Merry Xmas to All, and to All An SCTV Night

Al Fish spent a cozy Xmas Eve with Miguelito and Superbigmuch -- hooking us up with SCTV gems like this.

To feel like you were there with us, be sure to hit rewind and replay the Eugene Levy and John Candy solos about 14 times.

Unless you want to keep your friends, that is.



And yes, you geary geekwads, Rick Moranis is Jimi Hendrixing it up and playing his guitar all upside-down and turned around. Happy holidaze!

Maxim 2

Every day dies with sleep. Be sure the emotions do the same.

Maxim 1

Denying that a topic is capable of being debated because humanity lacks the language to handle the debate is by far the most ignorant position to hold. Language is a human invention. If the language is missing, make it.

Fortune Cookie number 2

The selfishness of others cannot be measured by the selfishness of you without expert advice.

Fortune Cookie number 1

When everything seems to be going wrong, stop picking at the wall paper, look at the foundation.

Tag Cloud Produces Enjoyable Backreading

I must say, Nee's indexing has allowed me to re-read and enjoy all over again long-forgotten HIA posts.

We are some funny motherfuckers.

Sometimes I Like to Think of Myself as a Flight Risk

"flight risk /flIt risk/ noun 1. A likelihood of evasion of a course of events by voluntary withdraw, removal or secreting away from a jurisdiction in order to avoid detention, arrest or interrogation, or the institution or continuance of civil, criminal or other proceedings. Also comprehends continued concealment in furtherance of such evasion. 2. A person characterized by the likelihood of such evasion."

Great Things about the New Super Casey's

It has been brought to my attention that I am for to make the sucking at posting to the HIA News. My excuses include: I lost my camera, I don't have anything all that interesting to share, and that no one will read it anyway because no one ever posts to the HIA because no one ever reads it anyway.

However, Mully said I could use my words to describe things, so there goes the camera excuses. I guess I could post about the new super Casey's in Vermillion. But that last one is out of my hands.

The great things about the new super Casey's include: a) it is on the east end of town on my way to work, and I don't have to cross Cherry Street or Main Street to get gas; b) the new super Casey's carries affordable six packs of Stella Artois; c) the new super Casey's donuts are very tasty if you are craving a good donut. The not-so-great things about the new super Casey's are that they don't have a very diverse salty-snack selection and sometimes a couple of their pumps might be down.

The new super Casey's is pretty much like the super Casey's pictured above; however, our super Casey's pumps run east-west, not north-south.

In short, the new super Casey's is pretty good at fulfilling one's convenience store needs and is a rich study in deep contrasts.

More Indexing - and a New Look for the HIA Blog!

Hey peeps! You might have noticed the HIA has gotten a bit of a practical facelift - and I don't just mean that saucy pic of the librarian to the right! A, what we call in the bizness, "tag cloud" has been added in the top right corner of your "screen" (that's the thing you're looking at now). This is a form of "indexing" (that's using "indicator" to find "content") and it will help you, the simple, simple "users" of the HIA blog.

Just click with your "mouse" (that's the thing that moves your "curser" around the "screen" . . . and the "curser" is . . . oh, nevermind . . .) one of the labels on the top right. That will take you to all the posts that have been "tagged" (like when you go hunting? And the deer or geese or whatever have a "tag" on them?) with that term will come up. Those in larger and bolder print have more entries.

So how useful is that?? Say you want to find all the entries with video? Instead of scrolling around, just "click" with your "mouse" on the "tag" "video" - that will bring up all the videologs! Or you want to find all the post by Mully? Just "click" with your "mouse" . . . oh, you know the rest! Hopefully, at some point I will come up with a thesaurus, so you all can see the list of "tags" used and proper cross-referencing for other terms (mmMMMmmm . . . cross-referencing . . . .)

And no, there's no need to thank me . . . just knowing that the HIA blog has been properly indexed is thanks enough. Now I can finally sleep at night . . . .

And You People Scoffed at My Love of Indexing . . .

For the record, indexing is both funny AND useful. See below from Slate:

The Going Rogue Index: Sarah Palin didn't put an index in her book. So we made one for her.

I'm not that sure about alot of things,

but I do know this, men really seem to like gravy.

But can he bring it on with this axe?

Consider Yerself broughtnened'El Jeffe

WARNING: Do NOT Ask Jefe to "Bring It" Unless One is Fully Prepared to Have it "Brung!"

I Gave You My Only-ness, Give Me Your Tomorrow

So, so, so pretty.

I suck at posting videos, but June pretty much never sucks at anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02mYFuKtGe8

And then Allison and Dwight do this real nice rendition, too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqNKJm2EWv4&feature=related

Greggers and I don't have much use for living room furniture,

but our dogs seem to enjoy it, so we keep some around.

