The Village Hemorrhoid

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Ice Cream, Epstein, And Reid Hoffman

From what I've read in different accounts, ice cream was Epstein code for a minor male. That's not confirmation, it's just what I read.

Valentines Day - A Few Political Memes

Saturday Tunes - Grand Funk Railroad - Some Kind Of Wonderful

Grand Funk Railroad - Some Kind Of Wonderful

Dedicated to the wonderful woman who has made my life such an enjoyable trip. I LOVE YOU Mrs. Schmidt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eZM-rtqBfU&list=RD1eZM-rtqBfU&start_radio=1

Significant Events In Music This Week - 2.14 - 2.20

February 14th In Music

1999 - Lenny Kravitz scored his first UK No. 1 single with 'Fly Away' a No. 12 hit in the US. The track had been used on a TV ad for cars.

Birthdays:

1945 - Vic Briggs. Guitarist with Eric Burden and The Animals during the 1966-1968 period, who had the 1964 US No. 1 single 'House Of The Rising Sun'.

1946 - Doug Simril. Guitar, piano, with the Steve Miller Band, who had the 1974 US No. 1 single 'The Joker'. Also worked with Boz Scaggs.

February 15th In Music

1961 - The Marcels record "Blue Moon."

Birthdays:

1945 - John Helliwell. English musician, saxophonist with Supertramp, who had the 1979 US No. 6 single 'The Logical Song'. Helliwell also played on Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Born in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England.

1947 - David Brown. American bassist who was the primary bass player for Santana from 1966 until 1971, then again from 1974 until 1976. Brown played in Santana at Woodstock and at Altamont in 1969 and on the band's first three studio albums. Brown died on 9.4.2000.

1959 - Ali Campbell. Singer with UB40, who had the 1988 US No. 1 single 'Red Red Wine' and over 30 other top 40 hits.

February 16th In Music

1957 - Tab Hunter's "Young Love" begins a six-week run at No. 1 in America.

1978 - The film ABBA: The Movie has its UK premiere at Leicester Square's Warner Theatre.

1993 - Lynyrd Skynyrd release The Last Rebel, the band's seventh album.

Birthdays:

1932 - Otis Blackwell. American songwriter and producer, wrote ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Return To Sender’, ‘Don't Be Cruel’, ‘Great Balls Of Fire’ and ‘Fever.’ Blackwell died on 5.6.2002. Born in Brooklyn, New York.

February 17th In Music

1972 - Pink Floyd perform "Eclipse”, the music which became the Dark Side Of The Moon album, at the Rainbow Theatre in London. .

1976 - The Eagles release Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), a collection of 10 songs from their first four albums. For a while, it is certified as the top-selling album in US history.

February 18th In Music

1966 - Beach Boy Brian Wilson recorded the future classic song 'Good Vibrations', which went on to become the band's third US No. 1 hit. As a child, his mother told him that dogs could pick up "vibrations" from people, so that the dog would bark at "bad vibrations" Wilson turned this into the general idea for the song.

Birthdays:

1947 - Dennis Deyoung. American singer, songwriter, founder of Styx who had the 1979 US No. 1 single 'Babe'. He was the band's most successful writer, penning 7 of the band's 8 Billboard top 10 singles as well as a solo top 10 single. Born in Chicago, IL.

1948 - Keith Knudsen. American rock drummer, vocalist, and songwriter best known as a drummer and vocalist for The Doobie Brothers. Knudsen died on 2.8.2005 in California, at the age of 56. Born in Le Mars, Iowa.

1953 - Robbie Bachman. Canadian drummer from Bachman Turner Overdrive who had the 1974 US No. 1 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet'. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1953 - Derek Pellicci. Drummer for the Little River Band. Born in London.

February 19th In Music

1878 - Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.

1964 - Simon and Garfunkel record "The Sound Of Silence," which is later overdubbed with electric instruments by producer Tom Wilson. This version is released as a single and shoots to No. 1 in America, launching the career of the duo.

1977 - Manfred Mann's Earth Band scored a No. 1 single in the US with 'Blinded By The Light.'

2004 - Johnny Cash's family blocked an attempt by advertisers to use his hit song 'Ring of Fire' to promote hemorrhoid-relief products. The idea is said to have been backed by Merle Kilgore, who co-wrote the song with Cash's wife, June Carter Cash. Cash's daughter Rosanne said the family "would never allow the song to be demeaned like that."

Birthdays:

1948 - Tony Iommi. Black Sabbath guitarist. Born in Birmingham, England.

1951 - Alan Merrill. American vocalist, guitarist, songwriter. He was the co-writer of, and lead singer on, the first released version of the song 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll', which was recorded by the Arrows in 1975. Born in New York City.

1954 - Francis Buchholz. Bass guitarist for Scorpions. Born in Hannover, Germany.

