Poetry Sunday

As the world gets warmer with the coming of spring and the promise of summer, here's a poem that reminds me of the pleasant evenings of youth, before all those adult responsibilities spoiled it all ...

Renaming the Planets 

by Bill Glose 

Backs on pier’s cool planks, fingers

intertwined, my girlfriend and I

gaze into forever as comets

tear open the sky, bright streaks

winking like distant fireflies.

Beyond them, a dwarf planet sulks

in its orbit. Einstein said nothing

could outrun physics’ laws;

even time must bend to fit its rules.

Yet scientists once declared Earth

center of our universe;

earlier still, that it was flat.

Evolution of what is certain

proves nothing is absolute,

not even a Rockwell scene

of young lovers beside

a lake, waiting for the future

to arrive from heaven.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming. 

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Geez, I thought this month was never going to end ...

GOP lawyer Sidney Powell responded to a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems by claiming that "no reasonable person" would have believed her accusations of fraud; President Biden defended his border policy in the first formal news conference of his presidency; the Suez Canal remains blocked by a gigantic container ship which ran aground and jammed diagonally across the waterway, blocking all passage of ships in one of the world's most heavily-traveled canals; at least five people have been killed and enormous damage caused by tornadoes that ripped across five southern states on Thursday; and in New York, an auto repair shop paid the final wages to a departing employee by dumping $915 in oil-soaked pennies - 91,500 of them - in the man's driveway.

This week, in honor of the birthday this past Monday of famous mime Marcel Marceau, how about a collection of cartoons featuring mimes? ...

There's one born every minute ...  

This ought to be easy ...

What else would a mime put on a bumper sticker? ...

When mimes walk dogs ...

Mime funeral, part one ...

Mime funeral, part two ...

Somehow, I don't think they've tried that approach ...

When mimes send SMS's ...

Not everyone should try podcasting ...

I think most parents would wish for that one ... 

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday returns.

Bilbo

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2021

Yes, Dear Readers, sometimes it just writes itself ...

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2021

is - without the least question or doubt -

Sidney Powell

As one of the noisiest would-be Legal Eagles pushing brazen conspiracy theories about a stolen election that led ultimately to the storming of the Capitol on January 6th, the deaths of five people, and the injuries to hundreds of others, Sidney Powell filed dozens of lawsuits "releasing the kraken" and alleging various types of election fraud she claimed were being conducted by the Democratic Party and its supporters. Among these were a flurry of lawsuits and allegations claiming that voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems were designed to surreptitiously change votes cast for Der Furor to votes for Joe Biden. 

Federal judges - many of them Republican-appointed - in Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan tossed out her cases for lack of standing or want of evidence. In Michigan, US District Judge Linda Parker dismissed Powell's suit in a blistering opinion, writing that "This lawsuit seems to be less about achieving the relief Plaintiffs seek — as much of that relief is beyond the power of this Court — and more about the impact of their allegations on People's faith in the democratic process and their trust in our government."

Now that Dominion Voting Systems has sued Ms Powell for defamation, she has resorted to a novel, but increasingly common GOP defense*: her attorneys argue that "reasonable people" wouldn't have believed her allegations of fraud ... in spite of the obvious fact that many "reasonable" people did, in fact, believe it ... and their belief led directly to deaths, injuries, and property destruction resulting from an insurrection against the United States Government ... not to mention a new law in Georgia that places tremendous restrictions on voting rights - including making it a crime to give food or water to someone waiting in line to vote. You can read the entire insane filing by Powell's attorneys here. 

This would be laughable had the result of Ms Powell's ludicrous accusations not resulted in death, destruction, and the undermining of the legitimacy of federal elections. She deserves contempt, vilification, and the revocation of her law license in - where else - Texas, where she is a member of the bar.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Left-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2021, is legal buffoon and dangerous enabler of demagogues Sidney Powell.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* Tucker Carlson tries to avoid responsibility for his commentary for much the same reason.

Musical Sunday

Okay, it's time for some good, old-fashioned song-and-dance to get the corpuscles up and marching around ... how about a little Uptown Funk, featuring some great dancers and theatrical dance scenes of the past ...

