The Abbreviated Saturday Post

Taking advantage of halftime in the Clemson - South Carolina game... Lotsa good football games today and most of 'em are rivalry games which makes for good football, indeed.  I don't have a dog in any of these fights but I will (am!) enjoy the spectacle(s).  I fully expect to be disappointed in the outcome of the one game in which I do have vested interest, although an upset would be nice.  That may be too much to hope for, however.

―:☺:―

It won't be ALL football today.  We'll take time out of our busy day to enjoy Happy Hour on the verandah... how could we not?

Especially since the WX is gonna go to Hell tomorrow...

Oh, well.  It IS the end of November, innit?

Google Loves Me

I've posted on this subject before yet I remain amazed at two things... first: the stuff Googlers click through on when they visit EIP and second: Google's amazing and mystifying (to me) search algorithms.  Another case in point... (click for larger and you'll see EIP scored eight of the first 21 results)

Our Googler clicked through on the oft-published pic of TFMP (second from left, lower row)... which obviously has nothing to do with radar.  But she had a LOT to do with SN2.  Not that that matters to our Googling friend from parts unknown.  I hope.

Speaking of The First Mrs. Pennington... What the Hell.  Let's post the pic again:

I like this picture.  As Blog-Bud Lou sez: "it's artsy."  The pic was taken in our little three-room, sea view apartamento in Beautiful Wakkanai-By-The-Sea, as far north as you can get in the Land of the Rising Sun.  1969.

The Last Word...

... on Thanksgiving, since it's over in about half an hour.  "Thanksgiving: a displaced Brit writes..."  The first bits:

When I first heard about this “Thanksgiving” thing, I thought it sounded like a great idea.

We Brits spend a ridiculous amount of time each day giving thanks to strangers – we say thanks to people who hold doors for us, thanks to people who stop their cars to let us cross the road, thanks to waitresses when they give us our bill; even thanks again when we hand over the money to pay. But apparently you Americans – innovative people that you are – had found a way to streamline the process.

Rather than waste hours each day expressing gratitude, you had decided to compress all of your thank-yous into one annual 24-hour-period of uninterrupted Thanks Giving. Get all that politeness out of the way in one go. An inspired solution, I thought, and one we should copy back home. Hell, we should have a ’sorry’ day too – we’d reclaim weeks of time.

But apparently I’d got the wrong end of the stick. Having consulted Wikipedia, it turns out that today is not about mundane expression of gratitude, but rather about big-ticket Thank-yous. For friends, family, a baby’s laugh, spreadable cheese. Stuff that really makes it a joy to be alive, and living in the home of the brave.

In just under an hour, I’m heading out to my first ever Thanksgiving dinner; I gather there will be turkey involved, and sweet potatoes – whatever they might be. And, despite my British cynicism, I’m very excited. But before I go, given that today’s celebrations began with some Brits moving to the USA and giving thanks for its awesomeness, I thought it might be appropriate to share five things – technological and otherwise – that make me… well.. thankful that a few months ago I too decided to make America my new home.

Here goes…

Now go read the rest... it ain't long and has a couple of things you may not have thought about today.

(h/t: Instapundit)

Happy Thanksgiving!

For the third year in a row...  If the Wall Street Journal has been running the same piece since 1961 I figure I can get by with re-runs, too. I'm not quite as good as they are, though. But seriously: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Gentle Reader. I’m going to be lazy today and re-run what I said last year (in part...there was more), mainly coz (a) it’s all true and (b) I’m fresh out of original i-deers. So…from Turkey-Day-2006:

Of all the things I’m thankful for on this day…family, friends, reasonable health… I thank God most of all for making me an American. Most all of the good things in my life begin and end with that one single fact.

You could do much worse today than read the editorial the WSJ has published every Thanksgiving since 1961.  An excerpt:

We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.

And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.

As true today as it was back in 1961.

The images come from Thanksgiving Corner, which has a great collection of Thanksgiving wallpaper. Normally I'd only post a single topical image, but I was so taken with the second image that I had to post it. Shades of Ben Franklin, and all that.

Heh

SN1 sent this along today...

George Bush, Queen Elizabeth, and Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell. While there they spy a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them it is for calling back to Earth. Putin asks to call Russia and talks for 5 minutes. When he was finished the devil informs him that the cost is a million dollars so Putin writes him a check.

 Next Queen Elizabeth calls England and talks for 30 minutes. When she was finished the devil informs her that cost is 6 million dollars, so Queen Elizabeth wrote him a check. Finally George Bush gets his turn and talks for 4 hours. When he was finished the devil informed him that there would be no charge for the call and feel free to call the USA anytime.

When Putin hears this he goes ballistic and asks the devil why Bush got to call the USA free. The devil replied "since Obama became president of the USA the country has gone to hell, so naturally it's a local call."

This presupposes Russia has changed a whole helluva lot for the better since Putin took power.  I think not, but that's another story.  And this IS a joke...

Objectified

So... Last evening we watched "Objectified," a film about design on PBS' Independent Lens and it was pretty danged cool.  I went to the web site to see if there was a trailer I could embed in this post but, alas... there wasn't.  And more's the pity, because the film is fascinating.  Here's a quote from the web site:

Look around you. Within five feet of you are dozens—if not hundreds—of manufactured products that you interact with every day. If you are at work, perhaps there is a laptop, a stapler, a No. 2 pencil, a paperclip, a mobile phone, a coffee mug, a pushpin or an ergonomic chair. At home there may be a flat-screen TV, a pair of boots, a razor or a kitchen utensil. All told, we each touch or otherwise interact with an average of 600 manufactured objects every day.

"Objectified" concerns itself with contemporary industrial design and says nothing about the great designers, schools of design (e.g., movements, like Bauhaus or Art Deco),  or design houses that have gone before and that's about the only criticism I have of the film.  But I suppose you have to limit your subject matter when you're tackling a subject as broad as this. The film was absorbing and is highly recommended, and not just for design junkies, either.  Just as a teaser... Mac and iPhone owners will be most pleased with their great good taste.  There are clips from the show at the link, or you can just wait for your PBS station to re-run it.  They always do...

Now that we have the oh-so-amateur critic gig out of the way... The film's web site comes with this spiffy lil quiz that purports to show which iconic design object you are.  Or maybe the object you wanna be; you choose.  The web site's designers apparently don't know jack about internet quiz memes, coz there's no embeddable code to show your result and prompt others to take the quiz.  Not only that... there's no ability to cut 'n' paste text containing your results as they're displayed as images.  You have to take a screen shot if you wanna display your results.  Which I do, of course.  I mean... why else would one do this if not to share?

Pretty damned close, all things considered.  I DO like skinny ties, and I DO own a trilby hat.  And there's our daily Happy Hour, of course, along with our determination to remain unemployed for-frickin'-ever.  I am just about as sophisticated as anyone who lives in a trailer park possibly can be, and that's the truth (can I get a big "heh?").  But... I'm "nostalgic about an era in which I wasn't even alive?"  Hunh?  How do they know this?  Baby, I LIVED most of the damned scenarios in the questions and still do for the most part (kinda sorta). 

This question nearly tripped me up, though:

A toughie, that one.  I mentally flipped a coin to choose between HST and Steve McQueen.  Actually, not... I decided I'd rather go riding with McQueen then have cocktails and dinner (and stuff) with HST.  With Julia Child in the kitchen, Martha as her sous chef, and Sinatra crooning for us.  Hell, come to think on it... wouldn't the list in its entirety make for one helluva dinner party?

Take the quiz.  It's fun and some of the questions might cause you to think just a lil bit.  Report back. 

Plant Pr0n

From a way-cool NatGeo article:

Then one day more than 375 million years ago, it happened. One lineage of plants evolved pollen grains and seeds, and from then on nothing was the same. Let's not mince words. Pollen is plant sperm—two individuals per grain—surrounded by a single, often golden, wall that offers both protection and chariot. If the tension in the long story of plants was the distance between lovers, pollen was what would bring them together, over feet or even across continents. It was an evolutionary trick that transformed the world by letting strangers have sex.

With pictures!  Good ones, too.  That said... I've always been in favor of sex with strangers to a certain extent... especially when you find yourself on a different continent (about which: a cheap-ass and blatant self-promotion ploy.  And you know there may be more, for those of you who are new to EIP.).  But back to stranger-sex: with suitable caution, of course.  We must be politically correct.

Late to the Party... As Usual

So... in the "we've been meaning to blog about this" category... Sesame Street turned 40 (!) on the tenth of this month.  It was a pretty big deal and rightly so.

Now that's the Good news.  There's Bad News, too.  As with everything these days... and most especially "things" that appear on PBS and NPR... Sesame Street has become Politically Correct, and more's the pity.  Proof:

Those early years are now available on DVD; and the discs contain a disclaimer that essentially states that they are intended for nostalgia purposes only. The warning reads as follows:

"These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child."

Say what!? Never did I ever think I'd see "Sesame Street" and "intended for grown-ups" in the same sentence.

On the DVDs, Cookie Monster can be seen as his character of Alistair Cookie in his "Monsterpiece Theatre" segment (a spoof of Alistair Cooke's "Masterpiece Theatre") smoking a pipe.

Yep, Cookie Monster smoked.

He later eats the pipe because, as he was often prone to doing, he thinks the pipe is a cookie. Cookie Monster used to become so overwhelmed by his desire for cookies that he'd start seeing (hallucinating about?) cookies that weren't actually there. He'd eat (rotary) telephones, typewriters (what are those?), pencils, almost anything. It was funny.

Today, Cookie Monster's diet is much more balanced, as he has adopted the philosophy that cookies are a "sometimes food." Cookie coincidentally changed his tune in 2006 amidst reports that childhood obesity had reached epidemic proportions.