February 20th In Music

Birthdays:

1944 - Lew Soloff. From jazz-rock American music group Blood Sweat & Tears. They scored the 1969 US No. 2 single 'Spinning Wheel', and the 1969 US No. 12 single 'You've Made Me So Very Happy'. They had a US No. 1 with their second album Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1968. Born in Brooklyn, New York.

1946 - J Geils. American guitarist, with The J. Geils Band who had the 1982 US No. 1 single 'Centerfold', which was taken from their US No. 1 1981 album Freeze Frame. Born in New York City. Geils died on 4.11.2017 at age 71.

1950 - Walter Becker. Bass, guitar, vocals, songwriter with American group Steely Dan. Can't Buy a Thrill, Steely Dan's debut album, was released in 1972. Its hit singles 'Do It Again' and 'Reelin' In the Years' reached No. 6 and No. 11 respectively on the Billboard singles chart and the songs became staples on progressive radio. Steely Dan's Two Against Nature won a Grammy in 2001 for Album of the year. Born in Queens, New York City. Becker died on 9.3.2017 aged 67.

1954 - Jon Brant. Bassist with American rock band, Cheap Trick, who had the 1979 hit single 'I Want You To Want Me', and the 1988 US No. 1 single 'The Flame'. Born in Chicago, Illinois.

Friday Rides - The Good - The Bad - And The Ugly

1958 Chevrolet Apache Stepside With Wraparound Rear Window

(My apologies for posting this late. After yesterdays adventure/shopping trip/Valentines dinner, I was just worn totally out.)

Random Political Social Media Posts - 2.14.2026

Claims made in areas where ICE has a significant presence, is that immigration enforcement hurts business.
If you depend on illegals for either employees or customers, you, in my opinion, deserve to be out of business.
Of course, in Klobuchar's state, many of those endangered businesses are Somali-run fraud emporiums.
The liberal line in the sand appeal is to fairness. Sure, they say, good ol' Juan is illegal and so is his whole family. But he works hard, and he's a good neighbor. There is no reason to deport his butt.

Democrats should know by now, every time they get near a grill a conservative meme is born.

The part that goes "Meow."

Valentine's Day - 2.14.2026

Love is in the air ...

and so is the smell of gunpowder.

Also of major significance on February 14th, 1911, John Moses Browning's application #984,519, on the 1911 Semi-Automatic Pistol is patented.

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/0984519

Friday, February 13, 2026

Kissing The Wife's Ass Today

The wife has today and Monday off because she works at a bank. We're going to take this opportunity to go shopping for a replacement easy chair for her. The one she has is dying a slow death because of a broken spring. It still does what it's supposed to do but there is wood against wood sounds and opening the foot rest is a pain in the ass. She has earned the right to take life easy when she's off so a new chair is in order ... (and I can claim beaucoup Valentine Day points for this because I insisted on a new chair and tomorrow is you know what.)

Today these chairs are stupid expensive. The ones we're looking at are between $800 and $1,100. For a CHAIR. That's crazy, but like I said, she deserves to have a chair that is very comfortable. She has been known to take naps in her chair so it needs to be that comfortable.

So, I will be out shopping for a while. You guys have a great day.

Random Political Memes/Cartoons Dump - 2.13.2026

If you don't speak like this in the UK, you may be charged with a hate crime.

Trump Signs Kennedy Bill Ending Government Payments To Deceased Americans

(Is it just me or does this just seem like something the government should have had a firm grip on WAY before now? ... WTF?)

President Donald Trump signed Sen. John Kennedy's (R-La.) Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act into law this week, permanently closing a loophole that allowed taxpayer dollars to be sent to people who had already died.
Yes, that was happening.
Sen. Kennedy has pressed the issue for years. His 2020 bipartisan reform temporarily required the Social Security Administration to share its Death Master File with the Treasury Department to prevent improper payments. That three-year safeguard was projected to save at least $330 million between 2024 and 2026. The new law makes that data-sharing permanent and strengthens the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system, allowing agencies to cross-check death records before sending money out the door.
Sen. Kennedy put it plainly:
“Using dead Americans to rip off taxpayers is as low as it gets. Many Americans have seen these scams play out across the country and are tired of watching these fraudsters game the system—so am I. That’s why I wrote this common-sense bill to end this outrageous abuse permanently, and I’m grateful President Trump signed it into law so we can ensure taxpayer dollars go to living Americans who actually need our help.”

Press Release:
https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/press-releases?id=9669A1CA-F1E9-47C2-A3D4-DF60152EB97D

The problem, as supporters describe it, was straightforward: The government had the data, but it just wasn’t permanently integrated into its payment guardrails.
The Senate unanimously cleared the bill in September 2025, and the House followed in January 2026. That kind of vote total doesn’t happen by accident.
Sen. Kennedy posted this image from the bill signing:

It’s not sweeping reform. It won’t fix the entire government. But it does something basic that should have been standard practice all along, making sure taxpayer dollars go to eligible, living Americans.

https://redstate.com/ben-smith/2026/02/12/trump-signs-kennedy-bill-ending-government-payments-to-deceased-americans-n2199065