31 March 2009

Fruit Stork Migrates South Months Early...

Isatta Tamata?!?



On a plant ~18" tall?
Yep!


Slainte, Folks!

Cygnus

29 March 2009

CannabiSunday

In honor of the Obama Idiocy to not view legalization from rational scientific and economic standpoints.




City, cannabis sellers try to clear the smoke left behind by Prop. 215
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal


We've seen a new breed of entrepreneur with the passage of Prop. 215 in November.

The measure made legal the sale of marijuana for medical purposes.

Meanwhile, would-be pot peddlers and wary local civic authorities are trying to work out the kinks for an industry that has heretofore thrived underground.

There are still many points to negotiate.

The powers that be are none too happy with Prop. 215.

Voters essentially said they wanted this part of the war on drugs to come to a halt.

But those who enforce the laws aren't willing to walk away from a battle they have been fighting for decades.

So San Jose city officials are busy setting down guidelines on how marijuana will be sold.

After consulting with city attorney Joan Gallo, the City Council decided last week that outlets catering to cannabis consumers must conform to all existing rules and regulations, plus a few new ones.

For example, entrepreneurs who open so-called buyers' clubs must operate in commercial areas.

They may not deliver their product like Domino's.

And they must keep regular business hours.

Thus, they won't be competing with 24-hour Denny's--yet.

Marijuana use may be more socially acceptable in the wake of Prop. 215, but it won't be sold like cigarettes or liquor for years to come.

Still, even sales for medical purposes will take some getting used to.[1]


Three Oakland city council members have proposed raising the business tax rate on medical marijuana sales to $12 or $24 per $1,000 of gross receipts. The current rate is $1.20.[Cygnus says Quick! Somebody do the math! is that a 100 or 1,000% increase? And how does it rate per $1,000 of gross receipts compared to tobacco? Could revenue legitimately be more or less?]

The council members, Rebecca Kaplan (at-large), Nancy Nadel (district 3), and Jean Quan (district 4), said in an agenda report that the move would bring in an additional $200,000 to $400,000 in annual revenue.

Richard Lee, president of Oaksterdam University, an Oakland-based trade school for the cannabis industry, said that he has been working with the city council on this proposal. He also said the industry is fully behind it.

“We believe we should be paying more taxes, and we want to help the city more in its economic crisis,” Lee said.

He also said that the taxes should extend beyond the cannabis clubs and be applied to suppliers, and nurseries. Lee estimates that medical marijuana in Oakland is a $20 million industry, and that further taxing will help further legitimize it.

The council members could not immediately be reached for comment.[2]


Cannabis Law Reform
From NORML:

As for those tens of millions of you who believe that cannabis should be legally regulated like alcohol -- and the tens of thousands of you who voted to make this subject the most popular question in the White House's online Presidential Town Hall -- well, your voice doesn't really matter.

Asked this morning whether he "would ... support the bill currently going through the California legislation to legalize and tax marijuana, boosting the economy and reducing drug cartel related violence," the President responded with derision.

"There was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation, and I don't know what this says about the online audience," he laughed.

"The answer is no, I don't think that [is] a good strategy."


Please, go read the entire thing. And consider adding your name to the well-written form letter, to which you can amend in any way you see fit. What follows is their form-letter...

Mr. President,

You pledged "to open up the White House to the American people." I'm one of the tens of millions of Americans who believe that cannabis should be legally regulated like alcohol. I'm also one of the tens of thousands of Americans who voted to make this subject the most popular question in your online Presidential Town Hall. I'm disappointed to learn that you believe that my voice doesn't really matter.

I understand that you may oppose this position, but that is no reason to deride this issue.

Mr. President, please tell me: "What is it that you think is so funny about the subject of marijuana law reform?"

Since 1965, police have arrested over 20 million Americans for violating marijuana laws, yet nearly 90 percent of teenagers say that pot is "very easy" or "fairly easy" to obtain. Do you find this funny?

According to your administration, there is an unprecedented level of violence occurring at the Mexico/US border -- much of which is allegedly caused by the trafficking of marijuana to the United States by drug cartels. America's stringent enforcement of pot prohibition, which artificially inflates black market pot prices and ensures that only criminal enterprises will be involved in the production and sale of this commodity, is helping to fuel this violence. Do you still believe that this subject is humorous?

Finally, two recent polls indicate that a strong majority of regional voters support ending marijuana prohibition and treating the drug's sale, use, and distribution like alcohol. A February 2009 Zogby telephone poll reported that nearly six out of ten of voters on the west coast think that cannabis should be "taxed and legally regulated like alcohol and cigarettes." A just-released California Field Poll reports similar results, finding that 58 percent of statewide votes believe that regulations for cannabis should be the same or less strict than those for alcohol.

Why do you choose to laugh at these people? Why do you choose to laugh at me?

The American public is ready and willing to engage in a serious and objective political debate regarding the merits of legalizing the use of cannabis by adults. The time for joking is over.

