Monday, November 30, 2009

Tina Fey


I'm pretty sure there are more out there who find her somehow, hot. You know who you are. That Jane Krakowski is pretty good, too. Baldwin is hilarious. Too bad I don't get to watch "30 Rock" much.

Bennett on Sinatra


Tony Bennett talks about Frank Sinatra in this short piece:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/08/tony-bennett200908.

I think that Sinatra nailed it when he stated the "honesty" part about singers. Regardless of the genre, the best are always the ones with an honest connection to the song and to the listener. Hank Williams, who he mentioned, is absolutely dead on in that regard. No one can touch him in the world of C&W, though there are other fine ones--George Jones, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, etc. What passes for country today is something that I'm not sure you can classify. Mostly, however, it doesn't have anything resembling honesty. Same for pop or rock. Rap is probably honest to a great degree but has a limited connection and is horribly juvenile. Sure, that's a highly subjective take but it's poetry on a second grade level. Okay, so I'm digging a hole for myself, but there you have it. Just put me down in the "mostly doesn't relate" category on that and we'll call it a day.
Talking about music, I'll register a brief rant regarding the subject of bagpipes at funerals, particularly those in the United States. Listen up, we ain't Scotland or Ireland and a bagpipe at an American funeral is like a ham sandwich at a bar mitzvah. I guess somebody thought it was all tingly to hear "Amazing Grace" done by a bagpiper dressed in full kit but it really comes off as highly dishonest given that we're burying a guy born and raised in Tulsa or Provo or somewhere else that's pure U S of A and about as far away from that cold and damp part of the world that you can get. Somebody pull out a guitar or harmonica instead, or better yet, dispense with the music entirely and promptly head to the bar to properly send off old Uncle Bill. When I die, if you hear bagpipes, you'll know I pissed Mrs. Bulba off real bad and she's getting in a little payback.

David Guttenfelder, AP Photographer



Of course, the best war photography comes from World War II. Great photos from both theaters of combat. I think the best film footage ever done is from the kamikazi attacks on US naval vessels during the Marianas campaign. Impressive to watch.


Dandy Don, Thirty Miles of Hell, and Other Thanksgiving Musings


Great piece on Don Meredith that gets into a little more detail about his time with the Cowboys and what he's doing now:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/112609dnspomeredith.39
(Thanks to Ron Brand over at SnS for the link)
bdd5f.html
Interesting was why he threw in the towel so suddenly--like everyone else, I had assumed it was because he grew tired of playing under Landry's stiff regime. No, apparently, it was a family deal and it reminds that though these fellows made good money in their day, it wasn't something that was going to set them up for life. Nice to hear, also, his former teammates offering their support to Meredith and confirming that he was the toughest Cowboy of them all. Salud, Dandy Don.
Spent Thanksgiving in South Texas. My father in law died last Thanksgiving and one of the daughters thought it would be a fine idea to celebrate Thanksgiving at the ranch where he hunted for so many years. All fine and good except that the daughters were last at the ranch as children (they're in their forties and fifties now) and had no recollection of how remote and otherwise how ill equipped it is to accommodate thirty or so people for something like this. Best thing I could do was to simply go with the idiocy and not worry about who gets stuck trying to get into the ranch, how one transports hot turkey and dressing, etc. there, or how many arguments and outright screaming matches occur. To do this, I dropped off the females Wednesday evening at the Falfurrias Holiday Inn Express (actually quite nice) and headed out to the ranch to stay in the bunkhouse and to meet a couple of brothers in law and engage in outdoor urination and eating beef off the fire. Splendid. Woke up the next day, sat in a blind for a while, and then waited for the onslaught of the females and a few girly men who didn't want to rough it. All in all, it actually went well. My own girls got to see where dad used to run off to sometimes when they were kids. They got to ride around in the back of a truck (I got to drive around sipping a beer--can't recall the last time I had), everyone ate a lot of food, and no one was bitten by a snake or poisonous insect, or had a mesquite thorn go into their eye. A success.
Drove back at around 3pm on Thursday. Light traffic and everyone was getting along. Then, it hit. At somewhere around San Marcos, I heard and felt an unusual rumble. Not something typical. I fumbled for a Tums and dismissed it. Then, at before Buda, a distinct descent of something in my intestine downward occurred. Something like maybe a chunk of molten lava. In short, I needed to shit. But, we'd made it three hours without a stop and by God, dad wasn't going to stop now--I could make it...I thought. About thirty or so miles. Grit my teeth and get this thing done... I thought. There have been times in my life that I had an imminent discharge working but never in the history of gnashing molars was there one like this. I attempted every ruse known to man--deep breathing (for the record, I think that actually makes it worse), baseball, engaging wife in conversation, looking at things off the road, thinking about why the fuck seventy two virgins in heaven?, "Godfather" dialogue, trying to think of everyone I knew, but, not thinking about sex or other bodily functions or food or anything else that would only more intensely remind me that there was something large and sizzling and boiling and greasy and angry and it wanted out, OUT and I was fighting a pathetic rear guard action (get it?) to keep it in. Horrible beyond belief. I blew into town, exceeding the speed limit on any road I navigated by at least twenty miles per hour--at least. Finally, FINALLY pulled up to the curb, jumped out (leaving the family wondering just what in the hell was wrong with old dad) and did this sort of wobble trot to the toilet in the NICK of time let loose with an explosion that I'm pretty sure cracked the porcelain. Waves and waves of chocolate delight as I sat wondering is this what it feels like after you climb Everest? Don't know. Anyway, I pray, PRAY that this never repeats itself. But, just in case, I placed an old pair of khakis in the trunk.
Be prepared.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Hump Day: Pre-Turkey Day Edition


Global warming: how much is man made or due to nature, its own self? You be the judge. Otherwise, anything that encourages creative clothing options must not be that bad a thing. Enjoy your turkey and don't overlook the ice box for some other goodies.

