Great Moments in Editing and Signage

And awaaaaay we go ...

Mr Trump is anxious to eliminate bureaucracy he doesn't like ... maybe this is one way to do it ...

I'm not sure about "butt flap meat" ...

I think I'll take the "tasty," if they're both the same price ...

I guess that's why it's cheaper ...

 ... but at least it's clean ...

While I'm here, I'll take some of that tasty flesh ...

From the chef's crack? I wonder if he works part time as a plumber ...

When the best Italian food comes from an Indian restaurant, that's real multiculturalism! ...

This must have been the Fonzie special ...

Uh, thanks ... I'll wait for the antiseptic version ...

And there you have it ... another tasty set of Great Moments in Editing and Signage! Be sure to come back tomorrow (if you can stomach it) for Cartoon Saturday - more thoughts then.

Bilbo

Notes from Our Vacation - The Will Rogers State Historic Park

From February 22nd through March 13th, Agnes and I went on a cruise to Hawaii, with a few days on the end at San Diego and Los Angeles. Rather than one (or more) lengthy travelogues, I thought I'd do a few short posts with some of the highlights of the trip. Being in a contrary mood, I decided to begin with the last place we visited - the Will Rogers State Historic Park in Los Angeles.

We were visiting our son Matt, who lives in Los Angeles, and Matt - knowing that Will Rogers is my hero - punched his Good Son Ticket by taking us to the park, which is centered on the ranch house Rogers built and his wife Betty donated to the State of California in 1944, after Will's death.

This is the house (with Agnes enjoying one of the shaded rocking chairs on the front porch) ...

Unfortunately, we were only able to visit the original half of the house; the main living space (which is off to the right of the picture) was closed for some conservation work, and we were only able to see it on a video presentation.

The park ranger who conducted the tour did a great job of putting Will Rogers into historical context, and explaining his popularity in terms that young people in 2017 could understand ... he noted that Will combined skills as a professional cowboy, an actor, a radio personality, a newspaper commentator, a philanthropist, and - as we would think of it today - a blogger and master of humorous and satirical* Twitter commentary. Will Rogers was also a man well ahead of his time in his embracing of modern technology: his home featured an intercom system, full electric lighting, and an electric range and refrigerator (at a time when most homes used the traditional icebox). His willingness to use the latest technology led indirectly to his death in an airplane crash in Alaska in 1935.

Will Rogers was not only a funny and perceptive commentator, but a generous friend to everyone he met, and his philosophy was embodied in one of his most famous comments:

“I joked about every prominent man in my lifetime, but I never met one I didn’t like."

Wouldn't it be nice if more people nowadays had that attitude?

The park is mostly open land, and includes a polo field (Will Rogers, being a professional cowboy, loved to practice his riding and roping skills there) and a small visitor's center/museum and gift shop (which I, of course, patronized). Here's one of Will Rogers' classic comments that's immortalized in the museum ...

The Will Rogers State Historic Park - a wonderful monument to a truly great American, and a place I was delighted to visit!

Have a good day. Come back tomorrow for more Great Moments in Editing and Signage, and we'll continue the travelogue next week. More thoughts coming!

Bilbo

* Rather than bitter and nasty, as employed by the current occupant of the White House.

Trumpcare Works to Combat High Drug Prices

Here's a picture I took at the rowdy market place at La Bufadora in Ensenada, Mexico. I think it's an outlet for one of the Trumpcare contractors ...

I'll have more travelogue and pictures later on ... still trying to get back to our regular routine.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

We're Back!!

Yes, Dear Readers, Agnes and I are back from our vacation!

Between February 22nd and March 13th we took a 15-day round trip cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii, spending a few days in San Diego and Los Angeles on the back end. In spite of some scattered yucky weather at a few locations in Hawaii and the cold I managed to catch en route, we had a great time ... although, as always, it's good to be home again.

Today, the emphasis is on dealing with the winter storm to which we returned, unpacking, and generally getting back to whatever passes for normal here at the Maison de Bilbo. I'll have the recap of our adventures, with pictures, coming up over the next few days, so keep coming back as I slowly get back into the blogging swing.

Have a good day. More thoughts are on the way.

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

How do we develop some of our habits? Why do we do some of the odd things we do? As I've grown older, I've realized that many of my habits and mannerisms are ones that my father had while I was growing up ... perhaps they were also habits and mannerisms he picked up from his father - one of the grandfathers I never knew. This poem by Kim Dower examines that question, and comes to much the same answer I did.

There Will Be Things You Do 

by Kim Dower 

you won’t know why.
Maybe waiting to tie
your shoelaces

until everything else
is in place.
Could be you’ll slide

your egg yolks aside
eat every bit of bacon,
toast, whites while the forsaken

yellow orbs stare at you
from the side pocket
of your empty plate.

