March 28, 2010

At the Too-Early Café...

DSC08499

... it's hard to think of anything to say in this pre-dawn light. You start the conversation.

33 comments:

As my whimsy leads me.. said...

It's Palm Sunday, and your coffee has a palm leaf in it.

Do you still do crossword puzzles, and have you ever tried Cryptoquotes?

Why do Girl Scout cookies always arrive during Lent?

What are you doing May 1? The Kentucky Derby would be so bloggable, especially if you could get yourself invited to some Derby eve parties in Lexington (Anita Madden--how 'bout an invitation?) And you look good in hats.

Has Meade been to Natural Bridge and the Red River Gorge in Kentucky? Wonderful place. Anybody else--what is your favorite STATE park? Another thing Ky is known for, in addition to horses, bourbon, tobacco, Ale-8-1, Shakertown, basketball, country ham, Kentucky Hot Browns and politics--the damnedest--are the great state parks.

As my whimsy leads me.. said...

The moonlight falls the softest
In Kentucky;
The summer's days come oft'est
In Kentucky;
Friendship is the strongest,
Love's fires glow the longest;
Yet, a wrong is always wrongest
In Kentucky.

The sunshine's ever brightest
In Kentucky;
The breezes whisper lightest
In Kentucky;
Plain girls are the fewest,
Maidens' eyes the bluest,
Their little hearts are truest
In Kentucky.

Life's burdens bear the lightest
In Kentucky;
The home fires burn the brightest
In Kentucky;
While players are the keenest,
Cards come out the meanest,
The pocket empties cleanest
In Kentucky.

Orators are the grandest
In Kentucky;
Officials are the blandest
In Kentucky;
Boys are all the fliest,
Danger ever nighest,
Taxes are the highest
In Kentucky.



The bluegrass waves the bluest
In Kentucky;
Yet bluebloods are the fewest
In Kentucky;
Moonshine is the clearest,
By no means the dearest,
And yet, it acts the queerest,
In Kentucky.

The dove's notes are the saddest
In Kentucky;
The streams dance on the gladdest
In Kentucky;
Hip pockets are the thickest,
Pistol hands the slickest,
The cylinder turns quickest
In Kentucky.

Song birds are the sweetest
In Kentucky;
The thoroughbreds the fleetest
In Kentucky;
Mountains tower proudest,
Thunder peals the loudest,
The landscape is the grandest - and
Politics - the damnedest
In Kentucky.

--In Kentucky, by Judge James Hillary Mulligan, 1902

WV--bleesob--should be bluesob--what I was doing during the game last night

Ron said...

Man, I'm outta coffee! How's the road trip?

Michael Haz said...

Kentucky Hot Browns.....that would be a GREAT breakfast this morning.

Most southern cooking has migrated to the rest of the country. Barbecue is everywhere; chicken fired steak is on the menu at most diners; even McDonald's sells sweet tea; and cooked greens hit the plate, even at so-called haute cuisine restaurants.

But nowhere that I know of in the upper Midwest can I get Kentucky Hot Browns for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are some awful wannabe dishes like turkey and gravy over white bread, but the real thing just isn't here.

Tragedy! Woe!

Unknown said...

As my whimsy leads me.. said...

It's Palm Sunday, and your coffee has a palm leaf in it.

Very observant. That one went past me, although taking the pups outside at 6 in the AM isn't the best wake-up call in the world.

What are you doing May 1? The Kentucky Derby would be so bloggable, especially if you could get yourself invited to some Derby eve parties in Lexington (Anita Madden--how 'bout an invitation?) And you look good in hats.

Watch out in Louisville; they're tearing up the roads (another stimulus project where nobody is actually working) and there are detours everywhere.

And, yes, I'd like to see Ann in a picture hat, and maybe Meade in one of those old planter's hats.

As my whimsy leads me.. said...

Michael--Hot browns for breakfast? Never thought of that before, but a great idea.

mesquito said...