Early "Sesame Street" had some other elements that would not pass muster today. Oscar the Grouch is just plain nasty, children are seen riding their bikes without helmets, and there's even a sketch where the human character of Gordon can be seen approaching a little girl on the street. He takes her by the hand and brings her into his house for milk and cookies (again with the cookies!). Clearly, that could be misinterpreted by today's standards.

Now, some 4,000 episodes later, 123 Sesame Street has gotten that power washing. Peeling paint is nowhere to be found, and the only visible garbage can has a tenant. It's much more sanitized. I'm tempted to make fun of this, but then I notice the bottle of anti-bacterial hand gel on my desk and bite my proverbial tongue.

For better or worse, today's preschooler is very different from the 1969 version. And children's television programming simply has to reflect that. 

Worse, I'd say.   But CNN is right when they say early Sesame Street was as much for grown ups as it was for the kids.  One of my favorite memories of SN1's and SN2's early childhood are the days when I would get off a mid shift, come home, go to bed and the three of us... SN1, SN2, me (and quite often The First Mrs. Pennington, as well)... would watch Sesame Street as I slowly drifted off to sleep.  But sleep wouldn't come easy when the show was on... as The Count would crack me up and so would Oscar.  Big Bird not so much. I always thought he was kinda cheesy.  All that said: Congrats to Sesame Street and may you have 40 more years!

Time flies, eh?  Which is a left-handed introduction to posting a gratuitous pic of the boys from around that time...

That would be SN1 (about five) on the left and SN2 (about three) on the right.  SN1 pins on his major's leaves a week from today and SN2 will pin on the silver leaves of a squidly commander sometime in the coming year.  Time does fly right by, indeed.  Both boys have far exceeded their Ol' Man when it comes to military success, and that's (a) a good thing and (b) no big-ass surprise.  I'm bettin' I had more fun, though.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

We're still on this Allman Bros jag, which ain't all bad.  The great thing about Pandora is the associated music one gets when one chooses a particular band to define a station.  In this case... specifically the Allmans... one gets a lot of blues-based music.  Not the least of which is this:

Which got me to thinkin'... almost to the point where we were sorely tempted to go indoors and drag one of our Hendrix albums out and do an A/B comparison where "Voodoo Chile" is concerned.  But we didn't, coz the very next tune encouraged us to "get out on the street and leave our blues at home."  Which is more than appropriate these days...  A visual:

Ah.  And while we were leavin' our blues at home we returned... a slight return (Heh)... to that age old question: Jimi?  Or Stevie?  It's Stevie, for my money.  At the considerable risk of pissing off legions of Old Hippies who worship at Jimi's altar, of course.  And, truth be told, I'm one of those guys.  I have more Jimi music in my collection than I do Stevie's... but that's just a function of the relative size of their respective catalogs.  I like Stevie more because I believe he remained true... or truer...  to his blues roots, whereas Jimi broadened his repetoire in later years to get a lot more jazzy and improvisational.  (Yeah... I know "Red House."  Who doesn't?) Like all things where taste is concerned... you pays your money and you makes your choice, no?  I love 'em both, but I tend to fall down on Stevie's side when the discussion turns to "who was the greater guitarist?"

Just sayin'.  Your mileage most certainly may vary, if'n ya care about such things.  I most certainly DO care, Gentle Reader... much more so than I care about stuff that's in the news today.  I much prefer the simple pleasures associated with the complex alchemy of blending water, barley, hops and malt into a sublime beverage, the similarly complex process of blending aged tobaccos into a simple tube of pure pleasure, and the bending of notes on a Strat to the frickin' health care debate.  Call me simple if you like, but it is what it is.

Broadening Our Horizons X

Decisions, decisions.  We may still be drinking our morning coffee but it ain't too early to begin thinking about Happy Hour.  As a matter of fact... we may just forego the last cup and move directly to the finer part of our day.  But which of the below should we put a match to?

The Maduro?  The Cameroon?  The America?  Heh.  This is the sort of dilemma I like!

Today's "WTF?" Moment

I wasn't gonna post today but I can't let this slide:

Major Nidal Hasan had his first hearing in the Ft. Hood murder case. The hearing was held in the hospital. His lawyer says he is paralyzed from the chest down, incontinent and in severe pain.

He will be tried in a military court, and additional charges may be pending. Military prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

How barbaric that the military will seek to kill a man with no sensation in his body from the chest down. He might prefer it (I certainly would) but it's inexusable behavior for a civilized society and way beyond the pale of decency.

I quote the post in its entirety and I will NOT link.  If you're curious go here and scroll down; it ain't too hard to find.    As for barbarity... I could show you "barbaric."  It's a damned good thing I'm not the head nurse on Maj. Hassan's ward.  I would make it absolutely certain his pain meds were "forgotten" or otherwise lost.

As for the original post and its author... the military is barbaric but not the perp, eh?  The Liberal Mind... ain't it a thing of beauty?

Saturday

Just finished watching the Michigan - Ohio State game... and I had my hopes up until about four minutes into the fourth quarter.  But alas, the hated Buckeyes pulled it off... 21-10. In the Big House.  This game is one of college ball's best and longest rivalries, but the bloom is coming off the rose the farther I get from Michigan in both space and time.  I'd like to say today's game was a good one but again: alas.  I just can't.

So we now switch over to the ND - UConn game, already in progress.  It's only late in the first, but this game looks more promising:  ND is up, 7-0.  Yeah, I know... if the Michigan game was so bad, why didn't I switch over to the Irish and catch the kick-off?  Can you say "glutton for punishment?"  I thought ya could...

(Sigh)

So. We went and got a haircut before Happy Hour today.  Being as how we've been incredibly lazy of late, I decided to patronize one of our local barber shops instead of driving all the way out to the base, which is my usual drill where the quarterly haircut is concerned.  I arrive on the scene and slide into the chair immediately... no waiting whatsoever.  "Cool," thinks I.  The following conversation transpires:

She:  How do ya want it?
What I said:  "I wear it rather longish.  I like it to touch my ears on the sides.
What she heard:  "I've been recalled to active duty.  Cut accordingly."

The result:

The hair on my face is longer than most of the hair on my head.  Oh, well.  It'll grow out by Spring.

And now:  Happy Hour.  With Allman Brothers!

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack… A Preview

We gonna be Suthin' Fried this afternoon, assuming the weather holds… or to use the vernacular: "Lord willin' and the creek don't rise." I dunno why it took so long, but we finally created ourselves an Allman Brothers Band station on Pandora yesterday. And it's good, Gentle Reader, because of tunes like this:

That would be "One Way Out," (the "Live at the Fillmore East" version) which may or may not be the quintessential Allman Bros song. Lord knows there are way too many to choose from and your mileage most certainly may vary. But "One Way Out" works for me! Or maybe "Midnight Rider"…

I like to think I was in on the ground floor for that five year or so period of time when Southern Fried Rock dominated the rock charts in the US. I know for a fact I was there in 1970. From an old post…

Your Humble Scribe did a stint as a DJ (and later as Station Manager) at KBOK, a closed-circuit radio station for the population of TUSLOG Det. 4 (Diogenes Station), Sinop, Turkey in 1970 or ’71. That particular “job” was one of the most rewarding and fun things I did in the military. There wasn’t any monetary compensation involved, but I did my level-best to tape the station’s entire music library and that was more than enough compensation, in and of itself. I use quotes around “job” because DJ’ing was a volunteer thing, my real job was fixing electronic spook stuff, or attempting to, anyway. More trivia: “KBOK” is a play on words, “bok” being Turkish slang for “shite.” GIs. Gotta love ‘em!

I mention KBOK because the Allman's "Revival" (from "Idlewild South") was my theme song… it was the intro and outro music for every show I did. Let's review:

Revival - The Allman Brothers Band

Ah… "love is in the air." Indeed. So… the Allmans kicked off the Southern Fried trend and they were followed in close order by groups like the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Allmans also influenced later artists like ZZ Top and the immortal Stevie Ray.

It's good to know Gregg Allman recently launched about the third or fourth incarnation of the ABB… they played a fabulous 15-night stand… featuring Eric Clapton for two nights… this year. And while we're speaking of concerts … one of my peak rock 'n' roll experiences was seeing the Frères Allmans on a triple bill with Charlie Daniels and Marshall Tucker at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on New Years of 1971/72. You really don't wanna know just how insane that evening was, Gentle Reader. Oh, noes… you don't.

Let's close this out with my favorite Marshall Tucker song…

Oh, my.

The Jetsons?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Not quite like I remember the show...

Thanks!

The final results for this year's Valour-IT fundraiser are in and we did MUCH better than last year!  Team results as follows... with last year's results included for comparison's sake.

2009

Army: $32,758.80

Navy: $19,108.04

Marines: $43,060.89

Air Force: $15,662.17

General Donations: $2,535.00

TOTAL: $113,124.90

2008

Army: $31,927

Navy: $21,475

Marines: $10,081

Air Force: $9,437

Coast Guard: $1,766

General Donations: $8,400

TOTAL: $83,086

A HUGE Thank You to all who contributed!  You'll note Team Zoomie brought up the rear again this year... and I'll invoke the usual, customary, and reasonable saying for that sad fact:  "Wait 'til next year!"

Of Limited Interest....

