Camel Toads?

There really is nothing else to say. Somehow I think this is worksafe, although I won't guarantee it.

You're Gonna Have To Try Harder People!!

WTF? After almost a year of effort people my blog is worth just north of $9,000.00. Thats American by the way. Hey I"ve spent almost on average 8 hours a week on this thang. Times 48 weeks thats about 600 hours.......which means I'm pretty much making what a greeter at
Wallmart makes.'

Computer: 2000 American

Time Spent thinking about blog topics: Several hundy

Bloggy Love from you people: Priceless!

Via my pal, Annie

My blog is worth $9,032.64.
How much is your blog worth?

Are You Ready For Some Football?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sun is out, it is an unseasonable warm 60 degrees today, but oh yes, I am ready for some football people.

And who wouldn't be with the type of season I am having so far? After last week's 9-5 performance against the spread, I stand at a cumulative 47 and 41 as we enter the midseason. Thats good enough to make me some money in Vegas folks, and I'm not even counting the $2.99 all you can buffet.

So here we go this week's Savant like wisdom, imparted to you via my eerily accurate football prognostications:

Detroit 3 over the Bears. Take the points and get out of town
Giants 2.5 over the Redskins. Baby Manning is the call here
Bengals 9 over the Pack: Stick a fork in Farve baby cuz he is way done
Panthers 7.5 over the Vikes; Go Vikes here
Raiders 1 over Titans: MIB, baby
Cowboys 9 Cards. No way the Boys should be favored by this much. Somebody knows something so take 'em anyway
Texans 2 Browns: Cleavburg all the way
Saints 2.5 Dolphins: Get those hanky waving fans outta here and take the Saints
Jags 3 Rams: Go Rams, help a coach's heart
Chargers 6 Chiefs: Sorry PDS, go Chargers
Bucs 11 49ers. 49ers suck, take 'em anyway
Broncs 3.5 Eagles: Broncs
Pats 9 Bills: The Bills? Hah! take the Pats give up to 12
Steelers 9 Ravens: I hate the Ravens, but bet that they can keep it within 9.

Thats it folks. Start mixing the taco dip, chilling the beer and while you're at it give a Packer fan a swirly.

Just to watch him cry.

My Big Plans

Sorry folks, I know how you've come to look forward to my Thursday night wine blogging. Surely there isn't more scintillating reading anywhere in the blogosphere than my Thursday rambles where I crack a bottle, discuss at length it's many attributes and the proceed to get a bit toasted. I've often felt it would be much more enjoyable for you, the reader, if I would more obviously lose my sobriety and get a little goofy. Maybe end it all with long rants about the damn guvmn't, or paranoid screeds about the Trilateral Commission. But, then that's what lefty blogs are for. Speaking of which, did you read Tom's bit about Bush as Godzilla? Whew boy, there is a man who needs a cocktail!

Ah but I digress. No wine blogging tonight as I am out of town on business. In fact, if you happen to be in Boston put a light in the church steeple and I'll come have a drink with you. In person wine blogging with Pursuit, cool. Lets make it one if you want to drink white, two for red. I'll buy.
Alas, the steeple remains dark, not a huge surprise, and probably for the better I've got a day of meetings tomorrow and I hear it's considered bad form by the locals to grab a little shut eye in the middle of their presentations. So provincial, don't you think?

Anyway, this post is about my big plans and today we inched a little closer to the fruition of one of them: Having one of the Supreme Court Justices over for drinks on the front porch. There are a lot of things that I plan to do before I die; I've already written about my goal to be in a movie where I discover a murder scene and exclaim, "My God! They're all dead!" Drinkin with the justice is another.

Yup, you heard that right, I'm gonna be drinkin' with one of the judicial system's chosen few! At least that is the plan. Here's the deal. Ms. Mier's withdrew from consideration this morning which has left the door open for Bush to get the appointment right this time. The real key thing to know is that Bush cannot put up just anyone. This pick has got to be a lock. Dead solid perfect as they say.

To get it right, Bush must pick a judicial minimalist, a judge who is not just acceptable to the right, but really one who is revered by the right. Keeping this in mind, the judge must also be bullet proof when it comes to attacks from the left. Considering that Judge Roberts was probably one of the few who are universally recognized as brilliant by both sides while maintaining a stealth record from an attack target point of view, this nominee must be unassailable even if his record is public.

There is only one man with this stature. Ted Olsen.

Respected by the right, and recognized as a man who has given more than most to this country, Mr. Olsen will be approved and will ascend to the bench. That's where my big plan #2 gets traction.

