The Importance of Being the Earnest T. Bass-o-matic¹

• Continuing on the theme of  'it's a strange campaign season', HRC has tried to bring the Oscars' diversity topic - or lack of same - up as an issue.  Maybe the circus blogger is right - we're at idiocracy.
• I could not care less what a presidential candidate - any of them - thinks about the Oscars.  It has zero relevance to the office to which they aspire.
• BTW, I noticed that The Pursuit of Happyness, garnered Will Smith an Oscar nomination in 2007.  He lost out in that category to Forest Whitaker's portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. 
• I had no idea Idi Amin was from Archer County.
• This afternoon at the supermarket, I ran into the lady who hired me, as a 20-year old college kid, to work the afternoon drive shift at the local bank.  While I have aged quite a bit and matured just a little, she still looks as lovely as ever.  I texted a mutual colleague of the chance meeting, who responded, in agreement, saying "Sugar wouldn't melt in her mouth."  
• We both lamented that banking as we practiced it doesn't exist anymore.
• My town has one each of the blue and orange home centers, but we still have a real hardware store (as well as a respectable Ace Hardware).  You can even find these there:

In a few weeks, this area will probably be reset to 

make room for the baby chicks.

One of the few places that has more

knives than I do.

• Since I'm not running for office, I can comment on entertainment news.  Michael Douglas said in a recent interview, about his reconciliation with hot wife Catherine Zeta-Jones: "I don't think there's much chance of fixing a relationship if one of you is already out the door."  True that, brah.

Looking quite like the old man.

• He's not quite as old now as his father was when he appeared in this video (title mis-spelled).
• I may watch a few minutes of the GOP debates.
• No Nostradamus I, I am finding it interesting that there continue to be new news stories, with regularity, about Mitt Romney, as he is not a candidate.  The American Conservative ran this piece today about George Romney.
• Affluenza kid is back in Texas.  Over lunch a couple of weekends ago, former FIL likened Ethan Couch's parents to the parents at the school where his daughter teaches.
• Lastly, Ammon Bundy has finally told his followers to go home.  If he had read MWB and followed this blog author's advice, maybe that other guy would be alive, and they could go home to their own beds.
• ¹Weird, Wilde stuff, right Ed?

Help me out...

• Is it just me, or is this shirt playing tricks with my eyes?

Indoors, with incandescent light

Outside (in the car), in sunlight

• In the bedroom, with clear incandescent bulbs, it looks like a medium taupe or faded cranberry, but outside, it's clearly green.  What gives?
• I think it was in New Hampshire where Bernie Sanders was running a campaign ad featuring Simon & Garfunkel's America.  Absolutely brilliant!  Heck, watching it, I was ready to vote for Bernie.
• Until the commercial ended - then I of course remembered I don't vote for Socialists.
• I received my AAA battery holders for the planned repair of my auto-darkening welding helmet, one week after ordering them.  For some reason, the Ebay seller in NJ denominated the sale in CAD.  Interestingly, my purchase of 10 holders cost only about $5 US and included the shipping, which came via FedEx/USPS.
• Oldest son texted me this picture from the FWSSR, with the message "It's cool seeing something you personally did at the Stock Show":

He says the beadlocks are not so bad,

if you know what you're doing. 

• I haven't been to the Stock Show since 2013.  For several years, I attended, work related, and always enjoyed it.
• Got a haircut last Friday.  Saturday I woke up with my hair looking like a pointy fauxhawk, but after a shower it was normal.
• A molester should not try to steal more knives than he can carry:

• Somehow, I don't think "Shaunna" is the girl for me:

- Hello there.. ... Really hope you have thought of those things you let me know, in that old dtng cite where we had a chat, but I didn't like it much there. I just basically hope to come across real men and have lots of fun, instead of typing my life away, lol. With the help of my co-worker I put all my atfo at |luvblwjobs] |c0m] get at -lzyzuu6780- there... there; pls put up your photo so I will know you. Hit me back soon, I can t wait to have some fun !!

