Cabbages And Kings

Man Plays Bohemian Rhapsody - All On His Own! Brilliant!

2012-02-17T07:31:00.000-08:00

One Dog & Its Board

2012-02-16T00:06:00.000-08:00

Limpop Pool Table

2012-02-15T00:39:00.003-08:00

Rack ‘em up! – marula berry in left side pocket…

...and the moral of the story is that if you have a goal, a lack of resources need not stop you achieving it!

Whitney Houston Dead At 48

2012-02-12T01:26:00.000-08:00

Whitney Houston was found dead today in a Beverly Hills hotel room.

Paramedics arriving at the Beverly Hilton found the singer's body.

While the cause of death is still unknown, Houston's publicist Kristen Foster has confirmed the sad news.

Houston had been scheduled to attend the annual pre-Grammy party of music mogul Clive Davis, who discovered her, tonight and had attended rehearsals for the event earlier this week. The party was still held, and Davis asked for a moment of silence as they dedicated the evening to Houston.

Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said at the pre-Grammy gala that Sunday's Grammy ceremony would include "something appropriate" in tribute to the singer, including a performance by Jennifer Hudson. "What's beautiful about Whitney is the legacy she left."

"Whitney always hit you with that beautiful smile, that incredible energy" said Diddy, who also attended Davis' pre-Grammy gathering. "Whitney Houston had the greatest voice in the world. We truly lost an angel."

The Recording Academy released the following statement on Saturday evening:

Six-time GRAMMY(r) winner Whitney Houston was one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time who leaves behind a robust musical soundtrack spanning the past three decades. Her powerful voice graced many memorable and award-winning songs. A light has been dimmed in our music community today, and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, fans and all who have been touched by her beautiful voice.

Houston, the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, was known for her string of hits in the Eighties and Nineties, including "The Greatest Love of All," "I Will Always Love You," "How Will I Know" and "I'm Every Woman." She also had an acting career, appearing in The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale.

In addition to her six Grammys, Houston also won two Emmys and 22 American Music Awards. Her rendition of the national anthem at the Super Bowl in 1991 is often considered the standard by which other versions are judged.

She was married to R&B singer Bobby Brown from 1992 to 2007, and the couple had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, born in 1993. The couple appeared in the reality TV series Being Bobby Brown in 2005.

In recent years, Houston was more known for her tumultuous personal life and struggles with addiction.

Reaction to her death began pouring in throughout media outlets, including Twitter.

Mariah Carey released the following statement:

Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable Ms. Whitney Houston. My heartfelt condolences to Whitney's family and to all her millions of fans throughout the world. She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth.

“Whitney was family to me," Smokey Robinson told CNN. "I will always love her. She is one of the greatest voices in the history of music."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/whitney-houston-has-died-20120211#ixzz1m9rWxIsB

Watch What This 90 Year Old Couple Does at the Clinic

2012-02-05T09:18:00.001-08:00

1951: Larry Griswold Was One Crazy Comedian

2012-01-31T08:56:00.000-08:00

What Is The Purpose...?

2012-01-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Well, today I thought that I might ask CNN why they schedule a programme and then, time after time, the show is dropped - with no word of apology - for some other thing, lately, the American politics fight for a place to oppose Barrack Obama?

I know that CNN is US based, but they are an international news station...

See if you have any idea of which programme I care to watch, but have found the menu to be very slim picking of late. He chatted with Morgan Freeman, Jane Fonda, Rob Lowe, Bruno Mars... Yes, I do watch "Piers Morgan Tonight" - well, I try but I just seem to just record political rhetoric...

Mmmm...

I've Had Days Like This...

2012-01-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

People & Nature...

2012-01-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

Great Card Trick

2012-01-07T00:49:00.000-08:00

The MacGyver of Photography?

2012-01-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Original BOGOF?

2011-12-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

I was watching "Never Mind The Buzzcocks" the other day and was staggered to learn that the group Heatwave who charted with "Boogie Nights" in the 1970s probably were the first BOGOF ever!

Believe it or not, both sides of the 45RPM single were exactly the same!

Neat trick!

This Incredible World

2011-12-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

Little Belgian Boy Saluting Canadian Troops.

2011-11-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

Howzit

As a former member of the uniformed forces (way back in my youth in Africa) this clip really did get my appreciation...

Take care.

