"Safe Zones" for Women in Berlin Today

Two years after a massive trove of rapes and sexual assaults occurred at NYE celebrations across Germany, and now Berlin has set up a "safe zone" for women for Berlin's party tonight.   

Pretty telling.  

The obvious question - why isn't EVERYWHERE a safe zone for women?  

Second question - instead of staffing this with counsellors so that women that have been harassed or raped can get help, how about throwing enough cops and prosecution at the situation so that women can be safe in the first place?

This is incredible.  Women of Germany, your country deems your safety secondary to the unfettered and unlawful urges of its Muslim immigrant community.

Disgusting.

Saturday Song Share: Ryan Adams - Tired of Giving Up

This guy is making some of the best music out there right now.  

While not a video, just shut your eyes and enjoy how music used to sound, and how it sounds now thanks to Ryan Adams:

Brutal Cold

On our trip down to the Cities yesterday, this is what my vehicle told me it was like outside:

We're getting a reprieve for a couple of days, and will get above zero, but by the weekend we'll be back to the brutal cold again, with lows approaching this horrific number.

Considering I was in 70's earlier in the week, I've experienced over a 100-degree swing just this week alone.

Makes you wonder why we live here.  Crazy cold. 

Funeral Count Now at Seven

Back in early October I wrote how I had been back in Minnesota since late March, and in that time I had attended five funerals.

Less than three months later and the count has risen to seven.

It's remarkable, scary, and angering.  I don't understand it.  I certainly know it is part of life, but there sure has been a lot of death around me lately.  Part of it is my age - I'm getting to that point in life where this is happening more and more to those I know - and part of it has to be that I was just fortunate to avoid a lot of these events prior to now.

It's hard to accept, and can end anytime now...

Christmas Recap

Mrs. YDP and I spent the past five days at my sister's place in Charleston, SC to celebrate  Christmas.  It was a great getaway - pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered.  My brother and his kids were there, as was my mom, so we had a house full, and I loved every minute of it.  

Some highlights:

• We've welcomed a new member to the family as Hank the Labradoodle joined the team.  He's an awesome dog, and fits in perfectly.
• Weather was incredible, and afforded time at the beach and three runs outside.  It sure is nice to be in the South, especially when the high a home is not moving above zero.
• We ate a ton, with a nice dinner out and an incredible prime rib dinner on Christmas Eve.
• We also watched football, played cards, laughed, and basically enjoyed each other for our time together.

I know that none of this is of note.  In fact, upon reading it, it sounds kind of boring.  It certainly didn't feel that way, and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

I am blessed.

What God Asks Us

The story of the birth of Christ contains a couple of interesting intercessions by God, and what He asks during these encounters is big.  First, He asks Mary to bear this child, and endure the pain and ridicule that would surely go with it.  Then he asks Joesph to be there in support, despite not being the father.

Can you imagine?  Put yourselves in Mary or Joseph's shoes.  Could we answer God in the affirmative on a similar request?  

Thankfully, we're not tested that way.  We are, however, tested.  God asks things of us every day, but unlike the Holy Family, our burdens are light.  Despite this, we often fail; taking the easy way out, or doing things because they appear to be better for us, or just ignoring our obligation to God altogether.

Perhaps this Christmas we can focus on the sacrifices made - by Mary, Joseph, and even Jesus - and use them as examples to step up to the small things that God asks of us.

Christmas Card from St. John's University

Merry Christmas from the students and monastic community at St. John's University:

Hot Ones

My latest YouTube binge is a show called Hot Ones, where "B" and "C" list celebrities get a chance to tout their book, movie, podcast, etc., but first, they must eat 10 progressively hot wings.  The last one they have?  2,000,000 scoville units.

For those unfamiliar with the scoville scale, a jalapeno is 5,000 and Tobasco is about 30,000.

Here's Arte Lange.  It's R rated, but he gives you a pretty good indication of what the show is like:



You really have to be in need of plugging your show to put up with this kind of torture...

Tomorrow's Next Shooting

Regardless of where you stand on the gun issue, here is something that we can all hopefully agree upon:

Barbie Gets Woke for Christmas

Over the past two months, Babie is rapidly transforming.  Long blamed for instilling false narratives about women, the pendulum has now swung completely in the opposite direction.  Consider this recent Instagram post:

Draw your own conclusions, but for now, it looks like Barbie's sexuality just got a little ambiguous.  How woke!

Now consider the latest stunt, the hajib Barbie:

This one was launched with a public relations campaign that assured the message of its release was everywhere, because, well, Muslim.  What wasn't clear was if the hajib could be removed (especially in front of a man) and if the doll came with a male counterpart so that it could go out in public.