Old Lesbians on Parade

No, not the hottie pictured to the right (more about her later) but the ones on this link that I saw on another site--a little dated but fun:
http://www.cracked.com/article_15788_top-25-men-who-look-like-old-lesbians.html



Don't particularly care for the militant types, driving their mini-trucks or Subarus with the obligatory NARAL sticker (fat chance of having to get one) but I get along just fine with lesbians, otherwise. They have great gym etiquette, play ready golf, and are generally ready to accelerate when the traffic light turns green. Not crazy about the look all that much. Except, however, the "lipstick" variety are easy on the eyes though you don't see them nearly as much as the girl-girl layouts in Penthouse would have you believe. There is that one commentator on the Golf Channel that falls into that category--won't name names but you know who I'm talking about. She's definitely birdie material.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

More TFLN




I'm sort of glad I'm not in college anymore. Good times, though. You can eat total crap and drink lighter fluid and not see it directly translate to your waist line the next morning. Head would hurt a little sometimes before you'd head for El Conquistador and the Number One Platter and a large Dr Pepper. Then, the world would begin anew.

Walking the Walk


Well, he isn't toting a rifle, but Fahim Fazil decided he'd really do something, both for his native Afghanistan and for the country that gave him so much:
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/fahim-fazli-hollywood-actor-turned-translator-afghanistan/story?id=9158927&page=1.


Nice story and wish we'd see more like it.

Monday, November 23, 2009

O'Rourke


Found this Cigar Aficionado piece on P.J. O'Rourke from '98 that is pretty good:
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,81,00.html. Read it all the way to the end, including the last part where he gives you his definitions of Democrats and Republicans. I was actually searching for the lost piece in an unknown issue of National Lampoon of the famous Alexander Haig sketch titled, "Anal Dynamite Masturbation." Essentially, Al Haig gets up on a table during a tense dinner meeting with his Soviet counterparts and proceeds to "furiously masturbate into a Faberge egg cup" with a lit stick of dynamite stuck in his ass. Then with a "satisfying grunt" he makes a deposit into the cup, hands it to the Soviets, and offers a toast to the glory of the Russian Motherland. "The Soviets had no choice but to drink" concluded the piece. I've got to find it, so if you locate it, let me know. Seriously, this article exists since I can still quote parts of it after not reading it for thirty or so years. Great magazine, National Lampoon, to pen such brilliance. Outside of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series, it will never be topped.

Carter Redux


Think the Euros are still falling all over themselves with almost messianic adoration of the U.S. president? The following article from a very liberal German newspaper shows they may be growing a bit nervous about Herr Obama's ineffectual "nice guy" approach to foreign policy http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,662822,00.html


When the Germans start jumping on the "Jimmy Carter Part II, heilige scheisse, was haben wir getan?"* bandwagon, maybe it's time we asked our president to act more like the leader of the free world and less like a good natured bumpkin...


*"Jimmy Carter Part II, holy shit, what have done?"

More on Hasan Apologists


Brilliance from Christopher Hitchens who sticks the collective intellectual dicks in the dirt of the Hasan apologists led by the hand wringing Robert Wright:
http://www.slate.com/id/2236442/. You'd have to watch the entire Mexican Air Force crash land into an oil refinery for more enjoyment than seeing Hitchens eviscerate Wright in a debate. * Good times.




*Line shamelessly lifted from a long ago National Lampoon piece. Speaking of which, I have been reading books for a long time now, along with various magazine and newspaper articles, etc. In the top five of my literary canon there's still room for the interesting adventures of "O.C. and Stiggs" as detailed in that late great magazine. In fact, the stuff put out by the Lampoon from the early 70's through the early 80's will provide a sterling education for any young man in need of formulating a correct and sensible world view.

Monogomy. Or, Not


Article in the LA Times talks about monogamy:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-barash22-2009nov22,0,158886,print.story. Essentially, we're not really cut out to be monogamous, but we're smart enough to be so with enough effort and there are benefits to society for doing so. Uh, thanks, Mr. Scientist for that bit of revelation--I had no idea of this.

Seriously, it is hard to be with one person for the long haul and I salute those who can pull it off. Even if you do, it seems straying at some point in the relationship is fairly prevalent--after all, people have this thing called "nature" hardwired into them, so that's tough to overcome. Getting caught can be atrocious, though, especially if the spouse wants to capitalize on that misstep to make one's life a living hell. I saw that once with a guy I know who was going through a little rocky period in his marriage--like we all have--and decided on day to walk into a "Oriental Massage" establishment in the small burg of Houston, a town of, oh, maybe five million people. The guy walks in, quickly gets red in the face and walks right back out, embarrassed that he went in to that den of inequity. Well, in little ol' Houston, as he is walking out his sister in law happens to be driving by, glances over and sees her brother in law walking out and promptly is on the cell phone to the sister to report the outrage. Six months of torture follows and then ultimately the divorce and awful to watch him have to endure death by one thousand cuts along the way. I guess the moral to this, of course, is that if you commit to walk into Oriental Massage or one of their one thousand affiliates, go ahead and make the ending a happy one. Life is short and sisters in law and their cell phones are out there lurking.