I happen to own a little piece of land, not far from where Mr. Olsen maintains a residence. We've never met, and he wouldn't know me from Adam, but it's a small town and I will eventually ingratiate myself to the limited social scene. And really, lets face it, the judge will be unable to resist making friends with a sophisticated urbane country gentlemen such as me. I'll regale him with my tales from the goose pit, he'll share inside jokes about Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and together we'll while away the summer recess hours on my front porch. We'll posthumously mock Earl Warren, go fishing, and the return home to share a plate of nachos where I'll advise him on how the court has overreached with it's discovery of the right to privacy.

If things really go well, perhaps I'll even invite him to the premier of my movie.

Blastin' Varmints

So I had a new experience this Sunday when I went goose hunting for the first time. My oddessy began about five years ago when I first went out to shoot sporting clays. At first I wasn't very good hitting only about 24 out of 100 targets. Inspite of my less than expert marksmanship, it was a hellofa good time!

In sporting clays the shooter walks through the woods to 10 different stations. Each station is set up with a different sort of shooting challenge. Some targets are thrown out one at time in front of the shooter, while others are thrown out in doubles. Still other targets are thrown out to resemble a rabbit running on the ground with the second in the pair thrown immediately thereafter into the air. The possibilities are endless, and the challenge can be quite great.

Obviously it is just good fun to go out and shoot at stuff. Maybe the little boy never fully retreats in the man, but just going through the challenge of aiming at the target, pulling the trigger and feeling the recoil of the gun against your shoulder is a great thrill. Of course, the smell of gun powder in the morning ain't half bad either.

So it was a natural progression to go from renting guns to buying our own. My first shotgun was a Browning Citori 525. A beautiful gun, it's an over under which refers to the arrangement of the barrels, with a walnut stock it also has a marvelous woodgrain stock. Happiness, indeed, is a warm gun.

The next step in the journey was to go out pheasant hunting which we did about two years ago.

It may sound crazy, but hunting is a terrific way to enjoy nature. When we hunt pheasants most of our time is spent walking through fields and woods waiting for the hound to roust the birds. When they do, we usually hit them, but this isn't always the case. So the thrill is definately in the moment of taking the shot, but the beauty, as with most things, is in the process.

Goose hunting this weekend only served to emphasize this fact. Last spring we leased two fields for hunting from local farmers, and then this summer we dug our pits and put in a reinforced wood shelter. In the pit we're about 7 feet in the ground, with a plywood partial roof over our heads that is camoflaged with corn stalks from the surrounding field.

The challenge with Goose hunting is calling the birds into your field, and I'll tell you up front, we were unsuccessful this Sunday. Having arrived at the field before sunrise we set up our decoys and got into the pit to begin our vigil. This is when I began to learn a little about nature.

Did you know Geese are the late risers of the avian world? I didn't, but this is one of the things you realize when you have nothing better to do than scan the skys and take time to learn about the world around you. We first saw song birds, then smaller waterfowl, and finally around 8a.m. the geese appeared. Flock after flock, perhaps 1,000 birds in all took to the sky to fly to the river near our sight.

The weird thing was they all came from different directions, but at some point seemed to navigate to the same spot and then take a final glide path to the river. This didn't happen all at once, but over the course of a couple of hours, so it wasn't that they were following each other, something was guiding them. The really weird thing is that the previous week the same thing happened, but they followed a different route to the same river. Maybe some big Goose boss decides these things and sends out a decree.

Sadly, both days we were unable to get any Geese close enough to really have a reasonable shot at; although I did at some point take some shots just to be able to shoot my gun! The problem right now, I'm told, is that we haven't had any real cold weather so there is still "green stuff" for them to eat. After we have some frosts, they'll come to our field to scavenge for corn. Heh, that's when we'll get them in our sights.

Still, until then, I'm learning things about the outdoors that are new and fascinating to me. Watching the skies, observing the birds, these are things that I never would have otherwise done.

Hunting: It really brings out an appreciation of the natural world, and of course, a desire to kill it.

A Book You Should Read

I like to go into book stores without any idea in mind about what I want to read. Book stores are the ultimate browsing stores.....whether it's the smell, the titles, or the quiet something other worldly exists there for me. I've found that if I go in without any preconceived notions, I usually end up coming out with a book that I didn't expect which teaches me something new. Kind of like life, I suppose.

I've "discovered" some great authors this way. Robertson Davies, Paul Fussel ("Class" a must read), Nelson Algren to name just a few. My whole Russian jag of two years ago was the result of seeing Anna Karenina on the shelf (before Oprah by the way) and thinking, gosh I always meant to read that. AK now stands as my favorite read of all time.

