Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas Travelers! 

I hope everyone had a good one.  I got to see a very rare White Christmas, which was exciting.  I'm just glad it didn't cause me the headaches it is causing other travelers this week.

I just got a chance to look through my newest National Geographic magazine (always a good source of new 'life-list" destinations) and found this great photo of people dressed up as St. Nicholas leading Krampus, a "mythical Alpine mischief maker" in Bavaria (Germany).

Sports Analogy - Man Up!

Many sources have been discussing the recent "wussification" of America.  In the arenas of movies; the male lead recently has become the meek indecisive lead; and there is a recent trend of always blaming problems on someone else instead of taking responsibility and fixing them.

Back From New York and Christmas Party Time

First - The Parties:

Its Christmas party season and if you haven't been to one already, you most likely have one coming.

If you are throwing a party and want to avoid the slightly played out "tacky sweater" theme, just go the traditional route and stay classy with this quick party plan.

Christmas Gifts For The Adventurous Gent - 2010

Ok, Christmas is coming and the inevitable what should I get my Dad, Uncle, Brother, Nephew, Son, Grandfather, Husband, Boyfriend, etc.  Well don't worry, I have done the work for you. 

Movies For Guys - Christmas 2010

Photo by Igor Maloratsky via nycinsiderguide.com

Yes, it is time to start shopping for Christmas.  This is a public service announcement to help all you last minute people get a jump on it this year.  I'm starting with movies because they are just generic enough to be a good gift for almost anyone and I'm listing movies guys like because I know what I like/what is good.

Six Flags New Orleans, Still Abandoned

And still standing, but not for much longer.

First off, New Orleans is always a good time, and tourism is a great way we can help them since it is one of the main aspects of their economy.  We rode the train down from Memphis last year after Christmas, something I always wanted to do, and the views and people on the train were very interesting.  It took a little longer than driving, 8 hours, but it is well worth it because you can relax, listen to music, read or have some wine instead of worrying about driving the car.   My pictures can be seen here.

Halloween Week Roundup

• I've wanted to experiment with my own burning pumpkins since I discovered these pictures a couple years ago.  Maybe I will get a chance this weekend.  The above picture if from the collection of the best burning pumpkin pics on the Web.

Chilean Miners Could Be Coming To Memphis

Chili

One of the countries in the world that is at the top of my personal life list to visit is Chili, and it was recently the setting to the big mine worker rescue.  If you haven't heard about it, you must have been very unplugged for the past few weeks.  The country has a wide variety of climates and landforms, which are all displayed beautifully in the southern region of Patagonia.

a Dapper Gent's Travel Tips

I have noticed this the past few times I have been at the airport or the train station.  People dress to "be comfortable", in their "juicy" sweatpants, but they end up looking like the just rolled out of bed.  A rule I like to follow is to dress like you want to be treated and the author of the article below seems to agree and says that dressing up a few notches will get you better attention from flight attendants and security personnel on your travels.

End of Summer 2010

I have to continue a personal tradition that I just realized I started two years ago with the first post on this blog.

Even though it is still not feeling like it outside; the tradition that I have come to adopt is to recognize the last day of Summer 2010 with a drink and remember all the great things that happened.  Even though it was a couple weeks ago; I'm going to once again have a Dark 'n Stormy to toast the Summer that was and look forward to more great travels near and far in the upcoming seasons.

Thanks for reading.


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Shelby Farms Greenline Opening Celebration

It's officially open!

And there will be a celebration Saturday with block parties, a fun run, and concerts at Shelby Farms that night.

Travel Inspirations

Quick roundup of some pictures and videos to trigger your travel imagination:

First, an incredible time lapse video taken in Tokyo, Japan.
The newest one can be found here.  The rest of the artists videos are found here.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Benjamin Franklin spoke the above words when asked what kind of government they had created for America.  Truer words have not been spoken.  We are still fighting to keep our constitutional republic today, and I am sure it will be a fight that is never ending.

Constitution Day, September 17th, 2010

South Front Antiques - Memphis, TN

For many of us its pretty hard to get away and do any traveling even if just around your own city.  But it is good to at least get out of your normal home-to-work routine and check out something new, even if it is in your own city. 

