Saturday 24 January 2025 11:34:10 PM CST




Tuesday 21 January 2025 10:42:14 PM CST

The Village Lanterne is the fifth studio album from Blackmore's Night. I may have mentioned them a time or three or not. They were still pretty folksy with some more electric creeping in. Tracks 2 and 3 are the very folksy title track and a bit of a rocker where Ritchie lays it down some. It kind of a ghost story, hitchhiker is the ghost of a beautiful young woman who died tragically [1] or something. Young women dying is always tragic, young men too, and children. People dying before a normal time generally is and especially when it because of something someone else caused it whether out of meanness or carelessness. Couple of those been close to me. Came close a few time meself, usually because of me own carelessness or foolishness. Wouldn't want to be the one caused someone else to die and knew a couple or three of them that did. Don't how they lived with it or how I would. Main thing that made me clean up my act long time ago.

What, Chris?

Of course it's just an act. Just kidding. Lanterne is either an archaic spelling or the French word. Since so much English is mispronounced French or German it makes sense. How does a town get called Smackover? Because saying Sumac Couvert it hard to say in Arkansan. So the name the French people gave it back in the 17th century before Napoleon sold the real estate to the Jefferson administration. President Trump would be impressed by some of the real estate deals his predecessors pulled off. Buying Greenland is more likely than most think and while it would be a pretty big deal for these times it wouldn't be like those deals. How it could happen and why it might is as they say beyond the scope of this here blog. Mebbe one of my partners-in-literary-crime can address it. Before Chris starts fidgeting lemme say I'm the only literary criminal here. Not literal criminal that anybody can prove at least inside applicable statutes of limitations.

Afore I get off on that stuff just say Blackmore's Night was my Saturday/Sunday playlist - just the live sets. The entire collection take a couple of days to get through. Candice Night isn't just one of the best singers - talking Annie Haslam and Maddy Prior here as folksy stuff goes and has the angelic quality of Karen Carpenter - but is one of the most charming performers you'll ever see. Unfortunately I haven't in person - they only do a few shows far away from where I live and in very small venues of a few hundred. Fortunately technology makes it possible to almost be there and as often as you want. OK, enough of that. Lessee what we got.

The KJNB folks didn't have much local but they generally got some national and world stuff. Had this one about the illegals upset because President Trump shut them down. Like they have a right to come here. Whether or not they do think that - I suspect few do but they're gonna do whatever they can get away with. Now they can't.

Not to be outdone the Jonestown paper had this piece. He claims that the welfare stuff is gonna get cut and I hope he's right. They'll be happy to cut Social Security and Medicare which are paid for in advance by the eventual recipients but don't touch the handouts to the dim voter base. They will want to cut Social Security and Medicare while increasing handouts.

Probably a little early for weekend crime so I'll tellya about the Wynne water treatment facility what got hit by the tornado. It's out there a few miles out of town but technically in town because they annexex a little strip of land a few hundred feet wide and about three miles long. Long story but one time long ago a guy built a subdivision out there and didn't provide adequate sewage and when it went south he knew the right people and they annexed his project and some more land and built the plant there. Tornado that hit my house got it too. I got new house but had to pay for it - or the insurance did - but the government is gonna pay for the city project. Which means I'm paying some of it.






Wednesday 22 January 2025 09:25:10 PM CST

I already observed that Fox News has the best cartoons but they're all conservative. Fox is the biggest news platform and its audience is probably as big as all the others put together but the dinosaur media is sticking with the left for now. Jonestown paper had an MLK toon and they don't get the irony - MLK wanted people be treated the same no matter what color or whatever. Just the opposite of the attempt to suppress the decent majority and inflict the deviancies of a couple of percent on them.

Speaking of that KJNB tells us that President Trump 'fired the first woman to head a US military service. No cupcakes, he fired her for malfeasance:

Fagan has demonstrated leadership deficiencies, operational failures and an inability to advance the strategic objectives of the Coast Guard.

These include the failure to address border security threats, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and an "erosion of trust" over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was the Coast Guard's internal investigation into sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy.

Fox News
Fact is that the military is so corrupt - Coast Guard included - that every O-10 and probably most 0-9s should be fired if they don't see the writing on the wall and retire already. I suspect the 1-and-2-stars are about as bad since it's all political in the general officers but maybe the younger ones can be persuaded to do the right thing. Yeah Chris, I know the Coast Guard ain't DOD unless they take it over for a war but it's military. Whether or not she was DEI - more like what they used to call 'affirmative action' (same thing) ask any military veteran. I wasn't in that long but I saw it.
You're selecting for promotions and you have say 100 eligible for whatever rank but say colonel. 80 men and 20 women the odds of the best one being one of the twenty are pretty slim but it sure happens that way a lot. That's DOD policy though and has been since the 1970s and we live with or go do something else. ~ Alex@MyndCryme
Actually I could tell you a funny story or two about seeing that in action - the sausage being made - but another story for another time.

