Saturday, December 30. 2006
A man was at the country club for his weekly round of golf. He began his round with an eagle on the first hole and a birdie on the second. On the third hole he had just scored his first ever hole-in-one when his cell phone rang. It was a doctor notifying him that his wife had just been in a terrible accident and was in critical condition and in the ICU. The man told the doctor to inform his wife where he was and that the he'd be there as soon as possible. As he hung up he realized he was leaving what was shaping up to be his best ever round of golf. He decided to get in a couple of more holes before heading to the hospital. He ended up playing all eighteen of course, finishing his round shooting a personal best 61, shattering the club record by five strokes and beating his previous best game by more than 10. He was jubilant.... then he remembered his wife. Feeling guilty he dashed to the hospital. He saw the doctor in the corridor and asked about his wife's condition. The doctor glared at him and shouted, "You went ahead and finished your round of golf didn't you!? I hope you're proud of yourself! While you were out for the past four hours enjoying yourself at the country club your wife has been languishing in the ICU! It's just as well you went ahead and finished that round because it will be more than likely your last! For the rest of her life she will require 'round the clock' care. And you'll be her care giver!" The man was feeling so guilty he broke down and sobbed. The doctor snickered and said, "I'm just messing with ya. She's dead. What'd you shoot?"
Thursday, December 28. 2006
 What is art about? The New Criterion's December art issue is out, and just the introduction is a fine and succinct update on the current state of art criticism. One quote:
At least since the 1970s, efforts to dethrone the aesthetic and short-circuit or marginalize greatness have triumphed in the academy and many other institutions charged with the preservation and transmission of our artistic patrimony. Several of the pieces in this issue discern a possible change in the ideological weather, a shift away from regarding ideology as the proper end of the critical project. It is too early to call these preliminary sightings a forecast or gather them together to make a prediction. But here and there we sense an accumulation of positive signs, a yearning for something lost—a recognition, at least, that something has been lost.
Wednesday, December 27. 2006
 I like this one better than the one Bird Dog posted on Christmas: Pancho and Lefty.
It's from a while ago - before the stunningly lovely gray.
 Some Warren Buffet aphorisms, from Businesspundit:
- You can't make a good deal with a bad person.
- It's easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble.
- The market, like the Lord, helps those who help themselves. But unlike the Lord, the market does not forgive those who know not what they do.
- My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror.
- The reaction of weak management to weak operations is often weak accounting.
- You can always juice sales by going down-market, but it's hard to go back upmarket.
- You have to think for yourself. It always amazes me how high-IQ people mindlessly imitate. I never get good ideas talking to other people.
- In looking for someone to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. But the most important is integrity because if they don't have that, the other two qualities, intelligence and energy, are going to kill you.
- Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
- A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
- If you let yourself be undisciplined on the small things, you will probably be undisciplined on the large things as well.
- The fact that people are full of greed, fear, or folly is predictable. The sequence is not predictable.
- We also believe candor benefits us as managers. The CEO who misleads others in public may eventually mislead himself in private.
- What we learn from history is that people don't learn from history.
We ain't seen any yet this year, and it's a shame. I am sure that Mad River Glen is not pleased either. Photo from December, 2005. 
Meet sexy, 17 year-old farm gal Caroline here. She is lonely and hot, and wants to meet you. Don't act shy - check her out. (sound on)
Monday, December 25. 2006
 It's sad to hear of the death of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, at 73.
It was interesting, but not surprising, to see that he has been on tour. Rough, raw, and a complete showman, it's hard to imagine anyone putting more more of his spirit into a performance. Definitely not white bread. Everytime I listen to James Brown I feel a little bit like the college guys in Animal House who wandered into the wrong bar. He recorded "Please, Please, Please" in 1956. Most of my generation knew him first from "Live at the Apollo" - but he did his best stuff later with his funk bands. Rude, crude, and socially unacceptable? For sure. "Music" that could make a corpse move their body. Here's Sex Machine at YouTube.
We must begin with Dylan doing our theme song, Maggie's Farm, from the Rolling Thunder Review Go Tell it on the Mountain by some Gospel choir Allman Brothers, Blue Sky. How sweet is that? Bing Crosby, White Christmas Grateful Dead, Pretty Peggy-O Emmylou Harris with the Nash Ramblers at the Ryman, Roses in the Snow (with their Nash Rambler intro - remember that one?) Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited Keb Mo, Sweet Home Chicago, with Corey Harris. Another Keb Mo - Angelina. Love this guy. Like him? Here's Every Mornin' Bob Dylan, Restless Farewell, at the Sinatra Tribute. Wow. Hypnotic. John Fogerty, Lodi Dylan, I Threw it all Away, on the Johnny Cash Show, 1969 Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, Mahalia Jackson Dylan, Highlands Sinatra, My Way
Sunday, December 24. 2006
This year's Christmas card from our friend, artist Elissa Gore:
Friday, December 22. 2006
It is still running. There are some good ones on the comments. Get them out of your head - now or never.
From the Hagerstown Herald-Mail: During the 2005-06 school year, 28 kindergarten students in Maryland were suspended for sex offenses, including sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual activity, according to state data. Fifteen of those suspensions were for sexual harassment.
The precocity of these Maryland kids is remarkable, is it not? Or would it be better understood as a mass outbreak of a pedophilia epidemic, requiring governmental intervention? (h/t, The Moderate Voice)
 A Christmas diamond idea for wives and/or girlfriends this year: the $30 million dollar diamond bikini.
Gal not included - you have to find your own, but with these trinkets in your hand, it shouldn't be too difficult. Watch for more of her in Sports Illustrated. Please note: If males readers are aware of suffering from Gynophilia, as may be characterized by an undue interest in such diamond photos, contact your local health care professional at once. Attraction to adult females could be a sign of a serious disorder. And hey, Jules Crittenden fans! Thanks for visiting - and check out Maggie's Farm while you're here. We are interesting, most of the time. Is that Maggie modeling the bikini? We will not tell you. (Ignore Continuation page - it's an error)
Continue reading "A special Christmas card for our readers, plus a last-minute shopping idea"
Thursday, December 21. 2006
This is a stupid time-waster. Get Santa drunk. You must use your arrow keys - and don't let Santa touch the train tracks. Turn on the sound for best effect.
Wednesday, December 20. 2006
Graham Owen can tie flies which can fool other bugs - and he can take stunning photos too. Thanks, Synthstuff, for the remarkable blog find - Flies with an Attitude. Sample: 
Tuesday, December 19. 2006
You guessed it, didn't you?
From a review of a new book by Gregory Curtis on cave art, in WaPo: For centuries, cave art was ignored or dismissed as a clever prank. But in 1879, a Spanish scholar named Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola had a eureka moment when he was poking around in a cave called Altamira in Spain. He was overwhelmed by paintings of life-size bison on the cave's ceiling; this was, writes Curtis, "the first time we know of that an artist from the distant Stone Age touched the soul of a modern person." When Sautuola tried to publicize his findings, which linked the art to discoveries of prehistoric tools and carvings found on horns and other hard surfaces, archaeologists turned on him, mocking his conclusions with a savage fury. The great debate was on, and the theories and counter theories haven't stopped since. Curtis deftly leads us on a tour of contending interpretations, although some of the terms can be rather arcane.
Monday, December 18. 2006
 I feel badly about the climbers, and their families...but...if you want to climb Mt. Hood in December, get rescue insurance and have a rescue plan in place in case it is needed.
Either that, or sign something comparable to a DNR note: "We accept the risk, and we're on our own." Along with generous life insurance which covers it, to take care of your kids' educations. Mt. Hood has no guardrails, and no McDonalds. It is a dead-serious deal, and everyone knows that. The danger is the appeal. Why should the citizens of Oregon subsidize macho stunts like these with their hard-earned taxes? Isn't the whole point of climbing to risk life and limb? To encounter mortal danger when life is otherwise so soft, safe and protected? To find a trail without guardrails? To find a place where you cannot be rescued, and cannot find a McDonalds or a mall, and must face nature's harsh face? I have had just two friends who "climb." One saw his mother fall to her death on the Matterhorn (photo). The other saw his best friend fall to his death in a snow-covered crevasse in Alaska, and roped down to pull up the mangled body. Neither of them "climb" anymore: unpleasant memories. Death, when voluntarily courting mortal danger, is not a tragedy. It might be heroic, as in war, or an accepted risk, but not tragic: in our cozy, modern American life, you have to go well out of your way, and spend serious money, to find serious risk - unless you do something stupid and emotional like stepping on thin ice, or trying to outsmart the stock market. There is no tragic flaw involved. On Everest, you are on your own, and it is strewn with freeze-dried bodies as memento mori. I admire folks who take on such adventures. I do not care for heights, however. If you want a safe, comfy vacation, go to Tinsley World instead of Mt. Hood, or take a walk around the neighborhood with the pup and the camera. If you die on a mountain, we will remember you as someone with cojones, but not as tragic. People die on mountains all the time, but it only makes the news during slow news weeks. Hope the last two are OK, and that they can find another hobby.
Sunday, December 17. 2006
 Don't forget a couple of our favorite web shopping sites: Sierra Trading Post, and, of course, Cabela's.
Also, for the gentry, Kevin's.
Saturday, December 16. 2006
White Christmas. Wow - best I have every heard. and a Happy Chanukah to our Jewish readers.
Thursday, December 14. 2006
Wednesday, December 13. 2006
Most of the time, you want to be out a bit in front of your guides to get the shot, but, in this case, you just might want to lag a bit behind. Warning: T and/or A Rated photo, below, on continuation page:
Continue reading "Hunting Guides"
|
