Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

Doctor 'em up and slide 'em down, as long as they're nice and cold. Yum! And I like Joe's idea of the chilled vodka chaser! Growing up on the coast of Texas, we really enjoyed fried oysters. Battered and fried. But the first time I tried 'em in california, I almost gagged. It seems most folk I've encountered here like to batter 'em, then fry 'em so the batter is cooked but the oyster is just warm and slimy. Same with the so-called "barbecued" oysters I've sampled. If yer gonna cook 'em, COOK 'em! Otherwise, I'll have 'em raw. And while on the subject of oysters, let us all fondly remember the late Mister Black! Oysters By Baxter Black The sign upon the Café wall said ‘Oysters, 50 Cents’ “Oh my,” the blue eyed sweetheart said with some bewilderment, “I didn't know they had such fare out here upon the plain!” “Oh sure,” her cowboy date replied, “we're really quite urbane!” “I'd guess they're Chesapeake or Blue Point, don't you think?” “Uh, no ma'am, they're mostly Hereford cross, and usually they're pink. “But I've been cold, so cold myself, what you say just might be true, “and if a man looked close enough, the points just might be blue!” “I like to gather them myself,” she said, “out on the bay alone. “I pluck them from the murky depths and smash them with a stone!” The cowboy winced, as he imagined her with a little calf beneath, “Me,” he said, “I use a pocket knife and yank them with my teeth.” “Oh my,” she said, “you animal! How crude and unrefined! “Your masculine assertiveness sends shivers up my spine! “I like to use a butcher knife too dull to really cut, “I like to wedge it in between and crack them like a nut. “I pry them out, if they resist, sometimes I use the pliers, “Or even grandpa's pruning shears, whatever it requires!” The hair stood on the cowboys neck, his stomach did a whirl, He'd never heard such grisly talk, especially from a girl. “I like mine fresh,” the sweetheart said as she laid her menu down, and ordered oysters for them both, when the waiter came around. The cowboy smiled gamely, though her words stuck in his craw, Then he finally fainted dead away, when she said, "I'll have mine RAW!" * * *

So... ya get yerself a bucket of these things... whaddaya do with 'em?

Settled in this evening, chores done, all quiet, and figgered I'd watch a little "tube." Turned on the TV, selected "Prime Video," and there was a big ol' ad for a movie called "Red One." A supposedly modern Christmas movie, recycling the "Save Christmas" theme. With Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Hm. Well, why not? So, I watched it. All two hours and three minutes of it. Boy, was it different! I will say that I enjoyed it a lot more than "Hell To Pay," which is the discussion of another thread. It was actually kind of entertaining, but a traditional Christmas film it was not. And, it is absolutely NOT for little kids! Plenty of "bad language," and almost as violent as "The Wild Bunch," but without the blood. Critcs panned it - Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 32% rating, and Roger Ebert 1-1/2 out of four stars. On the other hand, theater audiences scored it at 88%~! I reckon your basic ham-and-egger, popcorn muncher isn't quite as sophisticated as Roger and the Tomato bunch... but hey, they had fun. And actually, I let myself enjoy it. Certainly did not make my favorites list, but it was entertaining. Heck, the thing cost something like a quarter billion dollars to make! Oh, and as the budget might suggest there is a LOT of CGI, which would automatically turn off a lot of the folks here. But then, this is the 21st century.

From the Franklin Institute:

Hm. The boy finally has something to claim as his "legacy."

Gee... that sure sounds familiar. Now, in this state (california), there exists another quirk. In simplest terms, a citizen of another U S state attending a state college or university likely has to pay a much larger tuition (ex: University of california system: non-resident $40,644 vs resident $13,900). However, "undocumented immigrants" are not required to pay the out-of-state rate. Also, they may benefit from any of several financial aid programs established just for them. I wonder if our guv and their PM might be cousins....

I bought it. Don't recall making it through to the end; dunno what I ever did with it. IMDB page IMDB reviews

On the other hand...! I was up early today and decided to pop over to Tractor Supply, on the chance they might have a few leftover toys. (They have GREAT old-school toys at Christmastime, and if I could I was gonna stock up for a few upcoming little kid birthdays.) Well, I was outside the door a good fifteen minutes before they opened, and a lady employee came out to set up the ouside barbecuer display. She struck up an engaging conversation, asked about my Christmas, and was downright delightful. When the doors were finally opened, she grinned and said "Be sure to let me know if you need help spending money!" Surprisingly, there were quite a few toys still on the shelves. I could not find the price on a metal Jeep. When the same gal passed by, I asked about the price; she couldn't find it but said "Wait here!" and fetched a manager type. This fella scanned it, told me the price, then smiled and said "but it's at least forty percent off - might be fifty!" Same gal was at the checkout counter. Smiles and full of personality; felt like I'd know her for years. Then, home for breakfast and a long nap. A good day.

I too have the first four. They're terrific! Edit: the books (twelve in total) were written by students at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School (informally known as Rabun Gap) is a small, private college preparatory school located in Rabun County, Georgia, United States, in the Appalachian Mountains.

I spoke with Half-Breed Pete this evening, and the poor lad is quite frustrated. His '05 Jeep Liberty 42RLE transmission failed a few months ago; being a pretty technical type, he decided to rebuilt it himself. Which he did; painstakingly. Re-installed the beast and golly jeepers... it won't go into reverse! So we were wondering if anone here might have a thought or two on the most likely problem?

Mebbe a little OT, but for Hank's granddaughter Charlotte's recent birthday party, Sassparilla Kid "spatchcocked" a young pig and cooked 'im up in his OMC ("Oversized Mobile Cooker") Da Pig Last Year's Pig (Sassparilla, birthday girl Charlotte, yours truly) The Kid and his Cooker

Delivering a history lesson to a mob of Cub Scouts, "Civil War Revisited," Kearney Park, Fresno - a bunch of years ago. The lads were captivated!

Aw, shux... they were kinda popular just a mere forty-seven years ago.

Blinker fluid needs changin'....