Company has the shoe factory in Wynne is shutting down but say it won't affect the Wynne factory. Dunno what what means or what they make there now. Not many shoes made in the USA now or for a while. Factory in Wynne mad a lot of military boots and still were a few years ago. One time they had some kinda deal for publicity I guess where they made some boots for Ted Nugent and Toby Keith and they had pics in the Wynne paper or the Jonestown one, don't remember. They might have it in the archives. Back when I's a kid there two big factories in Wynne where if you could get hired and stay that way you could make decent money. We're talking a couple hunnderd or more and this was in the 1970s. Shoe factory was one and had I guess two three hundred employees. Some of the jobs you could get if you had the seniority to bid for them paid you by how much you did over a certain amount and better you was the more money you made. That'd probably be deemed unfair by some people these days.

They made them biker boots or maybe trucker boots or both with the three straps around the bottom, real popular back in the day. Made cowboy boots too and they sold defective ones for six to eight bucks a pair. Usually you couldn't see what it was that caused them to fail inspection. Like a lot of people I had a few pairs.

Halstead the other big one, paid better too. Copper tubing and they made a lot, run 24-hours and employed a lot of people. Spent a few years working in a bank and Friday afternoon we closed at three as usual but opened up from four to six so people could cash paychecks. Lots from the factories in Forrest City too. Not any more. Halstead been closed for yeas and Idunno what they make at the shoe factory - see a dozen or two cars there so I guess they doing something.

Might as well go ahead and note that the Jonestown PD cop what beat up the cuffed suspect got charged with a crime. Dunno why the one that was off-duty and hauling ass down the back streets and talking on his phone and T-boned citizen and left her a paraplegic. City still trying to get out of the lawsuit but he ought to be in prison.









Thursday 23 January 2025 11:14:25 PM CST

Things look a lot different three years later. Hope they continue to improve. Dunno if they'll hammer the political stuff for the next four years or it'll get old after a while. It was already old for me. Illegals is the thing last couple days on the local telly. The perfesser from ASU so I reckon it local. He seem to have usual attitude:

"Where it becomes a little bit unusual," Dr. Wimpy started. "We have some fairly extreme executive orders, I would say... We're freeing prisoners from the January 6th situation in 2021. And there's debate on all of that. But, to free 1,500 prisoners at once on the first day of office is unusual." ~ KJNB
Well perfesser, Stalinesque mass incarcerations of political dissidents should be unusual. Or don't you think so? It may be that the professor really isn't aware of prisoners being held for the entire four years without trial because the state-run media doesn't report it. And when the liberated prisoners tell their stories will they be on the media he consumes? I'm sure some will be on Fox News but does the perfesser watch Fox or does he believe it's vast right-wing conspiracy propaganda. And what did the perfesser think about the thousands of automagic one-size-fits-all forever pardons issued by the exiting president? Or is he even aware of them? There's a reason - reasons actually - that President Trump is back by popular demand. Enough people were sick and tired of your people.

Editorial cartoon had some truth in it - just not the kind the author likes:



And we wonder how long it will be before 'undocumented immigrants' will return to 'illegal aliens'. President has already reversed it at the official level. What the dinosaur media will do will depend on which ones stay in business. I see CNN just laid off a pretty good chunk:

KAIT had a rehash of the huddled masses yearning for free stuff thing. Certainly trying to stop the misapplication of the fourteenth amendment will be difficult and probably take four years to be decided at SCOTUS. If a vacancy occurs (I assume that Clarence Thomas will take the opportunity to retire and be replaced by someone of like mind) and one of the three leftist puppets departs that would give a 6-3 or even 7-2 on most matters. On ending illegitimate citizenship 5-4 is iffy but one can always hope. Stopping the flow is an improvement (and reversing it to some degree) and stops the bleeding - literally.

Census reform is not getting much attention so far but if that can be accomplished California - between the exodus of citizens to free states and illegals that haven't been deported at eliminated from the census - could lose a bunch of congressional seats.

I thought maybe I had just invented that "teeming masses teeming for free stuff" but somebody beat me to it. Google AI intimates that I am cynical in observing that suggesting a large group of people who are solely motivated by the desire to get something without paying for it. It's not bad enough that millions of actual citizens are lifelong recipients of free stuff but we're supposed to import millions more.

What else we got? Saw something about a shootin' and a police pursuit in Wynne. Hope that's just more reporting of crime that is and not more crime. Don't go in town much - post office once a week and gas up at the Murphy's at Walmart and those are pretty calm. And the gas station where I don't buy gas but get cigars and flirt with a pretty clerk half my age. She got a sense of humor like mine and know I'm harmless. I may check on the crime later. Above freezin first time this week and need to get outside some.












