What Me Worry?

Warning: religious topic. Move on to the jokes if you’re not into this.

It’s late in the hour and I still have not gathered my thoughts together and I’m so very sleepy. So this TGIF edition is going to be short.

The news and conversations are all about the recent Presidential Debate. The LEFT claim victory claiming that Trump lied, fumbled, went off topic and made outlandish statements and showed his true divisive character. The RIGHT say Trump was still victorious despite being outnumbered 3 to 1 (and a possible 4th aide assisting Kamala via earpiece) and say that she was given the questions beforehand.

You must be worried about the outcome of the election but allow me to hit the PAUSE button.

Jesus was in “training mode” and he knew his disciples were anxious about many things so he told them not to worry in Luke 12:29-32.

“And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.”

It’s a pretty popular verse and I think it’s still relevant.

But this is just me. TGIF people!

“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities; an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” — Reginald Mansel

“Peace of mind: The contentment of the man who is too busy to worry by day, and too sleepy to worry at night.” — Woodrow Wilson

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6-7

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Original art by Raoul Pascual.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Brian of Philadelphia

Thanks to Sharon of Connecticut

Thanks to Colleen of Washington State

Thanks to Norm of Encino, CA

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Drew of Anaheim, CA

Thanks to Benny of Detroit

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with this.

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The post Blue Jeans appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Conspiracy Theories

My computer’s sick. I don’t think it’s a virus that it caught. Neither is it spyware. I think it’s because of turning it off and inadvertently disconnecting apps from their execute commands. Waiting for my computer to move has made be very sluggish. It’s like watching a plant grow. A friend shared that he’s also sluggish. Did Bill Gates just spray the atmosphere with sleeping pills? I can’t think of a better time to talk about conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories. You love ’em or hate ’em — they’re all around us. Here are just some of them:

• Did you hear about the Russians using some mind altering sound waves to disable their target?
• How about the green aliens who have a base in Antarctica and are already living among us?
• Oh, and don’t buy chicken! There’s something they’ve injected that’ll kill ya! And they’re not real chicken meat anymore — they’re grown in labs and the FDA approved their production for human consumption.
• Here’s a good one — Biden’s already dead. He never signed that letter to discontinue his presidential bid. Even his staff were unaware of this dastardly coup.
• Donald Trump wasn’t really shot and that he planned it and spilled ketchup on his ear. Donald’s a liar, a rapist, a failed businessman, an opportunist. He’s made deals with Russia, North Korea and China. Prevent him from winning the election at all cost!
• Kamala isn’t really black. Her mom is from India, her Dad is only half black and he was a marxist. Kamala was a socialite who was a mistress of Montel Williams and Mayor Willie Brown Jr. In fact, she “slept” her way up the political ladder. Have you heard her speak? She’s so disorganized her staff quit on her. She failed the bar. She failed to pass a single legislature the whole time she represented California. She was Biden’s border czar and allowed 20 million illegals into the United States. All of these are being buried by Google and other media.
• Of course you know that Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter are tracking your every move. Big tech knows your social security number, what you want to eat, and if you prefer Coke over Pepsi.
• The Lunar Landing was fake.
• 9-11 was staged. No plane hit the Pentagon. There was gold hidden underneath the towers.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we self-doubt? I believe these theories are borne on the constant lies coming from supposed authorities. What can we learn from people who grew up with the constant changing winds of health advice like asbestos and sugar being beneficial in the 50s and decades later being cancerous? Did you believe Dr. Atkins? How did you feel when he died from his recommended diet? It’s almost funny if it wasn’t true. The famous health trainer, Richard Simmons, died this month. He didn’t even reach 80. He wrote a book “No time to diet” … I guess it was time. Live and let diet, as James Bond used to say.

Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). Do you think these strings of deception are part of his plan for the world’s destruction? When society can no longer trust and we break up into factions — is this his master plan? If it is, it seems to be working.

It’ll be interesting to see how much malarkey will be spread as we come closer to the elections. How many friendships will be destroyed? Let’s pray for cooler minds, compassion and grace.

