What If He Resigns

Another video that was posted on the LiberalResistance.net page

Again, very liberal. This one is a little different though. I actually videoed myself for it rather than using stock footage.

A Tribute To Oreo

Just before we left Albuquerque, our little dog Oreo passed on...which was very sad, and I'm still sort of getting over it.

But, here is the video I did as a tribute.

Thank you Oreo, for all your years with us...






Oreo from MJT1957 on Vimeo.

The Monster To Come - A Video

I'm still doing short videos for LiberalResistance.net. They're very political, and (as you would expect) very anti-Trump, so if you're very pro-Trump then probably not a good idea to watch.

But, still, if you're curious, here's what I'm doing with my voice-overs and a little stock footage. This one ran today, and I'll post others once every Friday or so for a while.

cheers
mjt

A new blog?

I am toying with the idea of closing this blog down and starting a new one, or, at least, renaming this one. 

Why? Well, when I started the explosive-cargo ezine, all these years ago, the name fit. I was writing a column that was more or less funny, and which sought to slip a few “explosive” ideas in between the lines. There’s nothing particularly new or unusual in that. It’s sort of what people have always done when they’ve written about politics or society, particularly when they are trying to be comic about it.

But, now, that’s not the case. I’m not being funny any more, or not often. And, frankly, we no longer need explosives in our discourse. The bomb has long ago exploded. What we’re doing now is trying to pick up the pieces. 

So, maybe something new…

What is the antithesis of a firecracker? 

Judith Estrada Garcia's gallery (and my parents' collection)

My parents ran a little gallery after they retired. When they passed on, some of art came to me. I briefly thought about trying to sell them myself, but then, happily enough,  Judith Estrada Garcia kindly stepped in and offered to host the pieces at her gallery in Taylor, Texas. (Thanks so much Judith!)

Anyway, I thought I would share some pictures of the pieces on and off as they became available. Here’s one from William McGee. Judith did some research on him, and this is what she told me, “William McGee was a student at Black Mountain College in North Carolina (BMC)during the summer session of 1952. He studied painting with Jack Tworkov and Franz Kline, and was friendly with Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly who were also students at the college. Other people he mentions in his personal account titled "Some Memorable Personalities," which is included in the book Black Mountain College Sprouted Seeds edited by Mervin Lane, are the poet Charles Olson and the composer Stefan Wolpe.”

So do give Judith’s gallery a visit if you’re out Taylor-way. And, of course, you can see it on line here: https://estradagarciagallery.org/

Critter Ridder and Tabasco

I spent part of Saturday morning in the attic and on the roof with $40 worth of squirrel repellent—specifically, a bottle of a something called “Critter Ridder,” and a container of a powder that does the same thing.

Turns out they’re mostly hot peppers. It seems that squirrels and lots of other wee beasties hate the smell and taste of the stuff. (Basically, I spent the day dosing the house with Tabasco sauce.)

‘Course, given my luck, I’ll have the one squirrel in creation that’s a spicy foods freak. He’s probably up in the ceiling right now, munching on a ghost pepper and mixing up some margaritas to go along with a Chimichanga or two.

Bejing Scenes

An image from our trip to China in 2017...

copyright©2019 Michael Jay Tucker

Squirrels!

Phooey. Darn. And Pshaw.

We seem to have squirrels living in the attic. I’m not 100% sure but judging from the volley of scratches I heard early this morning, I’m guessing that we do, indeed, have guests. I’ll know more when I get up there later today.

One thing I hadn’t expected when I moved to Texas was the sheer aggressiveness of the wildlife. First it was the flies and mosquitoes. Then we jumped up to vertebrates, specifically deer. Even though this is a pretty settled suburb, the place is lousy with deer. Deprived of natural predators, and blessed with a high birthrate, they are everywhere now. And sometimes they can be a bit combative. The other day I saw one chasing a man down the street. No kidding. (I’ll tell the story later.)

Now it’s gawd dang homesteading squirrels.

At this rate I firmly expect that before the month is through, I’ll get mugged by a muskrat.

Sorry for the delay

Hey, All,

I know I promised that I'd be posting more here. And, frankly, I didn't. Sorry about that.

Things have just been really complicated here. Mostly good, but complicated.

I've already written about this, but I'll recap just to set the stage. Two months ago we moved from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the Austin-area. (Not Austin itself. Can't afford those kind of prices. But a town just a few miles away.)

The reason for our move? The usual one for people my age. Our son and daughter-in-law, and their brand new baby girl, live in Austin. They are basically the only family we have, except for some cousins who are miles away. And, now that my parents are gone, there wasn't much to keep us in New Mexico.

So, toward Texas we headed...

We rather like the area. Lots to do. Lots to see.

There are few small drawbacks. The traffic from our house to Austin itself is horrific. And the drivers here can be a little...um...confrontational. And then there's the awful heat, and the bugs.

And, finally, there is the little fact that Austin is a very young city. Lot of folks in their 20s and 30s are moving here to take advantage of the booming economy.

In fact, truth be told, I can walk into any cafe in the city and...all by myself...raise the average age of the crowd.

Ouch.