Starting my first full day in Bali here in the hotel restuarant taking advantage of the wireless internet.

It is really a beautiful location.  Food is good and things are really cheap here.  Paradise for sure.

This guys hangs outside my room.  I’m not sure what the symbolism is intended to represent or why it was erected.  Heh.  Actually, you remove the penis and strike the statue on the back and it makes a “gong” sound.  A couple of minutes later someone shows up from the hotel asking what it is you need.  Felt bad about that, because this place is a series of hillside cottages, and getting around requires traversing numerous stairs.  So, I’ll be leaving the penis inserted for the rest of the trip!

A river runs through it.  The view from my patio.

The entrance to my room.  This resort was built in 1928 and in some ways is showing its age.  But, it is a nice throwback to the golden era of travel and it really quite pleasant.

This perhaps gives you a little idea of how the cottages are built into the hillside.  Very quaint, is it not?

Had this great western-style breakfast delivered to the room and enjoyed it on the patio surrounded by the wonderful Bali ambiance.  It tasted even better than it looks.  Oh, breakfast is included in the price of the room.  Which is about $60 US. Dinner for six last night was $24, including beer and plates and plates of Indonesia goodness.  I cashed out $500 at the airport exchange and the challenge may be finding a way to spend that much in ten days.

Did I mention this is paradise?

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Well, no need to hurry.  Bags are packed and I’m ready to go.  A good night sleep, then an early morning airport shuttle to Incehon and I’m on my way.

Soon I will be saying: Bali Hi!

See you on the other side.

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House Minority leader John Boehner calls the “cap and trade” legislation recently passed in the House “a pile of sh*t”.

Yeah, and it also represents the largest middle class tax hike in history.  Enjoy paying those electric bills folks.  Me thinks “The One” speaks with forked tongue.  Thank God I’m living in Korea.

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I admit, I don’t really get Korean comedy.  But I take it this is “very hot”.

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I got bored yesterday afternoon so I went out for a cold draft beer.  Most of my regular haunts don’t open until 1800 or so, but I dropped into this little open bar (meaning no aircon, but with nice street views for people watching) run by some nice Filipinas.  Most bars play current music and rap, and I’m still stuck in the 70s for the most part when it comes to stuff I like.  For whatever reason, as I nursed my beer a folk set came up in the rotation.  I heard “500 Miles” by what I think were The Brothers Four and decided I prefer the Peter, Paul, and Mary version.  Then there was Joan Baez doing “Diamonds and Rust”, which is a great tune.  I was wondering if Bob Dylan might be next, and sure enough, up came “Blowin’ in the Wind”. 

You know, I hadn’t actually really listened to that song for quite some time.  Although as a young person I rather fancied it, of late I had just written it off as another naiive anti-war rag.  But upon further consideration after contemplating the lyrics, I think it is really a powerful reminder that some things, including freedom, are worth fighting for.  Stay with me on this while I digress.

I recently became active on Facebook.  Yeah, I know, welcome to the 21st century and all that.  It’s actually pretty cool making connections and “finding” old friends.  I actually hooked up with a high school bud via Facebook.  Chris and I were editors on the school newspaper together and were of like minds politically (leftist/radical).  Chris pursued the dream to become a journalist and currently works for a large newspaper in the Pacific Northwest.  I devoted my life to government service, which is pretty funny when I look back on just how anti-government I once was.  Anyway, in response to my invite to be a Facebook friend, I got a nice message filling me in on his life and lamenting the sad state of affairs in print jounalism these days as newspapers are going bankrupt with increasing frequency.  I responded in part:

Hey Chris. Hopefully you’ve got access now.

As I’ve watched the print media whither away I wondered how you were faring. I had it in my head that you worked for the Seattle PI which recently moved to the online version as well. I’m not clear how that business model will generate enough revenue to support a newsgathering operation, but time will tell. Good luck to you.

You know Chris, we could have a long chat about what has brought “traditional” media to this sorry state of affairs. Obviously, competition for ads from Craig’s List hurts the bottom line, but that does not explain the loss of readership. I think what has hurt the press in that regard is a loss of credibility. For years I relied on the Washington Post as my primary news source. Post 9/11, I started looking at other sources on the Internet and I was frankly surprised to find just how much of the story I was not getting. I guess I am firmly in the camp of those who believe that the MSM reports with an agenda, rather than striving for balance. I certainly saw that in the Iraq reporting, and last year’s election coverage was a farce. Love him or hate him, Obama did not face the scrutiny of Sarah Palin or even “Joe the plumber”. Unless and until the press is either up front with their bias or gets back to reporting “just the facts”, I see no hope for recovery. I’m curious what you thought of ABC’s infomercial for nationalized health care this week.

