Dud

Thank The Crimson King It's Friday!

"My throne is made of the skulls of King Crimson fans!"

No-Show Trial

For all the huffing and puffing among the progressive liberal media (but I repeat myself) about the "show trial" poor Hillary Clinton was subjected to by a House Select Committee on Benghazi, absolutely nothing of any consequence actually took place.

The Republicans spent their time asking questions that seemed to have no purpose other than to facilitate a possible charge of perjury down the road. And of course Hillary did what she always does: She waved her hands, rolled her eyes, heaved a few heavy sighs, claimed not to have been responsible for anything that happened on her watch, and expressed indignation that anyone would have the temerity to question her judgment or her job performance.

"When I'm President, the IRS will audit every last one of you guys."

It was crystal clear throughout the proceedings that she's bored by the whole process, and feels that she should not have to be subject to this kind of scrutiny.

She may have a point. It isn't clear that hearings of this sort will have the slightest impact on her political prospects.

And, of course, we can't count on the Department of Justice to do anything, no matter what the FBI investigation uncovers.

I really wish that if we're going to have these kinds of show trials, we actually get something out of it.

"Typical bourgeois capitalists. All talk, no action."

"Uncle Joe would have had her executed just for that cackle alone."

You could be right...it IS irritating...

Score!

I've had some good fortune lately with my Hallmark pen collecting habit. Last week,
I acquired this like-new set made of wenge wood (Hallmark produced fewer sets using this wood, making it more scarce for collectors):

Pen/Pencil set in wenge wood with chrome trim

And yesterday I won an auction for this rosewood pen:

Pen in rosewood with gold trim

Neither of these acquisitions was necessary to fill a hole in my collection. I also give these away as gifts, and it is helpful to have extras on hand for that purpose.

Social Science Speed Bump

From the delightful webcomic xkcd, by Randall Munroe, which you should read every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as I do.

Until Next Time...

I enjoy all types of music, always have. Well, maybe not opera, but other than that
I have as eclectic a music collection as you can imagine. No matter what frame of mind I'm in, I can always find the perfect music to fit my mental state.

It isn't my favorite by any means, but every so often, usually when I'm angry and frustrated, the genre called "metal" is the ideal choice. I know that's why such music always appealed to so many of my students (they don't call it "head-banging music"
for nothing).

After watching yesterday's congressional hearing, and reading and watching today's preposterous media spinning of same, I am most definitely in a metal mood. As I was browsing that part of my collection looking for something suitably loud and cathartic,
I spent quite a bit of time listening to Metallica material, especially from their album S&M, a live performance with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony recorded in 1999.

Today's send-off is the official video release of "No Leaf Clover," a song the band wrote specifically for that project. The combination of classical and metal elements works very well, I think. Enjoy...