Saturday, May 31, 2014

Saturday Morning Cartoons (+)

No, it is not that I am in the midst of experiencing a second or third childhood.  For it is arguable that I have never really grown up because of my march toward maturity being interrupted along the way by some episodes of arrested development.  So, instead of thinking that this series is meant as a wistful look back upon a simpler time, think of it as being a rather simplistic mind remaining in a moment for an extended period of time.  In any event, I hope you find it enjoyable.


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Friday, May 30, 2014

Sites To See #374

The SOLE purpose of this series is to help call attention to sites that I think many would find most interesting—in one way or another.  Just to be clear, inclusion in this series is not necessarily meant as a endorsement, and I have included sites that I found rather disturbing.  The link below each image is to the site itself, and each image is linked to the particular post from which it was taken when applicable.  Please, go see for yourself.  Oh, and as of August 10, 2012, I will be no longer including sites that have auto-play and word verification engaged.















 Link: [Sue Clinker]


 Link: [T.]






 Link: [The Crow]







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Thursday, May 29, 2014

ATF: Nam

This weekly series will include as many of my all-time favorite tunes as I can get my grubby little hands on (so to speak).  Now, each one included in each edition will have some connection with the other—albeit only as a figment of my imagination, but they will not be numbered.  For I just cannot bring myself to rate some higher than others.  So, this will not be a countdown, but if you are enjoying them as much as I do, it won’t matter.  Besides, with no countdown, this could go on forever and ever!  Oh, and despite the fact that there is absolutely no way that your musical tastes can be as exquisite as mine, I welcome any suggestions you might dare to make.  For I am, after all, quite magnanimous by nature.



Still In Saigon
Charlie Daniels
Got on a plane in 'Frisco
And got off in Vietnam
I walked into a different world
The past forever gone
I could have gone to Canada
Or I could have stayed in school
But I was brought up differently
I couldn't break the rules
Thirteen months
And fifteen days
The last ones were the worst
One minute I'd kneel down and pray
And the next I'd stand and curse
No place to run to
Where I did not feel that war
When I got home
I stayed alone
And checked behind each door

‘Cause I'm
Still in Saigon
Still in Saigon
I am
Still in Saigon
In my mind

The ground at home was covered with snow
And I was covered with sweat
My younger brother calls me a killer
And my daddy calls me a vet
Everybody says I'm someone else
And I'm sick
And there's no cure
Damned if I know who I am
There was only one place I was sure

When I was
Still in Saigon
Still in Saigon
I am
Still in Saigon
In my mind

Every summer
When it rains
I smell the jungle
I hear the planes
I can't tell no one
I feel ashamed
Afraid someday
I'll go insane

That's been ten long years ago
And time has gone on by
Now and then I catch myself
Eyes searchin’ through the sky
All the sounds of long ago
Will be forever in my head
Mingled with
The wounded cries
And the silence of the dead

'Cause I'm
Still in Saigon
Still in Saigon
I am
Still in Saigon
In my mind
I am
Still in Saigon
I am
Still in Saigon
Yes
I'm
Still in Saigon
In my mind

Still in Saigon



Paint It Black
The Rolling Stones
I see the red door
And I want it painted black
No colors anymore
I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by
Dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head
Until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars
And they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both
Never to come back
I see people turn their heads
And quickly look away
Like a new born baby
It just happens everyday

I look inside myself
And see my heart is black
I see my red door
I must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away
And not have to face the facts
It's not easy facin' up
When your whole world is black

No more will my green sea
Go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing
Happening to you
If I look hard enough
Into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me
Before the mornin' comes

I see a red door
And I want it painted black
No colors anymore
I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by
Dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head
Until my darkness goes

I wanna see your face
Painted black
Black as night
Black as coal
I wanna see the sun
Blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted
Painted
Painted
Painted black
Yeah

Lyrics From: [elyrics.net]

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Swedish Ire

This weekly series will feature ads that I consider to be the very best (in one way or another).  Please do not hesitate to tell me about your favorite ads, and if you have some (good) taste, I just might add yours to the list.


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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Sites To See #373

The SOLE purpose of this series is to help call attention to sites that I think many would find most interesting—in one way or another.  Just to be clear, inclusion in this series is not necessarily meant as a recommendation, and I have included sites that are rather disturbing to me.  The link below each image is to the site itself, and each image is linked to the particular post from which it was taken when applicable.  Please, go see for yourself.  Oh, and as of August 10, 2012, I will be no longer including sites that have auto-play and word verification engaged.























 Link: [Razmataz]







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Monday, May 26, 2014

Come Monday...Nothing New with the VA

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of (or commentary about) websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time.  Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.”  This is subject to change, however.  In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while.  For rants promote change, and change can be good—right?  Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).

