Saturday Song Share: Vanilla Fudge - You Keep Me Hangin' On

The Supreme's version of the song was fantastic in its own right, but Vanilla Fudge reworked it and made it a monster.

For my money, this was one of the best songs from the late '60's:

John Wayne Sings "God Bless America"

My cousin sent the following along:



The participants in this sing-along, for the time, is impressive.  The stars don't shine much brighter.  But could you imagine today's "stars" pulling off a similar stunt?  It'd be impossible, for the following:

• The first is the song itself.  "God Bless America," connotes some belief in a Deity, and frankly, that's not too politically correct with the Hollywood crowd.
• The second is the nature of the song and the reverence in which it was sung.  In 2015, the United States is considered as a pariah - a taker and abuser of others - and not an example of the best in humanity.  The song would be considered far too jingoistic, and again, not politically correct.

I was fortunate enough growing up that I was exposed, if not downright steeped, with some of the Greatest Generation.  They were overt and unapologetic in their patriotism and their love of country.  The flag was to be respected, and if the ball cap did not come off when the parade started a rap on the head served as a good reminder.  Likewise, I had some teachers growing up that truly loved our country, and that love was evident in their lessons.

Those days are pretty much over.  In less than 50 years, we've gone from loving your country to be expected, to where it is now discouraged, if not avidly mocked.

Interesting to see what the next 50 years will bring. 

Drinking from the Firehose

Upon returning from vacation, I've thrown my job search activity into high gear.  I have solicited friends, business relationships, and head hunters.  Each has resulted in opportunities, many of them rumored or extremely preliminary, but opportunities nonetheless.  Likewise, there are a couple of legit openings, and I've thrown my hat in the ring for them as well.

In the meantime, it has been a massive juggling event - keeping all of the contacts and opportunities straight.  In many ways I'm working much harder without a job than I did when I had a job.  Keeping all the irons in the fire and managing the process is like trying to ride the whirlwind, and it is tough.

Also in the meantime, progress on opportunities that are much further down the field have quieted, and that has me equally anxious and concerned.  

Regardless, I should be happy.  There are many that find themselves in similar circumstances, and have zero options.  I have just the opposite, and I recognize that I should not complain.

Through it all, I've been thinking of a business idea, and a nagging voice has been in the back of my head telling me to "pick you."  The concept is one from Seth Godin, who preaches that instead of sitting in a pile with all of the other kids waiting to get picked, find something to do in which you can "pick you."  And of all of the irons that I have in the fire right now, that is the one that has me energized the most.  It is what I think of when I go to bed, and what's on my mind when I awake.

It is all going so fast.  Soon, I hope, we'll be finding out who picks who.

Teacher Dancing to Uptown Funk

A teacher with some pretty good moves shakes it to Uptown Funk with most of the student body in support:

Louisiana Recap

For ten years my buddy Fuzzy and I have done a trip down to Louisiana in January to hunt with my cousins and assorted others.  Some years are very good, some are quiet, but hey, that's duck hunting for you.  

This year was a bit different.  Not only was it a big anniversary year, but Fuzzy and I also bolted on a bonus day (see, there ARE benefits to being unemployed).  Here are some of our better moments captured in photos:

Scouting on Wednesday, and seeing pretty good numbers of ducks.  The boys are optimistic

How committed is Fuzzy to camo?  He made sure he drank enough scotch the night before to ensure that his complexion blended into the surrounding green

Cousin Chris on our first day hunting, laughing at Weber

A nice duck strap for our first day, only to be outdone the next day...

...with a Louisiana limit of ducks!  Our best hunt ever.

Sunrise on day three.  Seeing sights like this is exactly why we're duck hunters

While we only got a few, Fuzzy shows off the size of this monster drake mallard

While our last day was a bust, it could not have been more comfortable.  Here's cousin Terry keeping an eye out.

Ten years!  I can't believe the fun we've had with each other - not only duck hunting, but at football games, weddings, funerals, dog exchanges, and various other impromptu get-togethers.  I'm so fortunate to have all of the these people in my life, and am a rich man indeed because of it. 

Without Work

Last week, my job was eliminated with my employer, and my employment terminated.  Since then, life has pretty much been a mess.  First is dealing with the grief of the loss of one's job, and don't kid yourself, the grief is real.  Then there's trying to figure out what the new "everyday" is going to look like, because the previous one is history.  Finally, there's the omnipresent push/pull of "be calm, patient, and things will come together," versus "holy crap, I gotta get a job tomorrow!"

Toward that end, there is more to do than I can list, and in many ways finding a new job is much more of a job than a traditional job is.  And through it all, it is hard not to want to do EVERYTHING.  

So as I slog through this stage of my career, I'm trying to take things in chunks and not boil the ocean.  It is tough to do, as my head is swimming with great ideas of how I should be spending this unique time.  Prioritization and organization will obviously be my best friends.

But the toughest part is to not get down, which is really hard to do as little things can really set things off.  A great example was this morning, when I slept in until 6:00AM and hit the gym like I normally do, albeit a hour or two later than usual.  Things were going great until about 7:15 when there was a definite shift in the clientele.  The people with jobs were all gone, and the gym was left with a bunch of retirees.  And me.  And it made me feel like a loser.

This is but one example of the battle that is raging right now.  It's counterproductive, sapping, and about as far from objective as possible.  

It is also a dragon that I have to figure out how to slay if I'm going to get to where I need to go. 

The Cost (and Benefit) of Education

The Cato Institute recently published an analysis which shows per-pupil K-12 spending (in constant 2012 dollars), versus testing score improvement.  What do we see?  Judge for yourselves:

Pretty remarkable.  Where is the accountability for all this?

Oh, yeah.  It's "all about the children..."

Saturday Song Share: The Bros. Landreth - Our Love

Not a great recording, which is too bad, as these guys harmonies are as sweet and smooth as honey.  Reminiscent of the Eagles, which is very unique in the music space right now.

Enjoy: