Poetry Sunday

We are now well into October, and the autumn appears to be here to stay, with cooler daytime temperatures, chilly nights, and crisp mornings. This poem by Mark Perlberg sums up some of the sights, smells, and feels of October autumn days ...

Toward the Solstice 

by Mark Perlberg 

We burned our leaves on the bluest October day,
the sun still warm on our backs,
frost just a ghost in the shrubbery.
We raked the leaves into shifting piles on the lawn,
scooped them into deep round baskets
and spilled them in the street against the curb.
The vein of fire, unseen at first in diamond light,
whispered through oak leaves brown as butcher paper,
and maple still flushed with color like maps
torn from The Book of Knowledge.
We were letting go of October, relinquishing color,
readying ourselves for streets lacquered with ice,
the town closed like a walnut, locked inside the cold.

Remember burning the leaves in the fall? In most places you can't do that any more, and so can't experience one of the glorious smells of the season.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Love the autumn, because you'll miss it once winter arrives.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

One weekend closer to Halloween, and the horrors are already swirling around us ...

Der Furor even managed to generate outrage from Republicans (as well as just about everybody else) when he arbitrarily withdrew military support from Kurdish forces fighting Isis on the Turkish border ... although he said that his "great and unmatched wisdom" would take care of any attempts by Turkey to go after US-allied Kurds ... he justified abandoning the Kurds by noting that “they didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us in Normandy”; the White House has ordered witnesses subpoenaed by the House impeachment inquiry not to cooperate with the inquiry; it is increasingly likely that the United Kingdom will go ahead with a "no-deal Brexit;" and according to a poll conducted by the Washington Post and the Schar School, a majority of Americans now endorse the impeachment inquiry against Der Furor.

We're just a little over a year away from the 2020 presidential election, and one wonders what the GOP will do without the horrifying spectacle of wicked witch Hillary Clinton to unify conservative voters. Perhaps they'll move to more current wicked witches like Elizabeth Warren and AOC. Anyhow, this week Cartoon Saturday continues its October tradition of Halloween-themed cartoons with a salute to witches everywhere, regardless of political affiliation*.

As with many themed cartoons, there are a lot of subsets under the general heading of "witches." This time, we'll feature cartoons that combine "witches" with their favorite potion ingredient, eye of newt ...

The tension between home brewers and potion makers boils over ...

Everyone looks for the short cut ...

Your ingredients need to be first-rate, of course ...

I personally think both of those ingredients are spoiled ...

It's an important question in these nutrition-conscious times ...

The microwave is fine, but the good old cauldron still works if the power is out ...

Somebody will demonstrate about just about anything ...

I didn't realize stadium vendors were that specialized ...

Past the "best by" date ...

Convenience vs tradition ...

And there you have it ... a bewitching collection of cartoons to bring us one Saturday closer to Halloween and help distract us from the real-world horrors bubbling up in our own government.

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

Bilbo

* Recognizing notable GOP witches such as Kellyanne Conway and Kayley McEnany.

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2019

We are into the last quarter of 2019, and a new month that offers new opportunities to single out worthy* ass clowns for appropriate recognition.

This year has been an extraordinarily difficult one in which to identify specific individual ass clowns who rose above the prevailing level of staggering ass-clownery, and the dawning month of October proves no less challenging.  I was strongly tempted to grant this period's award to the entire GOP in recognition of its spinelessness and moral bankruptcy in complete subjugation to the horrendous behavior of Der Furor (who is, himself, a lifetime Ass Clown Award winner). However, I believe that there is a single member of the Republican Party - to which I once proudly belonged - who has so debased himself and injured the nation that he is a standout selectee for recognition as a peerless ass clown.

