The Queen Of Wink & The West Texas Yoga Trio

I knew the Queen of Wink is extremely talented. I also knew the Queen of Wink is extremely limber, able to contort herself into yoga positions I could never dream of managing.

Being so flexible has all sorts of practical uses as one goes about ones daily routines. Or so I would think.

It seems West Texas is a hotbed of retro. We have that melodrama in Midland called Summer Mummers, that is straight out of the Vaudeville era. Or before.

And then there is the aging rock band that calls itself Hotflash and may be leading West Texas into being the world's latest hot new music scene. When Seattle was the world's hot music scene it gave the world Grunge. If West Texas becomes the world's hot music scene I suspect it will give the world Sludge.

And then we have the Queen of Wink & The West Texas Yoga Trio (aka the Ross Sisters), channeling Betty Grable's 1940's, mixing in some 60's Wild Child-ness, combined with some modern era girl on girl on girl action.

I have seen the Queen of Wink remain steady, in that position you see her in in the above picture, for 20 minutes, effortlessly. It's amazing.

Check your West Texas club listings to see where the Queen of Wink & The West Texas Yoga Trio are appearing if you'd like to catch their act live. If that is not possible you can listen to the girls sing "Solid Potato Salad" and watch them do their yoga contortions in the YouTube video below...

Hiking & Heading To Downtown Fort Worth In Elsie Hotpepper's Peptomobile

You are looking west towards the stunning skyline of downtown Fort Worth skyscrapers, all 4 of them, this Tuesday in June, around noon.

The temperature was a pleasant 86 when I hit the Tandy Hills Natural Area Sanatorium, with the humidity having the Heat Index make it feel like 92.

A breeze counteracted the humidity, somewhat. It was good to get an endorphin fix today after yesterday's withdrawal.

Speaking of downtown Fort Worth. In a few hours Elsie Hotpepper should arrive in my neighborhood to pick me up in the Elsie Peptomobile to head west to Billy Miner's Saloon for a cheeseburger.

I think, in addition to the cheeseburger, there will be some people seeking ways to stage a revolution against the Fort Worth Oligarchy and the Good Ol' Boy & Girl Network that has foisted the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle on the Fort Worth public without a vote on the issue.

And maybe learn a thing or two about fighting back against wanton eminent domain abuse, such as what is practiced in this, the Eminent Domain Abuse Capital of the Civilized World, Tarrant County, Texas.

That garish pink of Elsie Hotpepper's Peptomobile may seem a bit extreme, but it comes in real handy when it comes time to find your car in a busy parking lot. It sort of stands out. Just like Elsie Hotpepper.

Another Texas Sinkhole, This Time In Weatherford

Early this morning a sinkhole popped open in Weatherford. Weatherford is about 25 miles west of Fort Worth.

Several things are memorable, to me, about Weatherford.

First off, on my first visit to Texas I got the worst case of food poisoning I'd ever suffered, courtesy of a tainted burger from a cafe on the Parker County Courthouse square.

Weatherford is memorable as the burial site of Oliver Loving, drug back to Weatherford for burial by his best friend, Charles Goodnight, in an incident made famous, in fictional form, in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.

And Weatherford is memorable to me due to being the location of the Parker County Peach Festival, one of the best I've been to, with this year's festival fast approaching on Saturday, July 10.

This morning Weatherford woke up to a problem that needs a fix before the Peach Festival opens. A big sinkhole opened up by the intersection of Highway 180 and Sante Fe Drive, right on the path of people making their way to the Parker County Peach Festival.

Several roads have been closed.

The sinkhole is currently 10 feet deep and 30 feet across.

I am very wary of bringing up the subject of another Texas sinkhole. The last time this subject came up it was in regards to the Wink Sinkhole. That turned into a raging debate between Gar the Texan and the Queen of Wink as to the source of the Wink Sinkhole water.

I do not know if the Weatherford Sinkhole is going to be equally controversial. If it grows as big as the Wink Sinkholes, Weatherford will be facing one seriously HUGE problem.

I Am Over Capacity Tweeting, Twatting & Twittering in Texas

I have found some amusement, at times, via Twitter. When I was first exposed to Twitter I thought it was pure ridiculous idiocy. After about 4 months of thinking that, I finally, sort of, got it.

