The Wind Cries Carly

Thank Locutus It's Friday!

"Resistance is futile! Those baby back ribs will be assimilated!"

What "Lying" Actually Looks Like

Carly Fiorina

So, the top "story" in the mainstream media in the wake of the Wednesday debate among the GOP presidential hopefuls is that Carly Fiorina "lied" about Planned Parenthood. Not that she was "mistaken," mind you. She "lied," pure and simple. She just made stuff up out of thin air.

Except she didn't.

You're never going to see a more glaring example of the herd mentality among "mainstream" journalists than this. They even quote each other as sources when pushing the Narrative Du Jour. ABC's George Stephanopolous, for instance, offers the debunked story by Sarah Kliff as if it were fact when intereviewing Fiorina. Amazing. Heaven forbid he would watch the videos himself...

In modern political discourse, "lying" means "pointing out facts that are inconvenient to the Narrative I'm selling." Keep that in mind in the weeks and months ahead.

A variation of an old joke:
          Q: How can you tell when The Washington Post is lying?
          A: Its presses are running.

Things That Make Me Happy: Personal Best Edition

My beloved Kansas City Royals have been stumbling through the month of September, and it seems clear that we just aren't going to get the starting pitching squared away in time to be a factor in the playoffs. Danny Duffy's performance Wednesday night got him sent down to the bullpen; Jeremy Guthrie will take Danny's spot in the rotation. The four starting pitchers we appear poised to use in the playoffs have ERAs this month of 4.40 (Yordano Ventura), 9.39 (Johnny Cueto), 7.20 (Edinson Volquez), and 4.50 (Kris Medlen). It will be nice to win a Division title for the first time in 30 years, but with the starting pitching in free fall, the Royals seem destined for a quick exit in the ALDS.

In the finale of their four-game series with the Indians at Progressive Field last night, the Royals salvaged a 2-2 split with an 8-4 victory. 2B Omar Infante, playing for the first time in over a week, set a career-best with 7 RBI, 3 of them coming on a home run in the 2nd inning...

"Boom!"

It was Omar's second home run of the season, both of them coming at Progressive Field. He added a two-run double in the 5th, and a two-run single in the seventh.

The Royals move on to Detroit to begin a three-game series at Comerica Park tonight. Johnny Cueto (9-12, 3.47 ERA) will make his fourth start against Detroit since joining the Royals at the end of July. The Royals are 1-2 in his previous outings against the Tigers. Detroit will send long-time Royals nemesis Justin Verlander (3-8, 3.58) to the mound.

This Again???

The view from my patio at 10:20 AM this morning...

Things That Make Me Barf: Uniform Edition

Much as I love my Kansas City Chiefs, I absolutely HATE their monochromatic uniform:

Dress like amateurs, play like them? Four turnovers between these two last night.

To be fair, several NFL teams now feature such uniforms, and I don't like ANY of them. To me, they smack of college football, or even Pop Warner football...

"Has anyone ever told you you're a crabby old guy?"

What part of "curmudgeon" don't you understand?

So, what happened during the game? Oh, nothing much. Just another example of the futility of the "prevent" defense, followed by an inexplicable call on offense in the closing seconds that led to a fumble and the decisive (losing) touchdown. Chiefs lose to the Broncos. Again.

One upside: Being down two games in the standings this early in the season will take the pressure to win the AFC West off of their shoulders, and free them to start checking for hotel accommodations in cities they might have to travel to for the Wild Card game...

Why I Don't Have a Closet Full of Krugerrands

From the delightful comic strip Dilbert, by Scott Adams, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On September 18, 1970 my senior year of high school was barely started when guitar icon Jimi Hendrix died in London at just 27 years of age. Even now, 45 years later, it is difficult to express just what an emotional blow this was for anyone remotely interested in guitar. There simply wasn't anyone else around who sounded anything like Jimi, nor has there been anyone since his death who has inspired such adulation among guitarists. His death was one of the darkest moments of my adolescence, not least because of the vultures who exploited his death to release album after album of subpar material that Jimi would never have approved. His original, official recordings are deservedly revered, though.

