The Winter of Our My Discontent

So… today is the season's first “heating day” here on The High Plains of New Mexico. It was 44 degrees when I awoke this morning (I use the term “morning” quite loosely) and it’s supposed to hit a high of 58. I don’t think we’re gonna make that, but I could be wrong. It’s been known to happen. One thing I DO know: no beer and cigars on the verandah today. Nosiree, Bob.

―:☺:―

I’ve been wrong about a lot of things in my life, as noted above, but it appears I wasn’t wrong about the McCain campaign. Here’s Bill Kristol, writing in yesterday’s NYT (“Fire the Campaign”):

It’s time for John McCain to fire his campaign.

He has nothing to lose. His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama’s. The Obama team is well organized, flush with resources, and the candidate and the campaign are in sync. The McCain campaign, once merely problematic, is now close to being out-and-out dysfunctional. Its combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has become toxic. If the race continues over the next three weeks to be a conventional one, McCain is doomed.

He may be anyway. Bush is unpopular. The media is hostile. The financial meltdown has made things tougher. Maybe the situation is hopeless — and if it is, then nothing McCain or his campaign does matters.

But I’m not convinced by such claims of inevitability. McCain isn’t Bush. The media isn’t all-powerful. And the economic crisis still presents an opportunity to show leadership.

Mr. Kristol goes on to lay out a roadmap of sorts for a McCain recovery and come-from-behind win. It’s really late in the game for Mr. Kristol’s prescription (or anyone else’s, for that matter) to work, but God knows the current campaign isn’t working… at all.

I was looking for the transcript of yesterday’s Fox News Sunday panel discussion, in which Mr. Kristol gave the closing remarks… all about the sorry state of the McCain campaign. Those remarks were short and to the point, whereas Mr. Kristol’s op-ed in the NYT tends to wander a bit. But the op-ed will have to do, in the absence of a published FNS transcript. I’ll keep watching for those remarks and will post them when and if they become available.

In the same vein (kinda-sorta), here’s Victor Davis Hanson, writing at Real Clear Politics (“Jumping Ship…”):

Obama, as I have said ad nauseam, has brilliantly prepped the battlefield to such a degree that a Farrakhan endorsement or surrogates calling Palin a quasi-Nazi or a bimbo, or smearing McCain as near senile is irrelevant; yet one screamer in a crowd of tens of thousands is proof of McCain's and Palin's racism and hatred.

Again, most conservatives know this paradox, but for some being outraged, as the conservative voice of reason, at McCain's supposed low road ensures a CNN spot, or some future rehabilitation during the expected Obama regnum of the next eight years. I think should I write a column suddenly taking the "high road", praising Obama's wit, taste in books, and metrosexuality, I would be dubbed principled rather than cynical, 'even-handed' rather than self-serving, and a maverick rather than toadish.

Yet for a self-acclaimed conservative to vote Obama would mean that higher taxes, larger government, more entitlements, more of a UN-centered foreign policy, dialogue with an Iran, less coal, oil, and nuclear energy production at home, more "oppression" studies and "reparations", leftish Supreme Court judges, open borders (I could go on) were the truly conservative positions, or perhaps suddenly truly the 'right' positions. And as far as ethics go, in fact, a cursory review of the past Obama campaigns would reveal a ruthlessness never seen in any of McCain's efforts. Obama's record is far more left than McCain's is far right. Obama the healer has proven to be the most partisan in the Senate, McCain one of the most bipartisan.

The foregoing isn’t so much a treatise on the failures of the McCain campaign as it is a warning to conservatives who have jumped ship for The One. Yeah… I’m looking at you, Doc and Barry. Just imagine… for a moment… The One, Pelosi, and Reid discussing tax policy over dinner, mmm-kay? Or, Hell… discussing anything else of import for the nation, for that matter. That doesn't scare ya?

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Good news… the Dow Jones Industrials are up 700 points or so about a half hour away from the market close; the other indices are also up. So, we’re spared a ninth consecutive down day on Wall Street. We certainly needed a breather, eh?

―:☺:―

And finally… a new, self-explanatory, tongue-in-cheek video of that ol’ ‘80s hit “Take on Me” has surfaced and is making the rounds of these here inter-tubes. It’s pretty cute, so I thought I’d pass it on. Me and about 379 other people, according to ViralVids. Here we go…

Pretty good, innit?

(Minor) Bitches, Moans, and Complaints...

So… after four or five days of wonderfully balmy weather… for these parts, and I’m talking mid-70s to low-80s, in August (!)… it’s “back on your heads, coffee break’s over.” It’s supposed to be 92 today, and I believe we’re quite close to that as I peck out the oh-so-late Thursday post (we’re at 89, I just looked). Which means Happy Hour will be just a lil bit delayed, at least until the sun sinks low enough to be obscured by the trees. I’m looking forward to Happy Hour more than usual today, as the Brown Truck of Happiness stopped by early this afternoon and dropped off my latest shipment of cigars. It should be interesting, as I’m gonna fire up one of those pricey Gurkha Titans and see if the reality of the smoke matches its rather princely sum… which is about three times what I consider usual, customary, and reasonable. I’ll report back, either tomorrow or later today. Tomorrow is much more likely.

