It’s No-Love-Thursday:

Thought for the Day:
Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows.
David T. Wolf


I would like to take a moment and get into the Christmas sprit, ok who am I kidding, I meant sprits. This will be my last post for sometime, since I will be either on the road to the Great Sate of South Carolina, or passed out on the beach, with my belly full of fine food and drink. That and I plan to work toward inseminating my loving bride. To this end, I wish you the very best, this holiday.

One of many reasons I am going to Hell:
Every year, I go and spend time with family on Christmas Eve, then at around 9:00 we drive back here to River City, and stop at the Rugby Bar. Yes, the bar on Christmas Eve.

While there, we drink and eat pizza. As is the custom, they turn the TV to Midnight Mass. We sit there drink in hand and watch the Bishop do that voodoo that he do, when they start Communion, we make a mad dash for the door, drive downtown, dbl park and run in and take Communion, wave at the TV cameras (much to the entertainment of those who we leave behind at the bar) on our way out and are back at the Rugby Bar before our drinks are warm.

Your Mail-Order Brides for the Holidays:
http://www.eastwestmatch.com/search.cfm?from=email&nick=Natasha
http://www.eastwestmatch.com/search.cfm?from=email&nick=sasha00702
http://www.eastwestmatch.com/search.cfm?from=email&nick=Vladimirovna
http://www.eastwestmatch.com/search.cfm?from=email&nick=tanyakosheleva

Your Drinks for Christmas:



Bolshoi Punch
Drink Ingredients:
1 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Light Rum
Juice Of 1 Lemon
1/4 oz. Creme de Cassis
2 tsp. Simple Syrup

Instruction:
Mix all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker or blender and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Vermouth & Cassis

Drink Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth
Carbonated Water
3/4 oz. Creme de Cassis

Instruction:
Stir vermouth and creme de cassis in a highball glass with ice cubes. Fill with carbonated water, stir again, and serve.

Your Holiday Carry-In Recipe:
Tri-State Killer Meatballs
2-3 lbs of meatballs
15-16 oz. can of sauerkraut
15-16 oz. can of whole cranberry sauce
1 bottle of chili sauce (12 oz.)
2/3 cup of brown sugar
Water – the amount you will want to use is the same as the chili sauce bottle
Cook meatballs at least 30 minutes at 250*. Mix all ingredients above in crock-pot. Let simmer at least 45-60 minutes before consumption. Don’t worry it sounds gross, but it really kicks ass.

Today’s Bill:
SONNET 41
Those petty wrongs that liberty commits,
When I am sometime absent from thy heart,
Thy beauty and thy years full well befits,
For still temptation follows where thou art.
Gentle thou art and therefore to be won,
Beauteous thou art, therefore to be assailed;
And when a woman woos, what woman's son
Will sourly leave her till she have prevailed?
Ay me! but yet thou mightest my seat forbear,
And chide try beauty and thy straying youth,
Who lead thee in their riot even there
Where thou art forced to break a twofold truth,
Hers by thy beauty tempting her to thee,
Thine, by thy beauty being false to me.

Quote of the Day:
Men are conservatives when they are least vigorous, or when they are most luxurious. They are conservatives after dinner.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, New England Reformers, 1844

Hey, no-bull-shit, Merry Christmas:
JQP esq.

Your Holiday Pin-Up Girl:

(She has more of a mustache than Pastor Bob, what really did it for me however is her hairy chest, hot, hot, hot)

With Visions of Sugar Plums Dancing in my Head:

Mrs. JQP and I would like to wish you and yours a simply wonderful Holiday Season, I myself am enjoying a mental health day off work. I currently have plans of shopping, reading and eating Vietnamese (the food, not the people).

JQP

Its a Brave New World:

New Files Show FBI Watched Domestic Activist Groups
WASHINGTON (Dec. 20) - Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.

F.B.I. officials said Monday that their investigators had no interest in monitoring political or social activities and that any investigations that touched on advocacy groups were driven by evidence of criminal or violent activity at public protests and in other settings.

After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, John Ashcroft, who was then attorney general, loosened restrictions on the F.B.I.'s investigative powers, giving the bureau greater ability to visit and monitor Web sites, mosques and other public entities in developing terrorism leads. The bureau has used that authority to investigate not only groups with suspected ties to foreign terrorists, but also protest groups suspected of having links to violent or disruptive activities.

But the documents, coming after the Bush administration's confirmation that President Bush had authorized some spying without warrants in fighting terrorism, prompted charges from civil rights advocates that the government had improperly blurred the line between terrorism and acts of civil disobedience and lawful protest.

One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a "Vegan Community Project." Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group's "semi-communistic ideology." A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The documents, provided to The New York Times over the past week, came as part of a series of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. For more than a year, the A.C.L.U. has been seeking access to information in F.B.I. files on about 150 protest and social groups that it says may have been improperly monitored.

The F.B.I. had previously turned over a small number of documents on antiwar groups, showing the agency's interest in investigating possible anarchist or violent links in connection with antiwar protests and demonstrations in advance of the 2004 political conventions. And earlier this month, the A.C.L.U.'s Colorado chapter released similar documents involving, among other things, people protesting logging practices at a lumber industry gathering in 2002.

The latest batch of documents, parts of which the A.C.L.U. plans to release publicly on Tuesday, totals more than 2,300 pages and centers on references in internal files to a handful of groups, including PETA, the environmental group Greenpeace and the Catholic Workers group, which promotes antipoverty efforts and social causes.

Many of the investigative documents turned over by the bureau are heavily edited, making it difficult or impossible to determine the full context of the references and why the F.B.I. may have been discussing events like a PETA protest. F.B.I. officials say many of the references may be much more benign than they seem to civil rights advocates, adding that the documents offer an incomplete and sometimes misleading snapshot of the bureau's activities.

"Just being referenced in an F.B.I. file is not tantamount to being the subject of an investigation," said John Miller, a spokesman for the bureau.

"The F.B.I. does not target individuals or organizations for investigation based on their political beliefs," Mr. Miller said. "Everything we do is carefully promulgated by federal law, Justice Department guidelines and the F.B.I.'s own rules."

A.C.L.U officials said the latest batch of documents released by the F.B.I. indicated the agency's interest in a broader array of activist and protest groups than they had previously thought. In light of other recent disclosures about domestic surveillance activities by the National Security Agency and military intelligence units, the A.C.L.U. said the documents reflected a pattern of overreaching by the Bush administration.

"It's clear that this administration has engaged every possible agency, from the Pentagon to N.S.A. to the F.B.I., to engage in spying on Americans," said Ann Beeson, associate legal director for the A.C.L.U.

"You look at these documents," Ms. Beeson said, "and you think, wow, we have really returned to the days of J. Edgar Hoover, when you see in F.B.I. files that they're talking about a group like the Catholic Workers league as having a communist ideology."

The documents indicate that in some cases, the F.B.I. has used employees, interns and other confidential informants within groups like PETA and Greenpeace to develop leads on potential criminal activity and has downloaded material from the groups' Web sites, in addition to monitoring their protests.

In the case of Greenpeace, which is known for highly publicized acts of civil disobedience like the boarding of cargo ships to unfurl protest banners, the files indicate that the F.B.I. investigated possible financial ties between its members and militant groups like the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front.

These networks, which have no declared leaders and are only loosely organized, have been described by the F.B.I. in Congressional testimony as "extremist special interest groups" whose cells engage in violent or other illegal acts, making them "a serious domestic terrorist threat."

In testimony last year, John E. Lewis, deputy assistant director of the counterterrorism division, said the F.B.I. estimated that in the past 10 years such groups had engaged in more than 1,000 criminal acts causing more than $100 million in damage.