I hope Meade is drinking real coffee and not the pantywaist kind.

rhhardin said...

Doberman works the tire puzzle.

vet66 said...

Amazing what can be done with crema and a small spoon...calligraphy in a mug..white on mocha.

HKatz said...

It looks like cave art - a clear white design on the brownish background.

Now try to do one shaped like a hunter tracking down some wildlife :)

traditionalguy said...

Let's wake up and smell the coffee. Our free speech may only have a few years left to enjoy its practice under the Fascist Governance now ascendant in the Democrat's DC. I feel like Walt in Gran Torino must have felt surrounded by violent gangs operating above the law. We need to calm down a figure out a plan with no room for mistakes this time.

ricpic said...

Sip the coffee
Break the spell
Pretty pattern
Shot to hell.

Unknown said...

A self-indulgent sports moment.

The UW Badgers men's hockey team advanced to the Frozen Four last night with a 5-3 win over St. Cloud State.

I have a slight hangover.

On Friday, Hockey Bucky plays the Rochester Institute of Technology -- my wife's alma mater.

Let. The. Good. Times. Roll.

Jason (the commenter) said...

No sleeping-in for me either. I've got the Honda Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg going on four blocks away!

Can you say VROOOOM?

bagoh20 said...

Feeling pretty fine this morn. Yesterday I finally found a permanent family and home for a wonderful Akita/Border Collie. He was my most difficult challenge to date with a difficult early life and consequently some tough issues to resolve. He learned the joy of play and it saved him. He was saved by the nature we all have when we get out of our own way. Play today; it may save you too. It will definitely save the day.

Anonymous said...

CNN reported that "at least dozens" of people showed up for the Tea Party rally in Senator Harry Reid's backyard.

Jeez, Ann ... you and Meade could have shown up and made it "at least bakers' dozens."

Seriously thought it's amazing to me how, in this day and age, they think they can get away with this sort of slanting of the news.

It's easy to spin poll results, or write a story leaning to your side of the political debate, but despite popular Democrat Party opinion ... people do indeed believe their lying eyes.

That CNN attempts this sort of easily-debunked deceit is why they are one of the lowest-rated "news" sites in all of television.

bagoh20 said...

"Seriously thought it's amazing to me how, in this day and age, they think they can get away with this sort of slanting of the news."

I suppose when deciding between being appreciated for being a professional or fitting in with their shrinking clique, they do what they have since junior high school.

Anonymous said...

"... or fitting in with their shrinking clique, they do what they have since junior high school."

Their clique is shrinking faster than you think. It's so small, I'm not sure it could even fill a junior high school gym for a pep rally.

Face it: The cool kids just aren't that into CNN.

Year-over-year ratings at CNN are down 40% - during a time when the world was experiencing the aftermath of one of the largest Earth quakes to strike the planet in recorded history.

"... compared to January of 2009, CNN's averages were down -34% in Total Viewers for both total day and primetime. In younger viewers, CNN was down even more, -41% for total day and -37% in prime.

bagoh20 said...

Self annihilation is the only sure fix for global warming.

Bicycles can have a bigger carbon footprint than cars!

I often do my 28 mile commute to work by bicycle. I feel so dirty.

Jason (the commenter) said...

The big news today is that the health care reform bill was written such that the individual mandate is non-enforceable.

I don't think anyone in the press has figured out what this means yet. The way I see it, there will be no health insurance other than medicare and medicaid when the bill takes full effect. You will have to leave your job to qualify for those programs if you get sick.

bagoh20 said...

I'm no Joe Biden, so I can't possibly understand this bill, but it's looking like only a crazy person will buy insurance before they get sick under the provisions, or keep it afterward. That should work fine.

But, we made history; we are so cool!

Anonymous said...

Ann, if you are west, may I recommend again that you wonder over to Utah: Moab and Arches National Park, then down to Bryce and Zion.