If you're not fired up now, go ahead and call the coroner to schedule your pickup.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

I think I'll hurry up and get on with this before some dumbass tries to filibuster it ...

The Vatican announced on Monday that priests could not bless same-sex unions, calling any such blessing “not licit,” but said that the church should welcome gay people “with respect and sensitivity” without endorsing marriage between them; the World Meteorological Organization has decided to stop using Greek letters when the Atlantic runs out of names for hurricanes in future years, but has not yet made a decision on a recommendation to use the names of GOP lawmakers for particularly destructive storms; eight people, mainly women of Asian descent, were murdered and another wounded in Atlanta by a killer using a 9mm handgun; John Magufuli, the president of Tanzania and one of Africa's most prominent coronavirus sceptics, has died of Covid-19; and in San Francisco, an elderly Asian woman attacked and injured by a man who was apparently looking for an easy target turned the tables on her assailant, beating him so severely he had to be taken to a hospital.

This week, a look at how we've used technology to survive the pandemic. I've also included a couple of memes that I thought were particularly good ...

How things might have been ...  

Won't it be nice to go to concerts again? ...

I have the same problem ...

A man ahead of his time ...

The unfortunate side effect of bringing food to a virtual meeting ...

You really can do it all online nowadays ...

It's a valid question ...

The socially-distanced, technologically-enhanced dinner ...

How to make your toilet paper go farther ...

It works, but it really isn't as satisfying ...

And, as Walter Cronkite would have said, that's the way it is for Saturday, March 18th, 2021. I hope you enjoyed my little attempt to distract you from the cornucopia of bad news that surrounds us. Be sure to come back tomorrow for Musical Sunday, where we get things moving with a little Uptown Funk. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

Here we go, again ...

I wonder where they're looking ...

Oh, yeah ... I'm sure this will help bring 'em back ...

Maybe this guy will decide to come back ...

Stand up for your rights! ...

I need to check the rate of pay to see if it will affect my Social Security eligibility ...

I hear it's popular with the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys ...

I don't want to hear anyone else griping about my lousy puns ...

Well, they would say that, wouldn't they? ...

Combat training gets more realistic all the time ...

For you ladies with three eyes, this is an unbeatable deal! ...

And there you go - another collection of great moments in editing and signage. If nothing else, it may help distract you from all the great moments in justice and legislation not going on at the Supreme Court and within the GOP.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

Although it's not quite the middle of March, the weather here in NoVa of late has let us dare to hope that spring has finally sprung after the long and yucky winter. In the last few days, I've been able to start cleaning out my planting beds, getting the garden ready for the new crop of herbs and watching the perennials (like my chives and sage) starting to green again. And so I guess a little happy madness is in order, eh?

A little Madness in the Spring

by Emily Dickinson

A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown—
Who ponders this tremendous scene—
This whole Experiment of Green—
As if it were his own!

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

It's been quite a week ...

President Biden signed the popular (except with Congressional Republicans) American Rescue Plan into law on Thursday, making a bold move to bring the economy back to something like pre-Covid normal; New York governor Andrew Cuomo refused increasing calls for him to resign over a series of sexual harassment allegations; Linda Reynolds Australia's Defense Minister, has paid compensation to a former aide who she called a "lying cow" after she alleged she had been raped by a former colleague; the Minneapolis city council has approved a $27 million settlement to the estate of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May of 2020; and the NCAA is suing a group of Virginia urologists who trademarked the phrase "Vasectomy Mayhem," claiming that Virginia Urology's phrase is too close to the NCAA's "March Madness" slogan and will "result in confusion, mistake or deception with petitioner and/or the goods and services marketed in connection with the NCAA."  I can't make this stuff up.

This week, a collection of cartoons without a theme ... because I'm feeling too lazy to sort them.

Using the right term is always important ...  

I would feel the same way ...

I think life may well be better the less you hear ...

If only it were a hallucination ...

Um ... no ...

Perhaps he can find someone to lens a hand ...

The GOP version of the fairy tale ...

Read the directions at least twice before starting ...

A flashback to my dating years ...

True enough ...