I got a chance to visit some of our local spots one Saturday morning this spring and finally was able to get the pictures up.

It is one of the places I've been wanting to check out in Memphis since hearing about it in a newspaper article last year.  South Front Antiques in Downtown Memphis, on Front Street conveniently, became the main goal on this day.

Hurricane Earl From Space 9/1/10

As much as we hear about Hurricanes; it is not often that we actually realize how big they are.  Hurricanes are the largest storms on the planet and an astronaut recenlty took this incredible picture of Earl that reminds us what kind of power we are dealing with.

What book to read next?

I'm trying to decide which book to get to read next.

I just finished Pursuit of Honor(Mitch Rapp, No. 10) by Vince Flynn, which I really enjoyed.  Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, and Andrew Klavan are prolific authors who are writing modern, relevant and very engrossing spy and political thrillers that are far beyond anything in the Bourne series and it amazes me that none of them are movies yet.

YouTube - Guy Walks Across America

This is a cool stop motion video appropriately named "Guy walks across america"

The Border: A Dirty War (Part 1)

As is my current personal policy toward Aruba, I will not be spending any of my hard-earned tourism dollars in Mexico until they at least start to act like they care what is coming across our border.

Man Drinks

Some man drinks for Father's Day or any day:

3 Father's Day Cocktails: BA Daily: Blog : bonappetit.com

If I'm not drinking Scotch, a Manhattan is one of my favorites.

A lot more drink recipes can be found here.


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Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling wrote a very strong and stirring poem that is the basis of a new book The Overton Window. 

Southern Legends

Found great article in Garden&Gun about a Legendary Southern Shotgun with roots in Memphis.

It is called The Legend of Bo Whoop.

"More than sixty years ago, the South's most famous shotgun went missing. Here's the story of how it was found"

The A-Team

This was probably my favorite TV show as a kid.  That and Dukes of Hazard are in a close race for the top spot.  But since the Dukes have already been ruined with a terrible movie; I'm hoping The A-Team doesn't suffer the same fate. 

Little Known American History Should Be More Emphasized in Memphis

Very interesting History lesson.  Apparently he does a show on Founding Fathers every Friday.
It seems that some facts about American History and Black History in America as related to our founding have been erased, or at least marginalized, over time.   If children knew there were more figures involved in the Founding of America that they might be able to identify with; maybe they would be more inclined to learn about it....

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Here are some tunes for the holiday weekend:





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Our BBQ Team Made The News - The Pork University

Better late than never:

Memphis, TN has some of the best food in the country.  Soul food and BBQ being not small among them.  So naturally, Memphis is the place to have the World Championship of BBQ cooking.

Public Service Announcement - Bad Beer

I would say I'm a beer fan.  Does having your name on the wall at Flying Saucer show a sign of a fan, problem or simply dedication?  I vote for the later.

Emergency Tools, Books and Gear Part II

This is a follow up to the previous post Near Emergency in Memphis.

To continue my previous story about emergency preparedness and things you should have on hand in case something happens; I thought I would put together a list of things I own (or wish I owned) from my personal Amazon "Wish List".

One of The Great Things About Memphis

Memphis is flip-flop country!

Even though Memphis is nowhere near the beach almost everyone wears flip-flops when its warm and I have seen many people wear them almost all year round. 

Life List Destinations

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa, near Reykjavik, Iceland



This is one of my top places in the world to visit, Iceland in general, but specifically when I make it to Iceland, I'm going to have to go here.  Hopefully they won't have any more volcanic eruptions.

The Lost City of Havana, Cuba

"Elections?  Why do we need an election?  The people have already chosen."
                                                                          --Fidel Castro



I just saw a very powerful movie last night that I would strongly recommend  you add to your queue if you have Netflix or look for it on DVD.  It is worth buying, Im going to get a copy of it.

Near Emergency in Memphis and Tools, Books and Gear for the Apacolypse...

...or our more common emergencies, whichever comes first.