Please consider apologizing for your dismissive tone, and please consider treating those of us who believe that there are viable alternatives to marijuana prohibition with the respect we deserve.[3]

Cygnus says judging by the two articles above, looks like an economic hit--pun intended-- to me!!!

Sources:
1.http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1997/03/31/editorial3.html?q=cannabis

2.http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/03/23/daily93.html

3.a)http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/133667/obama_should_have_taken_the_the_pot_question_seriously_at_his_public_townhall_/?page=2
b)http://magichills.blogspot.com/
Hey folks, I didn't print Livia's addendum to the letter-- it's worth few more minutes of your time to go read!

4. Go and look at THESE numbers for Federal Income Tax Revenues for alcohol and tobacco. What d'ya reckon legal marijuana would garner?
About the same, I ken. A vice less harmful than alcohol and less addictive than nicotine. Honest to all the gods it is!

See ya soon, Folks!

Slainte!

Cygnus

P.S. smokem if ya gotem...

The Ultimate Test

When the Muses first supposed this writing upon me I was thinking back to the degrees of Black Belt once that modicum of expertise was met.
In my tradition (Tukong Moo Sul Won)the only way to attain the tenth dan or level of mastery was to take the Ultimate Test.

Or maybe to go to receive your Results from that Test...

I think that is what Death is- the pass-or-fail call time for the Test you just finished: LIFE.

No, not an original idea-- all major religions have their version of the Pass-Fail moment. Pick your poison; I'll expound on mine.

I believe we humans are four-fold:
1) Body
2) ego/persona
3)Spirit
4)SOUL

BODY is just that- our physical carbon-based vessel. Or Temple. I like Temple.

Ego/persona are psychological aspects easily explored elsewhere; my basic take is, this is this is the mental perception we and others have of our Self, or that Self exposed to the world in the guise of a Mask (persona, oui?).

SPIRIT: Ah, I like this one. This is one of my favorite of the Four, if that's possible. And since mankind can envision it, so it falls within that realm...
The best definition I've yet come across for spirit (or Spirit if you prefer; depends on the moment and occasion for me..) is The Animating Life Force...

There is a definite difference between me and you as living, breathing human beings and a cadaver. For me- for us all-- that difference is an energy field known as Spirit. ( That it is an energy field can be suggested because of the heat factor--another example of sentence#1!!) I do not believe spirit to be Eternal-- that honor is saved for the Soul-- but as energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred, mayhap the spirit returns to the stew pot only to be stirred again and ladled anew the next need..

Spirit leads us to become the one we really are supposed to be in this lifetime. My personal energy manifests itself well in the area of athletics.
Maybe some are writers.
Others dance, act, paint, fly, sail, build, invent... you get the image. It's what you'd do if you had the money all the free time in the world to pursue the passion.

Soul.
Hmm... I see the Soul as judging Itself after life. Like sitting at a desk in a classroom, Solo, looking at the TEST RESULTS for the life just completed.
Now the SOUL has no option of lying to itself-- the proof is right there on the page.. er, so to speak, or to keep the analogy. "Look, I got that one right; OOH!(Cringes) Messed up there..."
That sort of thing.

Now, the Soul, being Eternal, has to come back and learn every possible lesson Life has to offer.
It has to Master Every Task. It has to suffer Every Sorrow.

I also believe it has to master Love, and when It has achieved these three it can Move On-- Graduate, if you will (or Will ha!).

To what I don't know-- maybe color me Agnostic on that point-- but I do believe It goes on to learn more.

The Ultimate Purpose or End?

:I> Beats me. Maybe a Communal Soup much like Spirit-source?

Likely, Total Reunification with Every Other Energy Source.

That thought kinda makes me happy!

And makes eerie sense...

Slainte!

Cygnus

27 March 2009

Taking The Night Off...

I needs rest, folks.

I'll be back in left field menana, but for now it's me and Morpheus...

Slainte!

Cygnus

26 March 2009

More Veggie Status...

I didn't water the Garden's growth c'est soir upon abode arrival as is normal; I've been sky-watching...

And it's a New Moon.

So I sit here listening to the rain steady my senses, and scratch my melon whilst trying to figure what Picassa's momental malfeasance is...

Oh! Wait!
Look-- here's the blossoms (green bean) before the rain!!! Now lookie: that's a buffler head nikkel on my boot, jest fer perspective.


And here's a round trip, literally, of the plot...
[BTW, the squash plant above is pictured below in the upper third of the right corner of photo, next to the Tilted Brick...]

Start at the Southern corner...

Move to the Eastern one...

And then on a Northern Front...

Y' reckon the other one is next?

Ive already eaten from this garden, Folk...

OH!!! HANG ON A SEC!!!

New leaves.. of Heirloom watermelons!!

How much more hip can we be?!!
Well.. I do compost...

So let's take a look at that pile...

