Personal Injury Law

Department of Useful Information

Posted on May 04, 2008
How a Bagpipe works. Really.More of same lives here.

Saturday Night Beddoes

Posted on May 03, 2008
Wolfram's Dirgeby Thomas Lovell BeddoesIF thou wilt ease thine heartOf love and all its smart,Then sleep, dear, sleep;And not a sorrowHang any tear on your eyelashes; Lie still and deep,Sad soul, until the sea-wave washesThe rim o' the sun to-morrow, In eastern sky...

Late Again, Mr. Shakespeare

Posted on May 03, 2008
25by William Shakespeare Let those who are in favour with their stars, Of public honour and proud titles boast, Whilst I whom fortune of such triumph bars Unlooked for joy in that I honour most; Great princes' favourites their fair leaves spread, But as the marigold at the sun's eye, And in themselves their pride lies buried, For at a frown they in their glory die...

Thursday Night Anomiana

Posted on May 01, 2008
May in the Green-Woodby AnonymousIN somer when the shawes be sheyne, And leves be large and long,Hit is full merry in feyre foreste To here the foulys song.To se the dere draw to the dale And leve the hilles hee,And shadow him in the leves grene Under the green-wode tree...

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YouTube Factoid Watch V

Posted on May 01, 2008
At 8:43 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a search of YouTube.com for "kill the Jews" returns about 549 video clips, including this week's winner, from Palestinian Media Watch: The video itself can be found here and here. As PMW explains:Jewish leaders planned the Holocaust to kill "disabled and handicapped" Jews to avoid having to care for them, according to a Hamas TV educational program...

Wednesday Evening Browning

Posted on April 30, 2008
You'll love Me yetby Robert BrowningYOU'LL love me yet!--and I can tarry Your love's protracted growing:June rear'd that bunch of flowers you carry, From seeds of April's sowing.I plant a heartful now: some seed At least is sure to strike,And yield--what you'll not pluck indeed, Not love, but, may be, like...

The Funnies

Posted on April 30, 2008
Our sister sends the following tale from her home in Momville:Click the image to see it full size, but don't forget to come back.More of same lives here.

Tuesday Night Sidney

Posted on April 29, 2008
Philomelaby Sir Philip SidneyTHE Nightingale, as soon as April bringethUnto her rested sense a perfect waking,While late-bare Earth, proud of new clothing, springeth,Sings out her woes, a thorn her song-book making; And mournfully bewailing, Her throat in tunes expresseth What grief her breast oppresseth,For Tereus' force on her chaste will prevailing...

Monday Night Burns

Posted on April 28, 2008
To Ruinby Robert BurnsAll hail! inexorable lord!At whose destruction-breathing word,The mightiest empires fall!Thy cruel, woe-delighted train,The ministers of grief and pain,A sullen welcome, all!With stern-resolv'd, despairing eye,I see each aimed dart;For one has cut my dearest tie,And quivers in my heart...

Sunday Night Schiller

Posted on April 27, 2008
Hymn to Joyby Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller Joy, thou goddess, fair, immortal, Offspring of Elysium, Mad with rapture, to the portal Of thy holy fame we come! Fashion's laws, indeed, may sever, But thy magic joins again; All mankind are brethren ever 'Neath thy mild and gentle reign...

Saturday Night Anemone

Posted on April 26, 2008
Teteuynan ycuicAhuiya coÁauic xochitla oya cueponca yeua tonana teumechauemoquiÁican tamoanchan, auayye, auayya, yyao, yya, yyeo, aye ayo, ayyayyaa.CoÁauic xochitla oya moxocha yeua tonana, teumechaue, moquiÁicatamoanchan, ouayye, auayya, yyao, yya, yyeo, ayo aye, ayya, ayyaa...

Friday Morning Shakespeare

Posted on April 25, 2008
24by William Shakespeare Mine eye hath played the painter and hath stelled,Thy beauty's form in table of my heart,My body is the frame wherein 'tis held,And perspective it is best painter's art.For through the painter must you see his skill,To find where your true image pictured lies,Which in my bosom's shop is hanging still,That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes:Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done,Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for meAre windows to my breast, where-through the sunDelights to peep, to gaze therein on thee; Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art, They draw but what they see, know not the heart.

Department of Inexplicable Omissions

Posted on April 25, 2008
We learned recently that our denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, is issuing its new hymnal. This is a major event in Baptist circles, since the decision to reissue a hymnal is fraught with theological and cultural implications.The Southern Baptists have tried to avoid some of the anomalies that have turned up in other denominations' revisions to their hymnals, as this notice from the Baptist Press explains:Each song's suitability is based on these questions:-- Does the hymn speak biblically of God?-- Is it God-honoring?-- Does the hymn present a biblical view of man?-- Does the song help us to cover the depth and breadth of our theology?-- Does the hymn call us to true discipleship, service, repentance, witness, missions and devotion?-- Does the hymn speak biblically of salvation?-- Does it engage the whole person - allowing a person to express his deepest feelings?-- Does the hymn emphasize that Christ is the Christian's Lord, Master and King? (the idea of total submission)-- Does the hymn present an Americanized/Westernized gospel? (civil religion)-- Is there a balance with corporate and individual response in worship? (immanence and transcendence)-- Does the hymn speak biblically about the church, the body of Christ?More by way of explanation lives here...

Thursday Morning Hinkson

Posted on April 24, 2008
Sheep and Lambsby Katharine Tynan HinksonALL in the April morning, April airs were abroad;The sheep with their little lambs Pass'd me by on the road.The sheep with their little lambs Pass'd me by on the road;All in an April evening I thought on the Lamb of God...

YouTube Factoid Watch V

Posted on April 23, 2008
At 1:57 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a search of YouTube for the phrase "kill the Jews" returned about 536 results, including this week's winner:

Wednesday Afternoon Watson

Posted on April 23, 2008
Songby William WatsonAPRIL, April,Laugh thy girlish laughter;Then, the moment after,Weep thy girlish tears!April, that mine earsLike a lover greetest,If I tell thee, sweetest,All my hopes and fears,April, April,Laugh thy golden laughter,But, the moment after,Weep thy golden tears!

Creepy Obama-Related Post of the Day

Posted on April 22, 2008
From The Real Revo, a site that may or may not be what it appears to be, comes this reaction to the election returns in Pennsylvania:From: Barack Obama Campaign Headquarters Re: Rejection of Progress by Lumpen Proletariat and Petit Bourgeoisie Philadelphia ? Rejecting the opportunity to disavow their proletarian false consciousness and embrace enlightenment, lumpen elements in Pennsylvania have fallen prey to the propaganda of the bourgeoisie exploiters of the masses...

Incredibly Cute Baby Animal Photo of the Day V

Posted on April 22, 2008
What could be cuter than a baby warthog?Four baby warthogs. More of same lives here.

Tuesday Evening O'Shaughnessy

Posted on April 22, 2008
OdeArthur William Edgar O'ShaughnessyWE are the music-makers,And we are the dreamers of dreams,Wandering by lone sea-breakers,And sitting by desolate streams;World-losers and world-forsakers,On whom the pale moon gleams:Yet we are the movers and shakersOf the world for ever, it seems...

Monday Morning Browning

Posted on April 21, 2008
Home-thoughts, from Abroadby Robert BrowningO, TO be in EnglandNow that April 's there,And whoever wakes in EnglandSees, some morning, unaware,That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheafRound the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,While the chaffinch sings on the orchard boughIn England--now!And after April, when May follows,And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!Hark, where my blossom'd pear-tree in the hedgeLeans to the field and scatters on the cloverBlossoms and dewdrops--at the bent spray's edge--That 's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,Lest you should think he never could recaptureThe first fine careless rapture!And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,All will be gay when noontide wakes anewThe buttercups, the little children's dower--Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Not another creepy Obama video

Posted on April 20, 2008
Belinda Carlisle, in her 1987 video Heaven On Earth.All well and good, but if you're gonna try and immanentize the eschaton, we want dinner and a movie.THX to A.C.

