Icewind's Ramblings

Continuing my post from last night it has been hard to get the song Fishin’ out of my mind all day today. There were a few flurries but warmer temperatures in the twenties so not a bad day unlike a few weeks ago. Friday the 13 th had no bad incidents only the normal hustle and bustle that goes with a Friday. Too much to do, not enough time to get it done, and other things pulling me in many directions keeping me from the items I wanted to accomplish by weeks end. I apologize for the size of the pictures as for some reason the scale is not bringing them down to the size I expected. I hope it is not a pain to look at them. Last summer there were several trips doing all kinds of fishing which is pretty normal for me? My brother in law and me for the last several years embarks on a crazy 72 hour fishin’ marathon where we load up some food and first head out to a local river (Eklutna Tailrace) here in Anchorage after I get off of...

These last few weeks have gone by quickly in some ways as it has been busy with work and my daughter’s hospital stay (she’s out now and doing better) but in those few quiet moments my mind wanders to times past and the return of summer. Last weekend I was able to play a DVD concert of friends of mine from the South called Cullowhee. Most of the guys attended Western Carolina University in the North Carolina town called Cullowhee so their music is mountain rock with a mixture of all kinds of various sounds. Listening to the songs brought me thinking about one of my favorite summer activities, Fishin’ and I started browsing my photo’s to bring back the memories of past fishin’ trips all over Alaska. I thought I would share some of them with you and the lyrics of a song aptly named Fishin’ by Terry Edwards of Cullowhee. If I can figure out how to post the song so you can hear it I will shortly. I hope you enjoy part one of Fishin’ Fishin’ by Terry Edward...

“The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” --Margaret Thatcher The $827 billion stimulus package is full of earmarks that probably won’t stimulate the economy. The new bank bailout package was just announced and the markets took another dump. Confidence in the new changes . . . I’m not feeling too warm and fuzzy right now. Ice

The time between posts at times seems like it becomes shorter and shorter when I write things on a ‘normal’ basis while other times the added items of life make it seem like there is no time at all to put anything down from which to build ideas or things to write about. My gaming Community has forums that I help moderate and in one of the topics that caught my interest was just before the Super Bowl weekend about different foods people were going to be before, during, and after the game. It was interesting and one food group seemed to go off on a tangent of its own which was discussing different bacon dishes or recipes people were doing. It was pretty amazing what is out there . . . some looked delicious and why not, its bacon and everyone knows that you can’t go wrong adding bacon to almost anything. What’s your favorite bacon dish? If you really want to get a few ideas to make you go overboard for a couple of unwanted pounds try this site for a few ideas. ...

My wife and her friend are in the living room this Saturday evening watching Mamma Mia and the competing sounds of music are battling each other as I sit in my office with a DVD of my friends, Cullowhee ’s music on my computer. The sounds of Appalachia and the Mediterranean are mixing into a not so interesting sound. I walked out to grab a snack and the sight of Pierce Brosnan attempting to sing was more than I wanted to see. He was not that great as James Bond but now I think he is reduced in my mind to his role in Dante’s Peak. I’ll stick to my mixture of bluegrass and the varied sounds of my friends. With all that has been going on these last few months it is nice to settle in for a day of music with old friends. From the days of Back Porch Picker , Fishin’, Natural Mountain Woman, to the wonderful sounds of Flute Salad and Bring Back the Magic I am immersed in the river of times past and all of the hope and wonder we all had about the world around us and ...

We have had our share of cold temperatures this season but sometimes it just does not make much sense to me. About a month ago we spent almost three weeks well below zero in the mornings some days over minus twenty five. We have been over that now and the last several weeks it has jumped around from the twenties to back down around zero. A few days ago my icemaker quit working and as I watched the ice container slowly dwindle to nothing I figured it might be time to give it a look. I went into my handyman mode after doing plumbing work for many years so I decided to go through the logical steps to figure out why it was not making ice cubes. I looked underneath the kick plate by the floor to see if there was any buildup of dust that might make things work efficiently as far as it maintaining the proper temperature. It wasn’t too dirty so I next pulled the refrigerator so I could get to things on the back. I checked out the tubing going from the water valve up t...

Trying to sit and write something tonight at this late hour I am checking the news and came across something that deserves mention. I first read the book “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” and at the time I was not a big fan of Steven King or his many novellas. There was something that captured my imagination and it had no car chases or when the movie came out several years later no special effects. The book had great writing, strong characters and themes for the every man in each of us to live our lives with Hope, Friendship, and an unsaid understanding that we can endure almost anything. I cannot say how many times I have watched the movie as it has drawn me to watch it over and over again sometimes completely or even while flicking through the channels and I spot it on TBS or some other station that continually replays it. I think it is one for all times and is always in my top five list of movies along with Lonesome Dove, Silverado, Last of the Dogma...