Unless you have been stuck without any access to an outside news source for the last couple of weeks or so, you have probably already seen at least some of the splatter from the “stuff” hitting the proverbial fan over how much time some veterans have been having to wait to receive medical care at some [VA medical facilities].  Having to wait 5-6 months to see a doctor is indeed outrageous, but how good is the care after they finally receive it?  I sincerely doubt that it is really all that good.

All I have to go on is what happened to my dad years ago, and in all fairness, the quality of care at VA medical facilities may have greatly improved since.  On the hand, my dad’s experiences display a pattern of conduct that the current scandal seems to be proving is still being maintained.

Since it was before the [VA] was officially established, my dad’s first experience with the agency may not count, but it sure is telling about what was to come.  For it happened after Germany surrendered in 1945, and my dad was one of thousands of G.I.s in France, who desperately wanted to go home to their families.  When my dad’s turn came up, he was asked to sign a waiver that released the United States government from any liabilities due to the wounds he received during the beginning of the [Battle of the Bulge] or face having to wait maybe another six months before being given a berth on a transport ship back to the States.  What would you do if you were 25 years-old and already greatly concerned about your very young daughter after receiving a letter from her mother that said that she wanted a divorce on the grounds of your abandonment of them to go off to war?  Oh yeah, my dad signed the release, but his first wife still got her divorce.

My dad’s next experience with the VA (at least for the purpose of this piece) happened 35 years later, in 1980.  I think it was sometime in September when I took my dad down to the VA Hospital in Fayetteville, Arkansas after he started feeling extra poorly.  The doctor he saw there told him that he was just getting older.  When I took him to the VA Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri a couple of months later, the doctor he saw up there gave him around two months to live after diagnosing him with lung cancer.  When asked, the Kansas City VA doctor confirmed that his cancer would have been quite easy to see to anyone who bothered to look when he went to the Fayetteville VA Hospital.  He went on to also say that the kind of cancer my dad had was rapidly-moving, and that if it had of been detected in Fayetteville, much could have been done to stop its growth.  Yeah, “stuff” happens—right?

By the way, when you see a movie depiction of an old, run-down medical facility, with patients wandering around with their [I.V. stand] in tow, you are seeing what I remember of the Fayetteville VA Hospital.  The Kansas City facility was much better in appearance, but I only remember being up there once.

Alas, my dad raised me to be a hardcore political conservative, who believes that the federal government has no business doing anything but maintaining a strong defense of the country and good trading relations with “good” countries, but our Heavenly Father has shown me where all levels of government are meant to provide good service in all sorts of capacities to all citizens—especially to those in need.  At least the hardcore conservatives are generally much more honest than their bleeding-heart liberal counterparts.  For liberal politicians generally love to talk real big about using government programs to do all sorts of good, but they are loathed to make sure that those programs are really doing what they should and not just wasting an enormous amount of tax-payer dollars.  The VA stands as a corroded example of such—regardless of which political philosophy may be in a position of greater power at a given time.

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Sunday, May 25, 2014

A Sunday Drive

Back during my childhood, our parents would often load up my brother and me after Sunday morning church services for a leisurely drive around where we lived.  Even though we were seeing mostly familiar sights, it was still good to see them, and this is why “A Sunday Drive” sounded about right for the name of a series revisiting familiar sites that are well worth seeing again and again.  The link below the image is to the site itself, and the image is linked to the post it was first included in here.









 Link: [The Middle]














 Link: [Tree Hugger]




 



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Saturday, May 24, 2014

Saturday Morning Cartoons (+)

No, it is not that I am in the midst of experiencing a second or third childhood.  For it is arguable that I have never really grown up because of my march toward maturity being interrupted by some episodes of arrested development along the way.  So, instead of thinking that this series is meant as a wistful look back upon a simpler time, think of it as being a rather simplistic mind remaining in a moment for an extended period of time.  In any event, I hope you find it enjoyable.


Please Also Visit:

Friday, May 23, 2014

Sites To See #372

The SOLE purpose of this series is to help call attention to sites that I think many would find most interesting—in one way or another.  Just to be clear, inclusion in this series is not necessarily meant as a recommendation, and I have included sites that are rather disturbing to me.  The link below each image is to the site itself, and each image is linked to the particular post from which it was taken when applicable.  Please, go see for yourself.  Oh, and as of August 10, 2012, I will be no longer including sites that have auto-play and word verification engaged.



 Link: [Gbkoru]


 Link: [High Cotton]


 Link: [Hob-Nobbers]








 Link: [Japolina]


 Link: [Kirk Dale]













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