Life
Woody Guthrie Sings About Immigration
I took some minor liberties with the title. Woody Guthrie was singing about immigration – but he was referring to the dust bowl immigrants to California. We forget that time when Americans were denied entrance into another State because of economics. See Also: Where is Woody Guthrie.
17Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Woody Guthrie Sings About Immigration | Continued
Kansas City Chiefs – Where is Clark Hunt?
There is a disaster unfolding in Kansas City, Missouri. It is not natural. It is hardly believable. The Kansas City Chiefs, the proud heritage of Lamar Hunt, are proving to be a huge embarrassment for everyone in Missouri who live west of the Mississippi. The Chiefs are the laughing stock of the sports world. It […]
15Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Kansas City Chiefs – Where is Clark Hunt? | Continued
Kansas City Chiefs – 9-14-2008
This writer is a fair weather Kansas City Chiefs fan. But even mildly interested folks like myself are embarrassed again this year. The Kansas City Chiefs had one of the most potent offenses of this decade. Today we are watching a three quarterback rotation that no other team employs – Does Coach Herm Edwards understand […]
15Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Kansas City Chiefs – 9-14-2008 | Continued
Troopergate – There may be something to this
This writer and The Fireside Post in general have avoided the trash talk of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. We have called her a UFO – meaning that we don’t recognize her on the political landscape. Governor Palin remains a UFO because we have heard nothing from her other than prepared speeches. The media […]
12Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Troopergate – There may be something to this | Continued
Clean Electricity in Ten Years
We have written several times on Global Warming – now real money is being invested in educating the human populations about this fundamental truth of our time. The following is a video advertisement running on many television networks – This writer likes the music and the imagery. [wp_youtube]ydOPBL5iO2Y[/wp_youtube] Wecansolveit.org has several good videos. We are […]
10Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Clean Electricity in Ten Years | Continued
A Soldier’s Story
This video is the story of one soldier. The fourth Medal of Honor recipient of the last six years. This is the stuff of legend – regardless of the political interpretations of war – the soldiers go to war when asked, they do not question or balk. This is one more reason the civilian Commander […]
3Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on A Soldier’s Story | Continued
English – a Mandatory Language?
We have a new pork processing plant in our town – we think the Triumph Foods Human Resource office is located in Mexico City. You know how these big corporations are. Our local school system is being challenged to offer a regular old American education to children who cannot speak the language. There is great […]
2Sep2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Sex Addiction – Real or Not? (Video)
CBS has done a nice job reporting on actor David Duchovny’s recent admission to a rehabilitation facility for Sex Addiction. My question is the same as most – Is Sex Addiction a legitimate addiction, or a legitimate mental illness, or both, or what? This writer believes that Obsessive Compulsive disorders are real, they are destructive, […]
31Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Sex Addiction – Real or Not? (Video) | Continued
The Yearn for Normalcy
We really don’t know what ‘normal’ is – but all of us want it. We want safety and security. We want to own our home, raise our children, attend school plays and athletic events. We want proper health care for our family. We want to go to work and receive a decent pay check. We […]
25Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Video – Kennedys endorse Obama, from MSNBC
Son, I could not capture the power of the news conference today. My earlier post has some of the quotes from the Kennedys – but the written word cannot capture their presence. We can all have hopes for the future of America. Hopes for Social Justice, for health care, for education, for peace, for prosperity, […]
25Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Video – Kennedys endorse Obama, from MSNBC | Continued
Michael Phelps, Pro Bowl in Eight Positions
Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in one Olympics. Mark Spitz won seven in the 1972 Olympics. Johnny Weissmuller won four in the 1928 Olympics. All in swimming. So multiple gold medals is not unheard of. But it is certainly unusual. Why is this so? This writer has been digesting the news of the Phelps […]
20Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Michael Phelps, Pro Bowl in Eight Positions | Continued
Retard Thunder
Ben Stiller has a new comedy movie being unveiled this week. The movie is called “Tropic Thunder.” But it is being trumpeted as some sort of evil incarnation of ancient bigotry against mental illness or the mentally impaired, or something like that. Apparently the movie uses the term ‘retard’ multiple times. The movie has an […]
13Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Retard Thunder | Continued
Phelps sets Olympic record
Michael Phelps is an American Swimmer. That felt good to type – and it is sweet music to American Olympians. His story is remarkable. Some questions are posed because of changes in the technology of swim wear and the configuration of the pool in Beijing – we’ll get to those issues in a moment – […]
13Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Phelps sets Olympic record | Continued
Banks do Business with Predatory Lenders
I was in my bank the other day to roll over my wife’s 401k, and I was browsing all of their literature while I waited for the financial advisor. I don’t usually pay any attention to all of the stuff along the wall because I already have all of the banking junk that I need […]
12Aug2008 | bryan | Comments Off on Banks do Business with Predatory Lenders | Continued
The Bird’s Nest – Cradle of the Future? (Video)
China has given the world a demonstration of their claim on the future. The opening ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics are unrivaled – and will remain unrivaled for generations. The grandeur of the Chinese coming out party was a delicate mix of technology and humanity. At the center of the spectacle was “The […]
10Aug2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Bird’s Nest – Cradle of the Future? (Video) | Continued
Barack, Public Funding, and My Backyard
Barack Obama this week rejected public fundung for his campaign according to the Los Angeles Times. This seems like a big deal, I know, and a lot of good government analysts are saying that it is a mistake and that it could be a strong point for McCain in the gneral election It is not […]
20Jun2008 | bryan | Comments Off on Barack, Public Funding, and My Backyard | Continued
intimate anonymity in the electronic age
If you are reading this article, then it is no surprise to you that our electronic culture is changing faster than we can measure and our connectedness boasts the largest geographical and numerical network in history. The phenomenon of our communication age is a child of several technologies that all dramatically shaped our culture, and […]
2Jun2008 | bryan | Comments Off on intimate anonymity in the electronic age | Continued
Art, Craft, Capitalism, and Pirating
Pirates! Who are they? Johnny Depp has redefined the genre with Captain Jack Sparrow. This portrayal is entertaining for sure – but not necessarily accurate. Pirating is about selfish intentional plunder, it is about seeking out treasure possessed by others and taking possession of the treasure by any means possible. The modern entertainment industry has […]
7May2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Art, Craft, Capitalism, and Pirating | Continued
Ann Coulter – a study in journalism
One of our readers recommended that I read some Ann Coulter. Not one to dismiss our readers outright, I found this intriguing documentary by SuperNews. The depth of study is reflected in the Ann Coulter-like bibliography. Ms. Coulter thinks of herself as a professional journalist – and who in the mainstream media today has the […]
2May2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
What Makes A Pirate A Pirate?
I don’t have cable, and I don’t want it. It’s too expensive, I don’t like the hassle that I get from them, and I havean internet connection, so I can pretty much get whatever shows I want without the commercials, and whatever I can’t find online I just rent and plug it into the DVD […]
29Apr2008 | bryan | Comments Off on What Makes A Pirate A Pirate? | Continued
My Stimulus Check Stimulates Me
Here is what I am going to do. Plain and simple. I am going to spend my gov’ment stimulus check to help the economy. I have a whole list of things that I am gonna do. Here it is. Right off, I am going to pay my car insurance for a year – then I […]
27Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on My Stimulus Check Stimulates Me | Continued
Media Pendulum Swings Right
The phenomenon of the American Media is in full swing. The mass of opportunity is driven by the gravitational pull of pollsters. With the inertia growing, it seems improbable that we will see any shift to professional journalism in the near future. The throttle is open for the pendulum to swing far right. The value […]
26Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Media Pendulum Swings Right | Continued
Christianity Is Not a Religion
At a motivational seminar that I attended last week, I noticed that a lot of the motivational speaking crowd are Christian speakers. Many of them, in fact, have started mega churches for mega rich parishioners in mega cities (that crowd doesn’t do small scale stuff). Many of the pastors of large churches, actually, would fall […]
25Apr2008 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
Copycatery – By Steven Colbert
There is no one like Steven Colbert to pound an issue home. The Colbert Report hosted both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama last week. Clinton had inked the deal before Obama – so – imagine this, The Clinton campaign is accusing Obama of being a copycat. We are reaching for new lows in this Presidential […]
24Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Copycatery – By Steven Colbert | Continued
