Observation #413 (The Shoe Bomber Sentenced)

                             

 

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?

Did you know he was sentenced?

Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio?

Didn't think so.!!!

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,' defiantly

stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

Judge Young: "Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years, again to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000, that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you, five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it, or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are not-----, you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said:

'You're no big deal. '

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have, as honestly as I know how, tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty, and admit you are guilty, of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me, you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice, is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers, will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America . That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down."

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Observation #409 (Called out Megan Kelly)

 

Seems, as a society, we have forgotten what journalism is. Journalism is the art of keeping a journal. A journal is not a diary, a diary is a collection of your thoughts and feelings written down as your life unfolds. A journal on the other hand, is a record of events around you as they occurred. The Who, What, When, Where & Why. That is to say the truth. Your thoughts and opinions about it go in your diary. But the truth of the journal is very important, because when you want to reflect back, you want to reflect on the truth, otherwise, of what use is it..? The product you're trying to produce will be flawed, why, because the journal on which it is base is flawed.

I bring this up because I was listening to Megan Kelly, whom I like and respect, but I heard her say, Journalist needed to cover both sides. No...!!!!! and I called her out on it. (I made a comment).

In journalism, there are no sides, there is only who, what, when where & why. That's it... no more... That should be the news... Period.. That way, when I listen to opinion, and this side and that side, I have the same facts (the news) as everyone else. I should not have to go through a metal wrestling match to weed all the opinion out of the news. Which I have had to do for years.

Not sure I can even name a journalist... I see TV faces, pundits, commentators, news readers, what they call reporters, who they send to the scene, to talk to the neighbors and how they feel. What crap..!!! I don't give a damn how the neighbors feel, I want to know who, what, when , where & why. Don't waste my time with how the neighbors feel. I usually turn it off about then. Feelings mean nothing, feelings lie...!!! Facts... I want the bloody facts. But if the facts don't go along with our opinion or how we feel, we tend to dismiss them, or ignore them, or put a new face on them, the at least the facts looks better.

Journalist or suppose to learn journalism in college. (?) What happened..? Seems they have been thought how they feel matters. And it don't, nobody's feelings matter. Feelings are personal, they are a gift from God, learn to tame them, and enjoy them, but they are not news.

See.... I do my own thinking... My parents made sure I did my own thinking. I would say, 'Randy said this,' or 'Larry said that.' And my parent would ask, 'what do you say, and why..?' and I had to answer. Language is just like math, words means things just like numbers. It has to add up, if it don't add up, it don't add up. So you see, in order for me to reach useful conclusions, I need facts, something true I can build on.

Seems today, I am expected to build on how people feel. You just can't do that, feeling lie....Feelings change. This is part of the decline of the country, you can't build on feelings. Journalist are giving us feelings and not facts. They are failing us.

That why nobody gets married anymore, it's based on feelings. You can't build on feelings. Yeah but...Yeah but.... They say you can build a marriage on love. Yeah but... Yeah but.... Love isn't a feeling, it's a form of service, love is in what you do, not what you feel. (What has been forgotten, is the act of love over time will lead to the positive feelings one is looking for. You have to work for it.) 

So...... if a journalist loves his profession, than an accurate record of the truth should be his goal, because his country depends on it, with intentions of building on it. So get your ass in gear and do your job. And if you don't love your job, or if you want to change the world for the better, get the hell out, we don't need ya. We do our own thinking.

Your in Christ

George Henry Nichols

My Thoughts on Flag Burning

                      

Let's speak for moment about what the flag is. A flag is a piece of cloth you wave in the wind, conveying some sort of message. If, instead of conveying a message, it represents a country, then the flag becomes a standard. To fly a standard is to say you are loyal to and uphold the Standards, of the flag you fly.

Now, if you are British, and you fly the British Standard, then you are loyal to and uphold the standards of the King of England. If you are French, and fly a French Standard, the same applies, so on and so forth. Most standards can be traced back to a king, or a monarch, a sultan, a czar, a chief, heap big cheeze, a man. (or group of men, council.) You are flying their Standard. They are know as the sovereign. The country is theirs, if you fly their standard, you are their subject. That's who you are, their subject.