What’s that? Did you say anything Alexa? — “speak louder and enunciate my words”? Hey, what’s with all those vans parked outside with their spinning radar antenna? Drop all your plans! Head for the hills! We’re all gonna die! The world is flat and Batman is really Superman!

But nah! It’s not that bad. We’re better than that. Never lose hope!

TGIF people!

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Chester of La Habra, CA

Original art by Raoul Pascual.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Vincent of New Jersey

Thanks to Sharon of Connecticut

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Drew of Anaheim, CA

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with this.

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The post Relaxing Essential Oil appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Knock! Knock!

WARNING: Slightly religious and slightly political topic. Move on to the jokes if you’re not into this.

Would you recognize a miracle when it comes knocking at your door?

Last Tuesday morning a deafening boom! rattled the morning skies above New York and New Jersey. It turned out to be a fireball hurling 38,000 mph above the Statue of Liberty. A local news channel said there was nothing to worry about because the meteor disintegrated 30 miles above the city. Silly people. At that speed, 30 miles is nothing. This could have been a major disaster. Millions of lives were actually spared — including the hopes and dreams of my precious friends and families.

I Googled the definition of a miracle: “A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.”

(Interesting that they called God an “agency” — always the avoidance of appearing religious. Is it so hard to admit that God exists?)

Another website says: “Jesus’ miracles were like object lessons demonstrating the vast scope of his power. They showed his authority over nature, demons, disease and death.”

So now I’m thinking in the ancient times (the Old Testament), before Jesus came, did they even use the term “miracle”? When Daniel was spared in the Lion’s den (Daniel chapter 6), they didn’t use the word “miracle” — yet miracles have always existed. They just didn’t know what to call it. And (if I’m not mistaken) only the Judeo-Christian faiths embrace this concept of undeserved miracles authored by an all loving and powerful God.

Here is my simple definition of a miracle: “A wonderful event that builds faith and brings glory to God.”

When you pray for a parking space in the middle of the Christmas rush, and then you find one — Is that a miracle? Would it bring glory to God? When you toss your dice to a winning gambling combination, is that a miracle? When your baby is born with all ten fingers and toes, is that a miracle? When you pass an exam with flying colors … when you work hard at anything and get your reward, is that a miracle?

Last Saturday, on a Palm Desert highway, Warren, a dear friend of mine was traveling at great speed. His tire blew out. He crashed into a wall, crawled out of his car that had engulfed in flames and passed out. He didn’t remember anything else when he woke up 6 hours later at the ICU. Was that a miracle?

Also last Saturday, a would-be-assassin missed killing a political candidate. Despite the crafty plans of shady conspirators, the kiss of death whizzed past. Monday, entering into a political convention, there were tears in the candidate’s eyes when he realized a few millimeters spelled the difference of his even being there. Did he deserve to cheat death? No. Even the best of us deserve death. Many others will never admit his good fortune but whether you like him or not, the fact remains.

For me this election has lifted the veil of the spiritual battle that lies underneath. Unless you can see it, things will not make sense.

In order to believe, atheists have often demanded evidence of godly intervention … they’ve been wanting undeniable proof. Would it be presumptuous of me to declare this as proof viewable by billions of people all over the world? Pretty wild, huh?

It’s true what Jesus said (Matthew, Chapter 8) when he refused to present evidence of a miracle to the proud religious elite. Jesus said they were already given proof with the story of Jonah who survived being lunch for a whale. Presenting any more examples would not change their stubborn unbelief. How sad for them.

Surviving an accident, a natural disaster, a near miss, and appreciating a simple blessing … are these miracles?

Again I ask: would you recognize a miracle when it comes knocking at your door? Oh no my friend. A miracle doesn’t ask permission to enter your home … it just enters.

But this is just me. TGIF people!

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” — Mark Twain

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

“Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.” — Jon Bon Jovi

“Explaining a miracle doesn’t make it any less of a miracle.” — Athan Fletcher

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Maria of Norwalk, CA

Original art by Raoul Pascual.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Benny of Chicago

Thanks to Sarah of Michigan

Thanks to Sharon of Connecticut

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Larry of La Habra, CA

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Maling of New Manila, Philippines
Apparently, the whole world knows about the assassination attempt.