Today's send-off is a rare video of Jimi playing with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, the original Jimi Hendrix Experience lineup. They're performing "Hey Joe," a song of uncertain provenance that was covered by lots of artists in the mid- to late-60s, and which still pops up from time to time even today. This will always be my favorite version, though. Requiescat in pace Jimi (and Noel, and Mitch)...

Chart-Toppers

Clarity

As I have said on many occasions over the years, both to my students and to others, these televised joint press conferences we subject our presidential candidates to are not really "debates." We call them that for reasons which are not entirely clear to me.
I suppose for some people it is a "debate" any time you have two or more people disagreeing with each other face to face, with someone controlling how much time anyone gets to speak.

The problem is that we are entirely at the mercy of the "moderators" when it comes to the content of the discussions, and the moderators are clearly more interested in creating "good television" than they are in stepping aside and letting the candidates actually, you know, tell us what they think about the issues.

That said, the main question to be answered this early in the process is pretty straightforward: Did you see a President up on that stage? After two debates, two clearly "presidential" contenders have distinguished themselves:

Carly Fiorina showed that she clearly belonged on the stage (and let's not forget that without considerable pressure to change its rules CNN would gleefully have excluded her again).

Poised, knowledgeable, and energetic in her answers, Fiorina would make a fine standard-bearer. She is conservative in all the right places, and would be able to tap in to voters disaffected with the GOP's recent weak-kneed performance on many key issues.

Marco Rubio was also poised, exuding the natural confidence that genuine leaders possess. His answers were sharp and specific, and displayed an impressive grasp of underlying issues. I think the GOP needs a candidate who can successfully bypass the mainstream media spinners and speak directly to the public. There is no one in this field better equipped to do that than Rubio.

Frankly, the folks who don't think Rubio is conservative enough need to have their heads examined. There is no more natural heir to Ronald Reagan's brand of conservatism (the debate was held at the Reagan Presidential Library) than Marco Rubio. I ought to know, as I was backing Reagan way back in '68. The party chose Nixon. If only they had listened to me...

Most of the rest of the candidates did reasonably well. I would prefer to see Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal replace someone for the next debate (Huckabee or Kasich, neither of whom registered much last night). I'm okay with Christie and Walker sticking around for awhile, to see if they can hit their strides. Ben Carson is a good man and an engaging personality, but I'm not getting the sense that he really wants to be president. Ted Cruz appears content to lay low, and hope for a Trump implosion. Donald Trump was, if possible, even worse in this debate than in the first one. He said nothing of real substance, and seemed bewildered whenever the topic turned to actual policy issues. Jeb Bush didn't help himself either, and I expect his support to continue to dwindle as voters realize there are other, better conservative options available. Rand Paul is certainly knowledgeable, but he's just wrong on key issues. The party is still a conservative party, and is unlikely to nominate an isolationist libertarian.

Media Bias Much?

Whenever a conservative politician opens her/his mouth in public these days, liberals/progressives in the mainstream media (but I repeat myself) rush to "fact check" everything they said. This is how such outlets pretend to "do" journalism nowadays.

Problem is, their "fact checking" is just tendentious political spin, and not even well-disguised spin at that. Typical examples include articles like this one and this one (Vox is known to be a hacktastic progressive website, but still) in which the authors pretend that their disagreements with the speaker on policy are actually factual errors by the speaker.

"Who would be dumb enough to fall for such obvious chicanery?"

Other than idiotic liberals/progressives, you mean?

Can't Catch a Break

So I was just walking through my local Hy-Vee, minding my own business, not bothering anyone, when BAM!

Halloween Carrot Cake! I gained two pounds just looking at this cover (and yes, I did buy the magazine). Thanks a lot, Food Network Magazine. Burn in hell...

Red Thursday

Speaking of burning in hell...

Behold the face of pure evil.