When the F.B.I. investigates evidence of possible violence or criminal disruptions at protests and other events, those investigations are routinely handled by agents within the bureau's counterterrorism division.

But the groups mentioned in the newly disclosed F.B.I. files questioned both the propriety of characterizing such investigations as related to "terrorism" and the necessity of diverting counterterrorism personnel from more pressing investigations.

"The fact that we're even mentioned in the F.B.I. files in connection with terrorism is really troubling," said Tom Wetterer, general counsel for Greenpeace. "There's no property damage or physical injury caused in our activities, and under any definition of terrorism, we'd take issue with that."

Jeff Kerr, general counsel for PETA, rejected the suggestion in some F.B.I. files that the animal rights group had financial ties to militant groups, and said he, too, was troubled by his group's inclusion in the files.

"It's shocking and it's outrageous," Mr. Kerr said. "And to me, it's an abuse of power by the F.B.I. when groups like Greenpeace and PETA are basically being punished for their social activism."


FBI Goes After Bonsaikitten.com
WASHINGTON -- A website devoted to squishing kittens into Mason jars is one of two things: A trenchant parody designed to provoke, or a nefarious kitty-mutilation scheme that must be stopped, and probably outlawed.

Count the FBI among the many visitors to bonsaikitten.com who are anything but amused at the descriptions of how to use muscle relaxant, feeding tubes and Klein bottles to shape a perfect Bonsai Cat.

FBI agents in the Boston field office have launched an investigation into the site. They also have served MIT with a grand jury subpoena asking for "any and all subscriber information" about the site, which was initially hosted in a campus dormitory but has since moved to a commercial provider.

MIT said in a letter to bonsaikitten.com's pseudonymous webmaster, a graduate student using the alias Dr. Michael Wong Chang, that it will wait until Sunday to turn over records that would identify him by name. "I was surprised," Chang said. "I really thought that the FBI had better things to do. That's your tax dollars at work."

Bonsaikitten.com is, of course, a joke devised by prankster MIT students -- who else would talk about "rectilinear kittens?" -- to provoke owners of kittens, an adorably fuzzy topic that's usually beyond parody. Bonsaikitten.com offers to sell visitors a custom-shaped kitten -- the site says "typical wait time for a fully shaped Bonsai Kitten is 3 to 4 months" -- but the site does not list prices or a mailing address for where to send money orders. It does, however, occasionally receive requests for more information.

It also has sparked tens of thousands of hate-mail messages, anti-Bonsai Kitten groups on Yahoo, and even a blistering denunciation from the venerable Humane Society of the United States.

For the site's fans, watching e-mail nastygrams arrive has become a kind of spectator sport: There's even a mailing list that lets bonsaikitten.com aficionados view any mail sent to the site's webmaster. A typical message: "This site is horrible! You should go in a mental hospital! You son of a bitch! I'll do my best to shut down this site and your disgusting hobby!"

A gun-toting investigator from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reportedly stopped by campus and quizzed MIT network administrators about the intent of the site. Under state law, MSPCA investigators are deputized as "special state police officers" with investigation and arrest abilities. The combined efforts of animal rights proponents, including such ardent activists as the closed-subscription "meowmies" group, seem to have prompted the FBI to launch its investigation.

"Why are they doing this?" asks Harvey Silverglate, a prominent Boston criminal defense attorney. "I think the answer is that political correctness has infected the FBI."
"The kind of fanatical end of the spectrum animal protection movement has affected them," says Silverglate, a partner at Silverglate and Good. "They want to be the good guys. They massively run rampant over Americans' liberties but they want to be seen as nice fuzzy guys who want to protect kittens." Silverglate predicts that when the FBI realizes bonsaikitten.com is not serious, the bureau will quietly abandon its investigation.

Ellen Kearns, an FBI agent in the bureau's Lakeville, Massachusetts office who is involved in the investigation, could not be reached for comment. Nadine Pellegrini, the assistant U.S. Attorney who signed the subpoena, refused to discuss the investigation. "I'm making no comment," Pellegrini said. The subpoena does not discuss what law the bonsaikitten.com operators allegedly violated. But Pellegrini hinted that it was based on a relatively recent federal statute: "I would assume there's a case, if there's a law, but I'm not making any comment."

In December 1999, President Clinton signed a law that makes it a federal felony to possess "a depiction of animal cruelty" with the intent to distribute across state lines -- such as on the Internet. During a floor debate, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) claimed that "sick criminals are taking advantage of the loopholes in the local law and the lack of federal law on animal cruelty videos." The law, which observers at the time said probably violated the First Amendment, only applies to images, videos, and sound recordings that are distributed "for commercial gain" -- and bonsaikitten.com's tongue-in-cheek descriptions of mail-order cats in bottles appears to have given the FBI sufficient justification for an investigation. The national Humane Society, based in Washington, applauded the FBI's efforts.

"If the FBI is looking into this, that's great," said spokeswoman Karen Allanach. "Anything to discourage animal cruelty would be very helpful. Allanach said she's not sure if the site is a parody -- and even if it isn't, it should be taken offline because it could encourage people to experiment on their own household pets. It's totally promoting animal cruelty," Allanach said. "They consider it a sick joke. People will take it seriously. Animal cruelty is not funny. Animal torture is not funny. We would like bonsaikitten.com to be removed permanently." When asked whether someone has the First Amendment right to advocate for animal cruelty, Allanach replied: "That's a great question. That's at the heart of a lot of debate."

Jered Floyd, a recent MIT graduate, says animal rights activists -- who have successfully pressured hosting services to ban bonsaikitten.com until rotten.com offered it server space -- don't have a sense of humor. "The First Amendment protects all speech, no matter how offensive some people may find it," Floyd says. "The site is clearly a humorous endeavor. The fact that a number of people seem to have very little sense of humor isn't relevant."

A letter dated Feb. 1 from MIT lawyer Jeff Swope says that federal law requires the university to notify students when it receives subpoenas for information about them. It says that "pursuant to that legal process, MIT will produce such information, no earlier than Feb. 11, 2001

Now for something completely different:

What I will be wearing on the Beach Next Week:


From the album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"

I'm upper, upper class high society
God's gift to ballroom notoriety
And I always fill my ballroom
The event is never small
All the social papers say I've got the biggest balls of all

CHORUS
I've got big balls
I've got big balls
And they're such big balls
Dirty big balls
And he's got big balls,
And she's got big balls,
But we've got the biggest balls of them all!

And my balls are always bouncing
My ballroom always full
And everybody comes and comes again
If your name is on the guest list
No one can take you higher
Everybody says I've got great balls of fire!

CHORUS

Some balls are held for charity
And some for fancy dress
But when they're held for pleasure,
They're the balls that I like best.
And my balls are always bouncing,
To the left and to the right.
It's my belief that my big balls should be held every night.

CHORUS

And I'm just itching to tell you about them
Oh, we have such wonderful fun
Seafood cocktail
Crabs
Crayfish

(I wanted to call attention to the often over looked last verse in the definitive rock anthem.)


I remain, steadfast and loyal, much like the neutered mutt of your self perception:

JQP esq.

I am Not in the Mood to Blog:

Chronology of events
The Journal Gazette

The search for 10-year-old Alejandra Gutierrez started off badly and only got worse. By the time police were called in, nearly 12 hours had passed since the young girl was last seen, and early search efforts were hampered by a heavy snowstorm.

Alejandra’s neighborhood was shocked again less than a week after her disappearance, when Simon Rios, 33, was arrested and charged with murdering his wife and three young daughters.
Following is a timeline, compiled from previously published reports, of the events leading up to the discovery Monday of a body believed to be Alejandra’s.

