Duggan's Pub - Tijuana Gigolos - 8/24/2007

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Bellflowers

The  BELLFLOWERS an electric group of local Lincoln musical maniacs lit up the ZOO Bar with some great classical country. A great group to hear and Mindy even tricked me into dancing one time.

http://www.myspace.com/thebellflowers 
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Tony's Back!

Tony Meza seems to be all recovered from his recent medical problems. As you can see, he's back to his normal medication from those little brown bottles.

Myspace:
Website

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Blues Messengers

The Blues Messengers
Featuring: Miss Anna DeGraff
The band was back at the ZOO for another great Thursday night show. You know you should have been there.
http://www.bluesmessengers.com/
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Sour Mash Reunion

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Nedwrecks

From out in Hall county, the wilds of Western Nebraska comes a band called the
NEDWRECKS
This is real country and western folks as authentic as cowshit on your boots. Great bunch of guys and some great music. Get yourself a couple of longnecks and sit and listen a spell.
http://www.myspace.com/thenedwrecks

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Blueground Undergrass

Blueground Undergrass

Fun, funny and funtastic. These guys play an eclectic electric blend from bluegrass to blues. Stop on by and sit a spell or get up and dance. It's all good.

Website

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Coyotes

I got to thinking about my childhood the other day and came to the conclusion that we really did live way out in the sticks. You know you ain't living downtown when you consider the howling of the coyotes in the evening a significant source of local news.

Bike Back - Phone Phony

I got my bike back from the shop yesterday, but now my phone company died. I was using Sunrocket, and they just decided to go under and dropped service to all their subscribers. Fortunately, I was smart enough to have a monthly contract rather than a yearly one, so I won't be out much money. Currently I have no phone though, and I have to go through the hassle of getting a new service.

Blues Messengers - 7/19/2007

The Blues Messengers - Featuring Miss Anna DeGraff
This band has always had a ton of musical talent, and adding Doug Rosencrans on guitar only added to that. He makes it fun, and his guitar style blends really well with Anna's vocals.
Website

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The Darlings Band

The Darlings Band
Listen up people. You want some good old time Rock 'n' Roll, you get it here!

Website

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The Bel Airs

The BEL AIRS came back to Lincoln to get some dance on, and they did a fine job. Just wish they could've stayed longer.
Bel Airs on the Web

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The Tablerockers Return

The Tablerockers were back in town with Earl Cate helping out on guitar, and Josh Hoyer playing some sax. Always a good time with these guys.

Album: Shake Your Junk
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ZOOfotos - The Kris Lager Band

KLB - The Kris Lager Band

Four great musicians highlighted by Kris Lager's virtuoso guitar playing and vocals. Straight up blues and Rock 'n' Roll don't get no better than this.

KLB Website
KLB on MySpace
The new album is out too!
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Broken Bike

I broke the chain on my bike this afternoon while I was out. Fortunately it happened just as I was passing the bike shop where I usually get my maintenance done. Unfortunately that place was five miles from where I live, and it was threatening rain. I did get a little wet on the way home, and I was too tired to go down to Stransky Park and see the Blues Messengers. They're playing in a couple weeks at the ZOO, so I'll get my fix then.

ZOO Bar 34th Anniversary

34 years of the best music anywhere. The ZOO Bar has a lot to be proud of. Hundreds of people gathered over the six nights of the celebration to help make some noise, and the party was on. Locals and Legends we all had a good time. Might just have to do it again next year. --gk

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More Mezcal Music

The Mezcal Brothers
The Brothers were back at the ZOO for some more great music. If the pictures look a little blurry, blame Tony Meza, Gerardo's brother. He talked me into having a little too much fun. I think the camera got drunk.
Mezcal Site  <->  MySpace Mezcals

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Laid to Waste

Laid to Waste

the boys had an all night party at the ZOO to celebrate the release of their new CD. We all had great time with some great music.
Homepage  or  MySpace

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The Weary Boys

The Weary Boys
The boys were back at the ZOO with a new banjo picker, but it was the same blend of great music, everything from blues to bluegrass. They've got a new album due shortly.
Check 'em out here: http://www.thewearyboys.com/
Or MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thewearyboys
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Jazzocracy - Every Wedneday at the ZOO

JAZZOCRACY
Live Jazz
at the ZOO
every
Wednesday
at 10:00

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Sarah Benck and the Robbers at the ZOO

Back at the ZOO for a Wednesday afternoon show. I just can't hardly believe she gets all that sound out of that teeny tiny body. The band is really solid as well. Maybe all those big guys just make her look smaller.