Recently a few things all happened at the same time that reminded me of the importance of thinking about what we should do and the essential things we should all have on hand in the case of a major event or disaster, be it natural or man-made, were to happen in your city.

Time to Destroy Another Pair of Shoes at MusicFest...

...and BBQ Fest.

And I mean that in the best possible way!

I always start thinking about the mud at the various Memphis in May festivals this time of year and try to decide which current pair of shoes I can afford to throw away after this year's blowouts.

Good to Buy in April - Magazines for the Beach!

April is a great time to buy magazines, not only because many are 2 years for the price of 1 at Amazon right now, but also because they will start arriving at your house right when you need them to take to the beach, or read on the airplane to the beach! 

Another Step Forward for the Memphis Greenline!

They are starting the work on the bridge spanning the Wolf River into the park.
And it looks like, as I pass the greenline at various points, that they have the rail bed smoothed out and ready for pavement.

Work to begin on pedestrian/cycling bridge over Wolf River » The Commercial Appeal

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Lures; Not Just for Fishing Anymore

Fishing Lures being used as decoration, nothing new, but with the resurgence of Classic Americana and vintage pieces incorporated into many design plans Lures are getting another look from people who normally don't fish.

Harry Brown - Official Trailer

This.  looks.  great.
Im so tired of "wuss" lead characters in movies. Finally a movie where the hero actually shoots the bad guy! Not to mention Michael Caine is one of the best actors there is.

Skiing in St Louis

In an effort to lend the blog's name some credibility, here are some pics of our trip skiing in the great white north of St Louis.

 

The Skull Collection

 

Military Field Jackets

Just saw The Proposal (Single Disc Widescreen) its ok to laugh, I did too, but it turned out to be a pretty funny movie.  Thats not the point.  The point is that Ryan Reynold's character wore a military style jacket when the movie scenes move to Alaska and it looked like something I would wear. 

Ayn Rand and other Notes and Quotes

“The flood of misinformation, misrepresentation, distortion, and outright falsehood about capitalism is such that the young people of today have no idea (and virtually no way of discovering any idea) of its actual nature.” 

                              --Ayn Rand

Micheal Ramirez' "Bullet Points" of health care

I Need an Animal Skin Rug

 

The Pacific --- Epic!

Not only the history of it but them cinematography of the Pacific makes me want to check off a Life List Destination.

Falling Leaves Calendar

STIHL , makers of the best chain saws and power equipment, and of course my chainsaw, have commissioned what could be the coolest calendar ever.

Google Maps' New Biking Directions Lacking in Memphis. Update: Memphis has no bike trails.

I can't wait to check this out:


Why Google Maps' New Biking Directions Could Be Huge - Business - The Atlantic

The Essential Home Bar

Valet. The Essential Home Bar - Regional Cocktail Recipes by the Country's Best Bartenders

 

 

The Essential Home Bar - Seven Tools to Construct the Perfect Cocktail

Via Valet:
Valet; The Essential Home Bar - Seven Tools to Construct the Perfect Cocktail by Mittie Hellmich

SloMo Guns

Pics by Guy Sagi from his Flikr account.

His is the Editor in Chief of the NRA's Shooting Illustrated.

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NOLA

Pictures from my train ride to New Orleans: 

 

 

Happy Birthday George Washington

First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen  ---  Heritage Foundation

"We hold these truths to be self-evident:"

LIBERTY

EQUALITY

NATURAL RIGHTS

CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

PRIVATE PROPERTY

THE RULE OF LAW

CONSTITUTIONALISM

SELF-GOVERNMENT

INDEPENDENCE

 

 

 

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How Castro gets his famous supporters to say he is great and not a murderer.

Very enlightening article on a defector form Cuba who worked in their intelligence service bugging famous people's hotel rooms and survailing them 24 hours a day.

Castro gets them to say nice things about his murderous regime through blackmail.

Castro’s top intelligence people would gather for the screenings of these tapes almost like Hollywood types for an upcoming movie, reports Fernandez.  “Hummmm, these scenes are more scandalous than anything in any of her movies!” Fernandez recalls a top intelligence officer chortling while watching the nighttime cavortings of a famous Spanish actress. “Now, it really seems to me, compañeros,” the Castro intimate snickered as he looked around the room, “that this señorita should be making more respectful comments about our regime, right?”

