus works wonders. There’s a flavour my friend Alison likes that’s great; I think it’s lime but it’s certainly refreshing and moreish. McDonalds cravings can be slaked by shitting into a bun; same food value and cheaper!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 12/08 at 07:27 PMare we still doing beard chat?
mudge, i’ll have to check whatever it was i said yesterday i’ll have to check. i was probably wrong
amelopsis - i have been in canada for the winter and its better than scotland becuase although its much colder it isn’t wet. dry cold is ok. wrap up and u r fine. cold AND wet is f*cking miserable because you can’t get warm again. that said, summer here is great because its warm and it hardly ever gets dark (dark at 10.30, light again by 2.30 - and occasionally you get the northern lights too if u get out the city)
mickey - if u r on this, check your email.
Posted by michael on from scotland 12/08 at 07:46 PMthey showed a little of harold pinters nobel prize speech on democracy now today. the full thing is here....
http://tinyurl.com/9rhuq
full text is here…
http://tinyurl.com/dtvkgi’m just watching it now so i don’t have secondary comments yet
Posted by michael on from scotland 12/08 at 08:07 PMHi Humans!
Fun conversations today, everyone. Mudge, I’ve got a beard… just a peck on the cheek, please - till I know you better.
James - I’ll not light up when you’re around, if you’ll refuse to support laws which forbid me, and like-minded folk, to assemble in some interior public space, appropriately designated & ventilated, for coffee, smokes, and gab. Otherwise, we’ll have to agree to be friendly foes…
I read the text of Pinter’s speech last night, Michael. Very impressive, I thought. He sure hammers away at the US and Britain. Fine, rousing piece of work, I’d say.
JOS - read the JL interview as well. Amazing, eh?
It’s a side of him I’d not had much exposure to, and I admit to being delighted. That we’ve lost him still sometimes seems impossible.There’s a great review of Chomsky’s debate with Dershowitz at yesterday’s CounterPunch. It’s an interesting read, also. Imagine deciding to debate Chomsky? Something a bit suicidal about it, methinks.
Also, after yesterday’s converstation, I decided to sit down to watch a bit of a talk, given by David Ray Griffin in Madison, Wisconsin. Very, very interesting overview of 9/11. I saw him give a talk, several months ago - it was very dry, dull, sleep-inducing - like listening to someone read a long list of baking ingredients. The talk last night was very much more radical and fiery ( in a scholarly / Christian-Intellectual way, of course )...
Obviously, as the guy has been studying and thinking and looking around, he’s becoming more radical and angry. Interesting thing to watch, in a fellow so stodgy and proper… He referred to work by Chomsky and Zinn and Blum and went after the Empire in much the same way - and in the same tones - as Pinter. And, as he relates the official versions of 9/11, he often can’t contain his derisive laughter, which I found just wonderful. Great talk, if anyone has an opportunity to see it.Posted by joe on from Oregon 12/08 at 08:44 PMJust a quick tip… You could use SimURL.com instead of tiny url and actually see how many people click on a link.
Posted by SimURL.com on from 12/08 at 09:39 PMEvening, all (and thanks for the SimURL info). It’s 10:23 in Astoria, Queens, New York, USA. Signing off.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 12/08 at 10:24 PMMy GOD, am I the only sane, flesh-eating individual here?! I’ll have to buy pork chops and some freshly shot venison while at the store tomorrow to make up for all this veggie-scarfing.
MZ, no gray is premature. You’ve earned every single strand by attaining ridiculous quantities of wisdom absurdly early in life. It’s the Universe betokening your achievement.
Michael, I can’t remember what you said yesterday...so I am confused. But that’s my ordinary state these days. No worries.
Joe, a respectful peck on the cheek and an a-frame hug comin’ up!
Chris, Mew, Amelopsis...in all seriousness, it’s a pleasure to dip into such good conversations, especially about things I know very little about (such as a non-animal product diet). Mew, I say compete with a penguin and eat that fish. But then again, I would.
BTW, pita filled with hummus and lettuce and tomato and onion and cuke is delightful! Slather on the olive oil, yummm!
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 12/08 at 10:42 PM
Next entry: Cindy Sheehan reads me, I read Ward Churchill, & a bunch of other stuff you're gonna like
Previous entry: East Timor: December 7, 1975
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