Bat Season

Well it's certainly Bat time.

Here we see bat grab fish and then fish grab bat. Only one had the meal, though.

Update: We have many challenges on the pathogens front. However we have had victories that have not been celebrated. Halloween always reminds me that, as a chronic rabies bat infected loon, I must count my blessings. The pessimistic news coverage of all things reinforces this notion. This thanks to the fourth estate's system of using ignorant and arrogant chuckleheads to rapidly release poor information quickly if it is negative and to use all else as filler.

"Journalism. Because We Are Too Damned Special to Report!!!"""

Pandora Plug Pull?

Damnit! Leave my music alone...I have made purchases off of Itunes that I wouldn't have known to look for without some manner of radio-like device. The lawyers are flaying the goose. Like this here. The end is a little less than compelling but I think the essence of the tale is "Let people listen to music before they buy it. At least a little. Or you are a beast damn you. Also don't be mean to ugly people right off the bat just because and then make up rules to follow suit. And don't reach out to every train for whatever reason, you could be stuck for quite a while. Also try not to make sense of this post, for it will vex you!"

Hem again

I have had a chance to really listen to some of the albums and they are a great band. Perhaps a little more accessible than Last Forever? I don't know but I think that some of the songs people may find catchy right off the bat whereas one of the reasons I liked Last Forever so much was the process of letting it seep into the brain. That may make it difficult for people to give it enough of a chance, unfortunately.

They opened for Beth Orton at some point, she is also excellent.

Bock's Car

So the subject came up and I was woefully ignorant. Laura knew the name of the aircraft which dropped the second A-bomb to end WWII, and it was named after the captain. I did not know the origin of the name.

Yes, this humble typist owns a bat signed by the great Paul Tibets, God rest his soul. May God rest and bless all of the veteran's souls and those of their families.

Government Limited

"William Voegeli's Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State is one of the books of the year. George Will drew attention to Voegeli's book in his excellent column "The danger of a government with unlimited power." Michael Lind attacks Will and comes to the defense of liberalism. William Voegeli strikes back in "Why liberalism is dangerous." Voegeli has reignited a profoundly important argument that ultimately requires us to recover a basic understanding of limited constitutional government"

If you have the time, and it does take a bit of time, please read the George Will piece and the Michael Lind piece.

(Powerline wrap up via Instapundit)

Lind's effort is just sad for someone who intends to be arguing on merits and logic. In fact I think his tactic was to avoid common sense because it would defeat him right off the bat. Voegeli's work looks quite nice I have no doubt and I am a fan of the Claremont Review. His response in National Review (I wish they had a one page function) is lovely and well worth the reading. It is enjoyable.

Will provides a provocative Cliff's notes and can suffice if you have an understanding of the struggle between the notions involved in "evolving" and "breathing" interpretations of our core rights as humans on planet earth, and the viscerally understood notion of rights endowed by a creator, or, for atheists, pre-existing rights. This struggle is being lost over time to the schools and the media and the never ending expansion of power remitted to courts and politicians, local, federal and every step in between.

The idea that slaughter and the fourteenth amendment and incorporation and on and on is still argued is so discouraging.

That our president believes that the bill of rights was a problem because it did not provide a shopping list of services to be provided to all by some vast anonymous and yet governmentally centered entity (like some savage sacrificing liberty on a pyre in expectation of eternal bountiful harvests) disgusts me.

People who believe in an evolving document believe in suing over everything, but most of all their own deficits mistakes and vile natures.

God help this country. Liberty and prosperity: a flash in the pan for humanity, because the progressives and humanists couldn't control their appetites.

(Many repeat links but I wish to refer to the material correctly...mistakes are likely, I will check and correct. These items are worth the time and thought...they drive our future.)

Weather Germs

Boingboing links to this piece.

They also link to this Nature article with nice video of a bat in slowmo in a wind tunnel.

Finally they link to these hapless morons who tried to hold up a motorcycle gang.

December 7, 1941

Bing has an image up on their home page, they always have a beautiful homepage.

I heard some first hand accounts of being trapped in the Arizona and the difficulties of the rescuers in getting through the hull and the labyrinth below to save sailors, very stirring material.

Truly one of the great sagas in human history.