And let's be damned if the cantaloupe melon rind and seed thrown out aren't about trying to branch from their Hybrid Parent.

Can't be bad, all-around...

Slainte, Folks!!

Cygnu..

25 March 2009

A Question For My Gardening Readers...

In the last two days, my little garden patch has seen as much growth as in its first five weeks.

Honest Abe! The crookneck squash is determined to shade every other close-by greenery out of existence. The tomato plants-- every living one-- have DOUBLED in size, as have the green bean stalks. And one of the green beans has decided to mimic the tomato seedling and sprout BLOSSOMS!!! (Too late in the eve for photos-- soon, I promise!)

It is about the blossoms that I proffer question: my gut says pinch them off and allow the energy to fuel new vegetative growth...

The other thought is to let them remain, to let the plants and Mother Nature do their bidding.

I'm gonna pinch, I think.

But I'll wait until I've (first) photographed the proof, and until I hear back from fellow green thumbs and thumbettes...

Thanks for the help, folks!

Gads, I love watching labor pay off! :D

More soon, folks...

Slainte!

Cygnus

24 March 2009

As Miserable As Ever...

Or More So, is all I'd add...

Heard a story about a monk living in a Zen Monastery.

His fellow students/travelers heard this young one had reached the state of Enlightenment.
Curious to learn more, they grouped and found their way to their friend...
"So," one monk asks reverently, "we hear you have reached an enlightened state..."

"Yes," the pupil answered, with a genuine smile and a brightness to his eyes his brethren had not noticed before.
And he stood after the one word, continuing to smile.

Finally impatient for a reply, all of his peers began questioning at the same time:
"How?"
"What is it like?"
"How does it feel?"

Same smile, same eye-gleam, the monk had only one response:

"As miserable as ever."



Folks, I'm with the Monk on the misery scale. Seriously.
Or I may have him bested there...
My question is-- "WHERE THE F#*K IS THIS LIGHT?"!!!

Any of you folks seen from this monk's perspective?
Anybody chanced or figured upon the REASON we are here?

I got excuses galore-- what I'm after now is REASON-- solid, tangible REASON for what the hell I am supposed to be accomplishing here (as in On This Earth...).

Don't come back with some buls$h!t about some Higher Purpose or other spiritual tripe... today ain't the sell-day for that rigamarole.
WHAT.
WHY.

These are my questions.

Peanut Gallery? Your Turn!!

Slainte.

Cygnus

22 March 2009

Worthy Pursuit Of Adult Leisure Time

A Book To Read: Literature/History/Bibliography genre...

Actually, you should go to the N.P.R. site and listen to the interview:

"I don't think for a moment that there was any sexual relationship between them, because I think their relationship had nothing to do with bodies," explains Wilson. "They were wrapped up in each others' minds in a much more complicated and frightening way."

Just sounds like a fascinating read, people-- and I don't even like biblio's...

Oh, and there's a great site link for no-knead (or low-knead!) bread recipes-- I think several, in fact... Go see! In fact, again you can go listen to the interview. Recommended, really... I'm headed that a-way even as you read this-- and already heard it on broadcast!!

Slainte, literary-- and prepatory-- Folks!

Cygnus

Double Love Award Finally Arrives!

Sick and Tired of me talking about My Misadventurous Mommy?
Grab some Pepto- and a pillow; this likely won't be her last mention here.

A while back, she foisted another assignment-- I mean, gracefully bestowed an award-- upon yours truly. I did the writing, but instead of passing it along to seven others, I chose six, and then told Mommy a new award would be created for her should she chose to proffer another 7 Things She Loves.

She did so immediately.

And has been graceful enough to give me a bit of time to come up with the "cash" to cover the check my overly active oral orifice offered... Thanks, dearie!

Allie, to you goes the first ever DOUBLE LOVE AWARD, for back-to-backing the Kreativ Blogger Assignment, thus sharing with an ever-prying world not seven but fourteen things about yourself...



Sliante!

Cygnus

Early Bloomer

Cool to see, of a March Equinox Weekend...

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Slainte, Folks!

Cygnus

21 March 2009

Weekends Beg Music, Videos, and all-around Shenanigan-ry...

And that's what I'm here for, folks-- to set it all into motion, and-- because some of you have fambly's to tend weekends and some are just slack-sloth lazy--I'm gonna set it off by proclaiming this Friday and this Freya's Day Nacht only as "MULTI-VIDEO NIGHT".

NOPE.
Gonna spare you having to watch me ugly mug, or some lame-assed cat video in bad light on a slow weeknight...

I'll go for some good music stuffs. Check back periodically thru-out the eve.

And since I have a plethora of 'extraneous' writing to do [I've the programming homework, and a nother Honest Scrap Award -- this time from Andy&Mel Lowe at The Black Bus! These itenerant folk, meandering about the Scottish Highland, have been on an approx. 3 wk. 'forced writing hiatus' due to computer problems... Rare, but ubiquitious, those...], I declare menana (ok, for those of you North of Minnesota, that means tomorrow. It's Tex-Mex.) officially "Soundless Saturday", wherein you log in at your own risk, and in doing so chance pictures that speak a thousand foreign words...

