Friday, February 24, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Protector of the Two Party System
Let's face it, whether they know it or not, Republicans are set on preserving the two party system in America. Why else would Republicans tout family values so loudly?
I mean, if we just keep quiet, encourage everyone who wants an abortion to get one and legalize same-sex marriage, within a generation there won't be any Democrats.
I mean, if we just keep quiet, encourage everyone who wants an abortion to get one and legalize same-sex marriage, within a generation there won't be any Democrats.
Friday, February 17, 2006
"You got your peanut butter in my chocolate..."
They've combined two things I like together and made both of them better.
Why wasn't I told about this before?
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Rasselin'
In my youth, wrestling was still fairly underground as an entertainment. The days of Gorgeous George. Matches took place in smokey basements of the local auditorium and the folks that went took them very seriously.
I wouldn't of thought about this except for Sandy brought it up.
I had friends that told deathly tales of mayhem and humiliation and made me want to go so bad, but my folks were above such things and we stayed away. As I grew, we would sometimes argue about whether it was fake or not. And it was years before I became convinced that it was.
When son1 was a wee tad of a boy, he was fascinated with wrestling and just would not listen to reason about how fake it was. So I decided to set up a little demonstration.
We were watching wrestling on television one Saturday and one of the wrestlers would jump up on the ropes and leap off onto the other unsuspecting guy and cream him right to the mat. I told son1, "how on earth you think that guy didn't see that coming?"
He wasn't convinced. So I climbed up on the couch until I was standing on the back of it and told him, "Stand right there while I jump on you."
I knew darned well that by the time I launched myself from that sofa, he would run away and I could say, "what makes you think you're faster than those wrestling guys?"
About that time the couch tipped over backwards, flinging me forward in a prone position parallel to the floor, barking my shins and causing me to land painfully across the sofa which was now laying on its back, my face skinned and flattened on the floor.
And, as predicted, son1 moved deftly aside in deference to my landing.
When son1 finally quit laughing he admitted that maybe I had a point. The little bride told me that he was only saying that to make me feel better and then told son1 that wrestling was real no matter what daddy says. I've pretty much stayed out of the discussion ever since.
I wouldn't of thought about this except for Sandy brought it up.
I had friends that told deathly tales of mayhem and humiliation and made me want to go so bad, but my folks were above such things and we stayed away. As I grew, we would sometimes argue about whether it was fake or not. And it was years before I became convinced that it was.
When son1 was a wee tad of a boy, he was fascinated with wrestling and just would not listen to reason about how fake it was. So I decided to set up a little demonstration.
We were watching wrestling on television one Saturday and one of the wrestlers would jump up on the ropes and leap off onto the other unsuspecting guy and cream him right to the mat. I told son1, "how on earth you think that guy didn't see that coming?"
He wasn't convinced. So I climbed up on the couch until I was standing on the back of it and told him, "Stand right there while I jump on you."
I knew darned well that by the time I launched myself from that sofa, he would run away and I could say, "what makes you think you're faster than those wrestling guys?"
About that time the couch tipped over backwards, flinging me forward in a prone position parallel to the floor, barking my shins and causing me to land painfully across the sofa which was now laying on its back, my face skinned and flattened on the floor.
And, as predicted, son1 moved deftly aside in deference to my landing.
When son1 finally quit laughing he admitted that maybe I had a point. The little bride told me that he was only saying that to make me feel better and then told son1 that wrestling was real no matter what daddy says. I've pretty much stayed out of the discussion ever since.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Friday, February 10, 2006
Dr. Livingstone, I presume?
V-man opines that the story of Stanley and Livingstone would have made a great movie. And he's probably right, as usual.
His fear is that, made today, the story would be debauched. But of course, that already happened more than 100 years ago. The whole episode was nothing more than a publicity stunt to begin with.
Stanley, a native of Wales, had come to the United States to seek his fortune, somehow wound up here in Arkansas at the outbreak of our late unpleasantness, and enlisted in Company A, Capitol Guards, 6th Arkansas Infantry.
Captured first time out of the chute, he found it expedient to renounce his loyalty to the noble lost cause and enlisted in the Union Army.
Later, as a reporter for the New York Herald, he endeavored to spend as much of the newspapers fortune as possible, hiring thousands of porters and guides to help him find someone who was not lost and then insinuated himself into the poor man's entourage forcing him to share some of the limelight in his discoveries.
He then became a serial killer in Africa before returning to Europe to marry an Ann Heche type artist and go into politics. He died in 1904 gasping, "St. Peter, I presume?"
His fear is that, made today, the story would be debauched. But of course, that already happened more than 100 years ago. The whole episode was nothing more than a publicity stunt to begin with.
Stanley, a native of Wales, had come to the United States to seek his fortune, somehow wound up here in Arkansas at the outbreak of our late unpleasantness, and enlisted in Company A, Capitol Guards, 6th Arkansas Infantry.