I’ve been way too serious these last couple of weeks with my daughter in the hospital but as things might be looking a little brighter now (we are gaining about 5 ½ minutes of daylight every day) so I thought it might be fun to do something with a little of my twisted humor. Enjoy . . . or not . . . but hopefully a little smile comes across your face. There has been much in the news lately about the economy and the cost of doing business or other things. Here is another example of wasteful spending. The math on the Paul McCartney-Heather Mills divorce is as follows: After 5 years of marriage . . . he paid her $49 Million! Assuming he got sex every night (which we men know would have never happened); it ended up costing him $26,849 each time he had sex with his wife. This is his ex-wife Heather: Now on the other hand, let’s talk about Elliot Spitzer’s call girl who obviously has an amazing body. There is no ...

This guy is an idiot! I have not been a big fan of his over the last couple of years after seeing a disappointing remake of an old western “3:10 to Yuma ”. “The Prestige” was another one that while entertaining left me wondering why I spent the time at that movie a totally different reaction than I had enjoying another called, “The Illusionist”. I don't usually criticize anyone but this guy is just a jerk. When I have seen him in interviews he always seems so serious and very standoffish and apparently he's not a joy to work with either. When the director of photography Shane Hurlbut of the upcoming movie T erminator Salvation crossed the set within Bales sight line he ended up getting cussed out with 36 F- Bombs during the 4 minute tirade. The incident took place in July on the set at Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico , days before Bale would face assault allegations from his mother and sister in London . Charges were never filed b...

Everyday it's a-gettin' closer Goin' faster than a roller coaster . . . I fear that the Don McLean song “American Pie” is the only reason young people know of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, but the music is worth revisiting. I hope that you've been wearin' yer horn-rimmed glasses in honor of "The Day the Music Died" . That's right February 3 marks the 50th anniversary of the plane crash in the frozen tundra of Clear Lake Iowa that killed the three rock 'n rollers along with the pilot, Roger Peterson. In 16 months (Sept. 1957-Feb. 1959), Holly created a body of work that influenced The Beatles, Stones, Eric Clapton, Elton John and countless others. After the crash, Lennon and McCartney changed their bands name from Johnny and the Moondogs to The Beatles. Today, our rock 'n roll ‘way back machine’ have no plans on theorizing the "what if’s" . . . from that snowy day. While here...

I saw these couple of weeks ago and thought it was kind of cute so I figured I would post something sooner or later. I think all of us at one time or another knows someone or has had to deal with a few of these people. I don’t have time to write tonight so this is my (_zzz_) tired ass heading for some much needed sleep. Do any of these fit you? Hopefully not but just in case here goes: (_!_) a regular ass (__!__) a fat ass (!) a tight ass (_*_) a sore ass {_!_} a swishy ass (_o_) an ass that's been around (_x_) kiss my ass (_X_) leave my ass alone (_zzz_) a tired ass (_E=mc2_) a smart ass (_$_) money coming out of his ass (_?_) dumb Ass (W) Presidential ass (I couldn’t resist for those out there who feel this way) Ice

The new stimulus package could be a fun read, all 647 pages of it but as you thumb through some of the nonsensical line items it boggles the mind as to what some people were thinking. There are a few items I wanted to mention and then let you decide if these are needed to help us work our way of this depression. Not Depression as in the great one but the depressing state we have allowed ourselves to become by not paying attention to those around us who were screwing up the system by taking advantage of our complacency. $ 650 million dollars for Digital conversion coupon giveaways, let’s face it folks that is totally ridiculous. Technology has gone bonkers in the last 30 years and televisions have grown in size now to almost movie theater screen size while the price has come down dramatically in recent years. Get rid of that 20 year old television, throw it away and go buy a new one for a few bucks more than the stupid coupon they are giving you. What they a...

I could not resist this one as I have not had much time this week but saw this on the GOC’s Blog and thought I would report it to everyone. The economy is in the toilet and everyone is scrambling around to find a way to turn things around but I think we have our work cut out for us this time. Possibly the smartest president this country has ever had can't tell the difference between a window and a door. Hope? Change? Where is that door? It looks like President Obama hasn't gotten acquainted to his White House surroundings. On the way back to the Oval Office Tuesday, the President approached a paned window, instead of the actual door . . . located a few feet to his right. He was probably thinking about world problems or how many more billions of dollars are going to be given away in our new programs. Maybe it was what kind of dog he is getting for his daughters. Doors didn't open automatically for ...