• No, I never had any 'chat' with any 'Shaunna' on any dating site/'cite'.
• Will Michael Bloomberg, if he runs, be 2016's Ross Perot?  My sense is that he would siphon votes from the Democrat side if he does.
• I have some favorite jeans where the zipper is missing a tooth, right near the bottom of its travel. Some time back, I handstitched several threads across the tracks to keep the pull thingy from going so far as to go off track. But after dozens of wearings and several washings, my fix was no longer up to the job. I figured out an easier hack: hot glued the zipper just above the break, and pressed the zipper flap against it - now the pull thingy has no way to go off the track. 
• Carson the other night had 'Hanoi Jane' on, wearing the hippie-dippiest outfit.  Apparently it was 1977, as she was pitching her movie Julia.  On the same episode were Orson Bean and comic Skip Stevenson.  Orson Bean is still alive - his daughter is Andrew Breitbart's widow.  Stevenson, who looked like Richard Carpenter's brother, died in 1992.
• Driving to Denton on Monday morning, Jody Dean suggested that the Eagles could invite Jackson Browne or J. D. Souther to fill out their line up.  Has he been reading MWB?
• To clarify, I was driving to Denton.  I assume Jody Dean was in a Dallas studio.
• In anticipation of my physical exam today, I have been eating oatmeal and healthy food lately (not that I indulge in much bad food).
• I told the doctor's assistant that I knew he wouldn't find Jimmy Hoffa in there.

This post has no title

• ...just words and some pictures¹.  I was tired last night and thought I'd saved it in [Miller Genuine] draft form only.

• If anybody remembers Pat Boone, he would pick a Trump/Fiorina (or Carson) team to run against HRC.  I agree with him about Fiorina.  Carson may be a good cabinet pick, but he's not a forceful leader, and at this stage, not right for the job.
• I think there are two or three better GOP standard bearers than Trump.  On the Democrat side, I wouldn't entirely rule out a dark horse candidacy for Biden, in the event HRC gets dragged down by DOJ or Bill issues, and the DNC steps in and says "no way in hell" Sanders will be their nominee.  It already seems almost likely the RNC may do the same regarding Trump.
• "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."  Many years ago, we mocked Dean Wormer's authoritarianism, just like all those '60s hippies, counterculturists, musicians and other artists instructed us to do.  But after a couple of generations of those kind of values, and seeing where it's gotten us, I'm in agreement with the Dean.  And it kind of gives some insight - maybe - into why Trump is getting more support than any of us imagined (but he's still not my choice for President).
• While I still enjoy coffee occasionally, tea has become my morning beverage of choice.  Of late, I've become quite fond of Chai latte, made with vanilla almond milk and sweetened with Stevia.
• No, not from Starbucks - you think I'd pay those prices?
• Mulder and Scully are on Kimmel tonight, talking about how they did or didn't actually get along on the set.  Kind of déjà vu, having watched Cybill Shepherd on Carson last night (from the late '80s), describing the antagonism between her and Bruce Willis.
• Moonlighting is the next TV show that Antenna TV or ME TV should bring back.  I could watch Atomic Shakespeare every week.  Plus, there's that great Al Jarreau theme song.

What chick wouldn't dig a dude with a sunglasses-wearing Mr. Ed?

She doth, she doth.  Ahh, wedded bliss - at least until the gag comes off...

• I saw Al Jarreau and Chaka Khan Chaka Khan in July 1987 at the Starfest grounds at Park Central, with a cute girl from my church.  The relationship never really developed, but it was a near perfect evening, eating grapes and cheese from the picnic basket, and driving home with the T-tops removed from my 280-ZX 2+2.

The top one is a reasonable approximation of the one I owned, 

but my paint matched.

