Some folks probably still don't know that I first met Arlee Bird and Sheboyganboy Six at BigBitch.com in early 2008, where I had started a discussion thread speculating on what might be the one song that all (or the most) Americans like.
Boidman and Six have both become good friends. It was even Sheboyganboy Six who found the place where I am currently living and where I'm composing this blog bit. (SBB-6 also turned me onto the fantastic comedy of Bob & Ray, with their classic skits about 'Tippy The Wonder Dog', 'Matt Neffer, Boy Spot-Welder', and too many others to mention... not to mention the song 'Mention My Name In Sheboygan'... which I may have to BOTB someday.) And Arlee Boidman has probably done more than anyone else to promote my blogging activities over the years.
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| "CENTRAL PARK" in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Previous photo: DAIRY QUEEN in Sheboygan, WI. "Mention My Name In Sheboygan's Dairy Queen" |
It seems EVERYBODY likes Cleaning Windows.
Wait! What I mean is that it seems everybody likes the SONG 'Cleaning Windows'.
FAE's most recent BOTB installment (won by Van Morrison) reminded me of another possibility in 'The Great Debate About The One Song That All (Or The Most) Americans Like'.
How about Van Morrison's 'Cleaning Windows'? It's a relatively unknown song, having never been a hit. But curiously, after over 3 decades I have never yet found anyone who would say they didn't like it. As a matter of fact, I have known a couple o' folks (one of them being an old girlfriend's youngest brother) who were decidedly NOT Van Morrison fans - didn't like him at all! - and yet they too admitted that they did, for some reason, like 'CLEANING WINDOWS'.
So, let's put this to the test right now and see if we can eliminate it as a contender in this Great Debate. Please listen and then let me know in the comment section if you can HONESTLY say you dislike 'Cleaning Windows'...
'CLEANING WINDOWS' - VAN MORRISON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgAf0Rjfm5s
OK, on to new business...
Some of you will remember Paul Harvey, the radio commentator who had a very popular series called 'The Rest Of The Story'. He would begin by telling the audience some interesting facts about someone or something. Then he would come back from a commercial break saying, "And now... the rest of the story", when he would finally reveal who or what he had been referring to earlier. It was always a surprising twist to have learned something about a person or event that you would never have imagined beforehand.
Now, since Paul Harvey has moved on to a less physical place, I'm going to reveal "the rest of the story". But first, I'd like to dedicate this next song to a very special "Special" someone. No name necessary because he knows WHO he is, and I know... WHAT he isn't.
This "Special" BIG fella is currently resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle named 'Turdle', or 'Turd' for short.
Take it away, Bruce 'N' Boys...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-OAi74f8i4
Well, thanks for stopping by, my friends. And I hope to see y'all again on April 15th, when I will offer up a sweet 'n' bitter 'Battle Of The Bands' blog bit which you just might find to be a real challenge when it comes time to decide which of the two great recordings (as dramatically different as they are) is the better one.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
'Loyal American Underground'
When I saw "Cleaning Windows," I thought it was going to be a remake of George Formby's "When I'm Cleanin' Windows."
ReplyDeleteJohn Holton
Blogging from A to Z 2015 Cohost
The Sound of One Hand Typing
You thought VERY WRONG.
DeleteYou're also VERY LATE!
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Well when the ad You Tube puts to lead into "Cleaning Windows" features Brooke Burke, what's not to like?
ReplyDeleteWas there a song after that ad?
LC ~
DeleteI have no idea what you're talking about but... don't bogart that joint.
Did anybody place an order for potato chips delivery?
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Hey, listen buddy, this joint is MEDICINAL!
DeleteNow gimme my @#$%! chips!
Salted or unsal--
DeleteUhm... never mind. Dumb question.
~ D-FensDogG
The video isn't available in Canada - but interesting hearing about how you met Lee. Small world.
ReplyDeleteD.G. ~
Delete"Small world"?
No. Discworld.
Dang! What's up with all this censorship in Canada? I thought y'all was one o' us. ...Oh, wait! I guess censorship fits in with that pretty perfectly.
Thanks for stopping by.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
~ D-FensDogG.
ReplyDeleteRaise the eyebrows time. As I listened to "Cleaning Windows," I thought ...prequel to Disco.
That description and second song: Terry and Discworld.
Move along ... move along...
DIXIE POLKA ~
Delete>>... "...prequel to Disco."
Prequel to Disco?!
It's from a 1982 album, and if I were forced to label it, I'd say it's closer to "Funk" than it is to anything else.
Are you saying you didn't like it? If so, that's a first. It would be perfectly OK, but it would also be a first.