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I posted a minor bitch last month about the Cannon AFB Class VI store, mostly about their piss-poor beer inventory and stocking practices. I had a follow-on conversation with the manager of the Class VI on the next beer run following my bitch-moan-complain post, and was told that Trippel (which they’d been out of for a month or so) was a “seasonal” beer and was routinely replaced by New Belgium’s Mothership Wit during the summer. (Minor digression: I bought a sixer of Mothership… and while it’s about as close to “light” beer as I get these days, it won’t become a regular occupant in my fridge, as it’s just too light for my tastes.)

So… imagine my surprise this past week when I see LOTS of Trippel on their shelves! Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I quietly picked up two sixers of Trippel and just thanked my lucky stars, while simultaneously cursing the manager (under my breath, of course) for lying to me… apparently. Summer ain’t over, AFAIK, and all indications would seem to verify that fact, including New Belgium their-own-selves and my calendar. So why did that woman lie to me?

And, apropos of nothing, it’s Official: Trippel is now the Beer of Choice here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington. Fat Tire has been displaced. The King is dead. Long Live the King!

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Here’s another brief “customer service” tale o’ woe…

Earlier this week I stopped into Subway and bought a sandwich. The clerk, a young 20-something woman... or possibly in her late teens... prepared my order and rang up my purchase. So far, so good.

My bill came to seven Yankee Dollars and 48 cents. I handed the clerk a Jackson, two quarters, a nickel and three pennies. My attempt at reducing the loose change in my pocket apparently confused the Hell out of her, as she looked at me quizzically as she deftly keyed in the amount tendered. You could actually see the light bulb go off over her head as she did so. But then we went downhill, and rapidly, at that. She handed me my dime in change and closed the cash register drawer. Before I could ask “where’s my 13 dollars?” she sez… “Oh, damn!” and then spends the next minute punching all SORTS of keys on the register in a vain attempt to re-open it. “You don’t have a ‘no sale’ key?” I ask. “No,” says she… still punching keys feverishly. Finally she sez “I’ll have to call the manager.” “Wait,” sez I… “sell me a cookie.” “Hunh?” says she. And then… it’s light bulb time, Part Deux. I hand the girl three pennies while laying a dollar bill on the counter. “It’s fifty-three cents,” says she. I heave a deep, deep sigh and tap the dollar bill on the counter, not wanting to confuse the issue further by asking her to take the price of the cookie out of my overdue 13 dollars in change. I’d probably still be at Subway, had I suggested that course of action…

Do I fear for the next generation and the nation, as a whole? Yes. Yes, I DO.

Oil, A Missed Opportunity, and More Freakin' Wind

Larry Kudlow has an interesting article at Real Clear Politics titled “Voters Say Drill.” Excerpt:

Public worry number one is now oil, jobs, and the economy, with the inflationary woes of the U.S. dollar right underneath. The candidate who can connect with these issues will win in November. But so far neither Obama nor McCain are dealing with the new political reality.

In fact, it's all about oil right now. The price has doubled over the past year while the economy has slumped.

But here's an eye opener. Recent polling data from Gallup show the percentage of voters blaming oil companies for skyrocketing gasoline prices has dropped from 34 percent to 20 percent over the past year. At the same time, support for more drilling in U.S. coastal and wilderness areas has increased to 57 percent from 41 percent.

And the candidates remain blind to these shifts.

Obama continues to lambaste oil companies while congressional Democrats push for cap-and-trade. They're missing the point, big time. The public wants more energy and more fuel to cut high prices and spur economic growth. But the costly cap-and-trade plan would produce less fuel and less growth. It would only raise gas pump prices while mounting a Gosplan-type taxing, spending, and regulating program that would be the moral equivalent of Hillarycare on nationalized medicine.

Sen. McCain has an opening here. Yet he, like Obama, would have voted for cap-and-trade, which went down to defeat in last week's Senate vote. And while Mr. McCain favors some off-shore production and has been strong on nuclear development, he is against drilling in ANWR Alaska.

On the one hand this is reassuring, assuming the Gallup numbers Kudlow’s quoting are correct. Reassuring in the sense that the American public gets it, “it” being the relationships between supply and demand, the fact that oil prices are not controlled by Big Oil, and there are existing solutions that will mitigate—not solve— the impact of foreign oil. On the other hand, both candidates’ positions are out of touch with reality as we know it today. Obama is unlikely to change his position—there’s too much liberal dogma involved— but I strongly suspect McCain ain’t stupid and will change his policies on drilling in ANWR and cap-and-trade. And that would be a relatively easy thing to do. McCain could simply say “I opposed drilling in ANWR when oil was trading at $50.00 a barrel. That was then, and this is now…” The same goes for expanding off-shore drilling, the decision for which, I believe, McCain advocates leaving to the individual states.

Much has been said over the past week or so about congressional Republicans having a bona-fide opening where drilling for American-owned oil is concerned, an opening that could reverse the party’s downhill slide. This isn’t rocket science… siding with the voters is usually the correct thing to do, as is opposing liberal stupidity.