Insane nation savages it's neighbors and then takes a swipe at a behemoth which would prefer to be left alone. (take your oil embargo crap and stick it. Then go read "The Rape of Nanking" and then learn about Korea). Behemoth arises and invents super death bomb and smites the freaks, have I mentioned my bat signed by Paul Tibbets? I want to keep mentioning it, makes me grin.

At any rate, I am glad they lost, but more to the point is that you can determine a great nation by the fact that those who lose to them are blessed in their capitulation.

Bat Guano

In cosmetics?

I heard a reference from the damnable television.

Ted Williams

is in the Fishing Hall of Fame: '"They had this beautiful babe in a bikini at one end of the casting pool with a cigarette in her mouth and Ted would try to knock it out of her mouth," said Gartside. "He always did it."'

'Theodore S. Williams
1918 - 2002
1999 Inductee
Ted Williams, one of the greatest hitters if not the greatest in the history of baseball, also ranks among the best of saltwater and freshwater anglers. Williams fell in love with fishing at about the same time he fell in love with baseball, and his pursuit of both sports followed similar paths. Williams grew up in San Diego, joined the Boston Red Sox in 1939, and remained with the team throughout his career except for nearly five years as a fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War. Even with five seasons taken out of his career, Williams accumulated six American League batting titles, won two triple crowns, two MVP awards, four home run crowns, and four RBI titles. In addition to naming him Player of the Decade (1950s), The Sporting News cited Williams as Player of the Year five times. "The Kid" made the All-Star team sixteen consecutive seasons. When he retired from the Sox in 1960, homering in his last at bat, Williams was third on the list of all-time home run hitters with 521. "Teddy Baseball" was simply one of the best to ever play the game. Six years after retirement, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with a record 282 votes. It was during his war years, while Williams was stationed in Florida, that he fell in love with angling in the warm waters of the Atlantic. He returned to Florida early each spring and during the Red Sox off-season to fish. Williams mastered the art of fishing just as he mastered hitting: he studied every detail from fly tying, to the habits of fish, to the strategy and physics of casting. He consulted experts. And he practiced. He was determined to be the best. In retirement, Williams devoted himself to fly fishing for tarpon and bonefish in the Florida Keys winter through summer. During the fall, his quest was salmon on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Although he fished for virtually every species, his book, Fishing the Big Three: Tarpon, Bonefish, Atlantic Salmon, makes it clear that Williams ranked these three as the greatest game fish on earth. He caught more than 1,000 of each species, but kept few of them. "Releasing a great fish," he said, "is about the greatest thrill I get from fishing.”'

He also had a brand of fishing boat.

Bat Sickness

Bad news for bats.

Bat Disaster?

This blog has given some attention to the lovely and incredible critters.

This outbreak is looking very bad indeed.

Michael Durham/Getty Images

Spider Vs. Bat

A video for those holding on until Halloween.

Happy Birthday Jimmy

and thank you for the festivities.

I have zapped over a couple of the photos and will hand off a thumb drive with the whole lot soon...

I can't resist posting this one here though, I love that moment when the ball zooms off of the bat.

Winged Victors

In NatGeo. A bat feature.

Blogging

has been nonexistent but I will pick up again. Starting this evening, expect a couple of links and maybe a thought or two.

So there.

In fact, right off the bat, how about a foul video?

I just looked quickly for something that would be instantly blogable. So I googled "crazy monkey".

This video was on the first page. It seems to be an artistic depiction of America and how it necessarily gained the attention of our political, media and university classes.

Let's just say it's a glimpse of how liberals have engaged with our great nation and the results are predictable. America is the sand sculpture and the sculptor is representative of liberty loving, robust and patriotic Americans whose tireless risks and struggles resulted in the most magnificent nation in history. The other monkey embodies liberals, like, say, Rahm Emanuel, or Cass Sunstien or Obama or Biden or so painfully much of the baby boomer generation. It is chilling in it's uncanny truth. I think at this point in Obama's presidency with the house and the senate controlled as it is and the MSM as well that we are at about second number 14 in the 30 second opus:

Sad Week

RIP Paul Tibbets. Thank you for signing the book and the bat, in addition to the tremendous service.

Why yes, that would be the louisville slugger.

And no, he wouldn't sign a baseball.

Mysterious Montague

Paddy sent this story of the man who beat Bing Crosby at golf with a baseball bat, a shovel and a rake, amongst other feats. The story is an excellent read whether you enjoy golf or not.