esua

always an interesting one......obviously some sort of link to Vietnam , but also very biblical....wish I could go back in time and see it live with Jerry alongside one more time......I think I only saw it once over the years....it definitely has not surfaced in the post Jerry world.....I always thought about about 5th avenue Jim ( the guy that walked Bayridge with a quart of bud shouting obsenities) ......when I heard that lyric "shadow boxing the apocolypse and wandering the land" ....I think if I ever loose it.....I mean REALLLY Loose it........off the deep end material, not just slightly touched in the head....I too might like to wander the land drinking 40 ounce bottles of Bud , shouting at the moon and frightening passersby.........soemthing to look forward to in my old age...........maybe the new Sweater Night Ramblers can add this to their setlist by FebBREWary.......

Hoboken Train

Dude used to ride the rails with us to Newark, but one can of beer a week was too much for him....whaaaaaa........get DANO into Margoland.....he's the next natural

working class hero

Chaz looked right at home on the 6:19 out of Hoboken last night, bag of iced down beers at his feet, very comfortable in that 5 seater, Wally Pip Whalen may have trouble cracking the starting lineup ......especially with Pat Molloy getting a parking space come Sept 1st. If chazzie lands this gig at the Javitts center....LOOKOUT............Collins may even take a par time job , just so he can ride the rails with the working class heros.........unless of course we hit Mega last night, then all bets are off.

giacomo revisited

hindsight is 20/20 my friends, but still....with all the deadheads we know.....why were we not fully entranced in the Giacomo Camp.....see below from the Grateful Dead Annotated lyrics

Thanks to Adam Wasserman for the following information:
Iko Iko (as well as other songs such as Big Chief, Hey Pokey-Way, New Suit, Fire Water) has a very specific meaning. They are all New Orleans Mardi Gras songs about the Black Indians. Black Indians are parade crewes (tribes) that parade through the New Orleans streets on Mardi Gras wearing extravagant ceremonial Indian clothes. They face off when they meet and have battles of clothing, dancing, and singing. The Spy Boy is a ceremonial position (the front runner who scouts out other tribes to do battle with) as is the Flag Boy, Wild Man, and Big Chief. Friends and family who follow are in the "second line" and are therefore second liners. So lines like "My spy boy to your spy boy, I'm gonna set your tail on fire" are ceremonial challenges to the other tribe."Joc-a-mo-fee-no-ah-nah-nay, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay" is a ritual chant used by the Mardi Gras Indians which has been around for so long the words are no longer clearly distinguishable, and it has a well understood meaning of its own. Very, very loosely translated it signifies "we mean business" or "don't mess with us". Originally it would have been Cajun (a liberal mix of French and English) and literally translates to "the fool we will not play today".
One additional comment on the origins/meaning of "Iko":
"Iko and un day are Creole corruptions of the Gambian call ago! [pay attention] and the expected response, which is amay! [I/we are listening]. Chuck Davis of the African- American Dance Ensemble, which is based here in Durham, uses this device ubiquitously when he acts as Griot (master storyteller/master of ceremonies). When he calls "ago!" everyone is supposed to shout "amay!"--no matter what else is going on. He likes to slip this into the middle of various narrations just to make sure folks are paying attention. He also uses it as an introductory, "calm down" sort of exercise before he starts to speak, or to quiet the crowd if it gets noisy while he's speaking."

the full court press is on

now that we are less than 30 days from the 9/11 anniversary you will see a blitzkrieg of coverage by the media. eveyone human interest story, every family dealing with the aftermath, every story about rescue workers divorces and widows living lavishly or anything having anything to do with that day will be drug up and stuffed in our faces. Count how many pictures of the towers in flames you see between now and Sep 11 in the News and Post....better yet, avoid the papers all together and you'll sleep better.

question of the day

due to a breakdown in communications in the County of Monmouth there is no "question of the day" today. instead we ask readers to submit their favorite "you know who" humurous anecdote

jerry revisted

........I remember it like it was yesterday.... The night before Jerry died I saw Bob Weir and Rob Wassermen in Central park.......I was working for Waterhouse in 44 Wall Street when I heard....I immediately went to the Blarney Stone , ordered a cold one and a played Dead on the Juke box for an hour or so.
When I got back to the office they thought someone in my family had died ( in a way they were right) because I recd 15 to 20 personal phone calls.......my desk was littered with yellow stickies......Call Mac, Call Dano, call Donn, call Cogs, don't call Rog , Call Rocco etc etc.........a lot of people thought of me when they heard the news I guess.........went out in Bayridge and tied one on that night too. think I'll tie one on tonight. listening to the Dead and looking at my Tug Mcgraw scrapbook.

terror plot busted

I sent this letter to the editor of the NY Post today, let's see if they print it.