13-1 lifetime record against my beloved Kansas City Chiefs, so no...

Actually, Peyton is a fine player, and seems like a genuinely good guy. I'm just hoping the Chiefs prevail on Thursday Night Football this evening.

Until Next Time...

On this date 92 years ago, a man named Hiram King Williams was born in Mount Olive, Alabama. He struggled with alcoholism and addiction to pain medications his entire adult life, and died on New Year's Day in 1953, the year I was born, at just 29 years of age.

His life may have been tragically short, but Hank Williams certainly left his mark on American popular music. Today's send-off is a rare video from 1952 of Hank and his band performing "Cold, Cold Heart," one of his 11 No. 1 singles. Enjoy...

Short Circuit

'Tis the Season...

...for the people who run our nation's K-12 public schools to beclown themselves while flexing their authority. Now that school has begun all over the country, expect a tsunami of stories like this one, in which a 14-year-old is cuffed, interrogated, and suspended from his high school...for building a clock.

Here's a hint, Irving Independent School District Board of Trustees, MacArthur High School principal Dan Cummings, and the Irving Police Department: If a 14-year-old freshman winds up in handcuffs, you've most likely screwed the pooch.










In a letter to parents, the principal even admitted that the young man's clock "did not pose a threat" to anyone. So why, precisely, was he handcuffed and treated like a felon? Why is he suspended from school, exactly?

No adult in Irving, Texas has ever been to a Radio Shack, apparently.

This sort of thing will be a regular feature of this blog because, frankly, far too many
of the people in charge of educating your children (including the nitwit English teacher whose lack of common sense led to all of this) are idiots. It really is that simple.

Things That Make Me Happy: True Grit Edition

September 2015 has not been kind to my beloved Kansas City Royals to this point. After spending almost the entire season with the best record in the American League, the Royals have faltered and allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to close that gap to just 3 games. They are only 5-9 so far this month after going 19-9 in August, and they still have five games left on the current road trip.

The starting pitching has been dreadful during this stretch, the bullpen has faltered, and the offense has shown an alarming tendency to disappear for days at a time. For Royals fans used to a quarter century of mediocrity and lost seasons, it has looked all too familiar.

It is at times like this that good teams need to call on their inner strength and find ways to win even when they're not playing their best. Last night the Royals did just that, beating the Indians 2-0 at Progressive Field behind a gritty pitching performance by Kris Medlen (4-1, 3.92 ERA).

"I just want to help this team be successful."

The Royals mustered only four hits off of Indians starter Josh Tomlin, who was tagged with the loss despite pitching a complete game. Two of those hits were a double by All-Star 3B Mike Moustakas and an RBI single by All-Star catcher Sal Perez in the 2nd inning. RF Alex Rios added a solo home run in the 5th inning...

"Boom!"

Game 3 of the four-game series is tonight. The Royals will send Danny Duffy (7-7, 4.14 ERA) to the mound, while the Indians will rely on Danny Salazar (12-8, 3.57).

A Trump Supporter Gets a Reading

From Wiley Miller's comic strip Non Sequitur, which you should read every day, as I do (even though Wiley is a squishy liberal).

Until Next Time...

I almost never listen to music on the radio anymore, mostly because it is difficult to find stations that play music I enjoy, and partly because commercials make my head explode. It isn't like the good old days, when I could count on radio to introduce me to new music.

That role has largely been taken over by television, of all things. I have lost count of the number of songs and artists I have discovered when they've made an appearance in an episode of a TV show I watch regularly. Several of my favorite shows, including Justified, The Walking Dead, Bones, House, M.D., and Criminal Minds, each has an iTunes playlist consisting of nothing but songs used on that show.

Today's send-off is a good example. Yesterday I was watching a rerun of the Criminal Minds episode "Revelations." The first time I saw that episode was also my introduction to "The Funeral," by Band of Horses. I offer the usual disclaimers about music videos. Enjoy...

Rude Much?