Progressive?


Read the following look at racial demographics in America's most "progressive" small cities in yesterday's paper: http://www.newgeography.com/content/001110-the-white-city, an interesting take made even more so by the comments at the end. A bit of a long read, but worth it.

Spent a bit of time in San Francisco some years back, and my experiences there seem to validate the author's contentions. Almost to a man (politically incorrect phrase, I know. Don't like it? I don't give a shit), residents of Sodom-by-the Bay seem to think that they are the most forward-thinking, tolerant and open-minded people in the world. They think most of American society would do well to learn from them, to become the enlightened people they think they are. Our cities should be run the way theirs is.
All the while, though, the city has become even more insulated and more homogeneous. Property values escalated as educated “whites” flocked to this West Coast Eden. Working class people of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities found it nearly impossible to afford to live within the city limits, and if they could it was in some segregated community outside of the city’s heart. A quick look at SF today shows that racial make-up similar to those mentioned in the linked article. Further research indicates that fewer than half of the residents are in a “family” situation. I daresay that their county hospitals aren’t pumping out 20,000+ “illegal” babies every year (like those in my town). Hence such mundane necessities as public education and affordable housing are back-burner issues, leaving more money for cultural improvements. Educated elites further fill the city, driving up property values and driving out the remaining working class.

Yeah, real progress

Friday, November 20, 2009

Twitter Reconsidered


Did a little negative review of Twitter earlier in the week. Maybe after reading this, we should reconsider:
http://twitter.com/loadedsanta. Bad Santa. Bad, bad, Santa. And yes, Billy Bob Thornton was born to play the role in all of his white trash glory. Reminds me of my relatives.

Bo Derek


She's 53, today. Not bad. I saw her in person about eight years ago and she looked swell then, too (she actually spoke to me and I replied by uttering a strange gurgling sound). Bo didn't have much of a movie career beyond "10" but she's stuck around and doesn't seem to have screwed up her looks with a lot of cosmetic surgery. Speaking of, have you seen Meg Ryan, lately? Beyond scary--cannot believe what she did to herself. Burt Reynolds also went well over the top with his face work. Too bad--I've always liked Burt and directors have missed out in not casting him in more character roles. Also, he's got great bullshit--saw him recently in that ESPN documentary on the USFL (he was a part owner of the Tampa franchise). Burt knows his football and had some great comments about the league. That son of a bitch Trump ruined the thing; the USFL could have made it but Trump railroaded it right into the dirt with his demand that it move to the fall to compete heads up with the NFL. Too bad.

Friday


The last "G" day. Enjoy your weekend.

On Peckinpah


Stumbled on this:
http://www.thehighhat.com/Nitrate/002/peck_stable.html. Great stuff on Peckinpah and especially on the actors that he frequently used. You'll immediately recognize them, but the guy who put this together does a fine job of giving you some good dope on each.
Damn, I love "The Wild Bunch." For many reasons but especially for when the boys have tired of it all and eschew the money they came for just to nail some sons of bitches who need killing. That's how we'd all like to go out, isn't it? Hard to find a better cast than in this best of all of Peckinpah's films.

Jane's World


Interesting piece on Jane Austen and her moral compass:
http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=0e08fba0-1b9c-4e20-9d93-f3833f077fb6
A lot of the Austen canon takes place in Bath, a city I heartily recommend that you visit. Two days there is adequate; three if you're totally ga-ga over the place. If you visit England (or anywhere else in Europe), buy the Rick Steves guidebook--it's the only one you need--trust me on this. Steves is diligent in his study of a place and will tell you where to go and where not to go based on how long you'll be in a given place. For example, if you're going to be in England for seven days, he'll recommend that you begin your trip by taking a coach (English for bus) to Bath after you land at either Gatwick or Heathrow, spend a few days there, and then finish your trip in London, taking in Avesbury on your way back. I recommend Steves in full acknowledgment that I despise his chicken shit political sermons he throws in about Americans lacking this or that Euro trait. Screw him. He does write a damn fine guide book, though. Bastard.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ben Hur Explained


Fascinating synopsis of General Lew Wallace and how he went about writing "Ben Hur"
http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2009-11/BenHur.html. I had a surface understanding of him, but this paints the picture of a damn interesting guy.


Heston was an outstanding movie star, the kind they don't make any longer. Even into his later years, he could steal scenes in anything he appeared. Catch him in the television remake of "Treasure Island" sometime--he's fantastic to watch. I think I read somewhere that he considered his role in "Will Penney" to be his finest and he's excellent in it as an aging cowboy with a relentless sense of right and wrong. I wonder how "Animal House" would have turned out had Heston been cast as Dean Wormer instead of John Vernon. To have heard Heston utter those same lines would have been something.

Over the Hump with Gemma


Friday's not far away.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Deford on Football: Old Style


Specifically, on football in the early years of the 20th century: http://www.npr.com/. Seems the brutal violence only eased up when the passing game came into play.


Interesting quotes from former CSA General Mosby. Mosby had a helluva career after his spectacular service in the War Between the States, becoming a U.S. Senator and even leading a charge after he was activated into the U.S. Army during the Spanish American War. It was there that he yelled the famous, "C'mon boys, we've got those Yankees on the run!" before tear-assing after the Spaniards. Old habits are hard to break.

Hitchens on Palin



Whether you like or dislike Sarah Palin, the always focused Christopher Hitchens gives his take in the current issue of Newsweek (www.newsweek.com. For some reason, I can't link directly to the article). Essentially, he's not particularly fond of her and considers her a plague on the hopes of the Republicans. If nothing else, read the last paragraph of his piece--masterful stuff.