This type of product release is what Mattel thinks will save its financial performance, which looks like this:

I guess when you can't sell toys, hopefully, you can still make a living by selling indoctrination.  

Creepy and sick.

Here's wishing you get what you want for Christmas, and it doesn't come anchored to some political meme.

  

Miss Iraq Takes Photo With Miss Israel - Death Threat Ensue

Miss Iraq met Miss Isreal at the Miss Universe pageant and dared to take a photo together.  Immediately Miss Iraq's home countrymen demanded her death and the death of her whole family.

Here's the offending photo:



Totally worth her death.  And the death of her family as well.  Duh.

Now Miss Iraq and her family are on the lam and are living outside the country, lest they be murdered for this atrocity. 

This is Islam, folks.  By all means, let's immigrate more of this tolerant thinking into our society.   

StarTribune, Taxes, and Fake News

Here's the breathless headline on the front page of the StarTribune:

Republican tax bill could alter landscape for homeowners?  I thought the tax bill was a good thing?  

However, in reading the article, 18 paragraphs into it (!), we find that mortgage interest deduction only goes away for mortgages greater than $750,000.  Which means that it applies to nobody except the very rich, or those that live in markets where real estate is completely out of hand (I'm looking at you, California).

Wonder why people accuse the media of fake news?  Here's your sign. 

Saturday Song Share: Frehley's Comet - Rock Soldiers

We don't do hair metal much here at Yellow Dog Patrol, but I think it about time.

Better said, "Ace is back and he told you so"

Rock, two, three, four...

New Bud Light Commercial Another Home Run

Bud Light has struck gold with its "dilly dilly" campaign, and the latest installment continues the trend:



Also, when researching this ad to embed it via YouTube, I bumped into this campaign:




It is incredibly well done.  I watched it a bunch, and the depth of the ad is truly fantastic - well beyond what one finds in traditional advertising.  It's really, really well written.  There is another version as well that takes place in a zombie apocalypse, but it is not nearly as good.

I have not seen this ad aired, and judging by the release date, it looks like it launched at a similar time to the "dilly dilly" campaign.  I'm betting I live in a market that tested "dilly dilly" and scores for that campaign moved it forward nationally.  Likewise, "Hero's Return" is a :60 spot, and upon being cut down to fit into a traditional :30 ad, likely lost a lot.

Hat's off to the marketing team at Bud Light.  They're doing some of the best advertising that is out there right now.   

Army Navy National Anthem

Just about the time you think this country has zero chance and that our future is bleak, you run into something like this:



Stirring, beautiful, honorable.

And hopeful.

Company Christmas Card

One of the good things about heading up Marketing in the new gig is that I get to do things like determine what we'll do for promotional materials.  That includes our Christmas card.

Since we're a dog-friendly workplace, what could be more friendly than dogs for a holiday greeting?

I happen to be partial to the one on the left, but that's just me.

Merry Christmas.

Black Jack Does it Again

I know that purely by the numbers, Jack Morris does not belong in the Hall of Fame.  If one just looked at the stats, they'd see a very good pitcher and a very strong pitcher in his era.  He also owned an ERA which would be the highest in the HOF, never won a Cy Young, and never blew people away.

He did, however, do a couple of things.  He imposed his will on batters, he ate up innings, and he won.

Never was that more effectively on display than in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.  Deservedly touted as one of the best baseball games of all times, Morris' gutty 10 inning shutout performance, against the best team in MLB at the time and on the biggest stage, was a thing of renown.

Sometimes there are special moments in our lives that transcend us.  They end up defining us, even though, in actuality, there is some much more to us than that one moment.  Such is fate though.  Sometimes those moments carry us, and sometimes it even helps carry us all the way to the HOF.

Is Morris bigger than that one game?  Of course.  The man was a horse of starting pitcher; one of the best of the 80's.  But when you add in that one game...




Congratulations, Black Jack.  You were awesome.

How to Raise a Sweet Son

A friend recently posted an article from Time on her Facebook page on how to raise a sweet son in an era of angry men.  Her wife and she just had a son, and this looks like something that they fear.  Personally, I quietly fear for the child, as one of the moms has made posts like "I've come to the conclusion that the majority of males that i interact with on a daily basis are "superior" assholes. Honestly."

Seriously.  Hate nearly half the population much?

