Shopping with the French Military

So why do people looooove to shop? I know it's a rampant situation -- people will shop even when they don't have anything specific they need. It's become a bit of social therapy for them.

Me - forget it....I would be like the gay guys from In Living Color who were the critics -- "Hated It!!" and two snaps down.

I once looked at the same $40 velvet pillow in a Bloomingdales by Mail catalog for 4 months before I finally ordered it. That was probably 10 years ago, I still have it, I still like it. I think that's a major difference between me and say -- the boyfriend who is a friggin shopping junkie. Based upon my brief decade of experience with him, it seems like it's the thrill of the chase, feeling in control, etc. etc. He gets absolutely giddy when he shops whereas I hyperventilate because I have a death grip on my cash.

So I read this article about people getting a rush due to a chemical called "dopamine" -- I am on a quest now to see if I can find a homeopathy version and that way when the boyfriend has an urge to go shopping, get him to take a happy, healthy version of dopamine so that by the time he hits whatever store he was going to, hopefully the rush he gets when shopping would be gone....or at least more under control and therefore not as expensive. I love him but damn he's worse than a billionaire's kept woman at shopping.

The other sucky thing is that sometimes I just want to go out and look. Decorative accessories, much like men, I often just want to look at -- I sure as hell don't want to buy them and take them home. But I can't do that with the boyfriend because he'll be like, "I can't spend any cash," and my response is, "Why do we have to spend money? I just want to look." But, no can do.

Isn't that just Murphy's Law -- a guy that loves to shop with a girl that doesn't. How many women would love to have a guy like that and how many guys would love to have a girl like me? But the good thing is that the boy is one helluva good dresser when he feels like showing off. He gives a whole new level to the term "metrosexual" and I do love him for that.

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You have got to try this out: Go to www.google.com and type in "French military victories" and click on "I'm Feeling Lucky" -- you will get the following result:

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Quote of the Day: "I bought a self learning record to learn Spanish. I turned it on and went to sleep; the record got stuck. The next day I could only stutter in Spanish."........Steven Wright

Doberman World Domination - Laconia - George Michael

Well it's officially winter now. A record high on Saturday of 89 and right now it's 18 and covered in ice. A lot of people make fun of how we handle weather since we close everything down but we don't get snow -- something about where we are located means we get ice -- lots of it. I think it will get above freezing on Friday.

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There is the cuuuuuutest damn sticker I saw that I should order -- or someone can buy it for me. I love this sticker because Harley Amadeus has the natural, floppy ears. You can see all the kewl stuff available at http://www.obeythepurebreed.com/ -- it totally rocks!

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I spent most of the day dealing with lodging issues for Laconia, New Hampshire for Motorcycle Week next June. Not easy trying to arrange bedding for 11 days for almost 30 people and keep the prices down. With approximately 300,000 people attending that week, it's not like there's a ton of hotel rooms available. But there are some things working in our favour -- like the fact that high profile bike builders are coming in from Dallas & LA -- those guys usually make it to Sturgis or Laughlin or Daytona but not Laconia. So a lot of people up there seemed quite pleased. I am being offered trains and boats and all sorts of stuff.

I have to admit, I've really missed working in the entertainment business. With no royal family, celebrities of any kind are rather like the American version of royalty. As such, people usually go out of their way to work with you which makes things nicer. I don't want to take advantage of anyone because that's just bad kharma - but I certainly appreciate and remember when people have gone out of their way to help.

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I was pleased that George Michael and Kenny Goss are going to get hitched. I find it odd that people in the US are having such a fit about gay unions -- like gays could do any worse than straights?!

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Quote of the day: Performing enhancing drugs are banned in the Olympics. Ok, we can swing with that. But performance debilitating drugs should not be banned. Smoke a joint and win the hundred meters, fair play to you. That's pretty damn good. Unless someone's dangling a Mars bar off in the distance. .........Eddie Izzard

Archie & the American Dream

I have a confession -- I've not given a damn about Christmas since 2001 -- Christmas just evolved into such crass commercialism I found it pointless.

Yet, in typical Raine fashion, I find myself embracing the concept of christmas if for no other reason than to piss off those anti-American types. I'm not one of these hard core, beef eating, apple pie embracing Americans a la Archie Bunker. I'm more the type that believes, "American by birth; Texan by the grace of God." But the whole Texan thing I can delve into at another time.

If you haven't noticed, the undercurrent is happening -- quietly but strongly the pro-Americans are making their presence known.

• You want to rename our Christmas trees "holiday" trees so they don't offend some minorities? Fuck you.
• You want to wear a towel around your head for your drivers license photo and yelp about your civil liberties being taken away if you're told to take the thing off? Fuck you.
• You want to sneak across the border like a thief in the night and kill a Dallas cop and then have your consulate start yelping about your civil liberties because Texas makes use of the death penalty? Fuck you.

See the whole "holiday" tree thing won't work because the judges are getting around the ACLU by saying it's ok to refer to it as a Christmas tree because it reflects American culture and not necessarily religion.


I was pleased to hear today that a 40-year old cartoon, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" had so many advertisers wanting to buy airtime that ABC was having to turn them away left and right. A 30-second spot went for $200,000 -- Desperate Housewives isn't even commanding anywhere close that price.

And the great thing about that show -- it explains the TRUE meaning of Christmas -- which is Christian related. Linus explains the true meaning as told in the book of Luke. And the cherry on the icing of the cake is that the show ends with a carol praising God.

Daniel Ash has a song he wrote for his band Love & Rockets. Daniel is a British boy now living in L.A. and when he performs An American Dream he says something along the lines of "Fuck yeah -- America has been great to me!"