Thursday, Dec. 8
Alejandra is last seen at 9:50 a.m., when she left her home to walk to the school bus stop on the corner of Calhoun Street and Branning Avenue.

Alejandra is first missed around 4 p.m., when she should have arrived home from school. After hours of searching, police are alerted around 9 p.m.

An Amber Alert is not issued. Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York will later say the department did not issue an alert because no suspect information or suspect vehicle information was available.

Friday, Dec. 9
Police alert the media of the search, as family members start posting fliers across the city.

Saturday, Dec. 10
The search continues through the weekend as the Gutierrez family spends anxious days waiting for information.

A representative for Fort Wayne Community Schools announces that a staff worker at Maplewood Elementary who was supposed to notify Alejandra’s family of her absence never made the call.

Monday, Dec. 12
Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Wendy Robinson says the district is investigating why the Maplewood Elementary staff never called the Gutierrez family the day of her disappearance.

FBI agents who specialize in profiling and missing persons investigations arrive in Fort Wayne to aid in the search for Alejandra. Representatives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also join the search.

Tuesday, Dec. 13
Police respond to a call shortly after 5 a.m. at 4122 S. Calhoun St. – just 2 1/2 blocks south of the bus stop where Alejandra was heading when she disappeared.

The bodies of Ana Casas, 28, and her three daughters, Liliana Rios Casas, 10, Katherinne Rios, 4, and Thannya Rios, 20 months, are found in the home.

Simon Rios, who also was the children’s father, is taken into custody and preliminarily charged with murder.

Gutierrez family members say Casas and Rios had visited the Gutierrez home the night before, bringing gifts and offering to help search for Alejandra.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Liliana, and Alejandra had been friends.

Hundreds of people – including Alejandra’s parents – attend an evening prayer at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, the search for Alejandra escalates to include an aerial search of the area.

Wednesday, Dec. 14
Allen County Coroner Dr. Jon Brandenberger announces that Casas died of blunt force trauma and strangulation; her children died of strangulation. Court documents reveal that Rios told police he killed Casas after fighting about household chores.

At a news conference, Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York asks Fort Wayne and Allen County residents to search their own properties for clues in Alejandra’s case.

York says police aren’t ruling anyone out – including Rios – as a suspect in Alejandra’s disappearance.

Thursday, Dec. 15
A housekeeper at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church says Casas and Rios visited the church shortly before noon Monday to ask the parish priest to bless some items that they planned to give to the Gutierrez family. Both Casas and Rios were crying, the housekeeper, Ana Vigil, says.
Casas said it was because Liliana and Alejandra were friends, Vigil recalls.

Bishop John D’Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend announces that he will preside over a funeral for Casas and her daughters Friday evening.

Friday, Dec. 16
Simon Rios is formally charged with the murders of his wife and children.

This evening, hundreds again gather at St. Patrick’s, this time for the funeral of Casas and her children.

Saturday, Dec. 17
The remains of Casas and her daughters are flown to Mexico to be turned over to surviving relatives.

The search for Alejandra continues. Police search parks and remote areas around Allen County.
Hundreds attend an evening prayer vigil outside the Gutierrez home.

Sunday, Dec. 18
At 9 p.m., Delaware County Sheriff George Sheridan receives a call from the FBI in Fort Wayne wanting information about gravel pits in the Delaware County area. Law enforcement officials begin a search in Delaware County.

Monday, Dec. 19
The search for Alejandra continues in Blackford and Delaware counties.

At 1:30 p.m., the body of a young girl is found at a gravel pit in Delaware County.

At 3:30 p.m., Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York announces that the body found is believed to be that of Alejandra.


(if any of you wondered why I drink and did so last night, read and be informed, sometimes I hate)

Mortification of the Flesh and other Party Tricks:

Thought for the Day:
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.
Bill Shankly

A Long and Stormy Weekend:
Friday, I at last completed the grant(s) from hell. After 28 revisions, many of which brought us right back to my original proposal. I then promptly when home and slept (without the benefits of dangerous over-the-counter drugs) for 14 hours.

Yes, dear reader, I needed to not only to recoup from weeks of long hours and due'-or-die job stress, I needed to look and feel my best for Saturday, for Game Day.

The next day, I found myself at the Rugby Bar, surrounded by men who had seen to much, veterans of one to many football games and Kiss concerts. These men (and not a few women) had come with one heart felt purpose on this cold bitter Indiana day, to watch, to watch, some football.

People had traveled from as far away as Ossian and Indianapolis, drawn to the palatable smell of adrenalin in the air. I was as if Stanley Kubrick had risen from the grave and started directing Miller High Life commercials.

…and dear reader, that’s when it happened.

The Gods and fate both conspired against myself and my merry band of brigadoons.

The only thing left for me to do was drown my pain, my sorrow in large amounts of distilled grains. My team lost, my alums and I, still in a state of abject shock and dismay.

Where did that bright sunshiny world we once knew go?

A loss through and through, we were weighed, measured and found wanting, as the score board recorded our defeat. Those bright-eyed youth who just moments before had walked onto the battlefield of football history, now looking at each other with blank stares, 1000 yard stares.

The of musket fire from Shiloh five miles away, shown hard in their faces this Tennessee day. We knew their pain, the sweat, the blood that had to be spilled.

After the game Saturday, I once again was able to make an ass out of myself at my loving wife’s bosses Holiday party. When will these people learn, it is not wise to insist that I attend such functions, after a day of drinking with fellow fans of small college Catholic football? Let just say, both my self-editor and table manners were temporally disabled.

Sunday, it was off to an early Mass, after which I spent the rest of the day engaging in certain rites of Opus Dei, much to my loving wife’s approval. A penance, to be done, a bill to be settled, a pound of flesh, served cold as ice.

Which takes me to today, I was going to take this week off, but after looking at both the days I have left for the year and the schedule, I opted for a little (key word, being little) work time. I am currently planning to take my loving and simply beautiful wife down to the cradle of democracy, South Carolina, for the week after Christmas, up to and including the New Years.

Family and friends throughout the South were over joy’d at this news, even more so in that we are getting a ocean front condo, vs. staying with them.

I Count my Blessings this Morning:
Notre Dame is still playing in a Bowl game and Ohio is going down.
I am still both rakish and an accomplished vocalist.
My wife did not carry through with her threats of burning me alive in my sleep.
I received a gift of pickled Brussel Sprouts (very tasty my babushka).
If I close my eyes, and concentrate I can hear the ocean and smell the sea, I love winter at the beach.
I didn’t get into a knife fight after all.

In the Talking Shit Department:
Please feel free to stop by:
http://roblyer7.blogspot.com/

Your Bill for the Day:
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't."
--From Hamlet (II, ii, 206)

Quote for the Day:
For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks-not that you won or lost-
But how you played the game.
Grantland Rice, "Alumunus Football,"

I remain, the small angry dog that hides under the sofa of your self-esteem:

JQP esq.

M. Chamberlain, Newspaper Man:

Birthday Wishes:
This Blog would like to take a moment from its regularly scheduled pitter-patter to wish M. Chamberlain, Newspaper Man, a very Happy Birthday. From all the NLT crew, to you, you prince of the 5th estate.

…and to this end a Public Service Announcement:


(The only man I know in my age group who can tie a bow tie, perfect every time)

JQP

Hang Down your Head:

No salvation for Cougars in this loss

SAVANNAH, Tenn. – So here we are again, with the football fluttering toward the same pale end zone against the same Southern sky. More heartbreak, down here on the river. More deja blues in a corner of the world where the churches outnumber the honky-tonks, and the only second chance that matters is the sweet salvation of Jesus.