Related editorial in USA Today… “Our view on energy policy: Alaska drilling is no quick fix, but it needs to happen.”

Further still: The Heritage Foundation’s “What Is Driving the High Oil Prices?” Their conclusion:

High oil prices are here to stay due to heightened political risks, irresponsible behavior by oil-producing governments and growing global demand outside U.S. control. Oil is a finite resource which is produced by a partially cartelized imperfect market. Consumer countries should expand cooperation in order to level the playing field and reduce prices by increasing investment and production, promoting conservation, and diminishing geopolitical risks. Yet, in the long term, high demand, inadequate supply and severe geopolitical risks combine to make oil a problematic transportation fuel.

Translation: Don’t expect a return to $2.50/gallon gasoline prices, ever. Ain’t gonna happen. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hope for prices to stabilize at current levels, or perhaps slightly lower.

(Image by Michael Ramirez, via Townhall.com)

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So… Red Wings captain Nick Lidstrom (left) and goalie Chris Osgood (right) were on Leno last night…

An audience member from New York asked Leno, “I know you have Justin Timberlake on the show tonight. In his movie (Love Guru) he plays a hockey player. Who trained him to play hockey?”

Leno said, “I understand that he did have a few guys teach him about hockey. It’s so funny that he asks this question, because we have those guys here tonight. From the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Osgood. Come on out here boys!”

After Lidstrom set the Cup down on the stage, two audience members – one in a No. 17 Gerard Gallant jersey -- stood up and applauded, drawing the attention of Leno, who asked them “are you guys from Detroit?”

The two Detroiters were then asked if they had ever seen the Stanley Cup in person. There response was, “not that close.”

Leno then invited the two up on stage with the Red Wings.

Leno said he knew that the Wings had won the Cup before, but asked if winning it again was just as thrilling.

“It never gets old,” Osgood said. “It was a big thrill not only for Nick and I and our teammates, but for the city of Detroit. It really lifted the spirit of the area.”

Leno that gaffed when he mistakenly said, “I know Justin taught you some things about hockey. Did he teach you anything that he knows?”

Lidstrom than picked the Cup over his head, turned to band leader Kevin Eubanks and said, “hit it.”

While the band played Timberlake’s “Bringing Sexy Back”, the Red Wings’ duet changed the lyrics to “We’re bringing Stanley back!”

Would you believe I missed it? I wrote myself a Post-It and put it on my monitor. I even told SN2 about it around 1800 hrs last night when he called. As late as 2200 hrs. I said to myself “Don’t Forget!!” And then I fell asleep on the couch while reading, and missed it.

I’m such a putz sometimes. (ed: sometimes?)

―:☺:―

In the “Bitch, Bitch, Bitch” Department:

It’s the frickin’ wind that gets me, Gentle Reader. I can deal with the heat.

Beauteous

It is, quite simply, a beautiful day here at Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park, as indicated by this photo I snapped about ten minutes ago. The weather is danged near perfect after two days of rain and an unseasonable chill that kept my furnace cycling throughout the last two nights and half of the days. Yes, we still have a bit of a breeze…but I can live with that. And the rain was wonderful. One of the better aspects of two days worth of rain is Mother Nature’s Own Car Wash, which left El Casa Móvil De Pennington sparkling. Well… not quite sparkling, but a whole Helluva lot cleaner-looking than she was three days ago… which will delay the annual house-washing for a week or three.

And now, Gentle Reader, I’m gonna go get outside in this weather. Coz it’s just like Baby Bear’s porridge: not too hot, not too cold…just right. So I’m gonna go try out my best Goldilocks impression. I’ll be substituting beer and a cigar for the porridge, tho.

Because I can.

Odds and Sods

So. We had ourselves a bit of a scare last evening in the form of a tornado warning…not a watch, but a real live “take shelter now!” warning…just after 1900 hrs or so. I was watching the WX Channel out of one eye and reading with the other when the “beep-beep-beep” noise of an alert coming from the teevee got my full attention. We had been under a severe t-storm watch most all of yesterday, and prudent people will keep an eye on the weather, if they’re smart (more about which, below). Ergo, I had the WX Channel on as background noise.

I immediately leapt to my feet, gathered up my cell phone and a couple of magazines and beat a hasty retreat out to the car and down the road to Roosevelt County General Hospital, which is the nearest shelter of any sort. As I left Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park I noticed that I seemed to be the only one leaving, and there had been about a five minute lag between the onset of the tornado warning and my departure. About which: less than smart. There’s a reason trailer parks are known as “tornado magnets,” and the reputation is well-deserved.

So… to make a long story much shorter: no tornado…at least not in our general vicinity. I spent a little over an hour at Roosevelt County General and then came on back home after the severe storm warning had expired. The National Weather Service never did cancel or otherwise rescind the tornado warning, which I thought a bit strange. But…oh, well. Sometimes it bees like that.