Don't miss 'em if they're playing in your neighborhood; although you can get the album Suicide Double Wide at Homers.

Check out the band website at: http://www.sarahbenck.com/

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Blogging

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For those of us with itchy rears, I'd just like to say that scratching those itches can be a very important activity.

Rhymes with Orange at the ZOO

Rhymes with Orange

Great band with some
great music. Don't worry
about the rhymes.
Just listen up!

Check 'em out;

Rhymes with Orange

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Headline

Political Briefings At Agencies Disclosed

White House Calls Meetings Lawful

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Apparently they bought an L to go in front of awful to make things look better.

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The Bel Airs

The Bel Airs
were back at the ZOO for another great show.

Check 'em out!
http://www.belairs.com/index.html
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TSUMI

TSUMI was back at the ZOO for another evening of good music and dancing. I love it!

You can check out their stuff at:

http://www.myspace.com/tsumimusic
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VAGO

VA means move it in Spanish, and GO means the same in English.
VAGO makes you move in whatever language you speak.

Check em out here: http://www.vagomusic.com/
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ZOOfotos Blues Messengers

Good Music for Good Times
The Blues Messengers
You know you should'a been there. No excuses accepted.

Check 'em out at:

http://bluesmessengers.com/
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Herr Profesor Doktor Kearney Rides Again!

I'll be giving a presentation on website creation to SENCUG (South East Nebraska Computer User's Group) next Wednesday. It's sure to be a big hit, so everybody show up, OK!

It'll be nice to put my professor's robes back on for a short bit. I always did like teaching. I just didn't like all the departmental politics and other crap that went along with it.

Rain!

Do we really need THIS much rain??

I guess I'm just getting spring fever, but after a whole winter inside wasting all my time on the computer, I'm ready to spend a little time in the sun. We had just a taste a week ago, but it's been cold and cloudy since, and I hate it.

New Camera

I went out and splurged on a new compact Canon camera, the SD40 Digital Elph.

This baby is really small, about half the size of my palm.

The flash is a little small too, only illuminating to about six or eight feet, which is a bit short for a lot of the stuff that I do. Still it should work fine for a second camera. It does seem to handle low light pretty well, and there are in camera adjustments that I can use to improve that.

I wasn't too impressed with the documentation, particularly the setup descriptions; and I would rather not use a cradle, but I guess that's the trade off you have for the small size.

There is supposedly some anti shake technology built into the camera, but I didn't notice that it made a marked improvement in the inside shots I took without a flash. I probably need to experiment a bit more, and compare to some shots taken with another camera to get a better idea of how it's actually doing.

There does seem to be more of a learning curve than I really want with a second camera though. I don't want to be spending all my time experimenting, I just want some good point and shoot pictures. --gk

St. Patrick's Day Silliness

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We had this bagpipe band at the Zoo to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. After listening to them for awhile, I know why the Irish are such heavy drinkers. I don't really have anything against bagpipes, they look and sound great in military parades, but they aren't what I'd call easy listening either, and I'm Irish.

Anyway we got to listen to the greens instead of the blues for a change, but I think I'm going to stick to the blues until next March 17th. Takes a lot of Guiness to love a bagpipe tune.

New York Times Letters on Libby

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These are portions of some letters from the New York Times in response to an article about the Scooter libby verdict. --gk

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To the Editor:

The conviction of I. Lewis Libby Jr. on perjury and obstruction of justice charges presents a serious dilemma for President Bush. How does the president now pardon a convicted felon who once worked for the very White House that the president repeatedly promised to restore honor and integrity to?

Jack Nargundkar, Germantown, Md., March 7, 2007

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I. Lewis Libby Jr. has been called the fall guy for the Bush administration. His guilty verdict and eventual appeal will probably do little to assuage that argument.

But it is worth pointing out that Mr. Libby simply lied when he should have told the truth. Perhaps he was lying to cover for someone else, but only he will know the truth about that.

But on the same day that Mr. Libby’s guilty verdict was splashed across the headlines, it was reported that nine more soldiers had been killed in bombings in Iraq. Like it or not, our soldiers and marines are the true fall guys of this administration, not Mr. Libby.

Dan Shea, Seattle, March 7, 2007

The writer’s brother, Lt. Col. Kevin M. Shea, was killed in Falluja on Sept. 14, 2004.

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The Libby verdict reminds us that after much painstaking effort, one may be convicted of lying to the F.B.I., but not yet of lying to the American people.