If you want to raise a sweet son, here are some suggestions:

• Love him.  Always.  And not only him, but his gender.  Love the differences that exist between the two, and look for opportunities for them to compliment each other.
• Shield your hate.  Hatred is a learned behavior.  What you say about others and how you treat them will be absorbed by your young sponge.  Garbage in, garbage out.
• Set expectations.  For school, for manners, for behavior.  But also know that your son is not a girl.  He's different, and he needs to be treated differently.  Treating him the same as a girl, especially as it applies to learning, will lead to his falling behind, frustration, and then worse.
• Add consequences when those expectations are not met.  Fairly, but consistently.  Morality and respect matters, especially in how we interact with each other.  
• Introduce him to God, and allow a relationship to develop.  
• Give him role models.  Look at the men that are around your son as they will have much sway as to how he develops.  End relationships that expose your son to sullied behaviors. Yeah, it's that serious.

A quick look at the most recent college statistics shows boys are still falling behind - in 2017 alone, women represented 56% of the college population.  That's downright scary.  We're failing our boys.  Hence, instead of bashing their gender so that we can make them "sweet," how about we start taking steps to stop hating our sons and make them successful instead?

The sooner we can stop hating each other, the better.

 

Saturday Song Share: Manchester Orchestra - Where Have You Been

I always found this song to be really deep; maybe it's just my interpretation.  I looked for a good version to try and do the studio version justice to no avail.  It's too bad, as the best part of the studio version has lead singer Andy Hull wailing, "GOD MY GOD, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

I've read some accounts of live versions where Hull screams that at the end.  It's reported to be quite stirring.  Also, I've read that he sometimes substitutes the word "God" with "child" at the end, as God responds to the question as He likely would.

All of us at times have been in a situation where we've asked the same question, and the way he sang it just came out so raw and real.  This version?  Not so much, but still a great song:

Jerusalem Finally Recognized as Capital, Islam and Liberals Erupt

Jerusalem is the holiest city of Judaism.  It has been that way for 3,000 years.  Even those with a modicum of biblical understanding know this.

It is also Isreal's capital.  Their national government seats are there.  In fact, pretty much the only thing missing was a US embassy, as we've been cowed by the Muslim world to pretend Jerusalem isn't really the capital.  In typical Muslim fashion, the message was "do as we want, or else," and previous administrations were more than happy to oblige.

Enter Trump.  He campaigned on this move and did so loudly.  It was not a secret.  He's fulfilling a promise.  However, the media and the Muslim world consider what he's done to be tantamount to lighting a cigarette in an ammo dump.  

Really?  Isreal operates with Jerusalem as its capital.  All we're doing is stopping to pretend it's not.  Yet the world rages because we're not pretending anymore.  

This is your "religion of peace" ladies and gentlemen.  

More like "religion of perpetual outrage," but we can't say that now, can we?

Anheuser Busch Sends a Cease and Desist

By now, you've obviously been made aware of the popularity of "dilly dilly."  It was first introduced by Bud Light in this ad:



The ad pretty much got the whole country saying, "dilly dilly."  It was so popular, in fact, that local Twin Cities brewer Modist Brewing crafted a "Dilly Dilly Mosaic Double IPA."  Well, word got to the folks at Anheuser Busch, and their legal team got to work.  This is how they responded:



This is just outstanding.  The fact that AB did this without any fanfare and just did it from one brewer to another is so cool.

What's not cool?  A couple craft brewers from Modist at the Super Bowl having to drink Bud Light the whole time.  Pit of Misery, indeed.

Left to Suffer - Expose by the StarTribune

The media has won a well-deserved reputation of being biased do-nothings.  As their audiences have crumbled, they've lost a lot of the resources that enabled them to do actual traditional investigative journalism.  They've kind of been rendered as not much better than the loudmouths that bray in the comment sections of their articles.

However, every once and a while they hit it.  That was the case in a recent expose by the StarTribune called "Left to Suffer."  In it, they cover the rampant amount of abuse being conducted in Minnesota senior care facilities, and the shocking lack of protection and prosecution going on.

How bad is it?  In it, they report that maltreatment allocations rose to a volume of 25,000 cases in 2016 alone (a doubling of 2011 levels), while just over 3% of those cases were even investigated.

It is a very scary proposition.  It's made even scarier for someone like my wife and myself that have no children to serve as our advocates.

Good work, StarTribune.

Saturday Song Share: Talking Heads - Girlfriend is Better

There she goes...

A Walk Around Uptown

Last weekend we had a post-Thanksgiving feast walk around the lakes and Uptown area in Minneapolis.  It just underscored how much we'd missed in being gone.  To be closer to family and the places we love is just a blessing, and we're very lucky to be back in our home, because it is just that.  Home.