Okay. Let's speak about the American Standard, and why it's different. The founding fathers, mostly being Christians, understood the ten- commandments led to liberty, and that morally, every man was subject only to God. Therefore, morally, every man was equal. So the American ideal, the way the constitution is written, you are not a subject, you are a citizen. That is to say, you are the sovereign. And you are subject to no one except God......and the laws you yourself wrote, as the sovereign. That's why the flag is stars and strips, because there is no king, or czar it's We the People, and we the people uphold the Standards of these United States, that citizens are free to as they will within the parameter of the Standard. That is to say, ya gotta be an honest Injun, No stealing, no unnecessary killing, no drooling over you neighbors wife, it's tacky and leads to problems, you don't talk bad about anybody's mother, it's unAmerican, and ya might get punched in the nose. No drooling over what the other guy's got, cause you're free, go out and build it yourself.

It's We the People, if your representatives are not doing what you want, get in gear, you're the sovereign, vote him out, vote your guy in, run yourself. Do something...!!! (Within the parameter of the Standard.) We are hated the world over, because of our Standard... But you stupid citizens who burn it, realize, you are burning your own flag...My flag...and I take offense.... You are burning the Standard that represents your right to burn it.. Add that up for me. Make that make sense.

In closing, I say, you can burn the flag, but don't be offended, when I'm offended and punch you in the nose... Sometimes a bloody nose goes along ways to jarring the brain into a little thinking... Think before your nose it bloody.

August 28^th 2025

George Henry Nichols

For the Love of Dawgs

I hear a lot of complaining about the dawgs, they're running loose, they pooped in my yard, I'm scared of the them. Bad dawgs should be picked up and dealt with, that's what animal control is for. If they are not bad dawgs, leave them be, better yet, learn their names, makes friends with them. You know your neighbors, know their dawgs. If they poop in your yard, so what, consider it the cost of your first line of defense.

The reason I bring this up, ( even though at this time I don't have a dawg,) is dawgs have been with us all along. They are our first line of defense, weather they be big or little, they are noisy, they don't like strangers, they are territorial, and we are living in uncertain times, with many stranger about.

Burglars, and other assorted criminals don't like loose dawgs. Loose dawgs make them nervous, they are less likely to be comfortable or operate in a neighborhood with a lot of dawgs barking at them.

I repeat myself, we live in uncertain times, with many strangers about. So get over yourselves and make friends with your neighborhood dawgs, they are your first line of defense. A dawg just might buy you enough time to get your gun. Learn to appreciate what God has given you, least he take it away.

God Bless you all

& your little dawgs too.

George Henry Nichols

My Odd Music Odyssey

 Somewhere around 2005 I was at a music convention back east.... I ran into, or you might say meet an old 60's rock & roll star, who part of the British invasion. I'm not going to say who he is, but he had a couple of albums over here. Just for fun, we'll call him Glen. Well he had his granddaughter with him, she was 10 years old little blonde girl.

Well we're listening to the music and talking, and as it turned out, the little girl was quite the talker. Her English wasn't very good, turned out her first language was Welsh Gaelic, her second language was Ukrainian, and she was working on her English. I must say I understood everything she was trying to say.

As the conversation progressed, it turns out the little girl, (we'll call her Jeannie), was a genius. That's right, a genius, a ten year old genius.

Before it was over, Jeannie had ask me to be her pen pal on the e-mail. I explained I was an old man, and she would find me boring, and it wouldn't be appropriate. But she persisted, and Glen chimed in and said, be her pen pal, the two of you hit it off, and nobody will talk to her now that she's a genius.  So I agreed.

I figured it would go on for a few letters, and that would be the end of it. Well as it turned out, we wrote for better than ten years, right up until she passed away at 21 from leukemia.

My heart goes out to anyone who reared a teenage girl, what a ride. It turned in to quite an odyssey, most of which I won't go into. She was a jet setter, and flew all over the world going to various schools, including dance and music schools, for she came from entertainment people. Which brings me to part of the odyssey I want to share here, the world of little girl music.... I was blown away.

Let me mention just for fun, (each letter, the first paragraph was always in the language of the country she was in, and I had to decipher it.)