'debvhu

Mash Up 2011 (19 songs in 1) "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" Mandu DeeJay Remix

2011-11-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

Glass Masters at Work: Vittorio Costantini

2011-11-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

Murmuration: Nature's Greatest & Most Fleeting Phenomena

2011-11-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

Talented Young Artist From Yangon, Myanmar

2011-11-05T05:27:00.001-07:00

Claude Debussy: Clair de lune

2011-11-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Zambezi News

2011-10-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

Freddie Merciry Reincarnated - In a Guitar?

2011-10-26T01:56:00.000-07:00

Michael Winslow - "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin

2011-10-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

North Coast of Cornwall: Cliff Fall Into The Sea

2011-10-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Barclay James Harvest - Suicide

2011-10-13T05:32:00.001-07:00

One Handed Piano Player - I Love it!

2011-10-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

Really Hard Rugby Hits

2011-10-08T01:11:00.001-07:00

Josh Krajcik - "At Last" - An Amazing Audition!

2011-10-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

"Someone Like You" Duet - Just Beautiful...

2011-10-03T01:38:00.001-07:00

NASA Satellite Falls On Car...

2011-10-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

This Guy Sounds Like Freddie Mercury...

2011-09-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

Billie Jean Gone Wrong

2011-09-25T00:41:00.000-07:00

Bored...

2011-09-24T09:20:00.001-07:00

Hero Saves Man On Tracks...

2011-09-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

We need more people like him on this earth...

Longevity

2011-09-19T10:54:00.001-07:00

A man ninety years old was asked to what he attributed his longevity. I reckon, he said, with a twinkle in his eye, it because most nights I went to bed and slept when I should have sat up and worried.

Perpetuum Jazzile - Toto's "Africa"

2011-09-14T10:25:00.001-07:00

Tango - of some note!

2011-09-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

Art With Salt - The Joker

2011-09-13T05:16:00.001-07:00

Leon Schuster - Ole Ole Ole (We Are The Champs)

2011-09-09T03:18:00.000-07:00

Go Springboks!

Four Cord Song - Axis of Awesome...

2011-09-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

2011 Rugby World Cup Flash Mobbing

2011-09-04T23:00:00.001-07:00

Awesome!

2011-09-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

2011-09-02T02:54:00.000-07:00

If this doesn't bring a tear to your eyes...

Iraqi Refugee sings John Lennon's "Imagine" on Australian X Factor

Chris de Burgh - St Peter's Gate

2011-08-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Bully Cat Stuffs Cat In Box.

2011-08-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

Gravity Is A Myth - Earth Sucks...

2011-08-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

Interview With A Homeless Man Addicted To Crack

2011-08-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

Governments

2011-08-25T02:06:00.000-07:00

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
- Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed."
- Mark Twain

Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a Member of Parliament....
But then I repeat myself.
- Mark Twain

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man, standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
- Winston Churchill

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money...
- G Gordon Liddy

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
- Douglas Casey

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else.
- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
If it moves, tax it.
If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And, if it stops moving, subsidize it..
- Ronald Reagan (1986)

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
- Will Rogers

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
- P.J. O'Rourke

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
- Voltaire (1764)

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean Politics won't take an interest in you!
- Pericles (430 B.C.)

No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
- Mark Twain (1866)

Talk is cheap...except when Parliament does it.
- Unknown

The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.
The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
- Winston Churchill

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
- Mark Twain

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
- Thomas Jefferson

Childhood in Rhodesia

2011-08-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

Let's reminisce my friends,

I thank God that I had such a wonderful childhood in such a beautiful country..

Close your eyes... and go back in time…

When milk and newspaper were delivered to your back door;

The grocer used to deliver your groceries to the house and in brown paper bags.

Doctors would be too happy to visit you at home at 2 am, not only that they became personal friends;

Petrol cost 4/3d a gallon.

The "hot dog stall" near Bogies clock in Gwelo served the best burgers in town;

Before the Internet or the Apple Mac... Before semi-automatics, AK-47s and crack cocaine...

But pellet guns… BSA were OK

Before SEGA or Cartoon Network... Before Playstation and MTV, and CD's and DVD's...

Way back..………

I'm talking about the time of Drive In cinema’s ,Hide and Seek in the park or the dark;

The garage down the road, the Gremlin, Palace Cinema,

Mom dropped you for morning matinee for 1/3d of Tarzan, Batman and Robin and swapping comics too.

and Nicks Cafe; Mermaids Pool, Dandy & Beano annuals,

French skipping; Swimming till your feet went wrinkly,

Jumping the river; Building a swing from a piece of rope tied to a tree;

Tennis on the street or picnics in the backyard when Guy Fawks was cool,

The smell of suntan lotion, hot tar and Mazoe Orange Juice;

Dandy bubble gum for a cent; An ice cream from the Dairy Den on the corner.