Sunday Night Oldys

Posted on April 20, 2008
On a Fly drinking out of his CupWilliam OldysBUSY, curious, thirsty fly!Drink with me and drink as I:Freely welcome to my cup,Couldst thou sip and sip it up:Make the most of life you may,Life is short and wears away.Both alike are mine and thineHastening quick to their decline:Thine 's a summer, mine 's no more,Though repeated to threescore...

Enemy of My Enemy Watch

Posted on April 20, 2008
Roozonline has discouraging news for the "So what? They hate George Bush, too" wing of the Gay Pride movement:In reality, 2007 was one of the hardest years for Iranian homosexuals. According to Amnesty ?International, Iran had the highest number of execution of homosexuals in that year...

Happy Birthday, Mother Angelica

Posted on April 19, 2008
We learned today, quite accidentally, that Mother Angelica (left) is celebrating her 85th birthday tomorrow, April 20.Although we make so secret of our doctrinal disagreements (as Baptists, we don't hold with apostolic succession, transubstantiation or Purgatory, for example), we do think that a woman who has devoted her life to serving Jesus Christ and working as a force for edification and morality deserves considerable respect...

Saturday Morning Sappho

Posted on April 19, 2008
Fragmentby SapphoI have a daughter, golden, Beautiful, like a flower - Kleis, my love - And I would not exchange her for All the riches of Lydia......

YouTube Factoid Watch V

Posted on April 19, 2008
At 9:43 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a search of YouTube for the phrase "kill the Jews" returned about 520 results, including 14 uploaded this week.Our favorite for the week is this one, although we're not sure why it's posted in YouTube's "Comedy" category.

The Funk of Forty Thirty Thousand Years

Posted on April 18, 2008
From The Times:April 17, 2008Scientists hark back 30,000 years to give Neanderthal Man a voiceThe voice of Neanderthal Man has been synthesised 30,000 years after the human relatives became extinct.Scientists in the US have used a reconstruction of the larynx of Homo neanderthalis and computer models to mimic the way that the species probably spoke...

Friday Night Shakespeare

Posted on April 18, 2008
23by William ShakespeareAs an unperfect actor on the stage,Who with his fear is put beside his part,Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;So I for fear of trust, forget to say,The perfect ceremony of love's rite,And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,O'ercharged with burthen of mine own love's might:O let my looks be then the eloquence,And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,Who plead for love, and look for recompense,More than that tongue that more hath more expressed...

New York and the Pope

Posted on April 17, 2008
We're Baptists, so we regard the fanfare and ceremony surrounding the visit of the Bishop of Rome as more than a little creepy. On the other hand, we do have some respect for his predecessor's role in winning the Cold War.Right now, what we want to know is, Does the Pope live in the woods?Just askin', y'know?THX, Marie.

Thursday Morning Burns

Posted on April 17, 2008
To A Mountain Daisy, On turning down with the Plough, in April, 1786.by Robert BurnsWee, modest crimson-tipped flow'r,Thou's met me in an evil hour;For I maun crush amang the stoureThy slender stem:To spare thee now is past my pow'r,Thou bonie gem...

Abraham Lincoln, RIP

Posted on April 14, 2008
O Captain! My Captain!For the Death of Lincolnby Walt Whitman1.O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done!The ship has weathered every wrack, the prize we sought is won.The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring...

Sunday Afternoon Whitman

Posted on April 13, 2008
Fit Audienceby Walt Whitman1.Whoever you are, holding me now in hand,Without one thing, all will be useless:I give you fair warning, before you attempt me further,I am not what you supposed, but far different.2.Who is he that would become my follower?Who would sign himself a candidate for my affections?The way is suspicious--the result uncertain, perhaps destructive;You would have to give up all else--I alone would expect to be your God, sole and exclusive;Your novitiate would even then be long and exhausting,The whole past theory of your life, and all conformity to the lives around you, would have to be abandoned;Therefore release me now, before troubling yourself any further--Let go your hand from my shoulders,Put me down, and depart on your way...

The Late Mr. Shakespeare

Posted on April 12, 2008
22by William Shakespeare My glass shall not persuade me I am old,So long as youth and thou are of one date,But when in thee time's furrows I behold,Then look I death my days should expiate.For all that beauty that doth cover thee,Is but the seemly raiment of my heart,Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me,How can I then be elder than thou art?O therefore love be of thyself so wary,As I not for my self, but for thee will,Bearing thy heart which I will keep so charyAs tender nurse her babe from faring ill...

Godforsaken Hellhole Update

Posted on April 12, 2008
Nigerian Sharia court punishes lesbian couple11th April 2008 15:00Tony GrewTwo women in Kaduna, Nigeria have been sentenced to six months in prison and 20 lashes each for having a lesbian relationship.The Sharia court said that Malama Hauwa and Hajiya Ai'sha were violating the tenets of Islam and the teachings of Sharia law...

YouTube Factoid Watch IV

Posted on April 10, 2008
At 9:52 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a YouTube search for "kill the Jews" returns about 514 results.Our favorite this week is this one:Religion of peace, indeed.

Thursday Night Anonomie

Posted on April 10, 2008
Spring-tideLENTEN ys come with love to toune,With blosmen ant with briddes roune,That al this blisse bryngeth;Dayes-eyes in this dales,Notes suete of nyhtegales,Vch foul song singeth;The threstlecoc him threteth oo,Away is huere wynter wo,When woderove springeth;This foules singeth ferly fele,Ant wlyteth on huere winter wele,That al the wode ryngeth...

Google Factoid Watch

Posted on April 10, 2008
At 8:30 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a Google search for why westerner misunderstood and say moslem like to cut off heads returns about 272,000 results.[N.B. Here's a clue.]

Wednesday Night Stevenson

Posted on April 09, 2008
IIIThe Flowersby Robert Louis StevensonAll the names I know from nurse:Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,And the Lady Hollyhock.Fairy places, fairy things,Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,Tiny trees for tiny dames--These must all be fairy names!Tiny woods below whose boughsShady fairies weave a house;Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,Where the braver fairies climb!Fair are grown-up people's trees,But the fairest woods are these;Where, if I were not so tall,I should live for good and all.

Schlumberger Watch

Posted on April 06, 2008
We're not sure whether this represents the jihadi's probing of the company's vulnerabilities or some 12th-grader with a cell phone and insufficent adult supervision. Either way, it doesn't sound good. From today's online edition of The Daily Times ("A New Voice for a New Pakistan"):Hoax played on US-based oil company ISLAMABAD: A US-based oil exploration company located in Industrial Area on Saturday received a hoax call that a bomb had been placed on the company premises...

Charlton Heston, R.I.P.

Posted on April 06, 2008
From the Los Angeles Times:Charlton Heston, 84; Oscar-winning actor played larger-than-life figuresBy Robert W. Welkos and Susan King, Special to The Times April 6, 2008Charlton Heston, the Oscar-winning actor who achieved stardom playing larger-than-life figures including Moses, Michelangelo and Andrew Jackson in historical epics and went on to become a best-selling author, a contentious Hollywood labor leader, an unapologetic gun advocate and darling of conservative causes, has died...

Saturday Night Kipling

Posted on April 05, 2008
THE ANSWERby Rudyard KiplingA Rose, in tatters on the garden path,Cried out to God and murmured 'gainst His Wrath,Because a sudden wind at twilight's hushHad snapped her stem alone of all the bush.And God, Who hears both sun-dried dust and sun,Had pity, whispering to that luckless one,"Sister, in that thou sayest We did not well --What voices heardst thou when thy petals fell?"And the Rose answered, "In that evil hourA voice said, `Father, wherefore falls the flower?For lo, the very gossamers are still...

