Dear Supporter...

Could I be campaign 'bundler beard' and not even know it?

A curious email popped into my inbox yesterday. It began "Dear Supporter,"

Can you believe it? With your help, we've already raised over $35,000 in less than five days! We're over 70% of the way to our September 30 goal of $50,000!
This is the first time my campaign has made an aggressive quarter's end online fundraising push. With your help, I'm certain we'll exceed our goal and be one step closer to celebrating Election Day victory together next year!
Thank you.
As I've said before, this is an especially important quarter for our campaign. Right now, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is deciding how to spread their millions of dollars around the country. We must maintain our momentum to prepare for a nasty, expensive race created by liberals in Washington who don't share my positions on supporting our troops, stopping illegal immigration, and changing the way Washington works.
If you haven't yet contributed, will you please make a donation of $100, $50, or $25 to help us reach our $50,000 goal? Time is of the essence: we must report how much our campaign has raised by September 30.
Keep a close eye on my campaign website, www.JimInhofe.com, as we will be keeping track of our progress toward our goal on the front page.

Onward to Victory!



Uhhhhh, isn't he the Republican senator for OKLAHOMA??!!
Why, yes; yes he is.
Ok, even though Missouri geographically snugs up to Oklahoma, I really don't think I'm one of his constituents.
Nor have I ever gone to his site before, so there's no way they could have snagged my address through any means there.
This is just plain puzzling.
The only thing political I have signed up for recently was when Fred! got his site up.
Jeez...are the Thompson people giving out email addresses?
Or have I been making campaign donations in my sleep?
This is really weird.
Has anyone else ever gotten emails like this from politicians outside of their areas?

"Maybe she couldn't find a babysitter."

That remark was from my wisecracking youngest after we saw this local news report of a one night crime spree that has the hilljacks here just shaking their heads.


Charges Filed Against Robbery Spree Trio

Charges are filed Thursday against three women who police say took young children and a gun with them on a crime spree.

They are 21-year-old Amy Gaten of Springfield, the mother of the children, 21-year-old Emily Donner and 20-year-old Erin Lynch.

All three are charged with four counts of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action.

Four armed robberies in Springfield over a two-hour time frame Wednesday night involved three young women in their 20's.
The suspects had three small children with them when they allegedly took turns going in to four businesses with a gun, demanding money..." (rest of story)

Here's the mugshots of our Ozarks Mother of the Year candidates:


Gaten, the mother of the toddlers who were in the getaway car, is the one on the far left. Serious problems going on there I'd say. Hopefully, taking the kids away from her will be the best thing for them.
But since the trio took an hour break between robberies, perhaps to feed the toddlers and change diappies of the baby, it might be argued they weren't all that negligent afterall. I mean, c'mon, you try to be a meth addled wheelman with a bunch of squalling, stinky, hungry brats in the car! Criminy! Being a single mom is tough enough. Have mercy on her!

Oh, and total take from their "girl's nite out"...less than 500 bucks.

Gosh, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

The 1st Supper of the 12th Imam, rough draft.

This ain't set in stone (or canvas, or digital) yet, but here's what I'm playing with so far.
I ain't happy with how Blitzer looks. Do you know how hard it is to find a decent pic of that guy? The challenge I face is trying to find headshots with just the right attitude, that is, angle and tilt to match up the orignals. He's been the worse. Doesn't help that his guy is in the shadows.
I am happy with Hillary. I think I got the perfect pic. Priceless.
Pelosi? Ehhhh. Maybe I should dump the baby. I just threw that in because of the coverage she got toting her grand younguns around on the 1st day of congress recently.

I think I may dump Katie. Sean Penn perhaps instead? I dunno.

I know the posted pic is small, so here's who I have there:
Couric
bin Laden
Brian Williams
Carter
Amanapour
Rosie
Obama
Hilldebeast
Pelosi
Wolf Blitzer
'a token moonbat/muslim radical'
Zawahari (or however you spell Laden's right hand guy's name)
And of course, Ammadinnerjacket

It actually does look better sized a bit larger. I just don't know how big I can go on this blog without screwing things up!
I may make some changes. As much as I want to have Blitzer in there, I may have to replace him.