I also wish I had taken my camera with me last night. I’d forgotten all about daylight savings time and just assumed it was dark outside because it was, well, night. Wrong again, Bucko. It was dark because of the huge clouds roiling to the south and east of us… and the sky had taken on that greenish-black tint that’s often the harbinger of weather nastiness. But I wasn’t about to go back to El Casa Móvil De Pennington and retrieve the camera. Nope…I had someplace to BE. Someplace safe.

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I spent well over an hour at my dentist’s office today. We went through the work-up for my upcoming surgery, which consisted mostly of me signing and/or initialing a ream of disclaimers, acknowledgements, understandings, and releases. This, Gentle Reader, is a classic case of the very few poisoning the well for the great majority of us… our litigious society, and all that. I understand the need for all the paperwork, as one malpractice suit has the potential to wipe out a successful practice, be it medical or dental. So… medical professionals do the CYA thing, and I would, too. This IS America, after all. All that paperwork is still a right royal pain in the nether regions for all involved.

There were a couple of light moments, however. Micah (aka Mrs. Thompson), who handles the Good Doctor’s business-side, took my blood pressure and pulse at the beginning of the process… joking that she’d get a better reading before I wrote that big check, rather than after. She was right, too. I can’t recall the last time I wrote a check with five figures to the left of the decimal point but I’m quite sure it had something to do with buying a house. One thing I may suggest, though: use that nitrous oxide just before the patient writes the check. Laughing gas would help, considerably.

But we’re all done, except for getting my tired ass out to the base and getting a few prescriptions filled for drugs to be taken before we go under the knife. We’ll do that tomorrow, coz we don’t wanna go into task-overload, or anything like it. Heh.

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Yet another thing I didn’t mention over the course of the last few days… SN1 surprised me this past Saturday when he called directly after Philadelphia’s Umberger put a pretty goal in the net during the first period of the final (as it turned out) Flyers – Habs game. I was surprised because while SN1 rarely misses a Wings game, it’s rare for him to watch other teams play although it has been known to happen. So we chatted a bit, exchanged views on the chances of the respective teams and that was it. Until just after midway through the second period, that is. The phone rings and it’s SN1 again, asking “What the HELL happened? Montreal was up 3-1 when I walked away from the teevee to do something… I come back and Philly is up, 4-3!” “Well,” sez I, “Price just self-destructed. Imploded. Blew right the Hell up!” “I guess!”, sez he. And then we launched into a discussion about goalies being the keys to success in the playoffs, so on and so forth.

We also got off on a discussion about how different it is to watch hockey when you don’t care all that much about either team, one way or the other. “No dog in that fight,” and so on. I made a rather crude analogy concerning love and sex…which I won’t repeat verbatim in this space (PG-13, and all that)... to the effect of “it’s ALL good, but some experiences are waaay better than others…” We laughed, and that was the end of that.

But it’s true. I’m emotionally involved with the Wings. But I like to watch other teams play, as well, I'm just not invested...so to speak. As for that love and sex analogy...I never had that attitude about or towards women. Not all that much, anyway. And not that I’d tell you if it were that much, Gentle Reader. I have something of an image to uphold.

Such as it is.

(All images retrieved from these here inter-tubes using generic google searches. And that's not ME, to the left. You could be excused for thinking so, however.)

Just Another Windy Day Here On The High Plains of NM...

I was the beneficiary (?) of an anonymous, drive-by shooting comment from a Barack-Booster yesterday. Said Obamaphile quoted a Gallup poll and pooh-poohed the impact of Senator Obama’s foot-in-mouth moment out in SFO… to wit:

He's two points up since then, according to Gallup; Hillary's down two. Obama spoke the truth in San Francisco, but only Clinton and McBush have twisted their knickers over it. So dream on, Gentle Blogger.

Well, now. One can spin all one wants… but then there’s this:

If the Pennsylvania primary to select a Democratic nominee for president were held Tuesday, a week before the actual primary, Hillary Rodham Clinton would defeat Barack Obama by double-digit figures, a new SurveyUSA poll found.

The fourth SurveyUSA tracking poll, released exclusively for NBC 10 and three other television stations throughout the state, concluded that the contest is "not necessarily tightening, nor is it considered a "tight race."

It concluded that 54 percent would vote for Clinton and 40 percent would vote for Obama. Three percent chose the "other" category.

The Quinnipiac poll shows similar results.

Hillary’s down two, eh? Someone didn’t get the memo…

More at The New Republic, which is hardly a hotbed of right-wing thought:

Some liberal commentators have downplayed the effect of Barack Obama's fundraising speech at a San Francisco fundraiser last week. But that's wishful thinking. Along with the revelations about Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright, his remarks in San Francisco will haunt him not only in the upcoming primaries in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, but also in the general election against John McCain, assuming he gets the Democratic nomination.

While Obama may not be toast at this point, he’s definitely toasty.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

―:☺:―

Well, I can’t leave the Obamanon alone, it seems. But you should be aware of this, Gentle Reader:

The co-founder of the radical anti-war group Code Pink has “bundled” more than $50,000 for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and pro-troops groups are demanding that he return the money.

Jodie Evans, a Code Pink leader, gathered at least $50,000 from friends and associates and donated it to Obama’s presidential campaign, according to information compiled by the nonpartisan watchdog group, Public Citizen.

