June 2024 – Page 3 – Splendid Isolation

1789 Encore

June 26, 2024 Kim du Toit Elections, Politics, Resistance

Adding to the panic-stricken voices of the Left Over Here, FrogPres “Manny” Macron weighs in:

Emmanuel Macron has warned the public that “civil war” awaits France if they fail to vote for his brand of centrist neo-liberalism in the upcoming legislative elections.

I guess it should be noted that while we Murkins had our own little shindig just before the Frogs had theirs, we are (as a nation) less likely to repeat the exercise — although I may stand to be corrected, if the 2024 elections are of a certain type.

The Frogs, however, are a lot more volatile, as I’ve mentioned before.

Mind you, that’s not to say that the French governments of recent times haven’t earned such a shitstorm, as the popularity of the National Rally has proved. But then again, our own .gov hasn’t exactly earned the respect of the populace either, so…

All this, however, takes place in an environment in which the Brits seem most likely to be about to commit national hara-kiri themselves, by tossing out (on, ironically, July 4) their own Stupid Party (the not-so-Conservatives) and replacing them with the reliably-Communist Labour Party. But I digress.

Back to the French: the 1789 Revolution took place against a political and social order which was manifestly unjust and in many cases actually malevolent, wherein an unelected power elite (the Royalty and Church) ran the country at the expense of ordinary people.

It remains to be seen, then, whether the French will revolt against their government again, for precisely the same reasons — only instead of the Royalty being the villains, there is the European Union (only nominally elected by the French citizenry) and instead of the Church, the multiple “religions” of socialist and Green policies. It sounds like a facile comparison, but clearly it’s enough to frighten Macron, which is why he’s sounding the alarm.

And finally: after our Revolution, we didn’t hack off the heads of the deposed ruling class, but the Frogs sure as hell did.

So maybe Macron and his lizard people have a right to be fearful.

It’s going to be interesting — in both countries.

3 Alternatives

June 26, 2024 Kim du Toit 3 Inexplicable Things, Music

Many years ago when I was still living in Chicago, I had a chance to see Procol Harum live at the Vic Theater, a small supper-club type venue which held (at that time) only about 600 people. (The small number is because of the tables.) We had dinner, and then the lads came on and blew everyone away.

Their tour was to promote their latest album, Prodigal Stranger, which I still consider one of their very best (of an extraordinary collection of albums, as any fule kno).

Anyway, what that concert confirmed for me was that if I’m ever going to watch a live band, I’m only interested in doing so in a small, intimate venue. I’d seen the incomparable Leon Redbone in a similarly-small theater a couple of years earlier, but Redbone’s act was by definition a more intimate one, with the crooner entertaining us with many, many sly quips as well as his music. (Oh, how I miss him.) And one last such example: back in the late 1970s I saw Blood, Sweat and Tears perform in Johannesburg’s Empire Theatre (800 seats) and well, blues vocalist David Clayton-Thomas, say no more.

I was reminded of all this by a chance comment made by (of all people) BritRoyal Prince William’s in joking with Ronnie Wood that he’d only come and see the Stones if they brought Taylor Swift along.

The thing that both Swift and the Stones have in common for me is that I’d rather have a rat cage strapped to my face than attend the mega-concerts of either. This is not just the ranting of an elderly man, by the way: I’ve always preferred to watch a concert in a smaller venue, as I’ve demonstrated above, even when I was a young rock musician myself. Frankly, if the concert has to have giant TV screens for the audience to see the act perform, I’d rather watch the concert on a DVD afterwards than be part of a massive crowd.

The whole “Swiftie” phenomenon, of course, leaves me ice cold because, when all’s said and done, young Taylor is just a country singer, and I’m not a particular fan of country music per se, although there are a few country singers I wouldn’t mind seeing live, provided that the show was in a place like the Gruene (Texas) town hall, where I once saw Merle Haggard, or Austin’s Liberty Lunch bar (Bonnie Raitt, in her pre-Nick Of Time days).

And finally (!) I come to the point of this post, which is: if I were going to attend a concert in a small country bar like Austin’s Broken Spoke or Route 20 in Racine, Wisconsin (where I once saw Bachman Turner Overdrive and Steppenwolf in a double-header), which three country artists would I prefer to see the most (instead of Taylor Swift)?

