This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Pointless blather

  • Miami Beach bound (Updated)

    This time tomorrow, I’ll be stretched out on the beach with a big ol’ cigar on Miami’s South Beach, like I do every year . Don Carl has graciously accepted the reins here at the blog, and we can always count on GI Jane to have something to say. But I’m not sure how the internet connection services are going to be at my hotel (the Penguin on Ocean Drive if any of you readers in Miami are interested in stopping by).

    Besides, I’m never in the hotel when I’m in Miami anyway – too many other things to do – like hanging out in my favorite Cuban bakery on Washington St. getting my annual fill of empanadas, pastelitos and cafe con leche between power-loading Vitamin D and smoking cigars.

    I’ve got a couple more things to say today – but then I’ll probably be silent until until Friday morning. So click all of those links on the sidebar all week and visit those who’ve taken the time to visit us. Especially, Kate and Skye who honored me by spending part of their Saturday night with me at Kelly’s Irish Times. In case anyone’s wondering, we solved all of the world’s problems. Expect major changes on a global scale any moment now.

    Which also reminds me, several bloggers linked to me a few weeks ago when I did the bit about MAS and Code Pink at the Israeli Embassy. Something happened to this blog the following Monday and it dumped all of the link updates I did over the weekend – there are still about ten or so missing. So if your link disappeared in my sidebar, it’s not because I’m mad at you or anything – I’m still trying to locate all of those great people who linked here and recreate your link. Email me at admin@thisainthell.us , and I’ll put your link up immediately.

    Update: Kate sent me a Valentine’s Day card, compliments of the RNC

    images_vec_clinton1.jpg

    Send your own here. There’s a variety of them. So here’s mine back to ya, Kate;

    images_vec_obama1.jpg

    Since this is also Monday, here’s commercial (YouTube link) I saw about a hundred times yesterday from Monster.com that’ll never let me see Mondays the same way again.

  • The quiet Giants fan

    447C4B41A7E147F682B02FA5A713FAFD.jpg Photo from Giants.com

    I’ve been a NY Giants fan since I played Freshman football in High School back in 1970 – I wore the number “43” of Spider Lockart, Giant’s safety for ten years until he retired and later died of cancer. But I’ve never been able to watch a game – they lost every game I ever watched. So it was in support of their longshot Superbowl chances I ignored that game last night – and it paid off.

    In one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, New York shattered New England’s unbeaten season 17-14 Sunday night as Mr. Manning hit Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard fade with 35 seconds left. It was the Giants’ 11th straight victory on the road and the first time the Patriots tasted defeat in more than a year.

    So, congratulations to my Giants from their fan who sacrifices everything so they can win.
    By the way, the Giants have only lost one Superbowl. Betting against them is fairly stupid.

    And an NFC victory portends a Republican President in November.

    1968;

    Green Bay Packers 33
    Oakland Raiders 14

    1972;

    Dallas Cowboys 24
    Miami Dolphins 3

    1976;

    Dallas Cowboys 17
    Pittsburgh Steelers 21

    1980;

    Los Angeles Rams 19
    Pittsburgh Steelers 31

    1984;

    Washington Redskins 9
    Los Angeles Raiders 38

    1992;

    Washington Redskins 37
    Buffalo Bills 24

    1996;

    Dallas Cowboys 27
    Pittsburgh Steelers 17

    2000;

    St. Louis Rams 23
    Tennessee Titans 16

    2004;

    Carolina Panthers 29
    New England Patriots 3

    … Or maybe not.

  • A-ha! I’m not a jerk!

    After being a Sprint subscriber for nearly eight years, I finally got tired of calling them every month the last few months about my bill and dumped them cold. As soon as I hung up from canceling my account, I threw their phone in the trash. Apparently, I’m not the only one (WSJ link);

  • Looking into the past

    My dad sent me this picture a few months ago and I’ve been kind of fascinated with it. It was taken in September 1905, that’s my greatgrandfather (born Carl Wilhelm Lilja in 1866 – but the immigration people changed his last name to Lilyea at Ellis Island when he immigrated in 1899 from Sweden with his young bride fifteen years his junior). That’s my grandfather next to him, Oscar Wilhelm Lilyea, born in August 1900, my Great Aunt Edith is the two-year-old cutie in the front, my Great Uncle Charlie is standing next to my Great Grandmother, and that’s Uncle Elmer on her knee.

    On the back of the picture, my grandfather writes that he remembers the picture because he hated having his hair curled for the occasion. I can imagine, my grandfather ran a one-man sawmill operation until he was seventy years old. Elmer had a farm in Penn Yan, NY that he handed on to his son, who still runs that farm. Edith married a man, my uncle Barney (who’d fought across the Pacific with the Army) from Montana who raised beef cattle in Penn Yan until they both passed.

    My grandfather also writes that he remembers none of them spoke English at the time – until he started school a few weeks after this picture was taken.

    I’d always wished that I could see the world the way my grandfather saw it – he was born before the Wright Brothers’ flight and watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. Wonder where we’ll be a hundred years from now.

  • The Real Thing

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    Congratulations to Muhtar Kent for being named as the new CEO of Coca Cola when Neville Isdell retires this summer. I have some advice for the new CEO. Now, I don’t pretend to know a whole bunch about the soft drink industry, but I know what I like. And I like sugar in my Coke – not that corn syrup crap they use now.

    Whenever I go to Central America, the first thing I buy is an ice cold bottle (not a plastic bottle, either – a glass bottle) of Coke. The label clearly says “azucar” – not “maize”. It’s refreshing and tasty – like the Coke I used to buy on my paper route at Newcombe’s Garage on those scorching August afternoons before “high fructose corn syrup” was listed in the ingredients.

    I’d gladly pay double for an original Coke in a glass bottle with sugar. Not Pepsi – whoever heard of drinking Jack and Pepsi. Just a little advice, Mr. Kent. I’ll be watching in stores.

    While I’m blathering on about refreshments, my favorite beer, Saranac, has a new ad out on YouTube. For all you old Upstate New York ex-pats who may not know Saranac, it’s a Matt Brewery label – they make Utica Club. They’ve expanded Saranac distribution down here to Maryland and Virginia and I’m so pleased. It’s the best beer I’ve had outside of Germany.