According to Joey of Los Angeles, CA, Director of Security Service, Kimberley Cheatle, said the sloped roof was the safety reason no security agents were assigned up on the roofs. This ridiculous excuse inspired several memes.

Thanks to Drew of Anaheim, CA

Thanks to Bob of La Placentia, CA

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with this.

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The post The Red Dot appeared first on Traveling Archive.

A Divided Country

WARNING: Very political topic.Move on to the jokes if you’re not into this.

If you keep up with the news, I betcha you’re just as frustrated as I am. You think you know the truth. The evidence is as clear as day and yet you see people in the “other side” spewing nonsense with authority. You look for people on “your side” to exchange the latest gossip and avoid speaking about politics with the “other side” because it takes too much drama. So each of us sits on our “safe side” and drift further and further apart.

Which is more important — party loyalty or loyalty to country? It’s not the same thing. The winds of political ideology shift with the current party leadership and it takes an objective eye to see the truth. Fight for our country NOT for the party! If we all do that the chasm between us will narrow.

This is how I see America today. The democrats are in panic mode. Despite what people have been saying for years about Biden’s dementia, they are shocked that it’s true. Doesn’t that tell you how far removed they’ve been from reality? Doesn’t that tell you that the news media has been feeding them lies? Even among the stalwarts of media, many of the talking heads are fumbling whether they should continue the narrative. They’re like chickens without a head. Many prominent Democrats are asking Joe to step down but Jill and Hunter Biden are blocking the stampede. And even if Joe steps down, who will carry the Liberal flag? Will there be enough time to create a new narrative for their new hero to appeal to the swing voters? The decision needs to be done soon because the DNC (Democratic National Convention) comes (I think) at the end of the month. What a mess!

On the Republican side they’ve got huge rallies with die-hard Trumpers. Yet their enthusiasm is dampened by their fear of election fraud. All that anticipation is centered around a single individual with major character flaws. The status quo is at stake. Is he capable of uniting the country?

Whichever side wins, half of America will believe this will be the start of the end. America is a country divided even now. An earthquake has shaken the very foundation this nation was built on. What are we to do?

In times of uncertainty, I always look at the Bible. We may not know the details between points A and B but we know where it leads to. Interpretations may vary but the prophecies are never wrong. I’m not an expert in the end times so I listened to Pastor Chuck Swindoll’s exposition of Revelations (the final book of the Bible).

Revelation-Unveiling the End, Act 3: The Final Curtain

There will be a rapture. There will indeed be the battle of Armagedon where nations from all around the world will gather with their forces. The preparation and events leading to this confrontation will be carefully crafted but the actual slaughter will not last long.

Chuck came up with 4 conclusions:

• The absence of America is surprising – ie. America is not a prominent factor in the final battle.
• The presence of demonic activity is frightening
• The resurgence of interest in the Bible – there will be a hunger for the truth
• The influence of Christ is compelling

That’s a lot to unravel and it still left me with a question: So what are we to do in the meantime? I like Chuck’s suggestion:

“The best thing to do to prepare for the coming of Christ is to tell people about Christ. It becomes for them an escape … a rescue from the horrors that remain yet future.” — Chuck Swindoll

But this is just me. TGIF people!

“Fear is often our immediate response to uncertainty. There’s nothing wrong with experiencing fear. They key is not to get stuck in it.” — Gabrielle Bernstein

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. “ — Isaiah 40:31

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” — Hebrews 10:23

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Maria of Norwalk, CA

Parting Shots

Thanks to Benny of Chicago

Thanks to Vincent of New Jersey

Thanks to Sharon of Connecticut

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Maling of New Manila, Philippines

Thanks to Drew of Anaheim, CA

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with this.

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The post Annoyances appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Observations of the Debate

WARNING: Political Topic. Move on to the jokes if you’re not interested.

The great debate between Biden and Trump is history. You’ll know whose predictions were accurate. And the media will have their analysts massaging the truth to their liking.

I dare not contribute to the confusion so I will just share a few observations about the event.

For me, this is a perfect example of why America is such a great country. To witness polar opposites verbally slug it out yet still being relatively civil to each other is impressive. Few countries have the forum nor the political stamina to stage this.

