Are you pissed off yet?

Are you pissed off yet? If not, you should be!

You shouldn't be pissed off at this picture, nor me for creating it. You should be pissed off that We The People have allowed this country to become what it is. We, the citizens of these United States of America, have allowed it to become a tyranny in democratic clothing.

Sure, you can sit back and complain. Lord knows we all do. The reality is, WE allowed this to happen. We kept 'electing' one crooked politician after another. We've allowed them to live a life of luxury while destroying our home. Hell, even the richest 1% are gobsmacked at how blindly stupid we are.

The Tea Party are the cowards who wave flags and hide at home, often times while living on their much detested "gubment money". I'm personally AMAZED at how many people I know who, while living on welfare,disability, etc., sit back and complain about all that they are given. Most of them probably don't vote. If they did, there wouldn't be a Democrat in any office outside of the White House right now. We can be thankful that most of them are too lazy - too willing to let the other guy shoulder the burden; something they're used to.

Now before you start whining at me about this, look at reality. Yes, there are some Tea Party members who want the best for this country. Unfortunately, most are racist sycophants who parrot phrases, slogans and bumper stickers. If you want to see what these people look like when they're at home, go to the People of Wal Mart site.

Then there's the other extreme. The Occupiers. I like what I think they're about...although no one really knows for sure! I've talked to a lot of these folks...and sadly, none can give me a straight answer. The bottom line is, they're pissed off at what America has become. OK, I'm with them on that! But how can they really be against corporate America when they're all carrying iPhones???? Kids, grab some quarters and use a pay phone. Go to the library and use the computer. I think you'll give yourself more cred that way.

Then there's every one else! Mostly sitting around waiting for the next big headline so we can weigh in our opinions at the water cooler or local tavern. Guess what folks...we're ALL being screwed! If you don't believe me, take a good look around. Talk to your friends and neighbors. How many are worse off now than they were 10, 15, 20 years ago?

I've been pushing for universal healthcare for over 25 years. I've been called every name in the book for it too. Why? Because America has been lied to for so long that we believe the lies. One of my favorite lies about universal healthcare is 'the waiting lists'. Well gosh, if we need to see a doctor, we'll have to wait and wait!

Well here are two true stories for you. I know these to be true because I WAS THERE! A few years back, while in Australia, a friend's daughter felt she needed to be seen by her doctor. Honestly, I thought she was healthy as a horse (and was/is) but she had it in her teenage head that she had to go and no one was going to stop her. She made an appointment for the VERY NEXT DAY! Saw her doc, got his diagnosis and went on her merry way. I think the whole thing may have cost her $5.

A few weeks back, I found out that I'm losing my job at the end of the year. Luckily, our company is helping us look for jobs and are already helping out with unemployment paperwork if needed. As I'll be losing my job, this also means losing my health benefits, so I'm trying to get in to see all of my doctors before then, just to be on the safe side. Well guess what kids...I have to wait no less than 2 weeks to see ANY of my doctors. And thats with good old American health insurance.

I've been off with the flu for the past few days, so I'll probably have to go to Med Express or one of those quack shacks to get a doctor's excuse to start back to work. What a joke. But remember kids...universal healthcare is bad...mmmmmmkay. (yes, I'm being sarcastic)

How many of us are happy to be controlled by corporations that would rather send jobs overseas than employ Americans? How many of us are happy that the idiots we elect to speak for us, don't...and then vote themselves pay raise after pay raise...and then can draw a pension for failing to do their jobs?

Are YOU happy with 21st century America as it is right now? Really? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I probably won't though. You might miss your favorite reality TV show. Or maybe your too drunk, pissing away your SSI check. Or maybe, just maybe, you really don't give a damn. If that's the case, shame on you!

Raggy Dogs

I have an online buddy down in Mississippi we call Uncle Raggy. He's a minister by trade but also one heckuva musician. As it turns out, the man knows his way around the kitchen too. He and I often get to talking about food and different things we like to make.

