Live, On Tape From Hollywood...
Mood:  quizzical
OK, not really from Hollywood. Some of you know from Rancelot's blog that I'm a 91XXX zip girl. That's somewhere in the San Fernando Valley(see profile).

Now out here in SoCal, you don't have to have OJ in the car to get media attention. Anyone in a high(or low)speed chase gets local, and sometimes national coverage. It's kind of an unofficial spectator sport. My mom was visiting when the memorable stolen "7-UP" truck chase occurred, and she's been hooked ever since. She'll call me up if a chase makes the cable news nets.

Anyway, I was running errands today, and I swear it was like I was watching a movie. The sirens started, cop cars coming up behind me, then from the right, then from in front. They converged at the ally behind me, squealing tires, lights & all. So I pulled out from the curb, and more cars. I rounded the corner, more cars. Up the block to the light, another car. The chopper was up & circling.

Again, this is "The Valley",and they shoot alot of movies & TV shows here. So I can't be positive all this is real, but I don't see any trailers, honey wagons, or people with clipboards & headsets.

I was at work during the Bank of America shootout in... '96 was it? Mr.Man was home, we lived about 6 blocks away from the scene. It was all over the news. Every TV at work(Marketing departments-TV's in every office)had on the news, on every channel.

So, I decide to finish my errands and check out what was going on, on the afternoon news(there's local news on from 11am to 1pm, and from 2pm to 3:30pm, then from 4pm to 6:30pm, and finally 8pm to 11:30pm). An hour & a half later, on the way home from my errands, the chopper's still up, so I decide to go home the way I'd come. Cops still there.

So, I get home, it's 5pm. Perfect timing. I turn on the news... NOTHING!!! I flip through all the channels(even the Spanish language-they have great local coverage), NOTHING!

I call my mom & ask her to check out FOX News... NOTHING.

WHAT THE HELL!!!

I call Mr.Man. He tells me Bro-in-law survived the 1st surgery. Shocked all the docs, guess he was on his 8th life after all. Anyway, I tell Mr.Man what's going on. He says the only time he's seen anything like I described is an "officer down" call in his home town. Makes since. But it's now 5 hours after I first saw activity, and NOTHING on the news.

So now my little brain is working up a conspiracy theory/cover up plot.

Got to get on the road now, or I'll miss most of the piano jazz at The Nut House tonight. See ya there.

Chinquapin
(the password is... Blue Monday)

Coming Attractions
We've got about a half hour 'til sunset. Tonight's feature will be NASHVILLE(1975) . We'll screen the movie 1st, the break for an hour, then run it again with Altman's commentary.

Lynchburg is close enough to Nashville, so all drinks with JACK are 25% off. And we've got every kind of BBQ item with Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce.

All Saturn drivers, free valet parking.
Vanderbilt Alumni... we'll think of something.

The fog's gettin' heavy, so bring a jacket. I'll fire up the heaters, watch the brawlin' with all that whiskey nearby.

I'll fill you in on the family illness situation tomorrow. So far, so good, but Mr.Man's flown home to help out.

Chinquapin
(The Back Room is closed during tonight's feature.)

Movie Night
Now Playing: The Candidate(1972)
So, so sorry I can't hang around. Family illness & ant invasion have hit. I thought August was supposed to be the sleepy month(except for hurricanes)? I guess that was back when we were waiting for the harvest.

Enjoy the flick.

Chinquapin

Happy Discovery Day, eh?
Mood:  party time!
Starting now, we will join our neighbors to the north for 25 hours & 40 minutes of Discovery Day celebrations.

Because this holiday centers around the discovery of gold in the Yukon, any Canadian beer with the word "Gold" in the name is half price(while it lasts). All "discussions" regarding Canadian beer quality will be restricted to the back deck please.

Because this is a "private event", no last call tonight, but you must check your car keys at the door. I'll be back in the morning to hose down the diehards.

Chinquapin
(no password "tonight", but Monday night's is... Tuque, [lacking in sophistication my ass.])

One Bag of Capra-Corn, Extra Butter Please
Welcome to the 1st Friday night Movie Night feature. In the grand tradition of "Edutainment"(should I copywrite that word?), tonight's flick is a lesser known Frank Capra political pic staring Tracy & Hepburn called, "State of the Union"(1948).

I've not seen this film(have I used enough synonyms yet?), it was recommended by a friend, but it looks pretty good on imdb.

And a note to all you Canucks(did Muskie really get sh*t for that word, even though he really didn't use that word?) or those close to the border, because The Nut House didn't officially open until July 2nd, we will substitute (just this once) "Discovery Day" for "Canada Day" as Canada's National Drinking Holiday.

Shhhhhhhhh... stop telling your monitor that everyday is a Canadian National Drinking Holiday. We have be fair and let the other countries and cultures of the world have their own Drinking Holidays in our quest for world unity. So just wait 'til August 16 for yaur beer, eh? One question, is Aug. 16 the actual date of "Discovery Day", or is it one of those Monday Holidays so you can go on a long, lost weekend?

