Hat Trick

The Bullwinkle Delusion

One of the fun parts of getting old is that you get to bore people with references to pop culture stuff about which they are completely clueless. Not long ago, for instance, I told someone that her passionate argument on behalf of Donald Trump for president reminded me of this classic Rocky and Bullwinkle bit:

She had no idea what I was talking about. Her only knowledge of Rocky and Bullwinkle was the tedious live-action movie they made back in 2000. So sad.

Anyway, the point of the analogy was to explain how Trump supporters keep trying the same trick, reaching into a magic hat in an attempt to pull out the conservative candidate they say they want. Of course, what they actually pull out each time is something quite different.

I'm not convinced that the folks backing Trump right now want anything at all other than to blow shit up and burn shit down. Talk to enough of them, and you'll come away convinced that they have no idea what his actual positions are (or what the other candidates' positions are, for the most part). They just like that he's "a fighter," someone who "tells it like it is," someone who "never apologizes," etc. It isn't really a political movement at all, it's a temper tantrum, and Trump is the big baby in the high chair banging his spoon for attention.

Donald Trump is not a conservative. It isn't entirely clear that he's even a Republican, since he said just a couple of weeks ago that he wouldn't pledge to support the party's eventual nominee (unless he's it, of course), and wouldn't rule out a run as an independent (he's had to flip-flop on the issue, of course, but that hardly inspires confidence that he's an honorable man).

Just like Bullwinkle, Trump supporters will continue reaching into the hat, no matter how many times they fail, no matter how many times we tell them "That trick never works."

"This time for sure," they'll reply.

Uh huh...

Upon Further Review...

...perhaps I should reconsider my decision to put off building an ark...

My parking lot, 10:00 AM

View from my patio, minutes before posting this morning

Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update

Sometimes you're just too darned tired to fly back to the tree after grabbing a bite to eat on the feeder, so...

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."

"Someone who naps as much as you do shouldn't be poking fun at others."

Speaking of naps, why don't you go take one and leave me alone?

No Particular Reason

I just never get tired of poking fun at Apple's pretentiousness, is all...

Until Next Time...

The Woodstock Music & Art Fair was supposed to have concluded on August 17, 1969, but for a variety of reasons it had continued into Monday, August 18. At around 3:00 AM that morning a group calling itself Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young began just its second gig ever in front of a live audience. Those guys were all experienced professionals, of course, but none of them had ever played in front a crowd remotely this large. They were, as Stephen Stills wryly put it when he addressed the audience, "scared shitless."

The group included a cover of Joni Mitchell's song "Woodstock" on their second album, Déjà vu, which was released in March of 1970, roughly six months after their Woodstock gig. Released as a single, their cover made it to No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album as a whole reached No. 1, and is widely regarded as one of rock's most emblematic Woodstock-era recordings.

Michael Wadleigh's Woodstock documentary featured the group's "Long Time Gone" over the opening credits, and "Wooden Ships" for an early sequence detailing the pre-concert preparations. He selected "Woodstock" to play over the closing credits. That makes it an appropriate choice for today's send-off, a fitting way to wrap up the little anniversary remembrance we've been having the past few days. Enjoy...