Since then I've used Tweeting on Twitter to direct traffic to my websites and blogs. I'm never quite certain how well this works.

Last night I blogged about a couple of TV shows I had just watched. Then I went to Twitter them. Or tweet them. Or twat them. I'm never sure what the proper Twitter verb is.

Anyway, I could not do the Twitter thing last night. Twitter kept telling me it was "over capacity."

I was up later than my norm, it was prime time on the west coast, I figured a lot of people were busy doing what they do on Twitter.

And then this morning, when much of America is asleep, Twitter was still "over capacity." I got that message a couple times and then, apparently Twitter went into "under capacity" mode and I was able to do my Twittering thing.

How does Twitter monetize itself I've wondered more than once? There are no ads that I've noticed.

Twitter is very perplexing.

It Is A Chilly Windows Open 75 Degree Tuesday Morning In Texas

The morning view from my computer room window seems to have become a repeating theme. This morning you can see a small patch of blue sky peeking through the clouds.

I have no idea what the forecast is for today. I suspect HOT. But, right now, I have my windows open. I do not recollect opening the windows in mid June in Texas, previously.

It is currently only 75, about 7 degrees below what I have the air conditioner set at. So, I'm being naturally air conditioned right now.

I ended my non-aerobicizing sabbatical early this morning with a highly aerobic totally salubrious bout of swimming.

I got up well before the sun did this morning. By noon, or thereabouts, I see some further aerobicizing in my future, with a long-awaited return to the Tandy Hills.

I'm not certain, but I think this evening Elsie Hotpepper wants me to go to downtown Fort Worth with her. If that is the case, Elsie will need to provide chauffeur service and come pick me up.

Tonight Barack Obama gives a speech from the Oval Office for the first time. Oval Office speeches are usually only for the most dire of messages. Kennedy's Cuban Missile Crisis speech. Nixon's resignation speech. George W. Bush's 9/11/2001 speech. President Obama's first Oval Office speech will be about the BP Gulf of Mexico spill.

I don't know if I will be home to hear it. I'm sure I'll hear about it later.

Don't Mess With A Texan Woman!

My therapist, Dr. L.C., did not think it a good idea from me to not subject myself to anything aerobicizing today, due to the fact that the endorphin withdrawal would likely cause me acute anxiety.

Dr. L.C. is a Texan Woman. A full bore, born and bred, complete with a drawling accent, that never met a 'g' that she did not want to drop from a word. I guess I should not mess with her advice.

I don't remember where I came upon this "Don't Mess With a Texan Woman!" message today. Was it via Zelda del West? I really should keep notes.

And doesn't it make more sense to say "Texas Woman" than "Texan Woman?"

The admonition to not mess with a Texan Woman sounds like a warning. During my exile in Texas I've only met one Texan Woman who is a bit scary to mess with.

Elsie Hotpepper.

The scary women to mess with in Texas have not been Texas Women, but transplants. The worst was a transplant who came to Texas via New York and Washington. I have never met a woman from New York who was not extremely difficult. But, I must admit my sampling is very small, as in I've only known 2 women from New York. Weirdly, both were nurses and both had the same last name. And epic psychotic PMS.

The woman I know in Texas, who you really don't want to mess with, is also a transplant. Miss Puerto Rico. She has the stereotypical Latina temper down to an art form. It's actually amusing, if it's not directed at me.

Well, enough of this messy Texas Women talk. It's giving me a headache. Either that or the endorphin withdrawal.

Fort Worth's East Regional Library's Freshly Painted Parking Lot

You're looking at the East Regional Library in East Fort Worth in the picture. Library hours have been cut back in Fort Worth. And elsewhere.

The East Regional Library is closed Friday and Sunday. It is Monday today, with the library open from noon til 8. It is also open from noon til 8 on Wednesday. The other days, when it opens, the library is open from 10 til 6.

Today I was at the East Regional Library just a few minutes after it opened. Every computer terminal was already in use. I counted 6 people using their laptops. I'd guess there were at least 100 people using the library.

Of late I've noticed a lot of blank space on the library shelves. And a big increase in paperback books. I assume this has to do with the funding woes.

What surprised me today was the bright, new striping that had been painted on the parking lot. Plus the curbs had been painted bright red.

