What Winning Looks Like

"For They Have Sown the Wind...

Terror victims at Bataclan, Paris 11/13/15

...and They Shall Reap the Whirlwind."

Spontaneous demonstration in the streets of Paris shortly after the terror attacks ended.

French Air Force Dassault Rafale jets now conducting bombing sorties on ISIS positions in Syria.

I wouldn't expect many of the ISIS murderers currently being bombed back to the 7th century to be familiar with Hosea 8:7, but that doesn't make France's response to last Friday's terror attacks any less inspiring for the rest of us.

As for our own "leader," he said at a press conference this morning that...

"I'm too busy to debate the people popping off about my failed policy."

What are we supposed to do when the Leader of the Free World doesn't want to lead?

Things That Make Me Happy: Off the Schneid Edition

Heading into yesterday's game with the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, my beloved Kansas City Chiefs were 0-7 against Peyton Manning in a Broncos uniform. Included in that string of defeats was the gut-wrenching, last-minute 31-24 loss at Arrowhead Stadium in this season's second game.

That streak is now over, as the Chiefs crushed the Broncos 29-13 yesterday afternoon in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated (the Chiefs led 29-0 midway through the 4th quarter). The Chiefs defense harassed Manning into a horrible game (5/20 for 35 yards and four interceptions)...

This Jaye Howard sack forced a fumble, but the Broncos recovered.

...and eventually he was benched for backup Brock Osweiler. Meanwhile, Chiefs QB Alex Smith threw for 200 yards and a touchdown, and RB Charcandrick West rushed for one touchdown and scored another on an 80-yard pass play...

"You can't catch me!"

The Chiefs are still an extreme long-shot to make the NFL playoffs. You don't generally see teams recover from five-game losing streaks in this league. Even though only one of their remaining seven games is against a team that currently has a winning record (Buffalo Bills, at Arrowhead), they have no margin for error. I just don't see them going 7-0 or 6-1 over that stretch of games, and anything less would leave them on the outside looking in come playoff time.

But at least we finally beat Manning, and in front of a packed house in Denver, too. Pretty sweet...

"Maybe the Chiefs learned something from what the Royals did in their championship run."

We can only hope that they did...

Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update

There has been a notable drop-off in the number of avian customers visiting the B&B. Most of the finches have stopped coming around, possibly due to migration. As the leaves have fallen from the nearby trees, a lot of the birds may simply have moved across the street where there is still some foliage.

I'm currently researching some ways to help the non-migratory birds get by during the winter months.

Meanwhile, as the cold weather approaches, the B&B attracted a couple of new customers this morning (of course, they've probably been around before without my spotting them)...

"What's up?"

"These shelled peanuts are excellent!"

I'm not sure these little guys found much, but they're welcome to whatever they like.
All are welcome at the B&B.

Solving the Puzzle

From the pen of Rick McKee, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On November 16, 1964 Diana Jean Krall was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Although neither of her parents were professional musicians, they both pursued musical hobbies, and Diana followed in their footsteps, taking up the piano at age four.

She attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston before pursuing career opportunities in California. She released her first album in 1993, and has since had half a dozen albums reach the Top 10 on the  Billboard 200 album charts. She has won five Grammy Awards as well.

Today's send-off is Diana and her combo performing the Tom Waits song "Temptation" at the French Jazz a Vienne festival in 2010. Enjoy...