Also, I'm thankful for a world in which we have Photoshop.

Hump Day: Gemma Edition


Keep your eye on the prize.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Tweeting Explained


If you don't really understand the thing about Twitter, here you go: http://reason.com/archives/2009/11/14/the-case-against-twitter. I feel better after reading it, or at least a little vindicated for not participating in the craze. Like the author, I just haven't figured why (outside of this blog) anyone gives a shit that I'm currently at the grocery store stocking up on flavored Trojans and Hatch chiles. I don't care that other people tweet but I just don't see why I should.


In other news, attended the UT/Baylor "game" on Saturday. Actually, it was sort of like watching the Wehrmacht roll through France. By the end, Baylor players and fans were trying to flag down fishing boats off Calais. Texas' defense is especially impressive to watch: big, fast, and well coached. The assumption by a lot of people is that the Horns will be in the national championship game and they'll be facing either Florida or Alabama and neither one of those teams will be able to generate enough points to beat Texas. I think that may be a sound point of view on paper but too many things can happen between now and then to really know. For one, the huge gap between the last game and the title game often changes things--timing, chemistry, etc. can go awry. Players can get suspended for shooting at passing cars, arrested for accosting Pi Phis, or banged up while drag racing--anything can happen. Don't count your chickens.


Mrs. Bulba was on a pout yesterday over me playing too much golf, so I cut it short after nine holes and met her for a movie; the marginally entertaining "Pirate Radio." A few good performances, great music, but an otherwise dim story of how fun loving peace and music types were done in by the evil forces of serious conservative men who wear suits and don't laugh. Essentially, if you're sixteen years old or your emotional development stopped at that age (apparentlty many in the theater were so afflicted) then you'll like the movie. Do yourself a favor and buy the soundtrack, instead.

Week of November 15th: Gemma Week


We're celebrating a certain young lady's birthday this week. Every damn day of it. Enjoy.

For Those in Need of Direction in Life


Krauthammer explains things to the media elites, who get dizzy and require smelling salts anytime a heinous act is committed in the name of Allah: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/11/16/1116krauthammer_edit.html. Is it so hard to call a spade a spade? Apparently, the answer is a resounding affermative.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Weekend's Here


Lay around and maybe get some rest. As for me, going up to see the mighty Longhorns crucify and otherwise rip the testicles off the Baptists. Could be a little bloody even by 11AM kickoff standards.

Einstein and American Jewry


A somewhat lengthy article by Walter Isaacson regarding Einstein's 1921 visit to the United States and the friction between the sparring Jewish camps of European Zionists and more assimilated American Jews: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200912/isaacson-einstein.

I spent some time in Israel long ago, and until then, didn't have much regarding any intelligent thoughts regarding Jews, since I pretty much never knew any before that visit. That was an eye opener. Contrary to the image on television at the time, it wasn't an "all for one, one for all" type thing over there--instead, I discovered that Jews ran the string from the ultra-orthodox Hasim all the way to those completely secularized. Now, I live in a neighborhood that is popular with Jews, and Mrs. Bulba and I belong the Jewish Community Center around the corner from my house, which also houses three or four temples, from orthodox to reform. In other words, we know a lot of Jews. Like Christians, they of course have their own set of foibles, squabbles, fights, etc. particular to their culture and it's sometimes interesting for a goyem to observe a different religious tradition --we even attend Passover Seder at the invitation of some good friends. Anyway, I've learned a lot and especially, to be careful in judging people.

Here are my chief complaints about Jews (alert the media):

1. Closing the JCC fitness center at 6pm on Friday and not reopening at 12:30pm on Saturday for sh abbot. I can't believe they haven't figured out a way to navigate around this problem. Surely, they can contact the Vatican and borrow a dispensation or two to get around this.

2. All of the "holiday" closings of the fitness center during the year. Okay, maybe a day or so for Passover and Yom Kippur, but come on: why so many others? In other words, let's eliminate any fitness or healthy activities and sit around and suffer for the day? Jee-suz.

3. Complaints over not being able to find a good bagel. Okay, it's a piece of dough and you're not in New York. Get over it, already.

4. The pork and shellfish deal: okay, all of your secular (and more than a few religious) Jews already ignore all of the dietary restrictions and get after the bacon and fried shrimp like good Catholics but we need to get something done regarding the others. Why discriminate against pigs? They're fairly bright animals, and there's nothing in this world that doesn't taste good fried in lard, so obviously God got over whatever hissy fit He had over them. Same with shrimp--hard to find one that doesn't taste good. While we're marching and carrying on about social justice (man, I hear that constantly) why not go ahead and sign off on pork ribs and crawfish, too?

5. Few linebackers and offensive linemen. Lots of Jewish kids at our high school. Great for GPA/bad for football. I'd like to see a guy named Noah or Chaim playing nose guard once that wasn't black.

Next week: complaints about Catholics. Following week: godless Episcopalians.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Teachout on "Civilisation"


Terry Teachout talks about the almost thirty year old PBS series, "Civilisation"http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703399204574505170999959800.html. I'd like to see it, but as Teachout says, it's unlikely you'll find it rebroadcast on PBS--it's too "retrogressive" for the smart set that runs and supports the network. Retrogressive in the sense that anything that so obviously celebrates the glory of western civilization (note American spelling) is gauche and not inclusive of the genius of anyone named, say, Maya Angelou. It's a shame we've come to this. Not a thing wrong with investigating and studying world cultures but that doesn't mean you can't sit back a few minutes and dwell on the light that the West has brought to the planet. We live in strange times.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hump Day: November 11th Edition




Week's half done. See if you can stay away from girls who smoke and drink. Unless they're buying.