Well, one of Raggy's faves is his take on hot dogs. Yep. Weenies. Tube steaks. Franks. Red hots. Whatever you want to call them.

Now you're probably wondering just how the hell can anyone do anything particularly special with hot dogs. You either boil them, grill them, fry them or nuke them, right? But have you ever thought about a marinated hot dog? I'll admit, it sounded odd to me too...but knowing a thing or three about cooking, his recipe sounded interesting, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Raggy has a video on YouTube about how to make these hot dogs and man, it's funny! That's how he and I became buds...he's a funny, funny man. But watching the video, I really thought these looked interesting, so I showed it to the young'un. She usually doesn't cook but even she thought this looked interesting, so we decided to give it a try.

Let me tell you, these are the BEST FRIGGIN' HOT DOGS YOU WILL EVER EAT!!!!!!!!!! The two of us wiped out an entire pack (8 hot dogs, 4 each) in one sitting! They're really THAT GOOD!!!!!!

OK, I didn't follow Raggy's recipe to the letter but it was close enough. Like Raggy says, "If you don't like it, don't put it in". In my case, I didn't have some of the ingrediants, so I improvised. This is what the end result looked like:



Mind the photo...took it with my cell phone. But seriously, these are outrageously good!If you want to make them, here's what you'll need:

salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
honey
molasses
cayenne pepper
chili powder
sage
mustard powder
poultry seasoning
basil
paprika
hot dogs
buns
olive oil
butter

You mix your dry ingrediants together 1st. Add as much or as little as you like. I've attached Raggy's video at the end of this so you can get his "official" recipe. Once you have your dry ingrediants mixed, add in a 1/4 cup or so of both molasses and honey. Trust me, the hot & spicy ingrediants mix in a beautiful contrast with the sweetness of the honey and molasses. Who knew?

Next, using a fork, score the sides of your hot dogs. This will allow the seasoning/marinade to adhere to the weenies. This is KEY!

Then you coat your skillet with olive oil, let it get good and hot and brown the hell out of those weenies! Once they're good and browned and slightly crispy, remove and drain. A bowl covered in paper towel will work. Drain the oil from you skillet, clean it and then melt a glob of butter in there.

Place your hot dogs in the melted butter and coat evenly by rolling them around in it. Then add the marinade. Make sure you coat each dog thoroughly and as evenly as possible. Raise your heat to about 350F and let the marinade and seasonings sear into the dogs. This will only take a minute or two. Then remove from skillet, onto some fresh paper towels (just long enough to sop out any extra grease there may be) and then commence to putting these dogs on a bun!



I'd highly suggest holding off on adding condiments until AFTER you've tried it. The young'un and I both thought these were just perfect plain...and we always have some top notch mustard around for hot dogs. It just sat in the fridge. These were amazing! The young'un damned near knocked me over getting back to the kitchen for a 2nd one!

I'd like to thank my buddy Raggy for introducing me to this CHEAP culinary delight. In this day and age, with the price of everything going through the roof, its nice to find something cheap and easy to make that tastes AMAZING!

And just so you know, these weenies taste just as good burping them up as they do going down!

As promised, here's Raggy's original video. If you like it, tell him Memphis Mike sent ya. If you try this recipe, and you like it, be sure to drop Raggy a line and let him know. I'm pretty sure you'll love these!



Until next time, Bon Appetit!

M

Thanksgivus

OK, so I'm a couple weeks early...sue me! LOL This is the 6th year I've posted this and since people still seem to like it and ask for it, here it is! Be thankful for all of the people in your world!

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!!!! 6th YEAR!!!!!!

Thanksgivus

Thanksgivus: that's what she called it. The 'she' in question would be a very short, loud, middle aged black woman with retardation who I supervised for years. Her name is Omega...fitting because she truly is THE END!

