Tradwives & Arabica

Morning all! The last days of January and already I am noticing the days getting longer.

I’ll shorten the Ramblings (slightly) this week. I’ve taken note that some of my readers have, Benjamin Franklin style, been required to light more than one beeswax candle to get through the recent page-burners. Part of that is due to the short winter days and long nights thus requiring artificial light; the longer days are a good thing.

Coffee is on our minds this week, especially Marcia as she faces a couple of days of absolute intimacy with an, as yet to be introduced, CD Holter Heart Monitor. No coffee when ‘Mr.’ CD Holter is with her. Excited with anticipation she’ll join me momentarily in our morning, coffee fueled, moments.

This week’s ‘Ramblings’ is written by me, Dirk; pronoun “his-they” (satire, just mentoring you through the bizarre state of our currently woke societal world). What follows are a few quotes/insights gathered this week. I thought I’d post to allow a bit of a ‘peeling-back-the-curtain’ on my interests, reading habits, and patterns. I hope you too will expand your own horizons perusing them and use these as a pathway entry to your own expanding horizon.

This/these also satisfies my keeping the contrarian in me pleasantly cheerful.

Eleanor Roosevelt – “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

The Blizzard of 1978 – (Friday January 27) occurred while I was making my weekly Friday/Saturday trip to Louisville working on my Graduate Studies. The day of the blizzard had me arrive at school only to find out everything had been canceled due to the incoming storm (where was my iPhone?). I turned around and left for home. This was around 5:00pm.

By 10:00 I was whipped and decided to pull off at Carrolton, KY and look for lodging. The exit ramp was completely blocked by 18 wheelers and the entrance ramps blocked by police – I just continued. I plodded on ever so slowly.

Eventually, around Florence, KY I got ahead of the snow and was driving on ice. At the crest where I-75 drops down to the river the road was completely blocked by stalled traffic. I kept on driving on the shoulder working the parking brake handle between the seats. Eventually was the only vehicle approaching Ohio (a cop passed me heading the wrong way to officially close the Interstate). It was after 3:00am when I walked in the front door. And that’s how I remember The Blizzard of 1978.

‘Tradwife Movement’ — “It’s an acronym for “Traditional Wife.” So far, it resides especially among millennial and Gen Z women. These young women would prefer being stay-at-home wives, keeping house, and raising kids as depicted in ’50s and ’60s movies, TV series — Leave it To Beaver, The Dick van Dyke Show, Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, I Love Lucy, etc.”
I quoted L. Reichard White, who taught physics and served two terms on the Libertarian National Committee. He emphasizes a change in feminism as espoused a decade ago which highlighted that to be fulfilled women needed to grow and thrive in the workaday world. He posits that the outside working ‘need’ has come about due to the growth of government and therefore the need for a growing tax pool. Thus, for the most part, it has meant the end of the single breadwinner household.

Woke Business Fails – ”Sports Illustrated competes with Bud Light as “Most Woke Corporation” goes broke, and the owner lays off the entire staff. Thank God there are still some business owners left in America who understand that in order to succeed in business one must please one’s customers, not make them want to throw up.”
This quotes Thomas DiLorenzo, President of the Misis Institute, past Professor of Economics at Loyola University – Maryland.

Federal Powers run Amok – “The intensity of our division springs from a federal government operating far beyond the limits of the Constitution — fueling a fight for control over powers that were never supposed to exist at the national level.”
So writes Brian McGlinchy -StarkRealities.substack.com, Journalist. The Founding Fathers were worried about this happening. James Madison wrote at length about the subject; “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.”

All of the growth arose with a 1937 US Supreme Court ruling was due to an ‘overreaching’ reinterpretation of the Constitution’s language, especially two words: “General Welfare” [Article 1, Section 8]. Thomas Jefferson warned/worried on exactly this point.

The resultant wild government expansion is pretty well unconstitutional! Let that sink in.