>>... That description and second song: Terry and Discworld.
Ahhh. Well, apparently you haven't found the keys and unlocked the mystery of this blog bit, BUT you have found a clue... 'Discworld'.
Long story medium... Sometime prior to blogging at Blogspot.com (circa 2007) I was a regular contributor to a discussion board online. At one point, some supposedly high-I.Q. Liberal discovered my posts and took a liking to me, deciding I was witty and bright. (Shows ya how wrong a smart Liberal can be, eh?)
He strongly urged me to read the Discworld series. I'd not heard of it, but I promised him I would, so eventually I... tried to.
I got maybe halfway through the first book and then thought: No wonder Liberals are liberals if THIS is the sort o' sh-- stuffs they inject into their minds!
So, half of book 1 of the Discworld series is all I could stands, and I couldn't stands no mo'!
First of all, if I'm going to take the time to read, I'm gonna read nonfiction (95% of the time) because I want to come away from the book... KNOWING SUMPIN'! And not simply knowing what some propagandist with a shitty imagination WANTS me to THINK I know!
Anyway, you're the first to mention "Discworld" (100 points for that!), which is a major clue to the mystery of this blog bit. But you've got a ways to go yet before you understand all the semi-hidden meaning here.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Unfortunately, I have no clue. I could have sworn I was in bed at 10:30 last night!
DeleteThe song is fine. I usually keep notes on what comments I leave and why... this one... nothing found. Hmm...
>>"But you've got a ways to go yet before you understand all the semi-hidden meaning here."
I'm not sure that's gonna happen. I must have gone brain dead. Ha ha on me!
Nice story about how you met Lee. I wish that I had half of Lee's energy! He's really a great guy! I haven't met Sheboyganboy 6, but just knowing he helped you find your place makes me like him already. I thought both songs were great, and Paul Harvey always made me laugh. It was always hard telling his stories apart from the radio commercials.
ReplyDeleteJulie
GEM JULIE ~
DeleteI totally agree that Lee's a great guy.
Sheboyganboy 6, however, is going to feel my wrath for recommending this place to me!
Nah, I'm kidding. The place where I live is actually one of my favorite things about being where I am. The city itself - after only 3 weeks and 2 days - has already proven to be rather disappointing. ...Rather, very, quite, rather, very quite disappointing!
Listening to Paul Harvey was always kind of fun. Every time I knew who or what he was referring to in Segment 1, before he revealed it in Segment 2, I would give myself a pat on the back.
I got some of them right (not many), but the ones I didn't know were always quite shocking... and immediately repeated to others who would be impressed by my immense ("Harveyesque") knowledge. Ha!-Ha!
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Thanks for the mention and kind words. Yes, that Amazon thread! Ah, those were the good ol' days when I was still working and bringing home a half decent paycheck.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of "half", Julie better be careful of what she wishes for. If she had half of my energy she'd be pretty close to dead. If I appear to have energy in my blogging, it's really all just an illusion.
I like the song "Cleaning Windows". That was a good album it came off of.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
I know the song "Cleaning Windows" and like it but I couldn't listen to it here (same reason and no I did not look into that music thing yet-I will after A to Z). I love Paul Harvey and his rest of the story-listened to it whenever I could
ReplyDeleteNever heard it before but I liked Cleaning Windows:) Not actually cleaning windows, mind you, but the song.
ReplyDelete-------- ARLEE BIRD --------
DeleteYeah, that's a catchy little song. I wonder if it was ever released as a single, because as much as people seem to like it, it should have been a massive Top 40 hit, in my opinion.
-------- BIRGIT --------
I wonder what's going on with the videos I embed now. It seems that since I moved to Reno and got a new Internet provider, a couple of you can't access the videos I post. And yet, others seem to have no problem with 'em.
I'd like to know if this is an issue on my end, or yours. Something to do with the different I-net providers we use, or...?
I just don't know enough about computers (like, ANYTHING about computers) to try troubleshooting this problem. But it's going to be really disappointing to me if you and D.G. Hudson are no longer able to vote on my BOTB installments.
-------- GIRL WONDER --------
It's funny that "I don't do windows" has become such a popular expression, because although I hate cleaning in general, cleaning windows has never been a chore that I particularly disliked. At least one can quickly see the results of their work because the improvement is immediately transparent.
~ D-FensDogG
Lots going on with this blog bit, though much of it leaves me clueless. Well... not without clues, per se, but without solutions.
ReplyDeleteVan Morrison's Cleaning Windows: Great song off a great album that I've had in my collection since it came out. I love Van, though I did not vote for him on FAE's recent BOTB. I remain steadfast: he MEANDERED. And not just a little. So far that the melody remained forever out of reach. This song, though: GREAT.