In the main stage was a battle of ideas, name-calling and lying. But the setting of the battleground itself was beautiful to behold. I think we should be conscious of the forces that try to divide us. That is the real enemy. America, despite all the craziness in today’s politics, is still an amazing country to live in.

But this is just me. TGIF people!

Raoul

” Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” — Romans 12:14

” The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” — Sun Tzu

“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,” – Proverbs 24:17

“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.” — James Madison

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Parting Shots

Thanks to Benny of Chicago

Thanks to Maling of New Manila, Philippines

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Drew of Anaheim, CA

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with this.

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The post A Forgotten Beatitude appeared first on Traveling Archive.

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Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man’s side, consequently on the Lord’s side; hence it was proper to thank the Lord for it and extend the usual annual compliments.
– Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 (University of California Press, 2010)

The post Beatles and Other Things appeared first on Traveling Archive.

One reason I joined the National Press Club in 1995 was that on various occasions before Hong Kong’s handover I’d darkened the door of the FCC. I hoped that the NPC’s substantial oblong bar might be cousin to the FCC’s main bar with diverse central casting characters including criminal barristers of the
Rumpole flavour, cargo shippers, pilots, politicians and others seeking what was in the wind as journalists’ tongues loosened, and vice versa.

Though the NPC I joined wasn’t quite as colorful as lingering old-timers described, it still offered intrigues and camaraderie. In The Reliable Source Bar & Grill, a plaque pays tribute to John Prokoff, a bartender before my time whose bone-dry quips included “Let’s get drunk and be somebody” and “Do you want separate glasses?” I did know the late barkeep John Kulawski. Whenever my young kids joined me, they left enriched with coins John fetched from their ears. John, gruff but erudite, turned the bar into a
continuing education.

The club occupies the top two floors of the 14-storey National Press Building in the epicentre of the US capital. When built in 1927 it was Washington’s largest private office building. The club once owned the whole place but lost it after a mismanagement scandal many years ago amid a major renovation. From the club windows one can glimpse the White House over the top of the US Treasury Department. Across the street is the Willard Hotel, to which President Ulysses S Grant, fleeing presidential pressures, strolled for drinks or a meal in the lobby, where he was bedeviled by favor-seekers. Hence, “lobbyist.”

Plenty of lobbyists, with their cousins in public/media relations, haunt the NPC nowadays, a large swathe of the membership. Their higher dues, and the tables they buy out when bosses or clients or officials they’d like to influence address the club as ballroom luncheon speakers, help pay the freight. Speaker line-ups seem to trend more per establishment than when I joined and participated.

Burgers and Bangers

Bangers and mash is not on the bar’s menu. I’ll suggest it when I run into the club’s incoming executive director, Didier Saugy. Previously, we did have the Alferd Packer Burger, named for a cannibal who was the lone survivor of six prospectors trapped by Colorado’s brutal 1873-74 winter. I don’t mean to make too much of this, but Alferd is no longer on the menu, having been replaced by the more homogenised Angus. The loss of Alferd in one’s gullet seems a bellwether for trends impacting the NPC and journalism generally.

Lately, I’ve viewed journalism through the prism of the activist Julian Assange – a media Rorschach test. Many Washingtonians, including journalists, are surprised to hear that Assange has languished for four years in solitary in Belmarsh Prison in London, following seven years of confining asylum in Ecuador’s embassy there. Nils Melzer, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, says the treatment of Assange, who is on the autism spectrum, amounts to straightforward torture.

While he was in the Ecuadorean embassy, US intelligence minions spied on Assange, his family, friends and lawyers, and visiting journalists. Mike Pompeo, Koch Industries’ man in Washington who went from Congress representing my home state of Kansas to becoming CIA Director and then Trump’s Secretary of State (and until recently a presidential aspirant), plotted to kidnap or assassinate Assange after Wikileaks revealed the CIA’s goals of controlling people’s smart TVs, browsers, phones and cars. Orwell, anyone?