Audio – Meanwhile, I had a great listen to a Joe Rogan Experience podcast on my walks this week. A whole world of subjects was discussed between Rogan and Sex Neuroscientist Dr. Deborah Soh. Many of the subjects that find me shaking my head in disbelief were explored. From Politics having ruined Academia to debunking Gender Science Spectrum denial.
On audio it’s Podcast number 2082. Here is a short video intro on the current state of Academia:

Did I see plumes of White Smoke waft from:

The Texas flag waving in the wind.

A. The Texas Governor’s office telling his Guard to continue protecting the Texas border.
B. over the two largest, filled, event halls in Edmonton and Calgary to hear Tucker Carlson who told the crowd he was going to rescue them from Trudeau. (watch full speech here)
C. Our capitol building where the Ohio Legislature told our Governor that they were the people’s representatives and that the unborn also had full access to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
D. From the office of Arizona Senatorial candidate Keri Lake who told the Republican Party head that even for a Billion $$ she couldn’t be bought – he was forced to resign.
E. And from the halls of a University where I learned that, according to the DNA of the coffee I drink, it all comes from one or the other of two species, ‘Coffea Canaphora’ or ‘Caffea Arabica’, and am delighted with both.

Looking back, it was a very good week.

Aging — Last week’s Ramblings mentioned aging as ‘traversing a path’. Next Saturday I’ll try and post early since I’ll ‘traverse a path’ by participating in a 5K with a route running alongside the Ohio river and around the Bengals and Reds stadiums. This winter’s event, the “Cincinnati Cyclones Frozen 5/10K” will benefit youth hockey and will be the fifth time I join in.

A new book – signed by the author, Peter Bronson, no less. I am just starting his latest read; The Man Who Saved Cincinnati. Laying the book’s foundation, he presents a few facts which I had not heard before, and which blew me away.

The importance of this city during the Civil War (1862) cannot be underestimated for two reasons. First, we were positioned with one foot in the North and the other in the South (even though Ohio was and stayed a Northern State).

Secondly is this series of factoids which made having control of Cincinnati critical to the war effort since at that time we were the 6th largest city in the nation. We were: 4 times bigger than San Francisco and twice as big as Chicago, five times bigger than Detroit, Pittsburgh, or Cleveland. Also realize that Indianapolis, Columbus, and Atlanta were mere towns of fewer than 10,000. Even the small city of Covington across the river (and thus in the South) was larger than Toledo or Sacramento.

Control of ‘Zincinnati’ was critically important since we had Medical facilities, a major river route port, manufacturing – including ammunition, clothing, tobacco, meat processing, food stuffs, rail, beer. This area had everything required to fight a war – successfully. And it was all fully operational, including a well-established Underground Railway route providing escape to slaves. Anyway, it’s going to be a great read.

Question? On walks I continue to see yard signs displaying an array of, basically meaningless, feel good progressive, slogans. One that jumps out is the “Trust the Science“.  Reality dictates that Science is meant to be questioned. The Covid (especially the mRNA) jabs are quickly becoming an issue (click on link). But it goes on and on. Remember thalidomide? While in school I worked in a psychiatric facility and assisted patients who had been the recipients of a pre-frontal Lobotomy.  Bottom line — never stop questioning!

Mid-week Cathy enjoyed adding another year to her lengthening list. Happy Birthday Cathy.

And, TODAY, it’s Kirstin’s birthday. While she is seeing U2 in Vegas I hope they sing her; HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

PS. Our local Dairy Queen spring re-opening is in 34 days!
Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
Which is the official state dish of Texas?

1) Chicken Fried Steak
2) Chili
3) Barbeque
4) Pecan Pie
5) Texas Gulf shrimp
6) Sopaipilla and Strudel

The Cold Continues

Morning all! It’s oh-so difficult for me these days; the Polar Vortex to be more specific. To be told I cannot continue heading out and practicing my favorite pastime, talk. Staying indoors and quietly sip my coffee – at the same time drive Marcia nuts with chatter. It’s absolute misery:

“Americans told ‘not to breathe deeply or talk’ outside as ‘deadly’ polar vortex causes temperatures to plummet.”

