Heading for the Hills

The Igljacks -- bipeds and quadrupeds alike -- are headin' to West Virginny for a couple of days of fall color. We'll be here until Tuesday.

Extreme Pumpkins

Some seasonal inspiration.

Living the Dream

Talk about committed fans ...

Stretching the Boundaries of Torture

I found the 10th circle of Hell this morning, and it took me ages to claw my way out.

After reading a reference in the paper to John Ashcroft's "Let the Eagle Soar," the song -- if you can call it that -- burrowed into my brain like a botfly, playing in an endless taunting loop until I nearly lost the precious remaining shreds of my sanity. I was finally able to exorcise the evil by crawling to the stereo and turning on good music -- loud -- for several minutes.

I'd honestly rather be waterboarded or have electrodes attached to my naughty bits. Which got me thinking: Do you suppose they "Ashcroft" the "guests" at Guantanamo? I'd say anything they wanted just to make the bad noise stop.

Click the link above for the full version ... if you dare.

Walk to D'Feet ALS

Portrait of the Asshole as a Young Man

Yet another catalog of bullying, thuggery, and general nastiness. In case there remained any doubt.

Paging Dr. Limbaugh

The intersection of ignorance and stridency has always been a busy and dangerous place, and it seems especially so these days. Teeming swarms of foolish, ugly-minded people desperate to be heard at any cost.

Yesterday an especially shrill voice managed to rise above the din. It belonged to that porcine man with the crazy eyes. He was standing in front of his alma mater, the Bill Frist School of Neurology, apparently still in withdrawal from his OxyContin habit. This is what he had to say.

Hateful? Extremely. Wrong? Completely. It would be laughable if he didn't have such a big audience. But he does. And they vote.

My Hero

Now more than ever.

This effort could actually make a difference. A friend pointed me to a related two-part interview here and here.

Epileptic or Alcoholic?

Waiting for a train in Boston today, friends were treated to an impromptu performance:

Act I: A woman shrieks at her companion, berating him loudly, publicly, and at length.

Act II: Shortly thereafter, she falls on the floor in the throes of a seizure. A pair of "shockingly fat" EMTs arrive promptly. One asks whether the woman is prone to seizures, to which her companion replies: "No, but she is a drunk."

Noteworthy Names

A bumper crop this week:

Rusty Rice
Eulalia Muschik
Mildred Magazine (daughter: Joanne Book; stepdaughter: Phyllis Press)
Marlin Potter
Fernarine Hunter
Hunter Peacock
Velda Pyles
Eugenia Krupsaw
Audray Smoot Blizard
Jewell Poon
Pastina Purnell
James Bond Romans
Lois Shuffles
Pearl Brass
Lonnie and Geneva Lovely
Carolyn Medley
Royal Seymour
Prof. Lucius Outlaw
Elmira Diggs
Rhonisha Good Fortunato
Flossie Prue
Peachie Richardson
Bessie Wigglesworth
Maverick and Maven McGann (brother and sister)
Savannah Hillman
Bambi Goodhew
Mary Perry
Paul Wohl
Ollie Wooden
Darenzo Nettles
Azel Q. and Verna D. Lester
Trendanaia Williams