Advertising Fail

One of the most rewarding things I've done in my professional life is directing high school plays. And, as anyone who works in live theatre will tell you, the ubiquity of modern gadgets like cellphones and tablets is a bane for both audiences and performers alike. It was bad enough in the early days when all we had to worry about was phones ringing during the show, but now the problem is the obliviots who can't tear themselves away from their bright, glowing screens at all.

So you'll forgive me if I devote a bit of space today to excoriating the clueless nitwits at AT&T's advertising agency, and their equally clueless clients at AT&T itself, for approving the following ad for their new All in One Plan, sent out yesterday on social media platforms...

That's correct, ladies and gentlemen: this ad campaign is actually encouraging people to watch football on their smarphone while at a live theater performance. Not that doing so would be at all disruptive for other audience members, or disrespectful of the performers, of course.

After a firestorm of criticism, AT&T pulled the ad, and sent out a lame message that it "wasn't meant to be taken literally." Apparently, we're supposed to believe that watching your fucking football game at a play (the wording of the ad wasn't accidental, was it?) is just a metaphor for watching it in other places. Right. Hard to believe everyone who saw the ad missed that nuance, isn't it?

Of course, what actually happened is that the lamebrains who came up with the concept and the lamebrains who approved it believe their target audience won't give a damn about disrupting the audience's enjoyment of a mere theatrical performance. It is difficult to say they're mistaken, but at least in this instance they were publicly shamed for being so obvious in their support for boorishness.

Makes me proud to say that for the last 12 years I've been a customer of...

It did, actually...

A Little Bit of Heaven

I'm into my third week as the proud owner of a Mr. Coffee Café Barista espresso machine. It makes my mornings much more bearable...

At the moment I am using Starbucks Italian Roast coffee (ground at a Starbucks store specifically for an espresso machine), and of course Starbucks' own Vanilla Syrup.

All I need to do now is find somewhere that will sell me a pump like the one shown on this bottle. If you know where I can find one, leave me a message in the Comments. Thanks!

Making Allowances

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I read Wiley Miller's wonderful comic strip Non Sequitur every day, and recommend that you do the same, even though Wiley's politics are pretty much the polar opposite of my own. That means making allowances for not-so-funny strips like this one every so often...

Until Next Time...

Yesterday's AT&T kerfuffle got me thinking about live theatre, and how much I enjoyed directing plays. As I reminisced about specific shows and the students who performed in them, I decided to listen to an iTunes playlist I have consisting of music I have used in those shows over the years. It was a nice trip down memory lane, especially since it had been years since I had heard some of that music.

Today's send-off is a performance of Maurice Ravel's Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré, a piece Ravel composed to honor his former teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris (the only teacher who really "got" him; he was eventually expelled from the Conservatoire for being "unteachable").

This particular performance features Brigitte Engerer on piano, and Régis Pasquier on violin. 
I used it for the final scene in two separate productions of John Patrick's heartwarming comedy The Curious Savage. Enjoy...

Scrimmages

Lemonade

I'll be the first to admit that I have no clear sense yet of how the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination is going to shake out. My party's track record has certainly not been exemplary the past couple of cycles, but at this point I am still hopeful that a genuine conservative standard-bearer will emerge from the pack of candidates. It will certainly be an interesting debate on Wednesday.

"I think you underestimate the intelligence of the voters, Mr. Trump."

In the meantime,
I have found much to admire in Carly Fiorina's reaction to asshat Donald Trump's ugly misogyny in a recent Rolling Stone interview.




This is the way you punch back in politics, Mr. Trump:

You can watch her entire speech here. Hard to believe anyone could listen to a speech of comparable length by Trump and prefer him over her...

Things That Make Me Happy: Kickoff Edition

We're back to actual NFL football games that count, now. My beloved Kansas City Chiefs drew a tough assignment this year, opening on the road against the Houston Texans and their All-World defensive lineman J.J. Watt. The Chiefs were in charge from the opening kickoff, though, leading 27-9 at halftime. The final score of 27-20 makes the game appear closer than it really was. The Texans actually pulled their starting QB midway through the second half.