Marines’ Hymn
I am an amateur piano player – I play late at night, and just for myself. I am told that I have a ‘swing style’ – but I don’t know what that means. One of the first songs that I learned on a piano was the Marines’ Hymn. This inspiring march music is relatively easy […]
24Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Marines’ Hymn | Continued
Obama, Clinton, ABC debate, 4-16-2008
6:40 PM: Here we go again. These debates are tiring – but very necessary. There are undecided voters out there who want information. They want to make a good decision – they know that bad decisions in the past two Presidential Elections have proved disastrous for our country and for the world. Clinton has been […]
17Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Jon Stewart: The Fiber in Your Media Diet
There are some things that we, as a culture, cannot do without. Oil. Television. Wal-Mart. Cell Phones. Media Punditry. In order for these things to exist, we have to continually evaluate them and to find ways of curbing our dependence on them. Otherwise, we become slaves to our devices. Oil, for instance, needs investigation into […]
17Apr2008 | bryan | Comments Off on Jon Stewart: The Fiber in Your Media Diet | Continued
esprit de corps and elitism
When people suffer anxiety and fear, whether from physical insecurity, economic strife, or terrorism, they form what Robert Muchembled calls social solidarities. These systems of survival come in a variety of forms. Many folks form loose confraternities around causes: Global Warming, Abortion, Guns, Political Parties, Civil Rights, Feminism, Gay-Lesbian Rights, and even around faith based […]
16Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | Continued
Meet the Reverend, Fred Phelps
The ‘Reverend’ Fred Phelps is an example of religion gone haywire. He is a man much like Osama Bin Laden, using a legitimate faith to justify his hate. But is he really so unusual in America? Christianity is blasphemed by people who use that brand of faith as justification for separating and dividing people. The […]
15Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Pope in America
Bill Maher is on a role in this video. Maher directly takes the Pope and the Catholic Church to task. Referring to Pope Benedict as John Paul’s Dick Cheney, Maher hits this nail right on the head. The value of comedic interpretation of current events is never more evident than it is in this monologue […]
15Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Pope in America | Continued
Addiction Humor
So what is funny about getting drunk or high on drugs? Just about everything – if you are observing someone else. These two comedians, Robin Williams and Bill Cosby, are very funny because they are so accurate in their depictions of people on drugs. We laugh because we recognize ourselves and others in their comedy […]
15Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Addiction Humor | Continued
Does President Bush Drink?
I don’t know what to think. This video is on youtube. Has it been doctored? Slowed down? Check for yourself: [wp_youtube]lHSiqQpg7Uc[/wp_youtube]
15Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Does President Bush Drink? | Continued
Robin Williams on Golf
Caution to readers – this Robin Williams is hilarious – but he uses strong language to punctuate his message. Williams pulls every trick out of his big bag of humor to make this work. He is animated, uses slang, stresses ethnic accent, and adds to the humor by throwing in a drunk Scotsman. This is […]
15Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Robin Williams on Golf | Continued
Fox News – Bush’s Last Lap
Fox News has become the embarrassment of professional journalism. Ranking beneath bloggers in factual reporting and fair commentary, the only success of Fox has been to lower the bar of media expectations. Fortunately for all Americans, we can depend on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Intelligent reporting that is clearly unbiased may seem boring […]
12Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Fox News – Bush’s Last Lap | Continued
My Nephew Joe in Iowa
The guy in this video walks and talks and looks like my nephew Joe who lives in Iowa. [wp_youtube]PkGDrV_2ehI[/wp_youtube]
11Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Ring of Fire – and Walk the Line Videos
Johnny Cash sings “Ring of Fire” 1963 [wp_youtube]gRlj5vjp3Ko[/wp_youtube] Here is Joaquin Pheonix with his impersonation of Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire, along with a moving moment from the movie ‘Walk the Line.’ [wp_youtube]fMdoyh4NjSE[/wp_youtube] And here are more of the songs from ‘Walk the Line’ [wp_youtube]b9qTCP-tZms[/wp_youtube] And here is Johnny Cash singing ‘I Walk The Line’ […]
11Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Obama, More Perfect Union speech
[wp_youtube]pWe7wTVbLUU[/wp_youtube]
11Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Obama, More Perfect Union speech | Continued
Robin Williams on American Idol, 4/2008
One has to listen closely and quickly to catch all of the humor offered by Robin Williams. Every time I seen this great talent I try to imagine anyone else in the role and I find there is no one to compare with Robin Williams.. Enjoy.
11Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
The Conundrum of Humanity and Religion
One great irony of the human experience is the conflict between religion and science. The ‘human experience’ is essentially the act of awareness. The act of awareness allows us to explore our universe, to ask why and how, to speak in metaphor and allegory. But the human experience is also primal, seeking first to survive. […]
10Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Conundrum of Humanity and Religion | Continued
New Al Gore video on climate change
Al Gore says this better than I.
8Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Iraq in Context – April 8, 2008
I am listening at this moment to the Senate hearings featuring testimony by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. These are impressive men who are in a tough spot. They believe in their mission. They testify that their work is not only effective but also necessary to improving American security. But this: Even if what they […]
8Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Narrative lives of McCain, Obama, McBride
Each of us is a product of our environment. We do not know the secrets of epigenetic study – that mystery of our DNA that is shaped by influence of nurture. So we are left to speak in terms of biography. Biography is termed ‘narrative history.’ Narrative, by it’s nature is anecdotal. Written about famous […]
4Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Narrative lives of McCain, Obama, McBride | Continued
Diplomatic Gutter Balls
There were two major news developments in the past few days. The President of the United States was in Europe on a diplomatic mission and a Senator from Illinois was bowling in Pennsylvania. Can you guess which received the most media attention? BUCHAREST, Romania — President Bush suffered a painful diplomatic setback Wednesday when NATO […]
3Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
The Obama Mystique
MSNBC’s David Gregory is doing well on his new program. What is inside the Obama mystique, he asks: His panel answers:
3Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on The Obama Mystique | Continued
Al Gore in Obama Administration
What role might Al Gore play in the upcoming Barack Obama Presidential Administration. Here is a good discussion on MSNBC:
3Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Al Gore in Obama Administration | Continued
Obama on Hardball, 4-2-2008
Barack Obama is the guest on Hardball’s College tour. I’ll give some summary comments. Matthews: “How do we know you are tough enough?” Omaba: “…I am leading in a contest with a very powerful political Clinton machine – I think I have proved I am tough…” Matthews, “Can you ignore public opinion to do the […]
3Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
hunting for the ethical purchase
As consumers, we vote with our pocketbook. There is plenty of complaining about the impact of Wal-Mart, but they are winning the campaign of the free market because they they are, in fact, cheap. Everyone loves a bargain, and these days the way to get one is to invest your time and money into supporting […]
2Apr2008 | bryan | Comments Off on hunting for the ethical purchase | Continued
“Take a Listen to this”
The mainstream media is driving me nuts. People who work in journalism, even bloggers, have some duty to try to use proper grammar. I make mistakes – because I am not an authority on proper English. Was I supposed to capitalize English? The point is that I try to ask myself questions of propriety. I […]
2Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Olberman on WalMart, O’Reilly, and Dobson
Keith Olberman is at his best on his own show. He falters when paired with a co-host on political programs – but his sense of humor, his intellect, and his willingness to confront immorality shines when he is on his own. Here is Olberman taking it to WalMart.
2Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Olberman on WalMart, O’Reilly, and Dobson | Continued
Urban Gardening
My neighborhood is called ‘midtown.’ There is the north side, south side, east side – and midtown. Midtown is composed of homes a little over 100 years old. The lots are generally about 75 feet wide and about 150 feet deep. We have alleys. None of the homes are ‘ranch style.’ And the garages were […]
2Apr2008 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued