E. Michael Harrington

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I DECIDED TO OWN MY HOUSE TODAY - TO PAY OFF MY MORTGAGE. So, I called 1-800-Chase-N-Bite-Me, selected "Pay Off" from the menu, eventually reached the second human being (the first human being was a lovely sounding woman from India, the second, a not as lovely sounding woman from the You-Ess-of-Ae). The second woman asked me a question that threw me off (I love being surprised - for a living, I field unexpected questions) - it almost scared and should have scared the hell out of me. Her question was this ------

"ARE YOU IN FORECLOSURE?"

Wow - she asked if I was in foreclosure. That's such a disheartening word.

"Foreclosure - here's the bridge, jump now," kind of thing.

I'm so lucky and grateful not to be in dire financial straits. I hope foreclosure and I never wed.

So, one certified check and one very fast U. S. Postal overnight mail from now and I will be in debt to no one! I expect to finish this stuff by 11:00 AM tomorrow and forever celebrate June 26. It will probably reach Chase on June 27 and I have the superstition that the 27th is always the best day of the month, so the 27th will become even more special.

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Of course I've been loving politics lately as it is always played by funny people who live to try to titillate those who want to be titillated, i.e., voters - us - the real people who deserve the blame for those titillaters having to titillate us titillate-ees.

My favorite politicians - Hillary is now for Barack; Bill will not back Barack until he gets some more satisfaction, after all, Barack ran against Bill Clinton and Bill Clinton's 8 years in office, after all, after that last all, if he praised the only multiple term Democrat since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he would be praising Bill Clinton's wife Hillary Rodham C., so he couldn't do that but now he has to appease Bill as Bill will draw voters because he is the first black president and a once-rock star.

Ralph Nader is criticizing Barack O'Bama for not being black enough. Chris Matthews had a fantastic expression today re Ralph Nader and Ralph's embarrasing (to Ralph) diatribe against Barry O'Bama. Chris, referring to the brilliant effort and book by Ralph Nader - the book that started the CONSUMER RIGHTS MOVEMENT - "Unsafe At Any Speed," called Ralph Nader's criticism of Barack Obama -

here it goes----

Unsafe at any SPEECH

Oh, how I wish I had said that!

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If you're reading this, come visit my house - Doug has done the most amazing job painting and finishing the outside of my house. Now, I have to find someone who can landscape well.....

The Red Sox are leading Arizona, a team named after an entire state and not just a city (don't they have any cities in Arizona?), 5-0 in the 8th inning and I'm almost a homeowner. How can things get any better?

Love,

E

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Posted by EMH at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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LIFE'S GOING BY VERY FAST - THIS moving from Nashville to New York is not easy. I'll be going from a very large place to a very small place (residence-wise, that is). I have to downsize - there's always time or room for cliches - and determine just what are the things and stuff that I really value, enough to ship, pull or tote northwards with me. Do I really need every damn CD, DVD, VHS tape and worse, audio cassette tape that I have? I've needed them for certain matters and affairs so won't I still need them? All of them won't fit into my iPod. Do I need my furniture? My bed? My beds? I've discarded hundreds of pounds of stuff. Damn it - how did I ever acquire so much? It's not like I am a Republican ownership society kind of guy - but at times I must play one on TV.

Does anyone reading this need some stuff, or precious memories of me memorialized as physical artifacts?

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I WAS WRONG - Hillary Clinton finally realized that despite the armies of her lieutenants and minions and even with their strong arming, she will not be the Dem C for President. She really did exit. I've seen a few highlights, not the live event, but I read the NY Times account of her exit. I'm amazed. She's gone and the plight of women and HARD WORKING PEOPLE - HARD WORKING WHITE PEOPLE (to quote Hillary Clinton) - does not seem to have changed much.

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BILL O'REILLY'S EXTRAMARITAL SEX LIFE

This is not an anniversary but it is always fun to reminisce on BILL O'REILLY's sex life. And here is some of his extra-marital sex life. It is a long and sordid account but it is quite noteworthy as this is a self righteous guy who has proudly written books for children - he is a children's author. He must be moral. Read here.

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Time to go pack some more and commemorate these anniversaries:

June 10 - the birth of Howlin' Wolf (1910)
June 11 - Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals )
June 11 - the Houston Astros no-hit the New York Yankees (2003)
June 11 - I met my to-be new girlfriend (2005) (a very nice 93 days or so followed)

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AND THE NEXT ANNIVERSARIES:

June 12 - Paris Hilton is visited in jail by her parents on TAKE YOUR PARENTS TO JAIL DAY (2007)

June 13 - The United States Supreme Court lets the correct decision stand in Newton v. Diamond (suing the Beastie Boys over the compositional value of the notes, C, D flat, and C). The Beastie Boys (the defendants) won. (2005)

June 14 - FLAG DAY and the anniversary of my first full body massage (Galena from Russia on 9th Street and 7th Avenue in Park Slope Brooklyn). Galena was my first and still best. (2007)

Love to all those who need it.

