Hallelujah . . .

Brennig mentioned Georgia Garrett, a 16-year-old vocalist from Essex (and competitor on the forthcoming series of Britain’s Got Talent), so I went looking for some of her music on YouTube. She does have a terrific voice for her age. I particularly liked her rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

After listening to Garret's version, I looked around for more, and found this amazing cover by K. D. Lang. Lang started as a country singer, but has amazing versatility and a golden set of pipes.

Listen, if you have a moment.

Dental . . .


. . . nonsense

I have a loose crown on #4 (upper right pre-molar), so I went to the dental clinic in our very nice, new Navy hospital. Of course, I couldn't make an appointment, so I had to go to sick call.

I had gone to sick call last week, and filled out all the paperwork. However, I had to leave because there was no dentist available for my problem. Since I didn't actually see a dentist, they shredded my paperwork, and I had to do that all over again.

After an hour's wait, I was ushered in for X-ray, and had a very thorough exam by a very qualified dentist. The clinic has all the latest equipment, including a direct-to-computer X-ray machine. I stood in a framework, a scanner made a half-loop of my head, and the X-rays showed up on the computer screen.

At this point, I'm pretty confident - then, the results . . .

Dental Tech: Since the crown is loose, we cannot fix it, because that procedure is only allowed for uniformed service members. However, if the crown were detached, we could re-cement it, but cannot do any other remediation. (Flashback to Catch-22).

So, I go to the front desk for a reference and referral.

Desk Clerk: You will need to see an Italian dentist.
Me: Can you recommend one?
Desk Clerk: We have a list, but we cannot ethically make recommendations.
Me: OK, then could I have a copy of my exam and the X-rays?
Desk Clerk: We can't give you a copy of the X-rays. The equipment is new, the only people who can repair it are from the U.S., and it has been down for about 8 weeks.
Me: Any idea when a repair is scheduled?
Desk Clerk: No clue.

Government at its finest . . .

Stars and Stripes . . .

. . . over Naples

When in the states, I fly the flag year-around. While in Italy, we are advised not to, because it advertises us as stranieri (foreigners) to the local low-life crooks. However, today is one of the exceptions, and the low-lifes be damned.

Posted at 0845 EST, 11 SEP 2010)

We're still here
and you're in a cave in Wherethefuckistan
Karma sucks, doesn't it?

Since we have this monster yard . . .

. . . I bought this monster mower.

Oops . . .

. . . misquote!

Barry O had a makeover of the oval office. I'm not thrilled with the beige-y colors, but I don't work there.

Someone gave more thought to the colors than the quotes, however. The quote attributed to Martin Luther King was used often by King, but the original staetement was made by Theodore Parker, a 19th century Unitarian minister and abolitionist.

Parker said: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

I'm guessing that the rug was designed by the same person who drafted our new National Socialist Helth Plan.

Renters' insurance in Naples . .

. . . sucks swamp water.

It apparently isn't worth a plugged nickel. That's probably because there is more burglary in Naples than anywhere else in Italy. Here's how it works.

You prepare an inventory and submit it to the agent. The inventory requires exact descriptions, down to the model and serial number of televisions, computers and other valuable items. Then, the agent sets a rate. The rate for approximately $30,000 in coverage is about $400 per year.

Here's the catch. They don't pay off. If the entire contents of your house were taken or destroyed, you might hope to collect 10-15% of the underwritten value. That's because they require invoices for everything you own, then depreciate it for use. There apparently is no "full replacement value" policy available in this area.

If you don't have invoices, they make determinations like - "Well, maybe it was a gift, and didn't cost you anything." As if that was relevant. Do you have invoices for everything you own?

No, I haven't had a loss or a burglary. I'm just covering all the bases.

I have found that this is a typical way of doing business in Naples. No one is willing to take responsibility for anything.

If someone rams the rear of the car, and you don't have photos and witnesses, the other driver will show up with ten "witnesses" that will swear on the Madonna that you backed into him.

Not that all this really makes a difference to me. Forewarned and forearmed. Once I know the rules of the game, I can play.