Evans and her son, a student who lives at her Southern California address, each also gave the maximum individual allowable donation of $2,300 to Obama’s campaign.

The donations have raised questions about Obama’s association with the more radical elements of his base. Code Pink has harassed, vandalized and impeded military recruiters across the United States in a campaign it calls “counter-recruitment.” The group also gave $600,000 to the families of Iraqi terrorists in Fallujah, whom it called “insurgents” fighting for their homes.

Mom always told me “you’re known by the company you keep.” Code Pink’s “support” just might be enough to finish Senator Obama off. In a just world, that is. But: politics, strange bedfellows (I’ll leave that alone!), and all that. (Aside: I’m all about free speech, but it would do my heart good to watch either Jodie Evans or Medea Benjamin get bitch-slapped by an angry military Mom. I don’t want to see real damage, mind you… just a well-placed smack on the cheek. Hard. Leave a mark, ya know?)

But, to get back on point: there’s always the chance Barack might come to his senses (such as they are) and give that dirty money back. But I kinda doubt it.

―:☺:―

Your hockey Wings update:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -The Nashville Predators are back in the series. The Detroit Red Wings are searching for their lost momentum.

Jason Arnott scored with 3:58 left in the final period, the second Nashville goal in 9 seconds, and the Predators rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 Monday night and cut the first-round series deficit to 2-1.

"There's moments that are going to happen in a series that can change the whole series," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "I don't know, we might have just had ours."

So it would seem.

I dunno about the series, but the Preds sure had their game-changing moment last evening. Nashville avoided falling into the black hole that is an 0-3 series deficit by winning one at home. Still and even, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played. Nashville has to win three more to take the series, Detroit only two. And as for last night’s loss: “you can’t win ‘em all,” as Mom (and every sentient being in America, at one time or another) said.

Speaking of that 0-3 black hole… that’s exactly where Dallas wants to put Anaheim tonight. I think the Stars have a very good chance of doing just that, too. The Stars are fresh off of taking two games from the Ducks… at The Pond, no less… and are looking pretty danged good at this point. Blog-Buddy Phlegmmy will be at tonight’s game in Dallas, and I’m GREEN with envy. Simply Green! Given: I’m not a Stars fan, far from it. But I’d be happier than the proverbial pig-in-you-know-what to be at the Stars’ game tonight. There’s nothing in all the world like play-off hockey!

One more thing… Last night was a late night at the Pepsi Center in Denver:

DENVER (AP) -The Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche are so evenly matched that neither team can win in regulation and what keeps separating them in overtime is a funny bounce.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard took the pass from Brian Rolston from behind the net and sent it past Jose Theodore 11:58 into overtime to give the Wild a 3-2 win over the Avalanche on Monday night.

It was the third straight overtime game in this first-round series, with the Wild winning two of them.

Going back to 2003, the teams have played five straight overtime games in the playoffs, all of which ended in 3-2 scores.

Weird, that. It must suck to be an Avs fan right about now. OTOH, it sucks worse if you’re a Sens fan… coz Ottawa will probably be swept tonight. What an ignominious end for last season’s Eastern Conference champions.

―:☺:―

So…yesterday’s 50,000^th visitor was yet another googler. I have no quibble with this person coz he was looking for plane pr0n. That’s cool. As most all y’all know: it could have been worse. We haven’t done a “Fun With Site Meter” post in quite a while now. But we’re saving that meme for when the well goes truly dry. Coz there’s always weirdness in Site Meter. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

Aside: Blog-Bud Morgan was visit # 49,999 yesterday, he missed being 50,000 by six minutes. I thought about disqualifying the real 50,000^th visitor and giving the prize (?) to Morgan, but didn’t.

It is what it is.

―:☺:―

Today’s Pic: …is a sorta re-run from last year. Or, to put it another way… this is what I didn’t see this year, as the cherry tree failed to bloom… more’s the pity. The failure to bloom must have something to do with climate change. Or Cheney. Or maybe Halliburton.

Whatev. As always... click-for-larger, if you're so inclined.

March, 2007.

Out Like a Lamb?

It’s the wind, Gentle Reader…the ever-present, dust-laden, annoying, wear-you-down-to-a-nub wind. That said, yesterday was brilliant. We nearly hit 85 degrees and the wind was down to a manageable “steady 10 ~ 15 mph, with gusts of 20 mph.”

Not so today. Ah, Spring!

―:☺:―

The lady doth think too much, methinks:

We’ve all been there. Or some of us have. Anyone who cares about books has at some point confronted the Pushkin problem: when a missed — or misguided — literary reference makes it chillingly clear that a romance is going nowhere fast. At least since Dante’s Paolo and Francesca fell in love over tales of Lancelot, literary taste has been a good shorthand for gauging compatibility. These days, thanks to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, listing your favorite books and authors is a crucial, if risky, part of self-branding. When it comes to online dating, even casual references can turn into deal breakers. Sussing out a date’s taste in books is “actually a pretty good way — as a sort of first pass — of getting a sense of someone,” said Anna Fels, a Manhattan psychiatrist and the author of “Necessary Dreams: Ambition in Women’s Changing Lives.” “It’s a bit of a Rorschach test.” To Fels (who happens to be married to the literary publisher and writer James Atlas), reading habits can be a rough indicator of other qualities. “It tells something about ... their level of intellectual curiosity, what their style is,” Fels said. “It speaks to class, educational level.”

