Quotable Notable

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

Monday's Missives

• A headline this morning (07/31/2014) says," Lawyer says Sterling will battle on " My first thought was he should lose- not because I think he is a racist- I can just guess it is time for him to lose.
• I am proud of myself- I am only 99% sure it meant lose a basketball team and not a football or other team. I know it is a sport.
• Who cares?!
• What happened to you rock? Yesterday I noted a line in a song said something about spilling a drink on a settee.
• Good grief. 
• In my day a rocker would pour Everclear on a couch, set fire to the thing and then throw it out a hotel room window.
• Ha, I say things like, In my day...
• Every few years I have dreams about the old grocery store on business 287 in Decatur being a playhouse. Often it is a big production and no one is there but me. It is a furniture store now.
• That store was a Piggly Wiggly and an  A&P- right? Man that building  must be at least 60 years old. What a beating it must be to heat/cool and maintain. An old friend considered converting it into a church building. He took a pass because of those same issues- and that was 20+ years ago.
• That building has also been a printing press shop and dry cleaner.
• We went camping this past weekend (today is 08/04/2014) at Turner Falls. I won't say never again just yet but I can say never again on a weekend in the peak season. Eleventy thousand drunks and trash everywhere along with the graffiti doesn't endear a place to me at all. Also, for 2 adults and 2 children it cost me over 40 bucks to get in the gate.
• The Big agnes Z core mattress worked well but I positioned the tent on a downslope that was imperceptible- until about 10 minutes after I lie down, then it was like the mat was trying to throw me off it. I can still barely walk.

Proof 80s Music Was The Greatest Since Beethoven

Thompson Twins in the original video for Hold Me Now. Oh, one qualifier- ignore the hair and wardrobe, we simply couldn't have gotten everything right! However, I can assure you this style will be back- some travesties just won't stay dead.

Camping Contemplations

• We just got in (02/23/2014)  from  the outback at Mineral Wells State Park. My back, knees, neck, well- lets just say if it is on, in or hanging from by body- it hurts.
• The Coleman dual fuel stove worked like a charm. It is made in the US of A and is 30 dollars cheaper than its closest competitor and Wallyworld has it 20 bucks cheaper than anybody. It will burn unleaded gasoline or Coleman lantern fuel and will make you look cool.
• We destroyed Cracker Barrel when we got back. The after church peoples looked at us like the cat drug us in there. I had blueberry pancakes with blackberries and whipped cream on top. I don't know what I was thinking.
• I am seriously rethinking how and what I carry on my treks. There are a things I won't do without like tp, inflatable pillow and harmonica but some stuff has to go and other things need to be replaced with lighter items.
• That reminds me: camping isn't a contest to see who suffers the most.
• The further you try to get away  from people in the woods for peace and quiet sometimes you get closer to obnoxiously loud people as they intentionally walked miles to get their obnoxious and loud on and not bother anybody but at the same time if those people realize they're bothering you they will pipe down quickly and be cool as they were polite enough to go all the way out there in the first place. Those are the ironies, quandarys and interpersonal dynamics as I see them in the wild.
• Wal Mart is carrying an inflatable pad that for the price (19bucks) seems well worth it. It is self inflating but needs a few puffs to be good. It would be really well suited for kids as I can guess it would forgive their weight more predictably than it might an adult but yeah- it did OK last night. It is made by Venture  products.
• Coyotes came close to the tent, as in reach for pistol and flashlight heart in your throat close. But what a thrill and privilege close it was.
• There was couple on the trail that each person must have weighed 350 pounds. Good for them. I wish I had a chance to talk to them. They were coming out as we were headed in and looked pretty toasted.
• If nothing else being in the outdoors makes me appreciate what I have at home. It feels good to turn the AC on, pour a cup of coffee, soak in a hot bath- whatever. It is like beating yourself in the head with a rock: it doesn't make sense while you're doing it but man- it sure feels good when you stop.

Mental Meanderings Interspersed With Unrelated Images

My backal region following perforation by my mad scientist doctor. 

• Watch Rubber at your earliest convenience. You'll find it in the Netflix awesome section.
• The Mississippi native who has gone to Syria to fight with the Kurds was not only an Army grunt who served in Iraq and Afghanistan he started the interview posted by CBS This Morning with the immortal phrase, I figgered.... I like him already.
• Man, Jay Mohr is funny. He also just said something very interesting. He said he was told by Bob Newhart, Being a headline comedian is the second smallest club next to living Presidents.
• "Something" up there was spelled so horrifically methinks was offered as an alternative.
• When I watch a documentary about WWII or see pictures in a book I always look for my dad. He would be instantly recognizable to me as I have seen up close pics of him with his head bandaged in France, in groups of guys from a distance in Germany, from a middle distance with a friend (Chi-Chi from El Paso) in the snow, helmet on and helmet off ... He was a photogenic dude. He always had a pantie dropping grin on his face.
• Something I just realized: we must have 20+ pictures of him from the war- that must have been a lot for the time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  At Holly's in Post Texas

• A connected thought to the above WWII missives: my laptop from downrange has over 4000 pictures on it.
• A girlfriend who was a terrible lover thought she was the greatest in the world. How very odd. I mean really- she just didn't think she was good- she knew she had to be the best in our galaxy and being with her was simply awful. I would dread it and after she was finished I would turn toward the wall and sucking my thumb beg God to make the hurt and shame go away...

A Legend Lost: Wayne Static Dead At 48

 


                                                      Static X- I'm The One

Monday's Missives

• When a Palestinian is killed by the IDF after throwing rocks during a riot the news likes to refer to the decedent as a youngster, student or teenager etc. and refer to them as," harmless" and "apparently not a threat "- anything but a rioter who was throwing rocks that could kill as readily as a bullet if it hits somebody in the right place. I just watched one that identified the Palestinians by name and used all those word games- in a single 5 minute news piece. I wondered if they had even watched the same film I did. They had to make a point to mention one had been in class that morning- what did that matter? Really- what did that mean?
• It is intuitive to me that people would frequently grow out of being what we might call a liberal and become more conservative as I have frequently seen that happen but have never witnessed a reversal in the opposite manner.
• My buddy in the digital music sharing underground just dropped off some sweet- sweet Joy Division for me to test on my new stereo.
• We won't watch Doomsday Preppers every time it is on or even every chance we get but we do watch. My question was, Why? Here is what we determined: It is a glimpse into another's mind. We might learn something . Idle curiosity.