For the eve I'm following me kinsmen Andy's modus operandi-- I'll be back later with whatever the hell it is I said I'd be doing. (I'll re-read, no worry...)

Oh here-- start with this: Because, Amsterdam and Flowers... How can you go wrong!?!



Slainte!
Cygnus

Well, Here's an addition I would not resist if I could...

Thanks, Thin Lizzy..


S.!
C.

20 March 2009

Hey Bullseye-- Who Let The Cat(man) In??!

A VISIT TO CYGNUS'...



Slainte,Folks!!

Cygnus

19 March 2009

Your Expertise, Please...

Anyone help a man out? Trying to learn a crash course in Javascript and HTML.

Any Sites, N E BODEE??

See, I'm on a mission...

Slainte!

Cygnus

17 March 2009

St Paddy's!! How 'bout some Irish poetry?!?

Hello, Folks... Cygnus here.
Well, I'm wearin' the required green-- though there are a few of you I'd rather be pinched by, but that's another blog-- however, not ingesting any green frothy adult beverages..
[On a side note-- I tried to type the words "adult beverage" one eve...
Typed the words"adolt beverage".

Hello? Dionysius?? Or did I link to Sigmund..???]

I do not remember the name of the following poem-- my reference materials are currently on sabbatical, sorry-- but I do know that the Author was Anonymous. Must have been one of her better days-- I never seen the comments signed by her on yall's posts quite so...
well, eloquent. To be blunt.



Thanks to Nanny for the magnifique Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner c'est soir...
Wish you coulda been here, folks!

Slainte!

C.

16 March 2009

Knew I Liked Doggies For A Reason...

nothing like a run in the streets to get the tail wagging...



Give Kay-Nein an extra treat-- tell 'er it's from Cygnus...

Oh-- and that he bid "SLAINTE,FOLKS! (and puppy!)"

15 March 2009

My Award For Beauty...

This Award was created by me because Overly Opinionated Allie answered a call to proffer seven more things she loves-- and folks, is this list a very honest, interesting look...

I personally can't wait for the toy review series; I'm hoping for lots of video footage therein:D

At any rate, this lady has gone out on a limb of self-revelation via her three blogs.
It is said that ugly goes clear to the bone.
I know that True Beauty-- Inner Beauty-- seeps clear to the soul.
It is for that Beauty this award exists.
I ask no words, demand no further tagging. Pass the award on under the same conditions-- that is,unconditionally.

Thanks, Allie! I learned a lot today. I love learning... :)
This is for Your Site:

 
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Slainte!
Cygnus

Garden Update: Sunday Evening ~1815 hrs local...

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In The Garden Of Cygnus'




Slainte!

Saturn's Day Collage...

Weekends I tend to post between four and... more times. Usually the first is the one I'd do weekdays; the second is a mid-day goof-off for my own humor; most of yall are doing fambly weekend stuff and are able to avoid subjecting yourself to such Obscuria...

Oh-- the third is likely to be some drunken tripe, especially of a sat or sun eve...

All that to say, I thought I'd try a streamer-style post: one title, but the thing should morph over the day to include several daily time-capsules in one easy-to-browse dose...

First order: Notice I added a link for the Celtic Music show Thistle & Shamrock to my sidebar.

No, no advertising $ to me for this-- I just wanna turn on anyone who might be interested in that genre to a great source for a variety of said...
Just click on the icon to find out more-- including when their weekly one-hour program will be airing on an NPR station in your neck of the woods.

Thanks for the eyes, and ears, Folks!

Cygnus, bidding all Slainte!

2207 hrs Yep; Saturday night just became, again, Cygnus' dedicated radio Listening night.
First, at 2100 hrs local, the Thistle And Seamroc (traditional spelling... pronounced the same).
Followed by Hearts Of Space (ambient music...)

Yep. love non-mainstream. I LOVE MUSIC!!!

0004 hrs
(four minutes after midnight, Nimrod!)

Incoming E-Mail from a Friend:


Mental Feng Shui

There's some mighty fine advice in these words, even if you're not superstitious.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.




0137 hrs, And I'm A Hungry Doggie, Mommy...



Couldn't resist-- nor do I want to...

~0500 local Smiling Too Big To Sleep...
But time to sleep none the less, Folks. I've got a lot of learning to do tomorrow-- Award-making 101...
Hope to see you back-- if you've made it this far!ha!

Slainte!

Cygnus

Bartering: Not Just For Bubba Anymore...

From NPR News

Listen Now [3 min 27 sec] add to playlist

Weekend Edition Saturday, December 20, 2008 · The economic slowdown has meant that many businesses are having to get creative to stay afloat. And an increasing number are turning to a mode of trade that's ancient: bartering.

