Showing posts with label valentine's day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label valentine's day. Show all posts

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Recognize This?


Well howdy, stranger...it's been awhile.

Haven't seen much of Mr. Sun lately; we've had actual winter this year, replete with clouds and cold and snow and ice.

In a word, grim.

But according to the weather nerds, we're on the front end of a week long stretch of sunny and warmer, and I am so here for it.

is that Harry Vardon?

Ok, that might be stretching the warm stretch just a bit - they're calling for sunny and 40's and we're still more than a month away from <Spring!> - but I can dream...
 


Shocking news from the mental defectives with the big blue D after their names:


Obviously, they don't want any of the 20 million illegals recruited during the Biden/Harris years to be deported.

That tidal wave of foreign nationals was their strategy to avoid political extinction; it had nothing to do with compassion, only power.

Their plan was to use these illegals to reshape the electorate, then rule for generations.

But trying to build a case for keeping murderers and rapists in our country seems a bridge too far, even for moral reprobates like the D's.

So the latest tactic by the Jackass party...


...is trying to gin up support for letting all the rest of the illegal aliens stay because they're non-violent.

That apparently means they're cool with pedophiles, drug dealers, child pornographers, drunk drivers, human traffickers, embezzlers and burglars - all of whom are being deported for their "non-violent" crimes.

Do you want to live in that neighborhood?

Neither do the AWFLs*, but they figure they won't have to.

At the end of their <paid stint attacking federal agents>  arresting criminals, they'll return to their gated communities far from the madding crowd, congratulating themselves for being so real. 

For them, the bottom line is always the same:


It's just all wrong because Trump, or something.

America used to be "the melting pot", where immigrants came legally to assimilate.

Of course they retained and celebrated their heritage, but they left their country for the freedoms and opportunities that America offered and proudly became Americans.

They studied our history, embraced our culture, learned our language and often became better citizens than those of us born here; too often we took our good fortune for granted while they treasured their new home.

But as the recent revelation of <widespread Somali fraud> has proved, what I described above belongs to a bygone generation.

Now America is seen as little more than a cookie jar filled with goodies to be raided.


They're not here to become Americans, but rather to rip off the American tax payer and build mini-countries of their own on our soil.

You know, enjoy the freedoms and prosperity America provides while creating their own caliphates:

Live under sharia law, build communities where Americans and law enforcement aren't welcome, and in general give the middle finger to our country and culture while stealing our money.

a Somali daycare with zero children; it's good work if you can get it

Trump was elected to do the job he's doing - deport illegal aliens, secure our borders, strengthen our military, protect our citizens, safeguard our elections, improve our economy.

Rock on.

*AWFL - Affluent White Female Liberal


I would be remiss if I did not give a tip o' the hat to everyone's favorite Hallmark Holiday:

the tulips on the left are still hanging in from Karen's birthday a couple of weeks ago; the ones on the right are Aldi specials just in time for Cupid's big dustup

Valentine's Day!  May you remember to do all the right things and thus avoid <the fate of St. Valentine>.

And as an added bonus, it's also <Pale Blue Dot Day>!

Do something useful with your free trip around the sun this year:

16  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

    - Psalm 115:16

He made the earth for us; we should be kind and do right by our fellow sojourners.

As the old saying opines, "When you were born, you cried and others rejoiced.

"Live in such a way that when death comes, you rejoice and others cry."


Brace yourselves, it's time to 23 Skidoo:

99% positive ratings from viewers; 92% negative from critics.  you can depend on this surefire rule: "if the critics hate it, it's a good movie".


me, dreaming I've gained 15 lbs; Loki, wondering how long until the inert lump gets up and lets him out


Ziggy, courtesy of Tom Wilson, adding some much needed humor to current events

my beloved made an apple pie for Valentine's day...note the hearts and arrows in the crust

deer dinner date


The other day I was buying bags of bird seed and deer feed when the young girl at the checkout asked me, "Do you need help loading those bags?"

"No," I replied, as I tore off my jacket and flexed my enormous muskuls...


..."that's why I let my wife tag along."

Ok, none of that past the word "No" actually happened, witness the fact I'm writing this from my living room rather than a jail cell.

But Karen did suggest I might want to use that line - and only that line - next time.

The sad reality is my youth has fled like a coward before the schoolyard bully of advancing years.

Now people look at me and think, "Gramps is gonna need help lifting that".

The good news is, I actually don't need help - yet.

The days are definitely coming, but so far a regular exercise routine and reasonable diet are helping me stay physically fit.

But a more important question might be, how's my spiritual fitness?

How's my daily walk with God?

The Apostle Paul makes it clear which realm - the physical or spiritual - is most important as we tread this mortal coil:

8  For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

    - I Timothy 4:8

Don't neglect your body, it's the only one you get this side of heaven.

But your walk with God is far more important; it helps you navigate life's many problems now, and continues into eternity.

later, mcm fans...


Saturday, February 11, 2023

Whatever You Do on February 14th...


