Bob O’Leary

The best way I can say it is to play my favorite Christmas song: Joni Mitchell singing “River” with Herbie Hancock and his band.

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Jewelry stores have a new tactic to drum up sales in these tough times: guilt.

And the guilt is focused on us men. The ads tell us that we must buy sparkling jewels for our women or face the consequences.

The first ad from Helzberg Diamonds. In the ad, a guy gives his girlfriend’s Yorkie a bath. When the girlfriend asks why he’s not watching sports with his friends, he insists “It’s just a game.”

Because we’re not “that guy,” we need to give our women diamonds. Helzberg has other ads with men making handmade love cards, giving their women pedicures, and trying to make the rest of the male population feel inadequate.

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Of course, I would like to see “that guy” give his girlfriend’s cat a bath.

That guy is tame compared to this viral video from JCPenney – “In the Doghouse.” This one comes across like a fire-and-brimstone sermon. We men are “held over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider.” We’re scum, and our only salvation is buying baubles.

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I agree that a thigh master makes a lousy gift, but my wife asked for a vacuum cleaner for Christmas – seriously. I’m getting her something else. It may not be jewelry, but I won’t be folding laundry.

My sister Mo makes some great spinach balls for family parties. These little balls burst with flavor in your mouth. They freeze very well, so make some ahead of time and be ready for company.
I recently got the recipe from her and my other sister Peg:

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 2 cups crushed crumbs made from herb seasoned stuffing mix
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

Preparation:

Drain spinach well by pressing in colander and using paper towels to remove excess moisture. Crush enough herb stuffing cubes to make 2 cups of crumbs. Mix with spinach and remaining ingredients in large bowl. Roll into 1″ balls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place balls on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Makes about 50 appetizers.

To freeze ahead, make appetizers and freeze unbaked. Bake, frozen, in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 14-18 minutes until hot and crisp.

The great thing is you can also easily add other ingredients without changing other amounts, temp or cook time.  I have made them with bacon bits and sausage before.  Or you can spice them up with a little Cajun seasoning.  Its good to keep your guests in mind – nix the meat if there are vegetarians and ditto for the spices if you have an older crowd.

If you don’t believe they’re good, check out these satisfied customers:

The day after the election, an African-American co-worker gave me an Obama fan, thanking me for voting for Obama. I thanked her and told her how relieved I was that he won.
While I appreciate how excited African-Americans are about Obama, his race was not really a factor in my vote. OK, it was a little factor, but not much of one. He was just the best candidate for the job.

Yes, the fact that Obama will be the first African-American President is important, but it’s more important that plenty of citizens like me did not let his race be a deciding point. It matters that race didn’t matter. I can’t speak for the rest of the voters, but I would not let a little thing like skin color determine my choice in someone I hire, let alone the President of the United States.

Some people have not moved past that point. Like Rush Limbaugh, who insisted a few years ago that Donovan McNabb was overrated because of his race, they refused to vote for Obama because of his race.

Sorry, but in sports, the “black quarterback” issue went away with Doug Williams’ second quarter in the 1988 Super Bowl. Williams’ five TD passes cam before McNabb. If Obama succeeds, the black president issue is going away too.

Yes, it’s been awhile since I posted. Call it election fatigue or election hangover, but I haven’t felt the urge to post with the fate of the free world no longer in danger. Come January 20th, Obama is going to be the President, and Bush won’t be.

Speaking of Bush….

While I can’t condone throwing items at world leaders, I can sympathize with the Iraqi journalist in the video clip. Buddy, I know your pain!

Come January 20, Bush will no longer be President – the end of an error. The next President will be Barack Obama.

Obama wins. Democrats win all around. Two Republican congressmen voted out in the Orlando area.

It’s a beautiful day!
u2-Beautiful day

-photo by Peg O'Leary-Parsche

I took off of work early Monday to see Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton speak in downtown Orlando. Since I already work downtown, it was just a matter of catching the free bus to the Orena.

Of course, 50,000 people had the exact same idea. Despite arriving two and a half hours early, I had to wait in a winding line that ended blocks away. Disneyworld had nothing on this line.

The crowd was huge but polite. No one complained when people saved spots for their friends.Vendors moved up and down the line peddling T-shirts, buttons, and towels.

“Look,” one man said. “Barack’s already started getting people jobs.”

Many brought their children and grandparents. One other woman said that the crowd was like “a family reunion.”

It was if you had black, white, Asian and Hispanic cousins. Orlando is a pretty diverse city, but this was the most diverse by age and race that I have ever seen in Florida. Race did not seem to matter, but you could sense the pride in the African-Americans. After years of slavery and discrimination, one of their own was on the threshold of becoming the President of the United States.

Eventually we gathered together at the north side of the so-called “Amway Arena.” The “Amway” was covered up with an “Obama” – great move since Amway and the DeVos family are big Republican supporters.

Hillary spoke first. She was a great opening act, getting the crowd fired up. She gave the catchphrase of the night, “jobs, baby, jobs!” a takeoff on the Republicans’ “drill, baby, drill!.”

Then Obama spoke. He touched on many of the same points that he did in his debates and other speeches, highlighting the importance Florida has in the election. While he did not mention his sick grandmother, he mentioned the importance of the legacy many people leave for their children and grandchildren.  His remarks are in the YouTube clip at the end.

Some people said that seeing Obama was a life-changing experience. I don’t know if I would go that far, but it was one I will remember.

Growing up in Florida, I get a chance to see rockets send men into space. I watched the Apollo 11 launch with my own eyes, even though it appeared as a small flame in the Eastern sky. History was not something I saw on TV, but something I actually witnessed.

On Monday, I saw someone on the cusp of being one of the most transformational Presidents in U.S. history. I can tell my grandchildren that I saw men go to the moon for the first time and the first black President of the United States.

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Ok, a short break from Sarah Palin and politics.

JJ wanted me to post this video. It’s one of his favorites on YouTube, and I’d rather have him visiting my site instead of there.

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Imagine the worst of the worst – John McCain wins the election then dies. We would have to deal with a President Palin!

Want to see what it’s like? Check out http://www.palinaspresident.us, an interactive adventure that shows Palin in the Oval Office. Visit often, because new links are added every day until the election.

Ive bashed McCain for his pick of Sarah Palin, and rightly so. But Bush picked Dick Cheney, aka Darth Vader, who trampled the Constitution from an undisclosed location. Of course, you should have seen his picks when he was owner of the Texas Rangers.

Take a look:

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