... to perhaps two or three of you Gentle Readers and mebbe many less, given as how Brendan is a Devils/Blues/Red Wings/Rangers kinda guy.  That said, yet another passage:  Brendan Shanahan announced his retirement yesterday.  We quote from NHL (dot) com:

Shanahan's greatest on-ice success came during his nine seasons with the Red Wings. He played at least 75 games each season, scored at least 30 goals seven times and more than 40 goals three times. He also won his three Stanley Cups, in 1997, '98 and 2002. In 1997, Shanahan placed second on the Red Wings in playoff scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points while helping lead Detroit to its first Stanley Cup in 42 years. In 2002, he ranked second on the team and tied for third in the NHL with 19 points in 23 games, helping lead the Red Wings to their third Stanley Cup in six seasons.

[...]

The second pick of the 1987 Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, Shanahan also played for the Blues, Hartford Whalers, Red Wings and New York Rangers during his career.

After four seasons with New Jersey, he signed with St. Louis following the 1990-91 season as a free agent; as compensation, the Devils were awarded defenseman Scott Stevens. Shanahan twice scored 50 goals in four seasons with the Blues, and then was traded to Hartford following the 1994-95 season, in exchange for defenseman Chris Pronger. Shanahan spent just one full season with the Whalers, and then was dealt to the Red Wings two games into the 1996-97 season.

He signed with the Rangers prior to the start of the 2006-07 season, and spent two seasons on Broadway.

Shanahan last played in the NHL last season, signing with Devils midway through the season and finishing with 6 goals and 14 points in 34 games. He re-signed with the Devils over the summer, but left the team during training camp when he and coach Jacques Lemaire couldn't come to an agreement on what Shanahan's role on the club would be.

Which is a sort of ignominious end to a brilliant career.  Shanahan was placed on waivers by New Jersey earlier this year... he opted to retire after no one picked him up.  Still and even, we remember Brendan with fondness... and wish him well in his future endeavors.

―:☺:― 

While we're on about hockey... there's this:

Well... let's just say this is the "Not Ovechkin" post-goal celebration and leave it at that.  Heh. But ya gotta admit: it IS funny. We hope no hockey players were harmed in the production of this video...

Time Changes

First of all... let me be literal. I'm usually a "go with the flow" sorta guy. Usually. But I noted in these pages recently that I'm having trouble adapting to the time change this year,  especially where my Happy Hour routine is concerned.  The shorter days mean I have to get started at least an hour to an hour and a half earlier than I really want to.  Happy Hour has turned into more of a late liquid lunch rather than a contemplative postscript to my busy day.  (That last is dripping with intended irony, if'n ya missed it.)


And Happy Hour ain't the half of it, either.  There's the time change and there's also the change of season... which means it's chilly now.  Not cold, not yet.  But chilly.  That impacts another ritual of mine... which is more of an occasional, as opposed to daily, sort of thing.  And something I only do during the warmer to warmest days of the year.  And that, Gentle Reader, is a sly introduction to a (lightly edited) re-run.  Herewith...

Morning Coffee

So. I took my morning coffee on the verandah today…three cups of it, anyway, accompanied by about a third of a cigar. And, in so doing, I put off my usual routine of coffee/making the virtual rounds until rather late in the morning, as defined by folks with real lives and…um…dare I say it?...jobs.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when I stepped outside, coffee in hand, this morning. And it was already up to 75 degrees at 0830. A beautiful day, in other words. So, there I sat, coffee in one hand, cigar in the other, feet up and feeling pretty danged good about things. I got to thinking about days gone by and of other places I’ve had my morning coffee.

The first place that came to mind was here, and this is a pic of my deck at the ol’ homestead in Fairport, NY. I was always an early riser back in my working days, and I’d often take my first cup of coffee on the deck (and sometimes the second cup, too, depending on the schedule) and watch the sun come up over the neighborhood…say around 0530, or so. In the summer time, of course, the deck being not quite as accommodating in the winter, as you can see. The thing I loved about this particular place and time was the quiet…traffic hadn’t yet begun its crawl out of the sub-division, the birds were chirping, most of the world was still asleep, and there was always a certain coolness in the air before the summer sun began warming Upstate New York. It was very peaceful, in other words, and a good place to get organized while contemplating the upcoming day.

So…various and sundry other places popped into and out of my mind, as well. The dining room table in Ferndale, Michigan that overlooked the backyard, aka “the garden,” as the Brits say. Watching the dogs chase the squirrels in the early summer morning, windows open, and warm, humid breezes blowing in and billowing the lacy curtains back and forth.

Or sitting on my patio at the house in Oklahoma City (Choctaw, actually, a suburb of OKC), looking out over the property which consisted of two acres dotted with numerous scrub oaks and two or three “real” trees (i.e., over ten feet tall). One of the real trees was a towering oak of about 40 feet or so that sported an old-fashioned two-seat swing suspended from a thick low-hanging bough. Coffee was taken in that swing too, often in the company of The Second Mrs. Pennington…but she usually only joined me in the swing on the weekends.

And then there were those times back in my Work Days when I was on the road and had to arise, get cleaned up, and get fully dressed before I had my first cup. I took those first cups in various dining rooms or coffee shops at the hotels I stayed in. London. Singapore. Beijing. Moscow. Various places in the US of A.  The coffee was uniformly bad, nearly always. A good cup of coffee in the days before Starbucks and especially overseas was a rare thing, indeed. Eventually I took to carrying my own coffee with me.

I thought about other places where morning coffee was had…places like the various apartments I’ve lived in, the Air Force chow halls, and the RV parks I’ve stayed at/in, too. My morning coffee, and the rituals surrounding it, is perhaps the one thing that has remained unchanged throughout my life. A lot of things change in life as we move forward …people, places, and things… but some things remain the same. And my morning coffee ritual is one of the constants. The end is nigh if that ever changes…

Heh. I may be back later in the day with something new and different. Or maybe not. I've also brought to your attention we've been singularly uninspired of late. We ARE working on that...

Of This World...

I think this is kinda cool:

More here if you like this time-lapse thing… including an interesting video of Manhattan Island.  Watching this particular video, however, makes one wonder why there aren't many more marine collisions.

―:☺:―

I've been sorta depressed of late, even though I hate to use that term because of all the negative baggage that comes with it. I recently learned through roundabout means that life has delivered a crushing blow to a lady who used to be near and dear to me. The woman's brother has been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, which amounts to being sentenced to a slow and painful death that will play out over the course of the next year. The man is only 55 and has two teen-aged daughters, which makes things worse… if that's possible. And there's not much that I or anyone can do, other than commiserate.

My heart goes out to the lady and her brother in equal amounts even though the man and his immediate family will experience the greater loss. I worry for my lady friend, however. While her public face is one of strength and stoicism I know her private persona to be the sort that is sensitive and slow to heal. Her brother is the sole remaining member of her immediate family and she will take this hard. I'm not the praying sort, but what passes for prayer in my world is focused on all involved in this tragedy.

I know life isn't fair… all of us have our trials and tribulations… and not one of us gets out of here alive. Still and even, an event like this makes me think that a quick exit from this vale of tears is the best we can hope for. Death is inevitable, but it really sucks to know one's expiration date well in advance. For all concerned.

We Ain't Got Much Today

What a helluva way to begin our fifth year, eh?  We are singularly uninspired today and this does not bode well for our future endeavors.  But: stuff happens occasionally.  I blame it in part on nicotine deprivation... more about which, below.  Here's today's meager pickings:

Via Cassandra, humor for the over-educated.  A sample of same:

Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.

I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.

Yeah... it's all Greek Latin to me!

While we're linking stuff... you should trot over to Gordon's place for a cool video reconstructing Capt. Sullenburger's masterful landing in the Hudson River... and all that preceded it.  I'd post it myself but (a) I'm too lazy and (b) I've had enough of stealing other people's finds.  For the moment, anyhoo.  I'll be back in character tomorrow or perhaps the next day.

―:☺:― 

So... we received an e-mail from our Good Bud Tim at cigar.com this morning, advising us that Davidoff White Label cigars are now available.  I dunno about you, Gentle Reader, but it'll be a cold day in Hell the proverbial hottest of hot places before I'll drop northwards of $15.00 for a single cigar... any damned cigar.  Yeah, I have done so in the past but it was only for contraband.  And very rarely, too.

―:☺:― 

We had our first hard freeze last night and that is a great good thing where fly control is concerned.  Sitting outdoors this afternoon will be a chilly experience but there won't be many, if any, flies to speak of.  And chilly is OK with me... that's why we have sweaters and sweatshirts in our wardrobe.

We will probably kick off Happy Hour earlier than usual today, as well.  Yesterday was not a nice day and we canceled Happy Hour altogether.  Thus: a small amount of pent up demand is in evidence here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington.  We did celebrate our blogoversary with three fingers of single malt... administered in multiple applications.... but passed on the cigar.  Oops.  So much for the "All-American" blogger claim, eh?

And now if you'll excuse me... I hear a beer calling my name. 

The Voice of Reason

Occasional readers know I link my favorite (former) fighter pilot frequently and quote him quite often, too.  Well, Lex has gone and done it yet again, and I quote:

Not every spasm of manufactured outrage on the right – or the left, for that matter – requires a counter-spasm from its increasingly polar opposite. The more customary and probably appropriate response when facing such an inconvenient set of facts is simply to ignore it, and hopefully move on to more substantive matters.

Like firing the White House protocol staff, for starters, who are serving not merely our president but also our country very poorly. Because getting the small things right in foreign diplomacy is important to all of us, since it sets the expectations of foreign leaders – all of whom are, quite naturally, angling for advantage – about the character and intelligence of the man they are negotiating with.

Our president is many things, but he is not nearly as stupid as his people are making him  – and us – look.