Chiefs QB Alex Smith threw for 243 yards and 3 touchdown passes, no interceptions.

The Chiefs will only have three days to prepare for their next game, as the Denver Broncos will be visiting Arrowhead Stadium for Thursday Night Football this week.

"Maybe this will take your mind off of the Royals tanking."

You know me better than that, old friend...

When Opportunity Knocks

"It's HOT, man. You do what you gotta do, you know?"

Until Next Time...

In September of 1955, Richard Penniman was having a difficult morning at a New Orleans recording studio. His unusual and energetic approach to music was not translating well to recorded performances that day, so during a lunch break he took out his frustrations on a piano, banging out a ribald song that had been a part of his live act for some time. The recording session's producer, Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, knew a hit song when he heard one, and sixty years ago today he managed to finally capture in a studio recording the essence of Little Richard's genius.

The result of this little bit of serendipity was "Tutti Frutti," one of the handful of recordings that can truly be said to have changed the course of rock and roll.

Today's send-off is a performance of the legendary hit from the 1956 film Don't Knock the Rock. Even this sanitized version of Little Richard is a true pleasure. Enjoy...

[Note: Despite my best efforts, Blogger won't let me start the clip at the correct spot, so you won't see "Tutti Frutti" until after he has performed "Long Tall Sally." That's a good song, too, so I don't feel bad about asking you to watch them both.]

Sunday Potpourri No. 16

Today's post comes with the Standard Sunday Disclaimer: "The post title is using the term 'potpourri' in the second of the two senses listed here. The post may also be rather short, although not necessarily so."

Aches and Pains

When you get to be my age, aches and pains are pretty much constant. Some days are better than others, of course, but over the years I've become something of a lay expert on over-the-counter pain medications.

At the moment, I've been getting good results taking Bayer's "Back & Body" formulation when I get up in the morning.

Most mornings it's just a precautionary measure, to keep the pain from becoming obtrusive as I go about my day. Today, however, I woke up in pain, so I'm hobbling around now waiting for the medicine to kick in. Not big fun...

Things That Make Me Happy: Pigskin Edition

My beloved Missouri Tigers hit the road yesterday for a game with the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro. It was a tense, hard-fought game throughout, but the Tigers came from behind to prevail 27-20. QB Maty Mauk accounted for 223 total yards of offense and threw for three touchdowns to lead the Tigers to victory.

Mauk shaking free from a defender on the way to a first down.

The No. 21 Tigers improved to 2-0, and will play the Connecticut Huskies (also 2-0) next Saturday in Columbia.

Other than Missouri's win, the day was a mixed bag for me: Iowa State lost to Iowa, and Nebraska won, which bummed me out, but Kansas lost and Notre Dame won, which boosted my spirits...

"How did UC Irvine do?"

For the millionth time, they don't play football there...

Things That Make Me Happy: Resilience Edition

After completing a disappointing 3-6 homestand with a 3-2 loss in 12 innings to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night, my beloved Kansas City Royals began a 10-game road road trip on Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. On their previous visit to this park in 2014, of course, the Royals won the first two games of the American League Championship Series. The ALCS never returned to Baltimore, as the Royals swept both games in Kansas City as well. You might say the Baltimore fans were unusually hopeful of seeing a Royals defeat.

Well, they certainly got what they wished for. The Royals entered the bottom of the 8th inning with a 6-4 lead and All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera on the mound. The Orioles exploded for 10 runs, including hitting two grand slam home runs, and the Royals fell 14-8. Orioles fans loved every minute of the Royals collapse, of course. It was KC's second straight loss, and their sixth loss in seven games.

One of the things that has made this season memorable, though, has been Kansas City's ability to bounce back from gut-wrenching defeats. They did that in spades on Saturday afternoon, beating the Orioles 14-6. The Royals were down 4-1 heading into the top of the 6th, but they erupted for 5 runs to take a 6-4 lead. In the 7th inning, the scored 5 more runs to put the game away.

