August 29, 2010
Don’t be a sucker
“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.”
Sinclair Lewis
I’ve known this quote for quite a while but I always resisted using it in my blog, because I’d like to avoid using loaded words. But since the Right has bend the rules of the game so much that they have no shame comparing Obama to a Nazi – I had to come down from my high horse and get into dirty combat. I’m a small time crook. My profits are modest, my aspirations – laughable. Every day I have to coexist with a number of suckers and sometimes on a bad day when my guard is down I become a sucker myself. My poker winnings are in direct proportion to the number of fish at the table. My trading profits depend on the herd mentality of other players. I used to be upset when someone makes a stupid play and beat me with one-outer at the poker table or when everyone is buying when in my opinion they should be selling, but I got over it. Instead I learned to embrace it. Now I congratulate and cheer and encourage stupid behavior among my fellow players. I make sure to say ‘Nice hand’ or ‘Well done’ to a sucker to promote incorrect play. Why fight it if you can take advantage of it?
August 23, 2010
Southern Trip Part Four: Mobile-Biloxi and Poker
I wanted to get to the Gulf as soon as possible, but I thought that Mobile won’t be much fun either, so I made a wise decision to book Beau Rivage in Biloxi and get there the same day with just a short stop in Mobile. The black owner of bed and breakfast where I stayed in Montgomery has taught me how to pronounce Mobile correctly, because I was cheerfully embarrassing myself by saying it as an adjective “mobile” with the emphasis on the first syllabus. Mo-BEEL, you have to say it. Armed with such piece of intelligence I arrived to Mobile to find it, what else, empty. It was too hot and humid to walk around the city or the beach, so I just went to the local museum. They were very happy to see me. The security guard could have easily worked as a guide, because before I even started my tour he took about 15 minutes to tell me every detail, location and description of the exhibits. This time, however, I listened patiently. Maybe it was the heat or my acclimatization to Southern ways or because his accent was so quintessentially Southern that I stood there not listening to what he said but to how he said it. Anyway, after just a few days in the South I myself became very slow. Mobile was a major supply center for the Civil War for the Confederates. They even built a submarine, back in 1860s that sank a Union ship! I was impressed.
August 18, 2010
Ground Zero Mosque update
This is brilliant!
This guy decided to open the gay bar right next to the proposed Islamic Center. I’ll quote from his website. Please pay attention to the most interesting part – what the Cordoba House folks tweeted him back about his proposal:
August 16, 2010
Airplane Guy (off topic)
Steve McCroskey: Johnny, how ’bout some more coffee?
Johnny: No, thanks!
Quote from the Airplane! movie
Is it just me or is this airplane guy is actually
Airplane Guy 1
this Airplane guy?
Airplane Guy 2
Airplane Guy 2
August 14, 2010
Mosque at Ground Zero
Perhaps, some of you are wondering what is Left with Balls position on the planned Islamic Center near Ground Zero.
August 12, 2010
Southern Trip Part Three (Selma and Montgomery)
“Whitey just gave you another vehicle to oppress yourself.”
Joanne Bland, a local Selma woman.
Selma was not in my original plans, but I decided to make a detour there on the way to Montgomery and it was one of the most interesting parts of the trip. Selma was a site of 1965 civil rights marches from there to Montgomery. On the day that became known as “Bloody Sunday” a bunch of marchers were attacked by police as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus bridge.
Edmund Pettus Bridge
As I rolled into town, and it’s a very small town, you can’t really get lost in there, I ended up right at the foot of that infamous bridge, which is where I parked my car. The electric tableau on some local bank branch showed 103F degrees. The place was, already predictably, quite dead. I thought just a few quick pictures and I’m outta here. But just as I thought that, I saw a small group of protesters near the bridge and decided to check it out. I thought wait a minute, protesters in Selma in 2010? Could it be that the time stopped there? I proceeded towards them.
(Long post below the cut)
August 11, 2010
Fools Are Worse Than Crooks
White House Unloads on Professional Left
White House is rightfully upset with the implacable left. Like I mentioned many times before, I’m upset with the Left being upset with Obama. As if they are going to get someone better than him in their lifetime. As if they will have Ralph Nader elected. Obama, dear liberals, is as close as you’re going to get to have your wishes fulfilled. This is the best hand you’re going to get, so play it the best you can. Fools are worse than crooks, indeed. With crooks, at least, you can make deals.
August 8, 2010
Southern Trip Part Two (Birmingham)
Birmingham.
Before I proceed to my further adventures I’d like to take a detour into describing the Southern ways. As you might have noticed, everybody called me ma’am, which I thought was kind of cool. After a few days, “sir” and “ma’am” have entered my lexicon as well. The trait that stands out the most is general slowness in doing things. Everything and everybody moves at such a leisurely pace that it drove me completely nuts. At a convenience store with only one person before you it might take you full 5-10 minutes (an eternity by NY standards) before the cashier gets to you. Since everybody knows each other they have to ask each other about family, how’s everybody doing, and other chit chat – don’t they have a prepared 5 second elevator speech with which to answer “how’s things” questions? Maybe it’s because they don’t have elevators. Apparently people really expect to receive a full answer from you to this kind of question. I tried everything in my arsenal to speed up the process – giving them the stare, rolling my eyes, tapping my foot – but nobody was getting the message. Come on, people, I ain’t got all day. And the thing is – they don’t even think that they are slow, it’s just a normal pace of life.
August 7, 2010
Southern Trip Part One (Nashville)
“The parochialism of the ghettos of Gotham had not prepared her for the uniqueness of Your Working Boy. Myrna, you see, believed that all humans living south and west of the Hudson River were illiterate cowboys or – even worse – White Protestants, a class of humans who as a group specialized in ignorance, cruelty and torture.”
John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces.
Well, I’m back. For my Southern trip I came prepared. I bought Jesus is My Friend t-shirt just in case, stocked up on maps to avoid wrong turns, brushed up on Southern history and was getting acquainted with A Confederacy of Dunces as I was heading to Nashville, my first stop.
