There is some back-and-forth in the comments regarding Trump’s pardoning of the J6 protesters. To be clear, I do not condone the behavior of those who illegally breached the Capitol grounds in a challenge to the fraudulent 2020 election results. That said, the government’s response has been over the top, including holding individuals in jail for months and years awaiting trial. And the crimes committed were nowhere near as violent as what the BLM protesters did during their summer of burning cities and destroying lives. I’m glad Trump issued the promised pardons. I mean, it’s not like they were corrupt relatives of his or anything like that.
Okay, let’s get back to the daily drivel, shall we? The Wednesday Walkers did an up, over, and down the other side hike across the Kalaklan Ridge and finished with an urban stroll on the streets of Olongapo City. Our up was a rarely taken route and the down was a first for me. I don’t particularly like walking in the city, but the streets were unfamiliar, and noting the differences in vibe between Olongapo and the Barretto ‘burbs was interesting.
My chelation treatment with Dr. Jo went without a hitch, and with that out of the way, we headed to the Outback to begin the fun part of our evening.
I made a short video of our Outback views if you care to have a look:
We moved up the beach for a grilled porkchop dinner at Mango’s.
These days, we might visit Mango’s for dinner once a month or so, so it was funny that as soon as we sat down, the waitress greeted us with: “Red wine, San Miguel Zero, one order of pork chops with an extra plate, and sides of mashed potato and veggies.” Yes, ma’am. You know us too well. And the meal was good, as always.
We went to Whiskey Girl for our nightcap. We hadn’t been there for several months, so it fit my Wednesday agenda of stopping by a seldom-visited bar. We had an additional motive for going to Whiskey Girl. One of the waitresses lives on our Candy Walk route, and Swan felt bad that the kids weren’t around last week. So, we delivered a bag of Bingo cookies and some lollipops for Kim to take home after work. We also brought sweets for the rest of the crew to enjoy during our time there. My old friends Jenn and Josie are no longer working at Whiskey, so that saved me some lady drink cash. I was impressed that the dancers kept moving on stage in a dance-like mode despite us being the only customers during our visit. I thought about tipping them, but decided my doing that in Alaska is more than enough. They got cookies and lollipops instead!
As soon as we walked out the door to head home, a trike pulled up to take us. I took a break from “Squid Game” and hit the hay early.
Twenty years ago, my world changed forever in ways I never anticipated.
I wrote about the journey to Korea here.
For today’s YouTube video, I’ll share another vlogger’s perspective on my hometown of Barretto. I agree with him about the litter but disagree that the bars are the only reason to come here. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my favorite drinking establishments, but that’s a small portion of my day.
The daily dose of smiles:
Maybe twenty years have been enough. We’ll see.
Just to keep things in perspective
Interesting how the Democrat pardons always seem to outstrip those of neighboring Republican presidents on that list: Carter beats Reagan; Clinton beats both Bushes; Obama and Biden both beat Trump. I assume that that “238” figure for Trump comes from his first term. He’s begun his second term with around 1,500 pardons, which still puts him under Obama and Biden.
Living the dream
Guy really needs to watch those cabin-building videos on YouTube to learn how to make a proper domicile.
A litter-free hike wasn’t in the cards
With lunar new year coming up in Korea, I might do my yearly “crazy walk” of 60K from my place to Yangpyeong. Maybe this time, I’ll take photos that focus purely on trash and litter. There’s a lot that I leave out when I normally take photos on the path.
My chelation treatment with Dr. Jo went without a hitch
One or two more treatments from now, I hope we hear about whether there’s been any progress, any changes.
I agree with him about the litter but disagree that the bars are the only reason to come here.
True: along with drinking, you write about walking! But, seriously: can you give a list of other activities one can engage in while in Barretto? Let’s start you off:
1. walking
2. drinking/bars
3. darts (bars)
4. pool/billiards (bars)
5. eating Western/Filipino food (bars, bar-restaurants)
6. …?
7. …?
8. …?
9. …?
10. …?
What if you were to design a walking tour of Barretto that included legitimate tourist sites/sights and other sites/sights of interest (e.g., natural formations, etc.). Maybe you’d have to design more than one route, e.g., if you included Black Rock as one of the places to visit. Hell, a guide to “the real Barretto” updated yearly might actually sell! (You might have to interview locals, including fellow expats, about what counts as “the real Barretto.” This could prove surprising.) Making this guide will give you a chance to see Barretto less as a setting and more as a resource.
Almost as bad as one of my blog posts
Reminds me of a 2022 post of mine.
I’ll respectfully submit that you’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and thus continue to miss the point regarding Trump’s blanket pardons of ignorant thugs and loonies who trampled on the foundations of American democracy. We’re sliding toward populist demagogue dictatorship and mob rule, but whatever.
Cheers
I wrote:
What if you were to design a walking tour of Barretto that included legitimate tourist sites/sights and other sites/sights of interest (e.g., natural formations, etc.).
There should be a question mark at the end, not a period. Whoops.
Drain, it is almost scary how you have accepted the corrupt narrative surrounding the J6 “insurrection.” It is interesting how Pelosi has admitted she turned down Trump’s offer on National Guard protection. And how the Congressional Committee was so bad (including illegally destroying evidence and suborning perjury) that Biden was compelled to pardon them.
Here’s the story of just one of those “ignorant thugs.” Try a taste of my Kool-Aid, maybe you’ll like it.
Kev, I can’t vouch for the accuracy of those pardon numbers, but they would have been at the end of Trump’s first term. I had forgotten that among the Carter commutations were the Puerto Ricans who attacked the Capitol and killed several Congressmen. I guess that was (D)ifferent.
Well, shelter from the storm and all that. Folks here salvage scrap and throw together whatever they can make of it. Sad and impressive at the same time.
When I first moved to Korea, I noticed much more litter on the streets than I was used to seeing back home. Of course, from my Philippines perspective, Korea seems almost pristine by comparison.
No time to complete the activity list this morning. Let me think about it and post something soon.
I’ll stick to San Mig, thank you. Clearly you’ve drunk enough Kool-Aid for both of us and confined your critical thinking so as to align with the self-reassuring fringe and its cynical bubble of crude propaganda, but so be it. Your blog, your Kool-Aid goggles. I respectfully submit that some sober analysis is overdue regarding this national disgrace and those who incited, fueled, and enabled it. And who have now excused it.
Our nation deserves better.
Cheers
For what it’s worth, the claim that “Pelosi has admitted she turned down Trump’s offer on National Guard protection” has been debunked ad nauseum. That’s Kool-Aid talking.
Cheers
@Drain @John and @Kevin
The problem in todays world is that everybody falls into the “confirmation bias” syndrome.
People tend to follow news reports, blogs, websites, etc. that only confirm what they believe. Algorithms then further feed up content that is even more aligned. It is a news silo and therefore (generic) you tends to believe what you are reading is the only truth.
Both sides are guilty of this. I say Trump is the greatest and I have “facts” to back it up. Someone else says Trump is a corrupt liar, and they have “facts” to back it up. As with most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
So John, what are the news sources, websites, blogs, etc that you read on a (semi) regular basis? I am going to go out on a limb and say that they probably all lean partially or heavily to the right.
@Brian: Yep.
Brian, you can see the websites I consult in the “Places I go everyday” section on the right hand side of my blog. Yes, they tend to provide a right wing perspective, but they provide links to many sources. I read, research, and make up my own mind. I learned long ago that the bias in MSM is found in what they DON’T report.
Drain, thanks for the feedback. We can agree to disagree.