Anyway, as you might have gathered my view of the world has evolved since my “radical” high school days. Although I think I still have my core “liberal” values and beliefs, the left wing in America seems to side with those who have no love for freedom and justice. We fight about issues like Gay marriage, while homosexuals are stoned to death in much of the world with nary a protest. What’s up with that?

I’ve not as yet heard back from Chris and I’m thinking I may have scared him away.  I guess most folks think of me as a neocon these days, and hell, they might be right.  I’m sure my views must strike my old friend as being as radical as they once were, but to the other extreme.  But as Joe Walsh once sang “everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed”.  I believe that I didn’t leave the left, the left left me, so to speak.  Or maybe I always had it wrong.  I certainly always believed that the oppressed in the world had a God-given right to drink from the cup of liberty.  And if you stand up for human rights, be it women or gays or just freedom from tyranny, how can you turn your head to what was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan?  Or North Korea and Iran?  So, if that makes me a neocon, I will wear the mantle proudly and without apology.

This is the kind of “liberal” I was and remain today:

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge and more.

To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do — for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom — and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required, not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge — to convert our good words into good deeds in a new alliance for progress — to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request — that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah — to “undo the heavy burdens…and let the oppressed go free.”

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need — not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation” — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

–John F. Kennedy - January 20, 1961

So, I think this is the proper context for considering the words of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”.

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ‘n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

OK, we all can agree that war is unspeakably horrible.  No one hates wars more than the soldiers who fight them.  BUT, Dylan is not saying war is never necessary or justified.  Like all of us, he instead wishes for and dreams of a day when mankind puts such foolishness behind us forever. 

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Now, this verse really struck me yesterday.  Dylan is stating unequivocably that freedom is not just some ideal, but a birthright of all people.  And for those of us who are fortunate enough to have been born free, it reminds that we have an obligation not to turn our backs on the oppressed of the world.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Here’s the thing.  The left is quick to note that many have died as a result of our interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And yet, there is little mention of the deaths perpetuated by Saddam and the Taliban.  Brutal massacres and heinous acts like rape, torture and oppression.  You can debate whether our intervention was warranted as a matter of national interest, but you lose me when you argue that only deaths caused by the USA are bad. 

And so it goes.  We are witnessing the depravity of the mullahs in Iran.  It is no secret about Kim Jong Il’s death camps.  How many ears must we have to hear their cries?  How many deaths is too many?  How long will they exist without being free?

The answer is blowing in the wind.

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Claudia Rosett thinks we ignore Kim Jong Il’s threats at our peril.

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So they say.  Still, hearing the ROKs think along these lines is encouraging.

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Saying what needs to be said. 

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It was a pretty good show and the crowd seemed to appreciate the effort.  The LT Dan Band features of course Gary Sinise (who played LT Dan on Forrest Gump and currently stars in CSI:NY) on bass.  Hmm, well to be honest, it is rare in a band for the bass player to be “featured”.  Paul McCartney comes to mind, but Sinise is no McCartney and doesn’t make any pretense about it.  No vocals, just plays the bass and handles the audience interactions between songs.

He has surrounded himself with some fairly talented musicians and vocalists and they keep it lively.  Sinise has put together a solid cover band that tackles a broad spectrum of popular music and they appear to have a good time doing it.   I give them props for being willing to cater to an audience ranging in age from 6 to 60 with their song selection.  I trust not many folks have heard the Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B” and Jimi Hendrix’ “Purple Haze” in the same set! 

So, it was a good time.  And as always, performers who come out to entertain and support our forward deployed troops around the world deserve nothing but praise.  Well done and thank you LT Dan Band!

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Well, I finally had Oldboy come up in my Netflix queue.  This is one of those Korean classics that comes with a can’t be missed reputation.  And I have now completed all segments of the “vengeance trilogy”.  If pushed, I guess you could say these are in the “Kill Bill” genre, although there is bit more meat here than in Tarentinos effort (violence being the potatos).  Although you will definitely get a good deal of starch in this as well. (ok, I’ve worked that analogy about as far as it will go, don’t ya think?)

Oldboy was was by far the most disturbing of the three.  It is definitely a mind bender.  I didn’t see what was coming until it hit me.  I’m not going to spoil this one for you.  If you want to know more, go here.  Otherwise just watch it yourself.  It might creep you out, but you’ll be entertained as well.  Hitchcockesque, but with sex and violence.  Ok?