LC on Brooke Burke: you are CORRECT, sir! First time I've actually watched one of those ads without clicking the "skip ad" button.
>>Sheboyganboy 6, however, is going to feel my wrath for recommending this place to me!<<
Oops! That sounds ominous. It is really bad, just ok, or actually pretty good under the circumstances? You did not consult me on actual CITIES to relocate to, and I certainly would not have recommended Reno. It is not a bad place, but not where I'd go to live, ever.
The Fat Boy business has me stumped. You are dedicating it to someone. That means they read your blog and will get that you mean THEM. I cannot guess who of your regulars this might be. But, you say you know that they will know what they are not, so they are probably not proportioned as described by the song. And what the hell is "the rest of the story?" Does it remain to be told? I think this blog bit is aimed at one person only... and I AIN'T HIM! I'm just a sucker for a mystery.
Finally, I owe you an email reply, BIG TIME. But I've not had time after just returning home from a month-long trip. Lots of shizzle is stacked up, so even blog commenting is a luxury! Soon, soon.
SHEBOYGANBOY SIX ~
DeleteYour comment will require more "response time" than I have at the moment. But look for an A-list reply later - perhaps sometime tonight.
But for now, I just want to know if you're selling to LC or if he's selling to you. And how much will it cost me to try it for one weekend?
Seriously... WHAT AD are you blokes yakkin' about? I don't know who Brooke Burke is, and I really don't care to know. But where are you seeing her ad? It's on the 'CLEANING WINDOWS' video I posted above? Because I'm not seeing any ads at all. I click the start button and the song begins immediately.
At first I thought LC was implying that he watched a different 'Cleaning Windows' video at YouTube, instead of just watching the one I embedded in this blog bit. (Although I couldn't figure out why he would bother doing that.)
But now it's sounding like you're both seeing something on THIS video here that I'm not seeing.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Part 1 Of 2:
DeleteSBB-6 ~
I was totally joking about wrath toward you, of course. You done good in finding this particular spot for me, and I'm still grateful to you for your research and your scouting.
I like that everything I need is really close by - even within drunken stumbling distance. I like my next door neighbor, Bob.
It's Reno itself that's been a bit underwhelming - not living up to my expectations. But part of it is my fault for overlooking something: By the standards I'm used to living in (Los Angeles, Phoenix) Reno ain't much more than a wide spot on I-395. I can go from the Northeast point of Sparks to the Southwest point of Reno in about 15 minutes. Population comparison is David vs. Goliath: a few hundred thousand vs. about 4 million.
What I hadn't taken into consideration was Population Density: Although there really aren't a lot of people, still it's too many occupying too small a place. Thus, it's very nearly as congested as Phoenix was.
If I want to make a left turn, or back out of a parking space, I will - 19 out of 20 times - have to wait for one, two, or three drivers and/or pedestrians. Very aggravating and frustrating, because I thought I was escaping a lot of congestion. "Biggest Little City In The World"? Yeah, maybe so. It's little but it seems big in terms of population and... people in your way... always people in your way.
I have seen more lesbians in the last 3 weeks than I saw in the last 3 years in Phoenix. What's up with this? Reno could be called Lesbo City. That doesn't affect me though, but what DOES is all the schools here...
Even more so, Reno could be (and should be) called Public School City. I have never seen SO MANY SCHOOLS in so small a place. I literally - LITERALLY! - can't drive 3 blocks in ANY direction without coming to another school.
What this means is School Zone Speed Traps every 3 blocks. Cops sitting around with radar guns filling the city and state coffers.
There is NO WAY Reno/Sparks could really support all these schools. Someone somewhere pulled a School Scam and made a lot of money. My guess: Politician(s) in bed with developers and construction companies with kickbacks going into political pockets.
Continued Below...
Part 2 Of 2:
DeleteI was also fooled by the idea of no state income tax. Oh, the state gets your money alright, but it does it in another way: Upping the cost of services. Example: I could register my truck in Phoenix for $12 to $14. Yesterday I paid Nevada $59. to do the same thing. No state income tax? Bullshit. They just don't call it that.
Speaking of which, the DMV here is a Horror movie! It reminds me of California's DMV, only probably worse! (That's the ONE THING that Phoenix did well, surprisingly. A visit to the DMV was not something I dreaded in PHX.)
They have only ONE DMV office for all of Reno and Sparks. Go in to take care of some little business and you will have between 292 to 251 people waiting ahead of you. (Those are exact numbers from my two trips to the Reno/Sparks DMV.)