Captured first time out of the chute, he found it expedient to renounce his loyalty to the noble lost cause and enlisted in the Union Army.
Later, as a reporter for the New York Herald, he endeavored to spend as much of the newspapers fortune as possible, hiring thousands of porters and guides to help him find someone who was not lost and then insinuated himself into the poor man's entourage forcing him to share some of the limelight in his discoveries.
He then became a serial killer in Africa before returning to Europe to marry an Ann Heche type artist and go into politics. He died in 1904 gasping, "St. Peter, I presume?"
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Convictions
"To be one's self, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity."
Irving Wallace
There is a segment of our society, and a large one, that cares not about convictions or even right and wrong. They just need to be made to feel good. Don't rock the boat and tell me feelgood things.
These people adored Bill Clinton as president because he never did anything out of principle. He will be most noted for his indiscretions than for his statesmanship. His failures to act rather than his accomplishments. He left a lot of people bewildered. And he made a lot of people feel good.
This is why there is such an irrational hatred of President Bush. History will tell if he has been right or wrong, but he has not wavered from the course of his convictions no matter what the criticism. He doesn't tell us meaningless things to make us feel good.
And I am thankful to a just God that we have a man of conviction as our leader and pray that God direct his footsteps as he leads. And, I believe He has.
Irving Wallace
There is a segment of our society, and a large one, that cares not about convictions or even right and wrong. They just need to be made to feel good. Don't rock the boat and tell me feelgood things.
These people adored Bill Clinton as president because he never did anything out of principle. He will be most noted for his indiscretions than for his statesmanship. His failures to act rather than his accomplishments. He left a lot of people bewildered. And he made a lot of people feel good.
This is why there is such an irrational hatred of President Bush. History will tell if he has been right or wrong, but he has not wavered from the course of his convictions no matter what the criticism. He doesn't tell us meaningless things to make us feel good.
And I am thankful to a just God that we have a man of conviction as our leader and pray that God direct his footsteps as he leads. And, I believe He has.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Do I Know You?
Lately, I've seen on several blogs a reference to pissing people off that you have never met. The internet is good for that.
I found it out shortly after I started buying stuff on eBay. A friend of mine who knew that I used the name"circa bellum" on eBay called me one day. He had been shopping in an antique store here locally.
He told me that some dude came in and was talking with the owner of the store. He said that he was on his way from Ohio to Texas and by the way, did he know of anybody locally that went by the name circa bellum on eBay?
This perked my friends ears up, so he starts listening more carefully.
The store owner shakes his head and says, "no, never heard of him." And, the dude says, "well, that son of a bitch out bids me on everything I bid on!"
When I heard that, I said, "Well, the internet allows me to go beyond just pissing off people on a local scale. It allows you to piss off folks globally!"
And, it does.
I found it out shortly after I started buying stuff on eBay. A friend of mine who knew that I used the name"circa bellum" on eBay called me one day. He had been shopping in an antique store here locally.
He told me that some dude came in and was talking with the owner of the store. He said that he was on his way from Ohio to Texas and by the way, did he know of anybody locally that went by the name circa bellum on eBay?
This perked my friends ears up, so he starts listening more carefully.
The store owner shakes his head and says, "no, never heard of him." And, the dude says, "well, that son of a bitch out bids me on everything I bid on!"
When I heard that, I said, "Well, the internet allows me to go beyond just pissing off people on a local scale. It allows you to piss off folks globally!"
And, it does.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Dont Ask How I Know...
"...Just know that I do."
"There's nothing worse than achieving your martyrdom and disappointing 72 virgins at once."
"There's nothing worse than achieving your martyrdom and disappointing 72 virgins at once."
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Emotional Currency
For your entertainment, I present a trick that I like to play for the kids. They seem to get a kick out of it and I figured if you haven't seen it before you might want to see it now.
We're going to make George laugh and cry. To do this, use a one dollar bill. It's best if it's one that's not too wrinkled up. The crisper the paper, the better.
Fold the bill right through George's left eye like this:
Then fold the bill right through his other eye and crease them pretty good. Next, bring the two folds together and make a third crease going the other way between them. Like an accordion:
Then, pull them slightly apart, not straightening them out completely, and tilt the bill away and then toward you. Tilting it away makes him laugh:
And tilting it toward you makes him cry:
We're going to make George laugh and cry. To do this, use a one dollar bill. It's best if it's one that's not too wrinkled up. The crisper the paper, the better.
Fold the bill right through George's left eye like this:
Then fold the bill right through his other eye and crease them pretty good. Next, bring the two folds together and make a third crease going the other way between them. Like an accordion:
Then, pull them slightly apart, not straightening them out completely, and tilt the bill away and then toward you. Tilting it away makes him laugh:
And tilting it toward you makes him cry:
Friday, February 03, 2006
Remember New Orleans
"How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual... as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of."
Texas State Representative Suzanna Hupp
thanks, and a tip of the ol' Hatlo hat to Dave Nall.
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