Josh Gardner owns a Connecticut company called "The Jar Store" that distributes glassware and candle-making materials. He says he's seen a drop-off in sales since the economy worsened, and that a lot of his clients — small-time candle makers and specialty food providers who use his glass jars — have been going out of business.

That's when he heard about bartering.

"When I first heard it, I laughed," Gardner says. "I couldn't understand it that we had gone back to some archaic, literally pre-Babylonian exchange mechanism. I picture like two shepherds trading goats for cows in like northern Nepal."

Despite the fact that his business involves no livestock, Gardner was persuaded by his friend Debbie Lombardi to give bartering a try.

Lombardi owns Barter Business Unlimited, a barter exchange just down the road from Gardner's warehouse in Bristol, Conn. She's sort of like a business matchmaker — finding one client's service that meets another's needs.

Here's how it works: A company opens something akin to a bank account where it can build up bartering credits.

For instance, Lombardi says, if Gardner sells $5,000 worth of jars to a new client such as a florist, he wouldn't have to take flowers in return. Instead, he can take services from other companies in the exchange, such as payroll services, vehicle maintenance or Web site work.

That way, Gardner can cover some of his expenses without having to use any cash — something that he and others have found attractive amid a national credit crunch.

[Cygnus interrupts, saying "make that an InternationalFinancial Crunch, and see THIS link for an NPR-related story"...]

The International Reciprocal Trade Association, which tracks the barter industry, says barter transactions are up as much as 25 percent. While bartering is taxed the same way as cash, Lombardi says the recession is making converts out of people who had been skeptical about bartering to sustain their business.

"Time gets tight and your warehouse starts to fill up, or your guys aren't working and they're on the payroll — you know, you start to look for other alternatives," Lombardi says. "So our phones have been ringing off the hook."

She makes a commission on everything bought through Barter Business Unlimited. And she's seeing everything from restaurants turning to barter as a way to fill increasingly empty tables, to a surge in real estate listings.

"I've never seen this, and I've been doing this business 22 years," Lombardi says. "I have never seen someone come to me and say, 'I'll give you a million-dollar property and I'll take $500,000 down in barter.' Never happened."

There's another trend Lombardi is seeing for the first time: People such as dentists and other service providers sending their delinquent customers to her to see if there's something they can barter away in lieu of paying their bill in cash.

And when it's a choice between going into collection or making a trade — barter looks like a pretty appealing way to do business.

Tina Antolini reports from member station WFCR in Amherst, Mass.


Combine the two, folks. Global Economic Woes?

Got Skills?


Just a thought...


Slainte!


Cygnus

14 March 2009

Eight Things I Love

LATE. Because I never do today what I can put off until tomorrow...


My attempt to earn the Kreativ Blogger Award

[Third Draft. Just so you know...]

O.K., so we don't all live in Houston, and ain't none of us rocket scientists...

'S o.k.; It doesn't take one to deduce who my favorite Misadventurous Mommy is...
She's the reason the title lists Eight Things I Love... She's (secretly) #1, and the other seven follow...

Things must be slow in mommyland, because she recently had time to visit my site. She offered me this Kreativ Blogger Award.
[Very nice of her, except then she went "home" and claimed I laced her shoes with pebbles... "I swear, Mommy, I didn't mean to get on your nerves! I didn't even SEE them!"

Some jokes are just for me, folks. Never mind, and moving right along...]

By the way, if you are interested in cool free stuff, you should check her Misadventures In Babyraising site giveaway out. (That's right, Folks! She's giving the website away!!! NOT!!! HA!) You'll discover an unselfish motive behind this contest. Go learn details for yourself, or just go for the Misadventure of it all-- but GO! Cygnus Says...

If I list seven things I love, I get another of them awards. And can ask seven of you to do the same for same award. Kinda Like a chain letter, only painless...

So I'll start with

1) PUPPIES!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE puppies! They sense when is not the time to bother you, but aren't going to be out of perepherial vision just as a reminder that you aren't to stay in this funk forever...
dude...

I Love puppies!

Did I mention Puppies? Oh, o.k; um..

2) Pupp-- oh, wait...
How about Rain?
Especially the Lightening and Thunderstorm varieties.
When my son was ~5 yrs old, he, wife and me lived in an apartment whose bedroom windows faced a large open field. Stormy summer nights would find me at the window, curtains and binds drawn back, intently watching the lone tree in the acre to see if it would be struck...
And if not, there was the sound of serious rain coming to meet glass panes...

3)Writing.
Gods, I think I'd be psychotic if I had to keep all this stuff bottled in.
[!Hey, whaddya mean, "What's the difference!"?]

4)Seafood.
Then again look at my family Crest: Guardian-- a Swan.
And my Spirit animal? Yep.
Clams? Please, yes! Oysters? Two on the half-shell, one fried; thank you! Salmon, Mackeral, OhOh!! SHRIMP... Oh yesss...
Yes, Please, homemade tartar sauce! Thanks...