And I was dreaming in my sleep
Saw through you all
And I was dreaming still on my feet
Saw through you all

And I saw what you could be
And you just don't feel free

And I saw what you could be
But you just won't be real to me

So let's blame this excess
On an American dream
So let's blame the success
Of an American dream

Are you confused by the chaos
In everyones wandering eyes
Do you dream of running naked
In warm rain
Are you confused by the chaos
It's no, it's no surprise
We all stand next to Jesus
Close to Satan we're both the same

These birds can't fly away away
These birds can't fly away

So let's blame this excess
On an American dream
So let's blame the success
Of an American dream
Of an American dream
Of an American dream
Of an American dream

Feeling so high and low
It's the American dream
It's the American dream
It's the American dream
It's the American dream

Football, Anti-Walmart, Playboy

I caught parts of Monday Night Football tonite between the Seahawks & Eagles and watched a historic game. 42-0 was the score in favour of the Seahawks. You know it's bad when during the 3rd quarter the sportscasters are talking about driving their buses for the first time. It also makes you wonder about the few hardy souls remaining to watch the game in a snow storm -- are they nuts? Diehard fans? Have nothing better to do? I mean honestly, at the 4th quarter and 42 points ahead, don't just pack it in and go home?

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For those of you that read this blog often, you know about my passionate dislike for all things Wal-Mart. I think it is the American anti-Christ. I was pleased today to see on the editorial page of The Dallas Morning News that the paper has taken an anti-Wal-Mart stand also -- here is the text:


This Is Too Bad: If we ignore 'evil' Wal-Mart, will it go away?
05:00 AM CST on Monday, December 5, 2005

We can learn a lot from opinion polls. Our lesson today is about Wal-Mart. You choose:

1. "I believe Wal-Mart is good for America. It provides low prices and saves consumers money every day."
2. "I believe Wal-Mart is bad for America. It may provide low prices, but these prices come with a high moral and economic cost for consumers."

The verdict? A solid majority – 56 percent! – say Wal-Mart is bad for America, according to a Zogby Poll commissioned by WakeUpWalMart.com, a union-funded group pressing the retail giant to raise wages and benefits. Only 39 percent of 1,012 randomly chosen adults went the other way.

So not only is Wal-Mart the devil, as some very noisy neighborhood groups have said for years – "Crime! Traffic! Sprawl!" – but now most of America knows it, even if no one forces America to shop there.

And if Wal-Mart truly is "bad for America," wouldn't the flip side – i.e., "good for America" – be for this evil monster to go away? For all those rich guys in northwest Arkansas to face facts and close their 3,700 U.S. stores? (Leave aside the 2,400 Wal-Marts in the rest of the world, as the rest of the world didn't get to vote.)

Sure, that would put 1.3 million people out of work, but they weren't getting paid enough anyway. And this editorial board could quit leaning on Wal-Mart to help cut the number of uninsured U.S. workers.

And, yes, 100 million Americans a week would have to find another store – with higher prices – to go to for socks and shoes, TVs and TV dinners, lamps and blenders, tomatoes and toys. Really, those people should be grateful to pay a few dollars more to lessen the country's moral outrage.
(In fact, the same day the Zogby Poll was released, Wal-Mart reported a 4.3 percent increase in November sales over last year, as if we can believe those guys.)

Don't these customer sheep, led to Wal-Mart slaughter, need our help? Two more suggestions then:

• If you really believe Wal-Mart is bad for America, don't shop there. Leave the rest of America to save a few pennies in peace.
• And if you cash one of those minuscule Wal-Mart paychecks, quit your job. Paying the bills is no reason to support evil in our midst.

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Texas winters are interesting -- summers are boring. The summer is hot. The winter is different -- Saturday we had a record high of 89 and tomorrow it should snow.

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Today was busy with the ROBBO series -- phone calls to London, Germany and California -- my hours are all jacked up! Spoke with Alex Mardikian at Von Dutch -- they have signed 2005 Playboy Playmate of the Year, Tiffany Fallon, to be their model for next years bikes.

I love curves...

A lot of people are buying motorcycles. Today, 1 out of every 49 people in the US owns a bike and most of them only ride about 3,000 miles per year. I think most of those people don't know where to go on their bikes so they end up going to their local biker area, stand around and drink a few beers. To me that activity religiously makes it into my top 10 of most boring things to do.

And then you have the people that won't venture anywhere unless it's on the activities calendar of their local HOG (Harley Owners Group). Now I will be the first to admit that HOG's have their place -- if you get involved with a good one with lots of activities, it's a great way to meet other bike enthusiasts -- but at some point you have to be willing to venture out on your own.

Another challenge is the locale in which you live. As I am in Dallas, I have seen everything within 150 miles in any direction. I'm not ADD, but I get bored quickly. I do wish I had a truck and trailer so I could tow the bike somewhere and then begin riding. The reality of the situation, you can get somewhere a lot faster that way than riding and if you've already seen the roads time and again, you really aren't that interested in seeing them yet again.

Once I finally get somewhere, I love curvy roads with a passion -- the more severe the better. During my first road trip, we ended up heading towards the east coast. We were having lunch one day and someone asked us if we were there to ride The Dragon. We had never heard of it so after hearing the description of this 318 curves in 11 miles going up and down the side of a mountain road, we had to ride it. We got there close to dusk so we only had a chance to ride it once -- Oh my friggin God it rocked so hard!!! If you go there, also check out the site for Killboy -- great visuals!

Now keep in mind that my Harley was totally loaded down for a road trip and her pipes were scraping at the rip roaring speed of about 25 mph -- that's how much the bike was leaning into the curves. Meanwhile, these crotch rockets were absolutely flying by -- if I lived anywhere close to that region I'd be there once a month!