People will ask
why do you save
your yolks for last

and you won’t know—
won’t recall
the cousin from the south

came to visit one summer
ate his eggs so odd
your family said

stuck with you
like the way
you love to be kissed

on the back of your neck
can vaguely recollect
your mother’s kisses

after your bath
too gentle for memory.
There will be things you do

you won’t know why
like the way you look
up at the sky

when anxious or blue
it’s what your father
used to do

every family trip
when nothing else
was right

except those clouds
moving north by northwest
through the night

he showed you
what pilots knew:
factors for safe flying

are visibility
and how low
and mean the clouds are.


Have a good day. More thoughts coming later this week, when Agnes and I return from our vacation.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

We're still on the road, but the cartoons are here ... this week, looking at the eternal quest of women to get me to focus their eyes in the right place ...

It's a problem for snowladies, too ...

With some women, you have to be extra careful ...

It can be a problem for female zombies, too ...

Um, okaaaayyy ...

Sauce for the gander ...

It isn't always the lady's endowments that draw the man's eye ...

And then the fight started ...

And then another fight started ...

This one's for the birds ...

And there you go! Bring your eyes back here tomorrow for another edition of Poetry Sunday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for March, 2017

There are a lot of really stupid people out there, which is one of the factors which complicates the selection and presentation of my Ass Clown awards. Sometimes, the actions which merit an Ass Clown award are politically motivated; sometimes they reflect innocent stupidity based on a dumb mistake. And sometimes they demonstrate an abysmal level of stupidity and ignorance based on an overblown sense of one's rights, as our present designees amply demonstrate.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, today we go back to last month to present

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown Award for March, 2017

to

James Craig Baker

and

Brandon Brent Vreeland

In a singularly inept and stupid attempt to demonstrate their upholding of their Second Amendment rights, Mr Baker and Mr Vreeland - dressed in tactical vests, body armor, and wearing face masks - walked into a police station in Dearborn, Michigan, to complain that they had been illegally stopped by a police officer ... while wearing masks, tactical vests, and body armor and openly carrying multiple weapons. They were released without charge by that officer after "a brief preliminary investigation," but then decided to go to the police station to complain about the indignity ... where the sudden appearance of two heavily armed and masked men had the expected result. Baker and Vreeland were dramatically taken down by anxious police officers, charged with a number of misdemeanor offenses, and released on $1500 bond pending a future court date.

Dearborn police chief Ronald Haddad later said, "I find this behavior totally unacceptable and irresponsible. This is not a Second Amendment issue for me ... we had members of the public in our lobby that fled in fear for their safety as these men entered our building."

Even Second Amendment rights advocates agreed that the men's stunt was stupid. A statement from President Tom Lambert of a gun rights advocacy group called Michigan Open Carry noted that, "There is a clear difference between the everyday protection we advocate for and the attention seeking actions of these individuals. Wearing a mask, dark glasses, visible body armor, and a rifle slung across your chest instills a very specific image that cannot be ignored." He went on to say that, "Like it or not, exercising your rights is not black and white. How you act and portray yourself is a big part of advocacy. I believe these gentlemen failed in this regard." 

For their utter stupidity and cluelessness in choosing the worst possible way to demonstrate that their rights were far more important than public safety, James Craig Baker and Brandon Brent Vreeland are presented with the Right-Cheek Ass Clown Award for March, 2017. The best that can be said of their stunt was that no one was hurt.

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

Bilbo

Musical Monday

I think we could all use a mellow tune ... here's one of my favorites from The Mills Brothers ...

Of course, if the cab driver doesn't speak English, there's no telling whether you'll end up at Mary's place.

Have a good day.  Come back on Friday for the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for March. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

We're still on vacation, but the cartoons keep on coming ... this week, our collection features cartoons about the world of social media ...

Extra points if you get the reference ...

Two cartoons with a riff on the subject of anti-social media ...

Social media is not for the paranoid ...

Fairy tales in the age of social media ...

How we followed people before Facebook and Twitter ...

Helping the guy with the glass jaw look on the bright side ...

Poseidon on Facebook ...

I often wish the same thing ...

Sometimes, though, whack seems to be the right approach ...

And that's it for this week's Cartoon Saturday. If you're my friend on Facebook, you can read this post from there, too.

Have a good day. Come back tomorrow for Musical Sunday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

And away we go ...

Sometimes, doing a little genealogical research is a good thing ...

Buy it now, to help with your political posting on social media ...

Well, duh ...

It's nice that they honor the workers on the early shift ...

I really like some of these senior discounts, although they can get a little too personal ...

Finally - we've reached the West Pole! ...

Yes ... please ...

Wow, they must have really been large before! ...

Nothing like a wine that never fails to disappoint ...

Is she dreaming of gardening, or of ... well ... you know ...

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

Bilbo