Mystery Artist

I'd love to credit the artist who painted the version of The Last Supper I'm butchering up. It is a lovely interpretation. But the site I swiped it from doesn't acknowledge the painter and I have yet to find the painting anywhere else on the innernets!
(I've tried Goog, Yahoo, Ask, Alta Vista et. al. to no avail-going as far as about 8 or 10 pages in...exhausting!)
Maybe Patrick the Born Again Redneck would know. He seems to be the resident art afficiando. Or at the least, he could hazard a good guess.

Here's a reduced version below:



The full-size here.

Something I'm Currently Working On

It'll be an epic P'shopped piece when done. Here's a cropped sample of what I got so far...



I have 10 more slots to fill, well, maybe only 8 because in the original painting there's a couple of apostles with their backs facing.
I'm thinking Blitzer, Zawahiri, etc.
Suggestions are welcomed. Who would attend the first supper of the 12th imam?

Marines Banned From Filming Recruitment Ad on SanFran Streets

"They're the strong and the proud, but the Marines aren't free to stand on the streets of San Francisco.

The Silent Drill Platoon of the U.S. Marine Corps wasn't allowed to be filmed Sept. 11 on California Street in San Francisco for a segment of its new advertising campaign, a Marine spokesman told FOXNews.com.

Instead, the elite group took its austere display to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for the final segment of its "America's Marines" TV commercial. The group is on a two-month nationwide tour as part of the campaign...

The platoon is documenting its journey on the Web site www.Our.Marines.com and plans to film portions of the commercial in Sligo, Ky., on Oct. 6, in the Grand Canyon and at Hoover Dam on Oct. 22 and in the Rocky Mountains on Oct. 30, according to the group's online schedule. The public is invited to attend."

From foxnews.com

As much as that irks me, it's probably just as well the city nixed their request, otherwise the jarheads' film crew would have to contend with something/someone like this trying to get into frame and hopping about madly in the background, shrieking obscenities in 4 different languages...




That makes for a long day, believe me.

Ain't Nuthin' Queer About Persia (O RLY?)

Alright, so everyone and his or her dog is making a big stink about the lil' Tyrant Who Could remarks at Columbia University the other day about how there's no "gays" in Iran.

After a round of nervous laughter from the useful idiots in attendance at his statement (they most certainly tipped their hand at that and showing THEIR hypocritical homophobia!) there then followed some boos from way in the back that quickly went 'round the auditorium. (Oh crap! We weren't suppose to laugh! "Oh!...Uh,I meant, BOOOOOOOOO!Booooo! What a bad man you are!") That moment in of itself was purty damn funny if I do say so myself.
We all like it when the clueless self righteous make jackasses outta themselves, no matter what side they are on. Human nature.

Of course, one could argue that the reason for the laughter was to ridicule the tyrant sock puppet, because, afterall, what an outlandish statement to make!
Ok, I'll grant you that. That might have been the case with a few folks. But being the cynic I am, I'm opting for the mindless sheeple behavior. So sue me.

I don't spend my entire waking moments online, so I have yet to read a reaction that echoes mine about this. Maybe someone out there feels the same but I'll go out on a limb here and say what my immediate reaction was to Turd Monkey's remark. First, let's go to the tape, as they say:
(compliments of The Israel Project.org who has the full transcript here.)

PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD: In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country. (Laughter from audience.) We don't have that in our country. (Booing.) In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have it. (Laughter.)

