Probably Wasn't Intentional...

...but that pretty much says it all.

The above is an obvious <non sequitur> -

He: "Did you see they blew up that building?”

She: "Haley dropped out of the race for prez."

- yet oddly appropriate.

Haley may want to pretend she dropped out, but the reality is she got blown out.

It just took her longer than the rest of the world to finally admit it.

No doubt her democrat supporters - who wasted $114 million to win the swamp and Vermont - decided they could no longer throw that kind of money down that deep a hole, so they pulled the plug.

And like Ol' Man River, the Bad Orange Man just keeps rollin' along.

If you were one of the unfortunates who watched our deranged faux-prez screaming the SOTU this week...

"You kids stay off my lawn!"

...I hope you remembered to delouse.

Obviously an unhinged lunatic, he reminded me of the sad ending to an old movie:

where have we seen that "crazy, foaming at the mouth" look?

The difference?

Before rabies, <Old Yeller> was a loyal pet protecting the family farm.

Before dementia, SloJoe was a corrupt parasite feeding at the public trough.

He's never been bright, but now he's gonzo delusional.

Where's Corn Pop...

...when you really need him?

Mercy.

In saner news, I'm now the proud owner of a golf mat.

"What's that?" you ask.

Before:

 

 
After:

 

May not seem like much, but it's a lot nicer than standing in a couple of dirt depressions.

Will probably install these for the other par 4 holes where I use my brassie to tee off.

Also need to replace a couple of the putting surfaces this year.  I'll lay them on top of the worn out ones to give them a little softer feel.

Who knew golf course maintenance could be so expensive?

Might have to start charging myself admission to defray some of the costs.

Did you remember?

March Hare, 3rd cousin twice removed

Yes, it's the first one of March's three* redeeming qualities:  the time change, after which it stays light later.

Sadly, this is not the beginning we'd hoped for...

...but you've got to start somewhere, I suppose.

In the old days this time change could be a real killer; more than once I drove into church parking lots just as services were ending.

That was before Mr. Cellphone existed.

Even when he did burst intrusively onto the scene, he and his kin didn't automatically adjust for the time change...you had to turn them off and back on.

Nowadays you've got no excuse for being late...

...but for some folks it's a way of life.

* St Patrick's Day and Spring! are the other two.

As Mr. T has so often opined, I pity the fool who don't 23 Skidoo!

the great Ted Ray, English golfer, circa 1913...

...all 16 stone of him, pounding another tape measure drive.  note how the hickory brassie's head touches his left shoulder on his backswing.  straight left arm?  don't think so.  he hit golf balls 330 yards back when NO ONE hit golf balls 330 yards.  with today's equipment he'd easily be driving balls 400+ yards.

I'm about 99% positive it's too soon for this

<Happy Birthday Barbie!>   come to think of it, she might actually be the first of March's four redeeming qualities

Since it’s election season, this reminder from God's Word seems especially cogent:

later, mcm fans...

Let's Celebrate...

...it's National Barbie Day...she debuted at the American International Toy Fair in New York on this day - March 9th - in 1959.

For a rundown of her fabled history, go here:

<Happy Birthday Barbie>

Why do I care, you ask?

Because my beautiful wife is a fan of the iconic doll, having played with her as a little girl back in the day...and imagine our surprise when DNA tests proved they were actually sisters!

I always said I loved Barbie so much I married her.

Of course, it's also National Get Over It day...

...so if you've got something in your life over which you finally need to get, today's the day...

Either way, it's time for a par-tay, and what better way to celebrate than a shot of whiskey from Bogey himself...

...that's right, the famous tough guy from Hollywood's golden era has his own whiskey...gonna have to try some when they start marketing it here in Michigan this summer.

Paired with an Arturo Fuente Short Story cigar...

...c'est magnifique!

It's time change weekend...

...did you remember to set your clocks ahead 1 hour?

I used to dread this weekend due to the loss of an hour's sleep, but as I've aged I've learned to embrace it...stays light later and it's another step toward exiting winter and welcoming Spring.

But as happy as I am to be rid of February and into March, it's still one of the two ugliest months of the year here in Michigan yes, it's got a few good things going for it...this time change weekend, St. Patrick's day, the official start of spring...but even so it's just ugly to look at...piles of half-melted, brown and crusty snow, bare leaf-less trees, dead grass...not pretty.

November...that's the other one.

Did battle with Mr. T this weekend...

...not a current pic, obviously...

...and finally got him started...didn't drive him very far...running pretty rough at the moment...the bitter cold of the last few weeks killed the battery and so had to charge it overnight just to get him to crank.