Charlton Heston, R.I.P.

Posted on April 05, 2008
From the Los Angeles Times:Charlton Heston, 84; Oscar-winning actor played larger-than-life figuresBy Robert W. Welkos and Susan King, Special to The Times April 6, 2008Charlton Heston, the Oscar-winning actor who achieved stardom playing larger-than-life figures including Moses, Michelangelo and Andrew Jackson in historical epics and went on to become a best-selling author, a contentious Hollywood labor leader, an unapologetic gun advocate and darling of conservative causes, has died...

Friday Morning Shakespeare

Posted on April 04, 2008
21by William ShakespeareSo is it not with me as with that muse,Stirred by a painted beauty to his verse,Who heaven it self for ornament doth use,And every fair with his fair doth rehearse,Making a couplement of proud compareWith sun and moon, with earth and sea's rich gems:With April's first-born flowers and all things rare,That heaven's air in this huge rondure hems...

Department of Useful Information

Posted on April 03, 2008
Back during the run up to Y2K, there was a guy calling him self Salesman who frequented certain AOL chat rooms, trying to persuade people of the danger of "Y2K-induced zombification". This is a term for which a Google search returns no results, but seemed to refer to people turning into zombies for no reason other than the two zeros going up at midnight, December 31, 1999...

Thursday Afternoon Keats

Posted on April 03, 2008
Sonnet III.Written on the day that Mr. Leigh Hunt left Prisonby John KeatsWhat though, for showing truth to flatter'd state Kind Hunt was shut in prison, yet has he, In his immortal spirit, been as freeAs the sky-searching lark, and as elate.Minion of grandeur! think you he did wait? Think you he nought but prison walls did see, Till, so unwilling, thou unturn'dst the key?Ah, no! far happier, nobler was his fate!In Spenser's halls he strayed, and bowers fair, Culling enchanted flowers; and he flewWith daring Milton through the fields of air: To regions of his own his genius trueTook happy flights...

YouTube Factoid Watch

Posted on April 02, 2008
At 9:33 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a search of YouTube for kill the Jews returned about 479 results.Our favorite this week was this one:By way of explanation, Starcatcher778 tells us: Added: March 26, 2008 Sheik Bakr Al-Samarai delivers a sermon during Friday prayers in Iraq in February 2003...

Wednesday Morning Service

Posted on April 02, 2008
The Harpyby Robert W. Service There was a woman, and she was wise; woefully wise was she; She was old, so old, yet her years all told were but a score and three; And she knew by heart, from finish to start, the Book of Iniquity.There is no hope for such as I on earth, nor yet in Heaven;Unloved I live, unloved I die, unpitied, unforgiven;A loathed jade, I ply my trade, unhallowed and unshriven...

Monday Night Yeats

Posted on April 01, 2008
The Song Of Wandering Aengusby William Butler YeatsI WENT out to the hazel wood,Because a fire was in my head,And cut and peeled a hazel wand,And hooked a berry to a thread;And when white moths were on the wing,And moth-like stars were flickering out,I dropped the berry in a streamAnd caught a little silver trout...

Creepy Obama Video of the Day

Posted on April 01, 2008
Creepier even than the "punished with a baby" comment (CNN video lives here) is this al-Jazeera report on Sen. Obama's supporters in Gaza:Obviously, a candidate isn't responsible for the people who support him. But we can't help but wonder what it is about Sen...

Recipe for Blasphemy XXII

Posted on April 01, 2008
Not only will the Muslims riot over a rumor of pork, but there are people ready to sue at the mention of peanuts. Might as well annoy everybody today.Pork In Peanut SauceIngredients:5 Lean Pork Tenderloin Chops2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil2 Tablespoons Smooth Peanut Butter1 Tablespoon Natural Honey1/4 Cup Fine Wheat Flour1/4 Teaspoon Chili Powder & Cumin1/2 Teaspoon Table salt1/2 Cup Smooth Coconut milk1/3 Cup Chicken Base1/4 Cup Diced Medium Size Onion1/4 Cup Diced Green Bell Pepper1/4 Cup Crushed Roasted Peanuts1/4 Cup Minced Fresh CilantroInformation:Serving Size 6375 Calories Per Serving10 Grams Of FatCooking Directions:In a bowl, mix the flour, cumin, chili powder, and salt...

Tuesday Morning Browning

Posted on April 01, 2008
Sonnets from the PortugueseIVby Elizabeth Barrett BrowningThou hast thy calling to some palace-floor,Most gracious singer of high poems! whereThe dancers will break footing, from the careOf watching up thy pregnant lips for more.And dost thou lift this house's latch too poorFor hand of thine? and canst thou think and bearTo let thy music drop here unawareIn folds of golden fulness at my door?Look up and see the casement broken in,The bats and owlets builders in the roof!My cricket chirps against thy mandolin...

Google Factoid Watch

Posted on April 01, 2008
At 9:39 a.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a Google search for the phrase, "intercourse the penguin" returns about 1,910 results.[Caution: link contains unredacted profanity.]

Sunday Afternoon Dickinson

Posted on March 30, 2008
Love II. BEQUEST.by Emily DickinsonYou left me, sweet, two legacies, --A legacy of loveA Heavenly Father would content,Had He the offer of;You left me boundaries of painCapacious as the sea,Between eternity and time,Your consciousness and me.

Somehow, that doesn't make us feel any better

Posted on March 30, 2008
From the West Bank town of Hebron, a young Palestinian demonstrates the baleful influence of his country's teachers union.THX to Little Green Footballs.Like many taxpayers, we think that the National Education Association has a vested interest in graduating semi-literate substance abusers from American public schools, and it's not really surprising to find out that, as Elwood Blues observed, "no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive there are still some things that make us all the same...

Saturday Night Shakespeare

Posted on March 30, 2008
20by William Shakespeare A woman's face with nature's own hand painted, Hast thou the master mistress of my passion, A woman's gentle heart but not acquainted With shifting change as is false women's fashion, An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling: Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth, A man in hue all hues in his controlling, Which steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth...

The Theater Scene

Posted on March 28, 2008
While the world's eyebeams are focused on the Geert Wilders film, Fitna: the Movie, a premiere on the Potsdam theater scene has escaped notice:Muslim leader advises calm over Satanic Verses stage playMarch 28th, 2008 - 9:38 pmPotsdam (Germany), March 28 (DPA) A Muslim leader in Germany called Friday for calm ahead of the premiere near Berlin of a stage play based on The Satanic Verses, the controversial novel by Indian-born author Salman Rushdie...

Google Factoid Watch

Posted on March 28, 2008
At 12:24 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a Google search for Fitna the movie returns about 111,000 results.[N.B.: Disturbing images warning.]

Probably Not As Bad As It Sounds...

Posted on March 28, 2008
...but Lord, it sounds bad enough.From the redoubtable Associated Press, via the once-respectable Chicago Tribune, so the usual caveats apply:Mexico Sends New Troops to US BorderBy Associated Press 10:25 PM CDT, March 27, 2008CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - The Mexican government said Thursday it has sent more than 2,500 soldiers and federal police to curb soaring violence in a border state across from Texas and New Mexico...

Friday Morning Kilmer

Posted on March 28, 2008
Madness(For Sara Teasdale)by Joyce KilmerThe lonely farm, the crowded street,The palace and the slum,Give welcome to my silent feetAs, bearing gifts, I come.Last night a beggar crouched alone,A ragged helpless thing;I set him on a moonbeam throne --Today he is a king...

Thursday Morning Lazarus

Posted on March 27, 2008
How Long?by Emma LazarusHow long, and yet how long,Our leaders will we hail from over seas,Master and kings from feudal monarchies,And mock their ancient songWith echoes weak of foreign melodies?That distant isle mist-wreathed,Mantled in unimaginable green,Too long hath been our mistress and our queen...