5)Music
It's magic, folks. Music is a language, mathematically backed. That alone might make it the Language of the Angels. Add that it is one of the Keys to the Universe, and we leave no doubt...

6) Playing
(includes but not limited to the following):
Climbing rocks because they're there and look challenging.
Flying airplanes to count garden beans...
Making aesthetic an area abundant with plant life...
Barbequeing
You know-- LIVING!!!

7) Magic
Combining the other six with full awareness and reverent Will...

Now I need to assign the task of listing seven things you love to seven of you.. else I don't get my Kreative Award and the kiss from the Hostes--

Oh. Um, hold on..

Still waiti--

Um, Maybe! Verdict is still out there..

But my seven? THERE ya'll are!..

1) Aeshe. C'mon Girl! Tell Ciggie What Ya Love!:P
2) DarklyFey :More Homework, Lady!
3) Edain ; C'mon, Lady-- Write to ME!!!
4) Dixiebelle! We need a new face here! :D
5)Mystic Of The Dead (pagan sisters-- and brethren!-- go visit this new blogger's site...NOW!)
6)Livia.. C'mon, Lady L.. I need Seven of your Good days, here...:)
7) Now I change the rules.
Mommy-- Back at Ya-- give me seven OTHER things that you love and I will create a unique award for your blog only...

Let's get busy, Ladies!

Slainte!

Cygnus

12 March 2009

No Mo Trip

No, your favorite ugly duckling has not slipped into a(n in-)voluntary case of ebonics. What this is is official notice that there will be no Spring Equinox camping trip for this bird.

As disappointed as I am, reason had to win the day over the very typical Cygnuspontanaeity.

Preparations continue at the rate of $2/ day in food storage towards an eventual move. In fact the deadline has been set; one reason for postponing the roadtrip-- camping for four days now would cost me near four months more racing rats, and that's rabid sickness, man...

Another reason is to redouble efforts to get a like-minded family member out of the concrete jungle ahead of schedule... any way I can help only aides me in the long run, i ken... ever needs fall out of the city fast, I have a warm, known spot to skedaddle to...

So while it rips at my soul to have to do it, I gotta do what I gotta do.

And I gotta get out of this place...not sooner 'sooner'; sooner 'later'...

Here's one for ya, Uncle...



Trust me...:P

Slainte!

Cygnus

WORK: Definitively Explored

work: 1) continued exertion or activity directed to some purpose or end... 4) a manufacturing or other industrial establishment, usually in the plural...

The dictionary goes on to list 28-- that's vingt et huit to our canuk friends-- different main agreeances on use of the word.

Forget Dictionaries.

Define work. What image does the word conjure up for you; what foul film flashes on the theatre of your mind's eye when this word is spake?


I'll tell ya what I think-- it's another four-letter word. And no plain and simple one, either; it's a dirty, nasty low-life version of the genre, all the more wicked for it's friendly facade.
"Work!"
And we're supposed to nod and smile, our grey matter automatically counting green pieces of paper traded for the most valuable of all our stock: TIME.

OUR TIME, folks!

So I'm at the factory setting, lining someone's pockets with green paper. I got a lot of time to ponder stuff. And stuff ponders along, and out of a repetitive thoughtpattern comes this blog.

Now, I LOATH work. No bones about it.

"Then What, Ciggie?"

Glad you asked, o inner leprechaun...

My favorite game-- you've won the lottery; what are you going to do with your life now that money is no concern?

Or my second favorite-- "What do you do?" wherein a guaranteed better than 95% of U.S. citizens will answer with their occupation.

That's your JOB, folks, that's what you do for a paycheck.

What Would You Do If... That is the question. Not whether it is nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune... that's that other guy Bacon's question. No, If you could do ANYTHING in the world, what would it be?

THIS is Who You Are.

So I'd garden, and climb rocks, and flirt incessantly...

Now let's circle back to the question: what is work?

Many of you may consider one of my favorite hobbies, gardening (fondly referred to as 'playing in the dirt'), to be defined as a four-letter synonym.

And to the deeper phase of the asked:
If I had to do the vegetable-raising and apiary and rabbit hutch all for existence, for my very survival versus the fun I categorize it today, would it soon not be re-filed as WORK and begin to be loath???

What say ye?

Slainte, Folks!

Cygnus

11 March 2009

PEARL!!!

Why, You Little...!

I have a very big love of laugh.

I've never chased a homeless, nascar motor-equipped scooter-mounted bag lady down for unvoluntary plowage of my alley garden... except vicariously.

Nor traded shoes for beer. ["Yet, Cyggie me man; Yet..", me inner leprecuan whispers snidely...]

But when I need to, there's only one source of experience to turn to.