The batting star was All-Star 3B Mike Moustakas, who went 3-for-5 with two home runs (a grand slam in the 7th and a 3-run shot in the 9th) and a franchise-record 9 RBIs...

"Boom BOOM, baby!"

The series concludes tonight as Johnny Cueto (9-11, 3.24 ERA) tries to regain his form for the Royals against the Orioles' Wei-Yin Chen (8-7, 3.48) on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecast.

I Disagree, But I Understand...

From the excellent webcomic xkcd, by Randall Munroe, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

As part of a weeklong celebration of the University of Missouri's 175th birthday, the Marching Mizzou band put on a remarkable halftime show at the game between the Tigers and Indiana University at Faurot Field on September 20, 2014.

The Tigers lost that game 31-27 on an Indiana TD run with only :22 to play, so my best memory of the game was the halftime show! Enjoy...

Fall-ish

Cy-Hawk Saturday!

College football teams in the midwest have a fondness for playing games against geographical rivals for the privilege of possessing ugly trophies. Indiana and Purdue,
for instance, play for the Old Oaken Bucket, while Minnesota and Wisconsin play for Paul Bunyan's Axe, and Illinois and Ohio State play for the Illibuck Trophy.

Of course, all of those schools are in the same conference together. Part of what adds spice to the annual clash between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Iowa Hawkeyes is that they are not just fighting for in-state bragging rights, but for the honor of their conferences (Big XII and Big Ten, respectively).

As for "ugly trophy," it is tough to beat the new design they rolled out for 2011...

Yes, they really did.

This design was, unsurprisingly, mocked into retirement before ever being awarded at a game. There was an "interim" replacement (missing the bizarre family of corn farmers) given at the 2011 game, which was replaced the following year by a more conventional design:

The Cyclones claimed the trophy in 2012

The two rivals will square off this afternoon at Iowa State's Jack Trice Stadium.
A Cyclone victory would please me enormously...

Say "Hello" to Amanda

As I have mentioned previously, sometimes the way to find something you've been seeking is to STOP looking for it. That turned out to be the case with Amanda, the newest member of my guitar family. She is an Alvarez Yairi WY1TS, and I found her entirely by chance. For about a year, I had been keeping my eye out for a version of the Alvarez Yairi WY1 model in figured koa wood (see the "Until Next Time..." section for more details) by using an automated search feature on eBay, but the ones I was finding were either too expensive or too beaten up to suit me, so for the most part I had been ignoring the results eBay kept sending me.

Last December, though, they sent me a notice from a music store that was letting a WY1TS go for basically their own cost (it has been a tough economy). One of the few upsides of the single life is that if I want to do so I can splurge on a Christmas gift for myself, and so I did...

Alvarez Yairi WY1 guitar with Tobacco Sunburst finish

For a long time this image of my hero Joe Bonamassa playing his WY1TS was the desktop background on my laptop computer...

...and I was thrilled to add such a gorgeous instrument to my own collection.

Amanda is one of those guitars about whom it can truly be said that she is more beautiful in person than in any photograph. I am hopeful of getting Joe to sign her someday...

One Reason I'm Not Rich

From the wonderful comic strip Dilbert, by Scott Adams, which you should join me in reading every day.

Until Next Time...

The first three times I saw my hero Joe Bonamassa live in concert, one of the highlights of the show was his performance of his song "Woke Up Dreaming" on a gorgeous Alvarez Yairi WY1K guitar..

Des Moines Civic Center, 2012 (taken from my seat)

By the time he toured through my neck of the woods again in the spring of 2014, his show consisted of an entire acoustic set, followed by an electric set. For the acoustic set he used a variety of vintage instruments, but the WY1K had been replaced with a different Yairi, a WY1TS (second front the right in the photo below)...

Orpheum Theatre, Sioux City 2014 (taken from my seat)

Today's send-off is Joe playing Amanda's sibling at the Hammersmith Apollo theater on his Tour de Force concert series back in 2013. Enjoy...

