Umberto Eco:  I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.

And on that cheery note, we’ll resume our musings, mutterings and random thoughts…Where’d All the Time Go?

Starting the new year willing my mind to cease it’s tornadic cycling. Shut out the asinine Republican spin. Reject the rejection of our hard work to keep Auburn Wal-Mart-free (more, lots more on this later…). But then there’s storms, water under the house, a busted heater, birthdays, hospital stays and gunshots in Tuscon. No time to Stop and Think It Over.

It’s almost impossible to mindlessly surf  TV or the web anymore. The media, all of it, left/right/fringe (there is no more center, at least no voice for it that can be heard in the din), has tasted blood and cannot slake its thirst. Insistence becomes shrill, becomes a shriek, joins the other howls to be heard, revels in the noise until the pack is driven to near-madness by the sacred harpies. Lies, obfuscation and propaganda are everywhere, even if I Don’t Want To Know.

And the insidious song starts to repeat in my mind when I’m driving, gigging, whatever, raising my ire and my blood pressure, forcing me unbidden to react. Now I Gotta Know.

But if I can make it past my human need to join, to be part of the howling, when I really listen and consider…I realize They Don’t Know a goddamn thing.

So it’s time to make my own noise, forge a new track, I’ve heard what they have to say and shout back, ‘I don’t believe you!’ I can do my own research, find the way that works for me and try to use it to ensure everyone gets a voice or, at least, a listen. So you arrogant, entitled, holier-than-shit, teabagging developers and paid-for politicians and brown-nosing appointees: Bring It On!

Crab dip:

4oz each:

artichoke hearts, crab meat, raw spinach, shallots; all chopped fine

4oz cream cheese

1 tomato, chopped

heavy cream, garlic and garlic powder, white pepper, chives, olive oil, red pepper flakes

carmelize shallots in 2 tbs olive oil, add a clove minced garlic

add artichoke and crab; saute a few minutes

add spinach and cream; saute

add borsion cheese ( cream cheese, garlic powder, white pepper, chives mixed)

stir in pinch red pepper and mix until smooth

serve hot

Add/subtract whatever you care to, all measurements are guesses anyway!

-Liz

All deep things are song.  It seems somehow the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were but wrappages and hulls! ~Thomas Carlyle

Links generally last 90 days. I use Box.net for the songs: 5MB free storage, stream or download files. And don’t forget, if you like what you hear,  BUY music from these artists!

Write me to reup anything you’ve missed.

This time:

Where’d All The Time Go? – Dr. Dog keeps one foot in the past and the other moving forward. Yeah, sometimes it’s a stretch, but these anthem-spewing younguns are appealing to me right now.

Stop and Think It Over – the Compulsive Gamblers – Greg Cartwright’s original version, done live, of the great song Mary Weiss covered on the comeback cd he produced for her. Talk about your cycles and spirals!

I Don’t Want to Know – Bobby Charles. Lost to us this year, along with SO many others ( see next post).

I Gotta Know – Wanda Jackson – Wait’ll you hear her new one, produced by Jack White…

They Don’t Know (About Us) – Tracy Ullman’s remake of Kisty MacColl’s pop confection. Remember Macca in the video?

Bring It On – the Gaslight Anthem – I think I have to see these guys live…