Cherokee – for over 60 years a 42’ sign has been visible advertising a used car dealership. It all began by the son, Walter Schott, setting up a remote lot to sell trade ins from his dad’s Cincinnati based Pontiac dealership. The logo of the era was a formal, stylized image of Chief Pontiac. The sign though was of a huge Cherokee Indian, with flashing eyes and a welcoming waving arm.

Walter Sr’s son Charles Schott was married to Marge, Marge Schott, the volatile owner of the MLB Cincinnati Reds Baseball team who loved “her boys”, a chain smoker and absolutely no whiskers on chins allowed. Yes, that Marge.

As college aged kids, brother George had spotted a used Ford with some massive V8 (I think it was an old police car) on that very lot. I was dragged along, ostensibly to tell George ‘What a deal this clunker was’. Instead, I talked him out of it. This was all at this very same ‘Cherokee’ motors and happened under that Indian’s waving arm (the arm’s motor was then still working) and standing next to a Brylcreem slathered salesguy.

The years have passed. The sign still stands and is the ‘linchpin’ for the Paddock Hills/Carthage area. In fact, any sane Cincinnatian will, when asked about the big sign, answer without blinking and eye; “Where Paddock meets Vine, at the Big Indian Sign”.

But now, a handful of activists have begun the push to have the sign taken down. This even though a vast majority of the native population don’t give a diddly-doo. What these activists apparently don’t realize is that as soon as the sign comes down it’ll find a new home at the American Sign Museum.

Guess where the American Sign Museum is located? I think you’d be correct if you said, “Monmouth St. in Cincinnati.” Playing with an old catchphrase to now say; “Old Cherokee Indian Signs never die………”

Obstreperous — One owner in our building has a small dog that, when left alone, will bark on and on at anything; this could be a passing dog walker outside, or any slight noise in the hallway. In any case, Marcia especially takes note.

I’ve been tempted to slide a little note under the door advising just how obstreperous the dog is. I finally opted to not do it because no one would understand what “obstreperous” means. There you go, your word of the Day; Obstreperous.

Quote for the Ages; “How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, you shall reap what you sow… How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. from his march on Selma “Our God is Marching On” speech – Selma, Alabama, March 25, 1965

Persia vs Iowa – This week, during the ‘snow-bomb’ of the century, Iowa held its ritualistic, first in the nation and absurdly dull CAUCUS.

People representing Trump talked beauty of a proper combover, Haley’s mouthpiece glowed about stylish pumps and cute accents, DeSantis’ stand-in proceeded to draw the outline the State of Florida. For Ramaswamy the assigned speaker wore an inside out sheep hide emulating Cincinnati’s entry in his preferred coat.

Still, it was DULL, no ifs or buts about, it had no spunk!

Especially when compared to the decision-making process perfected by the ancient Persians.
As the Greek historian Herodotus, who lived during the time period (550 to 330 BCE), wrote on the Greco-Persian conflicts; “It is their custom to deliberate about the gravest matters when they are drunk…..If, being sober, they still approve it, they act on it, but if not, they drop it. And if they have deliberated about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk.”

Persians apparently loved their wine and drank heartily. And, most importantly, knew how to conduct meetings to a winning conclusion. Are you listening Iowa?

Aging — A bit ago Marcia crossed one of those defining Birthdays. In a few weeks I’ll settle even more comfortably in that same age bracket. And my mental makeup is such that I actually enjoy both the new opportunities and the challenges presented as I traverse this path.

Always exploring, I spend a small bit of time now and then searching how to make maturing the positive part of living that it can and should be. The attached is one of those found ‘jewels’:

A Swan Song – from The Netherlands and via my cousin Karin. This recording goes back a few years and was recorded by Ramses Shaffy at the urging of his favorite collaborator and duet-singer; Liesbeth List. The aging Ramses was nearing a final battle with esophageal cancer – he lived 1933/2009. She and friends began with his song ‘Laat Me’ (Let me be)

It didn’t take long and Ramses found himself behind the microphone and the music took over, ‘Liesbeth’, the other singers, and Ramses. Funny how music can do that.