Right after the music convention, I got the first letter from Spain, she was attending a dance school, she said, they showed them (the dance class) videos of El Club de los Tigrtos, as their standard.

https://youtu.be/vUIOzwZJk4U?si=8RlX_jeEsZts9UFR

Just in case you didn't catch just how many kids they had on that floor, → https://youtu.be/U6_1jEsx7-4?si=8hr214FE3DGpOYDn

She was in a dance class with this girl, Maria Isabel → https://youtu.be/rY5B5BX5A1g?si=r0pSb0gE59db09gn

Again-> https://youtu.be/0Uax6TiZPXo?si=M3wqjCIQliv0KGQ2

Then off to Ukraine, Jeannie had grandparents in Ukraine. This is Assol → https://youtu.be/7tZzrljZ9Oo?si=yCqdMBOB8pZ-k2mg

Next stop was France, seems she new this girl, seems, entertainment people tend to know each other, I learned that as time went on...This girl, Prisso Bette is11 here, https://youtu.be/_Pe9lfAOds4?si=KnqY2Gw32dLfZ04z

Another → https://youtu.be/KxJyjf1zFAc?si=WsiJXnG9Nyz3fK8R 

 Just about this time, I get a video of this girl, Hagawara Mai, from Japan (this isn't the video, but it shows who she is.) Jeannie said, this is a friend of mine in Japan, keep an eye on her, she just went on into the Hello Project, an old geisha school. She's going to have a career. https://youtu.be/-ZajBGe-RkE?si=ILfTTE9Rig-nh3wp So keep her in mind as we go along.

This girl is from Belious. https://youtu.be/4HgFcW2LDVQ?si=UZ4E_gg6BtHntWWu

Another → https://youtu.be/7tZzrljZ9Oo?si=7gF64UONdaGrzCDD

Then along came Christmas and I got this → https://youtu.be/bgXa3lft14I?si=pPDkWIFx7bYTg63H

and this → Peaches → https://youtu.be/a-79sbicwTQ?si=TEqBmjLUTIz0VgOX Sweden I believe.

Then come the spring I get this, I don't know a thing about it, except Jeannie knew who she was, https://youtu.be/LRZ09jkuakM?si=cenh3ZTUc38cFkME 

Same bunch, apparently a family ordeal. → https://youtu.be/CEeeL_0fC3M?si=FCRNgKgAJos1u3P2

Now much of this is related to the Junior Euro Song Contest, because they were all competing. I bring that up because that's where she meet these girls, the Five Angels → https://youtu.be/_NBsZIdpeTE?si=-rqO5cM98rWYXkEs

Who went on to do this → https://youtu.be/NgEI5T98qoA?si=BzD1fkvEnQoqiSiV 

and this → https://youtu.be/4Pc5YQWaYd8?si=PicVu7Zwh07R9Vp- it starts slow, but it's pretty good.

Have you noticed the quality of the music, the production value, a lot of money went into these little girls.... I must say I was surprized.

She told me this girl was her cousin 268 times removed, Katya Ryabova → https://youtu.be/nEGOlNtC5vw?si=CObMGh0ci2Rl2S0C 

this is her in the Euro Song Contest... https://youtu.be/F9wSgC4DhXQ?si=h_-oRjoa7gnO6fjt

Again from Russia, The Tolmachevy Sisters... https://youtu.be/F9wSgC4DhXQ?si=h_-oRjoa7gnO6fjt I think they are twins. 

Again the Tolmachevy sisters → https://youtu.be/ivASIwtHALM?si=fEnN0-JxJav5EucZ I even translated this one.... It's a love song...!!

Now we come back to the girl from Belarus → https://youtu.be/7tZzrljZ9Oo?si=yCqdMBOB8pZ-k2mg

Then off to Sweden, this is Peaches → https://youtu.be/XLz11zLDWfk?si=J_TWYrSFMOLhqR_k 

and this → https://youtu.be/FWTkfGNf_7k?si=YN1kCJ9bIjWHdgaV

This was slipped in to the mix somewhere... Alexandrina Palca → https://youtu.be/ayhnn8IEY9c?si=QkG-a4yfAs0OIgIy

This is Mylene and Rosanne from the Netherlands → https://youtu.be/iCnENq9Nv9g?si=-pcSTD1C9kcCpyMd of course they're twins.

This was one of Jeannie's favorites at the Euro Song contest → https://youtu.be/jzmXhe5Ssrk?si=4vWJCxvyhNZFV2lO Mad Show Boys..