Pity the would-be Romeo who earnestly confesses middlebrow tastes: sometimes, it’s the Howard Roark problem as much as the Pushkin one. “I did have to break up with one guy because he was very keen on Ayn Rand,” said Laura Miller, a book critic for Salon. “He was sweet and incredibly decent despite all the grandiosely heartless ‘philosophy’ he espoused, but it wasn’t even the ideology that did it. I just thought Rand was a hilariously bad writer, and past a certain point I couldn’t hide my amusement.” (Members of theatlasphere.com, a dating and fan site for devotees of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead,” might disagree.)

But things are different on the Upper West Side, no? I’m probably revealing much more about my pedestrian reading habits than I should… but I’ve never had a woman complain about my reading tastes. That factoid may or may not say something/anything about me and the women I’ve dated or been in relationships with. Then again, I don’t hang out in the salons of NYC, so all bets are off. But wait! Is there a bit of sense in this screed?

Let’s face it — this may be a gender issue. Brainy women are probably more sensitive to literary deal breakers than are brainy men. (Rare is the guy who’d throw a pretty girl out of bed for revealing her imperfect taste in books.) After all, women read more, especially when it comes to fiction. “It’s really great if you find a guy that reads, period,” said Beverly West, an author of “Bibliotherapy: The Girl’s Guide to Books for Every Phase of Our Lives.” Jessa Crispin, a blogger at the literary site Bookslut.com, agrees. “Most of my friends and men in my life are nonreaders,” she said, but “now that you mention it, if I went over to a man’s house and there were those books about life’s lessons learned from dogs, I would probably keep my clothes on.”

Umm… nope.

Still, to some reading men, literary taste does matter. “I’ve broken up with girls saying, ‘She doesn’t read, we had nothing to talk about,’” said Christian Lorentzen, an editor at Harper’s. Lorentzen recalls giving one girlfriend Nabokov’s “Ada” — since it’s “funny and long and very heterosexual, even though I guess incest is at its core.” The relationship didn’t last, but now, he added, “I think it’s on her Friendster profile as her favorite book.”

Even though I’ve excerpted the article heavily, it’s still a good read. Even if the only thing you take away is “Thank God I’ve never met any of these women.” (or men)

―:☺:―

Speaking of books… the blogger who writes “Stuff White People Like” has reportedly signed a book deal for $300K. See what happens when you get a million and half hits in only three months of blogging? What’s that? Envy? Me? G’wan…

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Something good… for a change… from Inside the Beltway: A slide-show of WaPo readers’ cherry blossom pics (Slide #13 is just too cool, btw). Coz it’s that time of year, Gentle Reader.

Speaking of cherry blossoms… here’s a couple of pics of the cherry tree outside my door in full bloom, taken on March 18^th of last year. The tree has yet to bloom this year even though it’s pretty well leafed-out. Well, I count four blossoms on the tree, just by looking out the window. But that’s nothing, compared to previous years. Makes me wonder, it does.

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Mr. Hockey is 80 years old today. And still going to Red Wings games, and still signing autographs for the legions of his fans. Wow. Here are 32 facts about the man who spent 32 seasons in the NHL. Much more at MLive, including this:

As for the specifics of Howe's birthday party:

March 30, Associated Press: The Detroit Red Wings celebrated Gordie Howe's 80th birthday with a ceremony before Sunday's game against the Nashville Predators.

Howe, who actually turns 80 on Monday, was presented with a framed No. 17 jersey -- his number his rookie year before he got No. 9 his second season. He also was presented with a leather jacket; part of his bonus when he signed was a leather Red Wings jacket.

Christopher Ilitch, the son of team owner Mike Ilitch, announced via a taped message that the team was also giving Howe a 48-inch high-definition television.

"I've been treated like an angel and I don't know where they got it," said Howe after the ceremony.

The party continued after Howe participated in a ceremonial puck drop:

March 30, DetroitRedWings.com: Minutes after the presentation, National Anthem singer Karen Newman, along with the fans, serenaded Howe with a rendition of "Happy Birthday."

A special birthday cake -- in the shape of a white No. 9 -- was presented, the likes of which have not been seen at Joe Louis Arena.

"The cake measures seven-feet long, three-feet wide," said chef Mike Berend. "It is actually composed of 27 individual sheet cakes put together. It was made with a case of eggs (about 10 dozen), 100 pounds of flour and 50 pounds of sugar. This is the largest cake I've had to make in 14 years of working here."

The cake was shared with Howe as well as 1,200 fans in the Olympia Club and on the suite level.

Happy Birthday, Gordie!

(photo: Getty Images, via The Hockey News)

Full Stop

I am SO with Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House on this…

I am usually quite proud of being a conservative. I know in my heart that the only way to enjoying liberty under the law AND equality of justice is through the application of conservative principles to government and society. And I am usually proud of the rational, reasonable basis on which most conservatives see the world and evaluate people and events.