There are some good roads in the Texas Hill Country and I highly recommend the Willow City Loop when the bluebonnets are blooming at their peak in the spring. There are 4 roads I know for a fact that I want to experience:

1. The Black Hills in South Dakota
2. The roads southwest of Denver through the Rocky Mountains
3. Pacific Coast Highway
4. The coastal roads of Italy

Where there is so much amazing riding to be experienced, I just can't imagine why anyone would want to waste their time standing around in a parking lot guzzling beer! Like everything else, get off your ass and out of your La-z-boy and way from the TV and start EXPERIENCING life!!

Live as you will have wished to have lived when you are dying!!

16 Minutes of Fame in the Mens Room

Today was a very nice -- we rode to Lower Greenville and had a late lunch at Hurricane Grill -- bikes were out everywhere! Then off to West Village for Paciugo - Mmmmmm! I learned today that Paciguo is beginning a rewards program -- just what I needed to hear!! The high temp today was 89 which is a record and it's now 41 degrees... But it is Texas so we will be in the 30's within a couple days.

Here are my soap box issues for the day:

This image is of Cindy Sheehan - that liberal chick from California who has been disowned by her own family and is trying to squeeze as much air time as possible out of her protests in Crawford. Her 15 minutes are long gone and here is a classic example of her 16th minute -- sitting alone waiting for her adoring fans (that never arrived) to show up so she could sign her "book":

We've got troops in hot spots around the world trying to do their best in a hard situation - it's a damn shame that more people don't realize that the crazies of the world use twits like Cindy Sheehan as propaganda against us in their own lands.

This crazy broad served a big ass "traditional" Iraqi meal on Thanksgiving to her limited adoring fan(atics). Like the Iraqi people had insane amounts of food at all at any time in the past two decades? And now she is available for speaking engagemets -- for $$$ of course!!

Our American military is kicking ass so that someone like her can profit from criticizing them....skanky ho.

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www.AnySoldier.com -- So as it's December, take this time to NOT spend quite so much on crap that your spoiled relatives and friends don't need and instead donate to www.AnySoldier.com -- this is real help that you can do.

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On a lighter note, I sometimes wonder if I should start to venture into mens rooms -- this photo montage behind the urinals is classic! If I decide to open a club someday, I would definitely want this included!

I love a good cock shot

I have a confession of sorts -- I love a good cock shot. I am so tired of seeing tits everywhere; you see them in film, tv, magazines and God help you if you go to a biker rally. Tits, tits, tits -- you can just hear the thought process going through these collective female brains -- "Oooo look at me, I'm so daring, I'm so risque', I'm bouncing my (fill in the blank with "au natural" or "store bought") tits all over the place."

My boyfriend thinks I have penis envy -- I think I'm very in touch with my gay side. I believe that if I were a boy I would be the biggest raving queen around. He doesn't complain too much when I'm taking care of him; that's because I try to imagine what I would like to feel if I had one of my own to play with.

But I digress and back to the tale at hand -- Then you've got the guys. Now I know that it's been scientifically proven that men are more visual than women; and gauging by how visual I am, it's disturbing for me to think about how visual a guy must be. I also know it's been proven that guys think about sex a whole lot more than women. But, I just don't get the allure of all these slack jawed men oo'ing and aaah'ing over bare tits.

Then on the flip side there's me and I love a good cock shot -- I don't particularly want to see these cocks in person but I like seeing them from afar via Queer as Folk or on the very kewl blog The Naked Blogger. You won't find me at a La Bare or Chippendales - again because I don't care to see them in person. This may be a flashback from when I was on the cusp of being a teen and my mother thought it would be fun to take me to Oh! Calcutta! with her friends. The seats were just too up close, front and center. Plus I had tittering Japanese school girls in the row behind me. I just didn't need to see a penis that friggin big at that point in life.

At one point I left to go outside for some air. I don't recall the theater that Oh! Calcutta! was staged at, but I do recall it was in Times Square -- before Disney got ahold of it. I remember looking at the marquees of the sex theaters and trying to work out in my mind the origin of the people that were the stars of "Transexual Transvestives from Peoria" -- or whatever the title was. I felt oddly at home in that realm -- the world that middle class middle America drew their blinds on and closed their doors to.

Within the next couple of years, I would find myself hanging out a lot along the Lower Greenville & Oak Lawn areas - which are the gay parts of town - because that was where the best clothing and music stores were. I remember walking down the street of Cedar Springs when I was about 15 and these two guys passed me and said, "Oh my God -- she's real!!!" At that point, there weren't a lot of females in that part of town.

Then I went to design school and I was surrounded by my gay friends and I moved into a quasi-Melrose Place apartment complex off of Lemmon Avenue. There were probably only 30 units but each complex surrounded this courtyard that had lush landscaping, pink waterhoses and my friend Diana and I were the only girls in the complex. I made strong cocktails and the guys took care of my hair and helped me when I wanted to redesign something.

Then I ran away and joined the circus - a.k.a. the record label that kept me on the road for 5 years....and all that info is fodder for another blog posting at another time.

Once I was back in Dallas, I met this preppy gay boy named Brian. He worked for the Dallas Observer weekly paper and was just the consumate ho. He was never a top or a bottom -- he'd wrestle you for it. He and his friend Madison were legendary. Madison had this "party trick" that he liked to do -- he was very thin and very tall and he could suck his own cock.

Brian ended up running away to NYC in 2001 -- he gave me his brand new big tv, DVD player and surround sound speakers. He sold his "fuck me yellow" Mercedes and went to work for some magazine called Next.