• Tell me something good?  You may not gonna like this, but Chaka Khan is not as hot as Madeline Kahn was, IMO.
• I mentioned the Playboy mansion in a recent post.  Now comes word that the self-proclaimed First Amendment champion (but in reality a low-life slimeball) founder of another skin mag has offered...wait for it...something quite a bit less than $100 million for the property.
• This past week I received a fancy-schmantzy package "An Exclusive Offer for Our Future Driver" from BMW.  Addressed to me.  Their data mining company should fire its assayist.

¹ Apologies to Bernie...

Oh, I wish we weren't such Oscar [Louis B.] Mayer whiners...

• If it weren't serious, the current presidential campaign's embrace of social media would be laughable.  The back-and-forth Twitter and Instagram snark bites between candidates seems more apropos of a 6th grade student government election than leader of the free world.
• I don't remember in what decade I last watched the Oscars.  I don't watch, because I don't see that many films when they're first released - it's just not a big deal to me.
• Will Smith will apparently acquiesce to wife Jada's request that he boycott the awards show, on account of the Academy did not vote for any actors/directors of color.
• Here's an idea: Why don't BET, Jet, the wet pets and Dr. Seuss release their own objective choices for the movie winners, instead of just carping that there's not enough inclusion, blah, blah, blah?  Then, they could be on the record for exactly who they think is best, instead of sniping from the shadows.
• Obviously, whether a movie or actor has Oscar nominations or awards has no effect on whether I will watch a film - except maybe The Sound of Music, which I will watch almost every time it airs.

I lived in Austria in junior high school, and hiked/backpacked
 in the Alps not so far from where this was filmed

• Has anyone heard Michael Moore scold the Washington DC officials, and ask for resignations and indictments of the Mayor and POTUS for their roles in not protecting the district from the snowstorm?  Yeah, probably not.
• A resale store owner in Redmond, WA, called the police because someone dropped off a bag of dresses that included a KKK robe and hood.  She believes it was an act of intimidation.  She could be correct of course, although Redmond seems a quite unlikely hotbed of Klan activity.  Not trying to spin this, but maybe it was a symbolic surrendering of the items by someone who decided that the KKK doesn't fit in the modern worldview.  Who knows?  Edit:  Some of the comments following the article - notwithstanding the dolts asking "how much does she want for it?" - suggest that maybe it was donated by a widow who didn't know how to dispose of it, or, that the shop owner planted it to get some pub for her store.
• If I were the shop owner, I'd donate it to a local community theatre group's wardrobe department, for use in Larry Shue's The Foreigner, a farcical play depicting the thwarting of a racist plot.
• I portrayed the Rev. David Marshall Lee in an 1990 or 1991 area production of the play.  After its initial run, our troupe played two weekend performances in Jefferson, and then two in Dallas at the Grand Theater.
• My last, and probably favorite, stage role was as Elwood P. Dowd in 1991.  Oldest son was born the next year, and priorities changed.
• I still have the portrait, stored away, depicting me (Elwood), with [a kind of menacing looking] Harvey over my shoulder.  At the time, I had to use theatrical silver hairspray to age my temples for the role.  Now, I'd have to use Just for Men so as not to look like Elwood's father...

kwazy wabbit...

• I never won a Tony Award.  Boo-hoo.
• [cue tiny violins]

In pace requiescat

Lyrics to this song, written by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin (Already Gone), were included in the announcement from the Frey family and the Eagles, that Glenn had passed away.

Rainy Days and Thursdays

• Colt, iconic manufacturer of the Single Action Army Model of 1873 (dubbed 'Peacemaker') revolver, 1911 self-loader, and M-16 rifle, is emerging from bankruptcy for the second time in a quarter-century.  The new CEO vows to re-balance the company's military/civilian/commercial production.
• So what happened?  Complacency.  The company had become too dependent on government sales (a lesson one would think they'd have learned when Beretta was awarded the M9 contract), and missed much of the civilian firearms resurgence.  