But stand here now where Chris Bramell stands, flexing one aching arm inside a sleeve stained the color of earth, and tell him where the salvation is in this. it here where Paul Carter sits – off by himself on a flimsy sideline table, his helmet still plopped defiantly on his head in these final hopeless moments – and tell him how you swat the ball away from history.

Listen to the guy back there behind you, some Saint Francis fan above the big blue blanket that reads “Believe,” some guy for whom belief has reluctantly been turned, secured and pinned by reality … “Are you kidding me?” he yelps, as Carroll College downs one last punt at the Saint Francis 5-yard line.

One more glance now at the scoreboard, which reads Carroll 27, Saint Francis 10.
A sigh.

“Well,” he goes on. “Guess when it goes your way, everything goes your way.” And so, yes, this was last year all over again, another triumph for Carroll and another miss for the Cougars at the summit of their particular universe. And, no, it was not. Last year, after all, the football etched against the sky above the north end zone in the final seconds was a field goal that saved Carroll’s third-straight title.

This year it was just one last incomplete pass wobbling a few impotent yards off backup quarterback Eric Hooks’ hand and dropping to earth, a metaphor for everything that happened to the Cougars on Saturday. What happened was a hard loss, and harder truth: When you have something like a national title within your grasp, you’d better take it. Because you might not get that close to it again.

And on Saturday, the Cougars didn’t.

On Saturday, they used 17 plays and 8:40 on the clock to take a 3-0 lead after the opening kickoff, and the game and national title for which they hunger so desperately was never on their racket again. Carroll came back with an 8-play, 65-yard drive of its own, and the game would never fully swing back the other way again. Salvation? Second chances?

None here for poor Bramell, who rushed for 39 yards on seven carries on that first drive and then found all his favorite places thick with gold helmets thereafter. He finished with 72 yards on 15 totes and wrung only six completions from 18 pass attempts, finally departing after being thrown hard to the ground in the fourth quarter by a defensive back 5 inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter.

Second chances? None for a Cougars offense that found all its normal avenues neatly sealed up, scratching out just 277 yards and averaging 4.1 yards per play, 2 full yards less than its average. None for a defense that surrendered 459 yards and chased and chased but never caught Carroll’s Tyler Emmert, the NAIA Player of the Year.

“They just outplayed us, I guess,” Saint Francis defensive lineman William Knepper said when it was done, stating the obvious.

“I think we played hard, but they were just the better team today,” offensive lineman Nick Krinn concurred. “Bottom line is, we didn’t make the plays when we had to,” summarized wide receiver Andy Papagiannis. He nodded toward the other end of the field, where the Saints were lifting the NAIA trophy high and posing with victory stogies jutting from their mouths at jaunty angles.

“They played a great game over there, you know. And we didn’t.” And so maybe it’s time for another hard truth, one which even the Cougar faithful seemed resigned to: that Carroll was simply the better team. The Saints might not have been last year, when the feeling was that Saint Francis let it get away. But they definitely were Saturday, when Carroll undeniably reached out and took it.

“What this group accomplished was unbelievable,” maintained Cougars coach Kevin Donley when it was done, acknowledging his team’s 40-0 regular-season record across the last four autumns, telling his boys – rightly – that what happened Saturday shouldn’t be allowed to erase all that. “I think this loss was harder this year, because I wanted it so badly for those players. They didn’t deserve to end up in a loss.”

He turned his head away, muttering. South across Jim Carroll Stadium a thick knot of purple jerseys still lingered on the weary winter grass; south beyond that, another final score that will bleed for awhile glowed on the scoreboard. “At least you can say it took a great team to beat you,” you say.

Donley grunted faintly.
“Yeah … yeah,” he said. “Yeah, a great football team.”
And then he was silent.

(Ben Smith did better writing about the game than me, I am still in a state of shock)


JQP

College Title Day:

No. 2 Saint Francis vs No. 1 Carroll (Mont.)
From: The Journal Gazette
Time : 1 p.m.
Site: Jim Carroll Stadium, Savannah, Tenn. (5,500)
Radio: 1450 AM
TV: Comcast basic cable Channel 95; digital cable Channel 274


Records: Saint Francis (13-0); Carroll (13-0)
NAIA offensive ranking: Saint Francis – 4th, 462.8 ypg; Carroll – 2nd, 471.5 ypg
NAIA defensive ranking: Saint Francis – 2nd, 255.7 ypg; Carroll – 1st, 246.3 ypg

Key matchup
The offensive and defensive lines
Saint Francis has been praised for being a physical team all season. The Cougars boast a veteran offensive line that includes three 2004 NAIA All-Americans (senior tackles Nick Krinn and Jarod Leasure and guard Adam Jacobowitz), who have helped the team average 278.9 rushing yards per game, third in the nation. Carroll is again one of the strongest defensive teams in the country, yielding just 93.5 rushing yards per game, third in the NAIA. The Saints also have an experienced offensive line, including 2004 All-American center Kyle Baker. As far as its defensive line, Saint Francis’ two starting freshmen and two sophomores have grown up a lot and are helping the Cougars to allow 115.6 rushing yards per game. “A lot of it is going to have to do with us winning the battle up front on the line where we struggled a little last year,” Saint Francis fullback Michael Ledo said. “But (offensive line) coach (James) Bettcher has those guys prepared.”

Keep an eye on ...
The two quarterbacks
Both Carroll quarterback Tyler Emmert and Saint Francis quarterback Chris Bramell were top candidates for the NAIA player of the year award, which Emmert won Friday nigh. Emmert also won the award in 2003 as a sophomore, and Bramell was named the top player in the Mid-States Football Association Mideast League in 2005. They’ve flourished with different styles – the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Emmert, known for his precise passing and cool demeanor, has completed 67 percent of his passes for 233.8 yards per game and 32 touchdowns. The 6-5, 240-pound Bramell is both a threat passing (167.7 ypg) and rushing (41.3 ypg). Both quarterbacks led their teams to score on each team’s final drive in last year’s title game, which Carroll won 15-13.

Saint Francis wins if ...
The Cougars control the clock
Saint Francis opponents that have played close games with the Cougars did so by chewing up clock. Walsh (Ohio) had the ball for 33:52 to Saint Francis’ 26:08, allowing the Cavaliers to trail the Cougars 14-7 until 1:58 remained in their game Nov. 12. Saint Francis cornerback Paul Carter’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown sealed a 21-7 victory. Carroll won the time of possession battle against the Cougars last season in the national title game, 36 minutes to the Cougars’ 24. Saint Francis coach Kevin Donley also felt his team scored with too much time remaining; the Cougars took a 13-12 lead with 1:13 left to cap an 89-yard, 17-play drive. Carroll drove 59 yards on eight plays in 1:03 and kicked a 32-yard field goal with 10.8 seconds left to win the game.

Things you should know
Carroll ended Cougars’ last 2 seasons
The Saints quashed Saint Francis’ hopes in its first national title game appearance when Marcus Miller hit a 32-yard field goal with 10.8 seconds left last year. In 2003, the Saints also beat Saint Francis 38-14 in Helena, Mont., in the Cougars’ first semifinal appearance. Saint Francis is 0-2 all time against Carroll, which has been the top-ranked team in the NAIA all season. The Cougars have been No. 2 since the preseason.

Saints have 3 titles in a row
Carroll became the first school to win three national championships since the NAIA moved to one division after the 1996 season when the Saints won the title game last season. Texas A&I won three straight titles 1974-76 in NAIA Division I. Carroll last lost a game on Oct. 16, 2004, to Montana-Western 26-17 in Helena. The Saints’ senior class is 52-4 record in its career and 15-0 in the playoffs.

USF senior class has 49-3 career mark
The Cougars’ seniors will win their 50th career game if they capture the national title today. Two of their career losses have come against Carroll. The other loss was to Georgetown (Ky.) 24-0 in the NAIA quarterfinals in 2002. The seniors have also produced a 40-0 regular-season record. The only thing left is a national championship.