I have an idea: Let's convert 30 schools into DMV offices!
This "Smog Check" thing is also a scam. 1 out of 10 vehicles fail, and there goes more of your income in repair costs.
I don't know what the job situation is yet because I haven't run out of beer. And I haven't run out of beer because I haven't run out of money. But as soon as the beer's gone, I will see what the job market looks like.
All in all, I'm not sorry I made the move, and come Summer, I'll probably be even happier, thinking about the 7 months of 100+ degree heat in Phoenix that I'm not suffering through.
Also, I have always felt I have some Spiritual connection to this area (the lopsided triangle of Reno, Carson City, and Virginia City), and I believe that this is where I'm SUPPOSED to be, despite the pissant stuffs.
Shortly before I left Phoenix, Airheadzona, I found the following web page:
http://www.joelskousen.com/strategic.html
He says:
"These are not the best areas, but the areas where most people who need to stay in the job markets will find medium term security:"
And Reno was amongst the Top Ten on that list. That helped confirm for me that I was making the right decision to move here.
So, I just need to find my feet and get more comfortable here. And still, I thank you for locating this particular spot. Nuttin' but quiet old folks. I'm good wid dat!
I had to laugh at your observation that there was NO "rest of the story" in this blog bit. Actually, there IS but it's not obvious, so it appears as if I promised to tell "the rest of the story" and then simply forgot to do so after presenting the Starbuck song. I did that on purpose, and laughed while I was composing this seemingly "endingless" "rest of the story" story.
I will send an E and 'splain it to ya.
~ D-FensDogG
What I'm wondering is the grass any greener in Reno?
DeleteArlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
A Faraway View
Good question, LEE.
DeleteActually, there IS grass here (rather than cacti and rock ground cover), so Reno wins the "greener grass contest" by default.
~ D-FensDogG
Both LC and I were provided with a "commercial" featuring Brooke Burke before we get to see the music vid. Normally I click the "skip ad" feature, but made an exception in her case. BB is a very lovely woman who is now in her early 40's. Did lots of swimsuit shoots earlier in her career... and still could. You should google her just for your own edification and amusement.
DeleteI am glad to hear that your new place is not awful, and hence I did not lead you into yet another level of hell. The Reno facts you relate were interesting. I had no idea they had all those schools, though now that you mention it, I remember having to slow down a couple of times for flashing yellow lights that day I was driving around Reno.
I am a car guy, and used to go to Reno every year or two to see the Harrah's collection before it was broken up. Reno still has an excellent but small auto museum right downtown. I'd suggest you visit it, but alas... they do not have a bar there so it probably holds no interest for you.
I checked out the Joel Skousen page you listed and found that I already knew all that info from my own research, and he is spot-on, in my opinion. But you also will know/remember/guess that I like every "Skousen" I've read. I have a book by this guy already on building a secure home. He is nephew to Cleon Skousen, the Constitutional scholar (I have a couple of his books, too). Austrian-school economist Mark S. is his brother. But you probably know all of this! Oh, and he has another brother named Royal who is a mere linguist... he may be cunning at it, but I would not know.
Finally: I got up to speed about the Fat Boy business. Remind me to know when to BACK OFF! He really should have waved the white flag rather than the RED!
MASTER SIX ~
DeleteThat's peculiar that I don't get that B.B. ad when I click 'n' listen to the 'Cleaning Windows' track. Maybe it's because it's on MY blog? I dunno.
>>... I did not lead you into yet another level of hell.
Most certainly NOT. Right now it's my favorite part of being in Reno. I like my place - it reminds me of being 18 years old again, when I got to move out and spread my wings in a place of my own. (It feels weird though to be paying rent to someone when I have a fully paid-for house in Phoenix.)
I did not KNOW that Skousen relationship as a FACT, but I had guessed it (correctly) quite awhile ago. The name isn't that common. Then add to that the similarity of interest in the conniving, evil acts of Uncle Scam and, well, the guess isn't exactly a shot in the dark, is it?
I think it's cool that you turned me on to the book 'The Making Of America' (which I now have here in Reno with me, all highlighted up to the yin and yang), while I made you aware of his book 'The Naked Capitalist'. We done good for each other, Bro!
Unfortunately, the skirmish with 'Fat Boy' was totally unnecessary. When I made the simple, plain, obvious, objective statement that his (Socialist) goddess had been "intellectually dishonest" for some decades, he just couldn't let his goddess go undefended... even against a factual statement that was truly undeniable.
So, he defended his Socialist goddess against the obvious and we were off 'n' running...
