Yearly Archives: 2025
Recommended
It's a rare event for me to post an external link. This is one of those times.
"The Federalist Papers Annotated" - notes by Professor William Wagner with Nicole Wagner
"In The Federalist Papers Annotated, the foundational arguments for the U.S. Constitution come alive like never before. This edition unites the complete text of the original essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, with insightful, accessible commentary from Professor William Wagner, a constitutional scholar committed to truth, liberty, and good governance."
www dot slgwitness dot com/the-federalist-papers-annotated/
A free 565-page PDF version is available but the site does ask for donations.
Men Are Just Happier People!
submitted by ghostsniper via Comments
What do you expect from such simple creatures?
Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station rest room because this one is just too icky. You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress purchase: $5,000. Tux rental: $100.
People never stare at your chest when you’re talking to them.
One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
You can sleep with 50 women a year and not be called a slut.
Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades, and when you get much older, your hair ceases to be a problem altogether. You only have to shave your face and neck, and even that’s optional. You likewise have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
You can play with toys all your life.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
Two pairs of shoes are more than enough. New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One wallet – one color for all seasons.
You can ‘do’ your nails with a pocket knife. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes. At Walgreens.
NICKNAMES. If Laura, Kate, and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will refer to each other as Fuckhead, Shitstain, and Knobgobbler.
MONEY. A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need, but “it’s on sale”.
BATHROOMS. The average man has 6 items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel. The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.
ARGUMENTS. A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.
FUTURE. A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
MARRIAGE. A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t. A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.
DRESSING UP. A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
NATURAL. Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed. Women somehow deteriorate during the night.
OFFSPRING. Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears, and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY. A married man should forget his mistakes. There’s no use in two people remembering the same thing, forever.
SECOND THOUGHT FOR THE DAY. No man can ever be a perfect husband. The best we can ever be is “adequate”.
Waiting For The Road To Clear
The two main road hazards in Yellowstone are buffalo* herds crossing the road - taking their own sweet time doing so, and the traffic that builds up as a result (you do NOT want to hit a buffalo on the road inside the park - for several reasons, one of which is hitting a pedestrian carries lesser penalties).
I got into one of these a few years back and rather than wait in my vehicle like a "normal" traffic jam, I pulled off the road and took a short walk.
Why breathe exhaust and listen to frustrated travellers when I'm surrounded by so much ... Yellowstone? (though hanging around watching tourists get too close to take selfies has a certain amount of potential entertainment attached)
So I wandered up the ridge to enjoy the evening along the Yellowstone River.
And saw this couple doing the same thing - just watching the river flow by.
The buffalo eventually moved on - and so did I.
*Yes, I know - "bison", not "buffalo".
Continue reading →Why “That Word” Is Still In Use
Citizens State Bank – Ouray, Colorado
The bank move into this former saloon building in 1918. It survived the bank closures of the 1820s/30s and continues service today.
I lived here for a while and such a photogenic region it is. There will be more photos of this - one of my favorite regions - in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado.
Tunes For Tuesday – Lanterna – “Silent Hills”
A sample of some obscure – and some maybe not obscure – tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today’s selection: Lanterna - "Silent Hills" 1995
More the name used by Henry Frayne for a project than a "group", Silent Hills was one of his first compositions. Henry is from Champaign, Illinois and was once associated with the University of Illinois. He has since retired from the university and now concentrates on music.
Not that I'm aware of his more recent stuff ...
On This Day – 1978
It was a pretty good year for me ...
Animal House was released July 28, 1978.
"Animal House is now regarded as one of the best comedy films of all time. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed National Lampoon's Animal House "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry."
Who'd'a'thought?
I can't even imagine (nor would I want to) what this movie would be like if made today.
Not that it could be made today ... anymore than Blazing Saddles could be.
I miss the 70s ...
It's also the day I arrived in Las Vegas on what turned into a residency rather than a visit; I never went back "home".
I liked living in Vegas back then; I don't recognize the place now.
Butterfly On Thistle
Still Dropping
Tom Lehrer died yesterday (Sat) in Massachusetts. Born in April 1928, he was 97. Famous for his satirical songs in the 50s and 60s, The Elements, The Wild West, and The Old Dope Peddler were among his best known. He stopped performing after releasing 3 albums, the last reaching #18, in 1967 and spent the rest of his life teaching at places such as MIT and UC. He also worked for the forerunner of DOE, the Atomic Energy Commission. I used to listen to a lot of his stuff.
Not a stupid person.
To tell the truth, I didn't know he was still alive.
RIP, Mr Lehrer
Continue reading →