Howard Popper, Phoenix, March 7, 2007

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If they jailed everyone who lied to the American people, who'd be left running the country. I guess we'd get to give anarchy a try. No government at all. --gk

Just in Case

Just in case some of you alert readers noticed my absence, I have an explanation. I've gone over to the dark side/site and bought a Mac.

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Happy New Year

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Best Wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year to Everyone.

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Merry Christmas 2006

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Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Try to restrain yourself from eating too much candy and Christmas dinner. (That way there'll be more for me.) Make some good resolutions for 2007, and pray for peace.

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NaNoWriMo Winner

National Novel Writing Month

I was a winner this year. I managed to string together 50,000 words of crap, so I get to call myself a writer. They even sent me a little temporary tatoo to impress my friends with.

I was kind of surprised that I could get that much done in such a short time, and I did learn that I need to think a lot more about the structure of the story BEFORE I start writing. My characters just ran away with the plot, and now they won't give it back.

I still have a way to go before I'm actually done. They don't actually ask you to finish the novel, just to get the word count. I'm gonna take a break though. The sun is shining, so maybe I'll ride my bike. It's windy and below freezing though, so maybe I'll just curl up with a book or magazine. I've gotten a bit behind on my reading while I was doing all that writing.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Cluelessness

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I loved this poster from: www.despair.com They have a lot of similar stuff for sale as well. Demotivators they call them. Love it. --gk

Biking Brrrr.

I didn't actually see any snow when I was out biking today, but it was cold enough. There was about a twenty mile-per-hour wind from the North as well, so I had my work cut out for me on my way home. I guess brisk is a bit of an understatement. I did enjoy the ride though. If it doesn't warm up some, it will get old pretty fast though. I guess I should be used to it. I've lived in Nebraska since 1943, and we've had winter every one of those years.

NaNoWriMo

I'm participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. The idea is to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in the month of November. This may result in things like less attention to posting here and lack of sleep. I'm already at 10K though, so I'm doing pretty well. Lots of distractions coming up though, so I need to get ahead a little bit to make up for the time I'm going to lose later.

See you in December.

Happy Halloween

Just remember not to eat too much candy. It's bad for your teeth and bad for your waistline. (Shouldn't that be wasteline. After all, it's where a lot of food goes to waste in this country.)

Football No! Cheerleaders Yes!

Hey, I turned off the Bears game at halftime last night because they were playing so badly. They came back to win with THREE defensive touchdowns to offset six turnovers. Now that's winning ugly, so I'd rather watch the cheerleaders.

I'd like to assure everyone that my imagination is up to imagining a full forty man roster with seven coaches, medical personnel and a front office, but I'd rather concentrate on the cheerleaders, so that's the direction I'm going. If you do a good enough job on the cheerleaders, who cares whether the team wins or loses. --gk

Christian Cuts Loose from Lincoln

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I've had a lot of fun fotoshopping Christian over the years, so I thought it would be only right to mash-up his face and this Peewee puppet's body. Problem is that it looks more like Tom Hanks with a crewcut than it does like Christian. Oh well, maybe it's best to be kind to people who may write your place in history. Good luck leaving Lincoln you smarta** young b*****! --gk

Football

I see from looking at my nonexistent recent posts that football has interfered with my ability and ambition to write coherent English. Life is like that. It used to be that there was only six hours of football on Saturday, six hours of football on Sunday, and maybe a decent game on Monday night if you were lucky. Now it's up to 10 hours on both days of the weekend, so you really don't have time for anything else. (Assuming that you have any aspirations toward personal hygiene.)

I'm sure it's a vast single-wing conspiracy to corrupt the American male. If so, it's successful. If you have a TV that you can see from your bed, there's no reason other than food or bathroom breaks to ever rise from rest for the whole weekend. If you are lucky enough to have an understanding wife and a bedpan, you won't have to get up at all. --gk

Not Quite Noah

It rained a lot yesterday, 1.48 inches according to Accuweather.com. Some of that water wound up on my kitchen floor as usual. I spent a couple of hours mopping just because I don't want a pool in my kitchen. A hot tub would be nice, but I can't cook and swim at the same time, so no pool please.

I had a few equipment problems with the rain as well. My umbrella broke on me when I was out getting groceries, and my mop broke while I was working on the kitchen floor. I am a far-sighted individual; however, so I had backup plans in place. I'm not sure of the new mop though, I've had it for awhile, and I kept using the old one. The backup umbrella is not very good either, so I guess I'll need to see about getting one that will stand up to Nebraska winds and keep most of the rain off. At least the sun is shining today, so I can go out and do a little shopping.

