Seaborne div ........

Well, watching the news (as it is - - BBC, SKY, MSNBC, CNBC and unfortunately, FOX) that's available here in the ship, It appears that the Goose Girl and her Bear escaped the brunt of Sandy.

Last nite, we were subject to the full force of the North Atlantic with 12-16 foot swells and 4-6 foot waves. Fortunately the welcome harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia was waiting. We'll overnite against the pier and depart tomorrow morning on our celebration of thirty years of marital bliss.

Our ship is wonderful, everything (and I mean everything) is provided. Unfortunately, it seems to be passengered by mostly Republicans. We did have one "run-in" with a couple from Southern California and have decided to not reveal too much about our leanings.

An interesting thing is that the Europeans are very concerned about what the election of Mittens would mean. The Canadians we've met are of a similar mind. One even said that if Mr. Obama isn't re-elected, they would be overjoyed to have him. Both the Europeans and Canadians have questioned whether the American right-wing is living on the same planet that the rest of us populate.

Tomorrow, we're at sea and headed for Boston to pick up with our modified itinerary ....... sailing !!!

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass ... div

"Molly and Tenbrooks," an old Bill Monroe favorite  .........
with two wonderful female musicians .


Alison Brown  -  Banjo, Bobby Hicks - Fiddle, Sierra Hull - Mandolin, Sam Bush  - Vocal and mandolin

Gone Vacationin' .... div

Thank heaven (or whatever), the Goose Girl and her Old Klunky Bear will be leaving the environs of the GWTP soon to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their conjugal happiness. We'll be gone before the wonderful celebration of democratic happiness voting event and won't be back 'til after it's over - - -(PS, we voted absentee, so whatever the result, it ain't our fault).
I can't seem to understand how anyone is "undecided."  Given the state of the economy (thank you "job creators"), the intransigence of the idiots in Congress, the stupidity of Mittens and 'lil Budddy and just the simple answer to the question "Which side are you on?"
I guess I could include cites to various and sundry links, but it's a useless process. There's no use to preach to the choir or wrestle with pigs.
Saturday Nite Bluegrass will continue courtesy of the scheduler (hopefully) and perhaps a random thought or two - depending on access.
Should anything of note require comment prior to our departure, see it here.
Otherwise check the places the Bear visits for info and guidance.

Evening Entertainment .... div

I wonder how many have considered the ironic timing of this evening's upcoming entertainment event.

I sure that tomorrow there will be lots of analysis as to which of the three people involved was the real "winner," but I know who is getting a real award.

"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them."
-- Mark Twain, Notebook, 1898

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass .. div (Benny Goodman subsection)

They don't use clarinets in Bluegrass music  - -
First heard this on Mike's album Eight String Swing



Mike Auldridge - 8-string dobro, Darren Beachley - Guitar, Dave Probst - Mandolin,
Mark Delaney - Banjo, and Tom Gray - Bass.

War, Empire and Futility ..... div

Today, 200 Years ago, Napoleon Bonaparte began his Grand Army's retreat from Moscow.
General Winter would hasten its destruction.
History tends to punish those who don't pay attention.

If ya cant't win their minds ......... div

Seems that the GOP in Virginia has to settle for making the fraud it's masters are accusing everyone else of (read: Democrats) a reality.
Jesus H. Christ with a polling stick, can't these people do anything honest ???
Golly, Gosh, Gee ...... where do these folks come from  ??
Like I've said before, Republicans are great at running for office, Lousy at governing.

Wonder Why ??? ... div

Ah, this cyber stuff  - -
Looked at the stats today  - - seems the whole thing has reset on page views. Yesterday it was 3250 or so, today it's 3 ......... go figure.
More hits than I ever figured when I started this thing on 1 Jan.
Guess it's a "Blogger" thing  - - thanks Google.
Edit: 15 Oct  - - now it's back to the way it was  - -  go figure.....???????

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass ... div

The old Earl Scruggs tune " Groundspeed"
Scott Vestal - Banjo, Mike Compton - Mandolin, Mike Bub - Bass, Barbara Lamb - Fiddle and Jim Hurst - Guitar.
Don't exceed the speed limit, eh.

Winter Sports .... div

There are times during the year when certain bodies of water (or portions thereof) here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed need to be avoided due to a rise in bacteria levels or sewage overflows during and after storms. The incentives to not fall out of the boat (or even roll it) are pretty obvious, eh ?

But with ski season almost upon us, why would anyone strap a couple of pieces of lumber onto the bottom of their legs and let gravity drag them down this slippery slope ??

I guess  a  

sitz·mark

 noun \ˈsits-ˌmärk, ˈzits-\

Definition of SITZMARK

: a depression left in the snow by a skier falling backward

Origin of SITZMARK

probably from German sitzen to sit + English ¹mark(impression)

First Known Use: 1935

                    (h/t Merriam-Webster online)

is better than the "fall forward" version.