I recommend reading the entire article here:
Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » Castro Catches Useful Idiot Celebs on Candid Camera




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Iran Revolution's End Will Be Heard Around World - WSJ.com

Something to keep an eye on. According to the article:

The Iranian revolution in 1979 was the biggest event of the last generation in
the Middle East, spawning wars and radicalization that have reshaped the region
and, to some extent, the world. If we're now watching the slow unwinding
of that revolution, the consequesnces will be equally momentous.

Iran Revolution's End Will Be Heard Around World - WSJ.com




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On Extrapolations

"Runaway extrapolations are the last refuge of hysteria mongers when confronted with facts that demolish their lies. Think about it: The temperature has risen about 10 degrees since this morning. If you extrapolate that, we will all be burned to a crisp before the end of the month. Extrapolations prove nothing."



-Thomas Sowell



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Grammys 2010

Best part of the Grammys 2010:

Black History Month Should Be About Black History

American Thinker

Black History Month Should Be About Black History and the greatness of America, not about the so-called evils of white America.

This article is written by a self described (black) "unhyphenated American" who sees that it is the greatness of America that allows us to overcome these evils in our history and celebrate the actions of black Americans and not push the race based parts of out history.

Lloyd Marcus has some very thought inducing articles and you can see the rest of his writings here.

British Reporting More Objective American News?

Why do we have to go to Britian to see this reported?  It seems like if we had an actual media and not an arm of a political party then we might hear about this over here.

Democratic Anger Goes Public In Prime Time

Are we that stupid as a country as to not ask about this? 

You won't see this in an American newspaper, why not?:

"     "It just stinks to the high heaven what happened here," Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., railed earlier in    the day at Obama's treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner.

He was talking about the bailout, but the statement could well describe the Democrats' attitude about Obama's performance and the toll it's taken on their political standing. And Wednesday night, they were expected to put on a smile and applaud a president and an agenda many have questioned. "

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The Stylish Pad

via Unabashedly Prep, via The New York Times

Hugo Chavez; Mildly Insane

If this guy wasn't serious he could be a writer for a television comedy series, unfortunalty, he is all too serious and has signed an agreement of mutual defense with Iran. 

His newest delusion is that we, America, attacked Haiti with our 'earthquake weapon'!  I think he is reading too many comic books! 

see the article here.


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Books: Daniel Silva - Author

Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon)

Moscow's Stray Dogs

A researcher has studied the social workings and habits, including a surprising use of the subway, of Moscow's 35,000 stray dogs and where they fit within the range of domesticated to wild.

See article here.

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To Help Haiti, End Foreign Aid

Since this is my area of study, this is especially interesting to me.


After immediate need for first aid and basic stabilization, I agree that continuing the huge ‘relief’ effort of the past will further undermine the country.


"For Haitians, just about every conceivable aid scheme beyond immediate humanitarian relief will lead to more poverty, more corruption and less institutional capacity."  -WSJ

See entire article here, it is worth a read.

World misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown in United Nations report | The Daily Caller

World misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown in United Nations report The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

A warning that climate change will melt most of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035 is likely to be retracted after a series of scientific blunders by the United Nations body that issued it.

If I won the lottery

 It’s always good to have a list of ridiculous stuff to purchase if you had the chance.


I think I just found the first thing I would buy.
It’s a piece of history, and it’s a skull!

Apparently the skull is a voting box from the real Skull and Bone secret society at Yale. 

And it's for sale at Christies!

Don't ask how I found out about this.... its secret.

Books: "Emergency"

Neil Strauss researched this book from the viewpoint of someone who is doing everything they can to prepare for an end of society disaster. It is not merely an instructional book, Strauss has written it first person as he actually takes part in all the activities.  Topics include; learning to kill and animal, shoot a gun, buy property on an island and preparing a way to get there.  Research shows that people who do as little as think about what they would do in an emergency fare much better than those who don't.  This book goes a long way toward getting you to think about it and even past that to doing something about it.