Cygnus' old birdbrain is a bit addled tonight, trying to figure out Tulips and why a Lady of Pearl's caliber is offering such a beautiful pipe (hey, the tape first appeared to me as thus, and thus shall it ever remain) and them word thingies to his nest...

I'll get the flowers arranged, and you all head on over to Pearl's; Tell her Cygnus sent you. And take her a Sunflower until we find out what her favorite one is!

Slainte, Folks!

Cygnus

10 March 2009

08 March 2009

Mouse Ball and Lug Nut

Has anybody seen their twin brothers?




No, this nutball isn't one of them:

















But he did catch a shot of these imposters,lurking in the shadows of time...














Keep yer eyes peeled, folks... More soon

(whispers): Slainte!

Cygnus

Garden Update 7 March 2009

Been out playing in the dirt and near 80-dedree F sun most of the time it was out...
Too pretty to sit inside, and too broke to venture forth (the day and me, respectively!) into the concrete jungle to do... whatever it those is venturers-forth do.
So having bought a few new garden implements over the last several months, and a blue garden

in need of greening, I thought I'd don tank top and elbow grease and see what came.

Here's the spot as seen at the start of the day...
 
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About the only problem encountered was the coax cable which diagonally bisects the new grow area. I solved the future access and tiller-snack prevention by sacrificing a little grow space for a meandering walkway...
 
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In the above photo, you can see the area to the right of the walkway covered first in newspaper and then in leaves. The leafy area will serve as compost pile for now. The newspaper is not only now recycled but serves to help kill the underlying grass (so we can get more tasty vegetables in!), and will also be a haven for:

One benefit of some of the stubborn grass still growing (one reason I let half the new area go to compost-- kill that off proper) and the recent tarp coverage was these handy little critters:
 
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Tossed every one I could into the existing vegetable bed!

Speaking of which, you can see the little greening things in some of the pictures. Not so much growth as I had hoped for over the last two weeks, but maybe I'm being a bit impatient-- it is only the first week in March.

So, I put more tomato and green bean seeds between the existing plants where I saw room for a buddy to grow, too. And for S&G's thumbed some Crimson Sweet melon seeds (an heirloom variety...) down between the walk bricks and the compose area. We'll see! :D

At the end of the day I have come away with increased growing ground, an annual lease spot for the compost, and an aesthetically improved area with practical purpose to boot.

 
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Old Bird should sleep good tonight! HA!

Slainte!

Cygnus

06 March 2009

How Many Will Show...

O.K i admit.. I follow a lot of female sites. See my profile. Cute women attract hetero-sexual men.

And I have a varied reading interest. Get some good recipes, read some really funny tales.

LEARN.

But I got a bone to pick...

Well, maybe not. Here is what I DO have.

These ladyfolk are constantly exchanging awards, having contests.. generally expanding their Monkeysphere. (Thanks, Livia!)

I don't know about all the frilly awards and stuff spackled all over my seas (but AM still waiting for that HONEST SCRAP AWARD, Lazy Housewife! I bared my [clears throat] Soul, and thought the end of it until I saw the award at Pearl's... I want mines!:D), but I thought it might give the gentlemen minds a break to retreat...

To a rondy-voo and barter days.

What say you, Ken, Bulls, Cat, Hermit, Busted, Mayberry, Rod,Bison, Dragon, and Maddog... You In???

Each of you list ten you'd invite. List them, with the general idea that they do the same, on your blog-- you can link to their posts or not. Try to vary from those already present (here).

Not a contest so much as an e-union (electronic, lacking the 'r' for "real")... But be interesting to see who all would be in e-tendance...

I'll see your lists on your posts, men!

Slainte!

Cygnus

Got Religion?

Fantasy: went to hardware store. Bought 5 gal. red paint and brushes.
Went downtown and painted it...

Reality: spent time with fambly watching a must-see movie.

I spend VERY NEGLIGABLE time on any visual media but the computer-- meaning tv, movie theatres ..

"Just the first ten minutes..."
And it wasn't enough. Enthralled from the get-go, only go if you can handle questioning whatever your faith is...

Religulous With Bill Mahr



I cannot recommend this movie enough as a worthy pursuit of adult leisure time!

Slainte, Folks!

Cygnus

05 March 2009

A Little Behind...

OK, folks, stop tushie-gazing... I didn't mean THAT behind!

I had a great post recorded for the eve-- a video of yours truly reciting Kipling... alas, I have technical issues.

Darkest before the dawn (as all learning experiences turn out, for me, to be), I'm certain, because it's a pain in the arse (um, again with the cheeky gandering?!?) for me to learn new techno-crap, but once inbedded in the grey matter...

NE WHO... may be back later tonight with the vid; may not. Butt (ok, now, that's IT!!!) BUT rest assured it'll eventually make it's way to your eyes and ears.

Thanks for your patience, and maybe we'll even make a Hump-day series [oh, I give up!!!] of it, and you can catch up on other blogs and important stuff -- you know, the "forewarned is forearmed" cliche..

