Welcome to Nairobi

More love and healing from the "Religion of Peace."

If by love and healing you mean massacring those that aren't Islamic.

Any reason why this wouldn't happen here?  Are you sure?

I have a friend from Iraq.  He's catholic.  During one of our conversations about what was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005, I said something along the lines that we are all human beings.  Don't the Islamic people want the same things that everyone else does?  Their children to grow up happy, find love, etc.

He laughed at me and shook his head.  You don't have a clue, is what he told me.  They will smile and pretend to be your friend, he said.  But if you are not one of them, you are just a means to an end.

UPDATE:  CAIR condemns the attack, yet hinders FBI investigation.  By their actions you will know them.

UPDATE II:  You'll need to follow the news from overseas to know more.

My Favorite Actors are all Characters

It's Friday...might get to watch a film later.

Saw a video at Cracked today.  They're poking fun a Steve Buscemi's looks.  The clip is supposed to be the director giving direction to Steve while filming Fargo.  Language warning for the clip.
 
Now Steve Buscemi is one of my favorite actors.  I like him a lot, and that was before I knew he was a volunteer fire fighter in NY.

My favorite actors are typically character actors.  I don't know why that is.  Maybe it's my contrarian nature to focus on the asides and glance over the main theme of a film.

Here's a list of my favorites in no particular order.

1) Steve Buscemi:  His characters seem to know they've been given a raw deal in life, but don't effing care.  Alway making the best of the situation.  Remember, Mr. Pink was the only one to leave the barn alive.  His character in Desperado didn't make it to the end, but the film opening is just awesome.  And don't forget Fargo.

2) Oliver Platt:  Loved him in Gun Shy (2000) with Liam Neeson and Sandra Bullock.  Actually the whole therapy group was pretty good.

3) S.Z. Sakall:  A favorite curmudgeon.  Enjoy him in the film In the Good Old Summertime (1949).  Buster Keaton is in the film as well.  "I'll bring you your Stradivarius, Uncle."

4) Paul Guilfoyle:  He is your everyman.  Best known for his CSI role of late.

5) Gary Sinise:  He's less of a character actor anymore.  Will always remember Lt. Dan.  Liked him even more as the bad guy in Ransom. His character's Morlocks and Eloi reference help spell out the character's motivation.

May your weekend be what you need.

In Honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Q: What's a pirate's favorite vegetable?
A: ARRRtichoke.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite fruit?
A: ARRRanges.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite grain?
A: bARRRley.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite subject in school?
A: ARRRt.

Q: What's a pirate's second career?
A: ARRRchitect.

Q: Who's the favorite late night host in the pirate demographic?
A: ARRRsenio Hall.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite Olympic Sport?
A: ARRRchery.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite State?
A: ARRRkansas.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite fish?
A: cARRRp.

Q: Where do most pirate's come from?
A: cARRRnies.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite drinking game?
A: QuARRRter bounce.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite play?
A: ARRRsenic and Old Lace

Q: What's a pirate's favorite movie?
A: FARRRgo.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite clothing?
A: cARRRgo pants.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite headgear?
A: pARRRty hat.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite smoke?
A: A cigARRR.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite weapon for CQB?
A: A cARRRbine.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite comic strip?
A: HagARRR the Horrible.

Q: How do the pirates get to the dock?
A: They cARRRpool

W: Stop it. Just stop! These aren't jokes, you're just emphasizing ARR in words.  It's not even funny.
RB: Maybe it isn't funny to you, but it is fun to do. You can make a game of it.
W: No. Stop.
RB: Okay...How about these.

Q: Where do pirate's keep their armies?
A: In their sleevies.

Q: How does the pirate Captain signal his crew it's time to plunder?
A: He makes a booty call.

Q: How much did the pirate pay for earrings?
A: Buccaneer.

Q: Why are pirates like gangstas?
A: They both say "Yo Ho..."

Q: What card game do pirates like?
A: GIN RUMMY!

W: These are worse...don't quite your day job.
RB: Don't like puns, eh?
W: Those aren't puns....they're just bad.
RB: Here's a narrative one.

A pirate returns to his home port and sees an old friend.
What happened to your leg?A cannonball hit me leg, but the surgeon fixed me up with this peg just fine.
And your hand?'Twas cut off in battle, but the surgeon fixed me up with this hook just fine.
And your eye?Ah..Looked up when a bird flew overhead.  My bad luck, it shat in me eye.
You lost your eye to bird crap?No. No...'Twas me first day with the hook.

W: Enough. Go to work.
RB: OK.

How to Host a Flag Burning

1) Be sure to dress stylishly.

2) Invite some hose draggers to get the flames going.  They like to spark things up every once in a while.

3) Once the initial smoke clears, bring in the Knights and Color Guard.

                  

 4) If the timing is right, the moon will make an appearance.

 5) Bring down the old flag.

 6) Hoist the new.