In no particular order:

David Allan Coe

(I can’t believe he’s still alive)
Willie Nelson

(ditto)
Shania Twain

And none of them would have to do a modern-style “show” (lighting, multiple costume changes, massive sound systems etc.); just a small backing band, a bar stool and (preferably) an acoustic guitar would be fine. I want to see the artist, not special effects.

Parenthetically, I wonder how well Taylor Swift would perform, under similar circumstances. Would she still be as impressive?

Your three choices in Comments.

RFI: Ireland

June 26, 2024 Kim du Toit Advice, Friends and Family, Travels

From Adopted Daughter:

“Hi Papa. Could you ask your Readers for advice on visiting Ireland? I’ll be staying at Lough Rynn Castle near Carrick-on-Shannon in August, but other than the castle itself, I don’t know anything about the area (County Leitrim).”

Here’s Lough Rynn, which appears to be a shabby little place:

I don’t know nothin’ about ~~birthin’ babies~~ traveling in Ireland, never having been there myself, so all advice, experiences and warnings will be welcome.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: S&W Mod 19-3 Combat Magnum (.357 Mag)

June 26, 2024 Kim du Toit Gratuitous Gun Pics

Smith & Wesson have made several excellent revolvers over the many years of the company’s existence; in fact, they’ve made so many that the blizzard of differently-numbered models is bewildering, especially to an Older Man Of Little Brain And Much Confusion like myself.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look on any specific model with a jaundiced eye, oh no. Rather, we should regard each of them with extreme pleasure… and which brings us to this particular model, the 19 (from Merchant Of Death Steve Barnett) — which many regard as one of the very best:

I guess the only question to be asked is: “Would this be an acceptable gun for the Governor’s BBQ party?”

My answer would be: “Of course it would. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

My own taste would run instead to the blued 6″ version (because blue is less show-offy, and the 6″ barrel handles the .357’s recoil better than the shorter 4″):

…but it wouldn’t matter, because it’s still the same damn fine revolver.

And yes, I know: the K-framed Mod 19 may not stand up to heavy shooting of the .357 Magnum cartridge, the N-frame (model 27) being perhaps better-manufactured for that purpose.

But honestly — and I say this as an owner of a K-frame Model 65 in the same chambering — exactly how much intensive .357 Mag shooting can one handle before there’s an aching wrist in the picture?

I just think the K-frame revolvers fit better in my hand than the beefier Ns; and that is one of my major criteria in buying a handgun, any handgun. And for those of an historical bent, it should be pointed out that S&W has been making their K-frame revolvers since the late 19th century.

Discuss.

Never Again

June 25, 2024 Kim du Toit Entertainment

Watched the Oppenheimer movie the other night with New Wife. I of course was familiar with the whole Trinity/Manhattan Project/Oppenheimer story, so I was able to follow the plot reasonably well.

New Wife knew very little about the topic, and as a result she fell asleep about a third of the way through; she couldn’t make head or tail of the thing because the dialogue was indistinct and often obscured by the ambient noise of the movie set, so boredom set in and off into dreamland she went, the lucky girl..

The fault is mine because I should have paid more attention to the opening credits.

Director: Christopher Nolan.

FFS, when is this pretentious asshole going to be tossed onto the garbage heap of cinematic history?

I have complained — often — about the current moviemaking trend of mumbled dialogue and over-loud soundtracks. Nolan doesn’t just fall into the trap of this trendy nonsense: he positively revels in it, and is proud of the fact that his movies are profoundly indistinct, both in terms of his characters’ dialogue and in the lack of lighting.

Oppenheimer was a fine example of all his nonsense. And it was a shit movie.

I’m never going to watch another of Nolan’s movies, ever again. Fuck him, the arrogant swine.

News Roundup

June 25, 2024 Kim du Toit Bad News

Wait, I thought it was always Black people forced into doing the cleaning… or have I been lied to? Anyway:

From the Police Blotter (NYC Division):

...of course he did; they’re not Republicans, are they?

In Parish Notes (Islam Division):

...insha’Allah.

...and for a bonus, he came in (illegally) through their Ukranian refugee program. Also:

...for those people who’ve been in a coma for the past ten years. And back Over Here:

...here’s a suggestion for his 17th:

…

...anyone getting sick of this? I’m not.

...sorry, but we’re running low on avgas, thanks to FJB.

And the final word on this topic:

...ya thank?

And speaking of someone who should be tossed out of a helicopter:

...is she threatening us, or just harking back to all the violence (but not murders) the last time Trump won in November? Anyway as I recall, it was her crowd doing all the violence.