That, of course, is all about this, as illustrated above.  Yeah, it was stupid.  Yeah, it was a significant breach of protocol and most certainly a reason to clean house in that space.  Lex is right... fire each and every incompetent SOB on the White House protocol staff, which would appear to be ALL of 'em.  Other than that?  Let's talk about Afghanistan.  Or certain pending trials in New York City.  Or frickin' Obamacare.  There are many other, larger fish to fry.

Happy Birthday To Us

So... as the image would indicate... the dog of a blog that is EIP is four years old today.  And we really are "made in the USA," in every sense of the words.  Each and every one of our 2,447 posts was created by an underpaid natural-born American citizen using only the finest indigenous software products on a computer with an American brand name... albeit one assembled in Taiwan or someplace much worse... and more often than not fueled by the consumption of prodigious quantities of American beer.  Or domestically-produced coffee, ground from imported beans... you can't have everything... depending on the time o' day.   


And most of our 11,876 comments to date originated within the boundaries of these here United States, as well.   Which is not to say we don't appreciate the thoughts of our Gentle Readers outside of the US of A, coz we most certainly DO.  It's just that there aren't that many of you.  One, to be exact.  (sigh) And we try so hard to be global...

Now... allow us to reminisce just a wee bit.  Our first post:

Republican Terrorist

Me

Committed to The Inter-tubes by Buck on 11/15/2005 02:49:00 AM

I told you we try to be global, didn't I?   

Thanks for your patronage over the last few, Gentle Reader.  Hopefully there will be at least as many more years to come.

PS:  You can buy the actual shirt in the top image here.  Minus the amateurish Photoshop work, of course.

So THAT'S What They Were Singing All Those Years!

Ladies and Jimmelmen, I give you the Soviet National Anthem.  Really.



No wonder they lost.  (h/t to Blog-Bud The Other Andy)

Add My Voice...

... to the incredible outrage over yesterday's announcement that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed & Co will be tried in New York for the 9/11 atrocities.  I can't say I was surprised at AG Holder's announcement yesterday... no, I was merely sickened, most especially with all his bullshit about "faith in the American justice system" and the like.  Me and about 150 million others, including the editors of the Wall Street Journal:

Please spare us talk of the "rule of law." If that was the primary consideration, the U.S. already has a judicial process in place. The current special military tribunals were created by the 2006 Military Commissions Act, which was adopted with bipartisan Congressional support after the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision obliged the executive and legislative branches to approve a detailed plan to prosecute the illegal "enemy combatants" captured since 9/11.

Contrary to liberal myth, military tribunals aren't a break with 200-plus years of American jurisprudence. Eight Nazis who snuck into the U.S. in June 1942 were tried by a similar court and most were hanged within two months. Before the Obama Administration stopped all proceedings earlier this year pending yesterday's decision, the tribunals at Gitmo had earned a reputation for fairness and independence.

As it happens, Mr. Holder acknowledged their worth himself by announcing that the Guantanamo detainee who allegedly planned the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole off Yemen and four others would face military commission trials. (The Pentagon must now find a locale other than the multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art facility at Gitmo for its tribunal.)

Why the difference? Mr. Holder seemed to suggest that the Cole bombers struck a military target overseas and thus are a good fit for a military trial, while KSM and comrades hit the U.S. and murdered civilians and thus deserve a U.S. civilian trial. But this entirely misunderstands that both groups are unlawful enemy combatants who are accused of war crimes, whatever their targets. Mr. Holder's justification betrays not a legal consistency but a fundamentally political judgment that he can make as he sees fit.

A political judgment indeed.  The far left now has its retributive sop for the Bush-Cheney "war crimes" and the show is only just beginning.  Andy McCarthy of National Review sums up the situation quite nicely:

So: We are now going to have a trial that never had to happen for defendants who have no defense. And when defendants have no defense for their own actions, there is only one thing for their lawyers to do: put the government on trial in hopes of getting the jury (and the media) spun up over government errors, abuses and incompetence. That is what is going to happen in the trial of KSM et al. It will be a soapbox for al-Qaeda's case against America. Since that will be their "defense," the defendants will demand every bit of information they can get about interrogations, renditions, secret prisons, undercover operations targeting Muslims and mosques, etc., and — depending on what judge catches the case — they are likely to be given a lot of it. The administration will be able to claim that the judge, not the administration, is responsible for the exposure of our defense secrets. And the circus will be played out for all to see — in the middle of the war. It will provide endless fodder for the transnational Left to press its case that actions taken in America's defense are violations of international law that must be addressed by foreign courts. And the intelligence bounty will make our enemies more efficient at killing us.

Mr. McCarthy knows from whence he speaks... he led the 1995 prosecution against the original World Trade Center bombers.  

There's just so much to dislike disagree with hate about yesterday's decision it's difficult to know where to begin with the hatin'.  A great place to start would be with The One himself who, in typical fashion, assumed a low profile ("present!") by being out of the country when the announcement was made.  He owns this mess... assuming Harry Truman's "the buck stops here" presidential maxim still applies.

Elections have consequences.  Bring on the Buyer's Remorse, shall we?

A Few USAF Things

It occurred to me we've not been keeping up our USAF bona fides… so, herewith some newsy notes as supplied by my friends who send me the Air Force Association's Daily Report.  First, an item with semi-local interest (click the pic to see just how beautiful the landscape is to the south of us a ways, and my tongue is only half in my cheek):

Keep On Keeping On: Lockheed Martin says the extended-range version of its stealthy JASSM cruise missile performed well in a recent flight test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., giving it a record of six successes in six flights. In a release Wednesday, the company said a B-1B bomber released the missile, which then flew a preplanned course to collect data and subsequently destroyed the designated target. Randy Bigum, Lockheed's vice president of strike weapons, said this test confirmed the JASSM-ER's "ability to be employed" from the B-1's aft weapons bay and completed collection of data that "may be used to fine-tune navigation algorithms." Flight testing will continue through mid-2010 in preparation for operational testing in 2011. JASSM-ER is expected to be available for combat on the B-1 in early 2013. Its range is more than 500 nautical miles, more twice the reach of the baseline JASSM.

Which all goes to prove that not every USAF acquisition program is in the weeds, contrary to what one might think.  Speaking of which:

McCain Questions KC-X Process: Concerned over
fairness, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to clarify how the Air Force intends to select a tanker aircraft in the KC-X competition, the Mobile Press-Register reported Wednesday. According to the newspaper, McCain wants Gates to justify the Air Force's proposed method for determining the total proposed price of each bidder and how it came up with the requirements that will drive the selection of the winning aircraft. It cites an Oct. 29 letter from McCain to Gates that, among its points, questions whether the method for determining price would favor smaller airframes—seemingly giving Boeing's 767-based tanker an advantage over Northrop Grumman's offering. McCain said in October he would like the Government Accountability Office—or some independent watchdog overseeing the contest. (See also Reuters news wire service's Nov. 10 report.)

Is there anyone naïve enough to believe this clusterfuck… which has been in progress since September of 2001… will proceed smoothly?  I mean, even the damned WTO could get involved here!  In the meantime our warriors are flying tankers that were bought back when Eisenhower was president.  In other words, the average age of the aircraft in the tanker fleet is 47 years old.

Apropos of my last post… wherein I went off on the Ditherer-In-Chief… compare and contrast:

Pay particular attention to the weekly Close Air Support/Armed Recon numbers for OEF.  

This is an admittedly anecdotal piece of information, but I think it serves to illustrate the gravity of the situation in The Af.  What other conclusions could one draw when our weekly CAS sorties increase by a factor of (nearly) FIVE in the space of one year?  We don't fly those sorties just so fighter jocks can get the hours to justify their flight pay.  That said, I have some reservations about the "year to date" totals as reported.  While I don't keep an eagle-eye on this data, I do read it every day as a matter of interest.  The incremental sortie numbers have been increasing significantly, yet the YTD data for 2008 and 2009 are suspiciously close.


(Data courtesy of the aforementioned Daily Report, who obtain it from CENTAF.  Also note we're PC these days... the "war on terrorism" verbiage has been dropped.  I never noticed that until today.)

Well, THAT'S Gonna Leave a Mark...

Jules Crittenden writing about the AP report that The One has rejected all the Afghanistan "options" presented to him so far... and ordered his National Security folks to serve up "other options:"

OK, I get that the political piece is vitally important, and for Eikenberry (ed: US ambassador to The Af), up to his armpits in scheming warlords and bureaucrats in Kabul with his frontline diplomats daily engaged in pitched and desperate note-passing against an entrenched corruptancy, the light at the top of his own well probably is awfully dim and far away. This is a highly complex situation. Thinking outside the box, maybe it does make sense to put the cart ahead of the horse. It is intriguing, though, that in the middle of a hot war in which a determined, murderous enemy is making gains, there are ”options beyond military planning” that are so pressing that they actually trump military planning.  Sounds like the president, in a show of resolve, wants to signal more firmly to Karzai and the scheming warlords that the United States is prepared to hold its breath until the Afghan people turn blue, or that the United States might even take its bat and ball and go home. Also, to signal to the United States military that he won’t be pushed around if it kills them.

One bright spot, in the Vietnam avoidance agenda. Remember how they accused LBJ of picking targets from the Oval Office? Can’t accuse Obama of that. He’s actively not picking targets from the Oval Office.

In the meantime, our Ditherer-in-Chief is jetting off to Beijing to try and convince the Chinese they should finance his health plan, his economic stimuli, and his other assorted pricey pet rocks.  And further in the meantime, our troops in The Af won't get the resources their commander asked for BACK IN AUGUST, a request which the military establishment... including the SecDef and CENTCOM commander... supports.  Amazing, innit?

But... you should go read Mr. Crittenden.  The man is frickin' spot-on.

