GOOOAAAAALLLL

Papists 1, Deutsche nil. Despite their Italy-like penchant for diving, I find myself rooting for the Spanish. Nice goal!

Update: Viva Espana!

Public Service Announcement

I have visited the destroyed public housing occupied by gypsies in eastern Hungary. I have seen shanty towns in the townships of South Africa. I have viewed the war-torn ruins of the former Yugoslavia. The Virgin River Casino in Mesquite, Nevada is a shithole comparable to any of them in its own particular way. From the hopeless, despondent anger of the casino employees, to the naked avarice displayed by the Depends-wearing, Ensure-drunk patrons, to the cock-eyed whores scavenging at the bar, The Virgin River is the weeping herpes sore on mother Gaia's taint.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Tank of gas n' an empty heart

I'll grab the wheel and point it West
pack the good and leave the rest

got this old guitar and a brand new set of strings

Logging off for a couple of days while I drive to California. I'll be stopping in the Silver State for a little r 'n r, but I'll post again before the weekend.

Fors Fortuna

Remember to drink and sacrifice to Fortuna today! This is her festival day. Yes, June 11 was Fortuna Day, but this is the day you are supposed to actually have a feast for her. think if her as Washington, and this is President's Day.

Here I go getting all political

Against my natural inclinations towards insurrection, anarchy, and vigilante justice, this particular fight might be better made inside the tent pissin' out. I'd like to see the Webz remain a relatively free place. And it's already a major pain in the ass to transfer money into and out of Full Tilt -- I can only imagine how much worse the process will get after congress gets their grubby monkey wrenches into it.

European UFC

On June 22,1941 Operation Barbarossa began the most brutal four years in modern history. The Germans achieved both tactical and operational superiority, in exchange for being dumb enough to start a land war in Asia.

It's a shame they couldn't both lose.

Hagiography

Haven't we heard enough about Tim Russert? Jesus fucking Christ on a stick! My 'rents turned on the Vidbox and there was some talking head weeping about him again. Get over it people -- it's not as if was some great historical figure like Princess Diana or something. I'm sure he committed his own share of atrocities.

Update: Tam is a lot funnier about this than I; I hadn't turned on the TV for a week and I was taken aback. She wasn't just making it up!

Outdated terms

The modern usage of the terms "left" and "right" are so disassociated from their original meanings that they are themselves meaningless. Ilkka makes the point about how union members are gradually moving away from the "left" and aligning with the more conservative political elements. This movement makes perfect sense to me, because there is no left in the left anymore. The modern day version is essentially an ethnic/gender identity movement married to status-seeking whites. Everything else is "right."

Madness, I tell you.

Fortuna II

"The world is the house of the strong. I shall not know until the end what I have lost or won in this place, in this vast gambling den where I have spent more than 60 years, dicebox in hand, shaking the dice.” -- Denis Diderot

All right, I'll say it!

Deodand, deodand, deodand! Dammit!

DEODAND!

Heartbreak Hotel

Wren left to go back to Kentucky. Ah well...I'll miss her terribly every one of the next 42 days.

Quiz fun

67 As a 1930s husband, I am Superior Take the test!

Always thought I was born in the wrong time...

Saw this at Roberta X's place.

Father's Day for Weirdos

My tastes are pretty eclectic. I'm drinking a big, bold Zinfandel and eating pork rinds. Earlier I was flipping between the NASCAR race and the Turkey-Czech Eurocup soccer match. What a fun day!

Overrated

[redacted on the grounds that I said this is in a really stupid way and I want another shot at it.]

Montana is the best

Vive la liberté!

The Lightbulb Winks On

Wow -- this explains a lot:

Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment comes as a surprise to many cancer survivors. Often, survivors think their lives will return to normal when the cancer is gone, only to find that the lingering effects of post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment impede their efforts. Working, connecting with loved ones, carrying out day-to-day tasks—all can be very challenging for an impaired brain.

We never discussed this at all during my treatment, which seems odd since I was taking a neuropathy-inducing cocktail. At any rate, maybe I have a legitimate excuse for a poker-enhancing prescription!

Hopey-Change

Laughin' my ass off over here, boss! (found via Tam)

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m filled with hope for change
I hope someday you’ll join me
and there will be hopey-change

Fortuna's Day!

A day that favors the risk takers! Fortuna is an incredibly interesting and complicated member of the Roman pantheon. I will sacrifice to her in my first hand at the poker tables tonight.

Found while browsing Blogonomicon:

What Kind of a Western Bad-Ass are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Lee Marvin You're more than tough enough to lead a posse, a gang, or a barbershop quartet. And nobody better look at you funny if you're in your cups or make fun of your singing. Lee Marvin 75% Lee Van Cleef 75% Clint Eastwood 63% Charles Bronson 50% John Wayne 38%

The Price of Carelessness

What a horrible tragedy! It makes me physically ill to think about.

It is the height of carelessness to leave a loaded weapon OUTSIDE YOUR PHYSICAL CONTROL when children are present. My guns are ALWAYS ALWAYS holstered on my hip, stored safely, or unloaded and separated from the ammo (when cleaning them, for instance). Since the grandmother has a concealed carry permit, she had to have taken a safety class. Unfortunately, as carry become more common this kind of thing is more likely to happen as the standard of the average armed person declines. It's like driving -- most people can pass the test, but it doesn't mean that they practice their best driving skills on a daily basis.

The Four Rules of Gun Safety

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

The 5th rule should be:

If there are children around who haven't been taught to respect firearms, keep firearms in your personal possession or locked up.

I'm sure this is covered in any safety course. Grandma will spend the rest of her life regretting her carelessness.

(Thx to CAB for the link)

UPDATE: The idiot parade continues. Read on at Marko's.

Human behavior

As a further illustration of the obvious, this guy didn't need a gun to commit mass murder:

A man who police said "was tired of life" drove into a crowd of pedestrians Sunday and then went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's top electronics and video game district, killing seven people and wounding 10, authorities said.

This in the land of absolute gun control (that also has a higher suicide rate than us gun-totin' gaijin). Guns don't kill people, crazy stabby bastards do.

unscheduled hiatus

sorry I haven't been posting too much lately, but with the travel and my recent need for yummy yummy pills I haven't been able to focus enough. I have a couple of subjects I've been thinking about that are on the way-- hopefully this weekend.

On The Road Again

So read the posts I'm sharing in the box over to the right. I'll post more myself when I get back to MT later this week.

In the meantime, I'm working on my country music skills, too, so if you want to cultivate your inner redneck as well, listen to this and this.