Both teams cruise through playoffs
Saint Francis and Carroll have each won their three playoff games by an average of nearly 30 points per game. The Saints are coming off a 55-0 thrashing of No. 4 Sioux Falls (S.D.) in the semifinals in Helena, while the Cougars beat No. 3 Morningside (Iowa) 42-14 at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium. Carroll also knocked off No. 15 Dickinson State (N.D.) 23-13 and No. 11 Montana Tech 24-0, both in Helena. Saint Francis routed No. 13 Pikeville (Ky.) 41-7 and No. 5 Georgetown 44-14, both in Fort

My bet: USF win in the last 3 mins. this will be a slug-match, of two great teams


JQP esq.

Finding Funding to do the Lord's Work:

Thought for the Day:
The secret of life is to appreciate the pleasure of being terribly, terribly deceived.
Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance, Act 3

Tomorrow is the Big Game:

USF vs. Carroll College, 1:05 p.m., Sat., Dec. 17. The National Title and this year it will be ours, ours alone. The Cougars will tackle Carroll College (Helena, MT) after the top-ranked Fighting Saints ousted fourth-ranked Sioux Falls (S.D.) 55-0. CC is pursuing a fourth consecutive national title.

CC edged USF 15-13 in the 2004 title game. "We came into this season intent on doing whatever it takes to get it done because it really hit us hard last year to come so close," USF quarterback Chris Bramell said. "It's just fitting that we're going to play Carroll again. It's such a good feeling to know we're back, that we're going back, that we've earned another shot to prove we can win the national title."

Your Album of the Week:


Re-Cap of NLT:
Please feel free to check out Tiny over at http://www.secondgradeonline.blogspot.com/ for your re-cap of last nights meeting and many thanks to the great man for posting on this our weekly event, while I am busy doing what someone really pays me to do.


The Albatross around my Neck:
With any luck, I hope to be done with my grants today, finished, completed, out the door. Then the waiting begins, waiting to see if the state will buy what I am selling. Truth be known, with the current ruling junta I am not to sure if I will bring in any of them. However the 80 plus hour weeks ending is something to look forward to.

I don’t think I am coming to work next week. Old JQP needs some downtime. Hell, I didn’t even realize it was Christmas next week until yesterday. I hope to be able to once again, share with you my imaginary friends the people, places and events that make-up my action packed world of fun and frivolity.



Cocktails for the Week:

M. Chamberlain, Newspaper Man’s “Deadline” Cocktail
Drink Ingredients:
1 tsp. Grenadine
1 tsp. Lemon Juice
3/4 oz. Rum
1 tsp. Triple Sec
3/4 oz. Brandy

Instruction:
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

BBG’s "Middle Eastern Suprise" Cocktail
Drink Ingredients:
1/2 Jagermeister
1/2 Gin

Instruction:
Layered with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Tastes surprisingly good in spite of the list of contents, After several we folded our tents and stole off into the night..

Todays Bill:
SONNET 125
Were 't aught to me I bore the canopy,
With my extern the outward honouring,
Or laid great bases for eternity,
Which prove more short than waste or ruining?
Have I not seen dwellers on form and favour
Lose all, and more, by paying too much rent,
For compound sweet forgoing simple savour,
Pitiful thrivers, in their gazing spent?
No, let me be obsequious in thy heart,
And take thou my oblation, poor but free,
Which is not mix'd with seconds, knows no art,
But mutual render, only me for thee.
Hence, thou suborn'd informer! a true soul
When most impeach'd stands least in thy control.

Quote of the Day:
Morality is herd instinct in the individual.
Friedrich Nietzsche

I remain, the wet spot on the chinos of your soul:

JQP esq.

For the Birthday Girl:

A nude photo of my “Beautiful Glock”. I have a textured grip,, its large caliber with lots of take down power and everyone’s favorite, a large capacity for those extended firefights. Everyone go wish Dusty a very happy birthday and say something nice about her teeth. http://abriefsecond.blogspot.com/

No-Love-Thursday:

(Photo, courtesy of CPF’s last family reunion)

Thought for the Day:
He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals. Benjamin Franklin 1768

It is that time again:
Yes, dear reader its No-Love-Thursday, a time when those who stand above all the rest, join forces to assess and inform you the public. The No-Love-Thursday Drinking Club and Mutual Aid Society, coming soon to a community near you. I got a head start; I opened the meeting at 12:01. I am if nothing else a trend setter.

This Week:
Indy, a woman I lust over and occasionally house sit for (got to love those fine washables), coined the phrase “situational homosexuality” I meet a guy last night, who said he was bi-sexual, after talking to him for 3 minutes, I informed him that he was not bi-sexual, he was in fact a “pathetic opportunist”. Thus my new phrase of the day.

On work:
I hope and hope is the key word, to have these grants off my desk today. Otherwise, I am in court this morning and the shooting range this afternoon. Got a big case that I am trying to pull something off for, no family should not know where their child is at Christmas.

Hey Fuckers:
Just wanted to slip in to a high school personality for a moment (ok, my normal personality). I spent last night until 6 setting my unit rate, in one of my 206 page grants. Then brothers and sisters I went out and got myself fucked right up.

Not very adult I know, but at least I got laid out of the deal (golf-clap to Mrs. JQP). It is around 4AM as I write this and kids I am still drunk as all hell. All of which of course means I will be looking and feeling my best around 7 when I roll my skinny white ass into work, its one of those “hangover sets in around noon” days. Well, at least I can still piss standing-up. Just wanted to share.

Going with a theme:

(Amish girls are thick)

Todays Bill:
SONNET 44
If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,
Injurious distance should not stop my way;
For then despite of space I would be brought,
From limits far remote where thou dost stay.
No matter then although my foot did stand
Upon the farthest earth removed from thee;
For nimble thought can jump both sea and land
As soon as think the place where he would be.
But ah! thought kills me that I am not thought,
To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,
But that so much of earth and water wrought
I must attend time's leisure with my moan,
Receiving nought by elements so slow
But heavy tears, badges of either's woe.

Quote of the Day:
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
Mark Twain

I remain, the 3 dollar whore of your soul:

JQP esq.

Staff Holiday Party

Easy Rider Redux:

(More of my Amish theme for the week, since I am spread much to thin to post anything of remote worth on these my humble pages.)


JQP

Five Things I am Thankful for Right Now:

1) That I can pee standing up.
2) That I am not in charge of the Governor of California’s Security
3) That I have a forgiving and indulgent wife.
4) I can grow a beard in 7 days.
5) That I do not always carry a firearm with me (esp. today).

JQP

Amish on Coke:

(need I say more?)

On the Subject of Football:

First, something I miss:
The Blue Gray Game, played by the nations college senior All Stars, had been played from 1939 until 2003. That year's game, in Troy, Alabama was played on Christmas Day in Movie Gallery Stadium and was won by the Blue, 31-24.

It has since been left to die a painful death, for those of us fans of real football, a showcase for small and medium schools, is now gone. That and it was one hell of a fun tailgate.