I think I'd better get a box of Jujubes too.

Chinquapin
(the password is... Dewey Wins!!!)

Happy Birthday to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand
Mood:  party time!
This is the 1st non-western International Drinking Holiday we're celebrating at The Nut House.

Please check out Queen Sirikit's bio while waiting for the drink menu.


Here's the list of specials from "Our Man in Thailand".
(It's a damn shame that Bangkok Beer is NOT available in Thailand!!)

And while you're waiting for your order, Dan (Our Other Man in Thailand) has a few words on Thai beer.
(JC, this one's for you.)

So, everyone have a good time tonight, but in the Name of The Queen, please avoid drunkenness(until after Friday's movie). I think we're on the path of world unity, so let's try to walk a straight line just this once.

Chinquapin
(the password is... Baht [I'll tell you that story sometime])

Excuse me...
Fellow Tripod bloggers,

Could any of you talk me through how to have a type a URL and actually link to the URL? I hate to ask patrons to "copy & paste".

Thanks

Chinquapin
______________________________________
(Not as bitter as he'd like us to think)Tad helped me out. We now resume our regular program.

Movie Night
Wednesday and Friday nights are movie nights for the next two and a half weeks at The Nut House.

I really wanted to take a break from political topics between the conventions, but I'm failing miserably. So, we will screen political movies that deal with character issues, not party politics.

Tonight's flick is "The Best Man" 1964(thank you TCM), staring Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson, directed by Franklin J.Schaffner.

Man-o-man! Why hadn't I heard of this movie!?

Here's one quote: "He has all the characteristics of a dog, except loyalty."

Not available on DVD yet, what a shame. And don't let writer Gore Vidal's name turn you off, remember... character, not party.

We've adapted the nut roaster into a popcorn popper, screenings start at sundown.

Chinquapin

A Day Late...
Mood:  rushed
OK, here's today's excuse...

Not only are we having problems with the "word processing/internet accessing/game playing" computer, but yesterday, Mr.Man's edit(film/video) computer crashed. Could it be the heat? More likely old age & too many moves.

Anyway, Mr.Man needed to transfer his project to the "office/recreational" computer. And I'm currently working an early morning gig, so no late nights for me. So, my topic for Monday, August 9, which started out with the 30th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation and his flight out of D.C., is a day late.
____________________________________________________________________

What we learn and what we know,
what we remember and what we are told.

So, how many of you remember President Nixon's farewell at the chopper door 30 years ago today? I was on a family vacation visiting historic revolutionary & civil war sites. We(the adults) wanted to beat the bicentennial rush. History was very important to my parents & grandparents.

How may of you remember the Vietnam war? I know a couple of you, like me, remember the TV news coverage after school and at dinner time. We are the nameless generation, not really boomers, not really X-ers. We don't remember Kennedy(maybe RFK a bit), but we remember flower power, bell bottoms, and maybe Kent State. Shouldn't our older siblings and our younger Aunts & Uncles remember? Aren't these the people running the show now?

Can any of you gen-Xers & gen-Yers(or whatever the media is calling you at the moment)comment on what your U.S. History textbooks said about Vietnam? The fall of the Soviet Union? The Gulf War? Do high school history teachers still run out of time and gloss over the events of YOUR lifetime? (comments from other countries are more than welcome.)

Let's face it, high school history textbooks suck.

And why didn't educators learn from "School House Rock"? I'll bet if you sing the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, most of us remember the entire thing. See, TV(visual media)is not entirely a vast wasteland.

Here's hoping we don't repeat past mistakes... if only we could remember what those mistakes were.

Chinquapin
(the password is...ginkgo biloba)
Look for movie night to start up at The Nut House.

OOPS
Mood:  accident prone
How embarrassing.

Here's the short version, computer crashed, cookies deleted, forgot the password to The Nut House(cookies signed me in automatically). Where's the grinning sheepishly emoticon?

Anyway, it's back to business. August is a really busy month, and seeing as I've missed a week, The Nut House will be consolidating the following International Drinking Holidays:

Independence/National Days
8/1 Benin
8/3 Niger
8/4 Burkina Faso
8/7 Cote d'Ivory
8/13 Central African Republic
8/15 Congo(Brazzaville)
8/17 Gabon
(JCanuck, please correct me on any out of date African Holidays. One group's independence could be another's subjugation.)

8/15 Korea(Republic of South)
8/17 Indonesia
8/19 Afghanistan(guess this is an old one, wonder if the banks will be open?)

We will be celebrating Thailand's "Queen Sirikit's Birthday" August 12th, which is also the official Mother's Day of Thailand.

Now that Col. Mustard is back, perhaps he can contribute a drink idea. Remember, we are promoting world unity, so no dirty joke drinks or dirty drink jokes please.

Chinquapin
(the password for Sunday is still...password)