The award for

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2019 

is presented to

Senator Ron Johnson (R, WI)

During an appearance on the news broadcast Meet the Press on Sunday, October 6th, Senator Johnson repeatedly dodged questions about the administration's policy on Ukraine, choosing instead to recite a list of Der Furor's grievances with the media and a litany of right-wing conspiracy theories designed to cast doubt on every question posed by moderator Chuck Todd. Johnson went on to say, in answer to a question by Mr Todd, that he "absolutely" believed Russia had interfered in the 2016 election, but that he did not trust the FBI and CIA - the American agencies that had determined the truth of the Russian interference. You can watch the entire Meet the Press episode here, in case you didn't see it originally.

The amazing spectacle of a sitting United States Senator publicly stating that he did not trust the nation's premier law enforcement and intelligence services was stunning ... and was quickly seized upon by Russian state television, which used it as "proof" to its listeners that the American charges of Russian election meddling were false.

Der Furor is fond of accusing his opponents of "treason," which is narrowly defined in the Constitution (Article III, Section 3) this way: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." One could reasonably argue that a United States Senator who expresses open mistrust of the nation's intelligence and law enforcement services is providing aid (in the form of "proof" to Russia that her enemies are corrupt) and comfort (I'm sure that President Putin and his cronies feel much better knowing that sitting US Senators are this stupid) to our enemies.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Right Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2019, is Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Minnesota. What more needs to be said?

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for the second week of our annual Halloween season Cartoon Saturday selections - this time featuring witches who have somehow escaped the constant witch hunts going on in this country. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* I use the adjective "worthy" advisedly.

Musical Sunday

As we move into October and closer to the eerie fun of Halloween, what better song could we use than Bobby "Boris" Pickett's classic, "The Monster Mash" - this time with a mashup of classic horror movie scenes ...

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Ladies, don't investigate weird noises in the basement at midnight in your nightgown, okay?

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

It's been quite a week, hasn't it?

Der Furor continued to rage about the impeachment inquiry he triggered with his blatant attempts to get Ukraine and China to investigate political rival and former Vice President Joe Biden; the latest executive order issued by the White House denies US visas to immigrants who cannot prove that they have insurance or are affluent enough to cover their own health-care costs before entering the country; presidential candidate Bernie Sanders apparently suffered a mild heart attack after a campaign event in Las Vegas this past Tuesday; protests in Hong Kong erupted anew after administrator Carrie Lam reinstated a colonial-era ban against the wearing of face masks, which many people wear for medical as well as protest reasons; and in Rome, Pope Francis has chosen 13 men with outlooks and philosophies aligned with his own to become the Catholic Church’s newest cardinals.

Today marks the beginning of the first weekend of October, the month of Halloween, in which we celebrate horrors more gothic than those ensconced in our national government. This month, each Cartoon Saturday will feature cartoons about a different literary or film monster, and we start with this week's tribute to everyone's favorite self-made man, Frankenstein (actually, he's Frankenstein's Monster, but just work with me on this one, okay? ...

You have to wonder if some marriages will work out ...

Who knew that the Bride of Frankenstein was a feminist? ...

If you've seen the original Frankenstein film (and some of its remakes), you know the pivotal scene in which the monster is terrified of fire ... which leads to this series of riffs on the theme of "fire bad!!" ...

Well, he found an appropriate icon ...

Too bad he was born created before LED lamps ...

You had to see this one coming ...

Putting it to a vote probably wasn't necessary, but it was unanimous ...

Nowadays, it's more common to find someone online with similar interests to one's own ...

One wonders if Der Furor's twitter followers will eventually get to this point ...

Fire is still bad, even when it has an appointment ...

It's a Giuliani sort of defense ...

And there you are: October is off and running with the first set of horror-themed cartoons in honor of Halloween. I hope they help keep your mind off the ongoing horror tale playing out in Washington.

Have a good day and a great weekend. Be sure to come back tomorrow for Musical Sunday, and next week at this time for our second set of Halloween-themed cartoons, featuring witches other than those Der Furor believes are being hunted. See you then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

Agnes and I are back home, and it's time once again for another collection of Great Moments in Editing and Signage. Yee, HAH!!

Must be a short day ...

This is the lab work you'll be able to afford once the GOP gets done undermining your health insurance ...

I've always wanted to mate in front of a glacier ...

