The Neon-Korean and the Horse’s Arse He Rode in on.

Quelle surprise!  Lady M went classical for the Christmas in Washington celebration party last night! Roman tunic style.

She may have been channeling Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur

               

…or possibly Cleopatra in the Claude Rains-Vivien Leigh version of Caesar and Cleopatra:

“You are very sentimental, Caesar, but you are clever; and if you do as I tell you, you will soon learn to govern.”

More likely it was inspired by Quo Vadis:

In which Nero, the incompetent, petty, cruel, Emperor of Rome explains his plan to burn down old Rome in order to make way for the new-improved Rome. His cohort of yes-men, flatterers and fools whole-heartedly agree.

Anyway, it was another great holiday extravaganza. Performers ranging from Michael Jackson wannabe, Dianna Ross,

to Scotty McCreery led the crowd in singing old secular holiday standards such as Sleigh Ride, Jingle Bells, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, All I Want for Christmas is You, I'll be Home for Christmas, Santa Claus is Back in Town and The Christmas Song – the later performed by the man-of-the-moment, South Korean Neon-rapper PSY.

You may recall the brouhaha that arose last week concerning PSY. Some people considered it inappropriate for him to perform at a concert attended by Big Guy due to the "inflammatory and inappropriate language" he used during anti-U.S. protests at concerts in 2002 and 2004. It was pretty ugly stuff and I was surprised that such anti-American vitriol could come from the mouth of that little rider of horses.

Then I found out that he went to college in the U.S. – say no more - he gets a pass. He must have learned his history and grievance politics right here in the good old USA; so naturally he hates everything American. Everything, that is, except for the wealth one can accumulate from the American buying public who will apparently buy anything; including a mealy mouthed, insincere, pro-forma celebrity apology.

I wonder if PSY, son of Park Won-Ho, executive chairman of DI Corporation, a manufacturer of semiconductors, and by any standard a child of privilege was ever schooled on the American role in South Korea’s history. Does he even know that - butt for the sacrifice of American blood (I know, same old story) - there would be no South Korea? No DI Corporation, no Gangham Style?  No PSY?

As night falls, a satellite view of North and South Korea demonstrates the difference between capitalism and communism.

So Merry Gang-land style Christmas America: from that little horse’s arse,

all of his little virtual horseback riding clones,

and the horse he rode in on.

Giddy-up, Cowboy BO!

**Today’s holiday greetings brought to you courtesy of TNT, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Time Warner Company **

 

PS. Not to change the subject, butt here’s a picture of Raj’s actual pear gingerbread upside down cake that I made in my Easy-Bake Oven. I used dried red cherries at Janice the Elder’s suggestion. Nice addition. My little bunker at the back of Lady M’s closet still smells marvelous!

I had to use Anjou pears, as the Boscs were icky, butt apparently any kind works.

Aerial view, before mass destruction

Linked By: Zilla Stevenson on twitter, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

Happy Birthday Raj!

I see that Ag Secretary Tommy and his Vilsacks were forced to walk back their recent schoolyard food police “guidelines.” I’m referring of course to the USDA’s dictates restricting the amount of fat, salt, sugar, meat and grains in public school lunch programs.

Under the new program some of the kids were so hungry that the schools evidently had to add breakfast and after school mini-dinner programs as well. So clearly this was not a cost cutting measure, butt simply a well intentioned “we know better than you what to feed your kids” edict (sponsored by the SEIU, now representing food handler/production workers everywhere).

Lady M, as you may suspect, is very upset about this setback in her plan to make America a safe place to eat.

The children have been protesting the new “one size fits all” guidelines  since they were implemented.Through boycotts, hunger strikes and  brown bagging they’ve found ways to let their displeasure with the new rules be known.

 

I don’t know who died and left the USDA in charge of what kids eat anyway.

So…I’m going to follow Creeper’s advice from yesterday and focus on food. Today is Raj’s birthday and I’m making him a pear gingerbread cake. It’s scrumptious and very holiday-y. Especially with whipped cream. Make one. You’ll feel much better. I promise.