Athens and Sparta Reinterpreted


Nice piece on a book out by scholar, Donald Kagan on Thucidides and how Kagan thinks the ancient writer clouded or spun the facts regarding the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704597704574485770661846940.html.


I've read stuff about the hoplites and their way of war, and though "300" was an entertaining take on the Spartans versus the hordes of Xerxes, it's far different than what the hoplites looked like and how they fought. If you're ever in Houston, stop by the Museum of Art: they have a pretty good display of hoplite helmets and other accouterments--I have no idea how they got them or how they really fit into the overall theme of an art museum, but there they are.


Some people are greatly enchanted by the whole ancient Greece thing--the mythology, the surviving plays, the battles and city states and all. I've got a daughter who knows a lot about the stuff from her middle school Latin classes and can give you the goods on the whys and why not's of every Greek god. Not so much for me. I've sat through a couple of Greek tragedies and that's the most turgid shit ever concocted: I congratulate Xerxes and anyone else who had a part in putting a stop to it and I'm sorry that any of the wretched lot survived. Really, anytime some thespian blabs about the glory of the Greek stage or something equally insipid, I think of calling in an air strike on the stage actors guild or cabal or nest of snakes or whatever it's called. Hideous to experience and worse than a cancelled flight at the Green Bay airport.

On the Fort Hood Massacre


A few pieces reflecting on what occur ed, and more specifically, on the politically correct reaction to the event: http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/08/fort-hood-nidal-malik-hasan-muslims-opinions-columnists-tunku-varadarajan.html. I like Varadarajan's take the best. Here's another one by David Brooks, the nominal "conservative" op ed writer for the NYT:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/opinion/10brooks.html.

Varadarajan is a clear thinker. I agree with his final comments on what is going on in the U.S. Army. That's a seriously screwed up organization to allow a shitbird like Hassan to be promoted while at the same time receiving negative fitness reports and running his line of jihadist smack. And really, there's not a single community or group or random band of thugs in America preying on Muslims. None. Yet we hear these pronouncements of "not bringing violence on the Muslim community after each of these curiously frequent acts perpetrated by Muslims on their fellow Americans occurs--Americans who welcomed them and opened their doors to freedom and opportunity to them. What most Americans feel (those outside of the coasts who have some semblance of horse sense) is that they're damn tired of these folks who insist on not assimilating when they move here and adhering to a religious viewpoint that considers those living around them as infidels and unclean in the eyes of Allah. Here's an idea for all of you Islamofascists living here: take a flight back to those shit holes you came from where you can resume buggering boys and livestock and beating your wives each morning before breakfast. You'll raise the level of civility in both places.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Kathleen Parker


A piece about Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist: http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=constant_comment. She's given a fairly comprehensive treatment in this write up and comes off pretty much as I've thought of her over the years: not readily affixable to a definite political shelf. Essentially, she's mortified of stuff that goes on in both nominally liberal and conservative movements. Interesting read.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Castratos


Next time you're being lectured to by your European betters or their fellow travelers here in the colonies, remind them of this delightful practice http://www.slate.com/id/2234635/ , in addition to the many wonders of the Third Reich or the Soviet Union (or French Revolution).


I had heard about castratos before but didn't know how widespread the practice was until now. Interesting what happens when you castrate a male of any species. I once saw an African lion that had this treatment done to him (what a great bunch of folks, those cretins who make pets out of predators) and what resulted was what looked like an enormous lioness. It's certainly useful (and necessary) if you're raising cattle, otherwise bulls would spend all day killing each other for the right to breed the cows. Speaking of which, I've been treed by bulls before and it's not a pleasant feeling. Also, about twenty years ago, I was hunting in a makeshift ground blind that was a little less than a yard high. I grew drowsy and lied down in the thing to take a nap. I dozed off and then was dreaming that something was snorting until I actually awoke and looked up directly into the eyes of the largest Simmental bull I had ever seen looking down at me wondering just what in the name of hell this thing was that was encroaching upon his pasture--an unpleasant episode all around and though I didn't wet myself, it could have gone either way. Fortunately, the bull wandered off to molest some grass or take a dump or something. Otherwise, I suggest not trying that trick the next time you're out in the brush somewhere. Lately, I read of some aspiring folk singer in Canada who was attacked and killed by coyotes--in a lot of areas, predators are losing their fear of people. That kind of thing doesn't occur much in areas where knuckle draggers roam the country, armed and not in the slightest hesitant to establish their dominance in the food chain. In that setting, predators tend to give upright walkers a wide berth. Coyotes are a recurring "problem" in my neighborhood and are fond of snatching small pets--dogs and cats, alike. The same people all in arms about legal hunting activities and lifetime members of WWF and PETA then raise holy hell demanding that the offending coyotes by brought to justice for the murder of the cuddly, Fifi. As for me, I don't blame the coyotes--they're doing what they do best. In fact, I've always been fascinated whenever I've seen one (or several) and like hearing their howls when I'm around a campfire. Same for bobcats. I shot the first bobcat I ever saw and have regretted it ever since. In the many years afterward, I've seen a lot of them and have enjoyed watching them quietly make their way along. I don't know where I'm going with this--bobcats are a long way from castratos and I'm not sure either would like the other. Coyotes, maybe.

