Cartoon Saturday

Is it too late to quit my subscription to August?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will soon be equipped with tactical gloves which will deliver a painful electric shock to "gain compliance from combative individuals;" Mike "My Pillow" Lindell lost his campaign for the Minnesota governor primary but - surprise! - refuses to concede the loss ... in a GOP-only primary; White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her position at the end of the August to spend more time lying to her family ... the Mouth of Sauron is reported to be the leading candidate to replace her; in a rambling* speech to police officers in New York, Der Furor said that he will declare the Strait of Hormuz to be a U.S. territory; and in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, a suspicious package outside a fire station that caused police to shut down rush hour traffic turned out to be an "electronic sex portable pump device." 

This week, a collection of people whose short-term outlook is completely justifiable nowadays.

Some people are a little less concerned about the future than others ...

The original is more eye-catching ...

I can't argue with that ...

Can't argue with that, either ...

Sometimes you just hate to be proven right ...

When your mother is the one with the warning ...

Everybody's got scheduling problems ...

The way the weather is going, he's the right man for the job ...

His sign needs a little work, but I endorse the opinion ...

The very definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy ...

And that's it for Cartoon Saturday ... the end was nearer than you thought.

Have a good day and a great weekend, and come back tomorrow for Poetry Sunday, when we visit the most famous baseball poem ever. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* Does he deliver any other kind?

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

Hello, and welcome to the latest collection of editorial and signage ya-has ...

I think that the person who planned this sale moonlights for Der Furor's economic policy staff ...

The climate change crisis is worse than I thought ...

That's a relief ...

Mike sent me this monument to the importance of kerning ...

I wonder if they moonlight as advisors on Der Furor's Iran war strategy ...

I think I know where I'm going for my next snack ...

Umm ... just what do they expect to be dropped off?

Those deer really need to pay more attention to their parking ...

Right ...

That must have been one stressful job ...

And that's it for this week's collection of editorial and signage mishaps - I hope you enjoyed them.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday discusses whether the end is, in fact, near. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Thursday Trees

Welcome back to the temporary home of Thursday Trees!

1 - A baobab tree. I always thought they looked as if they'd been planted upside-down ...

2 - 

3 - I took this picture during a bus trip from Whittier to Anchorage, Alaska, in 2004. During the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964, the ground level dropped between six and eight feet, and sea water rushed in to cover the land. The salt in the water killed the trees and preserved the trunks; the waters eventually receded, and today miles and miles of dead, white-bleached trees remain. 

4 - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania ...

5 - 

6 - 

7 - 

8 - 

9 - A mango tree on Mo'orea Island, French Polynesia ...

10 - The Paradisweg ("Paradise Trail") in the Black Forest, Germany ...

Enjoy the shade! Thursday Trees will be back next week, and you can join us tomorrow for another edition of Great Moments in Editing and Signage ... more thoughts then.

Bilbo

Is There a Conductor in the House?

There's a fascinating article by Matthew Aucoin in the September, 2026, issue of The Atlantic - The Mysterious Art of Conducting - that looks at the history and role of the orchestra conductor, the dignified figure who seems to do nothing but stand in front of the orchestra and wave his or her arms while the musicians make music. The article clearly explains why, as orchestras became larger and their instruments more varied, it became necessary for a single figure to make sure all the parts worked together to produce the music the composer intended. Mr Aucoin describes the job this way:

This is the conductor’s essential task: to embody, guide, and react to the current of the music. A responsible conductor understands that they must both lead and serve as listener in chief. They should have a clear plan for how a performance will be shaped, but they must also be prepared to respond to their colleagues’ music-making as it happens. If a particular player or section is doing something magical, the conductor should know how to absorb that energy and reflect it back to the ensemble.

It occurs to me that what the nation needs right now is not a president, but a conductor*.

Instead of a politically, religiously, morally, and socially bankrupt buffoon deaf to the needs of the people he leads, we need a conductor who can coordinate the various instruments at his or her disposal to make beautiful music for the enjoyment and betterment of everyone. We need the political equivalent of a Gustavo Dudamel ...

or a Sarah Hicks ...

... especially a Sarah Hicks, who not only has better hair than Dudamel, but directs not only an orchestra, but a male and a female chorus, sound effects, a solo soprano, and a wah-wah.

It's time for our government to make beautiful music instead of raucous cacophany. Fire Der Furor. Hire a competent conductor. Start with the November midterms.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow, when Thursday Trees makes its weekly appearance.

