So much...
for the diet and quitting smoking...
I was doing great until last night. When I got home, my youngest daughter and her fiance were visiting and decided to stay for dinner. Then they decided to go get some beer. Then me, Mrs. SOG, daughter number two and the beau sat up until well past three this morning, getting tanked and playing Scrabble, punctuated by cigarette breaks at the picnic table in the back yard. And you know what? It was one of the best times I've had in a while. I think I needed a spur of the moment thing like that, even if I did fall off the wagon for one night. I'll go back on the diet again tomorrow, there's a few beers left over and I'm in the mood to make myself a cheese steak sandwich tonight while the Mrs. is out at her high school's basketball game. I'm going to plop my weary old ass in the recliner, suck on a few more brews, eat my sandwich and watch some Saturday night NASCAR... might even let out with a "yee-ha!" or two. Maybe I'll clean and lubricate my black powder revolvers while I'm at it. And peruse the seed catalogs, I should have already placed an order. The ever increasing daily change in the angle of the sun has my green thumb throbbing, I can't wait to get outside and play in the soil.
Hope you have a wonderful evening, my fellow wanderers...
Here's something for your Saturday night, whatever it may be.

Touch me...

I am in...
the blogging doldrums...
now fortified with a case of the blahs... I feel like I'm spinning around inside of myself these days. I have absolutely no direction or focus. I think I need a lost weekend or maybe even a week. Or an adventure. One more grand adventure might do it. I need a Gandalf to push me out the door. A walk about or some dark sojourn. A dragon to slay.
Really. I feel like an empty paper bag these days. My life has become unbearably mundane and regimented. I get up, feed the cat, go to work, solve the problems of the world, come home and stare into this fucking monitor and have nothing to say, because nothing means anything anymore. Then I drink martinis until I see two of everything and then pass out in bed.
Bast, this sucks...

Touch me...

I have nothing constructive to say...
so just listen...

Touch me...

Alan Keyes...
is my new hero...

by way of The Real King of France...

Touch me...

Sunday errands...
just food shopping and picking up a paper and maybe a few bagels. I've taken the weekend off from working on the house and doing anything that could possibly be mistaken for ambitious, other than screwing around with the blog. I need to get myself psyched up for an upcoming attempt at quitting smoking and going on a severely regimented diet and exercise routine, which starts on the 24th. It's funny that my astrological chart for starting new projects also falls on Fat Tuesday, or at least it's funny to me. Either way, hell cometh that day. In spades...
I'm planning on taking off forty pounds in three months. I may need some hand holding here.
Well, off the the grocery, gotta stock up on high protein foods and lots of veggies...
Later

Touch me...

After further reveiw...


I think I need to make some changes, like a wider posting area and more narrow graphic on the right side. Also tone down the colors a bit. Do you agree?





Touch me...

Saturday's Goth Girl...




I just had to repost Arcadia's picture here, since she was so nice letting me use it for a while...

Touch me...

Comments are fixed...

I had a double closing bracket hiding out in the comment code... damned sticky keyboard.

wander with me...

Crap...

for some reason the damned comments won't work now... save your pithy comments for later...

wander with me...

So...

Aside from the huge, egotistical picture of me, what do you think? My photographer bailed on me today and I had the template ninety five percent complete, so I just added a random shot of me to see what it looked like with the rain effect I created.
It still needs some tweaking and tightening up here and there, but everything seems to work. I will be adding a list of fonts you will, once again, need to download for free and install on your computer to get the full effect. I make nothing easy...
Your critical comments are most appreciated...

wander with me...

and so it begins...

death before rebirth, my friends... this work must be disassembled before it can be rebuilt... i'm not content with off the shelf stuff, so i've been working feverishly on building a new look from scratch. i'm waiting for my favorite photographer to set up an appointment to do some work for me, by then i'll have the framework created and once i destroy what little gray matter i still have by working in Adobe ImageReady to create the final touches, there will be something back here. until then, my fellow wanderers... until then.


wander with me...

i've been busy...
hacking away at a new template for Sad Old Goth... been playing with Adobe ImageReady and Photoshop and trying things out in the highly delicate framework of html that Blogger will actually support... it's slow and a work in progress, so don't expect any overnight sensations, ok?
And, while I've making myself blind by staring into my lcd monitor for hours on end, I've been digging through a lot of music I haven't listened to for quite a while, so I made another play list so I could share and, I have to ask... is this the me you really want back here? I've forgotten what a moody fucker I really am and how easily I find I'm being drawn back into that sullen and spooky frame of mind I tried to tuck away a few years ago and, I have to say, I enjoy it. I've missed me...
But, I ramble and I shan't bore you with such nonsense on such a fair eve. Enjoy the selections. Stop back now and then to see if I've actually managed to do anything constructive around here or maybe see a photo of my bruised and bloodied forehead, as I'm wont to bang it on the keyboard at the heights of coding frustration...
Later.

oh yeah... if you're really going to invest the time to sit here and listen to all this, make sure you've got a bottle of wine and you have the damned bass turned up. Thank you.

wander with me...

changes afoot...