Wednesday Morning Sappho

Posted on March 26, 2008
?He?s equal with the Gods, that man?by Sappho He?s equal with the Gods, that man Who sits across from you, Face to face, close enough, to sip Your voice?s sweetness, And what excites my mind, Your laughter, glittering...

"I think we've got a bunch of thugs down there, if I may be permitted to say so."

Posted on March 26, 2008
Flashiebackie--An assortment of aging hippies, dopers and their assorted fry attempt to recreate the peak experience of their increasingly meaningless and irrelevant lives by pretending to go back in time to Chicago, 1968. Their web site tells us:DNC Disruption 08 is an online clearinghouse for radical and progressive groups organizing against the Democratic National Convention...

Global Warming Update XI

Posted on March 26, 2008
We're all for saving money, and we're not above going green if that's what it takes to pocket a few extra shekels. So, it doesn't bother us to use compact fluorescent light bulbs around Casa de los Perros Grandes wherever possible.Of course, the CFLs don't actually live up to their hype...

Tuesday Afternoon Burns

Posted on March 25, 2008
Lines Written On A Banknoteby Robert BurnsWae worth thy power, thou cursed leaf!Fell source o' a' my woe and grief!For lack o' thee I've lost my lass!For lack o' thee I scrimp my glass!I see the children of afflictionUnaided, through thy curst restriction:I've seen the oppressor's cruel smileAmid his hapless victim's spoil;And for thy potence vainly wished,To crush the villain in the dust:For lack o' thee, I leave this much-lov'd shore,Never, perhaps, to greet old Scotland more.

Google Factoid Watch Update

Posted on March 25, 2008
At 11:34 a.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a Google search for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick returns about 621,000 results.A Google search for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Democrat returns about 213,000 results.

Compare and Contrast

Posted on March 24, 2008
Over at The Objective Standard, Mr. John David Lewis reflects on his recent vesit to Georgia Tech. We thought a few lines about the question and answer period would be worth quoting:The onslaught began with the first ?question,? actually a monologue that lasted nearly fifteen minutes...

Google Factoid Watch

Posted on March 24, 2008
At 11:12 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a Google search for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Democrat returns about 180,000 results.

Monday Night Wilde

Posted on March 24, 2008
Greeceby Oscar WildeThe sea was sapphire coloured, and the skyBurned like a heated opal through the air;We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fairFor the blue lands that to the eastward lie.From the steep prow I marked with quickening eyeZakynthos, every olive grove and creek,Ithaca's cliff, Lycaon's snowy peak,And all the flower-strewn hills of Arcady...

Sunday Night Anonymoose (redux)

Posted on March 23, 2008
Cuckoo Songby Anonymous ca. 1250SUMER is icumen in, Lhude sing cuccu!Groweth sed, and bloweth med, And springth the wude nu-- Sing cuccu!Awe bleteth after lomb, Lhouth after calve cu;Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth, Murie sing cuccu!Cuccu, cuccu, well singes thu, cuccu: Ne swike thu naver nu;Sing cuccu, nu, sing cuccu, Sing cuccu, sing cuccu, nu!

Saturday Afternoon Whitman

Posted on March 22, 2008
Singing In Springby Walt WhitmanThese I, singing in spring, collect for lovers:For who but I should understand lovers, and all their sorrow and joy?And who but I should be the poet of comrades?Collecting, I traverse the garden, the world--but soon I pass the gates,Now along the pond-side--now wading in a little, fearing not the wet,Now by the post-and-rail fences, where the old stones thrown there, picked from the fields, have accumulated,Wild flowers and vines and weeds come up through the stones, and partly cover them--Beyond these I pass,Far, far in the forest, before I think where I go,Solitary, smelling the earthy smell, stopping now and then in the silence;Alone, I had thought--yet soon a silent troop gathers around me;Some walk by my side, and some behind, and some embrace my arms or neck,They, the spirits of friends, dead or alive--thicker they come, a great crowd, and I in the middle,Collecting, dispensing, singing in spring, there I wander with them,Plucking something for tokens--tossing toward whoever is near me...

Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

Posted on March 22, 2008
Today's paper carries encouraging news for the yokels of rural Shawnee County, Kan.:Daily Dose: County has funds to repair sirensThe Capital-JournalPublished Saturday, March 22, 2008Money to repair two sirens that failed to sound during last week's tornado drill is available in Shawnee County Emergency Management's budget...

Friday Morning Robinson

Posted on March 21, 2008
Richard Coryby Edwin Arlington RobinsonWhenever Richard Cory went down town,We people on the pavement looked at him:He was a gentleman from sole to crown,Clean favored, and imperially slim. And he was always quietly arrayed,And he was always human when he talked;But still he fluttered pulses when he said,"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked...

Friday Night Shakespeare

Posted on March 21, 2008
19by William Shakespeare Devouring Time blunt thou the lion's paws, And make the earth devour her own sweet brood, Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws, And burn the long-lived phoenix, in her blood, Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st, And do whate'er thou wilt swift-footed Time To the wide world and all her fading sweets: But I forbid thee one most heinous crime, O carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow, Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen, Him in thy course untainted do allow, For beauty's pattern to succeeding men...

Drink! Drink! Drink!

Posted on March 21, 2008
Although we don't endorse the behavior paraded in this video, we decided we were in need of some cheering up after the last couple of posts. (See below.) So, we looked on YouTube, and there it was: The clip, of course, is from The Student Prince, a 1954 MGM film starring Edmond Purdom and Ann Blyth...

Thursday Morning Schiller

Posted on March 20, 2008
TO THE SPRINGby Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller Welcome, gentle Stripling, Nature's darling thou! With thy basket full of blossoms, A happy welcome now! Aha!--and thou returnest, Heartily we greet thee-- The loving and the fair one, Merrily we meet thee! Think'st thou of my maiden In thy heart of glee? I love her yet, the maiden-- And the maiden yet loves me! For the maiden, many a blossom I begged--and not in vain! I came again a-begging, And thou--thou givest again: Welcome, gentle Stripling, Nature's darling thou-- With thy basket full of blossoms, A happy welcome now!

Vicki Van Meter, R.I.P.

Posted on March 20, 2008
Every now and then, we cross paths with a person who simultaneously needs legal work done and has mental health issues. The two are not necessarily related, but it's happened often enough that we've wondered whether being insane might not be a reason for hiring us in the first place...

Wednesday Morning Blake

Posted on March 19, 2008
To Springby William BlakeO THOU with dewy locks, who lookest downThrough the clear windows of the morning, turnThine angel eyes upon our western isle,Which in full choir hails thy approach, O Spring!The hills tell one another, and the listeningValleys hear; all our longing eyes are turn'dUp to thy bright pavilions: issue forthAnd let thy holy feet visit our clime!Come o'er the eastern hills, and let our windsKiss thy perfumed garments; let us tasteThy morn and evening breath; scatter thy pearlsUpon our lovesick land that mourns for thee...

It All Fits Together

Posted on March 19, 2008
The blogresses at one of our favorite lefty sites, In This Moment, have been sorting out what happened at the Democratic Party caucuses in Texas:Did bands of unruly kids act as thugs for Obama in the Texas caucuses? Does Obama win caucuses in general because his supporters threaten defenseless, cowering Clintonites? That is the accusation included in comments on a post by my co-blogger Nancy Jane Moore...

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, R.I.P.

Posted on March 18, 2008
From the eponymous web site: Sir Arthur C. Clarke Dies Science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who co-wrote the epic film "2001: A Space Odyssey" and raised the idea of communications satellites in the 1940s, died Wednesday at age 90, an associate confirmed...