My Bowl Picks:

Las Vegas Bowl Dec.22, 2005
Cal vs.. BYU
(I pick Cal, Mormons and their funny underpants don't stand a chance)

Holiday Bowl Dec. 29
Oregon vs. Oklahoma
(I pick Oregon, mostly because its easier to spell)

Sun Bowl Dec. 30
UCLA vs. Northwestern
(I pick UCLA)

Peach Bowl Dec. 30
Miami vs. LSU
(I pick LSU, however this one is a toss up)

Liberty Bowl Dec. 31
Tulsa vs. Fresno State
(I pick Tulsa)

Fiesta Bowl Jan. 2
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
(I pick Notre Dame, by at least 12, it is after all God's Team)

Cotton Bowl Jan. 2T
Texas Tech vs. Alabama
(I pick 'Bama! Roll Tide, Roll)

Orange Bowl Jan. 3
Florida State vs. Penn State
(I pick Penn State and am glad to have them back)

Rose Bowl Jan. 4
USC vs. Texas
(I am calling for a USC blow out, however I would love to see them get their asses handed to them)

Motor CitiyBowl
Univ. of Akron vs. Univ. of Memphis
(Memphis by 7, however a possible OT)

...and of course Univ. of Saint Francis will take the NAIA Football Championship on DEC. 17

JQP esq.

Yamba, Yamba, Yamba...

(Still to busy to showcase my typing and spelling skills for your wonderment. With any luck, the ice will break soon and my ship will be free. Have just a wonderful day!)

JQP

News:

Psychiatry ponders whether extreme biases are illnesses
By Shankar VedantamWashington Post

WASHINGTON – The 48-year-old man turned down a job because he feared that a co-worker would be gay. He was upset that gay culture was becoming mainstream and blamed most of his personal, professional and emotional problems on the gay and lesbian movement.
These fixations preoccupied him every day. Articles in magazines about gays made him agitated. He confessed that his fears had left him socially isolated and unemployed for years: A recovering alcoholic, the man even avoided 12-step meetings out of fear he might encounter a gay person.

“He had a fixed delusion about the world,” said Sondra Solomon, a psychologist at the University of Vermont who treated the man for two years. “He felt under attack, he felt threatened.”
Mental health practitioners say they regularly confront extreme forms of racism, homophobia and other prejudice in the course of therapy, and that some patients are seriously impaired by these beliefs. As doctors increasingly weigh the effects of race and culture on mental illness, some are asking whether pathological bias ought to be an official psychiatric diagnosis.
Advocates have circulated draft guidelines and have begun to conduct systematic studies. While the proposal is gaining traction, it is still in the early stages of being considered by the professionals who decide on new diagnoses.

If it succeeds, it could have huge ramifications on clinical practice, employment disputes and the criminal justice system. Perpetrators of hate crimes could become candidates for treatment, and physicians would become arbiters of how to distinguish “ordinary prejudice” from pathological bias.

Several experts said they are unsure whether bias can be pathological. Solomon, for instance, is uncomfortable with the idea. But they agreed that psychiatry has been inattentive to the effects of prejudice on mental health and illness.

“Has anyone done a word search for ‘racism’ in DSM-IV? It doesn’t exist,” said Carl Bell, a Chicago psychiatrist, referring to psychiatry’s manual of mental disorders. “Has anyone asked, ‘If you have paranoia, do you project your ” hostility toward other groups?’ The answer is ‘Hell, no!’

The proposed guidelines that California psychologist Edward Dunbar created describe people whose daily functioning is paralyzed by persistent fears and worries about other groups. The guidelines have not been endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM; advocates are mostly seeking support for systematic study.

Darrel A. Regier, director of research at the psychiatric association, said he supports research into whether pathological bias is a disorder. But he said the jury is out on whether a diagnostic classification would add anything useful, given that clinicians already know about disorders in which people rigidly hold onto false beliefs.

“If you are going to put racism into the next edition of DSM, you would have ‘Are you pathologizing enormous criticism,” Regier said. Critics would ask, “ all of life?’ You better be prepared to defend that classification.”

“I think it’s absurd,” said Sally Satel, a psychiatrist and the author of “PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine.” Satel said the diagnosis would allow hate-crime perpetrators to evade responsibility by claiming they suffered from a mental illness. “You could use it as a defense.”

Psychiatrists who advocate a new diagnosis, such as Gary Belkin, deputy chief of psychiatry at New York’s Bellevue Hospital, said social norms play a central role in how all psychiatric disorders are defined. Pedophilia is considered a disorder by psychiatrists, Belkin noted, but that does not keep child molesters from being prosecuted.

Advocates for the new diagnosis also say most candidates for treatment, such as the man Solomon treated, are not criminals or violent offenders. Rather, they are like the young woman in Los Angeles who thought Jews were diseased and would infect her – she carried out compulsive cleansing rituals and hit her head to drive away her obsessions. She realized she needed help but was afraid her therapist would be Jewish, said Dunbar, a Los Angeles psychologist who has amassed several case studies and treated several dozen patients for racial paranoia and other forms of what he considers pathological bias.

“When I see someone who won’t see a physician because they’re Jewish, or who can’t sit in a restaurant because there are Asians, or feels threatened by homosexuals in the workplace, the party line in mental health says, ‘This is not ” Dunbar said. “If it’s not our problem, whose problem is it?” our problem,’
Opponents say making pathological bias a diagnosis raises the specter of social engineering – brainwashing individuals who do not fit society’s norms. But Dunbar and others say patients with disabling levels of prejudice should be treated for the same reason as are patients with any other disorder: They would feel, live and function better.

Chicago psychiatrist Bell said he has not made up his mind on whether bias can be pathological. But in proposing a research agenda for the next edition of psychiatry’s DSM of mental disorders, Bell and researchers from the Mayo Clinic, McGill University, the University of California at Los Angeles and other academic institutions wrote: “Clinical experience informs us that racism may be a manifestation of a delusional process, a consequence of anxiety, or a feature of an individual’s personality dynamics.”

The psychiatrists said their profession has neglected the issue: “One solution would be to encourage research that seeks to delineate the validity and reliability of racism as a symptom and to investigate the possibility of including it in some diagnostic criteria sets in future editions of DSM.”

Snow sucks when your a Grown-up:

Make Your Own Title:

(Teaching this morning and covering for staff)

Once again I am “Lost in a Roman Wilderness of Pain”:

Thought for the Day:
It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.
Alec Bourne

It’s No-Love-Thursday:
Once again it’s that time of the week when the hardy souls brave the elements to celebrate this most esteemed of Drinking Clubs. Its members include the illuminati of the Bar-Set, a fast moving and hard living group of people, who are bound together with a mutual distrust of the powers that be and admiration for quick wit and cutting barbs.

Since it is 4 below and 7 inches of snow projected, we shall see who if any of these intrepid souls dare test themselves against not only each other but Mother Nature. I dear readers at this early hour do plan to count myself among their noble number. Truth be known, it helps that I only have to walk 150 feet to be at my favorite bar for the meeting.

On Work:
The Ravens continue to come and eat out my liver everyday, reinforcing daily the idea that I should have not pissed off the Gods. But after a well earned 9 hours of sleep, I feel at least capable of thoughtful interaction and increased grant writing skills.

Missed Data:
I was reminded by my loving Flower, that on Tuesday night out with Sky Captain, we engaged in our first annual poetry slam, with poems written by a mentally ill, drug addicted lady who frequents that particular establishment.

Yes, it was a very Jack Kerouac moment, until I was forced to read a poem about the authors’ menses, the opening line of which started out with something like “Get your tongue out of my mouth”. The things I will do for art.

Your Bill for Today:
SONNET 6
Then let not winter's ragged hand deface
In thee thy summer, ere thou be distill'd:
Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place
With beauty's treasure, ere it be self-kill'd.
That use is not forbidden usury,
Which happies those that pay the willing loan;
That's for thyself to breed another thee,
Or ten times happier, be it ten for one;
Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,
If ten of thine ten times refigured thee:
Then what could death do, if thou shouldst depart,
Leaving thee living in posterity?
Be not self-will'd, for thou art much too fair
To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir.