Knuckle Draggers


No, not about Republicans but a short piece from Newsweek about theories regarding the demise of Neanderthals: http://www.newsweek.com/id/220146. Interesting theory that it wasn't the cleverness of humans that won out but instead, the effects of climate change. Makes me wonder if global warming will take out San Fransicans. Just a thought.

Read, "Eaters of the Dead" by the late Michael Crighton for his great take on the subject. Ripping yarn which was done no justice by the half assed attempt of a movie that was made based on the thriller.

Some Weekend Items


Went hunting (it was the opening of the general gun season in Texas). I've been invited to this same ranch in South Texas since 1985 and have gone every year since, usually two or three times each season. It's sort of a unique type of deal as far as hunts go. Normally, to hunt on a ranch the size and quality of this one, a poor soul must pony up about five large for the privilege of doing so. But, the owner invites people he knows (and apparently likes) to come down and spend the weekend, though the rules are fairly stringent. For one, no alcohol. He's by no means a teetotaler, but wants to avoid any issues related to the effects of drinking, especially when there are a fair number of firearms in camp. Then, the ranch is highly and successfully game managed, so you have some exacting rules regarding what you can and what you especially cannot shoot--in order to shoot a "trophy" buck (twelve or more points and at least four and a half years old), one must first shoot a spike buck with spikes of at least six inches or a mature buck of at least four and half years old with seven or fewer points. To shoot something outside of these bounds, one risks both a fine and never being invited back to the ranch. In other words, you have to watch yourself and I've passed up a lot of nice bucks over the years because I just couldn't quite see that twelfth point, though I was reasonably sure it was there.. It's been this way ever since I've been going there and apparently some writer is set to do a story about the place--the owner is egalitarian and invites hunters of varying socioeconomic backgrounds--it's not just a bunch of rich white guys drinking whiskey. Thankfully, I won't be included in the article as one of the unfortunate few who ran afoul of the regulations. Anyway, I was down there and spent a fair amount of time sitting in a ground blind along the river bottom with binoculars around my neck and staring down mostly at an autographed copy of Neal Bascom's "Hunting Eichman," given to me by a great friend after hearing the author speak at last week's JCC Book Fair here. Fascinating and ripping story of how odious war criminal Adolph Eichmann escaped Europe after the war and how the Israelis found, hunted, captured, and eventually brought Eichmann to trial in Israel for his monumental atrocities. Looking out of the blind every once in a while, saw some nice bucks and eventually spotted a rare "qualifier" buck as detailed above. Tricky shot but I did my part for the glory of game management. Otherwise, ate a lot, stared into the campfire and then up into the star filled sky, and walked around a little during noontime on Saturday looking for arrowheads. Found plenty of broken ones, but not a winner. I sort of do that whenever I go hunting for the benefit of my youngest daughter who isn't so young anymore. It started when I left once to go hunting when she was about three or four years old and she replied to my question of if she wanted me to bring something back for her with, "Bring me six lizards." Challenging. That was a trip with my now deceased father in law and he and I actually ended up spending about three hours together staring down at the Wild Horse desert west of Falfurrias for lizards and actually found three dead ones. Great and gentle man, my father in law and I miss him--he was never anything but swell to me. Whenever I've thought about that and how much his kindness meant to me, I have determined to be the same to whatever future son in law I may have--maybe that will mean something to the guy(s). Anyway, I didn't find any whole arrowheads (or lizards) this time, but I did find a shed antler and left it in her room when I returned. Hope she liked it.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Have a Great Weekend



Keep everything covered.

The Byzantine Way


Great, great little piece from Edward Luttwak about how the Byzantines got things done and how we maybe should apply some of those lessons to our own foreign policy: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/19/take_me_back_to_constantinople. I think that Byzantium is quite possibly the most intentionally overlooked subject in history. Just as the name has become a term that implies confusion and intricacy, people tend to gloss over the Byzantines and hit the Roman Empire, the Crusades, or even the Hundred Years Wars (man, talk about Byzantine!) before wading through the glory that was Constantinople (my hand's raised, too). Hopefully, I'll remedy that some day--I think I'd even like to visit Turkey--have heard it's great, of course, as long as you don't wind up in a Turkish prison ("Midnight Express" sort of put a wrench into things for the Turkish Ministry of Tourism for about, say, a hundred years or so, give or take). Matter of fact, my wife has a friend whose husband looks exactly like the burly prison guard from the movie and each time they visit us, I attempt to get him to hold a paddle or board or something similar, adopt a menacing look, and beat my dog with it. So far, he's not picked up on that, but the dog seems to sense what I'm up to and hangs out in the bedroom until they leave. Dogs are smart that way and ours has some interesting habits. When anyone is sick and lying in bed, she'll take on a similar expression and will lay around with them looking sick and absolutely hang dog. Our prior ugly dog, George, had pronounced powers of extrapolation demonstrated by inferring that his reward of a treat after he was given a bath meant that he would also get a treat anytime anyone in the house had a shower. Always funny to watch when a guest would come out of the shower and George would assault them for a reward for their cleanliness. Old George, what a curious little animal he was. The day I put him down was hard: much, much harder than I had expected. I knew it was time and had been thinking about it for a while and his quality of life hadn't really been good for some time, so I thought I had it all pretty much under control. Not. Anyone who has had to do it knows exactly what I'm talking about and it isn't easy. The vets are great about it and are very understanding and say all of the right things but it still doesn't make it pleasant. But, the great thing about dogs is that there's always one out there happy to see you and have you as his or her master. Excellent companions unless it's one of those nights when they have gas or they've eaten your wife's Jenny Craig nutrition bar and have vomited all over the bedroom, including into your pair of Alden dress shoes. Then, they're just like kids.