Friday 24 January 2025 11:24:23 PM CST

Gratuitious cliches day. What makes pulp pulpy. As someone or other said "All these hot licks and rhetoric, surely do you no harm". If you're having fun and hot hurting anyone....

I only included this because it was in NEA Report and I probably wouldn't have known about it otherwise. It about an Arkansas woman (Benton) who worked at a credit union in New Hampshire and stole from customers. Sez she be sentenced in an Arkansas court - did they try her here? Federal case so could be but it don't say. Did she come back to Arkansas before they caught her? Not much info on that. Been up there some, didn't like having to fly to Boston and fore I had to go too many times I found out USAir had direct Memphis to Manchester so I could avoid that drive up from Boston. Good times.

Don't have any reliable info on the Memphis schools thing. Some said the new super didn't make things better (she only been there a year) but enumerated some things that was bad if she did them but who knows? Talk again about the state taking over and I suspect they know how ugly that would get but they likely know it ain't gonna get better unless outsiders take over. Taking over the entire city government would be better.

Little bit of crime from Wynne - fellow in a police pursuit on Falls Boulevard. Falls is the main drag in Wynne and except arount midhight engaging in police-fleeing (vehicular that is) there ain't a good time to do it. Four lanes but there about always some traffic and usually a lot. Ended up in the parking lot of the hospital so if he was injured he was in a good place.

Had a bit of other Wynne crime but don't see it just now. Got this in the Wynne paper because Wynne mail goes and comes through Memphis these days. On account of the Post Office closed the Jonestown facility. Our reps supposed to be doing something about gettin' it reopened. The Jonestown-Paragould metro area and surroundings near as big as or maybe bigger than Memphis. Having adults in charge again back in DC might help.

Jonestown paper had this bit about Arkansan congress-people overseeing the CIA and stuff. Senator Cotton on the Senate side and Rick Crawford on the House side. Two of the best up there.

A little non-local piece but you know how I am about them meteorologists. Funny thing they play them clips all day at commercial breaks on the station stream. Weather and traffic. Traffic got that chirpy Valley Girl sound and weather got the same - you could swap'em and never know which was the meteorologist. Readin' something off the screen. You get millions of dollars a year for reading political propadanda off a screen. For now anyway - with the exception of Fox News all them TV networks owned by big outfits that are subsidizing them out of their profitable operations. How much longer that will go on after the failure to stop the Once and Future President remains to be seen.




























































[1] Catherine Cornelius often dies tragically but that's another story and this ain't the place to tell it.





Don't shed a tear for me, I stand alone This path of destiny is all my own Once in the hands of fate, there is no choice An echo on the wind, you'll hear my voice Some choose to fall behind, some choose to lead Some choose a golden path laden with greed But it's the noble heart that makes you strong And in that heart, I'm with you all along

311 “Looks like they've about got it going," Carter said. The live video showed a crowd like the one night before, but the dozens were now hundreds. There weren't any fires yet, and the scene seemed relatively calm. “It may be a while before the professional agitators arrive," Jessica said. "Little Rock isn't a prominent target, like LA and New York, or even Minneapolis or Portland. They'll have to load up some of the organizers and some equipment. Probably St. Louis will the staging point, so it's a short drive. If the past is any indicator, they should have it pretty intense by tomorrow at the latest.” At this point the ‘equipment’ was a few large signs that looked like they were made with poster board, “Justice for De'Andre" "STOP KILLING US!" Later there would be more signs, professionally made, and carried by paid participants. "Id have to guess they're going to make it a big one," Carter said. "Little Rock is a little off the beaten path and not very big, but these days no opportunity is being missed. I'm guessing the local government isn't such that it won't get ugly.” "I wouldn't think so," said Jessica. "It's like St. Louis and Kansas City, and most other big cities. They're on the side of the rioters.” "Sometimes," Carter said, “it looks like our best chance will be that when they finally get things broken enough to try to take over, they will find that they can't control it. That might give us some breathing room.” "Well do our best to make that happen,” said Jessica, “if it doesn't happen on its own. Or even if it does, anything we can do to make it worse. The police forces, most likely augmented by military force, can be kept busy in the cities, too busy to be grabbing our weapons and supplies. Or trying to.” MacArthur's Freehold (2021

Interpretation: While the original poem intends to convey a message of welcoming immigrants seeking freedom and opportunity, the phrase "teeming masses yearning for free stuff" can be interpreted more cynically. suggesting a large group of people who are solely motivated by the desire to get something without paying for it. Political context: This phrase is sometimes used in political discourse to criticize policies that are perceived as encouraging dependency on government assistance or to portray certain groups of people as being solely motivated by free handouts.