Alright, now what first caught my attention was the words "...like in your country."
He's making a distinct difference twixt homosexuality (and our collective attitudes towards it) in the U.S. and Iran. In the U.S. we have pretty much caved to the radical queer front and just about made it mainstream and acceptable. "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", anyone? Civic same sex marriages are becoming less and less controversial. I could go on, but you get what I'm talking about. They are not the closet society they once were.
I say this because of what he says right after that. "In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon."
So what phenomenon? I take it to mean the phenomenon of "Gay Rights". The openess, the constant assault to one's senses whenever you traverse any big city street. The flaming, screaming, raging, swishing, prancing, blantant, squealy girly-man metros one encounters. The ones who do nothing to advance their cause, other than to give the rest of us a reason to point and jeer.
THAT'S what I take his remark to mean.
He's not flat-out denying that homosexuals do not exist in Iran, he's alluding that they are NOT out in the open.
Death by hanging from a construction crane with a steel cable noose around your neck will kinda do that to you.

I suspect the homosexual population in Iran must be compelled to be uber-macho. To be constantly overaware, to be in a perpetual state of having to prove "Me queer? No way!!" I daresay it is far more worse there now than it ever was here in the United States decades ago.
And that is extremely more oppressive and evil than just flat out saying that they don't exist. (And, if you ponder that further, could go a long way to explain the overall behavior of middle east menfolk in general. Am I saying the whole mideast is queer? Nope, but you gotta admit they put a high value on being "manly" men.)

Of course, we have to realize that his remarks also went through the filter of a translator. I know translators are suppose to relay the thought word for word, but one can't help but notice, if you were listening, that the lady translator was having a time trying to express the comment. Could it had been that he was saying something far more harsh than what came out? Or maybe she was projecting her bias? Who knows?

But, as for me, that's how I'm taking it. It was almost like a veiled threat. (Hm! Interesting and yet, unintentional pun there!)
Male or female homosexuals, like the poor, will always be with us. Whether by nuture or nature, remains controversial. But those of them who want to just cuddle lil' Monkey Turd best be re-evaluating their mindset.

Gee, wonder what Rosie says now?

MUST SEE TV / TIVO ALERT

Lissen up, all y'all..."Hillbilly: The Real Story", a 2 hour program about our oft maligned subculture airs this Sunday nite !! (7 pm CT, 8 pm ET)

Hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus, who has finally rid himself of the mother of all mullets, but is still a homey and downright proud of his heritage. So hopefully this won't be a stereotypical slack jaw inbred booger eating moron take on us.

Personal note: Billy Ray grew up in the very same area and town in northeast Kentucky as my Dad. I saw Cyrus recently in an interview talking about his hometown and it tickled me to no end. I kept saying "Yep, I've been there!", "I know where that's at!" having spent most of my childhood summers at my gran'ma's there in Ashland, Ky. The younguns thought that was purty cool-just a few degrees of separation 'twixt me and him. Of course, Billy Ray's career is getting a second wind, thanks to the Disney channels popular 'tween' show, "Hannah Montana", in which he plays the dad. His for-realsies teenage daughter has the title role. That show is big at our house with the younguns.

Anyway, you know we'll be watching and any true blue hilljack n jill of the Hillbilly Ecosystem oughta be too!

The Weird Russian Mind-Control Research Behind a DHS Contract

Oh goody. I feel so much safer now.



"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has gone to many strange places in its search for ways to identify terrorists before they attack, but perhaps none stranger than this lab on the outskirts of Russia's capital. The institute has for years served as the center of an obscure field of human behavior study -- dubbed psychoecology -- that traces it roots back to Soviet-era mind control research.

What's gotten DHS' attention is the institute's work on a system called Semantic Stimuli Response Measurements Technology, or SSRM Tek, a software-based mind reader that supposedly tests a subject's involuntary response to subliminal messages.

SSRM Tek is presented to a subject as an innocent computer game that flashes subliminal images across the screen -- like pictures of Osama bin Laden or the World Trade Center. The "player" -- a traveler at an airport screening line, for example -- presses a button in response to the images, without consciously registering what he or she is looking at. The terrorist's response to the scrambled image involuntarily differs from the innocent person's, according to the theory."

Read the whole beee-zare story here.
Your tax dollars at work.

Hattippo: Boing-Boing

“I don’t even like Hillary. I’m a Republican.”