Omega didn't exactly have a speech problem but I think her hearing wasn't 100% on the mark, as certain words would get slurred together such as "Thanksgivus". Another fave was her version of Social Security, which often sounded more like "sociable secretary" (of which I've known a few).

Thanksgivus (which is what I now prefer to call the US holiday Thanksgiving) is the last Thursday of November (this is for my overseas friends who may not be fully knowledgeable of the subject). It is the holiday where we Americans give Thanks to God for giving us BIG tasty birds, punkin pie & cranberry sauce...all courtesy of a tribe that we soon took great pains to wipe out. In short, when those Pilgrims (essentially English religious nuts) 1st landed at Plymouth Rock, they didn't have a CLUE what they were doing or what they were in for!

After that 1st winter (what do you mean "No Central Heating"???), most of the Pilgrims had died off. A few hearty ones remained (probably by eating the others...but that story seems to have vanished in the annals of history) and it was looking bleak for them, as they didn't know SQUAT about farming North American soil. Luckily, the Indians (bite me, I will NOT be PC) took pity on them, showed them what to do and the Pilgrims survived. They did sooo well, in fact, they had a big feast and invited the Indians. When the Indians showed up, they realized that white folks are either really bad at planning feasts or are just stingy, so they sent some braves to go kill a half dozen or so deer....gotta make sure ya don't leave the table unless yer ready to burst....STILL an American Thanksgivus tradition. NOWHERE on the menu was green bean casserole....PLEASE make note of that! (the Americans reading this will get the humor)

Finally, sometime in the 19th century, after decades of confusion as to what this "New England" holiday was and when it was supposed to be observed, some mad woman wrote everyone in the colonies suggesting the last Thursday in November...just in time to mark the start of Xmas shopping season!

Now, contrary to what some of my English colleagues have been lead to believe, Thanksgivus is NOT the American Xmas. Trust me, NO ONE on this planet overdoes Xmas like the Americans! Here it is, the Sunday BEFORE Thanksgivus and I'm looking out my front door at my neighbor's Xmas lights! 1 month 5 days before we celebrate the Man's b-day (even though we have the date wrong)...1 month 5 days of looking at those damned lights! Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays as much if not more than most people...but I like things to be done for the right reasons...not just to be the 1st, best or brashest.

For the holidays, I wish you all peace, happiness and a full belly. May your homes be filled with laughter (and not just the canned version coming from your TV). May your pockets never be empty, maybe your fridge always be full (with at least 1 6pack of decent beer...in case I should stop by lol) and may your troubles be few & far between.

In fact, I don't just wish you these things for the holidays...I wish them for you all EVERYDAY.

I'm having a few friends over (as usual) this year for Thanksgivus. It might not be the fanciest dinner but I hope to guarantee all a good meal, a full belly and someplace to sit and digest and enjoy some good company after (and before...as long as they stay OUTTA MY WAY in the kitchen...Chris...take note).

We will revel in the death of a turkey. We shall take delight in the taters, which will be mashed. The rolls will hopefully not be slightly burned on the bottoms...but if they are, that's what butter, gravy & butter knives are for! The veggies will be plentiful and not overcooked. The pie will be chocolate cream...NOT PUNKIN! (my tradition...not yours, OK? ) And yes Virginia...there will most likely be cranberries of some sort...JUST NO DAMNED GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE...PLEASE!

Facebook or Malachai?

Dear Facebook,

I see that you've added yet another wonderful feature (the sort option). Oh joy. Yes, I'm being facetious. Actually, the sort option is nice but...always a but...be careful. Your continual adding of unwanted features and your incessant need for change can and most likely cost you in the long run. You're not the first social networking site and you won't be the last. Remember MySpace?

Once upon a time, MySpace was IT! Everyone had a MySpace page. People were hooked! They could interact with their friends, post their status, share pictures and videos with their friends (real or imagined), post "bulletins", etc. One can still do all of that on MySpace...but really, who goes there these days?