Seedy Underbelly of St. Cloud Proves Elusive, Disappointing

Recent St. Cloud immigrant, Renee Roxanne Abeln, has found that the the gritty side of St. Cloud is not so apparent or prevalent as she assumed it would be. “I mean, c'mon! It's a Minnesota college town!! You figure nefarious activity is going to be rife, right?” Having lived in “Salacious. St Cloud,” as Abeln calls it, for over two weeks, she has yet to find the swinging, drug-addled lifestyle she expected.

“I'm a divorced woman of 39! The only reason I would be moving here is to get down and dirty. Yet, I get here . . . and there's nothing. Oh sure, there's the partying, rampant alcoholism, and casual violence prevalent in most of the Midwest . . . but where's the wife-swappin'? Where's the S&M parties? Where's the gimps?”

When it is suggested to her that it might be her choice of social venues of the library and the local Moose Lodge, she is dismissive. “Phhhhfffttt!! Have you BEEN to your local library recently? Those places are freee-KAY and totally ILL – and I'm not talkin' inter-library loan . . .”

Still, Abeln remains upbeat. “Well, if I can't find it, I'll just have to create it. It won't be the first time.” Her first course of action? Introducing Cross-dressing Night at the Library. “I'm thinking probably Wednesday night – they don't call it hump-day for nuthin'!”

HIA and HIA-related Literati Do Northern Hills

Superbigmuch and her merry band of poetrix friends will be in Spearfish-Deadwood area for the Western Literature Association Conference and South Dakota Book Festival, Wednesday, Sept 30 - Monday, Oct 5.

I'm presenting a paper on the author Sui Sin Far entitled "Edith Maud Eaton: Myth or Mythbuster? Outsider Privilege, Insider Meta-Discourse, and the Construction of Chineseness as Sui Sin Far." My only regret is the too-short title.

Lee Roripaugh, Lindy Obach, Marcella Remund of USD and Pen Pearson of Northern State will be reading No-SoDakia outlaw cowgirl, naughty lapsed Catholic, nature gender sex-centric poetry for the modern aging woman in a panel at the conference.

Any HIA-er's in the area should come and see us, hear us, or at the very least do shots with us. Jason Walker, Rapid City Librarian?

Email me @ superbigmuch@msn.com.

Peanut of Dotham, GA

Don't ask me why.

The Manifestation of Tito

now, not quite 1 year and 65 pounds later, this is what Tito became.

Fort De Soto Park, it is a pretty nice ride.

First in my new series of Florida bike path reviews is Fort De Soto Park. It is a county park, undeveloped, the best kind of beach area. The bike path within the park is about 6 miles one way. What I like best about it is that at some spots the landscape could be almost anywhere. It is just land and sky. and then you go around a turn and you get a view of the water. At the end of the path is a pretty cool view of the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Highly recommended.

First Single From "V-The Musical"

HIA video exclusive!!!
We at HIAnews have secured the first recording of "Science Lady" from the brilliant rock opera based on the sad-ass TV movie "V"! This reporter was able to sneak in two cameramen undetected to record Jefe and Roxy during a rare performance, and then immediately hand the raw footage over to an esteemed music video director (do the words "Rhinestone Cowboy" ring any bells?) to do with it what he wished.

The video has certain 'experimental' elements but what can I say, the director had a vision. Shame it wasn't 20/20, perhaps then he could have seen the errors of his ways. Let this be a lesson to all future videographers ...STORYBOARD, STORYBOARD, STORYBOARD!!! Be that as it may, this is a great song that deserves to be heard as soon as possible and not left languishing until a future undetermined date when it will be buried somewhere in a two album Broadway cast recording with all the other songs from the musical, like "Standing With My Gun of Freedom Pointed at the Spaceship of Fascism (Volume One Part Two)

chihuahua types, fighting

Happy John Henry Day to All

Rain clouds are building over the lakes and mountains, and after "She's Watching the Detectives," David Byrne's voice comes over the radio with "Psycho Killer." Will I ever hear that song again without the image of Ryan in the camp chair in the Hermosa kitchen munching potato chips in time, with his marvelous deadpan humor?

I am missing you, today, my fellow HIA John Henry Day alumni. People out here seem to think today is for relaxing, or worse yet, shopping. Nobody seems to understand that this is LABOR day; we should be laboring on some project. The only constant is change; people move in many directions; and traditions mutate, but I am remembering you all and a moment in time that I treasure in memory. I should probably go home and mow the lawn now.

Woo-Hoo!

Old news, I'm sure, but I had to post the 30Rock version of Gladys Knight and the Pips:

Happy 4th!