So says a gal who was surprized to find that she contributed the $4,600 individual maximum to the Hillraiser's campaign.

Damn, it's raining Hsus of all kinds in Hilldebeast's world!

Hot Air has the story

If it was me, I'd be pissed beyond all comprehension. Can one seek legal action under those circumstances?
The unbridled, shameless, and highly illegal antics of Clinton, Inc. leave me gobsmacked.

Larry Craig's Picadillos Pale Compared to This Guy!

Wasn't this once the subject of a Frank Zappa song?

In a word: TMI!!!

"Hey, Abdul...Hold m' tea, wouldja? Wanna show ya sumpin'."

Dozens Died in Syrian/Iran Missile Test

"Proof of cooperation between Iran and Syria in the proliferation and development of weapons of mass destruction was brought to light Monday in Jane's Defence Weekly, which reported that dozens of Iranian engineers and 15 Syrian officers were killed in a July 23 accident in Syria.

According to the report, cited by Channel 10, the joint Syrian-Iranian team was attempting to mount a chemical warhead on a Scud missile when the explosion occurred, spreading lethal chemical agents, including sarin nerve gas.

Reports of the accident were circulated at the time; however, no details were released by the Syrian government, and there were no hints of an Iranian connection.

The report comes on the heels of criticism leveled by the Syrians at the United States, accusing it of spreading "false" claims of Syrian nuclear activity and cooperation with North Korea to excuse an alleged Israeli air incursion over the country this month."


I reckon Saddam forgot to send the instructions along, or the Syrians kinda mislaid them somewhere.
Oops.
There goes their WMD "experts".
Hopefully this might slow them down some.
"Chemical Ali" was unavailable for comment.

Postcards from the Edge..."Jihad" Postcards Sent to FL. High Schools

A curious warning, a twisted joke or just a red herring?

A series of postcards were sent to numerous high schools in the Ocala, FL. area recently. All have the same crudely drawn graphic on them
of an exploding house (schoolhouse?) and the words "Jihad-BOOM".
(A couple of the cards have the letters h and a in the word 'jihad' switched. An indication of haste in writing, especially when one is not fluent in English?)

Just to my untrained eyes they appear to be written and drawn by the same person.
The exploding house looks as if it could have been drawn by an 8 yr. old. (granted a very disturbed 8 yr. old, but that's the level of artistic ability.)

This on the heels of a recent series on the Glenn Beck show dealing with the subject of a possible terrorist attack on our nations schools that would make the Beslan tragedy look like small taters.

Also notable were the numbers 10-10 on all the cards.
October 10th?
Hmmmmmmmm.
That would be a helluva October Surprize.

Pics of the postcards here. Follow the links on the page for the related story about school attacks.

Why has Florida become the latest hotbed for peculiar activity by radical Muslims and their wannabe's as of late?

Jeez, you'd think it was Minnesota or something!

I jest, but I take this whole school attack thing VERY seriously. It can't be ruled out. Any parent that has any contact with their child's school knows how wussy the security is there!
And that any yellow, marked school bus with passengers pretty much has carte' blanche to go anywhere.
A stunt like that and our normal and expected reaction to it- mass reactionary mosque burning and general mayhem against anyone who even looked "middle eastern"- would justify the long awaited wholesale slaughter of the infidels they so desperately want. Think Charlie Manson and his Helter Skelter theory. Same damn thing.
I don't want to give them the satisfaction of that, personally.

HSNTA has all the stories and linkys

Unless, of course, you're too absorbed in the whole OJ thing or the Tasering as Performance Art episode. In which case, have another Unisom.

Good Luck with That

"Nebraska State Senator Sues God"


I think the hardest part will be seating a jury of His peers.

New Bat Species Discovered in Philippines

(via Yahoo)

MANILA (AFP) - "A new species of flying fox or fruit bat has been discovered on an island south of Manila, it was reported Monday.