As I was reading The Naked Blogger's blog, I couldn't help thinking about Brian and how much I miss his antics and his hilarious stories. He introduced me to Chipotle which I am so grateful for and he cracked me up with his stories of going to London just so he could experience "docking".

Ahh well -- wherever the winds of fate have blown him, I hope he is doing well and is happy.

I leave you with a classic video clip from a couple years ago that aired on WFAA the Dallas ABC affiliate -- pay VERY close attention to the background!!!
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/cowboyslocker-room.html

Real Original Biker Build-Off

Yes, I have received the emails and I know some of you are jonesing for the latest info on the "Real Original Biker Build-Off" series. We are still in pre-production, still scheduled to begin shooting the last weekend in January, still scheduled to have the finale at Laconia Motorcycle Week.

As you know if you keep up with this blog, Nicky Bootz is the host who will be on location during much of the tapings and the builders participating include: Johnny Chop, Trevelen Rabanal of Super Co Customs, Dave Hurley & Dylan Zwicker of Exile Cycles, Mike DuSold, Denny Garley and Jimmy Lee & John Coen of Three Two Choppers.

As I am able to release more info, you will be among the first to hear about it!

The new site should be up tomorrow for 2 Wheel Passport -- I will be posting the link when that's ready. It's definitely not the same old yawn biker e-zine that you are accustomed to seeing.

South Park goes Bananas for Mercury

I just spent half an hour flipping between two channels -- South Park & David Letterman -- both shows were in classic form and I was laughing so hard. Regis Philbin was so funny on Letterman. The boys on South Park were being introduced to the Catholic church -- "Jesus is made of crackers?!" -- and Satan was tempted by his former lover Saddam.


So on to other things....


Protect your precious fruit!!
There is an interesting new gadget for those that love to slowly partake of a nice firm banana. As we all know, it's practically impossible to transport a banana around -- Banana Guard is here to take care of that challenge. It's available in 9 ravishing colours including Glow-in-theDark!! Yes, it's rather phallic -- but let's consider the fruit in question.

Think happy thoughts...
For those of you interested in positive thoughts on prosperity, this is a nice blog to read: http://theisleoflight.blogspot.com/

Want to speak to real human?
Have you grown weary of trying to guess which magic combinations on the telephone keypad will get you to a real person? This site will give you access to that special combo you need so you don't end up screaming into the phone "AGENT" only to have that sassy little recorded voice on the other side reply, "UhhhIiiiiiii don't understand you." Yes -- I speak from personal experience.
http://www.paulenglish.com/ivr/

Mercury leaves retrograde
Thankfully, Mercury leaves it's retrograde cycle this Saturday (December 3). For those of you that don't know about "mercury being in retrograde", it happens about 3 times a year for about 3 weeks and it is a lousy time to try to negotiate, close deals, etc.

New Moon on December 1
For those of you into harnessing the power of the New Moon, that will take place on Thursday (December 1).

Positive Thoughts

Live as you will have wished to have lived when you are dying.

• I may not be happy at a given time -- but I can choose to be cheerful.
  
• We don't remember days -- we remember moments.
  
• Life is not easy for any of us. We must have perseverance and, above all, have confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing....must be attained.
  
• Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
  
• Do not delay -- the golden moments fly!
  
• Vigor is contagious, and whatever makes us either think or feel strongly adds to our power and enlarges our field of action.
  
• So what do we do? Anything, something, so long as we just don't sit there. If we screw up, start over. Try something else. If we wait until we've satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late.
  
• As concentration and attention increase, the mind becomes clear and balanced.

It is so easy to waste our lives: our days, our hours, our minutes....it is so easy to exist instead of live.

Tom Cruise Evolving into The Joker?

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that as Tom Cruise ages, he has begun to look like Jack Nicholson as The Joker?

** Compare and contrast for yourself **

Eleanor of Aquitaine &
The Empress Matilda

I have a thing for "historical" accounts - I delve deep into amazing people who had lives that rocked hundreds of years ago.

My two all time favourites are the Empress Matilda and Eleanor of Aquitaine -- these two women had one man in common -- Henry II of England.

Matilda was the daughter of Henry I of England and she was sent at the age of 8 to marry the Holy Roman emperor, Heinrich. Meanwhile, Henry's only other lawful child, his son William, died in the sinking of the famed White Ship in 1120. The people surrounding Henry were scared to death to tell him that his son was dead and it took them a couple days to summon the courage to do so.

Henry didn't take the news well and he ended up doing something that no one expected -- he named Matilda as his heir. By that time Matilda had been widowed and she was about 25 years old. Upon being called back to England, her father made her marry Count Geoffrey of Anjou ,who was 11 years her junior. She was horrified by the match -- she, the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, forced to marry a mere lad and no more than a Count at that!

To say that Matilda & Geoffrey clashed would be an understatement. But it's important to recall that in those times, marriages were political chess matches, so love and compatibility had very little to do with anything. This marriage was the beginning of the famed Plantagenet Dynasty that ruled England for almost 400 years. It was so named due to Geoffrey of Anjou's habit of wearing a sprig of plantagenia in his lapel.

About 9 years into their marriage, Henry I died due to eating a big ass serving of stewed lamprey eels -- which his doctor had advised him to stay away from. Before Matilda could travel from Anjou (which is in present day France) to England, her beloved cousin Stephen, stole her crown by claiming Henry changed his mind on the succession upon his deathbed.