Twisted Mentat 50 minutes ago He's a Trump hater so he's telling us Trump is going to tear down everything retard crook Biden has built. These people really are deluded by emotion - they aren't acting on the evidence. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. Reply +64 ) Rosetta Stoned 43 minutes ago They studiously ignore the evidence or call it disinformation. Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim. ~ George Santayana Reply 2G[-) Civil Whites 31 minutes ago If only Trump could tear it all down. And if he could take down the Biden Crime Family. @ I Would Rather Be Governed By the First 2,000 People in the Telephone Directory than by the Harvard University Faculty. — William F. Buckley Jr. Reply HG DePloraBelle 21 minutes ago Even without all the dubious pardons he won't do it. He let the Clintons slide (propbably a mistake in retrospect) and he has too much work to do to go after the Bidens. I hope the DOJ will go after some of the ones that aren't protected What difference, at this point, does it make? Reply oG

Goldry Bluszco 1 hour ago ‘Trump fires first woman to head a US The transparent motivation of the midwit media can't be concealed. To them the only important thing is that she is a woman. If it matters to the ones doing the choosing choose on the basis of sex or skin color there's about a 95% chance they will choose badly. It was pittie one so wittie malcontent, leaving reason should to treason so be bent. Reply 194 [-) Sinanju Master 1 hour ago Installed by Biden and removed by Trump for gross incompetence. I had to look close to make sure it was. There's a lot of cleanup to be done and diversity hires are responsible for much of the mess. Before you can learn anything, you must know what you are studying Reply +3 (4+ ]-) Jawbreaker ‘49 minutes ago Didn't New Zealand put a DEI hire in command of a ship just because and she sank it? And all the pressure that's been building up, For all the years it bore the load, The cracks appear, the frame starts to distort, It's ready to explode. Reply +4(+]-) Penultimate Warrior 32 minutes ago New Zealand. Where's that shocked expression I never seem to need? Burn the bridge behind you, leave no retreat. There's only one way home. Reply 1

Mandroid aa =r) I never figured weather people were all that bright. Reading a blurb that someone else probably wrote. What do they get paid for 2 minutes three or four times a day at most. Electric eye, in the sky, Feel my stare, always there, There's nothing you can do about it, Develop and expose, I feed upon your every thought, And so my power grows. Reply 411+ Jessica Atreides Marshall + hour ago They echo what the ‘important’ ones do - the anchors and reporters. So of course they say dumb stuff. The boss hates Trump they hate Trump. She looks like she's maybe twenty-something. If she's just a few years out of college the conditioning never had a chance to wear off. We have entered the time when all will turn against us and seek our lives. Reply 9G [-) Belushi Speedball 42 minutes ago How long will it take for some people to figure it out? They used the social media of conservatives to attack them - now the shoe is on the other foot. Those who are inclined to suffer fools gladly should plan to spend a lot of time suffering. Reply +53(4]-) Remo Williams 31 minutes ago Milwaukee is about like Memphis, maybe a bigger population in the metro area. She'll probably find another job but it'll still be TV. I wouldn't want to be that age in legacy media. That's the biz sweetheart. Reply BG MAGA Hurtz 20 minutes ago I wouldn't have gone into it ten years ago. Today? How dumb do you have to be? "I should know better, but where's the fun in that?!" Reply oG

Things were suddenly quiet and stayed that way. The second RT4 had gone up with a big bang. The tandem charge rocket had hit near dead center, and there was no movement around the wreckage to suggest survivors. “Wonder how long they'll wait now," Ethan said. "We seem to have gotten ourselves surrounded.” "Yep," Tyler replied. "Guess they'll get the nerve before long. Got a preferred method of departure?" “I imagine they'll have a suggestion," Ethan replied. "What say you, Harry?" Robert ‘Harry’ Harrison took out a package of cigarillos and offered them. Tyler and Ethan each took one and lit them as Harry lit one of his own. He took his communicator out and opened it. Like an oversized folding phone, it was now their only link to possible help. Possible, if one of their relays was overhead and in range. “Doesn't look good," he replied. "Don't figure on going with them peaceably. Wonder how many we got so far.” “Least a half dozen in each of APCs," Tyler replied. "A handful of deaders layin’ out there. Maybe some are playing, to be safe. But we're ahead, and I figure on runnin’ up the score before they get us.” Harry tapped and swiped the screen of his Commpad. “Well,” Ethan said, "we rang the bell. Unless Harry has one more miracle left, we'll give it another whack." "Yo Redtail,” Harry said. "About time you got here. How's your fuel?" “Thirty minutes tops." “Minerva,” Tyler said. "She's on loan from Mantis section. Up there in a Redtail watching us.” “That's plenty,” Harry said, “if you can arrange an airstrike in the next ten. That's ten at the outside.” “I'm on it," Minerva replied. "Can you you pop smoke?" "Say when." Balance of Power (2022)