The Biden Administration’s Department of Justice has continued the Trump Administration’s quest to extradite and prosecute Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act, which was designed to target German operatives during World War I, with a side job of quashing dissent. This is the first time it’s been trained on a journalist or publisher, let alone an Australian who wasn’t even in the US. This prosecution is perilous to domestic and foreign journalists everywhere. Hypocrisy blows Biden’s credibility on press freedom off the moral high ground, which authoritarians eagerly note. For more detail, search “Belmarsh Tribunals”.

Venerable Dan Ellsberg, who during the Vietnam War stunned the world by leaking the Pentagon Papers, told me that prosecuting Assange is the US government’s plan for introducing a UK-style Official Secrets Act, under which journalists could be prosecuted for simply receiving classified information. James Goodale, who ably defended The New York Times in that case, told me the same. It would quash journalists’ attempts to reveal the truth.

Envy and Resentment?

It seems to me that many journalists nowadays can’t identify with this concern. Most will never break a story of that sort, never depend on whistle-blowers that the government seeks to crush. Envy? Resentment? Perhaps. Meanwhile, there’s no end of over-classification by officials to muddy transparency and avoid accountability.

So are there constant drumbeats on mainstream editorial pages and elsewhere? No. On Assange, the NPC – a frequent commenter on foreign oppression of the press – keeps its head insistently sanded. Having pushed the club on this matter for years, I’ve usually encountered a cone of silence. I’ve heard comments from those who should know better such as “What if Assange is a Russian spy?”, or falsehoods repeated with certainty like an unredacted document dump.

Often, the fanciful assertion that Assange isn’t a journalist is trundled out, never mind his stunning record of journalism awards. Brilliantly, Wikileaks enabled his revelations via technical innovations including an electronic dropbox to obtain information anonymously, which is then vetted. My definition of a journalist is simple: anyone who truthfully informs the public of matters impacting their lives. Wikileaks never had to retract anything as untrue.

Caustic attitudes pay testimony to successful propaganda vilifying Assange. It ramped up in 2010 when I saw Assange step into the cross-hairs of fame at a news conference in the club. He presented the shocking Collateral Murder Tape. A helicopter snuff film of a dozen or so Iraqi civilians, including two Reuters employees and a Good Samaritan ad hoc ambulance driver, whose kids were in tow, with a chilling soundtrack by gleeful pilots. It crystallised government lies on war crimes and the conduct of the Forever Wars. Nobody responsible for the attack or the cover-up has been prosecuted.

Political propaganda poured with perpetuity when Wikileaks published (true) emails revealing that Hillary Clinton spoke out of both sides of her mouth regarding Wall Street benefactors, and that the Democratic National Committee undermined democracy, rigging the 2016 primaries against Bernie Sanders.

Some information gatekeepers have judged public enlightenment non-newsworthy if not in service of a higher purpose: say, the election of Hillary. And while avoiding criticism of favoured administrations or political parties, many in journalism otherwise cheer them like high school football teams. Some seem to be self-appointed auxiliary spokespeople for government, aka stenographers. Assange is emblematic of what the mainstream downplays or ignores to avoid roughing up pet political and media narratives.

Assange is bad for business. The Forever Wars confirmed Washington as a company town for the military-industrial complex that President Dwight Eisenhower warned of back in 1960. That influence cannot be overstated, including the weapons advertising largesse that many publications enjoy. It’s the same when it comes to media ownership. For example Jeff Bezos, of Amazon notoriety and owner of The Washington Post, is in hot pursuit of government contracts to manage clouds for intelligence and military agencies.

As the NPC emerges from a long, costly pandemic coma, public trust in media scrapes the shoals. Journalism sinks amid collapsed business models and layoffs. Understandably insecure journalists eye laterals, perhaps PR in arenas that they report on. Many now interpreting the world for us were children or teens during the invasion of Iraq. Most weren’t born until after the Vietnam War. Institutional memory is shot. We’re all cannibals now.

As I write this in May, steadfast NPC obtuseness on Assange remains. Perhaps by publication date that might change. It would be a pleasant, if astonishing surprise.

(This essay first appeared in the July issue of The Correspondent, the quarterly put out by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club)

(Note, bangers and mash is a HKFCC staple sustaining many scribes, Didier is the former manager of the HKFCC and new exec. dir. at the NPC, hence the reference).