'Paterson' No. 5 - Choice of Republic of Texas Navy 

• On their website catalog you can find AR-15 variants, SAA and New Frontier revolvers, and 1911 variants.  But no Diamondback/Cobra/Python/Anacondas, the highly acclaimed revolvers which now bring exorbitant prices in the secondary market.  
• If I were back in college, I'd love to do a case study on the company, as it appears that the company now has either zero or miniscule market share in product lines that it originated.  Single action cowboy revolvers are now dominated by Ruger, Henry, and Italian and Brazilian firms.  No Colt Lightning carbines. No Colt shotguns (although, to be fair, this was never their forte).  Colt's gone from the double action market, as well.  Most 1911s are now produced by companies other than Colt, some of which risked cannibalization of their internally developed product lines to offer a version of John Moses Browning's venerable self loader (Ruger, S&W, Sig Sauer, et al).  The company does seem to retain a reasonable position in the AR-15 market, though far from a dominating market share.
• Martin Mull was on Carson [reruns] recently.  He was much more of a serious guy than I'd have imagined, considering himself primarily a painter. Interestingly, his Wikipedia page makes no mention of the two books he co-authored: The History of White People in America, and A Paler Shade of White, although it does reference the TV show of the same name.  Not sure if that's some form of political correctness or just an omission.

These are my people, my roots

• Upon receiving an email purporting to be a Peggy Noonan essay supporting the other Donald, I checked Snopes (while in some regards I find the site to be biased, it's a good starting point), which of course showed the attribution to the respected Ms. Noonan was false.  While I was there, though, I learned of a spoof news story that'd made the rounds, claiming the British would reclaim the USA if Trump were elected.

• In response to the fake news bit, someone was cheeky enough to write [not Lindsey] Buckingham Palace, and actually received a response (redaction Snopes').
• The classic Fleetwood Mac lineup reportedly has/have one last album in the works.

Cheer up, Lindsey.  The chick that every high school dude

in my day wanted *as girlfriend* has her arm draped over you.

Over a dozen years ago, after two decades of using an electric razor, I returned to using blades.  I have found that I prefer the three and four blade varieties, but I still experiment with other configurations if I think I can get a closer, more comfortable, shave.  Last week, I purchased a 6-pack of six bladed razors, thinking I'd found the holy grail. 

Actual photograph of my tonsorial experience

• Unfortunately, it didn't work out as I'd planned, and I arrived at work with about a half dozen bits of tissue paper affixed to my countenance, no styptic pencils having been anywhere to be found.
• Although the markets have been unwell thus far in 2016, increasing the Fed Funds rate - gradually - is a baby step toward restoring rationality to the economy.
• From the breech, the Chiappa Triple Crown shotgun is interesting, maybe almost elegant:

• But from the muzzle...not so much:

Oof!

• An interesting treatise on what drives Trump supporters.

Already Gone?

• Being an Eagles fan from way back, I'm of course bummed by the news of Glenn Frey's death.  When I was 16, I worked at a ice cream/fast food place, and a family friend in the record business offered to get me tickets to their DCC Hotel California tour show.  But, as luck would have it, I could not get the night off from work, and my upbringing would not allow me to call in 'sick'.  A couple of years ago, a friend (the same one who got me the inscribed Henley CD covers) invited me to go to their show at the AAC.  Arguably, it was the better show.
• I've said for years that any genuine iteration of the Eagles would have to have Frey and Henley at its core.  Wonder if the remaining members will ever perform again as Eagles (after Henley's Cass County tour ends)?  Although no one can replace Frey, a Henley/Walsh/Schmit/Souther lineup would be worth seeing, and hearing.  J. D., of course, partnered with Frey in Longbranch Pennywhistle prior to the Eagles, and turned the Detroit native on to country rock, and frequently collaborated with the Eagles.