The irony is that, in the end, by deleting my comment rather than responding to it, he had in essence "waved the white flag" anyway (or as Brother Nappy said: "He took his ball and went home".)
Although I did understand why 'Fat Boy' deleted my last 2-part comment: Had he left it standing, future readers of that blog bit would learn that not only had he dodged a Gun Control debate with me two years ago, he was also afraid to debate me NOW, about Senator Joe McCarthy, whom he casually called "neo-Hitler McCarthy". He would have been unable to make his extreme, over-the-top, typically liberal accusation stick when faced with my knowledge of the subject and the responses he rightly imagined I would come up with to emasculate his bogus charges.
In a word, the guy is just a "fat, pseudo-intellectual puss". (OK, so maybe I need 3 words - or even 4 words, depending on how you count "pseudo-intellectual" - to describe the fat feller.)
[;-)}
At any rate, I don't think he's going to sling slurs about me again on any blog bit he suspects I might visit. (Then, yet again, that might be giving him credit for more smarts than he actually has.)
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
FIRST - I really like 'Cleaning Windows'. I can actually hear RLJ doing a cover of this one. I'm trying to fit it into the overall 'tone & meaning' of this blog bit. Is it something along the lines of 'let me make this perfectly clear'? At any rate; great song, but then you know how I feel about VtM.
ReplyDeleteSECOND - @ Dixie - disco - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
THIRD - 'Fat Boy' as I said yesterday ROTFLMAO. Very appropo.
FOURTH - I found it (there was only one, right?) and I went back and found the original post and discussion. Aside from just about anything else (and there sure is plenty) I don't think the guy can read, because he just kept completely ignoring most of what you said. Talk about dishonesty! Unfortunately, I wasted a lot of time reading a few of his other posts and reviews. I'm sitting here shaking my heads wondering 'just who does this jerk think he is'? Well, actually, I know, but I try not to talk like that in public.
I refrain from saying things like this publicly, but I'm gonna maybe slit my own throat right here and now. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE 'INDI AUTHOR/PUBLISHING BUSINESS. IT GIVES ANYONE WITH A COMPUTER THE RIGHT TO BE AN EXPERT AND GO OUT AND CALL THEMSELVES AND 'A-U-T-H-O-R, BECAUSE THEY HAVE SELF-PUBLISHED SOMETHING.
Most likely nobody ever has to worry about this happening, but I promise I will only EVER be an author is someone else deems my writing good enough to publish (not like that means it's any good - just look at all the carp out there published by the big established 'houses', but at least I won't go around saying I'm an author because I learned how to use 'Smashwords' or something like that.)
I just promised myself that in the future, I will even skim over that guys comments at other blogs. At least those I've read so far had me thinking he was ONLY a windbag. Now, I see clearly that he is something much worse and more dangerous.
OK, I'm ready for the torches and pitchforks. But, then 'you know me'.
FAE ~
Delete[:-)} I liked your analysis, tying 'Cleaning Windows' into "the rest of the blog bit" by thinking: Let me make this perfectly clear. Ha! Very good!
Unfortunately, I can't honestly claim to be THAT clever. Sadly, these are just two completely different topics that I put into one blog bit only because I didn't want to have to publish them separately. Just a potpourri o' blog bits.
Great comment. Yeah, "windbag" or "blowhard" (the word I used but with the same meaning), and really just a maroon who likes to color himself "intellectual".
Hell, Andy Taylor is smarter. Maybe Barney, too (if he could just learn to say "compulsion" rather than "compelsion").
No torches and pitchforks for you, because I'll protect you. And if I find I can't... if I find I'm not able to keep up and beat them back honestly... then I'll just delete their torch and pitchfork comments. (There's more than one way to win a debate, eh?)
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
God, I hated Cleaning Windows. What a stupid, awful song. How do people listen to that garbage?
ReplyDeleteNah, I'm just kidding. Not sure if I had you going for a second, but I wanted to be original. I'm not. I really liked it. And that's my complete honest rulin'. Also, I like that the Youtube video itself doesn't even have any dislikes. That never happens. You may be onto something here.
Also, great song AND great Discworld reference. That's pretty impressive. I didn't even know you had known about Discworld, much less tried to make it through a book.
~6B
6-B ~
DeleteHa! No, you weren't even close to fooling me THIS time. You can't cry "Wolf!" too often before I catch on to it. :-)
Yeah, I knew about Discworld. I was happier when I didn't, before some "smart lib" stole my innocence.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
Not my kinds of songs.
ReplyDeleteThat's OK, Lux. But thanks for taking the time to listen and register an opinion. Much appreciated!
Delete~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'