The post Alferd, Where Art Though? appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The Fork on the Road to the Midterms

WARNING: Move to the jokes if sensitive about political ideas.

I can’t believe I paid over $6 for a gallon of gas. I can’t believe the stock market continues to tank. I can’t believe this is still America.

The midterm election is just around the corner. Whether living conditions have improved or not since the last election is the normal gauge of whether one votes one way or another. In other words, if things got better since the last election, you re-elect the current establishment. If things got worse, you vote for the other guy. Simple, right? No. Not really.

Where we are today

It’s quite obvious that things have gotten worse — the sinking economy, the rising crime wave, the unabated influx of illegals, the surging homeless population, the one-sided judicial system … heck, we’re at the brink of a nuclear war with Russia. No matter how you lean in your political ideology, you’d need to be really wacko or in denial if you can’t admit this, right? There’s nothing irrefutable about my observations.

Pennsylvania is a microcosm of the rest of the 50 states. A well-funded buffoon who can’t speak and think logically is up against a celebrity doctor with limited means. It’s anyone’s guess who will win. How is that even possible? It’s because this is no ordinary election. Performance is not the gauge. Personality is. Ideology is.

HIM

“Anyone but HIM” is a mantra of many. Do you realize how illogically dangerous that notion is? One has to assume HE is the worse human being in the planet. After 2 years of irrational decisions by the OTHER GUY, how’s that turning out?

Are we talking about loyalty without question … even to the point of going down with the ship? If Putin says attack Ukraine, do we attack? Is it possible that the ideology of the party has changed? JFK would not recognize his own party today. Are our priorities in order? Do we build the foundations first or do we build the penthouse? If nuclear missiles are launched will there still be an environment to save? Will abortion still be an issue when we are scrambling to survive?

Einstein never really said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” but the logic is still true.

Indeed, this midterm election is a mirror that tells you what you’re really made of.

TGIF people!

Raoul

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Joanne of Connecticut.

Videos of the Week

Thanks to Jackie of Whittier, CA for this Halloween video of Topi the Corgi.

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA for this video of a prank by the Payless discount shoe store. Hear the professional opinions of the influencers. Sadly, Payless closed its 2,500 US stores shortly after and filed for bankruptcy in February 2019.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Garie of Paranaque, Metro Manila

These I found

Cool Halloween DIY idea.

The post Bathroom Etiquette appeared first on Traveling Archive.

As for paying the price for the insurrection, all power rests with the DOJ. You want to have faith in Merrick Garland and his prosecutors to do the right thing, not just to bring this gangster sociopath to justice, but also to prevent any future Trumps from trying to pull this stuff off again.

What troubles me in the long run is the number of elected Republicans who continue to suck up to their disgraced former president, and continue to raise prodigious sums of money, just as Trump does, and even more disturbingly, the loyal unflinching Trump cult, those millions who continue to support, even adore this man and what he represents.

I search for signs the tide is turning and we are creeping back from the brink, re-engaging with democracy and rejecting the tyrannical minority rule of the radical right. Bring back moderation, thoughtfulness, maturity, kindness, generosity, courage, patriotism, fairness, truth, and strength – the best of our political system, Republicans and Democrats alike.

That is my prayer for America.

The post Insurrection: My Prayer for Our Country appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Murdered by Titans, Dionysus/Bacchus was reborn. His worship generated irrational exuberance, frenzied revels by women, and much early theater and standup comedy. When condemned by Rome as a sinister source of vice and revolutionary unrest, the frolic was periodically rejuvenated by slaves and poor free men.

These traditions — celebrating man as a free being without hierarchy — blended easily with the various pagan rites of spring practiced by Germanic and other tribes. The Church tried to suppress carnival but ultimately decided if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, layering on compatible beliefs as they co-opted the locals. Carnival, or carne vale, comes from Latin, and means “flesh, farewell,” as Carnival heralds in the Lenten fast that leads to Easter. The mix with local and aboriginal beliefs creates an amazing array of traditions, extending to the New World and locales as far flung as India.