Quote of the Day:
I happen to feel that the degree of a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting attitudes she can bring to bear on the same topic.
Lisa Alther, Kinflicks, 1975

I remain, your invisible friend and court appointed attorney:

JQP esq.

Your Recipe for the Week:

(pic taken without shame from one of the greats of the blog-world, http://fatrobot.blogspot.com/)

Piss on KFC, one of the true great places in the USA to eat. Yes, you heard it here, Gus’s Fried Chicken in my favorite city, Memphis, Tennessee. Brothers and sisters, you can do no wrong by stopping by here on any trip through the mid-south. It's a Down Home Chicken Shack and damn good chicken is what you will get. Get a quart of beer, cause’ you’r going to wait a bit, but you will know it was worth it.

GUS’S FRIED CHICKEN
1 (3-1/2 lb.) chicken, rinsed, cut into 8 pieces
1 quart buttermilk
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if your like me)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper (generous amount)
Peanut oil for frying ...

-- Trim the excess fat and skin from chicken pieces (but don't remove all the skin).

-- Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in a non-reactive pan.

-- Pour buttermilk over chicken and toss to make sure each piece is well coated.

-- Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

-- Combine flour, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper (at Gus', it's a little heavy on the pepper) in a large plastic bag.

-- Drop chicken pieces into the bag, one at a time, and shake until well coated with flour mixture.

-- Pour oil in a large cast iron skillet. (At Gus', it's a deep skillet for deep frying.)

-- Heat oil until it's hot but not smoking.

-- Add chicken, the largest pieces first, skin side down.

-- Work in batches, if necessary.

-- Reduce heat to medium.

-- Cook, turning once, 12-15 minutes per side. (At Gus', chicken is done when it floats to the top.)

-- Drain and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Gus’ World Famous Fried Chicken is located at 520 Highway 70 in Mason. Hours are typically 11a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday; 11 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. on Sunday. No credit cards are accepted, so bring cash or a local check. For more info, you can contact Gus’ original Mason, TN eatery at 901 294-2028. Gus’ also has a Downtown Memphis location at 310 S. Front Street. Their phone number is (901) 527-4877. Don’t forget to bring enough money for a Gus’ T-shirt, and some homemade Sweet Potato pie.

JQP

On Back Rubs and Dead People:

Thought for the Day:
It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge.
Voltaire

The Day at Large:
Today sucks, yes sucks. I once again have insomnia. I have been up and wired like a meth head since 2AM. This can serve, to put anyone in a bad mood. It seems that now about 4 days after taking pain pills my body reacts this way. So, if experience is going to be my guide I have about another two weeks to look forward to of this shit.

Wishing you all my very best. Back in to the world of service to mankind, dear reader, I have grants to write.

Sky Capt. the Last Man to let you Down:
I went out for a drink with Sky Captain, at the Catholic-Democrat Bar. Besides having a heart warming Hallmark card kind of conversation, the young chap sought career guidance. Yes, that’s how desperate he is, asking me for career guidance. It seems that the lad is considering one of two career paths, first joining the Army and flying some bad ass helicopters and blowing shit up, second running for County Coroner.

Yes, no shit, County Coroner. I strongly advised him to go the County Coroner route, hey if he loses the election he can still join then and second he could hire me as a ghost employee (no pun intended).

About half way through the evening we were joined by the always captivating Mrs. JQP, who proceeded to gamble our hard earned dollars away, I mean, who was going to cover the bar tab if she ran us out of money?

Needless to say, my Flower won a tidy sum, more than enough to cover the bar tab and our evening meal. Sky Capt. had to leave a bit earlier than I wanted him to, due to a call from his Ground Control, but all in all it was a rather enjoyable evening, full of mutual admiration and back rubs.

We were home by 6:00pm at which point I was told by my love that “Time and Temp were right” so I was called upon to perform my husbandly duties, not once, not twice, but three times (four, if you count this morning). Shit, I am not 18 anymore.

Your Weekly Bush Bashing:

(What do ya mean I’m dropping in the Poles? I like them hairy sausage eaten folks)

Bill for the Day:
SONNET 61
Is it thy will thy image should keep open
My heavy eyelids to the weary night?
Dost thou desire my slumbers should be broken,
While shadows like to thee do mock my sight?
Is it thy spirit that thou send'st from thee
So far from home into my deeds to pry,
To find out shames and idle hours in me,
The scope and tenor of thy jealousy?
O, no! thy love, though much, is not so great:
It is my love that keeps mine eye awake;
Mine own true love that doth my rest defeat,
To play the watchman ever for thy sake:
For thee watch I whilst thou dost wake elsewhere,
From me far off, with others all too near.

Quote for the Day:
There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.
Malcolm X

I remain, standing my post on the walls of your dreams:

JQP esq.

10 to 1:

Lifted shamelessly from “The Pin-Up Girl of the Kibbutz”, the only Texan whose Borsht I would eat. Check out the little filly at: http://www.sarathena.blogspot.com/

Part A: TEN FIRSTS
1: First Memory:
2: First Grade Teacher:
3: First Pet (type and name):
4: First Flight (age and location):
5: First Crush (celebrity AND real-life):
6: First CD/Record (bought with your own money):
7: First Car (make and model):
8: First Kiss (name and age):
9: First Sexual Partner (name and age):
10: First Job:

Part B: NINE LASTS
1: Last Thing You Drank AND Ate:
2: Last Gift Given AND Received:
3: Last Movie:
4: Last Phone Call (both from and to):
5: Last Song You Heard:
6: Last Time You Felt Angry:
7: Last Time You Cried:
8: Last Lie You Told:
9: Last Person to Whom You Said “I Love You”:

Part C: EIGHT HAVE YOU EVERS
1: Have you ever had a one night stand?
2: Have you ever been arrested?
3: Have you ever skinny dipped?
4: Have you ever been on TV?
5: Have you ever kissed someone you didn't like?
6: Have you ever cheated?
7: Have you ever been in love?
8: Have you ever stolen anything?

Part D: SEVEN THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:

Part E: SIX THINGS YOU'VE DONE TODAY
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:

Part F: FIVE FAVORITE THINGS
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:

Part G: FOUR PEOPLE YOU REALLY LOVE
1:
2:
3:
4:

Part H: THREE CHOICES
1: Pro-Life or Pro Choice:
2: Religious orAtheist:
3: Cilantro orNo Cilantro:

Part I:TWO THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1:
2:

Part J: ONE THING YOU REGRET
1:

Feel free to post yours here, I will mine later. If you do, you have to post in chunks, or Haloscan will cut you off. I will post mine when I have time to come up for air.

JQP

Bitter Cold and the Morning News:

Thought for the Day:
Hope is a waking dream.
Aristotle, from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers

On Rolling a Stone up and Hill:
Still working on the “Mother of all Grants” so children don’t look for a bunch of wit and insight from these my humble pages. Don’t you hate when work gets in the way of living? Such is the modern mans fate in life.

Things that I found interesting in today’s news:
Someone wrote a grant to do studies on how dogs laugh and just released their findings. Fucking hell, I need to take some pointers from that person, I can't get people to give me money to help children and they are bankrolling this study?

Tommy almost wiggled off the hook, but no luck and that was with his hand picked Judge, damn what would have happened if it really was an act of justice.

The Evangelical Right has their shit together. I had no less than 13 e-mails about how the liberals, ACLU and Democrats are attacking Christmas. Bah fucking Humbug. People really believe this crap, that’s what gets me. Man, if we Americans could dig our heads out of our asses long enough to breathe we might, just might, be able to make this country a great place, not a serfdom for corporations and those who award power like the crumbs from their table. A whole new light on trickle down economy eh what?

Yet another day with out reporting on bombing and/or missile attacks in Afghanistan. The war the media forgot. Yes, children people are still being killed over there.