Heh

Nerd humor.  I LOVE it.




You know what else?  I've watched the last five seconds of this vid a dozen times.  I just can't get enough of the "Bong!  Bump-bumpa-BONG!"  Yeah:  I'm weird like that.

Ready On the Right! Ready On the Left! All Ready On the Firing Line!

(Note: This is a sticky post and will remain on top until the Valour-IT fundraiser is complete; there will also be periodic Valour-IT status updates at the end of this post, clearly marked as such.  Scroll down for the normal daily blather, if it pleases you.  If it doesn't please you, read this post again!  And, please... hit that "Donate" widget to your right.)


Update, 11/11/2009:  Today is THE FINAL DAY of the Valour-IT fundraiser.  I've not been pushy about this cause, feeling instead that I've said my piece and you Gentle Readers know what to do.  That said... I'm disappointed that Team Zoomie has turned in yet another lackluster performance this year, seeing as how we're dead last in the team standings.  Won't you please hit that "donate" widget to your right and help preserve a modicum of dignity for the Air Force?  You know it's the right and proper thing to do!!  

And thank you all for your support.  Our injured vets will thank you, too.


That's the traditional way the Range Safety Officer clears the range for a course of fire just before he gives the "Commence Firing!" command… and anyone who's ever served remembers those words well. And those words ain't limited to just the Ground Pounders or Jarheads. Nope… everyone in Uncle Sam's armed forces qualifies with a weapon, even Squids and Zoomies, believe it or don’t. So… those words seemed an appropriate way to announce the kick-off this year's Valour-IT fundraiser. We ARE ready on the firing line!  

Those of you who've been coming around these parts for the past three years or so know all about Valour-IT. But if you don't know… here's what we're on about:

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries.  Technology supplied includes:

·         Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

·         Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

·         Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops and other technologies can be to a wounded service member's recovery.

Providing all of the above technologies requires money… and that's what the two-week fundraiser is all about: raising money to provide the technology to help our warriors during their recovery from wounds suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fundraiser runs from now until Veterans Day… November 11. And just to make things interesting Soldiers' Angels runs this fundraiser in the form of a competition between the military branches… Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Coast Guard (who don't have a stand-alone team this year; they're part of the Navy team). It should come as no surprise that EIP signs on to Team Zoomie every year.

That said, it may come as something of a surprise that the Air Force traditionally fights a rear-guard action in the Valour-IT fundraiser, meaning we always come in close to the bottom of the pack, managing to beat only the Coasties in previous years. We sure do want to change that this year and we will… with your help, Gentle Reader! You can get things started by clicking on the Valour-IT widget at the top of my sidebar, which takes you directly to the Team Zoomie donation site. You can donate to Valour-IT using your credit card, PayPal, or by electronic check. You can also mail a donation to Soldiers' Angels if you choose not to donate on-line by sending a check to this address:

Soldiers Angels
1792 E. Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104

Be sure to indicate your donation is for Valour-IT, on behalf of Team Air Force!

Soldiers' Angels has also done something new this year… they've developed a set of "Frequently Asked Questions" for those who need a little more info on Valour-IT. Here are a few selected questions from the FAQ:

Is my donation fully tax deductable?

Soldiers' Angels has been designated a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity by the IRS. Donations are tax-deductible and may be eligible for matching funds from donors' employers (ask your employer). Be sure to consult your tax advisor for further information.

For info on how to verify the 501(c)(3) status of Soldiers' Angels, click here.

How much of my donation goes directly to this cause?

100% of your donation will go directly to Project Valour-IT, which has no overhead ("overhead" costs are covered by Soldiers' Angels general funds).

What will my Valour-IT donation be used for? 

Your donation to Project Valour-IT will be used to purchase laptops and other technology that will support recovery and provide independence and freedom to severely-wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

In just over four years of existence, Valour-IT has provided over 4100 laptops to individual veterans, over 30 Wii game systems to VA facilities for physical therapy sessions, and over 100 handheld GPS systems to aid veterans with head injuries (TBI).

More information about Project Valour-IT and the powerful impact it has on the wounded warriors it supports can be found here.

Why is there a competition? Why is it divided among service branches?

The Valour-IT Veterans Day Fundraising "Competition" was a developed as a fun way to raise money for a very serious project.  Teams are purely for the sake of friendly competition, building on the natural inter-service rivalries of the U.S. Military.  Competition winners get "bragging rights," but the true winners are the wounded warriors who benefit from the results of the friendly competition.
 

Just like the service members themselves who tease each other with great enthusiasm but stand shoulder-to-shoulder in wartime, we're all part of the same family even when we're being competitive.  All funds raised go into the same Valour-IT account and are used to assist any wounded service member in need of Valour-IT's support, regardless of his or her service branch.

Is this competition supported by the military or the Department of Defense (DoD)?

The U.S. Military and Department of Defense are not affiliated with this competition.  Government employees or members of the military who participate in this fundraiser are acting as private citizens.
 

Soldiers' Angels (which runs Project Valour-IT), is a private, civilian 501(c)(3) nonprofit led and governed by patriotic civilians who want to ensure individual service members know that they are remembered and supported.

If you have more questions you can read the complete FAQ here.

Now… please, please help us support this cause. I left out the usual "worthy" adjective in front of "cause" because that is simply self-evident. I know times are hard, but these times are harder still for wounded warriors… and your contribution to Valour-IT will make life easier for those who have sacrificed so much. Thanks in advance.

Update, 10/27/2009 1400 hrs   We had a fantastic first day, what with well over $13K raised.  But... true to form, Team Zoomie ain't doin' so well... and we're in last place as of this writing.  See for yourself:



Aiiieee.  I'm thinkin' this has a lot to do with Ol' Joe Stalin's famous quote about "quantity has a quality all its own," which is to say those guys who like to play in the mud have twice the folks on their teams.  I know... this sounds like I'm whining, but I'm just not USED to bringing up the rear.  And don't tell me about last year's fundraiser, either.  (insert Big-Ass grin here)


Linkage:  If you haven't read Blog-Bud Jim's Valour-IT post, please go over there now.  Jim's new to Team Zoomie this year and is one HELLUVA writer (as most of you already know).  


Update, 11/01/2009:  Lotsa cool stuff available at the Valour-IT auction on eBay... including military themed books and prints, an original graphic from Day-By-Day artist Chris Muir (autographed by Chris), autographed Nolan Ryan baseball memorabilia... and more!   All proceeds go to Valour-IT... check it out!

Broadening Our Horizons IX

Well... in the cigar category, anyhoo.  We're just moments away from firing up one of these newly-arrived puppies:

I love the packaging!  Kinda appropriate for Veterans Day, eh?

Today

To all our veterans and those serving: I salute you.  Enjoy your day!  

And to our friends and allies in the Commonwealth celebrating Remembrance Day: I salute your fallen and remember their sacrifice.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack... And...

We were in a Motown sorta mood for today's Happy Hour.  Here's one of the tunes we listened to as we knocked back a couple o' beers and enjoyed a Deep Dish:

Which brought to mind one of the first of not so many dirty deeds we've perpetrated on The Fairer Sex in this life. So, like it or don't, a reminiscence…

The year is 1962… specifically the Spring of that year… the place is San Jose, California. The Shirelles hit the Big Time that year, and the song above was one of my favorites then and it had quite a bit of overt and covert meaning for me and my Main Squeeze at the time…a wonderful girl-woman by the name of Marcy.

Marcy… she being about five foot three, kinda-sorta plump (finest kind!) and possessing a dazzling smile, among other wondrous things… was wonderful in more than a few ways. First and foremost, she was a girl who found me (sorta) fascinating, a minor miracle in and of itself. Second, she was a girl who ignored the conventions of the time in that she (a) was dating a guy who was about her same age; (b) I was a guy who had neither a car of my own nor a driver's license… something that was highly unusual at that point in time for a guy of my age and location (suburban NorCal); and (c) she was free with her charms... ample as they most certainly were... at least where I was concerned. Marcy, to her everlasting credit, had access to her parents' car and would pick me up and drive us about San Jose whenever we were free, seemingly without concern about the damage this would do to her image. And we were kinda-sorta in love… or as much "in love" as one can be when one is 17 and just beginning to figger stuff out. That's the background.

So… there we were… it was the eve of our Junior-Senior Prom and I was at work, doing landscaping things.

Time for yet another minor digression: I was living with my employer and his family at the time. My father and the rest of my family had moved down to LA a couple o' few months previously, Dad having taken a new job in LA and me not wanting to go along. So, with the help of kindly Mr. Roberts (my employer), we worked out a deal whereby I would remain behind in San Jose... going to school, working and living with Mr. Roberts and his family while Dad & Co traipsed off to LA. Marcy figured prominently into this calculation, by the way. Remember: we were In Love.

So, back to it. My foreman… Mr. Roberts' son… and I got into a helluva argument over the fact I wanted to leave work early and get ready for Prom Night. He wouldn't let me go; I was adamant I HAD to leave. It came down to "leave if you want… but if you do, you're fired." So I did what any impetuous 17-year old would do: I said "Fuck You. I'm leaving. Take your job and shove it." And I walked off the job, commandeering a ride from one of my co-workers back to Mr. Roberts' house. But there's more… I realized that I was gonna be out of a place to live by the virtue of the fact I'd just quit my job, in NO uncertain terms. So I took about 20 minutes and collected all my belongings, packed them up in a duffle bag, and walked out. I got my buddy to drive me down to the San Jose bus station and about 45 minutes (or so) later I was on a bus… LA bound.

