Sunday Drive: Down in the River to Pray

This gospel song was popularized by Alison Krauss in 2000, but was first published in a collection entitled Slave Songs of the United States in 1867.

Birthday Quiz

A guest post by my truckbuddy Tim from England, now resident in Spain :

Happy Birthday, Bubba!

Russ turned a certain age this week. Knowing he likes a bit of class, here are six classy studs, one for each decade - plus one to grow on. And just to keep that old brain box ticking over, some questions as well.

1.  First of all, a wash and brush up for the birthday boy, but whose pool is this?

2.  Next, some gentle exercise, Texas style! Ride ‘em, Russ! Name the piece and artist.

3.  Some light refreshment next, a young wine, nice full body! Where is it?

4.  Well, you might not be a Superman, Bubba, but you do seem a decent sort. Name the artist.

5.  I have this image of Russ, wise, magisterial, master of all he surveys. Red suits you! Who and by whom?

6.  After a long hard day, a relaxing snooze, you’ve earned it, Russ, but where are you?

7.  Finally, a beautiful bronze, but what and by who? That patina is so warm, like mahogany, you want to run your hands over the torso!

Many Happy Returns, and many more of them!


Thanks much, Tim - readers, feel free to leave your answers in the comment box below. (Tim says I scored about a 75, which ain't bad for an old peckerwood from Texas.  I tell you what.)  I'll post the answers on Monday.


Update, 6/1: Quiz answers are now posted in the comment box.

Waitin' for the Weekend

The Pork Boys Do My Birthday 2015

My best friend M.P. outdid himself this week with not one but two superb dinners in celebration of my birthday.

First, a totally scrumptious meal of fish and chips, Southern style:  fried tilapia breaded with corn meal, homemade french fries, hushpuppies made from scratch, and a can of Bush's best homestyle baked beans (that was my humble contribution).

For the second night's dinner, the entree was a sort of "pork wellington" - i.e., a succulent pork loin tenderly baked in homemade puff pastry, accompanied by some sultry Cajun gravy:

For a side dish, M.P. dreamed up a festive casserole of potatoes, rutabagas, carrots, sauteed onions, and Ro-Tel tomatoes in a pink bechamel sauce - yummm is the only word to describe it:

Our other vegetable was a homely dish of fried green beans with black pepper mayonnaise on the side - if you haven't tried it, you don't know what you're missing:

The combination of all the above made a very pretty, very delicious plate:

The piece de resistance was M.P.'s own invention, which he calls a Tiger Butter cake - the inside contains stripes of buttery, spicy, sweet and moist cake, topped with a luscious buttercream icing made from scratch; words fail me in attempting to describe how damn good it is. Simply the *best*cake*EVER*** - take my word for it, boys.

And so a good time was had by both, and how sweet it was!

State Opening of Parliament 2015

HM The Queen opened Parliament today in London with a Speech from the Throne written by the newly elected all-Conservative government.  From the official United Kingdom Parliament YouTube channel:

The State Opening of Parliament took place on Wednesday 27 May 2015. State Opening marks the formal start of the new 2015-16 parliamentary session. The primary purpose of this colourful state occasion is to set out the Government's legislative agenda in the Queen's Speech.

A few more street scenes for the pageantry junkies among us:




And Black Rod explains the bit about the doors being slammed:

Marriage News Watch, 5/25/15

Matt Baume of the American Foundation for Equal Rights reports:

Sunday Drive: Red Is the Rose

A lovely Irish folk song, as performed by the contemporary group the High Kings:

Irish Voters Approve Gay Marriage

Wonderful news from the Emerald Isle, where voters in yesterday's referendum approved marriage equality by 62 to 38 percent, with a turnout of 60 percent.  The crowd in Dublin reacts:




The Taoiseach, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenney, who endorsed a Yes vote, welcomes the change:




And a straight taxi driver's jocular comment has caused mirth all around the world:

Waitin' for the Weekend

Swear Like a Brit

Kate is totally lying, of course, about the etymology of sod/sodding - also, you notice she doesn't say a word about buggers/buggering, which the British are so fond of. What a queer omission.

Lovin' the Gay in the USA

Gallup released the results of its 2015 Morals and Values Poll yesterday, including this remarkable finding on attitudes to marriage equality:

Sixty percent of Americans now support same-sex marriage, as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on its constitutionality next month. This is up from 55% last year and is the highest Gallup has found on the question since it was first asked in 1996.

Though same-sex marriage continues to be politically divisive, support for its legal status has reached new highs among Americans of all political stripes -- with Democrats at 76% support, independents at 64% and Republicans at 37%.

Last month, Gallup estimated that about 780,000 Americans are in same-sex marriages.

Today, Gallup also released poll results on the morality of gayness:

In addition to their changing views on the origins of being gay or lesbian, Americans' views on the morality of same-sex relations have also shifted in recent years. Currently, a record-high 63% of Americans describe gay or lesbian relations as "morally acceptable." That became the majority view in 2010. Only a decade ago, a majority thought same-sex relations were morally wrong.

Since 2001, increasing percentages of both Republicans and Democrats say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable, though Democrats continue to be much more likely to express that view. Notably, for the first time, a majority of Republicans believe that same-sex relations are morally acceptable. Democrats crossed the majority threshold more than a decade ago.