...don't forget it's Pale Blue Dot day.

On that date back in 1990, the Voyager 1 spacecraft took the above photograph from 3.7 billion miles away as it was leaving our solar system...



...and that pale blue dot you see in the 1st image is planet earth.

Carl Sagan, astronomer and self-proclaimed atheist, made it (in)famous with this quote:

“Look again at that dot.
"That's here. That's home. That's us.
"On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives...on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam...

"Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.

"Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.

"In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves..."


Sagan argues our diminutive size equates to utter insignificance, that we are delusional if we believe we matter.

He then concludes that from our total irrelevance in the universe springs both the need and the ability to save ourselves.

Riiiight.

If we pass our days in meaningless obscurity, why bother?

Who in the uncaring universe would notice if we were gone?

Beyond that, anyone with even a rudimentary grasp of history knows how well mankind has done down through the ages at spreading peace, love and happiness.

Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot anyone?

The Scriptures, however, take a distinctly different view of our world:

"The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork.

"Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge.

"There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."

    - Psalm 19: 1-3

It's not about us; it's about God's glory.

Not surprisingly, the Scriptures also have something to say about people who actually believe mankind sits atop the apex of this marvelous Creation we see all around us:

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

    - Psalm 14:1


Rather than underscoring our insignificance, that picture does exactly the opposite:

It proves God cared for us enough to create our world and then sustain us in the midst of His immense universe.

Tiny we may be, but we matter to God.

How do we know this?


Rejoice that you're a resident of God's Pale Blue Dot.



As a bonus, it comes with a free trip around the sun every year, affording you the opportunity to do good and be kind to your fellow sojourners.

Make the most of it.

And oh yeah...there's also that other thing happening on February 14th:



Forget that at your peril.

And speaking of rejoicing...


...we started the month with a happy birthday celebration!

Don't know how she does it, but my beautiful wife seems to be getting younger.


Happy ??th* Birthday, my dear!

* don't even think about it


If you're a mid century modern aficionado, you've no doubt heard of Sinatra's Twin Palms home...


...so nicknamed due to the 2 towering palm trees overlooking this amazing structure.

Karen and I saw it a few years back when we vacationed in Palm Springs and took one of those kitschy tours of famous Hollywood homes.

This 1947 masterpiece is iconic, and not just because of its famous (former) owner.

Many point to this high profile architectural gem - its clean lines and sleek design a startling break from the art deco motif that had been prevalent since the 1920's - as the stylistic genesis of the mid century modern homes movement.

Fresh off a fat contract with MGM, the 31 year old crooner turned actor wanted a statement home, something big, flashy and impressive.

So one fine day in early May he dropped by the offices of architect E. Stewart Williams...

reminds me of Walter Matthau

...allegedly sporting a sailor's cap and eating an ice cream cone.


Having made his first $million$, Frank explained he wanted a huge Georgian style mansion, something with lots of columns that screamed MONEY:


Thankfully this was before Ol' Blue Eyes turned into the tiny terror for whom “NO” was not a valid response.

Williams knew a multi-story Georgian mansion was not going to work in the desert heat of Palm Springs, and was able to judiciously steer his famously volatile client to his new fangled modernist design instead.

Sinatra insisted it had to be ready for a huge Christmas party in December of that year, which gave Williams less than 7 months to finish the job.

That may not seem like a big deal until you consider the Palm Springs summer temperatures:  May through October averages higher than 90 degrees; June through September, higher than 100.

Despite the torrid weather, the single story classic was completed on time and included 4,500 square feet of living space with 4 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and of course that famous grand piano shaped swimming pool:


For the next 7 years Sinatra lived and partied there, first with his wife Nancy and their 3 kids; later with his 2nd wife Ava Gardner and Hollywood's elite.
 
The passionate union of Frank and Ava lasted 6 years, from 3 days after Frank's first marriage ended in 1951, until 1957 when they, too, divorced - but their tumultuous relationship was filled with fireworks.


There's even a cracked bathroom sink still in the home today - the result of Frank throwing a bottle of champagne which luckily missed Ava, but exploded against the sink - a mute testimonial to their legendary altercations.

Built for the unheard of price tag of $150,000 in 1947 - that's $2,000,000 in today's money - Twin Palms stands as mile marker 1 on the fabled highway of mid century modern home design.

And, if you've got some extra $cratch laying around, you can even stay there yourself and channel some of that Sinatra / Rat Pack vibe, starting at the uber reasonable price of only $3,000 per night (minimum 3 night stay, of course).

that's gotta hurt

Just don't throw any champagne bottles.



Since it is in fact a sunny weekend, why am I sitting indoors tippy tapping on my computer?

Let's race through this abbreviated Parting Shots thing so I can get outside and soak up some vitamin D...

life before the Mighty Mac...cars lining up for the ferry ride between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan



the Mackinac Bridge at sunrise



In light of the recent delusional fever dream espoused by the Liar-In-Chief, this reminder from God's Word seems especially cogent:


later, mcm fans...