Tuesday Morning Spenser

Posted on March 18, 2008
Easterby Edmund Spenser MOST glorious Lord of Lyfe! that, on this day,Didst make Thy triumph over death and sin;And, having harrowd hell, didst bring awayCaptivity thence captive, us to win:This joyous day, deare Lord, with joy begin;And grant that we, for whom thou diddest dye,Being with Thy deare blood clene washt from sin,May live for ever in felicity!And that Thy love we weighing worthily,May likewise love Thee for the same againe;And for Thy sake, that all lyke deare didst buy,With love may one another entertayne! So let us love, deare Love, lyke as we ought, --Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

Urban Legend Comes to Life

Posted on March 18, 2008
We've been wondering: Do the voices ever tell people to pay their taxes and drive at the posted speed limit, but we just don't hear about it? Nah.From Galveston, Tex.:Defense Attorney: Client Put Infant in Microwave for ProtectionLast Edited: Thursday, 13 Mar 2008, 6:00 PM CDTCreated: Thursday, 13 Mar 2008, 11:23 AM CDTJoshua Mauldin remains in jail on felony charges of child endangerment for allegedly microwaving his baby...

On the other hand...

Posted on March 18, 2008
Senator John McCain (Republican, Arizona) stopped in Israel on the way home from Iraq Tuesday, where he made some comments not likely to be reported by the Obama campaign machine American media. The Jerusalem Post has an exclusive:Mar 19, 2008 0:25 | Updated Mar 19, 2008 2:28'Islamists want to destroy everything the West holds dear'By HERB KEINON AND DAVID HOROVITZThe success of Hamas and Hizbullah in the region is not only a danger for Israel, but also a threat to US national interests, US Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post...

Monday Night Herbert

Posted on March 17, 2008
Easterby George HerbertI GOT me flowers to straw Thy way,I got me boughs off many a tree;But Thou wast up by break of day,And brought'st Thy sweets along with Thee.Yet though my flowers be lost, they sayA heart can never come too late;Teach it to sing Thy praise this day,And then this day my life shall date.

Not a Problem, for a Democrat

Posted on March 17, 2008
New York's governor makes a startling admission:The thunderous applause was still ringing in his ears when the state's new governor, David Paterson, told the Daily News that he and his wife had extramarital affairs. In a stunning revelation, both Paterson, 53, and his wife, Michelle, 46, acknowledged in a joint interview they each had intimate relationships with others during a rocky period in their marriage several years ago...

Is it OK for a candidate for President of the United States to associate with racists, felons and America-Haters?

Posted on March 16, 2008
Newsbusters.org thinks the Associated Press thinks so:The AP Style Guide on Defending Barack ObamaBy Terry Trippany | March 15, 2008 - 11:21 ET The Associated Press editors tasked in-house "writer" Phillip Elliott to write an article that dispels the "rumors and outright lies" concerning Barack Obama and the perception that Mr...

Sunday Night Kipling

Posted on March 16, 2008
The Deep-Sea Cablesby Rudyard KiplingThe wrecks dissolve above us; their dust drops down from afar --Down to the dark, to the utter dark, where the blind white sea-snakes are.There is no sound, no echo of sound, in the deserts of the deep,Or the great gray level plains of ooze where the shell-burred cables creep...

Naomh Pádraig

Posted on March 15, 2008
Here at West Neanderthal Drive, we observe, but don't celebrate, the Feast of Saint Patrick. We claim Irish descent on our mom's side, but we don't have much to show for it, other than a penchant for depressing harp music and a relationship with alcohol that ended in about 1984...

Google Factoid Watch

Posted on March 15, 2008
At 10:52 p.m., Central U.S. Daylight Time, a Google search for the text "B-O" returns about 391,000,000 results. A Google search for the expression "B-H-O" returns about 4,910,000 results.

Saturday Night Masahide

Posted on March 15, 2008
Barn's Burnt Downby Mizuto MasahideBarn's burnt downNowI can see the moon.

Friday Night Shakespeare

Posted on March 14, 2008
18 by William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date:Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimmed,And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:But thy eternal summer shall not fade,Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Thursday Morning Wordsworth

Posted on March 13, 2008
Daffodilsby William WordsworthI WANDER'D lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way,They stretch'd in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance...

A Question for Prof. Khan

Posted on March 13, 2008
Internet Hagganah emails the following:Iranian student group offers reward for killing Israeli officials The Iranian "Movement of Students for Pursuing Justice" is offering rewards for the killing of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Mossad director Meir Dagan, and military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin...

Thursday Night Browne

Posted on March 13, 2008
The Sirens' Songby William Browne, of TavistockSTEER, hither steer your winged pines, All beaten mariners!Here lie Love's undiscover'd mines, A prey to passengers--Perfumes far sweeter than the bestWhich make the Phoenix' urn and nest. Fear not your ships,Nor any to oppose you save our lips; But come on shore,Where no joy dies till Love hath gotten more...

The Mysterious East

Posted on March 11, 2008
We have no idea what this is about, but we think it's cool anyway:2008?3?8? ????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????More of same, including inexplicable charts, lives here.

Sunday Night Burns

Posted on March 09, 2008
Farewell To Elizaby Robert Burnsto the tune of "Gilderoy."From thee, Eliza, I must go,And from my native shore;The cruel fates between us throwA boundless ocean's roar:But boundless oceans, roaring wide,Between my love and me,They never, never can divideMy heart and soul from thee...

Again, the Mists of Memory

Posted on March 08, 2008
Fact is, after we quit drinking in 1984, this song lost much of its appeal for us. It's still worth a look, particularly for saxophone fetishists or anyone too young to remember Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys.This particular video is by the band Traffic, recorded in Santa Monica, CA, in 1972.

The Problem with Mrs. Obama

Posted on March 08, 2008
Over at Global Politician, the curiously-named Mr. Guy White offers this contribution to the "debate on race":The Darker the Berry, the Sweeter the Juice: Black Racism, Part IGuy White - 3/9/2008Accusations of white racism are rampant, with the topic of race turning immediately to the alleged hate deep in the heart of every white person...

Saturday Night Longfellow

Posted on March 08, 2008
HERMES TRISMEGISTUSby Henry Wadsworth LongfellowAs Seleucus narrates, Hermes describes the principles that rank as wholes in two myriads of books; or, as we are informed by Manetho, he perfectly unfolded these principles in three myriads six thousand five hundred and twenty-five volumes...

Wednesday Afternoon Norton

Posted on March 05, 2008
I do not love Thee by Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton.I DO not love thee!--no! I do not love thee!And yet when thou art absent I am sad;And envy even the bright blue sky above thee,Whose quiet stars may see thee and be glad.I do not love thee!--yet, I know not why,Whate'er thou dost seems still well done, to me:And often in my solitude I sighThat those I do love are not more like thee!I do not love thee!--yet, when thou art gone,I hate the sound (though those who speak be dear)Which breaks the lingering echo of the toneThy voice of music leaves upon my ear...

Google Factoid Watch Update

Posted on March 05, 2008
At 10:18 p.m., Central U.S. Time, a Google search for the phrase "blinkered, philistine pig ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage" returns about 2,050 results.

The Art Scene

Posted on March 05, 2008
We certainly don't advocate any of the behavior paraded in this item. Not the basic premise (that Mrs. Clinton has been "assassinated", whatever that means), not the idea that it would be a good idea if it actually happened, and certainly not the idea of the famously depraved New York art world in general...

The Mysterious North

Posted on March 04, 2008
Life imitates a B. Kliban cartoon in this tale of metrication gone amok:Investigators seek leg-up in mystery feet caseGerry Bellett , Canwest News ServicePublished: Friday, February 15, 2008VANCOUVER - A U.S. expert on ocean currents says mysterious right feet washing up on the islands off B...