 7) A moment of silence for those who have served and are in service now.

 8) Sing God Bless America, then fire three volleys.

 9) Signal the bugler to play Taps.   Pretend the water on your cheek is from the smoke.

10) Let the hose draggers get serious about the burning.

11)  Head inside for hot dogs, cherry pie and some apple crumb tart.

And that's how you burn a flag.

Special thanks to the Vietnam Veterans Color Guard and the Selfridge ANGB fire crew.

Happy Constitution Day

On this day in 1787, the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution of the United States of America.

Howard Chandler Christy's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States

This is the day when the United States of America put to parchment the form of government the newly founded nation would construct.

On the day of the convention, Mrs Powel asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Benjamin Franklin answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Benjamin Franklin also said:

“We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little partial, local interests, our projects will be confounded and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And, what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, or conquest.”

Emphasis added by me.

"..without His concurring aid...we shall be divided by our little partial, local interests..."

226 years on it with a few additions.  Do we still have His concurring aid?

Let me conclude by exercising my first amendment right while I still can and say,

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safegaurd against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Now, I'm off to work. Later, I will burn some flags with my sons.

Conversations with a Homeschooled Child

T:  You know who's cool?

RB: No. Who?

T: Me, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Irving Berlin, and Charles Langlade.

RB: Charles who?

T: Langlade, his only regret is that fought in only 99 battles.  I learned about him in Michigan History.

RB: What?

T: Yeah those were his last words. "My only regret is that I only fought in 99 battles."  People in Wisconsin say his name Long-Laid, but it's a French name and should be said Lan-glade.

RB: Oh.

T: George Washington is cool too, but I don't like him.

RB: Huh?

T: His wife was ugly.

RB: What?

T: He was shot with an arrow, but he was wearing so many clothes, it just stuck into his coat.

RB: Who?

T: George Washington.  There's a lot of stuff about him to learn.  You might think you know everything about him, but there's always something else.

RB: Oooo-kay.

T: Abraham Lincoln's wife was kinda cute.  She was short and fat, but still kinda cute.  He was tall and skinny.

RB: Hmmm..

T:  She was a rich city girl and he was a poor country boy.

RB: He became President though.

T: Yeah.  He was funny too.  That's why everybody liked him, not because of his looks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A: Dad, guess what?

RB: 42?

A: No, Dad.  That's the answer to life, the universe and everything.  Guess what I'm doing today.

My son, A is sixteen.  That he made the connection to Douglas Adams tickled me, worried me, and made me proud at the same time.

RB: I don't know, oxidizing food into energy and poop?

A: No, Dad. That's just digestion.  I'm taking Level II driving.

RB:  Oh.

So soon.  Heck it seems like just yesterday I was taking the training wheels off his bike.

The New York Trigger

Reading over at AceOfSpades, found this post by Andy.

Meanwhile, In New York City ...... where it's difficult for anyone but law enforcement to get a gun permit and civil rights have been wantonly violated under "stop & frisk", the NYPD continues to blaze away at unarmed suspects but only manages to hit innocent bystanders. There's a pattern here.
Perhaps Ray Kelly and Mike Bloomberg could focus less on taking my guns from me and more on teaching their employees what to do with their own.

In the excerpt above, Andy links to two articles where NYPD shoot a lot of bystanders.

Andy hints that maybe NYPD needs more training.  That may be true.  NY is not considered a gun culture type of city.  I place the blame on the re-donku-lus 10-12lb trigger pulls mandated for "Safety".  With firearms, my opinion is that everyone is safer when lead hits its intended target.

 From personal experience when racing with my pistol, I tend to miss 8" plates with my first double-action shot.  Follow up shots are single-action and hit the mark.  Having a 10-12lb trigger pull in a DOA pistol in a stress situation just makes it more dangerous for everybody.

When bullseye competitors start winning with New York triggers, I might change my opinion.

The Amish Prize

The Amish Prize from MommaFargo arrived the other day.  My two oldest children were with me when I opened the box.  Here is what we saw.

The Amish Prize!

K: What is it? What is it?

RB: Looks like popcorn.

K: What else? What else?

My oldest speaks in duplicate when she gets excited.

I emptied the box.  My youngest came in the room and swiped the box for his armor.  He is eight and still likes to dress up.  He may become an actor or a LARPer.  Jury is  still out on that one.

Here is what we found inside.

The Contents!

My two oldest quickly swiped all the Amish Noise Makers.  With almost 300 pops per sheet and no flash paper or sand residue, they kept themselves occupied for the next 30 minutes making noise.

With the Amish Noise Makers out of the way, the remainder posed for a lineup.

The Prizes: In back from left to right, Gluten Free Homestyle Egg Noodles, Golden Bear Shampoo, Boetjes Stone Ground Mustard, Concannons Chicago Style Gourmet Popcorn, Culinary Lavender, Concannons Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle.  In Front:  Riverboat Whistle

The first to go was the popcorn.  My wife enjoyed it and shared a little with the children that were behaved that day.  I got the peanut brittle.  It's the kind that glues your jaw shut and keeps it shut until all the sugary goodness is dissolved.  I'm havmming smm mmmow.