On the other hand, don’t waste your time with Flightplan, a Jodie Foster vehicle.  Now, I’ve always felt Ms. Foster was a fine actress.  And I suppose her acting was just fine in this picture as well.  But what a waste of film this story was.  Just full of holes and plot contrivances that had me shaking my head in disbelief.  Which is not good, because a movie is supposed to make you believe in the reality on the screen.  The entire scenario was pure rubbish, and I felt like I was being toyed with throughout the film.  Well, I was not biting.  Better things can be found to with those two hours, trust me.

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Ahem.

Now, I’m pretty much a beer drinker.  On those occasions when a shot is called for (someone rings the bell or otherwise buys a round) I’m faced with a dilemma.  Jack Daniels is no friend of mine, and tequila kicks my ass.  So, I usually get a shot that is one part Bailey’s and one part Kahlua.  A tad sweet, but with a beer chaser not bad.  The drink is popularly known as a “blow job”.  I don’t know why.

So anyway, given that all men are basically adolescents at heart, when ordering the above referenced shot, I will invariably ask the female bartender to give me a blowjob.  Yeah, puns and double entendres are always such a hoot.  I know, I know, it’s beyond stupid and borderline (?) offensive.

Still, have you seen the new Burger King ad apparently making the rounds in the USA?

Seven inches?  Not much of a meal.

Anyway, I don’t know if this ad vindicates me or implicates me.  But the ad doesn’t make me want to rush out to BK to get my mind “blown”.

Oh by the way, we do have BK in Korea, both on the economy and on base.  Haven’t seen this ad (or the sandwich) here though.

I am anticipating some interesting Google referrals based on the title of this post.  I expect such visitors will be sorely disappointed.  I guess they’ll say what many readers say after visiting LTG: “That sucks”.

There, I have closed the loop.

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No, I am not crossing over to the dark side, wherever that might be.  Last night was movie night, and as the title of this post foreshadows, the film I watched was called Crossing Over.

As regular readers know it’s kinda hit and miss with me and movies as I am pretty much out of touch with popular American culture.  Netflix has helped a little (although I tend to order Korean movies from there, go figure), but I still occasionally pick up “street movies” which is always a bit of crap shoot in all respects (quality of the DVD and quality of the content).

Which is a long way to say I had never heard of Crossing Over.  I picked it up because I recognized members of the cast–Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, and Ray Liotta.  No clue what the movie was going to be about story-wise, but I liked my odds since it came with a talented cast.

Alright, so the actors acted at least up to expected standards.  And the story revolves around an interesting and topical issue–immigration.  But as the opening credits rolled and I saw the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detention facility in L.A., well, I pretty much guessed what I was in for–a heapin’ helpin’ of pungent Hollywood propoganda.  And that’s what I got.

Let’s see how many illegal aliens undocumented workers were being oppressed by those meanies at DHS.   Young Mexican mother and countless other helpless immigrants doing factory work Americans won’t do?  Of course.  We also had the sad tales of a young Australian actress, a Jewish atheist from the UK, an orphaned girl from Nigeria, and a family from Bangladesh all at the mercy of those evil immigration agents.  And oh, just to round out the stew (heh, in the melting pot!) we had storylines involving legal Iranian and Korean immigrants.

Are you with me so far?  Good that was the easy part!

So, of course the villians in the story are those thankless rubes charged with enforcing U.S. immigration law.  Now, Harrison Ford’s character is somewhat sypathetic to the plight of the illegals and is roundly castigated for his kindness by his peers.  The opening scene sets the tone, as Ford inquires about the health of one of the capturees as is given a ration of sh*t about it.  Then we move on to a clothing factory raid where Ford finds a young woman hiding.  He appears ready to pretend he doesn’t see her until another ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent happens along and asks what he’s waiting for “a marriage proposal”?  So, of course Ford hauls her out to the waiting bus.  But the women has a child staying with friends and begs Ford to take her pay there so the boy won’t be put out on the street.  Ford responds that he can’t help her, and she continues pleading and just before being placed on the bus she shoves a piece of paper into his hands.  His cronies ridicule him and he throws the paper on the ground telling them to lay off.  Of course, that night he goes back to the factory and searches the parking lot with a flashlight until he finds the paper and rescues the child.  Nice guy in the wrong job apparently.

Next up is Ray Liotta playing an immigration official responsible for approving green card applications.  He’s involved in a traffic accident with the illegal Australian actress.  And of course he tells her he can get her a green card in exchange for two months of sex.  She agrees, but feels lousy about it.  Go figure.