Wait, can you still remember...

When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like goingsomewhere,

and your mother made you "dress up" for the trip;

A million mozzie bites and peeling skin in Summer,

Sticky fingers and sand in and on everything; wag ‘n bikkies, stingers & climbing trees,

Walking or riding your bike to school & friend's houses - no matter what the weather;

Playing in the Makabuzi was such fun, but the 21 Bilharzia injections which followed were no joke.

Running till you were out of breath; Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt;

Jumping on the bed.... Pillow fights; Spinning around, getting dizzy... falling down,

huga bugs and hoola hoops; Being tired from playing...

Remember that?

A piece of card in the spokes held by a clothes peg transformed any bike into a motorcycle;

I'm not finished just yet…

Can you still taste and smell...

Eating raw jelly or Tree-Top from the packet,

Ice lollies made from cold drink in plastic holders in the freezer;

Eating Willard's Peanut Butter on the fattest slice of fresh Lobel's bread?

Fresh cream Doughnuts from Bake 'n Take after church on a Sunday,

Boiling tins of Condensed milk to make caramel - took hours!

Roast Beef on Sundays and Ox Tail too.

Remember when…

There were two types of takkies - Tommies and North Stars, and the only time you wore them at school, was for "PT", Wearing shoes with the toe caps cut off was accepted by all.

Slip slops to wear were just a ball

How hard you tried to swop your hostel sandwich for a day Skie’s (day scholars) lunch… no luck

The skin on the boiled milk at the hostel?

It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends;

Nobody owned a pedigree dog.

Sixpence could buy you a coke, wilson toffee, nigger ball, and wrights bubble gum;

25 pence was decent pocket money;

or your house boy was also called Sixpence.

Sixepence, would fetch you from school on his bike and you would ride the bar or the carrier.

And hang on for dear life through the bush paths home.

When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for 5 cents and feel lucky.

When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.

Remember when…

It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb or make 10 cents appear from behind your ear? When it was considered a great privilege and very unusual to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant or in a proper hotel or even better ,

Haddon & Sly, or - Meikles...

Remember when…

Any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or get him to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it;

When being sent to the head mistress's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of muggings, drugs, gangs, aids etc.

Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat... and some of us are still afraid of them!!!

Didn't that feel good just to go back and say,

Yeah, I remember that?!!!!

Remember when...

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo."

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Ninger!"

Or revulsion was just “Siss Man”!

"A race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

Money was handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly",

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.

Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a 'BIC' pen/paw paw branch pea shooter

or an eraser catapulted by a 30cm ruler, or the catapult made from golf ball elastic twisted on your leg to shoot bits of orange peels .

Taking drugs meant chewing on 'Cafenol' chewable vitamins or Cod Liver Oil...(yuk);

Colcom Ham, Flings, Willard's Chips, rock-hard marshmallow Easter eggs and

Best of all... kudu biltong from uncle Scotty’s farm

Coke were considered basic nutritional requirements(and don't forget Tomango Tomato Sauce)

and Hubbly Bubbly.

Coke top collections got you plastic animals Elephants and sable, baboons and hyenas.

Good times were always had at the following places - any evening of the week...

The Blue Gardenia/The Gremlin/The Yellow Orchid/Fritz in Byo /

across the Border at Maria's, or Merna Brown's place, or Machipanda,

and don't forget the Little Swallow.

Hiking in the Chimanimani’s the Vumba and Troutbeck or trips to Kariba, Wankie, Lake Kyle or Vic Falls

Strip roads to Zimbabwe ruins.

Game parks were the best Wankie, Chirundu, Gona Rezoa, Mataopos, Bumi and all

And what about an afternoon at the following places...

Matopos Hotel/Rhodes grave/Mazoe Hotel/Mermaids Pool/Aloe Park/Hot Springs/Lake Mac/Rusape Dam, Pie and Gravy in Meikles Umtali on a Sat morning with the mates,

Mixed grill at Helen's Umtali for 7/6d.

Window shopping at night without fear of being harmed;

Skills and courage were discovered because of a "truth or dare"

Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

Remember when...

Jacarandas, Flame Lilies, Kaffir booms and Msasas’s bloomed

Afternoon tropical Thunder storms rained cat and dogs,

The smell of first rains and the Flying ants that followed by the zillion.

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!

Il Divo - "Amazing Grace"

2011-08-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

The sheer power of the one singers' voice in the second last verse is truly staggering!