Here is the lost video footage of a 4th of July at Lake Herman, oh so many years ago. Each year, the people who live near the lake get together and put on their own parade. In a counterintuitive move this particular year, the theme was "All the Other Holidays!"

Unfortunately my memory is as blurry as the video resolution, so I can't make out the theme of every float. The first few are confusing but after the guy walking the dog there seems to be the heart covered box denoting Valentine's day, followed by the Grim Reaper driving a tractor with a wagon filled with babies. Next is an Easter Bunny, but I have no idea what the float after that is commemorating...there seems to be a flag on it, so I assume it must be Flag Day. After the Thanksgiving Turkey, we see my personal favorite...an emaciated Santa hanging by his wrists in a pumpkin patch. The penultimate float seems to be another tribute to Flag day (why do the people of Madison love flag day so?) Our hosts tell us that the guy in the cowboy hat at the very end usually figures out a reason to dress in drag for every parade...for reasons that remain unclear, he decided to 'butch-up' for this parade. (I can only imagine that the overall quality of the celebration suffered because of it.)

I know that I was not alone in witnessing this 'live and in person.'' So if Roxy can remember any more details from this fine day, please elaborate in the comments section!

VLP Poetry Reading and Slam featuring Lindy Obach

Join us for the Vermillion Literary Project Poetry Reading featuring Lindy Obach, followed by a POETRY SLAM, a competition for poets, Thursday, June 25, at 7 p.m., at the Coffee Shop Gallery, 24 W. Main Street, downtown Vermillion. Everyone is welcome; the event is free.

Just come up and watch (and enjoy good coffee), or if you have three poems you've written that you'd like to read, you can participate in the slam. Prizes awarded! For more information about VLP poetry slams, visit http://orgs.usd.edu/projlit/poetryslams.html .

About our featured writer: Lindy Obach teaches English courses at the University Center in Sioux Falls. She is also a Dakota Writing Project teacher-consultant.

Gluteal Cleft

On the far side of living the life of "quiet desperation" and near the rung of Mountain Odebt lives the rest of the world - a land often of no ideas and no means. The problem today is not that there is a divide or that the divide persists. The problem is cheek one is sinking and cheek two never got clear. The closer we are together, the closer we are to catastrophe - at least in the aural sense. Answers are easy. Solutions are easy. Action is not. That the "global" group is changing isn't helpful, some of them need to stay home and do some reading. The ones that never left are going to be left again on the stained cheek of the world's sphincter. Where did evil start? Where did the concept of liberty become construed for some and not all? When did we stop living in a world where the cult of personality was subjugated into the cult of celebrity? Whatever it was, I am sure Boomers are to blame, but that won't achieve anything. The time is now to leave all that behind and climb back out of the asscrack of the world.

The creation of Evil

Too often today superlatives in disguise are on display in journalism -- things are the best or worst they have been in five, ten or fifty years. Our Veterans are dying at a greater pace than ever noted before. Healthcare is skyrocketing.

It would seem that we cannot live without having discerned first if what we are living is worth living. Nothing of the sort is true. At the same time all these things might be true. Veterans are dying, but we are reaching the end of the generation that served in WWII - 600,000 people overseas and countless more within the states. Vietnam era Service Men and women are also dying, but there are chronic medical claims still attached to some of those things which I will not comment on.

What concerns me now is the underground god seekers. These are not the Jesus-freaks of the 80's and 90's. These are people with the sole purpose of living a godly life. Of course all their ideas are easily refuted and easily demonstrated as cult guided idiocy.

However, I am also reminded that government is a cult. This is fact in one sense, government's sole obligation is to protect our liberties - at least in the United States (and they do a poor job of that about 45% of the time, I would say.) Instead of accomplishing that task our government is the slave of parties and money.

How did we ever end up here? I think now that one day a man, and it was a paternalistic society then, walked by a tree and was startled by the shadow of a bird that was cast at his feet. That was the genesis of a winged Satan and probably nothing more. Evil was born during a garden walk. We are living the idiotic effects of that event to this day; the religion or the politics of fear.

life is a story

sometimes we get to write the story and sometimes we have to live the story first and tell it later -- economics, politics and religion have only a secondary play in these things.

Where is everyone

Where is everyone...what is everyone doing...have you all defected to Facebook. Here is an update from Topeka. I'm currently watching a rerun of House on USA. It rained today. Been eating lettuce from the garden. Grilled a salmon which was good to eat on the salads. Still collecting seeds for the Seed Bank at Kew Gardens. Farmers market is consuming me on Saturdays. I got a new laptop and now have to buy upgrades for my software to run on vista. I'm not a big fan of change. Spent a bunch of money on my truck because of sensors needing replacing. Selling handmade paper products at the Tallgrass Preserve gift shop and working for the preserve collecting seeds for a bottomland restoration. Thats the excitement from Topeka.