“Laat me” (English translation) Composed by Ramses Shaffy

Maybe I was born too late
Or in a different country with different light
I always feel somewhat lost
Although the mirror shows my face

I know the pubs, the cathedrals
From Amsterdam to Maastricht
Nevertheless I will get lost every day
That will keep everything well-balanced

Don’t mind me
Don’t mind me
Just let me do what I do
Don’t mind me
Don’t mind me
I’ve always done this this way

I won’t forget my friends
Who I love will be loved by me
And where they live is something I should know
But I lost their last letter

There will absolutely come a time I will meet them
Maybe today, maybe in a year
A would kiss and greet them
Everything will be alright

Luckily I haven’t been anchored
Sometimes I live here, sometimes I live over there
I haven’t screwed up my life
I don’t own anything and won’t disagree

I love the water and the earth
I love cheap and expensive
Never saved up a penny
I just live hour by hour

There will be a time I would die
I can’t change that
I would keep my songs wandering
Furthermore you can find it out yourself

Provisionally I will keep kissing you
Your black sheep, your dearest fan
I would love to stay and preferably any longer
And just let me be who I am

Don’t mind me
I always did it this way

Composer: Ramses Shaffy. From When I Look In Your Eyes, released November 11, 2020

Dolly – yesterday was Dolly Parton’s birthday (born in 1946). Happy Birthday Dolly! But that is not what this is about. Just ‘jawing’ around it was Earl Pitts who segued, somehow, from Dolly to self-driving cars. Here, have a listen to see how masterfully our neighborhood’s gadfly masters the transition:

The WEF at Davos — As the old saw goes; “the future belongs to those who show up”. I do believe that those climate (death cult) aficionados who flew into Davos for the WEF meetings this week, and traveled in their private jets, believe this to be true.

May Peace prevail! Shalom

PS. Our local Dairy Queen re-opens in 41 days!
Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
The history of swimwear is a history of not only sports and fun, but also modesty and fashion. Here are some known new introductions and trend starters.

This is to pay homage to Sports Illustrated whose entire staff were told yesterday that they are getting laid off.

Out of these five – which one is incorrect

In 1920 Janzen Knitting Mills introduced the first iconic woolen one-piece bathing suit.
In 1937 New Jersey was the first State to legalize men swimming “bareback” (topless).
The two-piece Swimsuit Dates Back to Ancient Rome.
The string bikini was invented in 1946 by a French auto engineer.
At the start of the 20th Century women wore bathing corsets designed for swimming

Heavenly

Morning all! Well, well, another se’nnight’s gone by and here we are again. The gift-giving frenzy is over and all sorts of tax hype is being mailed fast and furiously. I might actually say it’s arriving with ‘turbo’’ speed.

This week, and with full apologies, things are somewhat in a ‘hack’, a ‘sniff’, and a ‘blow’. All due to the blanket of a mental fog reigning over ‘Moi’ here in the ‘Nati. I’ve been fighting a sad case of the common cold.

No need to panic, I’m over the ‘hump’ and well on the road to recovery – I’ve even traded in my stock of Acetaminophen. Thursday with temps in the mid-40s I managed a 6.78-mile hike. As an aside, on my walk I listened to Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Podcast interview on Spotify. #412 True Stories From a Soviet Spy | Jack Barsky. Stunningly fascinating and I heartily recommend it.

For a week’s first, my morning coffee tastes like the perfect elixir of old.

Probably due to a few sips of coffee the fog lifted, and I had a thought. Back in the 1950s the days of my youth (AKA ‘The Days of Yore’) times were different. During that time Guy Lombardo, Tony Benet and Elvis were playing on cabinet sized radios. Ed Sullivan and Hopalong Cassidy were seen on tiny bread box sized screens – Sylvania with the HaloLight was the best.

Now we’re in a new year and in the early part of a new century and all this 1950s technology has morphed into one handheld item – reduced to a mere 6.5 inches diagonal and no HaloLight. But it’s in living color.

We’ve come a long way baby!

As soon as I finish posting I’ll look for my mobile, it must be laying around here someplace.