Thursday, November 5, 2009

Hollywood Profiles in Courage


http://dailygut.com/. Read it and weep.

FMYLife


Similar to TFLN: http://www.fmylife.com/intimacy. That's the "intimacy" thread for your reading enjoyment. For some reason, I don't think the woman in the "corset" post is the same as is pictured here but thought it was worth a shot.

Engrish


http://adult.engrish.com/. My old man once told me that they would use passwords with a lot of "R's" in them while on island battles with the Japanese, because our Asian brothers and sisters have some difficulty with that consonant, along with the letter, "L." I guess they maybe should have just used the "F" word a lot, instead.

TFLN


Pretty funny stuff: http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/recent/4. Texts can be illuminating. Here are a few good ones:




(908) Your sister got a brazilian yesterday. It looks great.




(715) I just farted. And everybody around me is looking at the fat girl to my left. I win.

Pete Shellem Obit


I hadn't heard of this guy, but interesting to read about him: http://reason.com/archives/2009/11/02/death-of-a-watchdog. I agree with the author of this write up that we need reporters who can right wrongs. That, as opposed to whiney ass reporters with an obvious political bias but not the talent nor the willingness to roll up their sleeves and get to the truth about something that doesn't fit their agenda. Plenty of that out there.


Read "Blood and Money" sometime. Not sure if a better real life detective story has been written. Otherwise, read one of Ellroy's books, like "The Black Dahlia" if you want to be engrossed into some real hard boiled crime stuff. Excellent read.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Hump Day: Nov. 4th Edition


Great weather outside, especially if you're lucky enough to be on the beach.

Saudi Justice


Not sure that I disagree with them too much on this: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43639120091103.


Maybe some of us have eased up a bit over the years, but when it comes to pedophiles, it's hard to drum up a single grain of clemency. Life in prison. No parole, ever--they cannot be rehabilitated. Think this is too hard? Take a look at the recitivism rate for them and the sevety plus year olds who are arrested for molesting children. Same for rapists. I'm in a hanging mood today.

Obama Down with the Golf Thing


Be the first on your block with a golf cart, courtesy of your president: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574473724099542430.html. Your tax dollars at work, boys. Tee it up.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Tangled Webs...and, Tattoos


Dealings with exes over money and children is never easy. But, throwing in the porn star card takes it to another level: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/sandra-bullock-battles-porn-star-child-custody/Story?id=8921358&page=1. Sandra Bullock and Jesse James are probably going to discover just how much they really love each other after this deal gets sorted out. The ex, Janine Lindemulder, is really pretty but why all the tattoos, Janine? What is with that--I don't get the sleeve thing or really much of the other stuff, either. Maybe a small one on an ankle or somewhere, but let it go after that. The tattoo thing wasn't big during my college years and after, so I mostly missed it. I'm fully on board with guys getting tattoos who are in the military or want to do it as a bonding thing with their fellow offensive linemen on football or other sports teams but to get Tweetie Bird on your shoulder doesn't really say much to me and that's no disprespect to Tweetie Bird. Different strokes. My old man had a tattoo from when he was in the Marines during the Big War and I clearly recall him telling me never to get one when I asked him about it as a kid. Lots of the old Navy and Marine guys had tattoos from their stops in San Diego or Pearl Harbor and I would see them a lot when I was growing up. They would take their shirts off while working outside, so us kids got to make mental notes about each. The most remarkable was a guy down the street who had "Beer" over one nipple and "Whiskey" over the other. Always a big hit with us. Anyway, what permanently sort of cured me from the tattoo thing was watching the first episode of the HBO series, "Oz" once when I was sick and seeing some hapless guy get a swastika tattooed on his ass, indicating that he was the property of some skinhead sharing his prison cell. That was the end of Oz for me, and any thoughts of misbehaving and getting thrown into jail. Or, getting a tattoo.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Weekend Results


We're having California weather in Texas--it's damn near perfect outside--sunny with highs in the mid 70s, cool, not cold at night, etc. Well, on most days, anyway. On Thursday, I played in a business golf scramble deal that started in relatively mild temperatures but by the back nine had degenerated into a steadily plunging thermometer and a wind howling at a steady 30mph with gusts to around 40. Those last nine holes were pretty much a death march where you're just praying for the thing to end. But, the weekend was superb as highlighted above. Ideal for playing golf, taking in a college football game, copulating, sitting out on the patio with a glass of something, or marching for peace and a living wage and I managed to do four out of the five. Great stuff, this actual fall weather we're having. Makes you realize that all of those patio and outdoor living ads you see are designed precisely for this, not your typical Texas summer day when it's hanging in there at 98 even at 10pm.


Took in the Baylor v Nebraska game in Waco on Saturday. For those of you who had the good sense and breeding to have not attended either of those universities, feel free and mystically liberated to skip this part. Anyway, it was a splendid morning, even for driving on IH-35 standards, though 11:30 kickoffs are hell as far as anything resembling a pre-game tailgate goes. Mrs. Bulba and I barely had time to down a couple of stiff screwdrivers before it was time to head into Floyd Casey. Here are some observations once we got there:


It must still strike alumni and fans of public universities as odd or quaint when you hear the pre-game prayer at a Baylor game. That said, I've noticed that most are quite polite when it's offered. The prayer always asks for protection for both schools' players, fans, etc. and the Baylor fans are respectful when the Golden Wave band plays the other university's school song. I like that. For most of the country, when the other school's anthem is played, it's an opportunity to openly disparage the opponent (see Texas v Oklahoma which is a delicious display of mutual hate) but you don't see that very much in Waco. Of course, part of what's going into this is the overall suckitude of Baylor football and Baylor alumni passion. We've discussed this before and I won't rant about it now but fall Saturdays for Baylor alumni doesn't mean football but instead carrying your wife's purse at the mall.