Then Jeannie tells me Mai Hagawara has been put into a sub-group, C-ute, and now has her own camera, every girl in a group has her own camera... https://youtu.be/x051byIonH8?si=EwLMGsM0OrbH6GVT

Keep in mind, this was twenty years, ago so it's not really chronological, but I'm trying. This next fellow taught her piano in Sweden... https://youtu.be/rFllwby6hcs?si=trDkRh5tcpHvi4Qj

Meanwhile, as time goes on, back in France, → https://youtu.be/rFllwby6hcs?si=trDkRh5tcpHvi4Qj

and → https://youtu.be/d3zsEyBoUKw?si=YN5j2bDXdHLtCSC9 I think she went on to be 'Kim Possible' which I think is Disney. https://youtu.be/9zru1EMVLKI?si=r-DYZHQm_b-USblr

So back in Moscow with our cousin, Katya → https://youtu.be/AkHCAN0EOh8?si=PKRRHIUAXsBaU07P

and here she is again at the Euro Song Contest. → https://youtu.be/BehpKIqw-xQ?si=aIb2k2_WdbrEQ89R

I know this is long, feel free to come and go, this carried on for ten years, and I'm hitting the highlights. I find the world of little girl music quite impressive.

Back to the Five Angels → https://youtu.be/xPNIw2yaM0A?si=61fPFSz5EwuGND7_

and a stop in Armenia, 'Welcome to Armenia.' → https://youtu.be/o9w5thMk7J4?si=H7m6LP_yul13CBkj Dalita

Along in here, when Jeannie was 15, everything changed. She found out she had Leukemia, and she was granted a scholarship to the University of Osaka, Japan, to study Quantum Physic and Japanese. By this time she is speaking fluent English, Spanish,French, Swedish, Gaelic, (Welsh strain), Ukrainian and is now going to study Japanese... She informed me she was now Jeannie San... She liked Japan, because she was blonde with green eyes...She was exotic. She said she loved the school (the university) too, because there was no messing around.

She was going to stay with her family friend, Mai Hagawara. As you know, was now part of the Hello Project, which is a boarding School, so she stayed with the family. 

The sub-group C-ute, has now made a video → 'New Blue Jeans' https://youtu.be/L9gDX4mfWtY?si=q6B8ulEzqLpufCJ3 Mai is the one in glasses... 

and then this → https://youtu.be/tFMfTDcr03Q?si=gaLhLo1VoxdS1CmI

Now Mai is part of the Hello Project, an old geisha school updated, well I was told this is 'Sakura Gakuin' a rival school... Seems to me, this number is 'Turkey in the Straw,' which reflects on us, and they love of us. → https://youtu.be/FbId5Fkq-eI?si=Yxcj0oILBhqhR-Xk

Okay, back to the Hello Project, This first number is C-ute, the second number is Berryz Koubou another of the sub-groups. Apparently they draw quite an crowd. Seems each girl has her own camera, ( a little exploring and you will find them), and is assigned a color. When they are in their colors, you'll know it, but the audience knows who's who, and waves a flashlight with their favorite girls color on it.

https://youtu.be/h8Li5TXKzOY?si=eidZPMTLI6C-VYa5

I know I keep speaking of sub-groups, this is Morning Musume, the are the core, the group, so-to-speak. This is 'The Legend of Noisy Girls' → https://youtu.be/q9zybLvi_Ug?si=Nv4qq2Cs2ya7jbAI 

This also the core group, this is Morning Musume. https://youtu.be/JcsHjnLnNyQ?si=5kRTFZWXcRg59ndv

Back to C-ute, they are growing up.... Something happen while I was observing this, These geisha schools grew more and more popular with the public as time went on and the Japanese Idol came about because of the music, that's why I'm still around, I am amazed at how good the music is. (not to mention the production value) Yet..? Where is the band..? Anyway, in this next number, if you pause it right when they line up, from left to right they are, Chisto, Suki, Airies,Maimi and Mai. Notice the cherry blossoms. → https://youtu.be/dLPO7nl6uZw?si=qduWGi2tpH5AC1tb

Down the road a ways (remember we are in Osaka,) there is another rival school Jeannie said were a little racy, but...were really good. AKB48. AKB48 claims to be the most sophisticated show in Japan. And they just might be.. → https://youtu.be/WdhMjzfg6-k?si=SOloPOyKynRMjgYO Look at the faces here. 