Tuesday Night Wordsworth

Posted on March 04, 2008
Evening on Calais Beachby William WordsworthIT is a beauteous evening, calm and free,The holy time is quiet as a NunBreathless with adoration; the broad sunIs sinking down in its tranquillity;The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the sea:Listen! the mighty Being is awake,And doth with his eternal motion makeA sound like thunder--everlastingly...

Monday Night Sappho

Posted on March 03, 2008
Fragmentby SapphoLove shook my heart,Like the wind on the mountainTroubling the oak-trees.

Liaquat Ali Khan Watch

Posted on March 03, 2008
Professor Liaquat Ali Khan says what he thinks. Again. This time, about Pakistan's role in the war on terror: The September 11 attacks provided the perfect occasion for the United States to issue ?with them or with us? threats to Pakistan that had given birth to the Taliban phenomenon in hopes of fomenting terrorism against India...

Sunday Morning Chaucer (maybe)

Posted on March 02, 2008
Merciles Beauteby Geoffrey Chaucer (maybe)A TRIPLE ROUNDEL1. CAPTIVITYYOUR eyen two wol slee me sodenly,I may the beaute of hem not sustene,So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.And but your word wol helen hastilyMy hertes wounde, whyl that hit is grene, Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly, I may the beaute of hem not sustene...

Google Factoid Watch

Posted on March 01, 2008
At 9:45 p.m., Central U.S. Time, a Google search for the phrase,"I snort the nose, Lucifer" returns about 46 results. A Google search for the phrase, "Devil bunnies! I snort the nose, Lucifer! Banana! Banana!" returns one result.

Saturday Morning Browning (Mrs.)

Posted on March 01, 2008
Vby Elizabeth Barrett BrowningI lift my heavy heart up solemnly,As once Electra her sepulchral urn,And, looking in thine eyes, I over-turnThe ashes at thy feet. Behold and seeWhat a great heap of grief lay hid in me,And how the red wild sparkles dimly burnThrough the ashen greyness...

A New Martha Mitchell

Posted on March 01, 2008
"Out of the fullness of the heart, the tongue speaks."Mrs. Obama has been saying what she thinks again, this time to an audience of hoi polloi at a daycare center in Zanesville, Ohio. IBD comments:First Lady Of GaffesBy INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, February 29, 2008 4:20 PM PTElection '08: After revealing she had never been "really proud of my country," Michelle Obama damns business as "the money-making industry...

More Good Noose from Iraq

Posted on February 29, 2008
And another one... 'Chemical Ali' execution OK'd in Iraq By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 56 minutes ago BAGHDAD - Iraq's presidential council has endorsed the execution within a month of Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali," for his role in the 1980s scorched-earth campaign against Kurds, officials said Friday...

Friday Night Shakespeare

Posted on February 29, 2008
17 by William ShakespeareWho will believe my verse in time to comeIf it were filled with your most high deserts?Though yet heaven knows it is but as a tombWhich hides your life, and shows not half your parts:If I could write the beauty of your eyes,And in fresh numbers number all your graces,The age to come would say this poet lies,Such heavenly touches ne'er touched earthly faces...

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle update

Posted on February 28, 2008
From the incredible Matt Drudge comes this indication that maybe Britain isn't completely over after all: PRINCE HARRY FIGHTS ON FRONTLINES IN AFGHANISTAN; 3 MONTH TOURThu Feb 28 2008 11:01:34 ET**World Exclusive**They're calling him "Harry the Hero!"British Royal Prince Harry has been fighting in Afghanistan since late December -- and has been directly involved in gun battle, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned...

Thursday Morning Jonson

Posted on February 28, 2008
OF LIFE AND DEATHby Ben JonsonThe ports of death are sins; of life, good deeds:Through which our merit leads us to our meeds.How wilful blind is he, then, that would stray,And hath it in his powers to make his way!This world death?s region is, the other life?s:And here it should be one of our first strifes,So to front death, as men might judge us past it:For good men but see death, the wicked taste it.

Gee, Y'think?

Posted on February 28, 2008
From the post-racial Nirvana of the United Kingdom, where there are no racial troubles at all. None. Not a bit of it. Really.From Times OnlineFebruary 28, 2008Obama victory will prolong US racial divide, says British equality chief Trevor Phillipsby Hannah StrangeOne of Britain?s most influential black figures today accused Barack Obama of cynically exploiting America?s racial divide and gave warning that he could prolong, rather than heal the rift...

"The Justice of Roosting Chickens"

Posted on February 28, 2008
Ms. Taylor Marsh ("The antidote to right-wing talk") raises an interesting question about Sen. Barack Obama (Democrat, IL) and his connections with unreconstructed Pentagon bomber and University of Illinois education professor William Ayers, seen at left in a 1968 photo from the Chicago Police Department:This is the vein in the Democratic party I will never understand, cannot accept on any level...

Tuesday Night Service

Posted on February 26, 2008
The Woman and the AngelBy Robert W. ServiceAn angel was tired of heaven, as he lounged in the golden street;His halo was tilted sideways, and his harp lay mute at his feet;So the Master stooped in His pity, and gave him a pass to go,For the space of a moon, to the earth-world, to mix with the men below...

So?

Posted on February 26, 2008
The American tradition of politicians humiliating themselves as part of the electoral process goes back to the earliest days of the Republic. Farther than that, in fact, although Shakespeare's Coriolanus didn't handle it nearly as well as our modern pols...

Monday Morning Teasdale

Posted on February 25, 2008
A WINTER BLUEJAYby Sara TeasdaleCRISPLY the bright snow whispered,Crunching beneath our feet;Behind us as we walked along the parkway,Our shadows danced,Fantastic shapes in vivid blue.Across the lake the skatersFlew to and fro,With sharp turns weavingA frail invisible net...

Professor Khan Speaks

Posted on February 25, 2008
We've always had a great deal of respect for Professor Liaquat Ali Khan, ever since he spoke for two hours without notes, repetition, deviation or hesitation to the 1L class on our first day at Washburn. We suspect that his writings are not widely known in our town, and we'd like to see that change...

Sunday Night Lanier

Posted on February 24, 2008
Rose-moralsby Sidney Lanier I. RedWould that my songs might be [1]What roses make by day and night --Distillments of my clod of misery Into delight.Soul, could'st thou bare thy breastAs yon red rose, and dare the day,All clean, and large, and calm with velvet rest? Say yea -- say yea!Ah, dear my Rose, good-bye;The wind is up; so; drift away...

"Pakistan Needs To Wake Up"

Posted on February 23, 2008
Washburn School of Law professor Liaquat Ali Khan has been talking with one Ismail Salami about the political future of his native Pakistan. An excerpt:Q. In the recent elections in Pakistan, most of the people have voted for 'moderate parties' as they say...

Saturday Morning Anonymous

Posted on February 23, 2008
The Hymn of Tlaloc.translated by Daniel G. Brinton 1. In Mexico the god appears; thy banner is unfolded in all directions, and no one weeps. 2. I, the god, have returned again, I have turned again to the place of abundance of blood-sacrifices; there when the day grows old, I am beheld as a god...

Another Difference Between Them and Us

Posted on February 22, 2008
Two stories, both involving dogs, both involving the legal systems of their respective countries, pointing up the differences between America and Iran.First, this item from Adnkronos International:Iran: Four months in jail and 30 lashes for walking dog in streets Tehran, 19 Feb...

I Want My DTV

Posted on February 22, 2008
We get only two channels at home, one of which is mostly about pledge week and the other mostly having to do with school closings, but in about 361 days we won't even be able to see them, unless we make the transition to digital television. In the spirit of a government big enough to give you everything you want, The Commerce Department is offering to help:Details live here...

Ad Astra per Crappa

Posted on February 22, 2008
The blogresses at In This Moment, one our favorite leftist/progressive sites, alerted us to an interesting exchange on the floor of our state's House of Representatives.The topic was whether state law should ban cities like Lawrence from enacting domestic partnership registry ordinances...