That’s why it embarrasses me to no end to see fellow conservatives who actually believe that Barack Obama is some kind of “Manchurian Candidate” sent by Muslims to undermine American society. Or that Obama is a closet Muslim just waiting to take power before unmasking himself. Or perhaps most bizarrely, since Obama was born to a Muslim father, he is a Muslim whether he wants to be or not and that Muslims elsewhere will not let him forget his heritage.

There are other permutations to this theme involving Obama’s middle name of Hussein which to some of my fellow conservatives is a dead giveaway that he is Muslim. And there are no end of theories, rumors, tall tales, and outright lies about Obama’s Muslim childhood spent at this madrass (sic) or that mosque which “proves” him to be a son of Islam.

[…]

And that’s why I find charges that Obama is some kind of closet Muslim so absurd. The candidate may have been trained as a grass roots organizer using the playbook written by radical Saul Alinsky. And he may have been involved in radical lefist politics early in his career. But a man who has so carefully crafted a political resume by conveniently being absent for key votes or voting “Present” on controversial bills – all the better to obscure how far left his politics go or what his true politics are – it is not beyond imagining that whatever his religious beliefs, they are calculated to effortlessly merge with the rest of this image Obama is presenting to the world. There is no room for Islam in this image nor is there anything in the public record that would indicate Obama has even given his Muslim heritage – if indeed his father was a member of the Islamic faith – a second thought as an adult.

Read the whole thing. As Moran and many others… including YrHmblScrb… have noted, there are many reasons to disagree with Senator Obama, and no lack of reasons why he shouldn’t be the next Commander-in-Chief. His middle name and his parentage ain’t part of ‘em.

Just frickin’ stop it.

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More of the same. And it’s getting tiresome, Gentle Reader.

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Today’s Pics: More from Sinop. Today... street scenes, and both shots were taken from the city wall once again. The conical objects in the second picture are part of the town’s hammam, which I never visited. Kinda strange, that, since I loved the public baths in Japan and visited them often. But…the public baths in Turkey are quite different than their Japanese counterparts. Or so I’ve heard.

Back in a bit. I was up waaay too late, yet again. Sometimes it bees like that.

Oot and Aboot (That's Canadian, In Case You're Wonderin')...

We lost one…

HAGATNA, Guam -- A B-2 stealth bomber crashed Saturday at an air base on Guam, but both pilots ejected safely and were in good condition, the Air Force said.

It was the first crash of a B-2 bomber, said Capt. Sheila Johnston, a spokeswoman for Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

And then there were only 20. Losing even one hurts, when you consider they cost $1.2 billion, each. Still, it was bound to happen at some point. The great good thing is both pilots got out alive and are doing well. It could have been worse, as it’s said.

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So then ya know what happened? This: “Official apology after CIA 'torture' jets used UK base.” Excerpt:

The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, had to make a humiliating apology to the Commons after it emerged that the US failed to tell British officials that two CIA rendition flights carrying suspected terrorists landed on the island of Diego Garcia in 2002. Six years on, one of the suspects is still being held by the US at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The other has been released.

Mr Miliband denied there was a deliberate cover-up and said he believed the US had acted "in good faith". However, Gordon Brown, attending an EU summit in Brussels, expressed his "disappointment" and said Washington's failure to disclose the flights earlier was "a very serious issue".

That’s from The Independent, the British left-wing fishwrap that is otherwise (in)famous as the print home of columnist and pundit Robert Fisk, Moonbat Extraordinaire. C-SPAN (God Love ‘Em!) ran the entire “apology” yesterday as delivered by Mr. Milibland in the House of Commons. The broadcast lasted about an hour and I was privileged to watch it in its entirety.

The thing that struck me as supremely odd was watching the US Gub’mint being articulately defended by the Labour Party (!) against vociferous attacks from Conservatives (!!) and Liberal-Democrats (not surprising at all). Those of you who don’t keep up with Brit politics might well say “So?” Well, just imagine John Kerry or Teddy Kennedy holding forth in the Senate and defending Dubya, or the actions of his administration. Yesterday’s spectacle in the Commons was the same sort of thing and just goes to prove it’s all about politics, anywhere and everywhere. The party out of power will do whatever is required to put the party in power in a bad light. So much for “principles.”

I sure do miss Dame Maggie.

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Oh, shit. This hurts, Gentle Reader:

Today that term is all around Barack Obama — perhaps because there seems so little other way to explain how a first-term senator has managed to dazzle his way to front-runner in the race for the presidency, how he walks on water for so many supporters, and how the mere suggestion that he is, say, mortal, risks vehement objection, or at least exposing the skeptic as deeply uncool.

I don’t care if this is propeller-beanie wearing, egghead analysis, or even the fact that it appears in the NYT…which, as we all know, is…umm… partisan. Simply knowing that one is considered to be “uncool” in certain circles is, well, uncool. But it’s a badge of sorts, and one I’ll wear with pride.