Which way goeth the Arrow? — Behind this week’s closed-door meetings of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic led by neighboring Congressman Brad Wenstrup, MD, Dr. Fauci admitted that the six-foot social distancing recommendation “was likely not based on any data.”

In response to the YouTube below, and written by some wag on-line, I read; “He was “very, very, very” but not “totally” strongly”.

From the beginning, whenever I was advised that I should be doing such and such to fend off the spread of the Wuhan Flu I would always reply that I was following Fauci’s recommendations. Saying so with confidence, since they seemed to always change or be pulled from thin air. I remember doing so wandering a store aisle going anti-arrow. Remember the masking creep?

I know I may have sounded curmudgeonly, but hey; I WAS CORRECT!

Quote of the Decade; “There’s a distinct anti-science flavor to this.” ~ Anthony (I am the Science.) Fauci

Jazz – is a go-to music style I appreciate. This week I read on Axios where the Gen Z crowd is forgoing the electronic ‘beats’ and fueling a jazz comeback. It seems that every new generation has a ‘new’ something that either dumps or skewers something from the previous generation; no beard – beard, skinny pants—bell-bottoms, tie—poncho, bra—no bra, and the list goes on (I can weather all of these ‘storms’, except for the horrid ‘saggy pants’ phenomena still seen in our urban centers).

Just a little news snipped that brought a smile to my face.

The Heaven’s — and I’m not referring to Bob Dylan’s great Bourbon; “Heaven’s Door”. Actually, his Bourbon is a Tennessee whisky, and I am posting about our neighboring city of Lexington, KY.

Turns out that Lexington has an ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking Convention and Visitors Bureau; VisitLEX, assembling some thinkers and knowers, they planned a welcoming tourist ‘flyer’. Then took it one step further: 40 lightyears further.

The government’s recent UFO discussions and Deep Space imaging with the Hubble and James Webb telescopes pointed their thinking to extra-terrestrials and how they’d appreciate Lexington’s Horse Park. Turns out the nearest area possibly capable of life is the TRAPPIST-1 solar system 40 light years away.

A carefully assembled invitation, using a team of experts, was developed. “Contents of the message range from photos of Lexington to an audio recording from legendary blues musician Tee Dee Young, to a coded bitmap image containing clues to the origin and intent of the transmission.”

The FAA gave its blessing and a special Laser beam set up. Linguistics expert Dr. Andrew Byrd stated: “The bitmap image is the key to it all. We included imagery representing the elements of life, our iconic Lexington rolling hills, and the molecular structure for water, bourbon, and even dopamine…because Lexington is fun!”

A first – serious note for the New Year. Our BMV notified me that my Driver’s License will expire next month. Luckily my eye/retina disaster from exactly a year ago has healed exceptionally well – lingering depth perception being about the only bit of a hiccup. So, it shouldn’t be an issue to renew.

But then, looking into the future, is the issue of age. Our licenses here are good for 4 years. It was Marcia to the rescue, she said that I could get one for 8 years. Eight years, it’s my new goal for the New Year along with a few more 5Ks.

May Peace prevail! Shalom. Happy first true winter weather of 2024,

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
The National FOP reports that 378 officers were shot in 2023, sadly the highest number since they started tracking the data. Details of the FOP report – which one of these four is incorrect?

60% increase in officers shot since 2018.
Congress passed HR 743—Protect and Serve Act of 2023.
115 ambush attacks that resulted in 138 officers shot.
46 officers murdered by gunfire.

Sots on TV

Morning all! Thanks for spending a handful of your valuable minutes out of the 1,440 you’ll have available today – it’s appreciated.

Now I’ll take a few of my valuable minutes to pour and enjoy my morning mug of Java.

My ‘header’ this week pays homage to CNN’s New Year’ eve fete with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen doing shots (it’s become such a lovely, boozy, tradition).

In and out (not the CA fast food joints) — we had 14 people in and around our place for the whole past week and part of this one. Luckily some of the time was also at Adrianne & Tevita’s, and Jason & Cathy’s. This all made for a grand time and way too little sleep (not in small part due to too few hours of actual sleep). The best part was watching the cousins interact, laugh, chat, and picking up as if they’d seen one another mere hours ago.