Friday Morning Shakespeare

Posted on February 22, 2008
16by William ShakespeareBut wherefore do not you a mightier wayMake war upon this bloody tyrant Time?And fortify your self in your decayWith means more blessed than my barren rhyme?Now stand you on the top of happy hours,And many maiden gardens yet unset,With virtuous wish would bear you living flowers,Much liker than your painted counterfeit:So should the lines of life that life repairWhich this (Time's pencil) or my pupil penNeither in inward worth nor outward fairCan make you live your self in eyes of men...

Thursday Afternoon Horace

Posted on February 21, 2008
ODE III.TO THE SHIP, IN WHICH VIRGIL WAS ABOUT TO SAIL TO ATHENS.by Quintus Horatius FlaccusSo may the goddess who rules over Cyprus; so may the bright stars, thebrothers of Helen; and so may the father of the winds, confining allexcept Iapyx, direct thee, O ship, who art intrusted with Virgil; myprayer is, that thou mayest land him safe on the Athenian shore, andpreserve the half of my soul...

300, 299, 29...

Posted on February 20, 2008
Despite losses in Wisconsin and Hawaii, and despite trailing Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) by some 600 delegates, Governor Mike Huckabee vows to continue the fight. Details live here.And we finally figured out what bothers us about the Republican Party's presumptive nominee:McCain doesn't rhyme!

Cop Life Update

Posted on February 20, 2008
More details emerge from the sad tale of Natasha Hall and her deranged, gun-toting boyfriend, Daniel Clayton Kufner, in Deland, Fla.The original story was one of police incompetence and indifference in the face of stalking and domestic abuse that led to the deaths of two teen-agers...

Wednesday Morning Gilbert

Posted on February 20, 2008
From "The Pirates of Penzance"by W.S. GilbertSergeant. When a felon's not engaged in his employment ?Police. His employment,Sergeant. Or maturing his felonious little plans ?Police. Little plans,Sergeant. His capacity for innocent enjoyment ?Police...

Ladies in Black

Posted on February 20, 2008
"You can't stay the same. If you're a musician and a singer, you have to change, that's the way it works," observed Van Morrison. Certainly we'd agree, although the notion represents a minority opinion among audiences (as Bob Dylan learned in 1965, as did Phil Ochs that same year)...

Wednesday Night Sappho

Posted on February 19, 2008
Fragmentby SapphoThe Moon is down,The Pleiades. Midnight,The hours flow on,I lie, alone.

Flashie Backie

Posted on February 19, 2008
Old guy, guitar, YouTube, Chambers Brothers. Yah, we can relate. Except we can't help but notice that he left out the part about being "psychedelicized".

Department of Clarification

Posted on February 18, 2008
Surströmming is from SwedenLutefisk is from Norway.Don't be Confused!

Pantalones en fuego

Posted on February 18, 2008
The beast feeds upon itself:Senator's actions cause conflict'Trousergate' has some Kansas Democrats requesting Barone's removal as chairmanThe Associated PressPublished Monday, February 18, 2008A Democratic state senator with a history of butting heads with his party has run afoul of party leaders again, this time over what they said he did with sensitive polling data...

Monday Evening Burns

Posted on February 18, 2008
Versified Note To Dr. Mackenzie, Mauchlineby Robert BurnsFriday first's the day appointedBy the Right Worshipful anointed,To hold our grand procession;To get a blad o' Johnie's morals,And taste a swatch o' Manson's barrelsI' the way of our profession...

Cop Life

Posted on February 18, 2008
Another tale of the police, doing what they do best, this time from Florida:Mom: Police Told Daughter To Stop Calling Before Murder-Suicide 'The Day She Died, She Knew She Couldn't Talk To Police,' Mom SaysPOSTED: 7:38 am EST February 18, 2008UPDATED: 3:04 pm EST February 18, 2008DELAND, Fla...

Don't Mention the War

Posted on February 17, 2008
We have a couple of questions about this BBC report from Holland: Nazi-era singer returns to stage A 104-year-old Dutch cabaret singer who once performed in Nazi Germany has given a concert in the Netherlands for the first time in four decades...

Sunday Morning Whitman

Posted on February 17, 2008
TEARS.by Walt WhitmanTears! tears! tears! In the night, in solitude, tears;On the white shore dripping, dripping, sucked in by the sand;Tears--not a star shining--all dark and desolate;Moist tears from the eyes of a muffled head:--O who is that ghost?--that form in the dark, with tears?What shapeless lump is that, bent, crouched there on the sand?Streaming tears--sobbing tears--throes, choked with wild cries;O storm, embodied, rising, careering, with swift steps along the beach;O wild and dismal night-storm, with wind! O belching and desperate!O shade, so sedate and decorous by day, with calm countenance and regulated pace;But away, at night, as you fly, none looking--O then the unloosened oceanOf tears! tears! tears!

Doings of the Land of Egypt Watch

Posted on February 17, 2008
Ok, we get the part about not liking George W. Bush. What we can't figure out is why so many of our friends on the progressive left think they're going to get a better deal if the war against Islamofascism is lost and the mullahs take over.Consider this item from al-Associated Press:Egypt Steps Up HIV ArrestsFeb 15, 6:58 PM (ET) By KATARINA KRATOVACCAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian police have stepped up arrests of persons suspected of having HIV, detaining four men this month in a crackdown that violates basic human rights, two international rights groups said Friday...

Saturday Morning Schiller

Posted on February 16, 2008
THE WINTER NIGHT.by Friedrich Schiller Farewell! the beauteous sun is sinking fast, The moon lifts up her head; Farewell! mute night o'er earth's wide round at last Her darksome raven-wing has spread. Across the wintry plain no echoes float, Save, from the rock's deep womb, The murmuring streamlet, and the screech-owl's note, Arising from the forest's gloom...

The New Number Six

Posted on February 16, 2008
Our new attorney general demonstrates how he got the job:A.G. Six resists abortion subpoenaBy John HannaThe Associated PressPublished Saturday, February 16, 2008Attorney General Stephen Six is resisting a subpoena from a Sedgwick County grand jury investigating abortion provider George Tiller...

Saturday Night Shakespeare

Posted on February 15, 2008
15by William Shakespeare When I consider every thing that grows Holds in perfection but a little moment. That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows Whereon the stars in secret influence comment. When I perceive that men as plants increase, Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky: Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease, And wear their brave state out of memory...

The Municipal Jihad

Posted on February 15, 2008
Here's a recent excerpt from the writings of Washburn Law School Professor Liaquat Ali Khan, who says we need to be nicer to the Taliban:The Holding It may, therefore, be safely concluded that NATO combat troops and NATO commanders are engaged in murdering the Taliban, a protected group under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to physically and mentally destroy the group in whole or in part...

Service Update II

Posted on January 03, 2008
We're letting this blog go dark for a few days weeks, while we figure out how to use some of the new hardware that came in over the holidays. We've also decided to take some time to put Casa de los Perros Grandes on a more rational footing (which Aunt Zillah seems to think involves us getting a job), while we wait for the temperature to climb out of the dairy case range in our living room (which is where the computer lives), and for that knock on the door from Ed McMahon...

Google Factoid Watch

Posted on December 28, 2007
At 7:37 p.m., Central U.S. time, a Google search for the phrase "f*** the Huck" (caution: link contains unredacted profanity) returns about 230 results.

Unprecedented Acts Involving Sheep

Posted on December 25, 2007
As much as we try to keep this on a family-friendly level, some days it's harder than others. Take, for example, this tale of oil and lanolin, wherein expatriate oil workers are accused of performing "unprecedented" acts with two sheep. In Algeria...