And herein lays the dirty deed: I left Marcy hanging, without even making so much as a phone call to let her know I was leaving. And I never spoke to her again, to add insult to injury. I've often wondered about her in the intervening years, and if she ever gives (or gave) a thought to the asshole she loved who simply disappeared on what is arguably one of the biggest nights of one's teen years.

I suppose that kinda-sorta answers the rhetorical question… "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"… doesn't it? And all that said… I've had worse done to me, and I've done worse. But we won't go THERE. Let's just pop open another brew and go back outside…

Heh

Well... I have mixed emotions about this:



Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Video Game Offers Engine Repair, Awaiting Orders

Which is to say there are a couple o' bits that rub me the wrong way.  But it's pretty funny overall... I'd give it a seven on a scale of ten, but ya can't dance to it.

Snippets From the AOR VI

SN1 sent the following along this morning, with permission to publish.

So there I was...in Afghanistan...

It was supposed to be a 4 hour trip out and back for a 2 hour site-survey...yeah, right. Bad weather, 2 missed

landing attempts, and an almost dry gas tank later...we landed the UH-60 Blackhawk at a Marine  COP. Stuck for 4.5 hours...would love to say outside the wire...but there wasn't a wire. Just a big sand berm. So then the other problem pops up...they may not have any gas for us? Huh? What are these helo landing pads for anyway? So, then the absolute worst sandstorm I've ever personally experienced comes rolling across the plain. It was what prevented the original landing, at the original location. Only when we  were airborne, it didn't seem so bad...So we're stuck, at least for awhile...

The Marines, being great hosts offer a ride to the compound, in the back of a Hummer ambulance. Well, the new experiences just keep piling up!  The young corporal (I think...) tells us it will be a bumpy ride...and
so it was. Survive the helo ride, only to get hurt in the back of a pitch black Hummer ambulance? The only light was the luminescent green  glow from the CRO badge of our Combat Rescue Officer. So...a couple of bumps and a bruise or two later, we arrive.

I thought there was something different about the place...and there sure was. We've got what we call  "moondust" here in Afghanistan. Had some of  it in Iraq too, but this is the first time I've ever been anywhere like this. The entire place was covered with it. So, the wind is still  blowing and the moondust is coating everything...completely. I've never been so dirty...in uniform. Walking in it feels like going through very dry, powdery snow. We then ended up in a tent watching a nearly unbearable TV broadcast, but that's where we heard the healthcare bill had passed the house...no comment about that.

Anyway...we're all in various moods: Bored, anxious, and a couple of annoyed...we get a box full of MREs (I got lucky! Beef Stew!) have lunch and settle in for the afternoon. After a short attempt at a nap, nature calls. I head outside the tent looking for the port-a-johns...none.  Hmmm...so the SOP is what again? I get directed to three large PVC pipes sticking out of the ground at about waist level, at a very well thought out 45 degree angle on the big berm. I had to take a couple of pics of that. Ingenuity!

Business taken care of, I start to wander around...and see one of the most HOOORAH moments in my career: in the middle of the blowing sand and crappy conditions, this huge Marine is working out. Kettle bell swings, into a couple dozen push-ups, followed immediately by hanging leg raises. Pause. Repeat. God Bless the Marines! Gotta love those guys!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the COP they strained some JP-8 for us and put it into a makeshift refueler. So we get the word to head back to the birds. Over an hour later, having given each helo just enough gas to get to the original destination, we wait. Classic military situation: Hurry up and wait. The decision is finally made, we're taking the weather obs from the FOB and take off...with NVGs. 20 minutes later, we ended up at an Army FOB for the night.

So we're there and the Army Capt is hosting us. We talk business and then grab some chow. Best part of the trip!! Better food than I had in Balad last year, no kidding. T-Bone steak, med-rare, and I could cut it with the plastic ware! Lots of options: Mexican, Italian and short-order bars, 2 mainlines, way too many desserts! Good stuff. We finally get a tent for the night and find our cots. Me, 2 LtCols, a Maj, and a Lt. I was the only one that brought a 3 day bag...they all laughed at me getting on the helo...they all froze last night...I wasn't a boy-scout for nothing!

This morning was more good chow, some great coffee and a mini air show, courtesy of a guy and his gas-powered RC helo. This guy had some serious skill with that thing. Inverted flying, impossible banking maneuvers, upside down hovering within inches of the sand...great show. So we're ready to go...guess who's our helo pilot for the ride back to Kandahar? Oh yeah, Mr. RC Helo stunt pilot...we were a little nervous, especially the HH-60 pilot sitting next to me...

Got back late morning...good times in Afghanistan!

(Image from the web.)  SN1 is also updating his blog a lot more frequently than he used to... with pictures!

Twenty Years Ago...

On the night of November 9, 1989 confused East German border guards opened several checkpoints in East Berlin and allowed citizens of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) free passage into West Berlin for the first time since 1961.  The East Germans were ecstatic; world-wide response was both joyful and incredulous.  And on the following day... November 10th... the wall began coming down in earnest and the partying lasted for days.  Some background:



To say the fall of the Berlin Wall was a momentous occasion is massive understatement.  I watched my teevee in a combination of amazement and wonder, thinking to myself that I never thought I would see the day... yet there it was, big as life and twice as natural.  

I like to think this event... which happened about two years earlier in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate... had something to do with the wall coming down:

Opinions vary on this subject, but I believe President Reagan was a catalyst in bringing the wall down.  President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher... along with General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev... were the primary actors responsible for the demise of the Soviet Union, as well... an event that occurred a little over two years after the Berlin Wall came down.

It all began 20 years ago tonight... and this date marks an anniversary that should be celebrated by free peoples everywhere.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Part and parcel of...

Ah.  Beautiful weather, a couple o' few decent beers, a good cigar, and fine tunes... life is good.  Or as good as it gets these days.  It's ALL relative, yanno?

Update, later that same day, from the self-same soundtrack:





Which calls to mind one late late night in 1977 in Westby, Montana where... at approximately three or four o'clock in the morning... we did a drunken duet of this very same song with an artist who was performing in one of the two bars in Westby.  And we were GOOD, Gentle Reader.  But that's not the salient or even the most prominent memory of that evening...  No, it was the fact that I prevented a great good friend of mine from driving the ten miles back to her dorm in the wee small hours of that morning.  Like me, she was incredibly and wonderfully "happy," way too happy to drive. So... we convinced her to drive the half mile to my Little Home On The Prairie instead.  We got home and almost literally fell into bed.  The last thing I remember about that night:

She:  I don't wanna do anything...

Me:  Me neither.  I'm too damned drunk anyway...

And so we went to sleep, cradled in each others arms.  A fine ending to a fine night, regardless of what you might think.  Ain't it amazing what music will conjure up at any given point in time?

Bad News, Good News

First the bad news... which you already know unless you're currently under your favorite big-ass rock or in a coma:

WASHINGTON – In a tight vote, the House passed its sweeping health bill late Saturday, marking the biggest victory yet for Democrats in their drive to create near-universal health insurance.

[...]

Its passage moves Congress closer to the biggest expansion of the social safety net since the Medicare insurance program for the elderly was created in 1965. The measure spends $1.01 trillion over a decade to provide health insurance to an additional 36 million Americans and creates a new public insurance plan to compete with private insurers by 2013. It requires most Americans to carry insurance, creates a new exchange where they can shop for it and gives the lowest earners tax credits to help them pay for it.

A little over one trillion dollars, depending on who you believe*!  The prudent among us have to ask:  where the HELL is that money coming from?  I suppose "prudent" would disqualify all but 39 Democrats in the House, the remainder of which evidently don't understand what a massive increase in gub'mint debt means for the future of the nation and every single individual living in these United States or they don't care.  The situation is appalling, in either case. 

The astute may wonder why my rant focuses on "debt."  What else could it possibly BE... considering we have about $107 trillion in unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities?  But, Hell... I suppose another two or three trillion dollars ain't much to add... (/sarcasm)


So... the good news.  I don't have a link for you, but I just now watched Senator Joe Lieberman on Fox News Sunday and he said... unequivocally... that he cannot and will not support the House bill as long as it contains a "public option" for the exact reason mentioned above: an unconscionable increase in the public debt.  I might be wrong here, but I'm quite sure he said he would not allow a bill with a public option to come to a vote on the Senate floor.  And that is good news, indeed.  Let us pray.


* The Heritage Foundation thinks Pelosi's monstrosity will cost 2.6 trillion dollars. 


Update, 1710 hrs:  I heard Senator Lieberman correctly:



Good on ya, Joe.

This Is Just Pretty Cool

Well... kinda cold, actually.  Via Kukla's Korner... a look back at the 2009 NHL Winter Classic, played at Chicago's Wrigley Field.  Which might be of interest to besbol fans who don't know hockey from hookey... coz there are a lot of comparisons made between the two games, especially when it comes to the Cubbies and Chicago fans in general:



For the record: Detroit 6, Chicago 4.  It was a GREAT game!