It appears I’m not the only person who’s uncool, though. According to the WaPo, anyway. Excerpt:

It's the nature of the Web -- and, really, of life. What goes up must come down. What's popular becomes too popular. What's seen as hip and hot and cool eventually gets mocked.

Even, yes, Barack Obama.

In recent days, sites have popped up indicating that the ongoing online Obamamania has hit a wall. What kind of wall? A snarky, ironic, this-Obama-thing-has-gotten-over-the-top wall. Obama's smiling mug is mashed up on countless faces on SenatorObamas.com. He's Sumobama. He's Pharaohbama. He's Navajobama, complete with a blue-and-white feathered headdress. The blog Is Barack Obama the Messiah? features a photo of the Illinois senator standing on a flight of stairs, Christlike, above an adoring crowd while a ray of light beams from above.

And on the aptly titled Web site BarackObamaIsYourNewBicycle.com, the candidate caters to all your needs: Barack Obama made your bed . . . Barack Obama folded your laundry . . . Barack Obama picked you up at the airport . . . Barack Obama remembered your birthday . . . Barack Obama is your new bicycle . . .

That's funny ha, ha. And funny ouch.

Heh. It was just a matter of time, really. There’s more at the link.

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Much ado about nothing much… Wherein Our Illustrious Guv’nor is (supposedly) being run hard by the Democrat contenders for his endorsement. The NYT:

Mr. Richardson’s transition from supplicant to benefactor provides a glimpse into a rarefied theater of political persuasion. Within hours of his exit from the race, he received calls from Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama and John Edwards. Mr. Clinton, who as president made him United Nations ambassador and then energy secretary, called him even before his withdrawal was announced. All of them wished Mr. Richardson the best and told him he had run a great race and, oh, by the way, “we need you.”

And they promised to be in touch.

“I want to make it clear that I’m not annoyed by any of this,” Mr. Richardson said of the repeated overtures.

[…]

Since ending his own run for the White House, Mr. Richardson has entered what he calls “a period of decompression.” He has grown a beard, ridden his beloved horse, Sundance, and started going to art museums around New Mexico again and to boxing matches in Las Vegas. He is sleeping about seven hours a night, up from four on the campaign trail, yet somehow looks more tired, as if the accumulated wear of the last year has taken residence in his eyes.

“I’m not annoyed…” That, Gentle Reader, may be the understatement of the day. Well, sorta. Note there’s precious little about Richardson concentrating on the business of running New Mexico… instead we have Billy riding his horse, trekking up to Vegas, and hanging out in art museums, which may or may not explain the new beard. I suppose that’s what he does best.

I could see where a Clinton-Richardson ticket would make good sense, less so where Barack is concerned. Either one would possibly benefit from Richardson’s endorsement, with emphasis on the “possibly.” As for me, personally? I’d just like to see Richardson out of Santa Fe, for what that’s worth.

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The graphic above is evidence of another one of those “was it something I said?” moments here at EIP. I first mentioned the phenomenon last summer. I still feel the same way… even though this latest drop off leaves me in a better overall position, traffic-wise, than when I first blogged about precipitous drop-offs.

This most recent freefall is due, in part, to the extraordinary amount of folks who hit EIP on V-Day looking for creepy valentines… note the significant upward spike in traffic on 2/14. After that it’s all downhill. Makes ya wonder… even considering a lot of folks are using RSS these days.

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It’s supposed to be warm here on The High Plains today…approaching, if not exceeding 70 degrees… if the weather materializes as forecasted. Warm, however, ain’t everything. Especially when one has gale-force winds accompanying said warmth. And gale-force winds are what we have, Gentle Reader.

We be rockin’ here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington. And how.

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Today’s Pics: …are from Beautiful-Sinop-By-The-Sea. That would be by the Black Sea, Gentle Reader. Sinop has history, and lots of it. The town, like most towns that stretch back to medieval times and long before, was entirely surrounded by fortifications. The city walls are still extant and were in remarkable shape when I was there, given the age of the fortifications…which stretch back to Roman times and earlier. They also happen to be fully accessible and are wonderful places to play, if you’re of a mind to climb and don’t mind picking your way through and around various and sundry obstacles.

The first pic shows a portion of the city wall, viewed from the Yeni Hotel. The second shot was taken on the wall itself, and bears looking at in its larger version. Coz there’s detail, and lots of it, Gentle Reader.

Your Local On the Eights...

Well, that sure was a bust, and a classic example of “weatherman-hyperbole.” Why do they DO that, Gentle Reader? Our “2 to 4 inches by daybreak...” never happened. It wasn’t even close. What we did get was interesting, though. One doesn’t often see thunderstorms in February, but that’s exactly what we got last evening. Nothing serious, as in “severe” (I love that particular euphemism), just your ordinary, run of the mill God’s Own Light Show, with Thor providing the crashing soundtrack. Entertaining.

So…that’s the current radar WX map, above. You’ll note there’s no precip within 100 miles of El Casa Móvil De Pennington. Not altogether a bad thing, especially the absence of precip of the frozen variety. Ah…but rain? We could always use more rain. Speaking of which...

One of my faves, that is…