President Bush Loves to Read

To all you folks who think President Bush is stupid: Bush has read 186 books that last 3 years. Read all about it HERE. I wonder how many of us have enriched our minds by reading that many books. I know I have not read that much! Bush also reads the Bible cover-to-cover in a year along with a Daily Devotional. This is challenging to me...I need to read a lot more in 2009. If I were going to make a New Year's resolution that would likely be it.

Hope you are enjoying a Christmas break. I know I am.

Your pal,

Barry

XMastime is Here!

We had a Christmas present exchange (Dirty Santa-style) at the Bluegrass Cellular annual Doe Run Inn Christmas Lunch. We were supposed to purchase a joke gift. I wanted to offer a joke gift that could actually be used, and Lyndy had the great idea to buy a GIGANTIC universal remote. Gigantic being like 1 and 1/2 ft. long. Great idea: practical yet still in the "gag" realm. We did not have any fancy/schmancy wrapping paper so I tricked it out w/some Dirty Santa-esque Christmas art:





























Hope you are enjoying the season. So far I am mellowing out nicely.

Your pal,
Barry

We Have Lost Our Collective Minds

Last night I was driving home listening to NMLPR (National Muchly Liberal Public Radio). I heard of all the wonderful new spending projects that Pres-Elect Obama is going to put into motion the second he can. New roads!! New bridges! Electronic Medical Records! Shovel-ready projects that will put millions of people to work and inject much needed $$$ into the economy. No one mentions who is going to pay for all of these projects (aren't journalists s'posed to look at an issue in-depth?). 1/2 trillion dollars in new government spending (at least) on top of the 700 billion for the bailout. And not a peep about how to pay for it all. The not-so-secret deal is we are ALL going to pay for it in additional taxes. And our kids and grandkids are going to pay for it in future generations of debt.

They I heard that the city of Chicago has privatized their parking meters in a deal that will net the city a crazy amount of money to help their budget. Billions of dollars. Parking meters will immediately cost 4 times more-rising from $0.25 to $1 immediately. The catch? The city fathers had to sign a 75(!) year contract with the company that leased the meters. 75 years for a contract is INSANE.

We have lost our collective minds.

Have you noticed in this economic tsunami that NO ONE mentions sacrifice? We don't want to give up a thing in our cushy, cozy, comfortable way of life. And we certainly don't want our leaders to request this of us (God forbid, it's not the American way). We are spending ourselves into blissful oblivion. On a national and personal level, we love our stuff, and we going to pump our fists in the air, beat our breasts, and make sure that we get our "fair share." There will be no sacrifice required by our government to get the economy rolling again so we can feed the vast consumer machine.

Actually, there are some good signs. There are people out there preaching common sense (Dave Ramsey, etc.) about personal finance and living in your means and the amazing concept that you should not buy anything unless you have the $$$ for it. As a nation we are actually consuming less gas and spending less. And if we are honest many of us could afford to skip the extra Big Mac and shed a few pounds. It seems maybe some folks have figured out how to cut back and sacrifice a little after all. Despite the message sent out by members of the government: "we are going to take care of you, just let us spend more."

Your pal,
Barry

The Accidental Playlist, Part 2

Sunday evening iPod shuffle while reading and preparing red beans & rice:

Alice Cooper - It's Me
The Beatles - Ohh! My Arms
Resurrection Band - Sacrifice of Love
Styx - I'm Okay
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. - Sandman
Matt Redman - Blessed Be Your Name
Relient K - The Thief
Warren DeMartini (Covering Jeff Beck) - New Ways Train Train
Henry Cow - Slap Happy
Tourniquet - Sola Christus
Cheap Trick - Voices
Journey - Send Her My Love
David Bowie - John, I'm Only Dancing
The Beatles - Baby You're a Rich Man
Sweet Comfort Band - Habit of Hate
Galactic Cowboys - Circles in the Fields
Chris Tomlin - Let God Arise
The Remains - Don't Look Back
Passion - You Are My King
John Davis - I Need Someone

Yuletide Zeppelin

Check out this Yultide mash-up: Led Zeppelin vs. Christmas Carols. Who will survive?