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

Forgive me, Gentle Reader, coz we seem to be stuck in that "Sensitive 70s  Kinda Guy" groove.  That said... one of the better things about Jackson Browne's music was his chocie of exemplary sidemen.  I'm speaking of the inimitable David Lindley, of course, and his violin accompaniment in this tune is as wistful and heartbreaking as it gets... a perfect complement to the song's lyrics.  And while we're on about that... here are the lyrics to "Something Fine:"

The papers lie there helplessly
In a pile outside the door
I've tried and tried, but I just can't remember what they're for
The world outside is tugging like a beggar at my sleeve
Oh, that's much too old a story to believe

And you know that it's taken its share of me
Even though you take such good care of me
Now you say "Morocco" and that makes me smile
I haven't seen Morocco in a long, long while
The dreams are rolling down across the places in my mind
And I've just had a taste of something fine

The future hides and the past just slides
England lies between
Floating in a silver mist so cold and so clean
California's shaking like an angry child will
Who has asked for love and is unanswered still

And you know that I'm looking back carefully
Cause I know that there's still something there for me
But you said "Morocco" and you made me smile
And it hasn't been that easy for a long, long while
And looking back into your eyes I saw them really shine
Giving me a taste of something fine
Something fine

Now if you see Morocco I know you'll go in style
I may not see Morocco for a little while
But while you're there I was hoping you might keep it in your mind
To save me just a taste of something fine

And now about Lindley: One of the finest album purchases I ever made in my short sweet life was Lindley's solo album... and his rendition of "Mercury Blues" is a stand-out in my musical pantheon.  But we digress.   Hell.... as long as we're digressing:




Is that fuckin' awesome, or what?

And the Winnah Is...

All the returns are in... except perhaps for an absentee ballot or two... and it's Happy Hour by unanimous vote (2 - 0; we have a very small precinct)!  The polls are now officially closed.


I mean... how could I not?  It's beautiful outside and we might even be able to remain outdoors after sunset.  Wow.  This is good!

Sad and Incomprehensible

My heart goes out to the families of yesterday's murder victims at Fort Hood and for the injured as well.  I hope we get some answers from that deranged major who caused all this carnage.  I also hope he gets the death penalty.  Too bad we can't kill him twice.  Or 13 times.

―:☺:― 

So... I have a decision to make within the hour: finish the morning coffee or get Happy Hour under way?  I've just now poured my second cup; I set a new personal worst today by not rolling out of the rack until 1320 hrs.  And today's sunrise wasn't anything to write home about, either.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

I didn't include Paul Simon in the post below (my variation on the theme of "15 Favorites") but I probably should have done so.  Simon is one of my very favorites... a guy I return to time and time again.  This particular cut is from "Graceland," but the cut I was really looking for... "Peace Like a River," from the first Simon solo album... doesn't exist on YouTube.  And that first solo album is what we're really listening to on this warm, sunny Fall afternoon.  No matter.  "Crazy Love, Part II" works almost as well.  Sorta.  But... like most things in life: ya hadda be there.  So, herewith the lyrics of the tune just now played:

Ah, peace like a river ran through the city
Long past the midnight curfew
We sat starry-eyed
Ooh, oh,we were satisfied
O-o-oh, And I remember
Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
Oh, oh, oh, if the plans were changed.

You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can't outrun the history train
I seen a glorious day, aiee------


Ah, four in the morning
I woke up from out of my dreams
Nowhere to go but back to sleep
But I'm reconciled
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while

Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while

Yup.  Ya hadda be there.  I was "up for a while" in the way-back... the story of my life, and all that.  And now... back outside.  Beer remains to be drunk, a second cigar has been lit.  Life is good.

What Time Is It? It's Meme Time!

Yeah… we haven't done the meme thing in quite a while, but a meme about music kinda hits me where I live. About which, this:

Now these albums are emphatically not the 15 greatest albums of all time. While that's also an interesting question, that's not what I had in mind. These are more like the 15 albums I'd have to take to a desert island with me... the ones I don't think I could go without. Maybe, my 15 favorites of all my favorites.

That would be Blog-Bud Jim's swell pal Donatello speaking… and this post kicked off the madness.  And that's the meme: list your 15 all-time favorite albums.  Pretty simple, eh?  Jim is supposed to post his own "15 favorites" sometime today, but we're just slightly ahead of our time here… given as how this post will go up sometime around midnite. I'll update with an appropriate link later.

I had to go back and re-read the post in question before I embarked on my own. I was seriously mistaken, seeing as how I thought this was all about "15 albums that changed my world." It ain't… at least in its original incarnation. Still and even… "music that changed my world" seems like an appropriate variation on a theme, and that's the way I'm gonna go. Let's get started.

 

The year: 1957. The place: Ankara, Turkey. The Ol' Man was stationed in Ankara at the time and to say the USAF BX/PX distribution network ain't what it is today is a MASSIVE understatement. Elvis' debut album came out in 1956, I got it placed in my hot lil grubby hands for Christmas in 1957… as part of a gift package from my grandmother, God bless and rest her soul. How in the HELL she figured out a 12 year old kid would like… no, LOVE… something as radical as Elvis' first album is so far beyond me as to be almost alien. But she did, and as I said: God bless her for that. Keep in mind: popular music in 1957 was pretty much all Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney and the like. Elvis wailing "Hound Dog" was as different from that mainstream as hip-hop is to "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik."

Honorable mentions go to the Fats Domino and Chuck Berry singles that were also in that Christmas box… they were all part of a package that seriously changed my musical tastes. But it was Elvis who rocked my world.  And changed it forever.
 

Fast forward to 1960. I was now 15 and living in Washington, D.C. I'll choose the James Brown single on the left as an example of the revelation that came upon me beginning sometime around 1959 and culminated in 1960. That revelation was Black Radio and the R&B music featured there… which was unlike anything I had ever heard before (sorta: see Fats Domino, above). I'd go into my room at night and listen to my crackly, staticky AM radio, marveling at the music I heard… music that was Unobtanium in my white-bread, lily-white suburban world. Once again, consider the times… you simply did NOT find James Brown, Lloyd Price, or Ray Charles in the "hits" bin at Woolworths back in the day… that day being 1958 - 1960… at least not in suburbia. I would have had to journey into Southeast Washington to get that music in my hands back then and since I was only 15 and without a driver's license, that was out of the question. My parents simply wouldn't go there… literally… but the music was on the radio, the radio was in my room, and it was ON every single night. It was an education like no other.

1964. Biloxi, Mississippi (Keesler AFB). Three viewings of "A Hard Day's Night"… the movie… followed up by the IMMEDIATE purchase of the album and every single Beatles album released ever after. Beatlemania struck us HARD and opened us up to The British Invasion. Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Hollies, the Kinks, and The Rolling Stones weren't far behind. But the Beach Boys and early '60s American pop were left behind… FAR behind. My world changed… again.

1967. Lompoc, California (Vandenberg AFB). I was stationed at Lompoc Air Force Station and did shift work for about three years straight. One night in 1967 I came home from a swing shift sometime around 0030 hours and didn't want to go to bed immediately. So I got myself a beer, parked my tired young ass in the living room, switched on the FM radio, and began surfing up and down the dial… when I came across this… playing on KCSB… the college radio station out of UCSB in Isla Vista:

Yowzers! Moby Grape!  My eyes opened wide… my ears perked up and I was frickin' mesmerized. About 10 seconds into the cut I turned it up… WAY up… prompting an irritated visit from The First Mrs. Pennington, who had long been asleep. I apologized and went to headphones. And stayed up all night… listening to bands like It's a Beautiful Day, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and so on. I went on break a couple of days later, whereupon I drove down to Isla Vista and dropped an obscene amount of money (for a young three-striper) in a local indie record store. A (plastic) hippie was born…

So. We remained deeply immersed in "alternative rock" for the next ten years or so. We went from Moby Grape to Buffalo Springfield (and its individual members, like Stephen Stills and Neil Young), Santana, The Byrds, and so on and so forth. We bought the Woodstock album. We were seriously into Dylan and Joan Baez. The whole nine yards… the music led us to the counterculture, such as it was, and thus was a serious life altering event. And we stayed there for quite a while. Until 1978 or so… but before we go there… there's this:

1975. Tokyo, Japan… Yokota Air Base, actually. Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere." I've told this story before, so there's no real need to repeat myself. EKTIN changed my life for-frickin'-EVER and was the soundtrack for the best years of my life. I just can NOT leave this album out. No way. No how. It was definitely THAT big to me.

1978 - 1980. North Bend, Oregon. College radio, yet again… and this time it was a break from what had become "classic rock," in the form of Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, and Nick Lowe… just to name three. You could also toss in the first Dire Straits album, coz it was released during that time, as well. Our musical tastes were evolving, ever so subtly. And then in what might be the most amazing case of serendipity I've ever experienced… I received orders in 1980 assigning me to RAF Uxbridge in London. The Second Mrs. Pennington and I were set down in what was arguably the very heart of the alternative music scene at the time. And we took advantage… going out to pubs, clubs, concerts and the like every damned weekend. It was… ahem… Nirvana.

So. Just one more and then we'll go. The year is 1988. Dee-troit. My Good Buddy Greg dropped by late one evening, as was his habit, and left Lyle Lovett's "Pontiac" with TSMP and I. This is the last "life changing" album I can think of and it was life changing in the sense it opened my eyes to "New Country." I've been a life-long fan of Lyle's… and country music in the larger sense… ever since.

This is only half of the meme's requisite "15 albums," and Lord knows I could add more… many more. A couple more Beatles albums. At least one John Hiatt album. Motown. The Who. Pink Floyd. Leo Kottke. Soul Asylum.  Six Dylan albums, and at least that many from the Stones. More than a few from Joni Mitchell. Etta James.  And we haven't even scratched the classical music genre, there being more than a few Mozart and Vivaldi albums I couldn't live without. The Blues, too. Da Blooze would merit a post all its own, when you come right down to it. But this is the state of my musical memories at the moment… so it's gonna have to do.

Update:  Jim's 15.  That ol' cliché about looking up "eclectic" and finding Jim's picture as the only entry in the dictionary applies.  Hoo-Boy, does it EVAH!

Reading Test

SN1 sends the following along... asking if we notice the typo:

In response to why America trusts the military…

Ed O'Malley

A former state legislator and gubernatorial aide, Ed O’Malley is President and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center, a first-of-its-kind training center charged with fostering large-scale civic leadership for healthier communities. He tweets at eomalley.