Most Americans know Carnival though New Orleans Mardi Gras, or through Rio or Trinidad, but the roots are firmly in Europe. Napoleon and Hitler banned Carnival. Its anti-authoritarian roots quickly grew back.

For years I’ve shouldered the task of chronicling carnivals across different cultures — sense of duty. With anti-authoritarian and satirical roots planted by the ancients, Carnival is a superb barometer of how people view the forces bumping their lives around, as well as of the U.S. image abroad.

One sojourn included sleepy towns in Portugal. In Torres Verdes, the centerpiece — not a float, the centerpiece — was called “Bushlandia.” Artfully rendered, five or so stories high, the sculpture offered up Bush as a primitive king in furs, wielding a jeweled club and a scepter with a golden skull. He wore a crucifix on which was a soldier. Bush sat within the jaws of giant skull beneath the crown of the Stature of Liberty, about which crawled wormy critters in turbans. Other heads of the coalition of the willing — old Europe, new Europe, always confusing — were in his court. Prime Minister Tony Blair fanned Bush with feathers and scratched his backside. On the sculpture’s flip side, a bearded fellow hauled a wheelbarrow of explosives. Beneath him a government minister struggled to feed the world’s poor children. Nuclear missiles flanked Bush. Penguins blew time-out whistles as toxic waste washed over nature. To the beat of Brazilian bands amid the samba gyrations of hotties, all revelers passed before Bush. A small town in Portugal made a colossal comment on U.S. leadership.

Carnival jabs are thrown throughout the world. My first carnival was in Cologne, Germany. Barely a month after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998; I nearly kicked my camera off my balcony, lunging for it as a masterpiece of German engineering rounded Koln Cathedral. A grinning Bill Clinton, big as a Mack truck, groped a peeved Statue of Liberty, followed by a padlocked White House atop which stood Uncle Sam throwing blood sausages to a crowd roaring approval.

They could take a joke even if finger-wagging phonies like Joe Lieberman and members of the pious press couldn’t. Germans couldn’t understand America’s mania over this fiasco as more pressing worldly concerns tumbled into the fire.

No one brought out the carnival knives like Bush. Some years back, despite German officials urging softer blows prior to a Bush visitation, a Cologne float had Bush shooting flames from a cross fashioned like a machine gun. On another, Uncle Sam bent over, trousers down, while the German Chancellor climbed a ladder up his backside, with nose a shade darker. In a later carnival, Angela Merkel fared better, portrayed as Elastic Girl, while Bush walked barefoot through bowls of fat labeled “Kyoto”, “New Orleans”, and “Atomic Conflict”.

A carnival in Dusseldorf once offered up Iran’s president as a rocket, caught by a United Nations net, (not, ahem, a U.S. net).

The greatest punches are thrown in Basel, Switzerland. This unique Protestant take begins in a blacked-out city at 4 AM the Monday after Ash Wednesday. Thousands of costumed pipers and drummers accompany huge gas-lit lanterns painted with satirical images of political figures and issues of the day. A carnival favorite, Silvio Berlusconi — likened to a hybrid of the Godfather and Benito Mussolini, running his media empire like an Orwellian villain — will no doubt once again be prominent. The Swiss miss Bush, another favorite — and boy did they work him over — but while Bush now keeps a low profile, Berlusconi offers up new material.

If small towns in Portugal can use Carnival to speak truth to power, why can’t Washington? The threat of ridicule at Carnival might rein in excesses, perhaps an invasion, a war without end.

A modest proposal: bring Carnival to Washington. The city may not have the religious roots of many carnival strongholds, but no place can fake religion like Washington. Imagine Carnival’s potential in the Nation’s capital. True, it’s a challenging venue where fewer people can take a joke. On the other hand, we’ve no shortage of folks willing to play the fool.