After imposing a news and politics blackout on myself for almost a week, I find that it has done me a world of good. So much so, in fact, that I'm going to fore swear all such nonsense around these parts for the foreseeable future... I shall continue to work behind the scenes to help get this country back on it's proper course, but shall leave the punditry to those more capable and less inflammatory than myself... Not too long ago, I sort of admonished a dear blogging friend of mine, GothGuy of Gerbil Droppings, over a post of his and his response to me was that he recalled I once posted something my father said to me many years go... "be careful, or you'll become what you hate", which is sage advice that I like to dole out, but have been less than astute about following myself. Thanks for reminding me, GG.
Sad Old Goth... is going back to it's roots and what I intended this blog to be so many years ago when I first started. Not to say that current events might not slip in here once in a while, but they will certainly be looked at from my dark side of the fence and not the firebrand railings of late. It takes too much out of me and I've been making myself miserable, not to mention the effect I've had on family and friends.
So, that being said, I'm going to embark on some house cleaning around here. I'm working on a new template, reviving some of the old stuff, like Saturday's Goth Girl, a lot more of my Emeril LaGothy cooking and kitchen mayhem posts and will probably spin off my This Old Lair stuff over to Tilling By Moonlight. (like I need two blogs...).
So, stand by. Be patient with me.
Until then, my fellow wanderers, fare thee well...


wander with me...

happy valentine's day...







wander with me...

I'm taking a vacation...

between that muzzie loving Kenyan wetback squatter in the White House, the rats running amok on Capitol Hill, my personal life and my job, I've reached my maximum bullshit absorption limit. I'll be back next week.
While I'm off fixing myself, here's some of my favorite tunes to listen to. Each one has a story attached to it. Maybe sometime, we can sit down, have a drink and I'll tell you some tales...

Carry on.


wander with me...

I actually tried...
to watch da' massa's little press conference last night. I had a few glasses of wine, dropped two Percocets and settled into my recliner and had at it. I managed to get to this answer before I called it quits...

"Look, I -- I would love not to have to spend money right now. I'd love -- you know, this notion that somehow I came in here just ginned up to spend $800 billion, you know, I mean, that wasn't -- that wasn't -- that wasn't how I envisioned my presidency beginning."

I sort of had you pegged for a Colt 45 man, Barry. Anyway, after about the seventy fifth "UH" and hundredth stumble of words, I figured I'd go jerk off with my fish scaling glove and go to sleep. Much more enjoyable.

You can read the entire transcript here, if you have the stomach for it. He's a real sock cucker, folks...
Have a wonderful day, my fellow wanderers... Remember, Barry is watching out for you...



wander with me...

how about sending this piece of scum...

back where he came from, in a box, instead of letting him roam free, just because he's an illegal? If this bastard is allowed to walk, I hope the first place he visits is the judges house...
Maybe he can go hang with his homies in Kalifornia...

The MFCS'n inmates are surely in charge of the asylum, friends... It's getting close to pitchfork and torches time.



wander with me...

you lousy America hating c**k s**ker...

not only do you want to cuddle up to the murderous scum, give them aid and comfort, but you invite them into our house and you pay their way... with our money...

you fucking bastard...

why don't you take that money and send it to Israel, the real victims..?

muzzie loving prick...



wander with me...

Australian wildfires...













The fires are believed to have been started by arsonists, which brings to mind this, from Jihad Watch... It wouldn't surprise me one little bit to find out some sixth century scumbag is behind this. I wouldn't want to be a follower of the "religion of peace" living in Australia if that is found to be the case...

If you've a mind to, nick on over to Mr. Bingley's place and hit the link to donate to the Australian Red Cross.
The loss of life is devastating and the loss of those who have escaped this horror with just their lives is unimaginable...




wander with me...

It's Emeril LaGothy..!


Not to be undone by Mr. Bingley, who, I should tell you, is the most gracious host and griller par excellance, I offer up this Sunday's repast; Sausage, Peppers and Onions a la Goth...

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced.
2 Cubanelle peppers, seeded and thinly sliced.
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and thinly sliced.
3 Cloves of garlic, chopped.
3 Hot Cherry Peppers, chopped.
3 tbs. of the juice from the hot peppers.
1 1/2 pounds of sweet and hot Italian sausage
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (don't you love the term "Extra Virgin"? reminds me of an old girlfriend... Ahem...)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Fresh Basil and Oregano.