The orange-coloured bat with a distinctive white-stripped face was discovered in a protected wildlife area on Mindoro Island, the Philippine Star newspaper said quoting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The discovery was a result of joint research between the University of Kansas' Biodiversity Research Center and a team from the Comparative Biogeography and Conservation of Philippine Vertebrates (CBCPV), the paper said.

Known as the Mindoro Stripe-Faced Fruitbat for its striking facial features the bat was discovered by accident when it was caught in a net set by the researchers.

One of the Filipino researchers, Jake Esselstyn, told the paper that the bat was found during a survey of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians in Sablayan region on the west coast of the island.

Details of the finding were published last week in the Journal of Mammalogy.

The discovery of the new fruit bat species brings the number of bat species in the Philippines to 74 with 26 unique to the Philippines, the paper said."

In a related story:
A new species of bat discovered in Virginia/Washington D.C. area over this past weekend.
Scientists have labeled it the giant bigmouth moonbat (brainmortius shriekius ignoramus sociali).

Bob Dylan: Mad Prophet or Blantant Capitalist Marketing Tool?

Saw this on Boing-Boing.
It's a marketing gimmick, but really fun! You can customise Dylan's iconic film short for "Subterranean Homesick Blues". (Y'know, the film where he is holding poster cards with snippets of the songs' lyrics on them? Arguably, the first music video in the modern sense.)

Anywho, this nifty program lets you put whatever you want on the cards. You get 10 cards out of 13, the last 3 are for the promotion itself (the release of yet another 'greatist hits' album) and can't be altered. The idea is to email the resulting clip to a friend, but one could easily while away the time creating all manner of nonsensical spoutings just for the hell of it. You can also browse clips created by others on the site. It would make for some damn funny homemade campaign ads for the candidate of your choice, too, if I do say so myself.

Go and play with it and see what you come up with.

SPECIAL NOTICE for Lemuel of HWT: You might like this one!

Whether Left or Right- Weaselry is Weaselry

On the ABC Blotter blog this morning they are reporting that an "independent journalist" with conservative leanings has been faking interviews with notible persons for years! (Clinton, Greenspan, Powell...y'know, all the heavy hitters.)

Oy Vey!

The list of biggies he alledgedly interviewed is growing by leaps and bounds, according to the Blotter as all of Debat's past submissions are going under the microscope...gee, shouldn't they had done that BEFORE??!
And lots of "the dog ate my homework" buck passing excuses are in play.
Jayson Blair to the white courtesy phone, please!

A poster on the blog echoes my feelings precisely:

"Come on.
Left-wing conspiracy?
Right-wing conspiracy?
A liar is a liar. A fake is a fake.
The real crime is that people get away with this stuff all the time -- on blogs, in newspapers (if the New York Times, major networks and the White House can be duped as easily as they have been in the recent past -- and with all their resources -- who can't?)
There's no trail here.
There's no there there.
It's just another sign of a population, an information system and media that's too busy, lazy or distracted to care or check their facts."
Posted by: JE | Sep 14, 2007

Exactly! But none will even ponder that. It'll be just more fodder for the whole VRWC crowd.
Hey, thanks alot, Debat. You stupid Ricardo Cabeza!

Back to the Future

Keeping with the unintentional "retro" theme today, Boing-Boing links to a French art website that has weirdly delightful drawings of what life might be like in the year 2000...by artists back in 1910!

There's about 2 dozen illustrations...here's a few of my favorites:

This would have been handy 6 years ago!

Wow! Roller blades!?

I was struck at how much this actually resembles my own propane fueled computer/webcam set-up! Heh! Betcha they use Vonnage!

OH CRAP! Back in the U.S.S.R.!!!

Well, what did you expect with a "former" KGB weasel at the helm?
"Putin Dissolves Government"

Wow, anyone else feeling like they are in a time warp? First the Vietnam/Iraq parallels, mutterings of economic recession and now this.

"Mr. Joe Stalin...Mr. Stalin to the white courtesy phone, please."

I jest, but this really isn't good...period.

More "Hsus" Than Imelda!

Holy Cow, this just keeps getting better and better! Leave it to the Wall Street Journal to try and untangle this convoluted financial weaselry of Norman Hsu, (international bagman of mystery), and the Iron Maiden.
The stance widens.

Even our own local Dem, Claire McCaskell, has been sullied by this. (HA!)

Giving money back is becoming the new rehab for Dems, it would appear. Whoda thunk?
My question is: What about the matching funds, eh?
I reckon the 'most ethical congress, ever!' can't be bothered with niggling details like that. Too busy 'draining the swamp' and all that, y'know.
At least I did hear a few MSM crickets chirpping last night about this curious web that Hilly has wove...FINALLY!

Hattippo: Hot Air

And now for a way better "Hillraiser" graphic than my recent feeble attempt:

A 9/11 Recollection

Bryan over at Hot Air has a personal recollection of his memories about this day, 6 years ago.
Go. Read.



The FReepers are posting their 'where were you?' stories.


Patrick, the Born Again Redneck invokes Kipling on this day.

'Oh No He Did'nt!' (Code Pink is a "majority" of Americans)

...Oh yes, he did!

At the top of CNN's new evening news show, "Out in the Open" (the replacement for Paula Zahn's show) host Rick Sanchez said this as they showed a clip of the Code Pinko loons being hauled out of the Petraeus proceedings on Monday:

SANCHEZ: "Just a strange moment all the way around. The mike was by the way, eventually fixed. Petraeus played his opening statement and then this, some anti-war protesters, dissenters who now by the way represent a majority of Americans decided they, too, wanted to be heard."

A majority? How do you define that? 60%? 75%....10%?...3%...negative 12%??
Uhhhh, 'cuze me!! These shrieking, wailing banshee, asshat deluded buttholes DO NOT represent ME!!! And how dare he insinuate that they do!




Hell, For one thing, I don't even look good in pink!



(full show transcript here)

I'm sure today's proceedings this time before the crapweasel senate will have all the decorum and solemn dignity that yesterdays' hearing had.

Afternoon Update: Well, I've been watching the senate freak show and they leave me with no choice...
"Cue the weasel!"

Colorado Hsu-Hsu!

Oh, it's a dark day for Clinton, Inc. First, FDT makes his run official and now this...

Friday, September 7, 2007, 12:51 AM

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was taken into federal custody Thursday night at St. Mary’s Hospital after he fell ill on an Amtrak train passing through Grand Junction.

FBI agents took Yung Yuen “Norman” Hsu, 56, into custody around 7 p.m. at St. Mary’s Hospital FBI, spokesman Joseph Schadler said in a statement.

Hsu had been sought since Wednesday, when he failed to appear in a San Mateo County, Calif., Superior Court.

Hsu was traveling on an Amtrak train when he became ill. Amtrak personnel called an ambulance when the train stopped in Grand Junction.

Grand Junction paramedics were summoned to the Amtrak station near downtown about 11 a.m. Thursday to treat a patient, Battalion Chief Robert Ferguson said.

The patient, whom Ferguson said he found out eight hours later was a fugitive, was not in great pain, Ferguson said.

“There was no extrication needed,” Ferguson said. “He walked out of the train on his own.”

Hsu remained in federal custody at the hospital and was in fair condition late Thursday night, said St. Mary’s nursing supervisor Pete Smarr.

Wow. Just wow. I honestly had the guy wrote off as soon as he turned up missing.
The Hillraiser's boys are losing their touch. They should have known that any pharmaceuticals from China are dicey at best! They need to talk to Putin's crew...now those guys could pass on some valuable tips. Boy, someone at Clinton, Inc. won't be getting their "bonus".

So, should we start a pool? What are the odds of po' widdle Norman surviving long enough to drop the dime on this whole sleezy mess?
I got Oct. 2nd.

Still nothing from the media...hmmmm, maybe Hsu's stance wasn't wide enough!!

Multihattippos: Hot Air,Free Republic, the Lovely Michelle

It's Officially Official

Fred08.com

The Hsu Drops...again!

