g’evening pups — how ya’ll doing tonight?

hola, Suz. I had a busy productive week, but the wind yesterday threw down my little plastic shack I made for tomatoes, and it is a wreck in the yard. Too cold to clean it up.

hey bg…. how was your day? i have pictures of the ornaments on my tree and i have to tell ya… that fruitcake is fucking awesome! what are the cookies? i’ve been guessing and drawing blanks on several of them.

Hmm, I think I sent pfefferneuse, small and round, kind of spicy. My best friend’s Momma’s recipe. Maybe some sesame crescents? Those are just butter and flour and powdered sugar with sesame seeds. Did I send some apricot and coconut balls? Orange and pecan butter cookies? I think that’s about what I had, not sure what I sent you. I am thinking of having some fruitcake right now.

Hi folks!
So today I did an interesting interview with a Missouri Senator about gun issues. He’s a former sheriff and he is from the district where a massacre was avoided in Nov. You might have heard of about it as “The Twilight” shooting.
What I was going for was to find out all the roadblocks to new legislation as well as what kind of things helps support better legislation.

It was be interesting to see what the NRA does tomorrow at the press conference. I predict they will push mental health and that the schools should have armed guards.

I just had a hella time trying to make some catnip mousies for the kittehs in Seattle. I guess the cats don’t care what they look like, long as they are full of catnip. Mine seemed to approve of them even though they look pretty goofy.

the apricot and coconut balls were what threw me… YUMMY by the way…

Hi Suz..

Gonna get some snow here. So it will be a Marshmallow World.

hey spocko — are ya going to be doing up a diary on this? how did you come to interview him?

they are certainly going to look goofy after being well loved by the kittahs so no worries…

Those are just dried apricots and coconut with sweetened condensed milk, rolled in balls and then in powdered sugar. I let the mix sit overnight and they got too gooey. Best to roll em right away after they are mixed, I learned.

sweet (pun intended)

hey cmauk — how ya doing tonight? hard to believe that this video was her 25th year doing this song on the last letterman show before christmas… can’t wait to see tomorrow’s show!!!

spocko, I admire you for trying to talk to those folks. My new Senator is a total gun freak. All he can offer the Sandy Hook people is “thoughts and prayers.” Shite.

I have to get up early tomorrow morning, so this is both hello and goodbye, or as CTutttle would say, “Aloha.”

Pleasant winter-break day today: ran some errands, worked on the planning for the January 11 protest that the political-religious group I’m affiliated with (I’m the token agnostic)is gonna stage on the 11th anniversary of Guantanamo at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles.

If I don’t check in tomorrow night, I hope to see some of youse guys Saturday afternoon.

i forget — tis my sometimer’s yanno :) is your drunk fruitcake rum or brandy? what were the fruits?

Hey is that the book salon with your book?

hey blue — hope ya have a great day tomorrow and dayam right you will see me at your book salon sat afternoon!!!

it is bg — this sat at 2pm fdl (pacific)

Brandy. The fruitcake has light and dark raisins, currents, cherries (dried sweet), candied ginger, apricots, pineapple, dates and pecans, I think that’s about it. Also has some orange marmalade. I don’t use any of that candied fruit or citron. I kind of do my own thing with the fruit.

all alone on christmas

Doing Ok. I remember Marshmallow World at the same ere as Rockin Around The Christmas Tree.

I do like citron in panatone. Not sure if that is the spelling. I am not really a bread maker, but I would like to try that some time.

the song up top was released on phil spector’s christmas album and her he’s a rebel (as part of the crystals) in 62. she’s of that era for sure

i’ve not made it but i recall hearing about a pannettone recipe that ya make in a coffee can back when i was young — iirc my first ex motherinlaw made it that way

here’s her first appearance on letterman in ’86

Probably. I actually have been working on this since Thanksgiving.
I want to do it for a radio program. It was going to run today but it got pushed out till January.

Here was my thought process when I heard of the foiled shooting.
1) Why was it foiled?
2) What can we learn from this foiled shooting?
3) How can we replicate that in other communities?

then I did research on the non-shooting. It turns out the guy had a history of violent mental illness but he was not in the National Criminal Instant Backrgound check database. He would have been in California but I talked to someone at the Law Center Against Gun Violence and we found out that the law in Missouri is different. A 96 hour hold for violent mental illness doesn’t necessitate the person going into the NCIS database.

