Western Meadowlark October 24, 2018
Posted by Sobek in News.comments closed
The state bird of Montana. The main difference between the western Meadowlark and the eastern Meadowlark is that this one is looking left, and the other is looking right.
Two Things October 24, 2018
Posted by Sobek in News.comments closed
I took the oldest two kiddos on a winter hike in Gallatin National Forest, between Bozeman, Montana and Island Park, ID. This is Lava Lake. I’m pretty sure that’s what heaven looks like. Being there with smiling, happy sons is definitely what heaven feels like.
This is an Eastern Meadowlark. The missus recommended I try some color. I’m not super excited with the result here, but the bird’s bright yellow plumage almost made it pointless to do without color, so it was a worthy experiment.
I’m working on a much larger art project at the wife’s request, but it will take a while, so I might as well put up something else until it’s done.
Post-Debacle Kavanaugh Impressions October 6, 2018
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
My favorite part of Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations against Brett Kavanaugh was how it totally killed off his chance to provide an alibi.
“You want to claim you weren’t there on that date? Hah! I’m never going to give you a firm date or a specific location!! Now try to claim you weren’t there!”
Not that I cared much about the Animal House-era high school/college shenanigans of, well, anybody who’s had a long, successful career. People in college do crazy things just to push the envelope, but a decade later are locked into banal lifestyles, their excesses long forgotten. And one’s youth is supposed to be mistake-ridden – what happened to forbearance and understanding toward these kids who are learning about themselves and their relationship with others and society?
The big takeaway from the whole debacle is that Democrats and their constituents didn’t exhibit any appreciation for the American justice system.* They showed themselves to be completely unqualified to opine on judicial matters.
Diane Feinstein has joined Harry Reid on the list of “say anything” Democrat fabulists.
*Hiding behind the specious “it’s a job interview” argument is dishonest. Any claim against any person should be immediately rejected if it is as vague and unsubstantiated as Ford’s was.
Joy October 3, 2018
Posted by Retired Geezer in Entertainment.comments closed
Imma take this opportunity to sneak in here and post a pretty cool video.
Hope it brightens up your day.
‘For King and Country’ is a band featuring two brothers from Australia.
No Mascot Safe From the Nags October 3, 2018
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
I’m continually perplexed by the liberal claim that they have a more nuanced view of, well, everything, compared to the over-simplified Manichean view of conservatives. It’s not that I don’t think the claim is worthy of discussion, but that all that revered nuance disappears when they find a reason to dislike something.
Consider the innocuous mascot of CSULB, Prospector Pete:
California State University, Long Beach, has decided to do away with its “Prospector Pete” mascot amid concerns that it’s connected to genocide — and some students and faculty at the university are recommending that the school avoid using any person or people-inspired replacement to avoid offense.
…
The Times explains that the idea of Prospector Pete originated from the campus’s founding in 1949, with the founding president — Pete Peterson — saying he had “struck the gold of education” with the establishment of the college. Many students, however, don’t see it that way. Rather, they see it as a sort of relic of racism and of the genocide of Native Americans that occurred during the Gold Rush era.
It’s an undeniable truth that nothing in this world is perfect, and that anything can upset someone, somewhere, sometime. But almost nothing is perfectly bad, either, and we can often take positive messages from even the most heinous people or events.
You can paint almost any historical figure or event with the brush of racism, but that’s a myopic way to view history. Just as Thomas Jefferson isn’t primarily defined by his slave-owning, Prospector Pete isn’t primarily defined by genocide and racism. He is meant to symbolize the excitement and energy brought to California during the Gold Rush.
But appreciating the positives requires some of that there nuance that I apparently don’t have.
If the Social Justites are going to continue, then I suggest we replace all mascots with victim groups. Then CSULB can call themselves something like “The CSULB Survivors.”
Until a victim group with a higher intersectional victimization score takes issue with it.
Innocent Bystanders 