Put the sausage in a deep saute pan, pierce the casings and add about an inch of water and red wine. Bring to a boil and simmer for about ten minutes.
In the mean time, seed and thinly slice the peppers, peel and thinly slice the onions and chop the garlic cloves.
Drain the sausage and add a bit of olive oil to the pan and brown over a medium heat until the casings are browned on all sides.




Heat another sauce pan over medium heat, add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil and toss in the onions, garlic and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft.



When the sausages are well browned, remove from the pan and cut into 1 inch thick slices, at an angle. Return to the pan and sear both sides.
When the veggies are thoroughly cooked, add to the pan with the sausage, add the spices and mix well. Add the chopped hot peppers and about three tablespoons of the juice from the jar.



Serve on toasted Italian bread, with melted butter, garlic, salt and pepper.
We enjoyed ours with a 2004 Ruffino Classico, just chilled.




In other news, I got the final trim on the living room windows today, I'll sand the filler and put a finish coat of paint on them tomorrow, then Mrs. SOG can hang her shades and I can move on to the built in bookcase and the mantle piece. I can see the end in sight, thank Bast.

Hope you had a wonderful evening, my fellow wanderers...
Fare thee well.



wander with me...

why I don't do drugs...



or maybe I should...

(more really great stuff at www.filmcow.com)


wander with me...

Mouse Hunt...

Ain't this fucking cool...

Not to worry, though, what would anyone do with two plague ridden mouse carcasses?


wander with me...

my kind of kitteh...



I'm spending another Saturday woodworking. Ripping, planing and cutting to fit the stops to hold the living room window sash in place. I managed to find some white adhesive backed felt, with which I will line the back of the stops, both for some additional insulation and for a smooth raising and lowering of the bottom sash. I'm all about easy these days...
Just taking a coffee break, want to get all saw and planer work completed so I can trim and paint tonight and install tomorrow, I'd like to spend some time outside tomorrow, it's supposed to be in the high fifties around these parts, perfect for tromping through the wet woods. I counted the tracks of several deer, a raccoon, at least two cats, a mouse and lots of birds in the snow covering the back yard this morning. Pretty busy place at night. I guess our trash doesn't seem too interesting to Mr. Raccoon, his tracks went up to the cans, around them, then back out into the woods. The last time it snowed, there were small deer tracks up our back sidewalk, right up to the back door, then back out to the woods. I guess the deer were wondering what goes on in this dark, spooky old place at night. I have news for that deer... nothing. Same as any other time.
Well, back to work.
Later.


wander with me...

aw, crap...

Lux Interior, front man for The Cramps, has passed away...
There are no words yet wrought to describe Lux.

Play on, good man, play on...





psycho rockabilly at it's stripped down best...
He invented it, by the way...



wander with me...

A Public Service Announcement...

Gentle folk... Listen. This is easy...
It's called DUCT Tape, not DUCK tape. D-u-c- fucking T. Not K...
It gets it's name because it is used to, among a million other things, seal the joints in heating DUCTS. It is not used to seal DUCKS.
DUCT TAPE is silver stuff with sticky on it, sold in rolls...



Ducks are water fowl, usually not silver and not sold in rolls, unless you are buying a duck sandwich. This is a duck...



A duck, sitting on a chair, being admonished by an intelligent little girl for using the term "duck tape"...

And screw what that Aussie Army calls it, they live upside down...

This is why most of the world really hates us, and why MacGyver hates you...
Blithering idiots...

We now return to our regularly scheduled program...



Good jumping Jesus up a tree...





wander with me...

10 1/2 foot pole...

(or 3.2 meters for you metric folks...)

I keep having this recurring dream where I'm trying to run through a field of waist high thick grass, there's dogs chasing me and I'm on fire...

Anyone want to take a crack at that one?



wander with me...

Hey, Barry...




watcha gonna do now??? If it can reach orbit, it can reach New York...


wander with me...

Groundhog Day Report...



The way I see it, Phil popped his head out, saw the shadow of what America used to be and predicted four more years of misery, then went back underground... Can't say as I blame him.


wander with me...

thieves and liars...

Mostly thieves...
Wanna know where your money is going? Read this... (it's a PDF to download of the entire ‘‘American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009’’; it's safe and virus free, I got it from the Government... on second thought...).
Don't feel to bad about your money and your children's money and their children's money and etc., etc., etc., being stuffed down this latest rat hole, the Democrats have included some stipulations in the bill to prevent frivolous spending...

SEC. 1109. PROHIBITED USES.
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available in this Act may be used for any casino or other
gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or
swimming pool.

Well, fucking thank you from the bottom of my black little heart, I was really afraid that my money was going to be used to build a fucking zoo, but I shall go forth and be merry this day, knowing that such wasteful spending would never happen.

Necktie parties.... that's all I have to say.





wander with me...