So then I called the people in the House and Senate to ask, “What are you going to do about it because if his mother had not turned him in, your town of Bolivar would be like Aurora or Sandyhook.”
The House person didn’t know, but the Senator was an former Sheriff so I set up a call. It two me two weeks to get the meeting set up but we did it today and it went well.
I learned several things about the process that I think people who care about public safety and what we can do to stop violent mentally ill from legally obtaining guns.

wow, most excellent! perhaps ya could include a link to the radio program (hopefully the interview will be available online and archieved) in your diary

Oh for sure. He’s a Rebel was #1 for a couple of weeks, if I remember correctly. One of my favorites for sure.

Brenda Lee also did a cover of Jingle Bell Rock.

she was with the blossoms in 64

and marshmallow

I haven’t actually done the radio program yet, that will be in January, but I think I might do a part of this story after the NRA presser tomorrow.

I think I will watch the Press conference and comment about it.

I was advising some of my friends in the violence policy world that they should make sure someone who writes for public safety and medical policy publications get into that press conference, because you just know that someone from Fox and American Rifleman will be attending. It’s funny how people think that MSNBC is just like Fox only on the left.

I want a real progressive publication attend so that they can ask good follow ups.

Also, am I the only one around here who find it annoying the NRA are allowed to hold off talking for a week? The press are too easy about allowing the NRA to not comment. Do some good old Ambush journalism! Catch them in the parking lot or on the way to the club. What are you afraid of? If this is DC he cant’ conceal carry.

I did not know that. And a very good cover of The Exciters hit.

i think that would be a great diary — looking forward to your reaction to the presser. i’m totally pissed that they are doing the forking presser on what could be called the high holy of all friday dump days…. the friday before christmas… tis an outrage that they are only doing a presser due to the public outrage about their silence

we probably listened to the same songs back then. my mom was into pop and rock and roll and my dad country. there was a good amount of cross-over back then

Yah…I go that one too. Thanks.

Gotta hit the hey though.

Night all.

darlene and joe

Good evening, Suz! Great video, Suz, I love seeing that performance on Letterman every year. And a big hello to all the lln pups!

g’nite cmauk

hey past — how’s utah tonight? hard to believe she is 76 in that video up top… dayam, i wish i looked that good and i’m 58 *laughing*

Wow, 78?!! man, she must have inherited lotsa young genes. And still has the pipes to go with it!

Utah is clear and cold tonight, still some snow on the ground from early in the week. Might get a little more on Christmas Eve, according to the latest forecast.

76.. is 77 for tomorrow night’s performance… her voice is still as strong and clear as her performances in the 60′s…

my bad.. per her wiki she is 70 up top and 71 tomorrow night.. still singing and looking good

i’m so embarrassed i got that wrong

Yes, such a strong voice still at 70, that is really something! Reminds me a bit of Ronnie Spector, whose voice I also love to hear.

her wiki page is real interesting.. i did not know she played danny glover’s wife in all 4 lethal weapon movies….

Fairly recent Ronnie Spector

ronnie and darlene

I like!! Great voices both!

they have both held up real well. glad ya liked it — no date on the utube but i think its from the 80′s based on the hair and outfits

ronnie and sha-na-na

Grew up loving motown music. In Cleveland where I grew up in the 60′s, CKLW was the big motown music station. Located in Windsor Canada just across the border from Detroit.

now that the holidays are almost over, i’ll have to feature some more motown… i featured this one (or similar footage) up top several years ago and there is so much more motown out there

Windsor, Ontario to be more precise. If you listened to motown back then, you listened to CKLW – they were synonymous!

my transistor radio didn’t have that good of a reception… i listened to my sf bay area am stations which played a heavy rotation of both rock and roll and r&b

token’s giving me ‘the look’ which means he needs to save a tree. thanks for letting me hang out here with ya tonight — hope to see ya tomorrow night for muppets

g’nite all

Good nite Suz, and sweet dreams! Thanks for the good company and the music!

Not only is Magical Strings awesome but it’s a family affair! If you can, see them!!