Big Damn Spider Attacks Space Shuttle!!!

[News link]

Joey Burns Calexico

No. Not saying someone has committed arson in a California border town.

Happy birthday today to Joey Burns, lead singer, songwriter, guitar player and major driving force for the band Calexico. The band is based in Tuscon Arizona, and their quintessential sound is captured in this offering, The Crystal Frontier. The sound blends the American West with Mexico, and a lot of the songs, this one included, deal with the heartaches of The Border.


This one is more recent, the sound is a little less hot and dusty, the lyrics maybe a bit more political. It's called "Cruel"



The band has done a lot of support collaboration, including Neko Case, and more prominently Iron & Wine, a.k.a. Sam Beam -- who lives not too awfully far down the road in Dripping Springs. You will also hear them all over the soundtrack of that new Dylan movie, "I'm Not There". I'm going to post one more video here, even though it's as much Iron & Wine as it is Calexico... I am just really in love with this song right now. So there you have it. Recorded at KUT radio, Austin, Texas. "He Lays In The Reins"


Band website

Good on ya, Greencards!

The Greencards have had another stellar year of doing nothing but touring, burning out the van, working their asses off, and always coming up smiling. They have just gotten their first-ever Grammy nomination, so it's a big cause for celebration. We always believed in them. Always. Now I hope they win (it's for Best Country Instrumental for the song Mucky the Duck, and it's a fiery acoustic number that's unbelievably good. Listen to it on their MySpace. They're offering a free download Christmas song on there now. It's a handmade gift.

Cat Hair

If you're going to be giving gifts that are unwanted and unneeded by the recipients anyway, consider these Kitty Wigs. For $50 you can really annoy your cat, get some laughs, and hopefully they will leave the wigs on long enough to snap an enduring photo. Four styles/colors available.

The phrase "take a picture. It lasts longer" could not be more appropriate.

Yes, it's for real, apparently.

Yes, your small dog will wear them if you don't show him/her the label.

Yes, they will fit your sock monkey.

Found via J-Walk.

Survival of the Baddest

I know all the political junkies along the whole spectrum from left to right really thrive on this part of the campaign season. It’s truly up in the air now in both parties, it’s like a big free-for-all catfight: a hair-pulling, eye-scratching, crotch-kicking, mud-slinging fracas. I really don’t enjoy this part. It’s a game called “How Low Can You Go”. The public groveling is very tiresome. One by one they have to demonstrate that they have the correct religion and that they like blowing the hell out of animals with guns, and eat what what's killed in the food factories. Vegetarianism, treehugging, getting health care for everyone... that won’t play. It’s anti-corporate. You can’t be anti-corporate and be The President. Not for letting God run the government, being anti-theocracy? Relying on reason instead? Forget it. The USA is not ready for it. We, as a people, are subordinate to the corporations and the church -- meaning that even if we want to, we can't escape their influence and power over so many things in daily life.

Kucinich on the issues
I really like Kucinich for his views. I don’t even care about the rumors that he would pick Ron Paul for a running mate. He will not have a running mate, IMO, so it doesn’t matter. The ones who manage to emerge from the Big Scrap are the only ones who matter. I will go for Kucinich in the “playoffs” based on issues and his views, and support the bloodied victorious Democrat next November... and hope that person survives the chariot race, the "faulty" voting machines and all the stuff that keeps most people from exercising their right to vote.

And no matter how it turns out, it will mean the end of the Bush administration.

Jolly Saint Hick

A Christmas display showing Santa taking aim at Rudolph with his rifle.
[LINK]

Found via Fark.

Purrsday Night - Legs: He knows how to use them, Part Two

Jax plants his 20 lb. frame firmly in the leg zone. You weren't planning on going anywhere, were you? Gotta brush on ya? Maybe some cheese?

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Bad Kitty Cats - Cats - Catblogging -

Delete this post

Actual Snake Oil would work better

Ever see this ad? Not that you or I would fall for it, but it makes you curious, no?

At the top it says "PICTURE YOURSELF WITHOUT WRINKLES" with this graphic:

Which soon changes to this:


Then underneath it says the Dermitage Dual-Action Wrinkle Reducer does several things, including 57% less visible wrinkles (giving you 43% "invisible wrinkles"? -- now there's a concept), and it prevents future wrinkles!!!

Underneath THAT it offers a 14-day free trial supply. Seems all win-win and stuff, doesn't it? I was curious about just how well it might work, and found this feedback forum topic. It appears that FREE is not really FREE after all.

My daemon(s)

I just started the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Subtle Knife). With the Church all riled up over it, how could I resist? MrB just started The Golden Compass, and I want him to finish it before we see it on the big screen (hope it's still playing in the theaters by then... HINT HINT MrB... not rushing you... much.

Purrsday Night - Legs: He knows how to use them, Part One

Jax is a leg man. This is Week 1 of Jax's Leg Gallery. (and I'm sure Henry will interject here and there, if only to put his foot down)

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at This That and the Other Thing on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging

robertplantalisonkrauss.com

robertplantalisonkrauss.com

Well, there's a URL I'll bet none of us thought we'd ever see! I've really been enjoying this best-selling album, and that's another rarity. I love them both separately, but when they go together it really leaps out of the box -- and when it doesn't leap, it just purrs.

I'm pretty fussy about celebrity duets. Sometimes I think they are painful to hear, even if I really like both people (I won't mention any names, that always riles people up and makes them want to fling me a lighted poop bomb) but it's more like their voices are battling each other for dominance -- and that's not harmony. Like fighting cats, it makes me want to separate them. This pairing is sooo not like that. If you haven't already heard it playing in all the stores you visit, have more of a listen at these Raising Sand links:
Official website
MySpace

Tags: Music - Robert Plant - Alison Krauss

Yardblogging

Working like a fiend this week, got some stuff I want to post but will have to wait until I get a break. In the meantime, enjoy this pic from the backyard. It's a late Autumn bloomer called Copper Canyon Daisy, and there's a pretty good patch of it back there now.