Then began the era in England refered to as "When Christ and His Saints Slept". It was a brutal 20 years and the forces between Matilda and Stephen fought over the English crown. Stephen was an accomplished battle commander but lousy at running a kingdom. Matilda, while she couldn't take the battlefield herself (though I wouldn't have put it past her not to if given the chance), had her half-brother Robert of Gloucester as her battle commander. Robert was amazing in his own right and to this day military historians marvel at the fact that he pulled together a full army in less than 2 weeks and marched from Bristol to Lincoln in the dead of winter in 2 more weeks to catch Stephen by surprise.

Matilda, credit where due, had some amazing adventures of her own. In my opinion, the most dramatic one was when she and her men were surrounded in Oxford. They stayed in the castle for almost 4 months. Finally, as the larders were near empty (they had resorted to killing their horses for food) and the furnishings had been burned to stay warm, Matilda came up with an amazing plan. She and 3 of her men were clothed in pure white cloaks that had been made from bed sheets. During the height of a snow storm and in the middle of the night, they were lowered from the battlements of the Oxford castle to the ground below.

Matilda and her men were taking an amazing chance that the River Thames was frozen solid by that point. They walked across the ice and between two enemy campfires. At one point a sentry on horseback came upon and they stood still. The sentry, due to the darkness and the snow storm, stared in their direction for quite a while, but finally made the sign of the cross and continued on with his patrols -- he must have thought they were ghosts! Matilda and her men managed to make it to Wallingford, where her close ally Brien Fitz Count, was in residence. To say that Stephen was livid when he learned of Matilda's escape would be an understatement.

Many of the landholders in England of that day also held lands in present day France. While Matilda was busy fighting tooth and nail against Stephen in England, the husband she despised was keeping things active in Anjou and the surrounding areas. It ended up being a helluva spot for the landholders -- did they anger their English king by making peace with Geoffrey to protect their continental holdings or anger Geoffrey? Geoffrey was no angel -- it was rumoured that the family descended from Satan's daughter. Plus, Geoffrey once was so angry at his own brother, that he had him imprisoned.

Matilda & Geoffrey had one good thing between them -- their son, Henry. While Matilda desperately wanted the English crown herself, she finally realized that her brother Robert and the others were not necessarily fighting to make her queen -- they were fighting for the succession to make her son Henry the king. Stephen's son, Eustace, had established himself as a brutal person and he tortured animals, invalids and once went so far as to raid the parish of Bury St. Edmunds and stole from the priests. Eustace died 2 weeks after that raid -- choking to death on stewed lamprey eels -- the same dish that so sickened Henry I and caused his death.

After amazing win's and losses on both sides, it was finally agreed that upon Stephen's death, Matilda's son Henry would succeed as the English king. Once the issue was resolved, Henry focused on helping his father Geoffrey quash rebellions in Anjou. At one point they were summoned to Paris to answer to their liege lord Louis VII. At was during this event that Henry and Eleanor of Aquitaine first met.

Eleanor was one of the most celebrated beauties of her time and an amazingly wealthy heiress. She held all of Aquitaine & Poitou in her own right. A marriage was arranged between her and Louis when they were both 15. They were married for 14 years and two daughters were born but as no son had arrived, it was all Eleanor's fault. While most believe that Eleanor and Louis did love one another, they were just too much a combination of full bodied wine and warm milk and never destined to mix well. Louis was supposed to be a priest and only due to the unfortunate death of his older brother in a horseback riding accident, was he catapulted to the French throne. Louis also kept as a close counsel the celerated Abbot Bernard who despised Eleanor and felt she was a wanton.

Many suspect that Eleanor and Henry laid the groundwork for their marriage while she was still married to Louis. She could divorce Louis because they had not received a papal dispensation from the Pope and they were related within the prohibited 6 degrees. It would be expected that when Eleanor remarried, she would have to ask permission from Louis as her liege lord.

It took about 6 months, but finally the divorce was granted and Eleanor made her way back home to her lands in Aquitaine. Two months later, Henry arrived with only a handful of men as to avoid drawing attention to his travel and he and Eleanor married before Louis and his entourage in Paris could find out. This union made it possible for Henry to be the eventual ruler of England, Maine, Anjou, Wales, Brittany, Normandy and Aquitaine.

This marriage between Henry and Eleanor of Aquitaine meant that the Empress Matilda was now her mother-in-law -- talk about a guy surrounding himself with powerful women! About a year later, Stephen died, Henry became the king of England and Eleanor was the only woman in history to wear the crowns of both France and England. Even though the age difference between she and Henry was 10 years apart (she was the older one), she gave Henry II five children -- two of whom would go on to rule England: Richard the Lionhearted and John Lackland.

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II and Richard the Lionhearted are all buried within their tombs at Fontevrault Abbey in western France.

'tis Saturday...

Thankfully today was much more enjoyable than yesterday. Michael and I went to Champp's on Belt Line for lunch. I had a greek salad which was just what I needed - he had his standard patty melt. We watched the Texas / Texas A&M game through the 3rd quarter. Neither one of is is a big sports fan, but this was a particularly good game.

Then after a couple errands, we went to see The Ice Harvest which stars John Cussack and Billy Bob Thornton. Interesting fim though not sure if it's a comedy or drama or crime thriller.

The bike ran like a charm today so I am happy about that.

I forgot to mention the other day -- Oprah, had a recipe involving Pom -- for the record, I first printed an outstanding POM recipe back in June.

The cocktail is called "Superstition" and is is made up of:

3 parts Ginger Ale
1 part POM
1 part Vodka
Garnish with lime -- pour with a heavy hand

Thank God, it's Black Friday

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so bloody glad Thanksgiving is over. I really made a galliant effort of venturing to the Koffee Kup in Hico, but Superstition (my Harley) had different ideas. I could feel her vibes and for some reason she didn't want to get there so she started acting up. At times like that, I try to view the situation as glass half-full -- there may very well be a reason why I shouldn't be in Hico (e.g. avoiding a wreck, etc.)