Incredibly Cute Baby Animal Photo of the Day IV

Posted on December 23, 2007
This item comes from the creative minds at al-Associated Press, so the usual caveats apply. Nevertheless, it confirms our belief that the only thing cuter than a baby panda is a baby panda and her mom.AP puts it this way:Four-month-old giant panda cub Zhen Zhen, left, leans against her mother Bai Yun, right, as she eats in their enclosure at the San Diego Zoo during a media preview Friday, Dec...

Sunday Afternoon Dickinson

Posted on December 23, 2007
XXVII. THE CHARIOT.by Emily Dickinson, (December 10, 1830 ? May 15, 1886)Because I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;The carriage held but just ourselvesAnd Immortality. We slowly drove, he knew no haste,And I had put awayMy labor, and my leisure too,For his civility...

Saturday Night Jonson

Posted on December 23, 2007
Simplex Munditiisby Ben Jonson. 1573-1637STILL to be neat, still to be drest,As you were going to a feast;Still to be powder'd, still perfumed:Lady, it is to be presumed,Though art's hid causes are not found,All is not sweet, all is not sound.Give me a look, give me a faceThat makes simplicity a grace;Robes loosely flowing, hair as free:Such sweet neglect more taketh meThan all th' adulteries of art;They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.

Filthy Rich Trial Lawyer Watch

Posted on December 22, 2007
Ever wonder how filthy rich trial lawyers get that way? An important clue emerges from the Rocky Mountain news:Boy, 8, sued in ski crashAssociated PressOriginally published 12:21 p.m., December 20, 2007Updated 03:42 p.m., December 20, 2007VAIL ? A 60-year-old man is taking an 8-year-old boy and his dad to court, claiming the third-grader caused a ski-slope collision that left the older man with a shoulder injury...

Friday Morning Shakespeare

Posted on December 21, 2007
14 by William Shakespeare Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck, And yet methinks I have astronomy, But not to tell of good, or evil luck, Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality, Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell; Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind, Or say with princes if it shall go well By oft predict that I in heaven find...

Feel The Love

Posted on December 20, 2007
As a general rule, we hate to see anything bad happen to anybody. Of course there are some people, whom we hate to see bad things happen to less than others, but that's another story. Not everyone agrees with this outlook on life: Over at Evolving in Kansas, Mousie Cat demonstrates the superior compassion of the progressive/liberal element with this post about yesterday's fire at the Vice President's office: Zeus hurls lightning bolt at Cheney, misses...

Thursday Night Baillie

Posted on December 20, 2007
AN ADDRESS TO THE NIGHT.A FEARFUL MIND.by Joanna Baillie (September 11, 1762 ? February 23, 1851)Uncertain, awful as the gloom of death,The Night's grim shadows cover all beneath.Shapeless and black is ev'ry object round,And lost in thicker gloom the distant bound...

Recipe for Blasphemy XXI

Posted on December 20, 2007
Homemade BaconIngredients:5 Pounds Pork Belly1 1/2 Cup Sea Salt1 1/2 Cup Fresh Brown Sugar3/4 Cups Maple Syrup1/2 Cup Saltpeter1 Gallon Bottled Water Water1 Gallon Apple Cider2 Tablespoons Fresh Ground PepperInformation:Serving Size 20390 Calories Per Serving18 Grams Of FatCooking Directions:The two most important ingredients are salt and sugar...

Wednesday Night Gilbert

Posted on December 19, 2007
SIR JOSEPH (from H.M.S. Pinafore) by Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 ? 29 May 1911)When I was a lad I served a termAs office boy to an Attorney's firm.I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,And I polished up the handle of the big front door...

Tuesday Night Sappho

Posted on December 18, 2007
He?s equal with the Gods,that manby Sappho He?s equal with the Gods,that man Who sits across from you, Face to face, close enough, to sip Your voice?s sweetness, And what excites my mind, Your laughter, glittering...

Temporary Outgoing Attorney General Watch

Posted on December 18, 2007
Approximately everything that needs to be said (along with a lot that didn't) about outgoing Kansas Attorney General Lex Luthor Paul Morrison has been said more times than would be helpful to anybody. We don't know why this whole wretched business brought this video to mind, but take a look: Actually, we do...

See other side for instructions

Posted on December 18, 2007
Uselessly self-referential help page of the day, wherein Yahoo! tries to explain how to add a blog to an existing web page:1. Begin the activation process by choosing the custom path. 2. Complete steps 1 and 2. 3. After step 2, at the bottom of the page, you'll see a note for experienced users...

Monday Evening Milne

Posted on December 17, 2007
Disobedienceby Alan Alexander Milne 1882-1956James JamesMorrison MorrisonWeatherby George DupreeTook greatCare of his Mother,Though he was only three.James James Said to his Mother,"Mother," he said, said he;"You must never go downto the end of the town,if you don't go down with me...

Global Warming Update X

Posted on December 17, 2007
At the Bali Conference, the dreaded global warming causes the Hard Man to melt:Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summitBy MARTIN DELGADO - Last updated at 00:13am on 16th December 2007 He is known as the "hard man" of climate-change negotiation...

Department of Clarification

Posted on December 17, 2007
Houghmagandie is a word used in Scottish poetry to refer to sexual relations outside of marriage.Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of the movement for Indian independence.Don't Be Confused!

Service Update

Posted on December 17, 2007
Last week's storm wrapped half an inch of clear ice around our woodpile. Undeterred, we chopped through the night, and we chopped through the dawn, only to find that the wood was not only soaking wet, but too big to fit in the woodstove.Last time this problem came up, Dad-O-Rama suggested cutting about six inches out of the middle of each piece, which might have worked, except that the chunks were also too big around to fit through the opening on the stovetop...

Friday Night Shakespeare

Posted on December 14, 2007
13by William Shakespeare O that you were your self, but love you are No longer yours, than you your self here live, Against this coming end you should prepare, And your sweet semblance to some other give. So should that beauty which you hold in lease Find no determination, then you were Your self again after your self's decease, When your sweet issue your sweet form should bear...

Recipe for Blasphemy XX

Posted on December 13, 2007
Toejigogi KuKorean Barbecued Pork Ingredients 1/3 cup mirin 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, lightly toasted and finely ground 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves) 2 scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger 1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic paste 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 pounds boneless center-cut pork loin, sliced 1/2 inch thick and pounded 1/3 inch thick Vegetable oil, for the grill 1 large head of red-leaf or green-leaf lettuce, leaves separated Miso, red pepper paste, chili-garlic paste and sliced hot green chiles plus thinly sliced scallions or kimchi, for serving directions In a large glass baking dish, combine the mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic, scallions, ginger, chili-garlic paste, black pepper and crushed red pepper...

Temporary Attorney General Watch III

Posted on December 13, 2007
At 1:33 p.m., Central U.S. Time, December 13, 2007, a Google search for "attorney general paul morrison resign" returns about 28,600 results.Update: At 9:28 p.m., Central U.S. Time, December 13, 2007, a Google search for "attorney general paul morrison resign" returns about 233,000 results.

Thursday Afternoon Burns

Posted on December 13, 2007
To A Louse, On Seeing One On A Lady's Bonnet, At Churchby Robert BurnsHa! whaur ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?Your impudence protects you sairly;I canna say but ye strunt rarely,Owre gauze and lace;Tho', faith! I fear ye dine but sparelyOn sic a place.Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,Detested, shunn'd by saunt an' sinner,How daur ye set your fit upon her-Sae fine a lady?Gae somewhere else and seek your dinnerOn some poor body...

Wednesday Evening Sappho

Posted on December 12, 2007
Fragmentby Sappho?Again and again?because thoseI care for best, do meMost harm?

Temporary Attorney General Watch II

Posted on December 12, 2007
At 9:58 p.m., Central U.S. Time, December 12, 2007, a Google search for "attorney general paul morrison resign" returns about 28,800 results.