Mmm Smm gmm mmusarm I hibemm amm.  Okay.. The stone ground mustard I've hidden away.  That'll will come out for brats and sauerkraut this football season.  Sorry kids, you'll have to use the yellow.

I've been using the culinary lavender on my oatmeal in the morning.  It's taken a little getting used to, but I have fresh floral scented breath ALL DAY!.  A definitive plus and a nice change from coffee breath.

The Golden Bear Shampoo doesn't make many suds, but it does have that all day hold in a Something About Mary way.  I'm also much more attractive to ants and bees after using it.

The Riverboat whistle has been overlooked by the children, and I do not intend to draw their attention to it.  I think we'll save it for the youngest due in November.

The egg noodles we're having for dinner tonight.  It's a family favorite..Beef Stroganoff.  My oldest is gluten intolerant..so she can have the noodles this time! Aw yeah...less for me..wait what?  Dang.

Thanks for the gifts MommaFargo.  Hopefully, you smiled at least once reading this.

As the Season Changes, a Reason for Hope

The Colorado recall was successful.

The Colorado recall effort was decided by Democrats.

Ronald Reagan was a Democrat. He didn't leave the party.  It left him.

This gives me hope, for a change.

To my liberal friends, look at your leadership.

Do they still represent you?

Confessing an Affair

PT, I have a confession to make.

I've found someone new.

I will always be grateful to you for teaching me the basics.  How to hold and squeeze.  Seeing the sights.

I remember fondly the times I snuck out at lunch to visit you at those places around town rented by the half hour.

The lighting wasn't always the best, but that didn't deter us.  You showed me how to get my barrel warm.

But now I've met SP and I don't see myself spending as much time with you PT.  Maybe it's a midlife crisis, I don't know.

SP is much more exiting to me.

You always wanted it the same way PT.  Slow, deliberate, taking my time.

SP wants me to go as fast as I can.  And not just down the middle every time.

With SP, I can go left to right or top to bottom, or bottom to top.  SP lets me peek from around cover, even drawing deep from inside my waistband.

I  know, I know..she's much more expensive but my barrel gets hot now, not just warm.  None of this one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi between strokes.  Just bang bang bang.

I feel the heat on my hip afterward, my arms trembling a little, and my finger aching for more.

I can see you anytime PT.  With SP I can only visit once a week.

Don't be sad PT, with your CrazyBones and DirtyBirds, I'll still visit.

And remember PT, we will stay together to teach the kids.

The Smartest?

Intelligence in terms of ability has value.

Knowing where your knowledge ends has even more value.

Some people think they are smart, and overestimate their own intelligence and ability.

"I'm a better speechwriter, than my speechwriters."-B. Obama

Rosslyn Smith has this post over at American Thinker, it also ties into this one by Jim Geraghty at NRO.

From Rosslyn Smith:

"In the run up to WWI, European leaders were pretty much playing an insider's game of one-upmanship...... The major difference between those leaders and the West's leader's today seems to be that the leaders in 1913 felt they were entitled to rule by Divine Right. Political leaders in 2013 leaders seem to feel almost as entitled because they are certain they are smarter than everyone else."

From Jim Geraghty:

"They looked out at the world at the end of the Bush years, and didn’t see tough decisions, unsolvable problems, unstable institutions, restless populations, technology enabling the impulse to destabilize existing institutions, evil men hungry for more power, and difficult trade-offs. No, our problems and challenges were just a matter of the previous hands running U.S. foreign policy not being smart enough."

This blog is titled Fargo's Brilliant One, but I know I'm not the smartest.When I was 17, I knew everything about everything and I've gotten steadily dumber ever since.

"I may not be a smart man, but I know what foreign policy is." -F. Gump

Okay, that quote may not be exactly what Forrest said, but I think he would be making better decisions about Syria than our Dear Leader who is an embodiment of the Peter Principle.

This would be funny if it were fiction, instead it just damn scary.

Anniversaries

  L: Your card night is on our anniversary this year.  What do you want to do?

  RB: Make you happy?

I think I answered correctly.

We went to a nice restaurant.

I had the lamb, she had the veal.  Enjoyable meal on the patio.

After dessert and coffee, it was steel plate night at the range.

The load out to the parking lot was much, much lighter.

  L: That was fun, but I'm tired.  You can go play poker if you want.

  RB: Really?  That sounds like I can have my cake and eat it too.

  L: Yes.  Yes you can.

Aw yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about.

How did I get so lucky?  I guess I asked the right woman.

I love you, L.

ICYMI - Michael Yon's post on Syria

From the perspective of those that have BTDT.

"Outrage is not a strategy."

Not much I can add to that.