We got as far as Glen Rose and stopped at a gas station - Superstition wouldn't restart. Finally, she did but only after I had said I didn't feel comfortable going on to Hico and needed to turn back home. My riding buddy was less than pleased. The reality of the situation is that if I went another 40 miles and there was indeed a problem, I would then be 120 miles from home, on a holiday and no way home. See, my riding buddy in her infinite wisdom had sharp spikes installed on the top of her back fender which means there is no way for a 2-up seat to be placed there, or in the case of an emergency, there is no way for a passenger to ride.

No sooner did I start to head back then the left front highway peg fell off -- Superstition was making her point! I stopped and got the peg but my buddy had decided to take the route through Grandbury and at a brisk 80 mph clip -- and the roads were filled with cops. Once we hit Ft. Worth, I headed towards home while she continued north. I apologized for the problems (like it was my fault) but she was in one helluva mood.

Now on to more pleasant things:

Johnny Chop will be featured on Chopper Nation on ESPN2 this November 30th. Definitely check it out!! Johnny is one of the builders that will be in the ROBBO series.


Nicky Bootz, who as you know if you are a frequent reader of this blog, is the host of ROBBO, emailed me the first "bah humbug" story of the season:

A Christmas Story

'Twas the night before Christmas--Old Santa was pissed.
He cussed out the elves and threw down his list.
Miserable little brats, ungrateful little jerks.
I have a good mind to scrap the whole works!

I've busted my ass for damn near a year,
Instead of "Thanks Santa"--what do I hear?
The old lady bitches cause I work late at night.
The elves want more money--
The reindeer all fight.

Rudolph got drunk and goosed all the maids.
Donner is pregnant and Vixen has AIDS.
And just when I thought that things would get better
Those assholes from the IRS sent me a letter,
They say I owe taxes--if that ain't damn funny
Who the hell ever sent Santa Claus any money?

And the kids these days--they all are the pits
They want the impossible--Those mean little shits
I spent a whole year making wagons and sleds
Assembling dolls...Their arms, legs and heads
I made a ton of yo yo's--No request for them,
They want computers and robots...they think - I'm IBM!

Flying through the air...dodging the trees
Falling down chimneys and skinning my knees
I'm quitting this job there's just no enjoyment
I'll sit on my fat ass and draw unemployment.

There's no Christmas this year now you know the reason,
I found me a blonde. I'm going SOUTH for the season

Avoiding the National Day of Gluttoney

Thanksgiving is upon us - it is a day that has been beaten into the American psyche that we should embrace gluttoney and excess in a most primal way. Isn't Gluttoney one of the 7 Deadly Sins?? My personal avoidance to the holiday is a result of my relatives all dying between early October & Thanksgiving -- granted in different years, but it none the less places a bit of a damper on festivities. Thanksgiving isn't so much a holiday for families (whether they be family by blood or choice), as it is a kick off for the Christmas shopping season.

I understand that most people will do whatever "society" tells them to do --

• "...go spend $800 on gifts...",
• ".....Embrace the relatives you can't stand...."

And on and on. I saw ads today that KMart & Garden Ridge would be open all Thanksgiving for those junkies that can't go a day without shopping. And then the icing on the cake is that everyone else seems to be opening between 5:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning.

But I digress and back to the issue at hand -- Thanksgiving. Just the thought of it makes me queasy -- all that food -- yuck!! But then I'm not a good judge because I try to maintain a 70% water diet (lots of fruits & vegs) and eat as healthy as I can by limiting processed foods, etc. That being said, I wonder if my body may be a bit more sensitive to changes in food.

Approximately 7 months ago, I began getting sick on occasion after eating poultry. It didn’t matter how it was prepared or where it was purchased from. The results were the same the times I became ill – approximately 1:00 a.m. I would awaken with severe stomach pains; after a couple hours I would finally be able to get sick. This would go on for another couple hours. By the time it was dawn, I wasn’t hurting any more but exhausted from the ordeal.

The last time I had chicken was early August on my way home from Bike Week in Sturgis, South Dakota – we were somewhere in Colorado. I had a chicken sandwich and a few hours later I was sick. My boyfriend witnessed how much pain I was in and kept asking to take me to the hospital. I declined because I knew the routine by now and that it would pass in a few hours.

When I mentioned this situation to a friend of mine she said that she’s noticed the past few months that on occasion when she has chicken, about an hour later, she starts getting very flushed and has a “prickly” sensation inside. Then today, she cooks a turkey -- seasons it with white wine, butter and spices. After having some, she's all flushed and prickly.

I've done many searches on the web trying to find any reference to this but I can't help but think something has changed in the way poultry is being processed that would be causing these problems.

While I've not read the Kevin Trudeau book "What They Don't Want You To Know", I have been a big believer for years that there is some sort of mad conspiracy to keep us sick. The food, insurance, pharmeceutical and medical industries all benefit from us being ill; but one cannot live well on Cheesy Poofs & Dr. Pepper. I wonder sometimes why so many people put the garbage into their bodies that they do -- but then I remember that they are simply buying into what Madison Avenue tells them they should purchase & consume.

At some point though, I hope that more people will become more proactive about their health -- I know the chance of this happening are slim to none especially given the fact that we live in a world where Competitive Eating has become a national sport!

Anyway -- I will eat sensibly as usual and ride on the bike as it's supposed to be a very pretty day. I hope everyone else enjoys their holiday and for those readers of this blog in the U.K. -- enjoy those new Pub hours!!!