Your camera won't regret it.

kentuckyliz said...

bago, kudos to you for the dog rescue...and encouraging us to play.

coffee art, food art, is so ephemeral.

but we eat with our eyes first

the art that inspires its own destruction

Opus One Media said...

I make it a point to blog between 5am and 6am each day only unless something really distresses me. It is a good indicator of how the day will go and gives me a constant comparison of my writing improvement or slippage.

Nothing comes easy at the beginning of the day but avoiding it doesn't make it less so.

bagoh20 said...

Bryce and Zion are stunning and so different from anything east of Colorado. everyone should go at least once. It's not crazy crowded like the Grand Canyon, and I find it more beautiful. Incredible color!

Fred4Pres said...

Hunter Thompson always loved the Derby and the Superbowl.

I guess you did not make it to Searchlight, but I am sure you are having fun on your road trip. Be safe.

Paul Kirchner said...

I'm not happy that Sarah Palin seems to have become the Tea Party spokesperson. I like the idea of this party putting pressure on Republicans to get government spending under control and replace RINOs with true conservatives, when they represent a state in which a true conservative is electable. Palin really muddies the message with her support of John McCain, one of the worst of the RINOs. If his primary rival unseats him it would send a great message to the GOP. I understand that Palin has her own reasons for supporting him, mainly "business as usual" politics, which is why I don't want the Tea Party to be too closely identified with her.

Meade said...

mesquito said...
I hope Meade is drinking real coffee and not the pantywaist kind.

Some of us know the meaning of "vacation." At 5:10 AM, the only coffee Meade was drinking was in his Rocky Mountain dreams.

Anonymous said...

"The big news today is that the health care reform bill was written such that the individual mandate is non-enforceable."

Jason,

The press is very well aware of this. They are also very well aware of the strategy that was devised to get the health insurance tax hike passed in the Congress.

Senate Democrats deliberately inserted this language into the bill, specifically to tamp down opposition to it, knowing that some people would say "who cares if they pass this since they can't enforce it."

The plan, all along, has been to wait until the health care tax increase becomes a fait accompli, and then to change the language to step up enforcement.

Senate Democrats, and their partners in the mainstream media - many of them millionaires too - worked long and hard to coordinate their efforts to get passage.

Now that the bill has passed, it will be phased in very, very slowly, so that on any given day nothing occurs that would generate opposition ... but over time they'll end up with what they want.

This strategy of incrementalism is widely known by members of the media - many of whom participated in devising that very strategy.

Many members of the media are working hand-in-hand with the Democrat Party. They aren't "asleep" or "unaware." They're active participants in your enslavement.

I say this as a former newspaper editor and publisher who once attended regular meetings (I've since abandoned that profession because I choose not to be a whore).

bagoh20 said...

Paul @ 10:43,

I agree with all of that. I don't mind her being part of the movement, but Paul Ryan is a more appropriate leader of it. Although McCain has been a real ass at times, I think even he should have a place in it, but a limited one as befits his limited dedication to conservative principles. The movement, like all others, will be weakened by too much purity. It's a tough line to draw and hold between purity and a big tent, but it's the only line that gets anywhere and makes meaningful change. This will be the main challenge. Remember, the middle is all that's really in play.

victoria said...

It's going to be 86 here today, my idea of a good spring morning. My daughter is home for spring break (her last before going out in to the big bad world). We are going to make carne asada on the bbq and enjoy each other. Ah, spring.


Vicki from Pasadena

Ann Althouse said...

I was between sleeps when I wrote this post. That was yesterday morning's coffee. I went back to sleep for 3 hours.

***

As for Zion and Arches, I have been there and would love to go back, but that's 800 more miles and we've only got a week of spring break here. After 3 more weeks, the semester will be over. So... this is just a peaceful interlude in Boulder and environs.

Chennaul said...

Now that you have Meade you should try to hike The Narrows at Zion.