I'm glad they specified the rules for participants ...

I'm not sure it'll be all that tasty ...

I'm glad the Dave is fresh ...

I suppose it will help incels ...

 He must have been wearing the Portland lady's cologne ...

Two? ...

Such a deal! ...

And there you have it - the first collection of Great Moments in Editing and Signage for October. I hope it helped you get through the week of bizarre news, at least until I can get Cartoon Saturday out tomorrow. 

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

As we enter the last week of September and - one hopes - the temperatures begin to moderate from the beastly heat wave of the dwindling summer, this poem by George Bilgere seems appropriate to the day ...

Scorcher

by George Bilgere

In the summer twilight,
a couple of hours after dinner,
we like to take a walk.
The birds have turned in.
The air has finally cooled,
but the crickets and katydids
are getting so worked up
that the lightning bugs catch fire
a few feet above the lawn,
just where we left them
when we were kids.

Now and then
we pass another couple
from one of the green, old,
more or less identical
streets of our neighborhood
as they move through the atmosphere,
mystical and obscure,
their voices softly registering
the news of the summer.

Good evening,
we say to each other.
Lovely night, isn't it.
What a scorcher, we say
with gratitude and affection
for this shared mystery
of being human
on this dark little planet,
on one of the slender,
gracefully swirling arms
of one of the smaller galaxies.


Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend as we ride this dark little planet on one of the slender, gracefully swirling arms of one of the smaller galaxies. More thoughts later.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Welcome to Cartoon Saturday - this week, featuring cartoons about everyone's favorite Good Egg, Humpty Dumpty ...

Life imitates art ...

D'ya think? ...

Humpty's big family ...

Looking on the bright side ...

It was quite a scare for a minute ...

The autopsy ...

The mother's view ...

Sounds like the setup for a Twilight Zone episode ...

Well, she sort of called it right ...

The real test of single-monarch care ...

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

Bilbo

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2019

Because Agnes and I are still on the road and can't plan on having an Internet connection available when we need it, I won't necessarily be able to identify cringe-worthy ass clowns in the current news; as a result, I've penned this award well in advance. It may not be up-to-the-minute, but it's well deserved nevertheless.

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2019

is presented to

Chris Cuomo and Kayleigh McEnany

During his show on the evening of August 28th, CNN host Chris Cuomo asked Trump campaign press secretary Kayleigh McEnany: "Has the president ever lied to the American public?"

This question, and the several minutes of prevarication, verbal sparring, and mutual accusations of lying that followed, represent the worst of present day news coverage and analysis and political tap-dancing.

First, Cuomo asked a question to which he knew what the answer would be, and which was obviously intended only to set up the contentious argument into which the discussion degenerated. McEnany, for her part, would clearly never answer in the affirmative, regardless of the volume of evidence to the contrary. Cuomo's question was clearly intended to produce sound and heat, rather than to cast light on a serious issue. It was a spectacle worthy of the most cringe-inducing Fox News coverage.

Der Furor has a well-documented lack of acquaintance with the truth, ranging from the positive spin employed by every politician to the employment of out-and-out provable falsehoods, and he is backed up by a (publicly-funded) press office and a servile GOP ready to excuse the worst of his utterances. Unfortunately, the press does not aggressively call out Der Furor and his enablers for this, wrapping itself around the semantic axle of what constitutes a "lie" (generally defined as the presentation of a known falsehood with the specific intent to mislead or deceive the listener). The result: Der Furor continues to ride forward, propelled by a comfortable blast of hot air accepted as gospel by those who ought to know better.

And his efforts are immeasurably assisted by useless shouting matches like that which earns today's designation of Cuomo and McEnany as co-designees as the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September.

Have a good day. Expect better from your news media and your political parties, but don't bet your life savings on it.

More thoughts tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday returns.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

I've traveled a lot, and visited most of the states, but one of my favorite places in the US of A is the beautiful city of San Antonio, Texas. This song from country legend Charley Pride takes us there, too ...

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

Bilbo