Wal-Mart IS the American Anti-Christ

As the main shopping day of the entire year is almost upon us, allow me to take this time to vent about one of the main issues we have working against the U.S.

I am very anti-Wal-Mart. I really believe that this one company is so damaging to the U.S. economy it's mind-boggling. When I co-owned the tech company, one of our clients was the largest of the 19 "marketing" companies that places products onto the shelves at Wal-Mart & Sam's Clubs. That being said, I know a lot of first hand info that most people wouldn't know.

For instance, every May - July more than 50% of the container ships coming from China are filled with cheap Chinese crap destined for the holiday buying season at Wal-Mart. Does America really need that much stuff at low prices? I think most of us have enough damn sense to realize we need to pay an extra .10 on a product if it will keep it American made and benefiting the U.S. economy.

Why should we be funding the Chinese financial growth and not our own? In many school districts they are making Mandarian a required language for study because of the belief that in 20 years, China will be our principal global partner.

Why the hell would we want a major business partner that doesn't even understand the key components of what makes a democratic nation? Why would we want to fund the growth of a country with a BILLION people when we need to focus on our 270+ million citizens?

If China can pull their head out and become more democratic and introduce the concept of Zero Population Growth (in other words, serously introduce some birth control !), then fine, we can work out a win/win situation. BUT, it has to be a WINNING situation for the U.S. also -- no more of this helping the poor disenfranchised at great expense to ourselves.

So as you are already comfortably situated before your monitor, take some time and visit the following links to see for yourself, why the madness that IS Wal-Mart needs to come to an end and how you can help.

• Wake Up Wal-Mart
• Hel-Mart.com
• Buy your anti Wal-mart merchandise here
• Employee Horror Stories

The Homophobic Pope Wears Prada...

Have you ever noticed that sometimes it's just an odd news day? I'm not Catholic but Pope John Paul II totally rocked. The man had an amazing life and while the Catholic church certainly went through its trials and tribulations, I always had the feeling that PJP was pure at heart.

So now we have this new Pope Benedict -- he says gay priests won't be tolerated by the Church yet he himself sports red leather Prada shoes and wears $800 Gucci sunglasses. So much for the vow of poverty.

In other strange news, this time from Florida, Debra Lafave was "tired" of the drama of a potential trial and her attorney successfully argued that she was "too pretty" to go to prison. She is under house arrest. So dear friends, if we learn anything from this -- looks do matter -- obviously, far more than we ever realized if it can keep us out of prison for having sex with an underaged child.

Other sex crime news, this time from Viet Nam, former disgraced British rocker Gary Glitter is under arrest for paying several young girls as much as $10 for sex. What an absolute buffoon this guy has got to be -- with all the hype the past few years about the sex tourism trade in south east Asia, here comes a classic poster boy to send a resounding message to the world. Viet Nam has a firing squad for people who engage in underage sex. Who is going to speak on Glitter's behalf? The UK government? They've already successfully prosecuted him for the same crime; hence why he no longer lives in England.

It's all so odd to me because I'm one of those types that would be hauled in for taking one step outside the lines for a crosswalk.

So in the midst of today's insanity, I leave you with one of my all time favorite photos. This is by J. Scott Schrader and is entitled "At the Old Fishin' Hole". I love this photo because it truly captures the human emotions of having "just one of those days...."

Wonderland of
The Virgin Queen will
Search for Tomorrow

I like listening to www.Launch.com while I am working on my computer. Even though I literally have thousands of songs rated, for some reason it's been playing tracks from the Wonderland film soundtrack. I've not seen the film yet but I need to because it seems to have such a fantastic soundtrack....."....I want to get lost in your rock 'n roll and fade away...." That song has been going 'round and 'round my mind all day.

While the rest of the world watched ABC last night for their Desperate Housewives fix, I watched the conclusion to The Virgin Queen on PBS' Masterpiece Theater. Really outstanding show and I much prefer that format because of no commercials. Another excellent site having to do with Elizabeth I is located at www.ElizabethI.com. Also, I was pleased to see that PBS is going to repeate The Lost Prince in December.

Michael phoned up unexpectedly tonite -- he took me to dinner at Tin Star then to Barnes & Noble to browse and have Starbuck's cocoa. I saw a number of books I was interested in - particularly Queen Isabella by Alison Weir and we had a great time -- it's definitely late November though as it was brisk on the bikes! Another book coming out soon that loks interesting is Isabella of Castile.

I went ahead and listed the Mauro Possobon "Search for Tomorrow" sculpture on Ebay. It's a lovely piece and 1 of only 8 -- though each of the 8 is unique since they feature different coloring and texturing. Typically Posson makes 25 of each in a series. But, we bought it at a time 5 years ago when it symbolized something to us and now we've outgrown it. It's escalated 5x in value in 5 years and is selling now for $12,000 -- I have it listed for a mere $6,000.

Teri wants to ride somewhere for Turkey Day -- suggested the Koffee Kup in Hico....supposedly Hico is hometown of Billy the Kid. It's ok but I don't know why people are so gung ho about going to the KK -- yes, it used to be a Ku Klux Klan meeting place (which is distrubing) and yes they have amazingly high meringue on their pies....but there's more to life than that! When I suggested a film she said she didn't want to have to sit in a theater -- I said, "...you fly to Finland like twice a month -- how is sitting for 90 minutes in a theater worse?!" But for some reason to her it is..... so naturally nothing has been decided yet.