Been Lazy

Phew! I knew that I'd been a bit remiss about posting, but I didn't think it had been that long. Mostly just back problems again. When it hurts to sit in front of the computer you don't really feel very much motivation to natter on about anything much the less the kind of trivia that I usually post here.

However, I am feeling much better these days ... physically at least. It's still quite difficult to maintain any optimism about the world that I'm reading about in the news. Our president still seems to be totally deluded about his presumed infallibility. The Muslims reacted to a discussion of past violence by the Pope with a lot current violence thus affirming his statement. If the Muslims want respect in the West, then the damn well better start respecting non-Muslims in their own countries. I don't really expect that to happen. I expect the Muslims to die off with the rest of the Third World when the environment goes to hell. I am basically an optimist, but there just ain't much good news in the world these days in spite of the takeover by Fox and the other right-wing news organizations.

Back Better

Well, my back has finally improved to the point where I can actually sit in front of my computer for long enough to type in a blog post. I spent of most the last two weeks being lazy, reading and watching TV as my brain turned slowly to mush. Hopefully a little time doing some actual creative activity like writing in my blog will counteract the effects of all that wasted time. --gk

Bad Back

The bad back is back. I've been pretty sore for most of this week. I tried to work out on Monday but that just made it worse. It usually helps to do some type of exercise, but when I get it wrong it makes it worse, and I got it really wrong this time. So ... I've been just laying around in bed reading or watching TV most of the time, and I ran out of new books. TV this time of year mostly sucks, so whatcha gonna do? Rage, rage against the aching of the back. (My apologies to Dylan Thomas.) --gk

ZOOfotos The Border Band 08/04/2006

The Border Band entertained us at the ZOO with some of their own special brand of Rawhide Rock on Friday, August 4th, 2006.
Check 'em out at:
The Border Band 

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Still Hot

I haven't quite melted yet thanks to the application of liberal amounts of air conditioning as required and the fact that I live in a basement where the outside temperatures have a lesser effect. People who live upstairs from me have been running their A/C continuously for past few days. It was only 104 yesterday, but that's about as hot as I ever remember for Lincoln. Not much fun. It's supposed to cool off today, but I'll believe it when I feel it.

Hot!!

We're back to the normal weather for this time of year in Nebraska, HOT. It's not too bad for me, since my basement stays fairly cool even when it's in the 90s and 100s outside. I just open the windows after it cools off at night. That doesn't work when it stays up in the 80s all night, so I do occasionally use a little A/C ... only a couple of times so far this year after it got up to 108 last week.

I usually don't mind either heat or cold while I'm awake. I like the variable weather in the plains of the Midwest, but when I'm asleep I need to stay warm. My body slows down a lot. My pulse gets down into the 20s and my body temperature get down to around to 96 or 97. I guess that's not too far from normal considering the amount that I exercise and the fact that I've been on a caloric restricted diet for over 30 years. I generally only eat 1500 to 1800 calories a day compared to the normal 2400 to 2700 required for my activity level. I'm fairly skinny, 6 ft - 140 lb, as a result, but I seem to also be very healthy. I save a lot on groceries too. --gk

Computer Problems

I've been having some computer problems with my desktop the last couple of days. It would boot up, but then the screen would go dark after a minute or two. Nothing really consistent but very annoying. I tried a few things, and finally used Symantec/Norton GoBack to return the configuration to the last one that seemed to work. That seemed to solve the problem. I was amazed. I've been running that installation of XP for two years or so, and that's usually long enough for extreme bit rot to set in. So far I seem to have gotten lucky, (Knock on wood.) I just hope it stays that way.

Poor Design

The human body is just so poorly designed! If the so-called Intellegent Design Theory is correct, how come the design is so damned poor? Backs and knees are extremely poorly designed. They fail on almost everyone in less than the expected human lifetime. I really don't think that you can call that intelligent. It would really take very little to make all the human musculoskeletal structure much better than it is, make us all extremely athletic. Nobody with any intelligence would have designed in the possibility of becoming morbidly obese, yet a large percentage of Americans are just that. And the percentage is increasing.

What brings all this up and makes me so testy about it is that my back is acting up again. I've learned exercises and things to avoid to keep it in line, but it periodically ignores all my careful tenderness and lets me down anyway. Oh well, we are born to suffer, and then we die. --gk