Remember the outrage at the Federal Government listening to private phonecalls of U.S. Citizens. Remember the rhetoric and outrage about invasion of privacy and violation of civil rights. As if a having citizenship magically precludes a person from committing an act of terror against their own nation. Thank God Scotland Yard did not fall victim to this political correctness, thank God they continued to profile British nationals.

mariano rivera

all were having a truly saturnalian time in good ol brothers when suddenlty the topic of conversation switched from a pleasent chat about Mark Mcgwires non home run basehits to a heated discussion about Mr Riveras post season blown saves.......I don't know how or where to begin deciphering the reference to myself and the recently departed Tug Mcgraw......we'll have to save that discussion for a rainy day. We need to bring " you know who" back into the circle of friends ...if for no other reason than to act as the lightning rod to our agression.

observations / predictions

I know it's early, but keep your eyes on Baltimore Road for the 2007 Kentucky Derby.
Bluegrass Cat is looking better everytime out, watch him in the breeders.
Mets verse A's in the World Series......Mets in 6 .
Giants will make the playoffs, Cowboys will not. Owens will have a quiet , low impact year.....a big yawn in big D.
Navy will capture the Commander-in-chief trophy....again....although Army should be vastly improved. West Virginia will play ND for the National Championship....
" you know who" will come out of the closet in time for the Halloween Parade.

that's it for now........

SNIX is coming

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

“ Woody Guthrie”



The fiery hot topic of illegal immigration has raised it’s ugly head again. Foreign scoundrels with their stupid accents sneaking across our borders. Placing their kids in our schools and refusing to assimilate. Euro Trash coming to our pristine shores and stealing jobs that North American can not or will not perform. Drug smuggling terrorist wanna -bees that refuse to pay taxes or contribute to society in any acceptable way.

I am of course talking about the invasion of Czechs, Ruskies and Slovaks into the National Hockey League., and it must be stopped now.


But seriously folks, no two stories are the same , we need to avoid sweeping statements and generalizations. There are good, decent , hard working, starving, HUMAN BEINGS on our shore, just trying to survive…..not succeed. They are not all funneling cash back to Al Queda or hawking bootleg videos on street corners. although some certainly are… (see Amediu …they killed you again ). We certainly need stronger Law enforcement to protect our norms, but we cannot become gun shy or atagonistic towards everyone. I would surmise that 90% of the folks that receive this letter come from families that migrated to the US post 1850. 150 years is not a long time in the History of Man…..There but for the Grace of God go we…... Over the past 50 years we have gladly accepted defectors from our sworn enemies as a tool for reinforcing that our idealogy was right ( See Russia, Cuba, Iraq etc etc) , by that same token we should not punish the impoverished citizens of our allies or friends ( see Mexico today and Ireland in the 1980’s / 1990’s) just because they are not fleeing oppression at the hands of a dictator. To build a fence across the Mexican border would be the saddest mistake this country can make, not just because Canada is inundated with Arab Terrorist and our focus should be to the North, but because it would be the ultimate surrender to our inability to effectively Govern….shutting yourself in is never the answer….not to mention it would be the equivilant of handing out a death sentence to millions of innocent people that mean us no harm. A work Visa program that guarantees basic Human rights for our guests is a start… and spend the fence money on prescreening and background checks on those that apply for citizenship.
Back to the serious subject of Hockey……..by the time you receive this in the mail the Edmonton Oilers should be celebrating their first post-Messier Stanley Cup……but I have been wrong before.

In case you were attending a Sweet 16 , or if you failed to receive a formal invite , Sweater Night 8 (Nate) was a rousing success . Those who could attend were glad they did, those that could not were missed……except "you know who" who was NOT missed by anyone…….Cold Beer and Hockey Fights were the flavour of choice.

Preperation for Sweater Night 9 , henceforth referred to as SNIX , is well underway....suggestions are always welcome, so don't be shy.....log onto this blog and make a comment or two.......except you Rog.....we refuse to make this a NIKE love-in , so keep your sad suggestions and your BUSCH Beer to yourself.

lorenzen

don't be surpised when Jared Lorenzen wins the backup position to Eli in training camp....and don't be shocked when he gets into a game when Eli comes up lame and he leads the g-Men to Victory....beat the Christmas rush, get your personalized Lorenzen Jersey Today..........

observations

Bullett Points from the Bean Post Window

Despite a hornets nest of internet activity suggesting the opposite, there is no proof to substantiate a link between Brendan O’Briens bachelor Party and the compromising of the 13th street canal Levey in Norleans. Loius Farrakhan claims that white men stuffed sticks of dynamite into the levey’s long before Katrina made landfall. At presstime these two events remain an eery coincidence


Does anyone else see a correlation between the fact that the USMA at West Point is no longer able to attract a certain athletic ethnic group to play football and the fact that the Country is at War?

It’s also a safe bet to say that the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy ain’t leaving Annapolis anytime soon…..take off your coat and grease your throat, trophy, cause you ain’t goin nowhere.

If you want to contribute to the building of the September 11th memorial at the World Trade Center Site, you can do so online at www.buildthememorial.org , even if your not interested in making a contribution it is a good site to visit and sign up for email updates , news items etc etc.

It is safe to say that Jacques Demers has NEVER read one of my sweater night letters.

Forget Toussaint…….Free the Real Roger…………Just because he’s part French and works for a Knotzee Bank….doesn’t mean he’s not a good goy…..get that dagger out of his back already…..

The New Sweater Night Ramblers have been unceremoniously dumped as the Official band of SN9 for Catholic Bashing and homophobia……..Dan Woods and his zoozoophone is in the front to replace them

Due to the rising cost of stamps, we will be purging the Swetaer Night Mailing List…..folks who have failed to attend 3 straight events are in danger of being removed from the mailing.