Alongside all the table games, we did complete a 550-piece jig-saw puzzle – 3D of Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Kirstin was the master managing the border. Derek was the master orchestrating the middle portions.

The Party — There comes a time, as Clark Gable so famously blurted out; “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” (Gone with the Wind, 1939) when we all become so free as to just blurt things out. Maturing can do that. I did it when I punched through the Four-Score marker. This past week Marcia broke through her number 80. And we all had a blast watching her having a great time enjoying the moment.

With New Year barely in the rear-view mirror her whole weekend event became one grand party. Dinner was held at her favorite grub joint, Gordo’s Pub and Grill – a place, as was sung on Cheers; “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” It couldn’t have been a better time. And, having every one of the kids and grandkids present doubled the joy and the celebration.

Wink, Wink, Woke, Woke – More and more we read, watch, and see Corporate America go off the deep woke end. Just look at the likes of Disney, Bush Beer, and Target, plus a myriad of other companies – private and public.

Then the government Bureaucracies, State governments, and City Councils got involved. Whoops, don’t forget about education and even the Colleges and Universities (please also include libraries and their colorful tiny-tots trans reading parties) joined in the happy fray of absolute intolerance. I don’t want to begin starting a ‘chapter-book’ of lists of all this nonsense.

Just let it be said that almost everywhere no grant request will even be looked at unless proper genuflection is made to each and every ‘special’ group. All this takes precedence over a minor detail such as QUALIFICATION.

Who would you sooner have close by, someone who breaks out in tears when not referred to by their preferred pronoun of ‘Zirk’, ‘Bzzz” or whatever, or someone like Admiral Jeremiah Denton Jr.? He was taken from his prison cage and interviewed for the world media by the North Vietnamese. Here is what he did, he “blinked his eyes in Morse code during the interview, spelling out the word “T-O-R-T-U-R-E”. He was also questioned about his support for the U.S. war effort in Vietnam, to which he replied: “I don’t know what is happening, but whatever the position of my government is, I support it fully.” (Wikipedia).

Best morning coffee – On a cold winter’s morning with some hearty coffee, three or so hot Poffertjes purchased at Trader Joe’s. Then lightly sprinkled with a little powdered sugar, Marcia’s recommendation!

Marcia noticed it first – I quickly picked up on her thinking. She noticed that I had gone completely bonkers at Trader Joe’s. Whatever could be labeled as ‘appetizer’ or ‘desert’ or ‘snack’ ended up in one of their cute little shopping carts. While I was so preoccupied, Kirstin was likewise hard at work, only she was in the flower department.

All of this is in and by itself not much of a problem, with a couple of exceptions. First, with vase after vase of fresh flowers and just the two of us, does the mental image of Funeral Parlor paint the right picture? Next, all our guests have departed, we’re mostly out of food, but we have a ton of “‘appetizer’ or ‘desert’ or ‘snack’” to keep us fed.

Anyone for a ‘Poffertje’?

While we’re all still feeling so good – about all the joy of leaving 2023 behind and starting fresh with 2024, there is a bit of news that leaked out. Watchdogs reported that last year the Feds made $236 billion in “improper payments.” Remember, this massive Waste will quickly catch up in 2024 – just a thought.

Now, one more coffee with ‘Poffertjes’ while I sit by the window to watch the much hyped first major snow storm of the winter. 1½“of what will quickly turn to slush; but we’re all forewarned and the ‘Nati is fully prepped — possibly the town is filled with conspiratorial ‘preppers’.

May Peace prevail! Shalom. Happy New Year, Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
The National FOP reports that 378 officers were shot in 2023, sadly the highest number since they started tracking the data. Details of the FOP report – which one of these four is incorrect?

1. 60% increase in officers shot since 2018.
2. Congress passed HR 743—Protect and Serve Act of 2023.
3. 115 ambush attacks that resulted in 138 officers shot.
4. 46 officers murdered by gunfire.