I got curious today to learn the fate of my old home, the USS Elliot (DD-967). The last I knew, it was fated to become a target in a SINKEX. That SINKEX occured this past June, during Operation Talisman Sabre 2005, a joint exercise between the U.S. and Australian militaries.

According to this Australian notice to mariners, the Elliot was sunk off the eastern Australian coast at 25 degrees south, 155 degrees east. Here’s a picture of what the Elliot might have looked like when it was taking a hit. Standley was the other ship sunk during this SINKEX.

Its sad to see Elliot go, but at least I know where she’s parked. Should the ship be resting in shallow enough water, perhaps I could someday go dive her.

[Update]: Whoops. That picture is from November 2004. It’s not the Elliot nor the Standley, but the ex-USS Hayler. I should have known by the choppy, cold-looking waters that it wasn’t the Coral Sea. 🙂

I am seriously digging Harvey Danger’s new album.
—

Diminishing Returns
Harvey Danger

The king of the swinging moods is back in town
and everybody’s tiptoeing around him, surround him
as he pounds a silver hammer, drops revolutionary grammar
concerning the burning of city hall and urban sprawl and decay
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If you remember the days when one listened to “phonographs” on “turntables,” you may remember the days of the Tylenol poisonings. That’s the time in the early 80’s when some sickos spiked Tylenol bottles with poison, killing some people and sending everyone else into a panic. The changes that came afterward were for the better: medicine now comes with tamper-evident seals.

I suppose on the basis that people put other things in their bodies, not just medicine, manufacturers began to apply seals to other consumables. Juice bottles have seals. So does milk, peanut butter, and (of course) baby food. All fine and good, right?

When I began to find these seals on things in my garage, I began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, we’ve gone off the deep end. I popped open a quart bottle of oil and lo and behold – it was safety sealed! Thank goodness that oil was tamper-free! Nothing should pollute my sparkling pure motor oil!

I thought I’d seen it all until it was time to kill off all my weeds and grass. Popping open a bottle of professional herbicide, I burst out laughing when I saw … a seal!

That’s right. A seal … on a bottle of poison!

Some sicko might try to put baby food in there.

I just discovered that my humble blog has been included in a list of political blogs in NC. I’m in some good company: Monkey Time, Orange Politics, Ed Cone among many others.

I don’t really consider my site to be about politics, though I will own up to being a political junkie. It’s more of a place where I say what’s on my mind, and sometimes what’s on my mind is politics. I will rant about one thing or another and then feel dumb about ranting, since ranting doesn’t fix things. Its much easier to complain, isn’t it?

Thanks to whomever out there nominated me. I promise to do some more ranting, but only if the mood strikes.

Speaking of mugshots, My buddy Wade got a nice head shot in this weekend’s Durham Sun.

Unless its accompanied by a mugshot, parents usually enjoy when their kids make the papers. My friend Vinnie Petrarca’s “kid” made the paper this weekend, only his kid is the “Honeymoon Cottage”, the house he designed and built. I remember him sharing pictures of its construction, like a proud papa.

Vinnie was a teammate on my Raleigh city league basketball team. He is also a talented architect who runs his own firm, Tonic Design. Vinnie designs as well as he can drive the lane. Maybe even better.

Back in 1967, Van Morrison wanted out of his recording contract with Bang records. The only problem was, he owed them another album. So Van sat down and recorded 31 songs in a row, all of them dreadful.

I’ve been chuckling about them all weekend long. Give a listen to them here, and try not to laugh.

[Update to fix spelling in title.]

I remember dancing to this at the Five-O just after it was released. Good times.
—
Loser
Beck

In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
Butane in my veins so I’m out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables
Dog food skulls with the beefcake pantyhose
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flamin’ with a loser in the cruise control
Baby’s in Reno with the vitamin D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love seat
Someone keeps sayin’ I’m insane to complain about
A shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
Don’t believe everything that you breathe
You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
So shave your face with some mace in the dark
Savin’ all your food stamps and burnin’ down the trailer park

Yo cut it
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