A light Through the Leaves

"To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armor, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous."

George Orwell

Tuesday Evening Quiz 10/30/07

WHAT?


1.-


2.-


3.-


4.-


5.-


6.-

They're Coming to Take Me Away (File #9)

Man Gets Probation in Pickle Assault
Oct 30, 5:03 PM EDT
Associated Press

NILES, Mich. (AP) -- Talk about being in a pickle: A judge gave a 35-year-old man probation in a case that police said involved an assault with pickles. According to police reports, the pickle problems began when Bobby Lee Bolen of Buchanan was hanging out at his then-friend Jody Lee's home in Buchanan on Aug. 20.
...
Lee told police Bolen slammed him down on the couch and threw two large pickles at him and said, "Here's your damn pickles."
...

"If this is not the silliest case I've ever seen in this courtroom, it certainly is in the Top 10," Berrien Trial Court Judge Scott Schofield said. "The fact that it's silly doesn't mean that it's not serious."

Defense attorney Robert Lutz said alcohol appeared to be at the root of Bolen's problems.

Bolen's sentence included 54 days in jail with credit for 54 days served and one year of probation.
CLICK

Six University of South Carolina Students Die in Fire

Monday morning friends report.

What some of our friends and family are doing, saying, or emailing recently. Several of our gang like JOE, PAT W, SPARTY, DASHMANN and IRISH MIKE are mourning the approaching end of golf season in mid Michigan.

People are really "on the go" these days.

SANDY - and her crew have just returned from Greece and Italy.

OFFICER ED and MARY - have left for Texas for the winter.

The GENDERs - have left for Florida for November and will be coming and going during the winter.

SCOT and TRASE - are planning their next trip to Australia.

MARSHA - Was in Philadelphia and Washington DC this past week.
(And she says this sign is on the Parkway by Washington: GEORGE BUSH CENTER FOR INTELLIGENCE. She found it to be highly improbable, but we decided it must pertain to Bush's daddy who was a spy.)

BILL from WNNCO - was in Chicago for a long weekend.

PAT W - Here is a picture that represents her vacation very well. Shoes kicked off, a rocking chair, a "screwdriver," a su-do-ku book, the latest Harry Potter novel --- but wait! Where is she? Oh yeah, gone to take a nap.

Click on picture to enlarge it.

DASHMANN and JOANNE - are dropping their plans to go to Hawaii and instead plan to visit a sunny beach not quite so far away.
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SPARTY and GIGI - rode out the tornado threats during the recent spell of bad weather in Michigan at their daughter's house. A tornado did strike nearby. Thankfully, they were in the basement and all went well.

STEVE - sent this picture of his successful hunting effort. He got that poor, little defenseless deer with a bow-and-arrow. In the past, we teased him about his hunting luck. Now, we apologize.

Click on picture to enlarge

JIM T from Minneapolis - has a fairly new blog which reflects his interest in pin-hole photography. If you have a similar interest visit him here: CLICK Here is a picture of a pinhole camera. His other great interests include bicycling as a form of transportation.

Jim owns a bicycle shop which you can visit online here: CLICK FOR HIAWATHA CYCLERY And, it has a very cool logo.


ALICE - sends more about the Blackwater group. This is a military-for-rent operation that the Bush government has been using to do some of its dirty work in Iraq (and elsewhere, no doubt) and which is having new troubles: this time tax evasion. CLICK

SPARTY - is also concerned about the Blackwater group and sent this cite to a Frank Rich opinion piece that says this: If we let this group go on doing its nastiness in our name, then we are like the "good Germans" who turned away and pretended not to know what their government was doing before World War II. I think it's an excellent point, and I strongly recommend this article: CLICK FOR RICH

excerpt: "Our humanity has been compromised by those who use Gestapo tactics in our war. The longer we stand idly by while they do so, the more we resemble those “good Germans” who professed ignorance of their own Gestapo. It’s up to us to wake up our somnambulant Congress to challenge administration policy every day. Let the war’s last supporters filibuster all night if they want to. There is nothing left to lose except whatever remains of our country’s good name."

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DASHMANN - sent this slap at Hillary. He does not say if he agrees with it or not.

Click on it to enlarge it.

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BILL from WNNCO - one of the smartest people I know, and with the most varied interests and achievements, sent this picture of his racing team which includes himself and his sons.

Click on picture to enlarge.

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STEVE - sent some pictures from a friend of his of an albino deer struck and killed on M-68 in Michigan. Both Pat and I found the picture to be eerie, but sad. It seems almost irreligious to have this wonderful creature dead-by-accident.


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FELIX and MARSHA - both report a rare phenomenon in their areas, and they're both delighted by it: RAIN!