What richer vein to mine than the players of the 2012 election? Envision a float with Karl Rove and his super PAC backers shredding dollar bills into confetti blown from a cannon at the crowd, or simply tossing dollar bills in lieu of beads. Sheldon Adelson, the Vegas and Macau casino magnate reported to have spent $150 million in the 2012 election, could have a float shaped as a giant craps table, with potential suitors for his 2016 blessing throwing the dice. Or perhaps Adelson and his political entourage would burn an effigy, not of the carnival spirit, but of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Maybe Adelson could lend some showgirls, always welcome in Carnival. Newt Gingrich could appear as Dr. Frankenstein for hire, creating Palestinians as an invented people, after Adelson largess. And what else for Mitt Romney than a float with a dog driving a racecar with #47 on it, sponsored by Delphi Automotive, with Mitt strapped on top? Perhaps a float with debate podiums showcasing Joe Biden, made up as The Joker, debating Paul Ryan, made up as Eddie Munster.

From around the world, pickings are good. Kim Jong Un could ride astride a giant onion with a “Sexiest Man Alive” banner. Silvio Berlusconi on a float of a television news studio, surrounded by nightclub dancers, tax accountants and a frustrated jailor-in-waiting. Dedicate a float to the world’s richest communists, perhaps China’s princelings, or former KGB officials, certainly Putin. Portray Afghanistan officials emptying out the Bank of Kabul as warlords divvy up bribes for mineral rights. Pakistan officials sit in a toll booth for U.S. military supplies, or conduct a scavenger hunt for Bin Laden souvenirs. A Vatican float would put a butler at the helm. Castro could be Lazarus. The President of Egypt might do the King Tut Strut. Depict Bibi Netanyahu hiding his Romney/Ryan yard signs, or chasing the peace process with a drone. Hamas as the pirates of Never-Neverland; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a standup comic. A rogues gallery of dictators is easy enough. Taliban schoolmasters. Press intrusiveness into private lives could be represented by Rupert Murdoch wearing East German bugging equipment from “The Lives of Others.”

How about twin socialites in mink-trimmed camouflage guarding generals? An authoress at a book booth signing copies of “All In”?

Bankers, anyone? Where does one begin with bankers? Lined up at the “bailout bonus window”? Their lawyers? Their lobbyists? Captured regulators? Senators carrying buckets of water for them? A gilded revolving door between Wall Street and government appointments? Take a cue from writer Matt Taibbi: portray Goldman Sachs as “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money” — now that’s a carnival float ready to roll.

Perhaps a float showcasing the one percent on strike from job creation. A Wonderland Tea Party complete with the Koch brothers as the Mad Hatter and March Hare. President Obama as Don Quixote riding a giant lame duck into battle. Super PACs pouring money into funnels in politicians mouths — money being speech — while five Supreme Court justices take turns striking poses as the monkeys insistently oblivious to appearance of mischief.

Imagine Donald Trump as Rapunzel trapped in Trump Tower — or, soon, the Old Post Office tower — his strawberry-golden tresses braided with birth certificates from Kenya. Carnival’s long tradition of cross-dressing, poking fun at gender roles, might lend some style to the debate over same-sex marriage. A drill team of men wearing burkas would be a good extension. Undecided voters as whirling dervishes? Gerrymandered districts as Rorschach tests? Somewhere there’s a theme for WikiLeaks, climate change deniers, journalists recycling press releases, elected judges putting in the fix for contributors, Texas school board members challenging evolution, beset upon by giant Darwin finches. Congressional lemmings running over the Fiscal Cliff. The Internet as Pandora’s Box. The Electoral College throwing dunce caps to voters not in swing states. Drones flying overhead could make parades ever more exciting. Nominate Pinocchio as Carnival King.

Some things are not so funny — it’s a fine line between humor and pathos. Satire can only sustain so much tragedy before it turns sour. There’s not much to be done with Syria, for example, that isn’t pulled down by reality.

But consider carnival’s pagan roots, the rites of spring chasing the winter demons, to hopeful fertility, to planting anew. Carnival remains irrepressible despite authority’s many stompings over the centuries. When Carnival collided with the Church, it softened with themes of redemption and renewal. The carnival spirit, burned in effigy, departs taking the woes of the year, leaving all with a clean slate.

Has there ever been a city more in need of a do-over than Washington?

Read Skip Kaltenheuser’s Ode to Carnival Past and Future, Sadly Not Present

The post Carnival Beckons: A Carnival Musing for 2013 appeared first on Traveling Archive.