Ms. Rice is letting all of us know in a back handed way, you better play ball. If not you and your children could be waterboarded in a Romanian prison.

British newspapers go for the throat. I like that.

The dollar is up. Its high time to take that trip to France, but folks keep an eye on our trade imbalance.

China, scares me. Hell the are buying up US debit, like a loan shark looking for an angle on a mark. Guess who is running the Panama Canal?

India and Pakistan scare me to. Who the hell will answer my computer questions when Delhi gets nuked? Let alone up-date my bank account.

North Korea, now there is a 500 pound gorilla hiding in the closet. The place is fucking nuts and really scares the fuck out of me. My dad, used to tell me what tough little bastards they are, and friends I don’t want my kids to find out if he was right. Funny, they are run by a nut job, who we know has nukes and who threatens to go to war about every week, how come the 82nd Airborne isn’t dropping in there? Oh, right no oil, we are after all the United States of Gulf, Shell and Wal-Mart.

In other news:
Its early, I need a shower and coffee. Then off to work early on this brisk Indiana morning (7 above). All my best to you my fellow wage slaves.

Today’s Bill:
"Now is the winter of our discontent."
--From King Richard III (I, i, 1)

Quote of the Day:
You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act.
Barbara Hall, A Summons to New Orleans, 2000

I remain, the busy beaver building the dam for your fears:

JQP esq.

On Football and Reading my Bible:

(I am nothing if not a problem solver.)

From the Talking Shit File:
Ok, children gather around, your host is in the drivers seat for some talking shit action. I ask you who, yes who, called the ND Bowl Game oh so long ago? It was me, yes, that’s right me.

SOUTH BEND – The University of Notre Dame can officially claim its restoration as a national football power. On Sunday, the Bowl Championship Series selected Notre Dame to face Ohio State University in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 2 in Tempe, Ariz.

Add to that St. Francis win Saturday and you have a wonderful football weekend, perfect if Army would of beat Navy, but hey I will take what I can get. Anyway, now USF is on its way to take the title from Carroll, in the battle of Catholic College Football, and fans this year I think the Cougars will pull it off. NAIA football is damn fun to watch, so much that Pete the Fireman, Matt the Cop and I are thinking about a road trip down to Savannah to watch some National Title Action.

In Other News:
Nothing to report from the weekend, I stayed in baking cookies for the homeless and knitting socks for the soldiers. Yes, I was a good boy, which is odd because the sweet and loving Mrs. JQP was on the road all weekend. I don’t have a lot to write, I have to get my head into the game, I have a mongo grant that I am working on that needs to be out the door ASAP. Wishing you all the Monday joy you deserve.


JQP esq.

Oral Sex and Sweet Potato Pie:

Thought for the Day:
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
J. R. R. Tolkien

I love Chinese Take-Out:

(It’s my favorite dish, but then again you being smart. you knew that already)

A brief Re-Cap of No-Love-Thursday:
I have one of those hangovers where you’re going to be drunk until 10:30 and then the fun begins. Yes, children, I your host tied one on last night. Looking and feeling my best I am (and yes, today its just seems easier to talk in a Yoda voice).

I started my evening going with James the Bi-Sexual Bartender to look at the Cadillac and yes it is a sweet ride. It’s a white 1975 rag-top Fla. car with only 50 thousand miles in great shape. All mine for only 1700.00. After James droped me off I joined Pastor Bob, The Dudgeons and Dragons Player of the Week and the Bitter Red Headed Lady all ready in progress.

Well into my fourth drink I remembered that I had to go get Tattoo John, thusly Pastor Bob and I loaded up for the trek to the West side of our fare city to pick up my esteemed colleague. Upon our return we were joined by M. Chamberlain Newspaper Man, and his friend the Polish Village Girl. Also to join our merry band were Sky Captain and the Giant Irishman, even Flavia Puff herself made an appearance. .

There were a few blogable moments but in my alcohol induced haze I forgot them all. Friends I was so well served that Mrs. JQP had to come and get my sorry ass. On the plus side Mrs. JQP has laryngitis, so that was not as bad has it seems at first glance, that and I got a blow job out of the deal (it was from a football bet my flower and I made, go Colts). I got home and ate a pound of roast beef followed by a entire sweet potato pie. All in all a normal Thursday in the life of a man of my nature.




Your Drinks for the Week:
Since the city in which I live is the last resting place of Mr. John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed I thought apple themed drinks were in order.

Kekionga Cocktail
Drink Ingredients:
2 oz. Triple Sec
2 oz. Apple Brandy
Juice of 1/4 Lemon

Instruction:
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Johnny’s Seed
Drink Ingredients:
1/4 oz. Lemon Juice
1 oz. Triple Sec
2 oz. Myer's Dark rum

Instruction:
3/4 oz. Myers's Original Dark Rum 1/2 oz. amaretto 3 oz. apple juice 8 oz. crushed ice

Lesson Learned:
A good drink not to make is mixing Rumplemintz and Miller High Life in the same glass

Today’s Bill:
Then must you speak
Of One that lov'd not wisely but too well."
--From Othello (V, ii, 343-344)

Quote for the Day:
Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.
Sir Winston Churchill

I remain; the all seeing eye on the dollar bill tucked into the g-string of the stripper of your soul.

JQP esq.

From the One Step Forward, Two Steps Back File:

It’s No Love Thursday:
And children, that is exactly what I am getting. I just came out of one of those cut 50% of your program services meetings. What a great and wonderful way to start your day. Thusly, I dear reader…I am prepped and primed for some No Love action. Some days I hate my fucking job, today being one of them.

In Other News:
Tattoo John, a chum of mine from my days at Eton, returned to the states after his year long research project studying the sexual habits of Asian women ages 18 to 24. So beside bumming a ride from me and sticking me with the bar tab that I know will ensue, I think I might be in for a rather interesting evening.

Around 3:00 James the Bi-Sexual Bartender is going to pick me up at work and take me to see a 1974 Cadillac convertible that he is trying to sell for 1500 dollars. I tend to think I would look good driving such a luxury vehicle, however my wife thinks the money would be better spent on a trip to Paris (yes, I love the French).

Pastor Bob starts a Blog: http://home.comcast.net/~pastorbobsden/ After several month of making fun of everyone else’s blogs, Pastor Bob drunkenly said he would start his own, behold his, at least its not about kittens or pictures of his children.

Back once more into the pit of despair.

Your Recipe for the Week:

Breaded Corned Beef

Ingredients
1 piece corned silverside, about 4 pound or 2 kg
4 tablespoons vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup soft breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
½ stick of melted butter

For the Wine sauce
30 g (1 oz) butter
30 g (1 oz) flour
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup redcurrant jelly
1 teaspoon coarse ground mustard
Salt and black pepper

How to:

1. Rinse meat, put into a saucepan and just cover with warm water.

2. Add vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar.

3. Slowly bring to the boil, skim surface and simmer, covered, for 2 1/2 hours or until tender.

4. Transfer beef to a greased baking dish.

5. Combine breadcrumbs, remaining brown sugar, parsley and enough melted butter to moisten.

6. Press evenly over fat surface of beef and bake in moderate oven 180-190°C (350-375°F) for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden brown.

7. When cooked place on serving platter and serve with vegetables and Wine Sauce.


For the Wine Sauce
1. Melt the butter, add flour and stir for 2 minutes.

2. Slowly stir in the wine and cook, stirring constantly until almost boiling.

3. Add jelly, mustard, salt and pepper and simmer, stirring until jelly has melted.

4. Pour into a sauce boat


I remain; with just a few loafs of bread and a old fish:

JQP esq.

Your Weekly Bush Bashing: