June 30, 2010
Random Commuter Observation (TM) - "Bad Moon Rising" Division
There exists in Your Nation's Capital an outfit called DC Pedicab. It is, essentially, a rickshaw service, providing bike cabs by which patrons can get directly from Point A to Point B, or, if they have more time on their hands, meander leisurely among the many sights of the city, all the while patting themselves on the back for their environmental sensitivity.
I have no particular problem with the existence of such a service, or even with its preening enviro-smugness. No, what bugs me about this one is that DC Pedicab chose to go with a fleet of the kind of rickshaw in which the peddler sits up in front of the passengers, instead of the kind where the peddler is mounted behind. It occurs to me that the last thing anyone would want to see on a typical hot and humid Dee Cee summah day is a pair of sweaty buttocks toiling away a mere three feet in front of one's face.
(And no, there is no as who should say aesthetic redemption in any of the bike-jockeys that I've seen. They're mostly dufus college kids and middle aged guys with beer guts.)
June 29, 2010
THIS WAS TOO GOOD TO PASS UP
Campaign ad for the Republican primary for Arizona's third congressional district (via the good folks at Hot Air):
Bonus: a one hundred percent NRA rating!
June 28, 2010
This Is Rich
One of the Left most consistently overrated blowhards is Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School. Robert Bork devoted several pages of his work: The Tempting of America, the Political Seduction of the Law to the learned professor. NR has this article which suggests much of Tribe's work was copied from other sources or ghostwritten by student assistants.
Random Commuter Observation (TM) - "Le Gasp, Le Pant. Le HEAVE" Division
Another beastly, beastly day in Your Nation's Capital, after a beastly, beastly weekend.
There's a pretty good chance of thunderstorms later on today. I didn't bother bringing an umbrella along with me this morning. Frankly, if I get rained on I really won't mind it very much.
Gratuitous Nats Posting (TM) - "Oh, Shut Up" Division
Sigh.
I am seriously considering reassembling the eldest Llama-ette's softball team from this spring and offering to have them play the Nats' games for them. Probably wouldn't commit so many errors.
June 24, 2010
A Soldier For All Seasons
The WSJ's piece on the "Petraeus Hail Mary." Via the good folks at Hot Air. I had the pleasure of hearing Petraeus speak to a room full of battalion and brigade commanders at Fort Riley as I was getting ready to deploy in the fall of 2006. At the time, he commanded the Army Combat Center at Fort Leavenworth--the prep for the "surge" was already in the works behind the scenes and it was obvious that he was not going to be in Kansas for much longer. David H. is brillant, astute, well-read, a born leader, and media- and politically savvy. The man knows how to put together a team and how to inspire those around him. He is unquestionably the most talented general officer of this generation and possibly since the WWII greats of Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton. If there is anyone who can get Afghanistan back on track, it is Petraeus.
Random Commuter Observation
It's days like today that I curse the pig-headed foolishness that led to the construction of Your Nation's Capital in a goddam Maryland swamp.
I'm now thinking we ought to just go ahead and annex Canada and make Toronto the summer capital.
June 23, 2010
Your Quote of the Day
Jerry Seinfeld on "Lady Gaga":
"You take one 'A' off that and you've got 'gag.'"
'Nuff said.
Food Nazis
From the Tasty Bits (TM) Mail Sack:
Today, CSPI urged McDonald’s to stop undermining parents and deceiving children with cheap toys that accompany unhealthy kids’ meals. We filed a notice of intent to sue the fast-food chain if they didn’t.McD Toy“McDonald’s is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children,” said CSPI litigation director Stephen Gardner.
McDonald’s is currently offering children’s toys related to Dreamworks’ latest Shrek movie. While Shrek may appear on packaging for low-fat milk and Apple Dippers, when children or parents order Happy Meals they are given French fries 93 percent of the time, and offered soda first 78% of the time.
Please urge McDonald’s to stop marketing junk food to children! Let them know that marketing unhealthy food to kids using toys is deceptive and undermines parents' efforts to raise healthy kids!
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Margo Wootan, DSc.
Direction, Nutrition Policy
Center for Science in the Public InterestP.S. To learn more, see our CEO Michael Jacobson's column in the Huffington Post today!
Dear Margo:
Thank you ever so much for finally shining the Searchlight of Truth on Ronald McDonald and his Happy Meal Sturmtruppen! To tell you the truth, I don't know which is worse: When the Hamburglar cold-cocks me as soon as I walk into the store, thereby allowing my kids to order as much junk food as they can stomach; or when these forces of evil McBlitzkrieg my own house, getting Grimace to smother me in my bed while Mayor McCheese shoves tubes down the kids' throats and throws wide the spigot on the milkshake tank. And perhaps the hardest part of it is the double-crossing, fifth columnist assistance offered to Herr McDonald by Shrek and his quisling friends.
Oh, the horror! The Horror!
What would we do without the CSPI to volunteer its own blood, sweat, toil and tears to put an end to this menace?
//sarcasm function off.
June 22, 2010
Gratuitous Nats Posting (TM) - Take Me Out To The Ballgame Division
Greetings, loyal Camelidophiles!
Your Maximum Llama doesn't know why he suddenly feels inspired to write like our Dear Leader. It happens from time to time. (Who was the fellah who said imitation was the sincerest form of flattery? Your Maximum Llama can't recall off the top of his woolly head.) Perhaps in this case it's because he knows that Maxy is also an ardent Nats fan. Whatever the reason, you'll just need to deal with it.
Your Maximum Llama's beloved Nats have been in something of a slump against the AL Central of late, causing a fair amount of heartburn around Orgle Manor. Your Maximum Llama is not at all a fan of inter-league play, and he especially dislikes it when we lose all the time. When your Maximum Llama becomes Emperor, one of his first moves will be to abolish the DH rule. Let's have some of them fancy-pants nancy-boy AL pitchers take a few swings and see what happens!
Happily, though, with last night's 2-1 home win over KC, the Nats have snapped the streak, and hopefully, they will be able to start building back toward .500 again.
This weekend saw the depositing of the Llama-ettes at sleepaway camp, so Mrs. Robbo and your Maximum Llama decided to take advantage of their temporary freedom by, among other things, taking in a night game down at Nat'nals Park. We're going this evening and, in a fit of self-indulgence, got seats down front, about 8 rows up from the field just behind 1st Base. Perhaps your Maximum Llama will finally catch his first foul ball. I hope Mrs. Robbo isn't expecting to be able to drool over Austin Kearns from that vantage point. Kearns used to be a big ol' piece of eye-candy to her, but I never got around to telling her that we traded him to the Indians last fall.
In any event, the only thing troubling your Maximum Llama now is the chance of thunderstorms this evening. The Nat'nal Weather Service currently has it pegged at 40%. With your Maximum Llama's luck, it's probably something closer to 80%.
Well, as Napoleon once said, we shall see.
Carry on.
GO, NATS!!!!
UPDATE: Yes, as ChrisN notes in the comments, the chance of thunderstorms did turn out to be 100%. One rolled in in the middle of the 4th, probably costing us a couple runs, as we had the bases loaded and our bats were on fire. For about 20 minutes, it was Le Deluge, indeed. Your Maximum Llama had just started in on his din-dins, and while he was able to wolf down the chicken fingers, most of his fries wound up getting soggy before he could scramble under cover. Nonetheless, your Maximum Llama must admit that the rain felt pretty durn good. And when he returned to his seat, he didn't even bother wiping it off, instead reveling in the cool damp.
Incidentally, it became fairly evident - at least to the fans sitting around your Maximum Llama - that the Nat'nals Park grounds crew were basically clueless about how to roll the tarp back up after the rain stopped. After making several botched attempts, they came in for some fairly severe heckling from my part of the stands.
Apart from that, however, and apart from the fact that the Presidents' Race was a pretty lame one (involving Washington's shoes getting hosed down with extinguishers 'cos he ran so fast in the race), the evening turned out to be very pleasant, especially as the Nats won 4-3, with Josh "The Hammer" Willingham getting his 100th career dinger. Given the delay, however, your Maximum Llama did not get home to Orgle Manor until past midnight, and is now a very sleepy llama, indeed.
Never mind. The Nats now go for the sweep this afternoon behind Strasburg.
GO, NATS!!!!
June 21, 2010
Robbo Is Currently Listening To....
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, on this first o-fficial day of summah, Elvis is in the building.
The next couple days promise to be nasty enough here in Your Nation's Capital that ol' Robbo has already given up any thought of bothering with blazer or tie, and plans to make his daily commute in mere shirt-sleeves. Rolled up shirt-sleeves at that.
And for someone as normally uptight as I am, that's pretty durn extreme.
June 20, 2010
The Gaza Blockade
Odd no one has ever mentioned that the Gaza Strip is technically under Israeli rule, via the Palestine Authority, and Gaza is not a state. Indeed, Gaza has been taken over by Hamas, a group dedicated to Israel's destruction.
Helen Thomas
This (via Hot Air) is a piece by the rabbi who asked the question that finally put Helen Thomas out to pasture. The nagging thought that comes to mind whenever L'affaire Thomas comes up is that this lady has probably been spouting this drivel for decades and probably made no secret about it. Her colleagues in the sainted White House press corps must have known.
Inadvertent Church Humor
The announcements at the end of Mass included this: "The Widowed, Divorced, and Newly Single Group is looking for new members."
Moxie Packs Up
Looks like Moxie has joined The Colossus, Michelle at A Small Victory, and Cathy the Cake-eater in hanging it up at her blog. I had not checked it out since at least Christmas and she put her final post up in February. Best wishes to her and to all who visit Moxtopia.
June 19, 2010
For the Babylon Five Fans Out There
a place for your favorite G'Kar soundbites. My favorite:
G'Kar: [to the newly unfrozen traveller Mariah Cirrus] Take my advice and go back to the time you came from. The future isn't what it used to be
June 18, 2010
Sound Bites from Thatcher and Friedman
Shamelessly lifted from the good folks over at the Sandcrawler:
Both exemplified the Happy Warrior--especially Robbo's gal Margaret.
June 17, 2010
Gratuitous Yankees Posting (TM)
GO, YANKEES!!
No, not that gang of scruffy, shoddy, low class bums up in Noo Yawk. Instead, I'm talking about the eldest Llama-ette's softball team. They finished up their regular season with a record of 11-0-1 and won their first game of the City Series tournament last night.
Tonight we go for the champeenship. It's going to be a hair-raising game, as we face the team who tied us once and who we had to come from behind to beat in the final inning in another game. I can only assume they're hungry for it now, and I can only hope that we are, too.
So I say again,
GO, YANKEES!!
June 15, 2010
Happy Birthday, Jo Harding!
The lovely and talented Helen Hunt turns 47 today.
Nay-sayers may, uh, say that Helen has fallen off the map in recent years and is ripe for Estrogen-channel "gutsy yet vulnerable public defender discovering what it means to be a True Woman"-type roles.
Well, I say nuts to them. To me, Ms. Hunt will always remain firmly planted in the mid-90's, chasing twisters in a soaked tank-top and sports bra.
UPDATE: Didn't see the LMC's preemptive strike before I posted my own tribute.
Newman!
Wondering Yips! from Gary:
I used to be a big fan back in the "Mad About You"/"Twister" days but what happened to this chick? Is she in the witness protection program now? It's like the Oscar was the kiss of death.
Over the last ten years she's only been in (other than a Simpson's guest spot) two films that seemed to have been picked up on the radar (a cameo in "Castaway" doesn't count) - "What Women Want", which should have been titled "What Movie Audiences Don't Want" and "Pay It Forward" which had the WORST.ENDING.EVER of any movie ever made. Don't even throw that one in your Netflix queue.
Oh, and don't get me started on her dumping Hank Azaria right after the post-Oscar parties. What, did she get tired of hearing him do the "Comic Book Guy" voice in bed? Sheesh.
/rant
For Steve-O
His gal is 47 today and still shmokin!
What more needs to be said? (Robbo, I beat you to it!)
June 13, 2010
Resolved: The Ideal Summer Man-Drink Is Gin And Tonic
Generous ration of gin from one of HM possessions (to take the edge off a long day--my fav is Tangeray), slice of lime (to ward off scurvy), tonic water (contains quinine--proven remedy for malaria), and ice (because we are Americans, dammit!). Discuss.
June 12, 2010
Amazing How One's Time Opens Up
I finished the non-resident portion to the U.S. Army War College and have only a two-week session next month at Carlisle Barracks between me and a degree in strategic studies that will not add a cent to the LMC household bottom line. For the first time in two years, I have finally had the time to work on a long line of household projects. First up: fabricating a lid to the toilet tank in the children's bathroom (according to a five-year old neighbor, the old lid apparently levitated from its customary resting place before shattering on the tile floor--its is obvious that the momentary existence of a quantum micro-singularity which suspended the law of gravity is the only reasonable explanation taking into consideration said neighbor and her penchant for drama). A piece of wood from the man-shed, and several coats of primer and we are on to the next project--repainting the living room. The first coat went on this morning and the second will go on after the kiddies are in bed--all made possible by the fine folks at Home Depot. Other projects: repainting the master bedroom, the bathrooms, and removing three trees from the backyard.
I promised my wife I would take the kids to the pool or the beach at least once every weekend I am home during the summer. We went to the beach the pool over the Memorial Day weekend and today we went to the pool. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.
June 10, 2010
Shiny!
Joss Whedon is screening Serenity for two charities in thirty-nine cities, including Norfolk, located near the vast real estate holdings which comprise Fort LMC.
June 09, 2010
Gratuitous Nats Posting (TM) - Fifteen Minutes of Fame Division
Check out this video from Fox Five's coverage of last night's Stephen Strasburg debut.
The young lady wearing the red war paint and holding the sign behind the nooz chick is the eldest Llama-ette. She told me she'd made the nooz, but I wasn't sure whether to believe it or not.
Now I do.
Gratuitous Nats Posting (TM) - Elvis Is IN The Building! Dept.**
What can one say to a 14K, no walk debut except "Thangkyuh verrah much!"
I happened to be talking to our Maximum Leader yesterday, and he cautiously predicted that Strasburg would finish up with a 3.7 ERA. The actual result? 2.57. I give Maxy full credit for caution because what with all the hype and ballyhoo and pressure, I went into this thing with one eye closed in apprehension, too.
But once the kid started throwing? Dayum!
GO, NATS!!!
**For those of you who are not Nats regulars, I should explain this post title: Center fielder Nyger Morgan started a tradition this year of designating a player of the game after each win and making him wear a silver Elvis wig while talking to the press. There's also a tradition of pie-facing the MVP with shaving cream while he's talking to MASN's lovely and talented Debbie Taylor. Strasburg got two of 'em last night, both while wearing the Elvis wig. Welcome to the show.
My Favorite Israeli
turns 29 today. Natalie's abs saved The Attack of the Clones and for that George Lucas should be grateful.
And a brunette as well, bonus!
June 08, 2010
Gratuitous Nats Posting (TM) - "Show Time" Division
Yes, tonight is the much ballyhooed debut of wunderkind Nats pitcher Stephen Strasburg. (It will also mark the return from injury of catcher Pudge Rodriguez, but that of course will only be of interest to those who actually pay attention to the game.)
Over the weekend, the eldest Llama-ette was invited to go see the game with a friend and her family. Despite the fact that she's supposed to have her own batting practice tonight and that she'll somehow have to stagger out of bed for school tomorrow, I reckon an opportunity to see a potential bit o' history like this doesn't come up very often, so of course I said she could go.
Last evening we went to considerable effort to ensure that the gel will "get her red on" in style tonight, up to and including a truly bizarre pair of red-framed shades I've never seen before. If you happen to watch the game and if you happen to see a pair of twelve year olds, one blond the other sandy-haired, both rigged out top to bottom in Nats gear and screaming like banshees for the camera, well, that'll be the Llama-ette and her friend.
And by the way, GO NATS!!!
Non-Fatal Attraction
The incomparable Julianna Margulies--
No further comment is necessary.
June 04, 2010
Words Fail Me....
Has to be repeated......
A confession: the LMC and I have attended one or two affairs sponsored by Mizz Thomas in the past few years on behalf of a mutual acquaintance. Regardless of the rules of hospitality, I'm not sure I would not have spit in her drink had I known she was capable of this kind of anti-Semitism.
We like to drop our collective jaws these days about the Holocaust and ask how any sensible persons could have let it happen. Well, sports fans, you're seeing exactly how that works. Right here and right now.
God help us all.
UPDATE: Buh-bye.
Happy Birthday, Angelina Jolie!
Who turns 35 today.
You would. Oh, yes you would. And you know it. Confess, I say! Confess!!
Furthermore, you know that afterwards she would rip your head off and devour your still-warm carcass. You know this, and yet you don't care.
CONFESS!!!
June 03, 2010
Gratuitous Nats Posting (TM) - Strassed Out Division
As all the baseball world probably knows by now, rookie pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his major league debut this coming Tuesday evening against the Bucs.
So far as I know, nobody has actually come out and called Strasburg the Messiah yet, but I have noticed that the Nats are stockpiling palm fronds along Half Street.
All the hype is starting to give ol' Robbo some pause for at least three reasons.
First, Strasburg's still only a kid. And although he's been blowing people away in the minors, God only knows how he'll react to the pressures of the Show.
Second, he's still only one guy, and can't pitch the entire rotation by himself.
Third, if the rest of the team doesn't stop stranding guys all over the bags and making ridiculous fielding errors (as they have during the last couple of infuriatingly frustrating games against the Astros), it isn't going to make much odds how good Strasburg is.
Just saying.
Nonetheless, GO NATS!!
June 02, 2010
Sir, Yes, Sir!
Seven reasons to date a military man.
We'll have to ask Mrs. LMC what she thinks of this, although since she married one I expect she would agree.
Shiny!
The lovely and talented Jewel "Kaylee" Staite turns 28 today.
What can one say but "Yip! Yip! Yip!"?
June 01, 2010
I'll See Your Lea Thompson and Raise
Brooke Shields, whose 45th was yesterday:
Image courtesy of the lovely and talented 