JERRY - is recovering from an injury. It's one of those nagging things that takes a long time to go away. But, he hasn't lost his sense of humor, and sent a bunch of cartoons about the matter of health. I'm including two:


Click on cartoons to enlarge

MIKE CARROLL almost from Carrollton - sent some funny videos. One of them was another slap at Senator Larry Craig and was called: "Village People and Sen. Craig: A Real Toe-Tapper!" (Some people besides the Senator, might find it offensive.) CLICK

JOE - sent a bunch of golfing jokes. This is one of them that I really liked:
A gushy reporter told Phil Michelson, "You are spectacular, your name is synonymous with the game of golf. You really know your way around the course. What's your secret?"
Michelson replied, "The holes are numbered."

Go here to order your Cheney-Satan campaign materials, shirts, memorabilia and bumperstickers CLICK

Beach Vacation 2007 log #4

THE "BIRCHES" CREW - AND THE MYSTERY OF THE BIRDMONSTER OF MUDDY BAY

When we went exploring along the marsh trails and waterfront of Muddy Bay, near Georgetown, S.C., we were warned to beware of the "Giant Ghostly Gull". Folklore has it that the Gull is a man-killer but is seen only rarely in the tidewater marshes. When hungry, it kills with a single peck and swallows with a single gulp. It can swoop down without any warning and gobble up children and adults with equal ease. Such stories, when told in the dimming twilight can cause shivers and fears, even on a warm evening.



But, of course, we are educated people and we don't believe in such nonsense; so we went confidently exploring, paddling and wading the lowlands, and trekking over sand dunes on the small islands, thinking the most dangerous thing we might confront would be a diseased mosquito.

Then, we came across this track.

What could it be? One of us mentioned the story of the Monstrous Gull, but we all laughed that off. Silly, we thought. Such things don't exist.

A bit farther along, we came upon this mound of detritus and more tracks like we had just seen. This appeared to be, for all the world, what some people call "droppings." To others of a scientific bent, it would be called "scat." To us, it looked like very large birdshit. And in the middle of it, was a shiny turquoise barrette, such as might be worn by a little girl.



Stopping to study the signs, we were rapt in our envelope of concentration. And then ..... it fell upon us from the sky. Oh, it is true so true, there are things beyond our simple understanding, things of great horror and evil. Things that the police will never understand.

Wacko of the Week -- 10/27/07

King Smirk

The Dork of Hazard


A good friend of mine, a very prestigious Political Science professor and scholar- may he rest in peace - once explained to me that Condolezza Rice was very sexy, but in political science circles was considered a "light weight." Then she was appointed to high political office by his Lordship, the Viscount of Bush.

Imagine, if he has chosen her as a top adviser how ill informed he must be, how inept at international diplomacy.

And so it has proven to be. Here is the fruit of George's straining at the diplomatic bit. This week:

1. His "friend" President Putin of Russia has said that Bush's efforts to put missiles in Central Europe is as big a danger as the Cuban Crisis of 1962, and that it will cause a serious break in our friendly relations.

2. The Turks have invaded Iraq and are massing more troops on the border, despite Bush's warnings not to.

3. Iran has announced it will go ahead with its nuclear plans despite threats from America.

4. Bush and Codolezza have put unilateral sanctions (which most of the world disavows) on Iran, which now threatens to raise oil prices hugely if we attack them.

A remarkable record! If all goes as it seems to be trending, we should have an enlarged war in Iraq, a furious and fulminating Iran with nuclear weapons, a new war on our hands in Iran, and a Russian bear to the north doing everything it can to stir the pot of iniquity against us.

Thanks, Bush. We are going to try to survive you.
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FIRST RUNNER-UP: Alexander Pichushkin, whose attorneys fought valiantly to have 18 murder charges against him dropped in spite of his confession of 63. The place was Moscow, and this week, the jury did its duty, Guilty! Pichushkin said he was trying to fill a chessboard with victims. A chessboard has 64 squares. Well, he has one square left to fill, and we have a suggestion for where he can easily find that last body: suicide. CLICK
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SECOND RUNNER-UP: Dr. Jack Shepard, a dentist from Minnesota.

If I could vote in the Iowa Republican caucus, I would probably vote for this gentleman, Seriously, I believe he would be a definite improvement over the guy who now lives in the White House and for whom I have nary a nice word.

Dr. Jack is -- well, was -- a dentist in Minnesota. His practice burned down - mysteriously. He is running for President, and would come and do so in person if he could avoid being arrested. Arson charges, you know. He now lives in Rome where the long arm of American justice has not reached out to grab him.

"Since moving to Italy, he says he routinely speaks with high-level Syrian, Iranian, and Hamas officials to assist America's foreign-policy efforts. He believes he is still serving in the armed forces at the age of 60 because his ID card doesn't have an expiration date. He claims he can't come home because he's still serving his country abroad.".
CLICK
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THIRD RUNNER-UP:






Gary Zerola

Former "Most Eligible Bachelor" according to People Magazine, Zerola is a prominent lawyer from Massachusetts who was arrested this week for allegedly drugging and raping a college student in Miami. Turns out he is already under indictment for a similar offense back home. He was once a local prosecutor and now defends accused criminals. Ooops!
CLICK

Gold Stars awarded. Snowy Squares revealed.

