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Nope, nope, nope, he’s not taking it from me. It was my favorite color back when he was only bankrupting casinos…. and universities…. and alcohol… and steaks.
Orange. My students used to ask me why, and I would tell them that I like bright colors, but red is a mad color - STOP sign, fire, angry emoji. Orange on the other hand is cheery, it’s a happy red!
“He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.”
My mother passed away, and as an only child with very little other family, it fell on my wife and me to deal with her estate. After everything was settled, we took a getaway trip to unwind and decompress. While on the trip, we were offered a chance to go to a sales pitch meeting one morning. We would be given some really good gifts if we listen to their one hour presentation. We went in with the firm understanding that we were going to say “NO“ to everything, get our free gifts, and leave.
It was a pitch for a Hotel club. You were supposed to get great deals on any hotel anywhere in the world. Just call up, give them the company name and member number, and collect your discounts. They even offered us enough extra memberships that we could give one to each of our kids. It was quite pricey, but we actually had some money from my mother‘s estate, and what they offered was a great deal. We would have eventually over time gotten back in savings the money we spent.
When we got home and began researching it, it turns out that we had been lied to (shocker I know). They just said yes to any question I asked even if it was a bold faced lie. The discounts were only on exotic resorts in places like Key West, Cabo, etc., and for weeks long to months long stays. That’s definitely not us, which made this a complete waste of money. Luckily I kept the contract and followed the cancellation policy to a T. I stopped payment on the check I wrote them, and interestingly, they sent me a check in the mail for the same amount a couple weeks later. Had I not had any morals, I could’ve doubled my money by cashing it, but, while it would have served them right, I didn’t want to be a scammer like they were.
On the upside, we got the “gifts”, so there’s that.
Bert Strips is great, but sadly there hasn’t been a post there in over a year.
Suuuuuuure. I don’t believe that for a second. He’s said that before when Xitter went down, and he was proven to be a liar. Maybe it was this time, but at this point he’s the little boy who cried cyberattack.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. A jaunty little sea shanty about a ship sinking in a storm and killing everyone on board.
I down for anything Looney Tunes! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Coyote vs. Acme, but I don’t know if we’ll ever see it.
THIRTY-NINE QUESTIONS FOR CHARLIE DANIELS UPON HEARING “THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA” FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
by JOHN MOE
1. The Devil won that fiddling contest, right?
2. Because isn’t that totally amazing fiddle feedback thing the Devil plays (which sounds like Hendrix gone bluegrass) a hundred times better than that high-school-band piece-of-crap tune Johnny plays?
3. I mean, come on, right?
4. And since the Devil is so clearly better, why does he lay the golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny’s feet?
5. What kind of one-sided bet was that anyway, your eternal soul for a fiddle?
6. Shouldn’t it have been something like Johnny’s soul or the eradication of Evil?
7. Or maybe a golden fiddle against some object Johnny placed great value upon?
8. If the Devil went down to Georgia ’cause he was looking for a soul to steal, why does he arrange what appears to be an honest competition?
9. Was there actually some hidden theft or scam going on here on the part of the Devil?
10. Then why not explain that, Mr. Daniels?
11. And who was judging that contest?
12. Was it an honor system kind of thing?
13. With the Devil?
14. Honor system with the Devil. How did Johnny get sucked into that one?
15. Does Johnny suffer from some—I’m trying to be delicate here—cognitive disabilities?
16. Was there some sort of arbitration board in place in the event that the outcome was not obvious?
17. If so, who served on this board?
18. It wasn’t the demons, was it?
19. ‘Cause even though they’re the only characters in the song, they’re kind of biased since they’re in the Devil’s band and they’re demons, right?
20. So why—why—does the Devil take the dive and throw the contest?!
21. I mean, the Devil can’t be hurting for cash. How much is it going to cost him to buy a new golden fiddle?
22. I’m thinking maybe $18,000. Does that sound right to you?
23. If you’re Johnny, what do you even want with a golden fiddle?
24. Doesn’t the metallic surface of a golden fiddle create an unpalatably tinny sound as opposed to the nice resonant sound on a wooden instrument?
25. Does he think he’s going to display it in his home and tell people the story of how he beat the Devil?
26. Who’s going to believe that?
27. Or does he try to sell the fiddle?
28. If so, how does he go about getting something like that appraised?
29. Or does he just melt it all down for the gold?
30. That sounds awfully hard, don’t you think?
31. And is Johnny haunted by the question of why the Devil let him win like that?
32. Was there some catch in the contest that Johnny wasn’t aware of where the Devil really does get his soul anyway and Johnny didn’t notice it because he’s not all that smart?
33. And even if he didn’t get Johnny’s soul, what is Johnny going to say to God in heaven when he has to explain that he bet his soul, the essence of life, God’s one true gift, on a fiddle contest?
34. Johnny knows deep down that he’s not really the best that’s ever been and that’s the source of his insecure boasting, right?
35. Was it really necessary or wise to invite the Devil to come on back if he ever wants to try again?
36. ’Cause what does Johnny need, a second golden fiddle?
37. Or maybe a golden viola the next time?
38. Why would the Devil need an invitation?
39. Are you implying, Mr. Daniels, that Johnny actually wants to get hustled?
I most certainly did.
None of those are comedies, and I would put at least one comedy into the trio.
My vote would be Blazing Saddles.
“Well raise my rent.”
I’ve told you once.
I’m dead serious about my pens. Some want expensive tennis shoes, some will get by with cheap ones. Some want the nicest, fanciest, sportiest cars, some just want basic transportation. Some want a mansion, others just need a roof over their heads. It’s all in what you put emphasis on. For me it’s pens, something I use all day every day during work. My wife will use whatever plastic pen with a broken clip that she finds on the floor, but I want something a little nicer that feels good in the hand.
And while you think $100 is a lot, it’s really not in the machined pen community. Fellhoelter pens can go for hundreds or even a thousand. The best thing that happened to me was for my wife to go with me to a pen show (yes, they have pen shows). Fountain pen prices can be insane, and she saw some for $20,000 and $25,000. It made my $100-$200 machined pens not look so bad! She’s still not happy about me spending money on pens, but after the pen show she knows that it could be SO much worse!
There’s a good sized market for metal machined pens that take standard refills like Parker-style or Pilot G2. If you use one once, you’ll either get it or think it’s stupid. If you get it, the rabbit hole can be deeeeeeeep.
When I pay $100 for a pen, I don’t lose it!
Seriously, I’ve never lost one in the years that I’ve carried them. And the writing experience is drastically different than writing with a cheap plastic one.
I’m a big fan of the Tactile Turn machined pens. They are made in titanium, copper, and bronze, and they have microgrooves for grip. They make bolt and click pens in standard and slim width. They take either Pilot G2 refills, Parker-style refills, or (in the case of the mini) Pilot G2 mini refills.
My deceased mom’s drivers license. Carry it with me in my wallet.
It’s my wife and me in front of the Magic Kingdom. Then I used an AI app to convert us to Muppets. I then used the iPhone wallpaper filters when putting it on my home screen.
Yep, I’m grown man with us as Muppets on my phone.
Privatize. That’s what they want to do to all of it.