6.5 Billion Hours Wasted Per Week in U.S.

There are statistics saying that the average American watches 8 hours of television a day. If the US population is in excess of 270,000,000 that's a lot of hours squandered. Sometimes I wonder if just half that number, 135million would limit themselves to 8 hours per week, that would free up 6,480,000,000 BILLION hours for other endeavours each week-- volunteer, learning a new language, pursuing a hobby, etc.

If everyone has to die and most of us end up with a headstone, the only key information is the name and the date of birth seperated by a "--" from the date of death. When it comes right down to it, your entire life is summed up by a dash -- that little horizontal line represents years and decades of your life.

The anniversary of my grandfather's death (who was the most sane and dependable person in my life) is on Thanksgiving this year. He was a real estate developer here in Dallas and he was truly the type of person whose word was stronger than any legal document he signed his name to. At his funeral there was literally standing room only because so many people came to pay their respects. Aside from celebrities, I've never seen a funeral that was that packed.

I've always held onto that image and when I think of his life, I think of actual "times" that we had - not of sitting around hours on end staring at a television. I miss him so very much.

Michael said last week that he thinks television is the primary culprit for society going downhill. I understand what he's saying -- people used to dress when they went out, they were more respectful of others and I think in general they were more respectful of themselves.

All the programming on the airwaves is just so much rhetoric. And it's odd -- we know Graham & the telephone and Edison & electricity, but the man who developed the television -- what is his name? I recall reading a story about him years ago and he had such great aspirations for his invention as a learning tool and he became so disillusioned at how it has ended up being used.

I know the time has passed, but it would be nice if the airwaves focused on more positive news. Last week I heard a report that 77% of Americans would prefer more positive news. According to the study, good news makes people feel more positive and have a brighter outlook. Gosh, thanks for sharing that report on the obvious....so wouldn't that have been an optimum time to follow with a positive story? But I guess that is logic trying to be applied to an illogical situation.

So now you know my personal viewpoint on television -- a bit hypocritical as I'm a producer for 2 televsion series isn't it? But the reality is that more and more channels are becoming available and even more people are going to live vicariously through their plasma flat panels while resting in their La-Z-Boys. And they are going to dream and maybe even voice their desire to go somewhere and do something as a result of a show they've watched -- but 90% of them never will. They are destined for lives of quiet desperation and they will die and their lives will be summed up by a tiny, horizontal line on their grave marker.

So how can I live this hypocritical lifestyle you might wonder? Easy -- I'm not the one wasting my life in front of a box. I actually travel, I like figuring out the logistics for the production schedules, arranging the details that go into the various shoots. I meet interesting people and once everything is wrapped, there is a tangible product that millions of people will see.

I guess the draw to being in the entertainment / media industry is that even if you aren't in front of the cameras, there's a part of you that wants to be lasting. It's kind of like having a blog -- you have a part of you that desires to let other people know you live, and hopefully you live an interesting and full life.

The Eye of God gazes down on a Yamaha soundboard

The Eye of God is this very interesting composited photograph from images taken by the Hubble Telescope.

Technically it's a "helix nebula" and is trillions of kilometers long; however, from our vantage point we don't see how long it is - just the side of it that looks like it's a lovely blue eye. No one is sure where the name "Eye of God" came from; however, NASA did not bestow this name on it.

There are some really amazing images taken by Hubble and I'll post more in future daily ramblings.

I must confess that I am not much of an online game player - but there is one game that catches my attention on a daily basis: Pente. If you ever want to challenge me to a game just go to www.Pente.net and my screen name is (big surprise here) "Raine".

BTW, I am looking for a good home for a stellar Yamaha 2408 soundboard. It's in excellent shape and was $20k new -- asking $1225 OBO for it. Due to being so busy with other things it's not being used -- excellent for amateur or pros!! Yamaha 2408 on Ebay.

The Eyes Have It...

Two big openings today -- ended up seeing Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire and it was ok. I still haven't seen Domino yet and I am jonesing to see that.

Michael told me that he was thinking of having my eyes ghosted onto the front of his fairing when his bike is painted. There is a particular photo of my holding a peacock feather up and my eyes are the focal point.

If he actually does that, I think it would be very nice because a guy permanently adorning his bike with your image is almost like having a guy brand your name into his flesh.

I noticed an amusing blog today -- The Google Video of the Day Blog -- definitely check it out because of the clips are so funny!

The other kewl blog is for some bad ass friggin computers at VoodooPC -- definitely check these out!!

Peter Max

Tonite we hit the Design District for the Peter Max show. I could so easily have dropped $100k - so easily. It was a fantastic evening and we hit a lot of the galleries as it seemed like everyone was open and having a soiree.

I showed Michael one of the Peter Max footballs that was selling for $3500 -- I told him when they were first released they were $500. I told him we need to really start investing in more art because stocks never escalate as quickly.

We ended up riding over to Tom Tom Noodle House in West Village -- oh my gosh, how rude. The waitress was treating us like we were an afterthought -- and too bad for her because I was the one paying and I am miserly with tips when poor service is going on. The cuisine was great -- service sucked.

Aside from that it was a great evening.

Original Pride: The Satyrs Motorcycle Club

It's nights like tonight that I realize how great Michael is. He's the only straight guy in the screening at the Magnolia during the Out Takes Film Festival (gay & lesbian) and was totally loving it. We were watching a screening of Original Pride: The Satyrs Motorcycle Club which was one of the first motorcycle clubs. It was interesting to see the comparisons between the gays & bikers as both are accepted yet shunned even in this day and age.

I've seen first hand when Michael's tricked out in his metrosexual self and guys love his clothes and girls flirt with him. But the put the boy in his biker gear and the friggin crowds part like the Red Sea -- it's so funny. And don't think for a minute I don't use it when there's a crowd to get through!!