Norman Hsu, International bagman of mystery, didn't show up for his bail hearing.
Oops. His lawyers are clueless as to his whereabouts. The lovely Michelle has all the particulars.

My advice?
Start dragging the rivers, drain any nearby ponds and warm up the cadaver hounds.
I fear the Hsu may have suffered from a bad case of Arkancide.

Word for the Day: Schadenfreude

"malicious joy in the misfortunes of others," 1922, from Ger., lit. "damage-joy," from schaden "damage, harm, injury" (see scathe) + freude, from O.H.G. frewida "joy," from fro "happy," lit. "hopping for joy," from P.Gmc. *frawa-(see frolic)

Example (Compliments of the Australian Herald-Sun) :

A BRITISH yachtsman attempting the first solo Arctic sea passage across northern Russia was examining his options after heavier than expected ice blocked his route, his manager said.

Adrian Flanagan is discussing with Russian authorities the possibility of using a nuclear-powered icebreaker to lift his boat out of the water and carry it round the most icebound stretch of Russia's Northern Sea Route.

“Basically it just means we're putting plan B into operation so if the worst comes to the worst and there isn't a break in the weather, we've got a plan,” Louise Flanagan, his manager and ex-wife said from Britain.

The 46-year-old entered the eastern end of the treacherous sea route that stretches from Asia to Europe across northern Russia in late July.

He had hoped that his 11m reinforced yacht would be able to get all the way to Europe due to lighter ice conditions observed in recent years, thought to be a result of global warming.

But after making his way through the Chukchi, East Siberian and Laptev Seas, Flanagan has been forced to a halt by heavy ice at the most difficult point in the route, the Vilkitsky Strait.

The voyage, part of a circumnavigation of the globe that he is undertaking, comes amid a dash by world powers to claim economic rights in the Arctic.

Flanagan is now anchored by an island just east of the Vilkitsky Strait, still hoping for the ice to clear but working on the backup plan, his manager said.

She described the yachtsman's mood as “pretty fed-up”.


Maybe Algore and his hot air can he'p a brutha out here...

The WTR Society Pages, Labor Day Edition

So just what do discerning white trasherites do on holiday weekends beside lay about the lake getting incomprehensibly drunk, getting 3rd degree sunburns and later end up a mention in the weekly Sheriff's Report as a domestic assault call?
Why, we throw totally stupid theme parties, of course!

Our gracious hosts, Chuck and his lovely wifey, have a cozy little place near the lake and on the property sits a restored 19th century one room cabin that they transformed into a bar. (Very cool)
Also notible about their home site is that it has one of the few really huge, LEVEL front yards 'round these parts. Most folks yards either slope upward or downward leaving any practical use of it for entertaining null. These folks have a nice level cleared expanse to work with and Saturday nite they put it to good use...as an outdoor movie theater!
A 20'x30' canvas was hung up twixt 2 uprights on the far side of the yard and Chuck hauled out his hi-techie projection computer equipment and home theater sound system and set it up. Add about a dozen yard chairs, bags of popcorn made up for the occasion and big hand-around bowls of theater-style candy and you're good to go!

The choice of movies that nite were really bad, old sci-fi. And for some reason we were requested by the hosts to make and wear tin foil hats. Being the good sports we white trasherites are, we all complied and the results were purty dang amusing.
Of course there was a contest for best and I didn't make the cut, sadly, but my sister in law won for the women.

The weather that nite was perfect for sitting out under the stars watching tacky old drive-in movies. We watched The Thing and some really unintentionally funny flick that had Moonbase in the title. The intermission feature was a 3 Stooges short in 3D, hence the goofy specs in the pic above. They should have ran the Moonbase one first, imo, because it had the best opportunities for out loud snickering a'la MST3000. By the time they ran it, alot of the attendees had retired to the cabin for more adult beverages and brats.
But all in all it was a delightful way to spend a Saturday nite. The younguns totally had a blast. We need to do this again, right real soon.