En solidaridad con los hermanos y las hermanas latinos

Vengo de la tierra de tomates y de moscas,
Del señorío de Letort en donde grita mi vecino.
Mi pequeño Miata azul
Conduce mi glaven a las tierras nuevas
Pero mientras que me van, estoy gritando siempre:
¡Thompsonia, estoy viniendo!
En mí siego mi césped feo,
deseo vivir donde no hay dientes de león.
Ah, ah,
Vengo de la tierra del tomate Fest,
con los árboles de Catalpa y los parásitos del vuelo.
Cómo es suave mi césped del verde,
Espero él ser,
Y cómo plantamos tan muchos árboles.
Honramos día de cenador.
En whack de I estas malas hierbas infernales,
Necesito las cabezas del condensador de ajuste que no se encajarán a presión en mí.
Tan ahora voy a parar y a ir asir una cerveza,
Para las moscas y las malas hierbas ganará el día
Desafío de mi parte posterior dolorida.

¡El Dios Bendice, Thompsonia!

Nuestra Himno

Amenece, lo veis?, a la luz de la aurora?

Lo que tanto aclamamos la noche al caer?

Sus estrellas sus franjas flotaban ayer,

En el fiero combate, en señal de victoria,

Fulgor de lucha, al paso de la libertad,

Por la noche decían: "¡Se va defendiendo!"

¡Oh decid! ¿Despliega aún su hermosura estrellada,

Sobre tierra de libres, la bandera sagrada?

Sus estrellas, sus franjas, la libertad, somos iguales

Somos hermanos, en nuestro himno.

En el fiero combate, en señal de victoria,

Fulgor de lucha... (Mi gente, ¡sigue luchando!)

...al paso de la libertad (¡Ya es tiempo de romper las cadenas!)

Por la noche decían: "¡Se va defendiendo!"

¡Oh decid! ¿Despliega aún su hermosura estrellada,

Sobre tierra de libres, la bandera sagrada?

Love to bash those rednecks, rednecks what I love to bash...

...bite they little heads off, nibble on they tiny feet.

Her name was Shirley, she was a redneck...

Buckwheat was what my stepmother used to call us kids.
.

Immigrant Song 2

Well I been workin’ on my lawncare mowin' down down...

Indignant Song

I come from the land of tomatoes and flies,
from Letort Manor where my neighbor cries.
My little blue Miata
Drives my glaven to new lands
But while I'm gone, I'm always crying:
Thompsonia, I am coming!
On I mow my unsightly lawn,
I wanna live where there's no dandelions.
Ah, ah,
I come from the land of Tomato Fest,
with Catalpa trees and the flying pests.
How soft my lawn of green,
I hope for it to be,
And how we plant so many trees.
We honor Arbor Day.
On I whack these infernal weeds,
I need trimmer heads that won’t snap on me.
So now I’m gonna stop and go and grab a beer,
For flies and weeds will win the day
Despite of my sore rear.
.

All of the wonders of the sea
will be served up hot to me.
Baked or broiled or lightly breaded,
just the thought makes me light-headed.
Can there be a smarter sauce
than a bowl of tartar sauce?
[Outer Banks] here I co-o-o-me!
.

Do you, you feel like guru?

http://bluemonkeyisland.blogspot.com/

Mr. Handa and Dr. Scrye

http://chrishanda.blogspot.com/

The value of the human race
is found within the void of space.

Microwave Chicken With Lemon And Olives

This offering is a recipe I've only had once, unfortunately. If ever I visit you and you make this for me I'll forever be indebted to you. The reason I don't have it at home is because Sue doesn't like ginger. Take out the ginger, you say. Won't Mary Ann do? Well, like my once having eaten a bad anchovy, once the taste of ginger was associated with this meal, Sue refused to ever consider it again. I'm okay with that. I could make it for myself, yes, but when I cook things such as this I always prefer to share and enjoy with others. Therefore, I pass it along to you. I will be at your house one day... hoping... praying...

Microwave Chicken With Lemon And Olives
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know--MICROWAVE! You Puritans! What? Do you only reheat stuff and make tea in yours?!?*)

2 lemons
1 tsp coarse salt
2 whole skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup plus 3 TB fresh lemon juice
2 TB olive oil
1 TB low-fat margarine or low-fat butter
1 onion, peeled, halved and cut into slivers
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 TB finely minced crystallized ginger
1 tsp powdered ginger
Pinch of ground turmeric
1-1/2 cups defatted chicken broth
1/3 cup imported black olives
1/3 cup imported green olives
3 TB chopped parsley

With a vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons in long strips. Drop strips in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 2-1/2 minutes. Remove from water.

When cool enough to handle (like ME!!), scrape any remaining white pith off back of lemon strips. Cut into 1/8 x 2-inch slivers. Place in a bowl and toss with coarse salt. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Clean chicken well. Remove excess fat. Cut breasts in half, removing center cartilage. Fan out the fillets on back of breasts. Place breasts in a bowl and pour 1/4 cup lemon juice over them. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Place oil and margarine in a 3-quart microwave-safe casserole. Cover; cook on High for 30 seconds.

Add onion, garlic, crystallized and powdered gingers, turmeric and broth. Stir well. Return to microwave and cook, covered, on High for 5 minutes.

Add lemon peel, olives, remaining lemon juice and 2 TB parsley to casserole. Stir and cook sauce, covered, on High for 2 minutes.

Drain chicken. Place in casserole in one layer, covering with sauce. Cook, covered, on High for 8 minutes or until breasts are tender but not overcooked.

Place chicken in 4 shallow bowls. Spoon sauce and vegetables on top; garnish with remaining parsley.

Serves 4. Per serving: 338 calories, 15g fat, 99mg cholesterol.

* I remember when microwaves were just coming out, like 1977. My stepmother took us to a trade show and we saw recipe after recipe of dishes made with "extraordinary" skill in the new "microwaves". Ours was this titanic affair, basically the top being a micro connected to the bottom, a range. Those were heady days, my friends. Heady days.

This recipe is courtesy of a very old Parade magazine of which I only have the clipping.

His name was Kenny, he was a showgirl...

In keeping with my happy theme--so as not to degenerate too far into the abyss of negativity--I offer this drawring of a friend, an almost brother, a fellow Penn Stater, and ex-marine most of us know and some of us love--Ken Valcho.

This drawing was done roughly around the time Ken was active in Gulf War I. During that time, we (Sue & I) had tried to entertain him and send him things while he was in Saudi, having heard that soldiers have a LOT of free time in the desert. We even sent him a bag of chocolate which he ate immediately. We were just starting out and the candy bars they made specially for the desert were REALLY expensive! He said that he got the bag and honked them all down at once. Well, it was worth a shot. Gave him one minute of happiness, I suppose. Although the endorphin rush of all that chocolate probably lasted quite a while afterward as well.

Also around that time we has been going back to the House for New Year’s celebrations (ah, those were younger, hippier days, my friends). I remember videotaping the party and sending him the tape. To this day I wonder if he kept it? I wonder what we said? I wonder if I dropped my pants? Most of you would unequivocally say YES to the last question! Nice. You people think you know me. Uh...I guess you do.

Thank God Ken returned to us after his helping liberate Kuwait. The only fatality Ken suffered, as I was told later, was his camera when he was in the Battle of Khafji.

I did this drawing back then, but never finished it. Like alot of things, I just wandered off and only returned to it many years later. Just had to draw in a few of the “chocolate chips”.