It gets worse.  We are then introduced to a teenage girl from Bangladesh, giving a presentation to her school classmates all decked out in the Keffiyeh headwear.  She is talking about the courageous 9/11 terrorists and how their motives were misunderstood.  She said that these poor oppressed people were only trying to be heard, and since all anyone talks about since the attacks are Islamic extremists, they were successful.  Oh she goes on and on with graphic descriptions of being “heard” above “roaring jet engines” slamming into steel buildings. Disgusting. Her classmates are going wild calling her all sorts of names (like sand monkey) and finally the teacher makes her sit down.  Now, I have to admit I was just about as pissed as her classmates yelling at the TV to get her ass out of the country.  But what really got my goat was that these Hollywood pukes actually tried to make this girl a sympathetic character.  The failed miserably I believe in attempting to justify the senseless murder of 3000 innocents.  But oh did they try!

Which brings us to the next depiction of the big baddies from DHS.  See, the school principle gave a copy of the girl’s report to the folks at Homeland Security.  And that night there was the proverbial knocking on the door by government thugs.  Turns out the girl’s family was in the country illegally, except for two siblings who were born in the USA (no relation to Bruce Springsteen I’m sure).  So, the girl is questioned harshly about her remarks and she responds with the old “I thought there was free speech in this country” routine.  People tend to foget about the consequences of expressing unpopular viewpoints.  Ask the Dixie Bitches Chicks.  Say what you want, but take responsibility for your words, don’t whine about it. The DHS agent in charge is similarly unimpressed with this line of argument.  Other agents search the room and find her diary expressing suicidal ideations and her computer showed she was a frequent visitor to jihadi websites.  Somehow these misguided government agents put 2+2 together and came up with the ridiculous conclusion that the girl was a potential threat to America.  Duh!  The girl pleads that she only said she understood why the terrorists wanted to be “heard”, not that she agreed with their methods.  The cold hearted DHS folks weren’t buying it and hauled her off to the detention facility gulag in San Pedro.  Bastards.

So then we meet Ashley Judd’s character, an immigration lawyer who won’t countenance this paranoid nonsense from DHS, calling it “ridiculous” that the government would consider this girl a threat based on the most “circumstantial evidence”.  Only problem was since the girl was an illegal she had no due process rights and Judd was told she would be deported.  Just to prove the government wasn’t totally heartless, Judd was told that if the girl went quietly with one of her parents the other could remain behind with the two natural born Americans, provided they didn’t make any trouble.  Judd was outraged but powerless to do more than rage against the machine.  So we are then treated to a tearful scene in the detention facility when the girl learns she must depart the country she so recently gleefully justified being attacked by sick, cowardly bastards.  Funny how that worked out.

Sorry for the spoilers, but damn, I’m still pretty pissed at what this movie was trying to “sell” to the American people. 

The Korean immigrants had a son who got involved with some local Korean gang bangers, and the Iranians murdered a daugher for disrepecting the family by becoming to Western in her world view (she was sleeping with a Mexican-American boyfriend, God Allah forbid.  Funny thing about that was when I looked this film up on Wikipedia I discovered this bit: “The film originally featured a scene in which an Iranian character is murdered by her brother in an honor killing, but the National Iranian American Council opposed the plotline as being unrealistic and offensive, and the killing was rewritten as a crime of passion to remove all reference to “family honor”.  Heh, that didn’t work out to well either.  I knew right away it was in fact an “honor” killing.

Ok, other than that I really liked this movie.  Seriously.  I thought it was well made, pretty well written, and entertaining.  And the best thing is I think it had the opposite impact from the one intended.  I believe most people would agree after seeing this movie that people who come to the USA illegally had best mind their P’s and Q’s.  Americans are not sympathetic to scofflaws, especially those who think crashing airliners into buildings is a cool way to be “heard”. 

Watch it yourself and see what you think.  I didn’t spoil *all* the good parts.  Promise.

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Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head…

Well, actually I didn’t comb my hair.  It was Saturday and that’s what ball caps are made for.

Did my weekly grocery shopping at the commissary, got home and put the stuff away, then settled in for a relaxing play of CIV IV.

Loaded the game to my new Sony Notebook.  Pretty cool, eh?

After suffering a frustrating defeat, I showered up and headed out to Manila Bar, the venue for my friend Becky’s birthday celebration.

The birthday girl, a nice gal from Canada.

Natalie gave the darts a throw…

While Margaret, another Canuck, stylishly smoked a cigarette.

Becky and her main squeeze Mike, a nice guy from the Philippines.

That’s Teddy, owner of Manila Bar in the middle.  I don’t know the name of the cute Korean gal (I should).

A couple of sweet Filipinas, Jovie on the right is Teddy’s wife.  The other is Jovie’s sister.  But I don’t recall her name either (I should).

