MYOB

That's Okay, I Got This...

Only an idiot would attempt to argue that the American Experiment was not intended to be about individual liberty and orderly self-government. I feel sorry for folks whose understanding of our nation's history doesn't acknowledge this simple fact.

I sincerely believe that it is this ignorance of our own history that is behind so much of the mischief being wrought by people who have nothing better to do than to tell me how to live my life. Pardon me for saying so, but I don't think the Founding Fathers wanted the government deciding for me what the capacity of my toilet bowl ought to be. That sort of government-by-busybody is the last thing they intended, actually.

Seriously, folks, if you don't see this...

19th Century Temperance Movement busybodies.

...whenever you hear someone proposing that government ban trans-fats, or foie gras, or large sodas, or incandescent light bulbs, or the internal combustion engine, then look again.

At what point did we decide to stop making fun of people like this, and decide to become like them?

I Feel Safer Already

You can rest easy, America. Comedian Amy Schumer will now be bringing her awesome powers to bear on the issue of gun violence in America.

"Crazy people with guns? Don't worry, I'm on it."

Every Once in Awhile...

...I get a chance to see a BNSF diesel sporting the old Sante Fe "war bonnet" paint scheme made famous by The Super Chief and similar locomotives back in the 1930s up through the late 1960s...

General Electric C44-9W, BNSF Road No. 4717

For a lifelong railfan, these simple pleasures are always welcome...

Things That Make Me Sad: Off Days Edition

My beloved Kansas City Royals lost again yesterday, a dispiriting 5-2 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays. The team is lucky to have avoided a four-game sweep, and today's scheduled day off could not have come at a better time. It has already been a long road trip, and it isn't over yet.

That said, I'm always a little down on days when my team isn't playing...

"How would anyone be able to tell? You're always 'a little down.'"

That is a vicious canard...

Anyway, the Royals will be back in action tomorrow against the Detroit Tigers. The three-game series will be played at Comerica Park in Detroit:

 

Housekeeping

I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to fiddle around with Blogger settings lately, but I am still planning on adding some new features to the site. I'm old, so be patient...

"Blaming your shortcomings on your age is unbecoming, you know."

I will file that opinion with all of your other ones...

I did also want to mention that comments are always welcome. Just click on the link right next to the time-stamp at the bottom of a post (if it says "No Comments" that just means there haven't been any yet, not that comments aren't allowed). I'd love to hear from you!

Until Next Time...

To people who grew up knowing nothing but cable/satellite TV and the internet, the very notion of there being on only three or four channels to choose from when watching television seems like something out of a bad science fiction novel. Nevertheless, it was the reality I lived with for half of my life.

When I was a kid, my only real exposure to popular musical artists was on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Red Skelton Hour, The Jackie Gleason Show, etc. Of course, I was too young to understand that the performers were actually lip-syncing to recordings of their music (I was also too young to understand that those electric guitars my favorite bands were playing weren't actually plugged into anything). It didn't really matter, though. We watched these shows because that's all there was. And we enjoyed seeing the great variety of performers the shows would have as guests.

For the most part, my parents weren't too excited when one of these shows would feature a band kids liked (as I'm sure everyone knows, bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones made their first US television appearances on shows like this). That was always a huge attraction for me, though. I got to hear music I liked on American Bandstand, of course, but that show hardly ever had the actual performers on as guests.

I enjoyed all of those programs, but I always had a special fondness for The Hollywood Palace. I probably caught my first glimpse of more rock and pop artists
I liked on that show than on all of the others combined. Today's send-off is a 1966 appearance on the show by The Mamas & The Papas. Enjoy...