Hate to say it, but might be time to sell the ol' boy.

I definitely enjoyed bombing around in a car that's almost 100 years old...but I really have no great place to drive him out here...unlike when we lived in Wyoming where we had all those interconnected city blocks with 25 mph speed limits, our neighborhood here is small and opens up onto a 45 mph speed zone...not safe for a car that cruises comfortably at only 35 to 40 mph.

Who knows?  Maybe I can trade it even for an Auburn Boattail Speedster...

...hey, could happen.

later, mcm fans...

Found It...

...my vacation home...an A frame combined with a "shipping container" home...love the deck which ideally faces a body of water.

Many moons ago when I lived in Maine I knew some folks with a cottage on a remote pond/lake...was bigger than a pond, smaller than the typical inland lake...and though it was reachable by dirt road in the summer, an equally common method of arrival was via the air...Piper Cubs on floats were everywhere...

...during the winter you had to arrive via snowmobile or dog sled...

It was beautiful, but in the summer you were constantly doing battle with the bugs...black flies in the early spring, mosquitoes after that...brutal at times.

The view of the wildlife was incredible though...deer, bear, even moose...if backwoods is your thing, this was the perfect place for you.

I remember thinking way back when, "someday I'll have my A-frame on a lake"...hasn't happened yet, don't know if it ever will.  Guess I've been too busy living in the real world to worry about it.

A rich man I know once told me you should always rent your fun...that owning it is too much time and expense...probably right...a second home implies more maintenance, more taxes, two of everything while you're using it...furniture, dishes, appliances, etc...I'd have to refresh my pilot's license, buy a piper cub...it's a tough life...let's get started...

Watched "Allied" last night, starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard...aside from whatever juicy part their pairing might have played in the Brangelina fiasco, it's a very fine film in which both actors truly shine.

They are spies during WWII, he a Canadian intelligence officer, she a French resistance fighter, and the opening sequence covers their mission to assassinate the German ambassador in Casablanca...yes, that Casablanca of Bogart and Bergman fame.

And like that classic from 1942, this is a love story set against the impossibly tense, dangerous and heroic backdrop of a great world conflict.

The only flaw in this otherwise wonderful movie is the completely unnecessary and ridiculously stilted imposition of a gay romance between Brad Pitt's character's sister and her lesbian live in.

It's so jarringly out of place for that time, so utterly spurious and out of context to the story, I can only imagine the working sessions when the scriptwriter struggled to find just the right part of the story to insert the wholly meaningless advertisement for homosexuality.

"hmm...here?  no, doesn't really fit...how about there?  no, doesn't fit there, either...well dang!  there must be someplace I can shove this claptrap in to keep my liberal overlords happy..."

Is it a contractual requirement every movie nowadays must promote same sex unions?

It's like all the real actors take a five minute break while the two lesbian lovers have their big scene - they kiss!  right in front of people!  In a bar!  In 1942!  how meaningful!  now I see where this is going!  it's all so clear! - then resume the actual movie.

The only thing missing is a voice over by a baritone announcer telling us "we interrupted this movie to bring you this important reminder:  homosexuality is cool!  we now rejoin our regularly scheduled programming..."

Devoid of relevance to the story and completely disjointed from the rest of the movie, when I watch this again I'll treat that pointless interruption the same way I do all inane commercials...great, a couple of minutes to go use the bathroom and pour myself another whisky.

Other than that little bit of contrived nonsense, the rest of the movie is fantastic...a fabulous period piece with stellar performances by Pitt and Cotillard...well worth your time.

In the "accidental fun" category...went to look at a home on 2.5 acres a few miles west of here and most of that acreage is a wide backyard that goes straight back behind the house.  For all the world it looks like a tree lined fairway, with a small creek running across the middle of it.

Sooooo...I brought my hickory clubs and a golf ball with me and guess what?  I can now officially say I've swung the hickories and actually hit a few golf balls.

I admit most of my attempts weren't worth spit, but I had two - count 'em, two - glorious strokes where the ball lofted high, straight and long, almost like I knew what I was doing.  That was with my mashie...never did hit my niblick worth a damn.

Not that I spent all my time in the backyard...it was sunny but freezing outside, about 20 degrees, so I only took about 15 minutes for that, then toured the rest of the home...an old mid century modern ranch in need of lots of updating, priced about $25k more than I'm willing to fork out for it.

Heard a little later they received a near full price offer for it so that one's probably gone, but we'll see...real estate deals regularly fall apart and for the right price we'd buy it.

And now it's coming on to 8 am on a Saturday morning of time change weekend...

spring forward, y'all...

...so it's time to get after this day.

later, mcm fans...