Check it out:

Rail to Trail Approved in Memphis, Shelby County

This is something that should have been done a long time ago, but better late than never.  Hopefully it will be extended also to go all the way to Cordova as far as the rail line goes eventually.  Many projects of this sort are destinations throughout the country.  I don't think ours will be a 'destination' trail, but at least we will be albe to ride a bike from basically Midtown all the way to Shelby Farms and possibly revitalize some of the neighborhoods along the way.  Construction is scheduled to start Feb 28, 2010 to be completed by Aug 15.
I can't wait to ride it.

(PERE MARQUETTE RAIL-TRAIL in Michigan)

From Shelby County Government Press Release:

The Shelby Farms Greenline Project Moves Forward



MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Shelby County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to move forward with construction of approximately seven miles of previous rail property to create an urban greenway that will connect Midtown Memphis to Shelby Farms Park.


Interim Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford praised Commissioners for their support of what has been deemed the “rails to trails” project. “This is an historic project for Shelby County. We are using vacant property, transforming it into a valuable green corridor benefiting residents for generations to come.”


Initiated under former Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton’s administration, the urban greenway project is the first of its kind in Shelby County and will begin at Tillman St. and Walnut Grove and extend to the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy building on Farm Road. The Shelby Farms Park Conservancy has partnered with Shelby County for the construction, management and maintenance of the trail systems. Funding for the $2.4M project comes from a combination of federal, local and private donor grant funds.


Charles Hill Construction will serve as the general contractor on the project constructing a ten foot wide asphalt paved trail along the abandoned CSX rail corridor approximately seven miles in length from the Lester Street Community Center near Tillman Road to Shelby Farms Park Operations Center. The resolution sets a construction start date of no later than February 28 with completion slated for August 15.

Via "Hot Air" blog: Insurance mandate starting to become a political albatross

"Young people starting to realize the shakles being placed on them by possibility of a mandate by the Federal Government to purchase insurance."

There are countless instances throughout history of massive social programs like this not working and being complete failures, however, hopefully poeple are starting to realize the financial constraints that will be placed on them is these policies pass.

" Michael Sertic, a college senior studying economics, is young and healthy, and he doesn’t want the government forcing him to buy health insurance.


He is among a group of people on both the right and the left ends of the political spectrum who object to proposals in Congress that would compel nearly every American to buy health insurance or face a fine.

“I happen to believe it’s unconstitutional. Government shouldn’t be forcing someone to pay for someone else’s health care,” said Sertic, 24"

"Of course, Sertic is actually studying economics, which means he understands what insurance does — and why it usually doesn’t make sense for young, healthy people to buy comprehensive policies. Insurance pools risk, and has the insured pay into a pool to cover all the expenses of all the members. Those who use the system less get less value than those who use the system more. Young, healthy people don’t use the system much at all — which means that most of their premiums will gain them no benefit at all."

see the entire blog entry here at Hot Air


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Best Apocolyptic Movie in a Long Time

"The Book of Eli" looks like something I might actually spend money on to see at the theater and I don't say that very often.  It is hard for me to justify giving my money and time of my life to "actors" who use their "talent?" simply to tell the rest of country how stupid we are.  But with Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis? This has got to be good!

New Military Doc

Out on DVD today.
The unfortunatly rare kind of documentary that sheds a positive light on our military. 
With Gary Sinise as a Producer I'm sure it will be good.

http://www.brothersatwarmovie.com/  

American Revolution Quiz

Found a quiz put together by The American Revolution Center with things every American should know.

"The results show that an alarming 83 percent of Americans failed a basic test on knowledge of the American Revolution and the principles that have united all Americans. Results also revealed that 90 percent of Americans think that knowledge of the American Revolution and its principles is very important, and that 89 percent of Americans expected to pass a test on basic knowledge of the American Revolution, but scored an average of 44 percent. The survey questions addressed issues related to the Revolutionary documents, people, and events, and also asked attitudinal questions about the respondents’ perception of the importance of understanding the Revolutionary history and the institutions that were established to preserve our freedoms and liberties."

Here is the test.