Have a good day and a great weekend. See you tomorrow for Poetry Sunday ... more thoughts then.

Bilbo

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2021

It's been almost exactly one year since today's Ass Clown awardee received his first award. Since then, he's tried hard for another head-nod, but has always been out-clowned by other people more outrageous than he. But this time, he's well and truly earned his second award.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2021

Tucker Carlson

(Second Award*)

Carlson, who hosts the most popular show on Fox News, ridiculed President Joe Biden Tuesday for his comment that the US military had created uniforms to fit women properly, created maternity flight suits for those who are pregnant, and updated requirements for hairstyles. Carlson mocked the President's comments, saying, 

"So we've got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It's a mockery of the US military."

He went on to argue that China is surging ahead to cement its hormonal advantage, ramping up its "military masculinity" while the United States worries about pregnancy uniforms and female soldiers' hairstyles.

Mr Carlson is not known for his close relationship with accuracy, facts, or civility, and his comments drew quick condemnation from senior leaders at every level in the Defense Department. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby noted that "What we absolutely won't do is take personnel advice from a talk show host, or the Chinese military."

US Space Command's senior enlisted leader, Master Gunnery Sergeant Scott Stalker, referred to Mr Carlson's show as "drama TV," and reminded his audience that Carlson's opinion was "based off of actually zero days of service in the armed forces."

It bears re-emphasizing that Mr Carlson has never served in the military. He tried to join the CIA after his graduation from college, but his application was denied. 

Instead of serving his country in uniform or as a part of the Intelligence Community, he chose to become a reality-challenged shouting head in the employ of a network which undercuts and ridicules those who do.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2021, is Faux News shouting head Tucker Carlson. In the picture above, he indicates the closest he is willing to come to actual facts and rational thought.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* Mr Carlson's first award was as the Left-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2019. You can read that award citation here. 

Musical Sunday

I love to dance, and one of my favorite dances is the rumba. One of my favorite rumba tunes is a beautiful song by Juan Luis Guerra called "Burbujas de Amor" ("Love Bubbles"). Now, I speak virtually no Spanish, but I know a beautiful tune when I hear one, and the words in Spanish, although I had no idea what they meant, have always struck me as almost unbearably beautiful and sensual. But Love Bubbles?

For years, I wondered what the lyrics actually meant, and not long ago I finally got off my lazy patootie and beseeched the Google gods for a translation of the lyrics, which in English turned out to be ... well ... not quite what I had imagined. Here's the video, followed by both the Spanish and the English lyrics. Enjoy!

And now for the lyrics, first in Spanish ...

Burbujas De Amor

Tengo un corazón

mutilado de esperanza y de razón

tengo un corazón

que madruga adonde quiera

¡Ay ay ay ay ay ay!

Y ese corazón

se desnuda de impaciencia ante tu voz

pobre corazón

que no atrapa su cordura

Quisiera ser un pez

para tocar mi nariz

en tu pecera

y hacer burbujas de amor

por donde quiera

¡oh! pasar la noche en vela

mojado en ti

Un pez

para bordar de corales tu cintura

y hacer siluetas de amor

bajo la luna

¡oh! saciar esta locura

mojado en ti

Canta corazón

con un ancla imprescindible de ilusión

sueña corazón

no te nubles de amargura

¡Ay ay ay ay ay ay!

Y este corazón

se desnuda de impaciencia ante tu voz

pobre corazón

que no atrapa su cordura

Quisiera ser un pez

para tocar mi nariz

en tu pecera

y hacer burbujas de amor

por donde quiera

¡oh! pasar la noche en vela

mojado en ti

Un pez

para bordar de corales tu cintura

y hacer siluetas de amor

bajo la luna

¡oh! saciar esta locura

mojado en ti

Una noche para hundirnos

hasta el fin

cara a cara, beso a beso

y vivir

por siempre mojado en ti

Quisiera ser un pez

para tocar mi nariz

en tu pecera

y hacer burbujas de amor

por donde quiera

¡oh! pasar la noche en vela

mojado en ti

Un pez

para bordar de cayenas tu cintura

y hacer siluetas de amor

bajo la luna

¡oh! saciar esta locura

mojado en ti

Para tocar mi nariz

en tu pecera

y hacer burbujas de amor

por donde quiera

¡oh! pasar la noche en vela

mojado en ti

Un pez

para bordar de cayenas tu cintura

y hacer siluetas de amor

bajo la luna

¡oh! vaciar esta locura

mojado en ti

And now in English ...