Gold Stars to:
Marsha: She got the most right

Felix: He submitted the first answers

Alice: She worked the hardest on it.
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1. Times Square, New York
Alice, Felix, Marsha, Anonymous

2. Trafalgar Square, London
Alice

3. Tienanmen Square, Beijing
Marsha, Alice, Felix, Anonymous

4. Harvard Yard, Cambridge Mass (Boston)
Dashmann, Marsha

5. "The Diag," Ann Arbor
Marsha, Dashmann

6. Lafayette Square, Washington D.C.
Felix

7. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia

They're Coming to Take Me Away (File #8)

Quoted without further comment:


Crowder learns he won’t need translator in London

By Tim Graham | Wednesday, October 24, 2007, 07:54 PM

Maybe he was joking, but gregarious Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder confessed today he didn’t know until Tuesday that people spoke English in London.

Beach Vacation 2007 log #3

The Good Life, happy folks
at Russell's Seafood Grill
Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina

Farewell to a Soccer "Great"

#13 -Cobi Jones retires at age 37

164 Games for the United States National Team, he represented our country in 28 countries and in 3 World Cups.
349 Games for the Los Angeles "Galaxy"



The only player to have been present when Major League Soccer was created in the U.S., and then who played for the same team his whole MLS career.



Read more: CLICK HERE

Partisan Political Note

Over at ARBORETUM ... CLICK HERE

... Scot has stuck his neck out and predicted that the Presidential race is going to be between Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee.

If you think he's crazy, go tell him so.

Beach Vacation 2007 log #2

One day, we hired Captain Sandy and his "John" boat to go exploring along the coastal marshes and islets.



He threw his net into the water to catch ......




This!
Then he tore off its exoskeleton and head, and we ate it!
Just like a raw bar.
I'll never forget the sound of that poor shrimp screaming.

Thursday Morning Smile-Maker (18)

How the really tough guys "play" --
(Rugby)

Republican Humor (prt. 30)

Wow!
Thirty entries for Republican Humor.
Who would have guessed they were such a jolly old bunch?

In The Clinton Bedroom:

In the middle of the night, Hillary wakes up and needs to go to the bathroom. Bravely she tries to suppress the need and tries to force herself to go back to sleep. She tosses and turns, but despite everything, the need for the bathroom presses on her more and more.

Finally, she wakes up Bill and says, "Bill, honey. I have to get up and go to the bathroom."

"Oh, just go back to sleep!" he snaps.

She persists: "No, really. I have to go to the bathroom really, really bad."

"Well, go then," says Bill. "Why did you have to wake me up for that?"

"I just want you to save my place."

Another accident by a gunowner

This happened in my home town, so it's even more interesting than most. Another operator of a firearm has either misunderstood the Second Amendment or mistaken a children's football team for a band of invading terrorists ---

4 Shot at Saginaw MI Middle School Game

By Associated Press
9:56 PM EDT, October 24, 2007

SAGINAW, Mich. - "Gunfire erupted during halftime at a middle school football game on Wednesday afternoon, wounding two teenagers and two adults, police said.

"The four were taken to hospitals for treatment, said police Lt. Brian Lipe.

"Lipe said one victim was shot in the neck, but he said he had no information on the other victims' conditions."

Police arrested a suspect, believed to be a high school student, and were seeking at least one other suspect, the officer said. "People should be able to go to a football game without having to worry about being the victim of a shooting," Police Chief Gerald H. Cliff told The Saginaw News.

The shootings took place at South Middle School during halftime of a game with Central Middle School. About 300 people were in attendance, the newspaper said.

Quiz pic #4 is identified

Snowy Square #4 has been identified.

That leaves only 7. I know 7 is the hardest. But Marsha -- at least -- should be able to figure it out.

Anyone out there trying for all of them?

News Flash!

In joint interview George and Laura discuss sex fantasies on the O'Reilly Factor!

Beach Vacation 2007 Log #1

Two Happy ladies on vacation!
What are they doing?

new note

A third person has checked in and got 1, 3, and 5 correct.

4 and 7 are not yet discovered!

Quiz note

One person has the 1 and 2 pictures correct.,

One person has the 1, 3 and 6 correct.

No one has 4, 5 and 7 yet.

So Far! :)

Tuesday Evening Quiz 10/23/07

Where are these snowy squares?
This one may be too hard for you guys!

If you want to use email, that's fine. Otherwise, you can post what you think under "comments"

Honing in on our Carolina vacation

Oct. 23 HOME!!

Yes, we are home from our thrilling vacation--

(sometimes I lie about how good things were).
Actually, we had a very nice time and I'll report on some of it.


I note that here in Michigan this noon, the temperature is 50, but in the place I left, it's 79.

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Sent to me while I was gone:

"We're going to have to ditch that woodpecker"

--gone out to play--

New quizzes are being planned.
New issues will have to be tackled.
But first, a recess, here:


Back on OCTOBER 23