Remembered I wondered about the band... Who's making the music..? Well, look at this next number, and look at the faces → https://youtu.be/SuhiIItERLo?si=t024O628cypuq6Sm Keep in mind, these are schools, and schools have a bands. 

They (AKB48) claims they can put 48 girls on the stage at once... we'll see → https://youtu.be/JELg3Ljmv0g?si=u5NlFqEajOvEL-Ys I don't know if you were counting, but there were 5 groups of 12, hummm... That's 60. Actually, that number was rather mind blowing.

This next number just popped up one day, Kusumi Kohura, 'Balalaika' https://youtu.be/BF7J78C3aRo?si=v1C96LTdRb6FQhH9 She does a great trick in this.

Back to C-ute.. https://youtu.be/orxN4z4Yny0?si=1lXUA7tIdYUoU4ld as you can see, they continue to grow up.

And so does the other sub-group, Berryz Koubou. Both groups are no longer considered sub-groups, they have become popular to the point they are idols. They are core. https://youtu.be/PrUPFCF7OTs?si=IApVRsUt8v5Uk4Qj

Both groups were so popular, that at times, they did numbers together... Berryz Koubou & C-ute, 'Happy Song' → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhKWrv4G-mo&list=PLFD332793F0E46FB2&index=95

Well... How many girls can Hello Project put on the stage... Well lets see, Morning Musume is in the orange, C-ute is in the violet and Berryz Koubou is in the blue and the Eggs (younger girls in training) are in white. → https://youtu.be/8MBgv9EbxyM?si=rSs9yqxhLcXwMOkb

This is Berryz Koubou, I don't the name of the number, I call it the 'Burger King Song' → https://youtu.be/gDf2C6K1alI?si=2wHYyvTlPasTDnT_

Along about this time I get a letter from Jeannie, “Have you seen this, a half a billion people have seen this and that pisses me off, cause I'm usually one of the first. I've never heard of him, PSY.” → https://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0?si=dlCZy5qpMNiHnhz-

Remember I said, every girl had her own camera, well here's a number with Mai's personal camera. → https://youtu.be/kCYn9wA7Vqs?si=w2qiZWBy1W0VHcrE

Anybody still here...? I was raised on music, my parents came up in the big band era. My Aunt Henrietta sang opera. So I heard all the great operas, my grandfather was in vaudeville, so I know all the music from the teen's and twenties. I grew up on rock and roll. In my opinion, the big band era was the finest music. It took so much cooperation, and the dancing, Just excellent. So I found the world of little girl music surpizingly good.

I was told by Jeannie, there was a custom in Japan called gravure... It's where the older men, the safe men, admires the little girls, to help sharpen their feminine skills (to help catch a man later). Again this is Sakura Gakuin, sub-group, Twinklestars doing 'Mr. Socrates,' → https://youtu.be/OPFDHW4RFI0?si=IpOP56Kwj6LwI_l1

This next one is the Hello Project doing the broom tap dance... https://youtu.be/EpAG4FeXzHs?si=JtPSsT1lj4bzkmbz

This Morning Musume doing 'Sexy Boy' → https://youtu.be/ebShKgjBGKk?si=B0tyfDlj3LMA29nK

This is AKB48 doing the 'River,” which I think is one of their best videos. https://youtu.be/bQqLKCg-UgA?si=yflrsR3uCZw1NGJn

and the girls at C-ute continue to grow up-> This is 'Kiss Me' https://youtu.be/4l_jiJu4Lfg?si=nZb1-zziffDgf46q Notice here, the money is coming in, the production value is on the rise.

AKB48 doing 'Lucky 7' → https://youtu.be/GRFwFjgDmus?si=F-6JdQV48izxd9NJ

Berryz Koubou doing the 'Mongolian Dance.' → https://youtu.be/uYEKnKopViI?si=8TL95OoInU4YXnc6

This is Maimi from C-ute being the girl on the jewelry box, called 'Foggy Doll.' → https://youtu.be/ZieveaVq4L8?si=T2jWjXb5DyABlYzq

This is another sub-group made up of members of C-ute and Berryz Koubou. Bouno https://youtu.be/zXPs4ZW3tSM?si=N6i8dxSo1zbB2HfC

As you can see, C-ute grows right on up, this is 'Love is like Static Electricity.' → https://youtu.be/_BYPwsocxk0?si=hpov5iHTwaN5gHsv