Art Briles stresses to the Bears to "start fast" in their efforts and being aggressive from the kickoff. The result Saturday was going three and out on the opening possession and having the punt blocked for a Nebraska touchdown. Maybe a slogan of "don't fuck up as much" would be better.


The Baylor crowd, especially the student section, was abysmal. Alumni side was about three fourths full. The student side was comprised of about 60 percent solid red Nebraska supporters and maybe 2,500 Baylor students, including the Baylor Line. Speaking of which, what was an impressive number of Baylor Line members who poured out onto the field at the home opener appears down to about 20 percent of its original number. Sad. Otherwise, for you Baylor students who had a big test or a big paper due, you maybe get a pass for not attending. But where the fuck where the rest of you? Were the sales at Nieman's just too hard to pass up? What the hell else were you doing at 11:30 on Saturday? Goddamn it, that pissed me off. That is a big, big reason why when detractors talk about Baylor not belonging in the Big 12, I listen.


Baylor is down 20-0 at the half and the missus and I headed for the George's Tent for something cold. Commiserated with some other Baylor types (for the record, Mrs. Bulba did not attend Baylor but she's a good egg about the whole thing) and had some polite conversations with some Nebraska folks who are generally real nice, understated people as you would expect most from that part of the world to be. Lots of Nebraska women who had those modest, mousie hair cuts, white turtlenecks with a red sweatshirt or sweater (wouldn't want to get too whorish looking, would we?) and a walk crafted by years of carrying buckets of grain and heaving casseroles out of the oven. You know, they're Midwestern farm girls even if they grew up in Omaha and they tend to get a little horny thinking about Cloth World.


Made it back for the second half and Baylor actually made a game of it. Hell, they could have actually tied or won the thing had their players been able to execute, namely not dropping a wide open pass in the end zone with the closest defender in neighboring Bell County and missing a field goal spotted between the hash marks on the seven (7) yard line. Speaking of which, I've made a little light of the horrid nature of Baylor's starting kicker (I won't mention his name but it rhymes with "Farks"), once remarking that Baylor stood a good chance of winning as long as they can keep Mr. Farks off the field." I was actually right about that. I've seen the guy miss more chip shot field goals than I thought was possible--he's either a choke artist or just plain bad or both and there's at least about a hundred high school kickers in Texas that are better than he is right now. I don't want to sound vindictive about this or anything, but after this latest travesty, I do hope he is kicked off the team, his name and number expunged from the team's records, and be expelled from the university and exiled to Albania. Or, at least to Abilene.


The Baylor band isn't good. The twenty or so horn and drum members of the Nebraska contingent were just as loud and were not prone to playing the dirges and bizarre show tune type numbers at inopportune moments of the game as is perfected by Baylor.


Enough of that. Drove back, bought Halloween candy and waited for the deluge to begin, while sitting in front of the Texas/OSU broadcast. We get two waves of trick or treaters in my neighborhood--the first wave are the local neighborhood kids. The second, later contingent are the kids from economically less advantgaged parts of the city. I don't mind them at all and enjoy giving them candy. But, the "kids" bigger than me really test the spirit of the thing. Anyway, I was a little surprised and impressed with Texas' dominating performance over the Cowboys. That Longhorn defense was really in a lock down mode and Texas is playing like the best team in the country right now. Oh yeah, I get to see them play guess who on November 14th. Pray for me.


Golf Sunday. Glorious weather. Didn't shank but didn't light it up, either. But, nice to be out. Finished it off by contemplating a beer label on the patio. Salud.

Bong Hits and Jesus


Jacob Weisberg thinks legal weed, gay marriage, and marching in solidarity with our Cuban brothers and sisters will be legal within ten or so years http://www.slate.com/id/2234017/. Maybe, but Mr. Weisberg and Slate are always in a tizzy about the outrages of BusHitler or red state deficiencies. Skip to the last paragraph if you want to the pertinent gist and that is that the Republicans have boxed themselves into a corner by saying "nyet" to issues perceived by many to be social freedom ideas, driving away more libertarian types and others who might otherwise side with the Right. Meanwhile, the Left can comfortably sit back and follow without having to shed political capital in order to see these things come to fruition. Interesting.

From where I sit, I see a lot of conservatives who do not identify with the so called, Religious Right and would rather concentrate on what they consider big issues (economy, defense, taxation) and focus far, far less on other stuff. In other words, they don't care about who is smoking weed or sleeping with each other but they care a lot about the Marines getting the equipment they need and a lot about reducing taxes and the reach of government. I think if the Right is to regain power, it will need to be a party about less government and more freedom. That other stuff ain't working. But one thing is for certain: a lot of folks might have forgotten why they once thought they were Republicans during this last election, but watching the ever extending reach of Congress and the Executive office going on now, they realize that whatever they are, it isn't a Democrat. I don't know if the Republicans have the smarts to pick up on that or the talent to take advantage of it, but it's happening. Time will tell.