Happy partiers!

The Korean on the left used to tend bar at Bless U, but I hadn’t seen her around for the last year or so.  Guess what?  I don’t remember either of their names.

Anyway, it was a nice time.  I always give Becky a half dozen bottles of Blue Cheese dressing as a birthday gift.  Apparently she eats it with just about everything.  And she is always pleased with her present, which makes it easy for me.

So, it was time to head over to Dolce Vita for the International Dart Tournament.  We had a rather disappointing turnout with only six teams participating.  I was really sorry that none of the outstanding Filipino players turned out to play for national pride.  I think most of them were hanging out in Manila Bar for Becky’s party.

So, with only six teams we played a round robin format with the total number of legs won determining the champion.

Dave and Alisteir represented Great Britain.

Dustin and Jay proudly represented Canada sporting Maple Leaf flights.

Seung Youb and YS played for the Republic of Korea.

We also had three American teams turn out:

Me and Colonel Dan waved Old Glory…

Lonnie and Jim, a couple of fine Americans.

Dave and Rod were the other Team America entrant.

So, there was a lot of darts to be played and we commenced to play them.  As it turned out, it took ten legs won to play for the championship.  Dan and I struggled all night for consistency, but we had our moments of greatness and won some tough legs.  We also let a couple slip away, and that made the difference as our 9 wins was one short of what we needed.

This was perhaps our high water moment, taking a clutch leg from the Canadians.  As you can perhaps tell, it was a point war.  For some reason, I lost my ability to hit a bullseye and Dustin and Jay took full advantage.  We matched their bulls with points on the open 20 in a seesaw battle until we finally got up and closed the bulls for a win.  Unfortunately, the Koreans took us down 2-1 ruining our hopes for a money finish.

Turns out the Brits and Yanks (Dave and Rod) both had ten legs won, so it was a playoff for the championship.  Kind of a replay of 1776 (without the bloodshed) and the outcome was the same, with the Americans victorious!  We couldn’t resist a raucous chant of USA! USA! at the conclusion of the match. 

Dolce Vita closed after the match for renovations.  So I will have to find a new home for the next few days.  I live for Bali in a week though and when I return it should be back to business as usual in the new and improved Dolce Vita.

Finished the night with a dinner of samgyapsal and bulgogi at Don Valley with Dan and his wife.

And yes, by the end of the day I was feeling no pain.

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I hope you like the change here at LTG.

Yes, I’m talking about the new masthead design.  And yes, that was the change I mentioned was coming a couple of weeks ago.  Not anything major like some of you speculated perhaps, but after nearly 5 years I thought it was time for a new look.  I always envied the K-blogs with a cool Korea photograph as their masthead.  It just seems appropriate somehow.  So, when I saw this photograph:

I thought “hey, that would make a great masthead for my blog!”  If I am not mistaken, this bridge is called Hangang Taegyo (The Great Han River Bridge).  Originally built in 1917 and destroyed in the early days of the Korean War.  Rebuilt in 1958.  It is certainly not the most impressive bridge crossing the river, but there is an understated class and elegance about it, don’t you think?  Like an aging movie queen who maintains her dignity and grace.  Eh, I think that might be a tad over the top.  I just like the photo ok?

The photographer, Dave New, is a guy I’ve played darts with for years and in fact we will be teammates this season on the Rubbies.  He is *almost* as good at darts as he is with the camera.  Check out his impressive work here.  Thanks again Dave for allowing me to use your photograph!

So, what do you think about my new look?

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For your consideration:

Senator Barbara “don’t call me ma’am” Boxer.

Congressional aide Elizabeth “don’t call me Liz” Becton.

VP spouse Jill “call me Dr.” Biden.

Meanwhile, Rome is burning.

I understand that there’s a saying in Texas something along the lines of “big hat, no cattle”. 

Hey, if the name fits…

UPDATE:  Gomer Pyle weighs in…

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I came across this defense of JRR Tolkien and his work and found it quite fascinating.

I’m a big fan myself, having first read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy as a teenager.  And many times since.  Including out loud to someone, which is a whole ‘nother to get into the story BTW.

After reading the books the first time me and my buddy Rod Headlee got it into our minds that we should have a Bilbo-like adventure as well.  So we hitchhiked across the Pacific Northwest.  Visited the 1974 Spokane World’s Fair and had an amazing time in Big Sky Montana.  That was also the trip where I was not allowed to enter Canada.  And I’ve never been back.

Ah, memories.

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Assuming you like this sort of thing.  I do.  Sue me.

1.    The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

  2.    I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.