It was a tradition at those shows that the Grateful Dead always hit the downbeat exactly at midnight.  The group I worked for played earlier in the bill, so I was finished for the evening before midnight.

On one of those shows I was done for the evening around 10:00, and ready to party.  But the Dead entourage had filled the backstage area far above the fire law capacity, and even though I had every form of backstage pass, the security guard wouldn't let me in.

I did not party in front of the stage, because I always had backstage privileges.  So I went home, and flipped on the FM broadcast of the show.  And I heard that some stoner had climbed out on one of the huge rafters, creating a major problem and delaying the show.

But I was already home.

When Marco Rubio was majority whip of the Florida House of Representatives, he used his official position to urge state regulators to grant a real estate license to Orlando Cicilia, his brother-in-law, a convicted cocaine trafficker who had been released from prison 20 months earlier.

Rubio did not disclose in the letter that Cicilia was married to his sister, Barbara, or that the former cocaine dealer was living at the time in the same West Miami home as Rubio's parents. He wrote that he had known Cicilia "for over 25 years," without elaborating.

Yesterday, after the site went down, I paid some bills, and started back reading a book that was included in my non-fiction subscription for the year, "The Boys of My Youth" by Jo Ann Beard. It's a memoir that flits back and forth in time, and is told with such humor that it's hard to put down. She really nails it. Now I want to read her novel, "In Zanesville."

Had my big dinner there, danced quite a lot and had a glass wine. Now I'm resting up before getting ready for our dance club party this evening where the food is always abundant and you dance until you drop or until midnight whichever comes first.

That and my phone to call a few folks, and I am all set.

In case I'm not the only one who likes a little Leonard Cohen on New Year's Eve:  Closing Time

Ah we're drinking and we're dancing
and the band is really happening
and the Johnny Walker wisdom running high
And my very sweet companion
she's the Angel of Compassion
she's rubbing half the world against her thigh
And every drinker every dancer
lifts a happy face to thank her
the fiddler fiddles something so sublime
all the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it's CLOSING TIME

I've been here long enough to miss some voices (what ever happened to jeffinalabama?) and to appreciate others (militarytracy and donaldinhawawaii and dadler and CaptHowdy and Anne and fishcamp and kdog and .....)

In any case, I now live in Mexico and find it hugely beneficial to be removed from the US news machine.
But at the same time, I greatly appreciate good news and opinion sources.
So a great big thank you to Jeralyn and the talkleft community!

We are having seafood lasagna for dinner tonight. this is a first as I have never had it before nor have I made it.

for good health and money all year.

Ceaser Goodson's lawyers are looking to make something of this.  In the Porter trial, the prosecution's medical expert said she found no evidence of a prior back injury.  If that's true it could show a pattern of faking injuries.  

Considering the Cougars' victories this season over Louisville (24-21), Vanderbilt (34-0), Cincinnati (33-30), Memphis (35-34), Navy (52-31) and Temple (24-13), it's pretty apparent that those same pundits weren't paying much if any attention to them for the entire season. Houston is easily a Top Ten team that was never really given its just due by those supposedly in the know. And were it not for stubbing their toes at Connecticut in a 20-17 loss, they'd have likely been undefeated but still left out of the CFP.

If the NCAA is going to do a college football playoff, then they need to do a REAL playoff with all ten FBS conference champions, and not this selective four-team ESPN Invitational they're staging. Looking at their overall performance this season and the statement they made in Atlanta today, one can legitimately wonder why the Houston Cougars weren't included.

George Lucas spoke to Charlie Rose this week about the latest "Star Wars" film -- and the Walt Disney Co. probably wishes that he had kept his mouth shut. Lucas has since apologized for saying that he sold the franchise to "white slavers."

We lost 4 games by a total of 17 points.