Upside Down Pear Gingerbread

Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 ripe, firm Bosc pears

Cake:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons  Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4  teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 large egg
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
1/2 cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar
4 tablespoons butter, melted 

whipped cream for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the sides of a 9-inch round cake pan; set aside.
2. For topping: Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan, add brown sugar and stir together until blended. Scrape into cake pan and spread evenly.
3. Peel pears and cut each lengthwise into quarters; discard cores. Slice each pear quarter into 3 lengthwise slices. Arrange slices evenly around the cake pan to resemble a whirlygig.
4. For cake: Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a large bowl; set aside. Beat egg, brown sugar, molasses, sour milk, 4 tablespoons melted butter and chopped walnuts in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture and stir until smooth.
5. Spoon batter over pears carefully without disturbing the pattern. Bake 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes; place a large plate over pan and invert onto plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.

Oh yeah, babe…even if you don’t think you like gingerbread! Just throw a little extra whipped cream on that sum-a-vitch.

Stay Hungry My Friends!

I’m Tom Vilsack, and I don’t approve this message.

Linked By: Zilla Stevenson on twitter, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

It’s an honor just to be nominated. I’d like to thank my dog…

I’ve been so busy lately that I forgot to tell you about Lady M’s latest honor: she’s been nominated for a Grammy!

No, not for her singing, silly! For reading: just like Big Guy!

And I think she’s a shoo-in for this year’s Best Spoken Word Album award for the audio edition of her book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America. Lady M was as gracious as usual in issuing her acknowledgment of the nomination:

"This nomination is such an honor not just for me, but for everybody who contributed to the garden and the audio book, from the National Park Service employees to our White House chefs to our beekeeper,"

Which was very nice of her since:

Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass, Executive Chef Cris Comerford, Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses, beekeeper Charlie Brandts, and Supervisory Horticulturalist Jim Adams have all devoted themselves to the Kitchen Garden, and wrote sections of American Grown.  The 1,500-square-foot garden is maintained by National Park Service staff.

The only one she forgot to thank was Little Bo

- who logged a lot of hours working the garden plot with Lady M

And even once saved Little Mo when he got caught performing an illegal harvest:

Yes, butt for Little Bo, Little Mo might have been a goner that day:

Don’t worry, Little Mo recovered from his injuries and will be back on the job soon.

The Molsterman shall return

Anyway, this nomination marks yet another chapter in MO and BO’s ongoing competitions. You may recall that Big Guy already won 2 Grammy’s for his reading efforts in the same category - Best Spoken Word Album - for his books Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope.  He likewise had people assisting him with his books; butt due to the pressures of having to appear to be a man in full, he didn’t acknowledge any of them.

I’m sure Queen Elizabeth is still enjoying Big Guy’s audio books, which he thoughtfully included on the iPod he gave her filled with his other historic speeches. I know we never get tired of listening to them around here, they’re always good for a laugh. Little Bo plays this part over and over again:

And people wonder why he has issues with anger management and needs to see his therapist once a week – Little Bo, I mean.

Anyway, before you scamper off to bake Christmas cookies:

I thought you might enjoy watching Little Bo’s Big White tour of the Holiday trees. I know; you saw it last week, butt it’s Christmas in Washington! We always do the same thing over and over again! And at least this ramble is cute.

    

    

 

Well, just watch the whole thing. No better way to start a weekend than with an adorable dog stalking his doppelganger.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

The Lunatics Are In Your “House”

No budget, no debt reduction, no way to avoid the “fiscal cliff” that Congress created by not doing their job the last time around. Butt we have reached concurrence in both houses of Congress to remove the offensive word “lunatic” from federal law. Fortunately, they did NOT ban the use of the term “idiot” thereby leaving us with a useful and descriptive term to describe our legislators and their legislative efforts.

So it is in their honor that I dedicate this week’s sing-along:

Brain Damage: Pink Floyd

 

The lunatic is on the grass

The lunatic is on the grass

 

Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs

 

Got to keep the loonies on the path

The lunatic is in the hall

The lunatics are in my hall

The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day the paper boy brings more

And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill

And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head

You raise the blade, you make the change

You re-arrange me 'till I'm sane

You lock the door

And throw away the key

There's someone in my head but it's not me.

And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear

And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

"I can't think of anything to say except...
I think it's marvellous! HaHaHa!"

 

 

Nurse Ratched will see you now…

Linked By: Donna Turney on facebook, and Adrienne’s Corner, and  BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!