Slainte, my friends!

Cygnus

04 March 2009

My Method For Grilled Steak And Sauced Swan...

You will need: (per person)

  • One steak-- your choice of cut. I like T-bone or sirloin strip
  • One Swan (Latin-named in this case)
  • Marinade ( mine is soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, onion powder, minced fresh garlic, lemon pepper, sea salt, Fiesta brand fajita seasoning, and a wee bit of the frothy adult beverage of choice. I'd have used some of the next ingredient, but as a general rule never grill a steak unless it's had a minimum of 36 hours to steep in the marinade)
  • One sixer of (my pref) Guinness Extra Stout, bottles
  • One medium potato
  • A thick slice or wedge of onion. Sweet Texas Yellow works fabulously...
  • 3 to 4 tbsp. butter
  • Aluminum foil
  • BBQ or firepit (and related accoutrements). Both is grand, because I like to do my papas in the coals of the latter, whilst steak either way.

On the night of action, take your potato and use the butter (real only, please. No hydrogenated fakery for this ol' bird) to adhere the onion wedge/slice to said. Season to your liking. (I'll add that a pinch of chili powder atop the foil-wrapped, onioned potato, will be like unto Ambrosia to the Gods...) Put your papas directly in/on the coals/pit. Gas grills are great for this, or even good old-fashioned oven baking...

Have I mentioned?-- the consumption of Guinness should have long since begun in earnest.

When the bbq or fire pit is ready, on goes the dead cow. Well, really, if you just shave his arse and wave him over the flames, 's about all's ya need...

Now, every chef (or cheffess? Chevis?!?) worth his or her weight in seasalt will agree that timing is everything. EVERYTHING, folks! Meaning that just about the minute or two before your cattle arse is perfected, the fifth of the sixer should be nearing completion.

And since that should just about cover this Swan's saucing, you're ready to open the foil-covered potato (I can't not insist that fresh-grated sharp Longhorn cheddar cheese, some REAL immitation-flavored ['genuine feaux', folks! nothin' but the best!] bacon bits, sour cream and a bit more of Bessie's coagulated udder juice be added) and the final bottle of Stout (to aide digestion, y'ken...) and feast away!

Cool thing is, with the addition of Guinness, no matter how bad in actuality the cattle flesh turns out, it won't seem so! HA!

And, too, you always have the papas...

[And be sure to raise the sixth in a heartfelt] "SLAINTE, Folks!" proior to consumption.

Panta Rhei; Ouden Menei

Cygnus

03 March 2009

Q: Who Owns Your Home? A: China

Thanks to Obammy's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, THIS is how our monumental governmental debts will be cashed in...

Obama, thanks for the "change". It's all yuan now, but you did promise change. And boy-howdy, what a nice way to keep promise-- selling promissory notes.

Now my son, born in Honolulu, Hawaii (on the Fourth of July, folks; there's the irony), will be a natural-born... What country's citizen?

Hey Catman... dude, sorry.

Only a matter of time until my Missouri land is paddied over, i s'pose...

WAKE THE FUCK UP, AMERICA!!!!

Slainte, Folks. (can't enthuse myself enough to add the exclamation point here tonight...)

Cygnus

02 March 2009

YOU

Thanks to all of you in the Blogosphere who give my live dimension I would never have fathomed possible.

Slainte!

Cygnus

Post-Scriptum:



Love ya, G...

P.P.S. Had to come again, Folks, because this man is a god.. :


Slainte!

01 March 2009

I've been awarded the TRIPPLE AWARD

I never hit one in my brief little league stint (though did manage an in-the-park homer...), so I'm thrilled to have scored this one!

Supposedly somewhere, somehow, I've managed to show great attitude or gratitude (I'd best work on that-- I got a reputation...), so I get two cute puppies!

Thanks very much to Confessions of an Overworked Mom for deeming me worthy!

Naturally, there are rules (kinda like in baseball-- else I'd have had all the tripples I desired...).

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude.(If you don't have 10, its ok.)
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

So, rules being rules, I' best get to nominating my ten. They are as follows:

1. Misadventurous Mommy
2. Lazy Housewife
3. DarklyFey
4. Aeshe
5. Stephanie in Arkansas
6. Ash
7. Livia Indica
8. Molly
9.Edain
10. One Acre Homestead

Sorry, men-- most of you I know, this frilly would just look out of place on your site (keep the puppies away from the mushroom clouds, oui?).

I'll close by saying the next award I'd like is the "I'm gonna do all your typing for you" spot...

Slainte, folks!

Cygnus

Who Owns You, America?

Listen and watch VERY CLOSELY. There isn't ONE wasted word or image herein.

Nothing I, nor any of us, could add. I just wish the sheep weren't blinded by faith...



Had Carlin been alive today, likely all of the logos in the upper left corner of the Stars and Stripes would be backed by a Chinese flag...

Slainte, folks.

Cygnus