The leader next door

Confidence in the military comes easily because our soldiers care about something larger than themselves. Their work is not about profit, but duty and freedom; not about popularity (as is the case with media ratings, consumer rankings and political polls), but about the honor and security of America.

Cynicism about those in government, business and the media runs rampant, while Americans continue to hear heroic stories about military men and women, doing the work few in government, business and the media have done or likely would do.

In addition, perhaps we trust the military more because it delivers on its broad promise to the American people. We ask the military to keep us safe, and they deliver. We ask government to solve tough issues like lax regulation of Wall Street and government dithers. We ask media to shoot straight and then media bias, on all sides, is so evident. We ask big business to steward the economic promise of America and then find ourselves bailing out billionaires.

We trust military leadership because we know the military. My dad was a Marine, and my granddaddy was in the Air Force. My colleague's daughter serves on the USS Truman. Our recent widow-repair man served in Iraq. A friend flew refueling tankers over Afghanistan. I don't know any Wall Street billionaires, and that is fine with me. I'll take the leadership lessons from a soldier, sailor, air man or Marine any day.

***

As I told SN1... well, there could be such a thing (but I sincerely doubt it).  This just serves to illustrate the perils of spell-check... sometimes that squiggly red underline goes missing, eh?  Still and even, Mr. O'Malley's point has the ring of truth and is VERY well taken.

―:☺:― 

So.  We're just now finishing our second cup after answering the overnight mail and such. We've yet to turn on our teevee, make the Daily Blog-Rounds, or even steal a look at memeorandum.  Part of the reason I was up all night was the news coverage of the elections... and it appears to have been a great night for Republicans.  I'm not all that adept at reading political tea leaves, but my initial reaction is "no big deal."  The GOP, of course, is saying they're resurgent and the elections represent a referendum on The One and his policies.  I don't quite see how state governors and such have anything to do with Mr. Obama and his policies, especially in New Jersey where God hissownself would have been defeated had he run as a Democrat.  Too much party corruption there, for way too long.  Still and even, I hope the GOP pols are correct and the public rejected Democratic candidates simply because they were Democrats.  But I kinda doubt it.

We'll see.

Broadening Our Horizons VIII

That would be a Shiner Smokehaus. OK, purists... I freely admit the very ideer of mesquite flavored beer IS off-putting. But I just couldn't help myself... I'll let ya know if it's as bad as it sounds.  Or as good.  Whatevah.


That's an Acid Opulence 3 in the ashtray.  We have some experience with this cigar... and it's very, very good.  And now... outside! 


Update, later that same day:  Unaccustomed as I am to the language of connisseurs... here's a review from Beer Advocate (which gave Smokehaus an overall rating of B-, based on 79 reviews):

Pours golden yellow with a thick soapy head.

Aroma is surprisingly sour charred grassyness. Grainy, with just a hint of mesquite smokiness.

Taste is very smokey. Mesquite along with a touch of cooked meat dominates. Underlying hint of dark fruit. Finish is crisp, grassy, with a touch of adjunct sweetness.

Mouthfeel is light and smooth.

Overall a smokey lager with a nice crisp finish.

I diverge from the review only slightly.  First of all... the pour was a hearty golden orange and quite pleasing albeit with little to no head, as can be seen in the pic I posted.  Second... the beer's taste is more than a lil bit sour.  That's not a bad thing, in and of itself... more of a matter of taste.  Some folks like "sour" in a beer, some don't.   I didn't "get" the smoky taste; it wasn't all that discernible to my palate.  Don't get me wrong... the smoky taste and aroma was there... it just wasn't prominent.


Still and even: worthy.  Which is not to say Smokehaus will be a regular here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington.... more like we're not sad we bought it.  I'll finish the sixer but I won't be buying more anytime soon.

Heh

Lotsa bloggers are having fun with this lil blurb from the Beeb:

A bear killed two militants after discovering them in its den in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.

Two other militants escaped, one of them badly wounded, after the attack in Kulgam district, south of Srinagar.

The militants had assault rifles but were taken by surprise - police found the remains of pudding they had made to eat when the bear attacked.

It is thought to be the first such incident since Muslim separatists took up arms against Indian rule in 1989.

Bodies found

The militants had made their hideout in a cave which was actually the bear's den, said police officer Farooq Ahmed.

The dead have been identified as Mohammad Amin alias Qaiser, and Bashir Ahmed alias Saifullah.

News of the attack emerged when their injured comrade went to a nearby village for treatment.

Heh. "Islamophobe Bear."  "GWOT Bear."  And the hits just keep on comin'!

Snippets From the AOR, Part V

About which: a couple o' pics I received this morning.

SN1 posted the back-story about the door pic on his blog...  And then there's this:

This is the sign that graces the front of the UK Military PAX terminal at Kandahar.  I'm thinking the original Heathrow just might be a lil more hospitable.  Ya think?

Idiots

I really shouldn't do shit like this. But I did. I saw a banner ad on WeatherUnderground and clicked through, just to see what the Hell "Hopenhagen" is... and it ain't the latest flavor from Ben & Jerry's. Nope, it's this (click to embiggen):

Now ain't that cute?

345,530 idiot reasons.

But THIS freaks me out!

I sent a note off to James Taranto at the WSJ asking if it was really true... is the Journal REALLY a "Friend of Hopenhagen?" Really? I'll let ya know if they answer me...

Full disclosure:  I did NOT sign the petition.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack

"Yellow." Mellow. That would be us during today's Happy Hour, which… given the time change… we kicked off much earlier than usual.  Sitting outside with our feet up, cigar in hand and drinking in early afternoon will reinforce, no doubt, our neighbors' perception of us as an irreconcilable reprobate. I flatter myself by thinking the neighbors actually think of us at all, which I'm quite sure they don't. Still and even, drinking in mid-afternoon on a Sunday isn't quite in keeping with the gestalt of the High Plains of New Mexico, given our frickin' Blue Laws and such. It's illegal to buy alcohol on Sunday in these parts, and that includes a simple glass of wine with dinner, should one choose to dine out on a Sunday. I frickin' HATE that!

All that said… both yesterday and today were brilliant Fall days, which is to say warm, clear and beautiful. We saddled up Miss Zukiko and went for a ride around the countryside late this morning before coming back and indulging in Happy Hour. There aren't many of such days left this year, I'm afraid. So: we're taking advantage of them as best we can.

―:☺:―

Miscellaneous bitches, moans, and complaints department: Have all y'all seen that obnoxious AARP ad? The one that features the "with-it" 60-something dude who begins the ad by saying "the sixties were a time of freedom… and so are MY 60s" and then proceeds to flog Medicare Advantage insurance from AARP...complete with flashbacks of his sixties-era girlfriend with the long, ironed blonde hair, presumably now his pixie-coiffed wife? And shots of him and said girlfriend in front of their VW van (quick cut to today's minivan... OMG), and him on his motorcycle… ultimately cutting to politically-correct pics of him and the family in the present… on frickin' bicycles? God forbid we should still ride mo'sickles in our 60s, right? And then there are the oh-so-cute grandchildren. Kee-RIST. Spare me. Please. I can't find the mute button fast enough…

I spent quite a while over my morning coffee searching all the video sites for that commercial, but: no joy. Which is probably a Good Thing… coz if you've seen the ad you know exactly what I'm on about. And if you haven't seen it… well, your day has been spared a serious downer. I'm thinking the world will be a MUCH better place when all the Boomers are dead. Things are only gonna get worse in the ad-space and other cultural forums as time goes on, however. Aiiieee.

Full disclosure: I am NOT a Boomer, given as how I was born in 1945. So: I'm entitled to bitch about 'em. And Boy-Howdy… I most certainly do and will continue to do so.  Self-obsessed wankers.

―:☺:―

One more from this afternoon's soundtrack:

I loves me some Norah.  Yeah... I'd go away with her at the drop of a frickin' hat.  Sooner, even.

Coast To Coast In A Lil Over a Minute

The Promised Land from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

With Chuck Berry!

A View From India

An editorial in The Times of India contemplates the disintegration of Pakistan; here's a brief excerpt:

Which brings up a third scenario: A year down the road, US president Barack Obama capitulates to mounting domestic pressure, much of it from his own party, and decides to wind down the American presence in Afghanistan. The ISI tells the Taliban to wait quietly till the infidels have gone. And then move in. Bingo! We can all move back to September 10, 2001. The Taliban, with guidance from the Pakistani forces who are perpetually seeking strategic depth against India, gains effective control over Afghanistan. The Lashkar-e-whatevers and the al-Qaeda are delighted. The Pakistani army is happy that the security of the western flank is outsourced once again to proxies while it resumes directing its low-intensity conflict against India.

Unlikely? Perhaps. Improbable? No. Many Americans
are busy comparing their involvement in Afghanistan to Vietnam and asking whether it is worth any more time and effort. There are, however, others who are calling such comparisons nonsensical, since the two situations are entirely different, and are insisting that the stability of both Afghanistan and Pakistan is vital for the world to gain a respite from terrorism. New Delhi can only hope that the latter group wins the argument.

The other two scenarios in this editorial are just as chilling, if not more so. And note the final sentence in the quote above.  The Indians aren't alone... significant numbers of Americans feel the same way.  Let's hope the folks who think Pakistan and Afghanistan must be saved have The One's ear.  And that he listens.

RTWT, as we bloggers say.

Bachelor Cooking...

... or: when in doubt... fix breakfast. Ya can never go wrong with a Big-Ass cheese omelet slathered with El Pinto, bacon, and toast. Never.