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Posted by EMH at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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The following is from January 31, 2007. It is not new. The January 31, 2007 entry is now found here on June 5, 2008. It's a long story.

I fly to NYC this afternoon. Now, to January 31, 2007:

GEORGE BUSH and his team of actors are determined to attack Iran. They will concoct and stage anything necessary to "prove" that Iran is what is making Iraq fail. They will catch some guys doing something bad and aiding some Iraqis whether these Iraqis are homegrown Al-Qaeda, Sunni, Shiite or simply unemployed Iraqis with murdered relatives who hate the U. S.

We lost in Iraq but did the shock and awe very well. (Our geeks who designed the smart bombs are tremendously skilled - our geeks are better than their geeks.) We'll win SHOCK and AWE 2 but lose whatever it is we are trying to "win" there. I am ashamed that Bush is the President of this perfectly-founded country. We were the world's favorite nation in Septmeber 2001. Now we are one of its most hated, and certainly the only one who's most recently shock-and-awed the hell out of an innocent and unthreatening country.

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I WANT TO BE FOOLISH and make a prediction (I'm always wrong on these - note to self: proceed) - McCain & Lieberman 2008 as the Republican ticket. They're both very conservative, very well known, can raise lots of money and will say and do almost anything to get elected. Lieberman can make himself look like sich a gutsy maverick by crossing party lines and becoming the opportunist holier than thou Republican that he is.

But McCain and Lieberman, two men who do not suffer from strong convictions that aren't easily shaken off, plae in comparison to the sleaziest, mos wishy washy and most unbelievable of politicians - Mitt Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts. He was pro choice and pro gay rights and pro all issues to the left (how else does a Republican get elected governor of Massachusetts?).

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The RIAA are now taking their cyber war to the ground as they arrested DJ Drama with micro shock and awe, and guns and handcuffs, for the facedown DJ Drama. Mix tapes... ahhh.. if it's not peer-to-peer networks and file sharig, then it's mixtapes that are killing the recording industry. Arrest DJ Drama and the message wlil be sent and the mixtape market will disappear, the FBI can go back to looking for the non-mixtape terrorists and music fans will buy full length CD's in brick and mortar retail stores as the urge to fileshare and mixshare will be terminated and everyone (every executive of significance in the music industry) will live happily ever after.

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Pitchers and catchers report on February 16, at least this is how the Red Sox spring training will begin. Football is over - YEA! Baseball and spring are almost here.

We will likely get snow in Nashville tonight. But Spring training is almost here. Baseball and Shock and Awe 2 will be here before you know it.

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Posted by EMH at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I WAS SORRY TO HEAR that Bo Diddley died yesterday. A few friends called to my attention that I had been quoted in the Associated Press article about Bo Diddley's death. I did a search and found that the AP article had been picked up by a lot of new sources including many that had never interviewed me (as how it is supposed to be). But it is funny to see my name in the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, CBS News, MSNBC, Time Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, the Washington Post and other unusual places including newspapers from great states I've bicycled across - the Idaho Statesman, Arizona Central, the Montana Standard and the Wyoming Eagle Tribune.

Sadly, the AP piece also appears in Fox News.

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Google News suggested that I write commentary on Bo Diddley, so, heeding their advice, I wrote a few words about Bo Diddley.

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I WILL BE LEAVING NASHVILLE and moving to the New York City area sometime in August. After having lived here since 1985, it will not be an easy move. I've loved many aspects of life here, especially my friends, and it will be tough to leave them. The best and worst and most challenging thing for now is trying to get my life in order and give away, throw away, recycle away and sell a lot of stuff. I'll need help. If you're reading this, wish me well, or a conclusion, or help me or send help my way! LOL

More on why I am leaving and where I am going later.....

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Will Hillary Clinton ever quit the race to be the Democratic nominee?

Is she doing boilermakers and talking to paintings of presidents at night, like Richard Nixon, or is she simply doing boilermakers and wondering whether Barrack O'Bama is a Muslim?

What will come first - Hillary Clinton conceding that she lost, or me moving out of my house? The likely answer is the latter.....

To be continued....

Annuit Coeptis......

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Posted by EMH at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)