So when I picked up "Father Joe" by Tony Hendra the other day, I just thought it sounded like an interesting read. Lets face it, sub titled "The Man Who Saved My Soul" it tends to suggest that you might be able to learn a thing or two. Happily, I didn't notice the jacket blurb by the excruciatingly emotional Andrew Sullivan:

"Extraordinary, luminescent, profound....I beg you to read this book"

Poor Andy, so talented, and yet so unwilling to trust his talent to just few well chosen words.

Which is a contrast to Mr. Hendra. A veteran of National Lampoon, Lemmings, This is Spinal Tap, Spy Magazine, and no doubt a dozen other legendary comedic troupes, I would have hardly expected him to be such a skilled writer. Of course this is the curse of the comedian in general. One of the most difficult art forms, comedic writing requires an exacting and economic use of the language where every word has a purpose, providing context and moving the reader on to the punch line. Yet few comedians are ever accorded the title of serious artist, and most must move to other "more serious" genres to get the credit that they observe. The same can probably be said about Tony Hendra. How did HE write this book.

With a copious amount of talent would be my response. Hendra's writing is good. Very good. I often found myself stopping to admire his use of language and his skill at communicating some very complex thoughts without writing down to his reader. Instead Hendra uses his talent with language to lucidly relate his story of an incredible man, Father Joe.

Hendra met Father Joe as he says it, "When I was 14 and having an affair with a married woman". A bit of an overstatement, reflecting Hendra's adolescent confusion and exhuberence at the time, although Hendra was indeed caught by the woman's husband with his hand down her skirt. Having been charged with Hendra's Christian education, the man does the only sensible thing; he takes Hendra to a priest.

There begins a life long relationship with a cloistered monk of incredible insight, patience and most remarkably, worldliness. Hendra's life careens from his teenage years when he becomes absolutely convinced that his mission in life is to join the priory as a monk himself, to his early to mid-adulthood when he is an active and angry atheist. Through it all, as life (God?) puts Hendra through a miriad of changes that almost seem divinely guided, Father Joe is his earthly guide who gentlely keeps him on track.

Father Joe spends much time suggesting that Hendra is a selfish man, and reminds him to take time to be "unselfish" and to "listen". The diagnosis really couldn't be more correct. Frankly, for much of the book Hendra is a loathsome character. As a teen he is pious beyond all belief. When he turns away from God, he is a self absorbed jerk who ignores his family, rejects the love of his wife and hates his co-workers. He views those with different political views as evil and is unrelenting (frankly even to this day) in his hatred for them. His anger is palpable, but it is unclear what it is from.

In my view, Hendra's anger, and by extension his loss of faith were due mostly to his disappointment in the short-comings of others. I've often thought that the atheists are in some ways our most pious people; God could only create perfect world, and since man is imperfect, God must not exist. As Hendra experiences his own fall from grace, and embraces his own imperfections he becomes angry that God didn't stop his fall and therefore loses faith.

Years later, through his talks with Father Joe, and after finally hitting a low point, Hendra begins to come back to the church and ultimately finds his true role in life. It is a moving, thoughtful and deeply spiritual story that has meaning for us all.

I should note, that subsequent to the publishing of the book, Hendra's daughter from his first marriage accused him of sexual abuse, an accusation which he has denied. I have no idea whether this is true or not. Regardless of the voracity of her claims, Father Joe is a moving, thoughtful account and I strongly recommend it.

Thursday Night Wine Blogging

Back, after a week's hiatus for a dinner last week, I'm wine blogging once again. Oooooh, and tonight we have a most curious entry in the wine blogging series.

A little Rioja!

Yup, but the curious thing is the history of this particular wine. I first purchased a bottle of this wine sometime around 2000. Upon opening, it was a tannic monster, good but a bit harsh. So I decided to lay the remaining bottle down and see how it aged.

Well, tonight's the night.

First the details. The wine is Marques de Arienzo Rioja Gran Reserva, 1991. Shall we pop the cork?

Ok, a little trouble getting the cork out, it broke in half and inspection reveals that it was nearing the end of it's useful life. Are we about to have a second week of disappointment?

Well, I can tell from the nose that the tannins have relaxed substantially. Happily, there are no off putting scents, a concern that I had seeing the cork. Lets have a sip.

A bit non descript. Fruit predominates, but it disapates somewhat quickly with only a little mouth. As usual, I'm going to let it breathe a bit.

Ok, its been about 20 minutes, a second try reveals that our little Rioja has opened up a bit. The nose is still fruity, some pepper and a little cedar, perhaps a small hint of port, which is not good, I think maybe the wine has passed its prime. The taste is fruit, without much else. Five years has mellowed this wine, mellowed it too much.

Still, the wine is enjoyable, I'd give it a "good" rating. Drinkable, but nothing special, definately should have cracked it a year or two ago.

Well, thats it for tonight. Next Thursday finds me in Boston so look forward to the next wine blog in two weeks.