Farflung Trainablez Have Found Their New Producer

Since the Trainablez bassist has moved to the Twin Cities and the other members are entire blocks away from each other here in the greater Vermillion metro area. Their output has understandably been less than stellar. But now all that is required is for each member to post solo performances (and not even of the same song!) on Youtube. Eventually, this video artist, Kutiman, will stumble upon the various performances and meld them into something akin to what one witnesses in this video.

Army of Snakes

What's up Floridians?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Florida Pythons on the Loose
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Important Things w/ Demetri Martin Political Humor

What the hell?

Second in a Series of "Sweet" Videos

Extemporaneous Sweet Jane

As the videographer (and the oaf that unplugged Roxy's guitar in midperformance) I fully appreciate that this is a flawed document. However, I also appreciate this flawed document because it (dare I say) flawlessly echoes the ragged but right sensibilities expressed via the improvised lyrics of our Jefe.
Roxy's guitar playing (when heard) (again, I apologize for my part in that snafu) coupled with her and Mary's backing vocals allows this song to build and deepen, thus offering the ideal underpinning for his musings. Erica's egg shaking abilities are on par with that of the octo-mom's and lends a nuanced subtlety to the performance that is only topped by the page turning of one Katy! some could argue that my inadvertent unplugging of the electric guitar (really...what part of SORRY don't you people understand!!!) imbues the performance with a dynamic range that it otherwise would be lacking.
You're welcome.

A Belated Valentine

Even though Barbara Man-drill is singing to just one very special lady, her video valentine is for all of you to enjoy! (So enjoy it if you dare.)

How it's Done

I'm in love with this bird:

So good.

In "Honor" of F'ing V (D) Day . . .

Despite my obviously sarcastic tone in the title, I did want to do som'fing nice for y'alls not on FaceBook (you lucky SOBs) . . . Here 'tis:

Green grow the rashes

Green grow the rashes, O;
Green grow the rashes, O;
The sweetest hours that e'er I spend,
Are spent among the lasses, O.

There's nought but care on ev'ry han',
In ev'ry hour that passes, O:
What signifies the life o' man,
An' 'twere na for the lasses, O.

The warly race may riches chase,
An' riches still may fly them, O;
An' tho' at last they catch them fast,
Thier hearts can ne'er enjoy them, O.

But gie me a canny hour at e'en,
My arms about my Dearie, O;
An' warly cares, an' warly men,
May a' gae tapsalteerie, O!

For you sae douse, ye sneer at this,
Ye're nought but senseless asses, O:
The wisest Man o' the warl' saw,
He dearly lov'd the lasses, O.

Auld Nature swears, the lovely Dears
Her noblest work she classes, O:
Her prentice han' she try'd on man,
An' then she made the lasses, O.

--Robbie Burns

Renee Makes Newsworthy Return to Vermillion

(Vermillion, SD) - Not one to miss out on a PR stop, Renee Abeln recently "drummed up" local papps with her typical media-savvy bon mots. To read more, click here: http://www.volanteonline.com/news/1.1371400-1.1371400

Floridians Turn to Palm Wood and Furry Friends to Survive the Horrible Winter of '09

Molly Finds New BFF

Isn't she adorable?

As We're All About Video Links At The Moment . . .

. . . this came up in my Technical Services class . . . Who says library science and copyright issues can't be thumpin'?

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Stephen's Remix Challenge

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Paul McCartney Appearance

Funny Political Videos
More Funny Videos

In the words of Sassmaster . . .
"You're welcome."

Remember this? Don't miss the party train!

I think Flight of the Conchords just may have suckled at the teet of the Gap Band.

MEE-OW! Those sweaty, ever-so-sweaty leather pants ...

Every Girl's Fantasy

Oh. My. God.



You're welcome

Andy vs. Single Girls

Here's a deeply weird mashup:



Oh Beyonce. Don't speak for the single girls, ya know?

Party On

It seems a shame to knock the Phallic Phrog out of the top spot, but the people demand party pics. Go here for the family-friendly version. HIA is where things get a little blue.
















"Sounds like a bash only losers would miss."
-Denise

Best. Thrift. Score... EVER!

I have been going to the Civic Council for neigh on 25 years. In that quarter of a century I have never been privy to the likes of this whimsical shot glass holder. i had to pay 15 dollars for it because they obviously knew what they had. Above is a photo before one removes the shot glass, and below is a photo taken shortly after the shot glass has been removed.

In Celebration of the Day

you may want to check out these tribute collages...
http://molldoll.etsy.com/