The Persistence of Memory

Remembrance

United Flight 175 seconds away from the South Tower.

Aftermath of American Airlines Flight 77 impact on Pentagon.

Aerial photograph of United Flight 93 crash site in Pennsylvania taken by FBI.

Flight 93 National Memorial, Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania

The 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero

The Tribute in Light art project, New York City

One World Trade Center, New York City

Readings

If you feel up to a little reading about 9/11 today, these pieces by Jonah Goldberg, Allahpundit, and Dan McLaughlin (aka "Baseball Crank") are worth your time...

Housekeeping

"Tell them...*sniff*...about the post's title."

Thanks for reminding me, old friend...

Today's post title is the name of a famous painting by Salvador Dali that hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City...

The Persistence of Memory, 1931

Seemed appropriate, as today is a day for remembering...

Just a reminder, too, that comments are always welcome. I'd love to hear from you!

Until Tomorrow...

In the wake of the terror attacks we commemorate today, a lot of people put together videos pairing the horrific news footage with inspirational songs by their favorite musical artists. I became something of a collector of such works, and today's send-off is a splendid example. It features the band Live, a favorite of mine for 20 years, performing their song "Overcome," which was released just two months after the September 11 Attacks. Watch, listen, and remember...

An Unlovely Mind

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Every time I think Donald Trump couldn't possibly make himself look any more idiotic, he surprises me! By all means, let's entrust the nuclear launch codes to the guy who...

...is too dumb to realize that an interview with Rolling Stone magazine is likely to be an ambush...

"Afraid to say it to my face, wimp? Yeah, you'd BETTER run..."

...and who thinks Carly Fiorina is simply too unattractive to be President of the United States.






It is also worth mentioning to the "But he's a fighter!" crowd of sycophants that he's currently trying to sell the idea that his remark had nothing to do with her physical appearance. He says he was talking about her "persona."

We're supposed to prefer this "persona," seriously?

The most unattractive thing I've seen lately is the vapid, nativist, misogynist, megalomaniacal mind lurking behind that florid mug...

"He does seem remarkably dense, even for a biped."

I know, right?

Yes, Exactly!

In fairness, you could really substitute the name of any Democrat for Bernie's name, and it would still be funny. But since Bernie is an unabashed national socialist...

H/T Mollie Hemingway

Fantasy and Reality

In model railroading, the actual locomotives upon which models are based are called prototypes. Most of the models I own are based on prototype locomotives that have been retired from service for some time, but every so often I'm reminded that a couple of "my" prototypes are still in operation.

One of the first models in my collection was a gift. It is a beautiful replica of the Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) SD70ACe No. 1982 operated by Union Pacific. UP designated half a dozen of their SD70ACe locomotives as their "Heritage Fleet," painting them in colors representative of railroads acquired by UP over the years. Each locomotive's road number was changed to the year UP acquired that railroad (in Missouri Pacific's case, 1982).

My Athearn Genesis EMD SD70ACe model

As I was browsing one of my favorite websites, railpictures.net, yesterday evening I happened across a nice photo of my model's prototype, taken just one week ago as it passed through Blackwater, Missouri.

Union Pacific "MoPac Heritage" No. 1982 in operation on September 2, 2015.

Until Next Time...

When the rock band Guns 'N Roses released their debut album Appetite for Destruction in August of 1987, it was eagerly embraced by guitar-rock fans like me who were tired of seeing the charts dominated by singers like Whitney Houston and George Michael, and wimpy bands like Starship and Wang Chung. It was a much-needed jolt, and the album soon reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

"Sweet Child o' Mine" was the second single release from the album, and it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 37 years ago today. It would be the group's only No. 1 single, and is the song most closely associated with their career. Some people attribute it's popularity in large measure to the lyrics, which are unusually evocative for this type of hard rock song. I still get a little choked up listening to it, after all these years. Enjoy...