I'd not noticed the parking lot striping looking in need of being re-done.

I've no idea how much it cost to re-paint a parking lot. It would seem like this is a type of spending that could be postponed. Spending money on painting a parking lot seems like it should be lower on the priority list than buying new books or keeping libraries open.

It's perplexing to me.

L’exploitation Du Gaz Au Texas With French Buying 25% Of Chesapeake Energy

Interesting incoming from Don Young via France....

In April, 2010, Radio France International sent reporter, Murielle Paradon, to north Texas to tape interviews for a report on natural gas in the Barnett Shale, or as they say in France, "le gaz de schist."

(Photo above from Muriella Paradon's report of a Gas Drilling operation in Denton, Texas)

Why would people in France be interested in the Barnett? In January, Total, the French energy giant acquired 25% of Chesapeake Energy's Barnett shale assets for 2.25 billion. Total said it is "conscious of the environment impact and is confident in Chesapeake's ability to contain any damage." I wouldn't bet the chateau on that, Francois.

Murielle caught up with me on April 24 at Prairie Fest in Fort Worth. She also toured a gas rig and visited a playground-park in Denton and various other folks in the region. My French is not so good, but I'm pretty sure this report is one of those that tries to tell both sides of the issue.

Click on the small, red "headphone" button labeled "Ecouter" to listen in French.

Below is a slightly fractured translated English excerpt:

Exploitation of gas in Texas
By Murielle Paradon

It is the new gold rush in the United States: the schist gas. Natural gas enclosed in the rock, that the companies are from now on able to extract, thanks to novel methods: horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Thanks to that, the United States became into 2010 the first gas producers in the world, in front of Russia. The gas producer companies drill from now on with all goes. In Texas, where is most productive the schist gas layer of the United States, Barnett shale, the companies do not hesitate to install their derricks downtown full. What is not without posing problems with the local population. Between the environmental noise pollutions and risks, anger goes up.

A Plum Picking June Monday In Texas

You are looking out my computer room window on the day before the Ides of June, the second Monday of the month.

Half of June is almost gone. Time is accelerating. I would prefer that time would slow down and stop with the speeding.

I decided to give my decrepit, rapidly aging sore body a rest today and stay out of the pool and off of any hiking hills.

I do not know if this resolve will last the morning.

I had a semi-pleasant Sunday evening over at Miss Puerto Rico's. Until the police were called.

We were sitting out on Miss PR's balcony, enjoying the balmy breeze, when a pickup stopped on the road beneath us. Then 3 guys got out and started climbing up a tree. Then one of them lifted up a section of the wrought iron security fence.

By the time the police arrived we realized what the 3 guys were doing. They were picking fruit. Sad little sour excuses for plums. Apparently locals turn this sour fruit into jam. The police told the 3 guys to get out of the tree and be on their way. Which they proceeded to do, after putting the fence back together.

I think I'll go over to Miss Puerto Rico's today and pick me some plums and see if I can turn them into jam. How hard can that be?

In Fort Worth Hiking Across The Texas Prairie of 1810

You are looking at my favorite vista deep within the Tandy Hills, this second Sunday of June. In this view we are looking north.

At this location you can almost make a 360 turn without seeing any sign of civilization. You are far enough from the freeway that you don't hear vehicle noise. The only sound is birds chirping.

It does not take much of an imaginative leap to think you are back in the pre-Texas of 1810, not 2010. That illusion would not have been possible if the thick smog of late had not been blown to Oklahoma.

The Queen of Wink went to Summer Mummers at the Yucca Theatre in Midland yesterday. The Queen's description made it sound fun, with a lot of popcorn and margaritas.

In the Queen of Wink's Summer Mummers Review she mentioned me and a joke, saying...

"I remembered this one joke for my buddy Durango. It goes like this, "How are Old Men and Good Coffee the same?" "They're RICH." I'm sure he'll appreciate that one."

I'm not even sure I get the joke, let alone appreciate it. I often have trouble understanding a joke. I think this trouble understanding a joke may be yet one more indicator of my extremely low IQ.

Elsie Hotpepper has gone missing. Again. She has not been heard from since Friday. I fear a Lost Weekend bender may be the explanation. I know saloon hopping was mentioned on Friday, soon before Elsie went missing.

It's always something.