Bilbo

* Not a conducǎtor, which was the Romanian version of the word, applied to the late dictator Nikolai Ceauşescu.

Monday Mountains

It's time once again for Monday Mountains ... get your weekly fix of alpine serenity.

1 - Nice campsite, eh?

2 - Mountains against a bright blue, cloud-dotted sky ...

3 - Do you suppose this mountain is giving the finger to someone? 

4 - A twofer: beautiful castle and beautiful mountains!

5 - Chocolate Lake, California ...

6 - Agnes and I on the Dachstein, in the Austrian Alps ...

7 - Kauai, Hawaii ...

8 - Lake Bled, Slovenia ...

9 - Maroon Bells, Colorado ...

10 - The Swiss Alps, photographed by my daughter and her family during a hike last month ...

I hope this little, 10-image moment of peace and serenity helped you prepare yourself for another week, assuming you need it. I surely do.

Have a good day and a good week. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

One of my favorite groups is The Statler Brothers, whose wonderful blend of great voices coupled with clever lyrics and memorable lyrics is (IMHO) pretty much unmatched. This one is a great example of their talent ...

Here are the lyrics:

When the sun wakes up in the west

And lays its head down in the east

When they ordain Madalyn O'Hair*

And she becomes a priest

When a San Diego sailor

Comes home with no tattoo

When they put a dome on Wrigley Field

I'll be comin' home to you

But don't wait on me, little darlin'

Lord, can't you see, little darlin'?

I only go so far

There ain't no guarantee

Don't wait on me to win you

That's somethin' I just can't do

I never have and don't intend to

Don't wait on me

When the wind don't blow in Chicago

And L.A. is cold and clear

When they unfurl Old Glory

And no one stands to cheer

When my brother-in-law phones me

And the charges aren't reversed

When the cabbie don't want a bigger tip

I'll be slidin' home from first

And don't wait on me, little darlin'

Lord, can't you see, little darlin'?

I only go so far

There ain't no guarantee

Don't wait on me to win you

That's somethin' I just can't do

I never have and don't intend to

Don't wait on me

When you load up on a long shot

And you win by half a nose

When the Fourth of July parade

Is called because it snows

When the waiting room is empty

And the Doc says, 'Come on in'

When Christmas comes before New Years

I'll be comin' home again

But don't wait on me, little darlin'

Lord, can't you see, small darlin'?

I only go so far

There ain't no guarantee

Don't wait on me to win you

That's somethin' I just can't do

I never have and don't intend to

Don't wait on me

Don't wait on me

Don't wait on me

Don't wait on me

Don't wait on me

In the original version of this song (released in June of 1981), the next-to-last line of the first verse was, "When the lights go on at Wrigley Field," a reference to the days when Chicago's Wrigley Field was unable to host night baseball games because it was the only major league baseball stadium without lights ... they were finally installed, and the first complete night game was played under the new lights on August 9th, 1988 - 38 years ago today.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when Monday Mountains returns. See you then.

Bilbo

* Madalyn Murray O'Hair was a famously outspoken atheist.

Cartoon Saturday

Just a week into August and I'm ready to return it for a refund.

A Senate committee has voted to hold Dr Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress ... a crime that most Americans are guilty of nowadays; Der Furor's new self-named class of big targets battleships is expected to cost around $275 billion to build, according to a Congressional Budget office report released this week; Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who has not been seen in public since being admitted to the hospital on June 14th, issued a statement saying he was being released from the hospital and would conduct his Senate business from home while continuing his recovery; after his first royal decree executive order limiting birthright citizenship was struck down by the Supreme Court, Der Furor signed two new decrees orders using different justifications and criteria to try to accomplish his goal; and in (where else?) Florida, two men were arrested after getting into a machete fight over an ex-girlfriend in a grocery store parking lot ... because they did not use guns like Real Americans, they will not be able to use a Second Amendment defense to avoid spending time in jail.

This week, a cartoon look at the news ... or whatever it is we have now where the news used to be. 

The way things are going, it can only improve them ...

A very perceptive observation ...

The latest from the White House Press Secretary ...

It's as I feared ...

And a gin and tonic to wash 'em down ...

Indeed ...

Well, it is if you're wealthy and well-connected enough ...

I always figured that was how it worked ...

Well, it saves money on winter clothes ...

Telling it like it is ...

And that's the way it is, unfortunately. Sorry about that, Mr Cronkite.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts coming tomorrow, when we tee up the first Musical Sunday for August. See you then.

Bilbo