This AKB48 doing 'Baby, Baby, Baby,' on someone's television show. → https://youtu.be/Ba800i0K2_4?si=E1fveGdjRvhQwLyX

This my favorite number by C-ute, 'Step' → https://youtu.be/4RjYDNPwdvo?si=NVkh_qbOGe2-gOtd

and this, 'Dreamlike,' → https://youtu.be/UBmBGKjFuRQ?si=ellAJoHTIEIxlslI

Jeannie was right, Mai Hagawara had a career...and I saw pretty much the whole thing. Jeannie passes away about this time from Leukemia. And so the video's stopped... But she had opened a whole new world of music to me, that was up beat and well thought out...

Jeannie would want to mention, 'Notice the audience, how quiet and well behaved they are, and each boy has a light shinning for his favorite girl. In most numbers, when done live, the audience has a part, and they know it and sing it...' → https://youtu.be/kzrMqHiv3Cw?si=w_hPlq3E86pTVV9b 

She would also point out, 'Notice there are no stars... The schools don't allow stars, there are lead singers, but they are all idols, no stars. Idol is like a rank, they will be idols from now on.'

If you notice that the number of girls changed, keep in mind, it's a school, and they graduate.

Indeed, they graduate... these idols → https://youtu.be/9aFOJpYmPfE?si=eP7a2rKFkV9y1Ghe not sure how many of these schools there are, but every year, they turn loose a mob of these girls, ready to take on the world,

I did a little crying putting this together, it brought back many memories. To give you an idea of who Jeannie was, here's one of her letters http://thebiggalootfrom.blogspot.com/2014/02/another-letter-by-teenage-girl-from.html 

Good night Jeannie.

PS I most likely have messed up of a lot of this, it was a long time ago. But that doesn't change the music.  

George Henry Nichols

Are You Lost? from - Highway Ramblings

 

If you can't place yourself on a map, you're as good as lost. 

I'm an old OTR truck driver... Did it for years, enjoyed most ever mile. OTR is short for 'Over the Road.' I've been from sea to shinning sea, from the gulf coast to Canada. In fact I've been to all the bordering Canadian Provinces. I always knew where I was, cause I drove there.

When I was a young fellow, a friend of mine was learning to fly. We were up flying once with his instructor, when Byron (my friend) said, “I'm lost,” which Fred (the instructor) replied immediately, “No you're not, you just haven't thought about it.” Then this liturgy followed.

Fred “What country are you in?”

Byron, “Well the US.”

Fred, “What state?”

Byron, “Well Texas, hell I know that..!!”

Fred, “Shut up... What county.?

Byron, “Galveston.”

Fred, “ See, you're not lost.? You just hadn't thought about it. Start with what you already know, you know the direction you're going, so get this plane down low enough, and fly a wide circle until you recognize something, and wa-la you're not lost.” And we did just that. I have a feeling we were never lost. I think his point was, if you're in the plane alone, and trouble arises, there's nobody to ask, except yourself. Get asking. Get answering.

In trucking, or any over the road travel, or even flying, the trick, as simple as it is, is to know where you are, know where you are going, and knowing what route you're going to use to get there. Kind of sounds like life. Choose carefully, consider weather, construction, low overpasses, under-rated bridges, don't be afraid of the smaller roads, if they are rated.

Like I said, I was never lost, cause I was the one that drove there. When you train as an OTR Driver, one of the thing you have to master is map reading. Now my daddy taught me to read a map when we went on vacations.... So I thought I knew how to read a map. Turns out, when I took the class, there was much about a good road map I didn't know. It's full of information if you know how to read it. A trucker treasures his Rand McNally.

Where am I going with this. Well, I been watching Youtube, on Youtube truckers put up videos of their dash cameras as they go down the road. Sometimes they give you an idea of where they are in the title, and sometimes they don't. What I have discovered, (and I am sure many of you have, I am usually late to the party), is, that you can watch one of these trucker's videos going down the road, and within ten miles, you know exactly where you are on google earth, I mean to the mile marker.

There is enough information along most any stretch of highway that within ten miles, you can pinpoint yourself on a map. You can't ask for any better road markings. If you get lost, you can't read. Our fathers did a marvelous job putting together our Interstate, highway, byway, roadway and drive way system we utilized today. To ask for a railroad, or drones or anything else is like bitching about gold. Ahhhh...I don't like my gold...