Myspace essentially shot itself in the foot. It kept adding, changing, getting slower, more and more hackers hopped on board, and its finally to the point where when I try to check in on my band's page, MySpace tells me I need to upgrade to a different browser to "enjoy" my MySpace experience. That's kind of like telling me I can only check my voicemail from the latest I-Phone.

MySpace has become the Children of the Corn of social networking sites. Its become a veritable ghost town, inhabited only by creepy children who think they're in charge. Little do they know...they're being controlled by the media devils.

So dear Facebooger...do you want faithful happy users...or do you want this?



The choice is yours....


MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life's midsized ups and downs...

I worked Halloween night and have to say, it was a blast. I had another indoor office cookout for my clients (I work in the mental health field for those that don't know) and we all had a blast! Hot dogs on the Foreman grill, chips, pop and of course, tons of Halloween candy! And I did it all on a budget! Gotta love the dollar store! LOL Speaking of which, I picked up the most awesome deli style mustard at the dollar store. Nice and spicy...I can't wait to try it on leftover ham on marble rye! (I guess this means I will have to cook a ham at some point). For you mustard lovers out there, the brand is Koop's (deli style). I highly recommend it!

After working a 10 hour night shift, we had a mandatory staff meeting in the morning. I personally hate these because they tend to be USELESS. Client updates...I'm of the mind that if one is paying attention at work AND reading progress notes, all if this is already known. Everyone usually bickers and banters and whines and whinges. Not what I need to deal with after already working for 10 hours.

This meeting started out the same as usual...but then we got the bomb dropped on us. Effective Decemeber 31, 2011 our program is being shut down. Reason: major funding cuts. And I mean MAJOR! Factor in poor management on my boss' part and we've lost whatever foothold we had. In 24 years in this field, I have never worked in a program that has been SHUT DOWN! This is a professional embarassment to me...but it also says a lot about our current economy.

As if this wasn't bad enough, my car died on the way to work last night. I had just left the house and the car seemed fine. Then all of a sudden, like a scene from a sci fi flick, the car just went dead. Engine quit (quietly...no choking or sputtering), lights went out, radio, everything. I coasted to the curb and tried to see if it would start but...ZILCH. NADA. Not even a click. Probably one of those damned pain in the butt sensors that the auto industry puts in just to make the average joe (or josephine) have to spend money. Gotta boost the economy somehow! LOL
So a I walked to the store, called a cab and got to work 30 minutes late (a 1st for me!).

While all may sound glum, I'm choosing to be positive about this. I was planning on going back to school in January anyway, so this will actually make it easier for me. Working nights and going to school full time was going to be a strain...so this should work out nicely. Plus, I get to take all of my accrued paid time off with me, so I'll be leaving with an extra couple of grand. And I'll have time (hopefully) to go back to playing music again! I'm not thrilled about having to rely on it for a living but I've done it before, so what the heck.

Also, an old friend and former co-worker just hipped me on to an agency she's been working at part-time. (Thanks Michele!) I was looking at their web site and it looks right up my alley. And the bulk of the shifts are 3-11, so that will fit in nicely with my schooling!

All I have to do now is wait to see how much the car repair is going to set me back. I love my Olds...really. But I may have to accept the fact that it may be time to get a new(er) car. The Olds has been good to me. I've driven that car all over the eastern half of the US and it really has never given me much trouble. But in the past few months it's needed a freeze plug replaced, a new radiator, and now this. It may be time. But...we'll see. I've already talked to a dealership and they're willing to get me financing (even with my dubious credit history! LOL $80k hospital bill be damned!)

See! Even at the worst, one can find something to be positive about! Worst case scenario, I go on unemployment. I've never had an unemployment check in my life and I've been working since I was 14. I may be OK with sitting on my ass (doing homework lol) and getting paid for it.

The holidays are coming up...so lets all be good to ourselves!

Roger. Wilco. Over & out! End of transmission.....