Love Bubbles

I have a heart

That has been maimed by hope and reason

I have a heart that wakes early no matter the place

¡Ay ay ay ay ay ay!

This heart

Bares itself impatiently before your voice

Poor heart

That can't catch its sanity

I would like to be a fish

So that I could touch your fish tank with my nose

So that I could blow love bubbles everywhere, ohhhh

To stay awake all night

While soaked in you

A fish

To adorn your waist with corals

And to draw love silhouettes under the moon, ohhhh

To satisfy this madness

While soaked in you

Sing, my heart

With an essential anchor made of illusions

Dream, my heart

Be not clouded by bitterness, ay ay ay ay ay

This heart

Bares itself impatiently

Before your voice

Poor heart

That can't catch its sanity

I would like to be a fish

So that I could touch your fish tank with my nose

So that I could blow love bubbles everywhere, oohh

To stay awake all night

While soaked in you

A fish

To adorn your waist with corals

And to draw love silhouettes under the moon, ohhhh

To satisfy this madness

While soaked in you

A night

To sink to the bottom

Face to face

Kiss by kiss

And to live

Forever

Soaked in you

I would like to be a fish

So that I could touch your fish tank with my nose

So that I could blow love bubbles everywhere, oohh

To stay awake all night

While soaked in you

A fish

To adorn your waist with hibiscus

And to draw love silhouettes under the moon, ohhhh

To satisfy this madness

While soaked in you

So that I could touch your fish tank with my nose

So that I could blow love bubbles everywhere, oohh

To stay awake all night

While soaked in you

A fish

To adorn your waist with hibiscus

And to draw love silhouettes under the moon, ohhhh

To satisfy this madness

While soaked in you

I can't verify the poetic accuracy of the translation, but I'm sure you get the rather sensual idea.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Any of you ladies who would like to dance a rumba once we can hold one another again, just let me know.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Welcome to the first Cartoon Saturday of the new month!

As part of an attempt to impede passage of President Biden's "American Rescue Act," Wisconsin GOP senator Ron Johnson pointlessly insisted that the entire 628-page bill be read aloud ... to a chamber empty except for one Democratic and one Republican member; the Guinness World Records organization has certified the hair of Brooklyn's Simone Williams as the largest female afro on Earth for 2020 ... it measures 20.5 cm (8.07 in) tall, 22.5 cm (8.85 in) wide, and 1.48 m (4 ft 10 in) in circumference; Pope Francis arrived in Iraq for the first ever papal visit to that country; new reports indicate that top aides to New York governor Andrew Cuomo altered a state Health Department report to obscure the true number of people killed by COVID-19 in New York nursing homes; and in Missouri, a Baptist minister is on leave after delivering a sermon telling women to lose weight and submit to the sexual desires of their husbands to keep those husbands from straying.

This week, in honor of President Biden's invoking the image of "Neanderthal thinking" in response to the decision by the governors of Texas and Mississippi to reopen businesses without restrictions and eliminate mask-wearing mandates, how about a collection of cartoons about cave dwellers?

Some cave dwellers were more advanced than others ...

It still works ...

Landlords will be landlords, regardless of the era ...

The eternal disagreement ...

Applying for grants hasn't changed much ...

And it's tough when you have to do it again ...

Yes, a written language does enhance the viability of a book club ...

And there were other issues with stone-age book clubs, too ...

Political campaign contributions haven't changed all that much ...

The birth of the tire swing ...

And so it goes with the first Cartoon Saturday of March. The weather here in NoVa is nice, but still very chilly ... soon it'll be time to get back into the garden, although this year I'll have to battle the 17-year cicadas. Oy.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when Musical Sunday features a beautiful, but rather odd song from Juan Luis Guerra.

Bilbo