Not only are the highways well marked, everybody and their dawg wants to tell you something, so the variety of signage out there is remarkable, and each one tells you a little something about what's down the road a ways, sometimes about what you just missed, 'Turn Around!' In many cases they are an art form, and in many cases they are intriguing. In many cases you don't even know what they are selling. Those people need to be fired. I should at least know what you're selling.

There is a serious of billboards west bound on I-10 that run from Louisiana to Arizona, the closer to Arizona, the closer the signs, “The Thing.” The Thing, was in the desert, on the edge of Texas Canyon, which is a place where God hand stacked the rocks. (A place worth seeing.)

I guess one of my points is, You Drivers, don't put your videos up live, put them up after the fact. We are at war, if you put it up live, you can be tracked to within a mile, you're a sitting duck. Quack, Quack..... Put them up after the fact. I enjoy them I do, as an old Driver, but don't put yourself and your cargo at risk for my entertainment. I am just fine with seeing them after the fact. You and your cargo are important, to you, your family, the company, the shipper, the receiver, the consumer, for goodness sake, the country. So be smart and safe out there.

As for anyone else reading this, it's kind of fun. Give it a try, pick a video of a trucker just going down the road, and see how long it takes you to figure out where you are, using google earth as your map. You can even drop yourself on the road to see if you see what the trucker sees. It's an interesting exercise.

Too many people don't know their way to the corner store. Too many people can't place themselves on a map sitting in their house. If you're one of these, then the schools failed you. Reading a map is basic, goes back thousands of years. Learn to read a map, and find out where you are on it. If you have a phone, everybody else knows. So be smart and be safe.

Do you realize that from Orange, Texas to El Paso, Texas is just as far as from Houston, Texas to Chicago, Illinois. I just bragging now, It's as far from Brownsville, Texas to the state line with Oklahoma there in the panhandle, as it is from there to Bismark, North Dakota. As a trucker you learn this, when you finally get out of Texas, state lines start going by, instead of just county lines. It's as far from Houston to El Paso as it is from El Paso to LA.... It's all good driving.

Can be tough in the winter, but what a site. Wisconsin in the winter, is a wonderland, around Christmas, you can't touch it. The beauty is story book stuff. Do you even know where Wisconsin is on a map? There is about two-weeks in Wisconsin when nobody goes to work, they go hunting. So don't pull no stunts in Wisconsin, you might get shot. Wisconsin was one of those states where in the winter, instead of cars outside the bars, it's snowmobiles. You'd see them weaving up and down the ditches.... Were there is a will, there is a way. So..... learn to read a map, find out were you are on it, and find out where your favorite places are on it. You are an American, you should know how to read a map.

July 10^th 2025

George Henry Nichols

Houston Control, Time to Ditch the Networks

 

An open letter to KPRC, KTRK and KHOU in Houston.

To Whom it may concern,

KPRC, KTRK and KHOU, you affiliate yourselves with the NBC, ABC and CBS networks respectively. Through these networks you brought me national news, which I quit watching around nineteen-eighty-two because they were lying, and I knew it, we all new it. But I did watch the locals, Dave Ward, Sara Fryer, Ron Stone, Marvin Zennler, Ron Paul, and I watched a few of the shows....

You have failed me. You should have gotten rid of the networks long ago. They offer you, (us) crap, and nothing more... I know none of the news peoples names anymore, because television has gotten so bad, I don't even turn it on. If it ain't on Youtube, I don't bother... The selection on Youtube for exceeds anything Television has to offer.....

You find things like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H9RtjPVpLU

and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l67uOu4bU0

and everything in between.

You're HOUSTON...!!!! (the name sake of Sam Houston,) Do you really need the networks anymore..? Is Houston really void of talent..? Is Houston void of truth? The networks seem to be. There's what...? Six million people in five counties.... There's talent out there, don't think there's not, go look at Youtube, yes, there is talent out there, go find it, and open a door.

Time to drop the networks and do something new, bold, and give me a reason to turn the damn TV on again. Hollywood and New York are dead. Don't follow them into the grave. Instead, rise up and dust off the ashes from Hollywood and the self-centered world, and take us, Houston, and the rest of the country in a new direction.

If I stand alone in this opinion, so be it.

George Henry Nichols

Hitchcock, Texas