• Adding Jackson Browne to the mix could be interesting, as well, but with a solo catalog that rivals, or exceeds, the Eagles' collective output, there'd be lots of concertgoers unhappy because their favorite song (from whichever artist) wasn't played.  Still, as these guys age, the idea of spreading the duties in a band dynamic might be appealing.  Another twist would be adding Detroit native Bob Seger to the line up - he collaborated on Heartache Tonight (which would have been this post's title if I'd written it last night), and performed, uncredited, on the song; Frey sang on Ramblin Gamblin' Man, and Against the Wind.  
• Hey, some folks have their fantasy football/baseball/basketball teams - I have my fantasy rock-n-roll bands.  Get Over It¹.
• J. C. Penney is returning to the appliance business in a pilot program in 22 of its stores.  My initial thought was that that is a crowded marketplace segment, but then I remembered a mid-size refrigerator I'd seen in the local home center, which had its price fluctuate from $679 all the way down to $528 and I think now sells at around $628.  That indicates to me that the margins must be decent.
• Because the appliance category doesn't lend itself well to click shopping, the move adds the 'halo' effect of potential buyers (usually both spouses, if married) passing the Sephora, St. John's Bay, and Arizona Jeans kiosks/areas, so it's good exposure for their softlines.
• Back when I was a kid, Penney's sold power tools also, and even firearms if I'm not mistaken.  I think I may even have an old Penney's-labeled sabre saw or 1/4 inch drill.  Update: Penney's firearms were sold under the 'Foremost' banner.  I don't own any of them, but do have one each of Sears' Ted Williams and J. C. Higgins models.

Internet photo

• One of the features of the Carson show that you don't see on late night anymore was the mix of 'ordinary' people that Johnny included in his guest line-up.  Last night he had the editor of Omni (?) magazine's puzzle page, and recently he had a truck driver, who at the time, had racked up the most miles driven.  Of course, last night also featured a 29 year young comic named Jerry Seinfeld.
• I'm wondering if Bernie Sanders has peaked. A barrage of news articles appeared over the weekend, some about his rape essay from the '60s or '70s, and some about his hardcore socialist leanings and trips to Nicaragua.  Today I saw a piece that says he favors a $17+ trillion tax increase.  That kind of talk, of course, doesn't win elections.  One wonders how much information was packaged for the reporters by the HRC campaign staff.
• It's hard to say who has the bigger balls, Trump or Hillary, but her capitalizing on the Flint, Michigan water situation is bizarre.  In the Sunday night debate, HRC said (italics mine): "...And the governor of that state acted as though he didn't really care. He had a request for help and he had basically stone walled. I'll tell you what, if the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would've been action."  Hypocrisy much, Hillary?  Think those words won't show up with images of Benghazi in the fall campaign?  I'll bet Carville texted her before she left the stage with "R U stupid or what?"
• In other election year news, Dr. Ben Carson has suspended his campaign, following a bad car crash that left several of his staffers injured.  I suspect that the 'susp-' in suspended will prove to be superfluous.  Also on the GOP side, Ohio's John Kasich is said to be coming up behind that other Donald.
• The past few years there's been much criticism of police officers becoming judge/jury/executioner.  In most cases - though not all - it boils down to a split second decision, usually in defense mode. Tonight, seeing a documentary on Bonnie & Clyde, I was reminded that I'd recently wondered if the legal system had been sidestepped.  Last night I discussed the issue with a colleague, who said they'd sealed their fate when they murdered those State Troopers at the corner of  Dove and 114 (in current day Southlake).  Sounds about right.

• Accounts dispute whether it was Bonnie or Henry Methvin who initiated the murders of the Troopers.
•  I have been a first-class klutz today.  This morning, I turned on the bathroom faucet, with the stopper set, then stepped into the shower.  When I emerged, water was streaming across the counter and onto the bathroom floor (the overflow didn't keep up with the rate of flow).  This evening, while replacing the $&#@!% child-proof cap on a prescription bottle, it slipped and nearly two dozen tablets were strewn on the bathroom floor.  Thankfully, they are super inexpensive tablets, so I just chunked them in the toilet.
• Entered into a gentleman's agreement with my boss today that I can continue working on a limited part-time basis at my current employer after I start my new job, so long as I give him two weeks notice if I decide that the combined workweek is too oppressive.  Seems fair to me.

¹ This is a pretty good cover version.