Digital Clock

2011-08-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Amazing, but confusing digital clock...

The Last Page Of The Internet

2011-08-18T11:47:00.001-07:00

I saw this on a forum I visit... I thought that it was cool!

The Last Page Of The Internet

Danny Macaskill - Industrial Revolutions

2011-08-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

A Mad Motorbike Stunt...

2011-08-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

Do Up Your Seat Belts, strap on your parachute.

Red Bull paid the American biker $2 million for this stunt.

After the jump the biker said he will never do it again, not even for $10 million...

Brilliant Advertisement - But What Is It For?

2011-08-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

Guess what this advert is before the end...

Oil Change Instructions

2011-08-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

Oil Change instructions for Women:

1. Pull up to Dealership when the mileage reaches 5,000 miles since the last oil change.

2. Relax in the waiting room while enjoying a cup of coffee.

3. 15 minutes later, scan debit card and leave, driving a properly maintained vehicle.

Money spent:
Oil Change:$24.00 with coupon
Coffee: Complementary

TOTAL: $24.00

Oil Change instructions for Men:

1. Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and a scented tree, and use your debit card for $50.00.

2. Stop to buy a case of beer, (debit $24), drive home.

3. Open a beer and drink it.

4. Jack truck up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.

5. Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.

6.. In frustration, open another beer and drink it.

7. Place drain pan under engine.

8. Look for 9/16 box end wrench.

9. Give up and use crescent wrench.

10. Unscrew drain plug.

11. Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on you in process. Cuss.

12. Crawl out from under truck to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.

13. Have another beer while watching oil drain.

14. Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.

15. Give up; crawl under truck and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.

16. Crawl out from under truck with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties. Drink a beer.

17. Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.

18. Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.

19. Remember drain plug from step 11.

20. Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.

21. Drink beer.

22. Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.

23. Get drain plug back in with only a minor spill. Drink beer.

24. Crawl under truck getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame removing any excess skin between knuckles and frame.

25. Begin cussing fit.

26. Throw stupid crescent wrench.

27. Cuss for additional 5 minutes because wrench hit truck and left dent.

28. Beer.

29. Clean up hands and bandage as required to stop blood flow.

30. Beer.

31. Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.

32. Beer.

33. Lower truck from jack stands.

34. Move truck back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during any missed steps.

35. Beer.

36. Test drive truck.

37. Get pulled over: arrested for driving under the influence.

38. Truck gets impounded.

39. Call loving wife, make bail.

40. 12 hours later, get truck from impound yard.

Money spent:

Parts: $50.00
DUI: $2,500.00
Impound fee: $75.00
Bail: $1,500.00
Beer: $20.00
TOTAL: $4,145.00

But you know the job was done right!

Man Invents 27-String Guitar

2011-08-13T01:22:00.000-07:00

New 2012 Olympic Logo

2011-08-12T13:20:00.001-07:00

Il Divo - Amazing Grace

2011-08-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

Pip Freedman - The Ballad of the Traffic Cop

2011-08-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Guitarist Don Ross Covers "Crazy"

2011-08-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

This Is Amazing!

2011-08-05T02:10:00.000-07:00

A Really Sensitive Husband

2011-08-04T12:08:00.001-07:00

This guy is sitting at home alone when he hears a knock on the front door.

There are two sheriff's deputies there; he asks if there is a problem.

One of the deputies asks if he is married, and if so, can he see a picture of his wife.

The guy says "sure " and shows him a picture of his wife. The sheriff says, "I'm sorry sir, but it looks like your wife's been hit by a truck."

The guy says, " I know, but she has a great personality and is an excellent cook."

UK Classified Advertisements

2011-08-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

These are classified ads, which were actually placed in UK newspapers:

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old.
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!

FREE PUPPIES.
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor’s dog.

FREE PUPPIES.
Mother is a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
Father is a Super Dog, able to leap tall fences in a single bound.

COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also, 1 gay bull for sale.

JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer, £100.

WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE .
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie.

**** And the WINNER is.. ****

FOR SALE BY OWNER.
Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes.
Excellent condition, £200 or best offer. No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.

Statement of the Century
Thought from the Greatest Living Scottish Thinker--Billy Connolly.
"If women are so bloody perfect at multitasking, how come they can't have a headache and sex at the same time?"

I'm 73... and Tired

2011-07-31T10:36:00.001-07:00

By Robert A. Hall

I'm 73 Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers;" of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery;" of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari’a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that, out of "tolerance for other cultures," we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America and Canada , while no American nor Canadian group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance..

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 73.. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughters and grandson.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.