S’more Schaubudensommer stuff.
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Never have so many lies been told than before the election, during the war, and after the hunt.
–Otto von Bismark (my translation), printed on the inside of the cover flap of a package of cigarette papers.

God I almost forgot:

Happy Woody Guthrie’s Birthday
and
Happy Bastille Day

Potter notes
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I had to get Ron to hear this tune after he started cranking out a chord progression on the squeezebox that was almost identical to it.

Listen–starts around 24:00. It’s from David D?sing and the infamous Professor Schickele, the Moses of Nerd Rock.

Great, nerdy lyrics, and a killer chord progression. And yes, we will cover it.

Schaubudensommer. It’s a yearly treat thrown in the Scheune’s backyard. Kind of an alternative sideshow, with tents and whatnot, kind of a rough ’round the edges Cirque de Soleil.

Well it’s more rough than out there ’round the edges; no sword swallerin’ or human pincushions.

Word is that the Great Voltini is the act to catch. Come early, because they fill the tent every time. My longtime aquaintance from music school, Annamateur, is also not to miss.

We went to see the Gosh Brothers, a duo after Dude Dude Chick’s own heart.

We also saw Hikoki Gumo, and I can’t recommend that. Georg, known in the past for lashing together a giant tower of wooden poles, has his own tent this year.

It started quite nicely, with Georg taking one staff and doing a beatiful kata, then taking all twelve poles and a string and balancing them in a graceful swinging tripod formation. Then he carefully stuffs them all through his shirt–tedious, but amusing. Then he stands in the middle of the round stage and takes off the shirt, leaving a shirt teepee.

Interesting, but that’s it. So I went away a bit disappointed.

We also sat in the flying armchair, a work of Jim’s Bimbo Town.

“I’m afraid he’s gonna be the main contender for the Loser of the Year Award and it’s only July.”
—Ron

A product of homeschooling? You decide

I must admit that I loved to hate Ari Fleischer, but still he was good at his job. Respect. McClellan, on the other hand… What a bumbling incompetant.

"Beware the leader who bangs the drum of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor. For patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind."

–Julius Caesar, born on this day 100 B.C.

I ripped my pants

Looking at this first batch of listening comp tests, there’s going to be a pretty strong curve added. The highest score was I think a 2,3 and that was me.