The day was pretty and not too horribly chilly.  It made for a great photo opportunity with the beautiful Minneapolis skyline in the background:

Uptown is an eclectic area, and has been for a good long time.  How long?  Well, here's an example - the Uptown Theater is doing a midnight showing of Rocky Horror.  Ladies and gentlemen, that movie was released in 1975:

Finally, we close with some marketing, because, well, marketing...  From the incongruity files comes this Plastic Surgeon.  See for yourself:

Good thing it's authentic plastic surgery.  You wouldn't want any of that fake plastic surgery.

Love being home. 

Dumpster Fire

A joke of a president.  Sexual misdeeds rampant and new stories breaking on a daily basis.  A very bloody and brutal war with North Korea looking more and more likely.

Our world has developed into a dumpster fire.  And not a nice, paper-based fire either.  I'm talking burning rancid grease fire.  On a 100 degree day.

A couple of quick thoughts on the latest news:

• Garrison Keillor's explanation is unmitigated bullshit.  NPR isn't going to slaughter their bell cow over rubbing a woman's bare back.  This is Keillor getting ahead of the story.   Expect other shoes to fall if he doesn't change his tune and remains unrepentant.
• Matt Lauer is a pig, and so are all the people that knew it and turned a blind eye.
• Interesting that those in the media that have been accused have lost their job.  Those in "Public Service" are still getting paid.  A lot.

Oh, the smell...

Minnesota Wild are Terrible

The Wild started out strong last night and scored the first two goals of the road game against a tough Winnipeg squad.  They then proceeded to give up the next seven.

That's not a typo.

I can't embed the video (thanks, NHL, that makes a ton of sense...) but I do have a link to it here.  What you'll note is the amount of Jets players that are flat wide open.  I've never seen anything like it.

This team is not good.  They don't play for each other and they don't play for the coach.  Even Parise coming back won't do a thing for these guys.  They've quit, and it's going to be a long season.

Total Minnesota Gopher-itis: great talent that just can't find a way to play together.  They should be embarrassed at the least, and broken up in all likelihood, as this version of the team is not working.

Ugh.

Rape Advocate Moves Bill from Franken, Is Threatened with Rape

Abby Henold had been working with Al Franken's office to push forward legislation to aid victims of sexual assault.  Henold, a victim herself, had a change of heart for her champion after all the news broke on Franken, and she vocally called for a new sponsor.  

Seems smart.  If you want to make a difference via a piece of legislation on sexual assault, you'd like to not have any baggage associated with it.  Like, oh, I don't know, like the sponsor being photographed sexually assaulting someone.

When Abby sought new sponsorship, she did so publically via an editorial in the Washington Post.  Unfortunately, a lot of folks on the left felt like she was abandoning Franken.  And that's where the knives came out.  

In the comments section and via her social media accounts, here are some things that were said to her:

"You disgust me,” Honold read on Twitter. “How dare you make it seem like Al Franken is a sexual predator?”

“You want to be a true champion, stand by that man and fight for all that he has fought for,” wrote another.


A few questioned whether Honold was raped. One person sent her a direct message saying: “Maybe one of these days someone will SHOW YOU what it feels like to REALLY BE RAPED.”

This is the state of the democrat party.  These are the people that stand up for women.  This is the party that cares.

Sick, sick, sick.

Saturday Song Share: Cowboy Junkies - 'Cause Cheap is How I Feel

I think I'll find a pair of eyes tonight to fall into
to fall into and maybe I'll strike a deal
Your body for my soul - fair swap - 'cause cheap is how I feel

Happy Thanksgiving

Health.  Job.  Family.  Food.  Friends.  

The list of reasons to be thankful is long, and after just a little introspection, gets a lot longer.  

I wish you satisfaction, peace, and a quiet revelation of just how lucky we are and how thankful we should be, regardless of our circumstances.  

Thanks to you as well for continuing to stop by.

Happy Thanksgiving

Drinksgiving? Friendsgiving?

The StarTribune published an article today on the rise of "Drinksgiving."  It is the night before Thanksgiving where people get together with friends at bars and get loaded.  It's the biggest night of drunken behavior of the year; bigger than New Year's Eve, bigger than St. Patrick's day.

Really.

Also on the rise is the celebration of "Friendsgiving," where one eschews gathering with their families and chooses instead to gather with friends to celebrate the holiday.

The media has been pushing a narrative for decades now that holidays with family are something to be survived - like a battle in a war.  They're spent with people that disgust us, usually because of their political views, but there are other reasons as well.  Hence, there's just no need to put up with the discomfort of people that are so wrong, and different, and, to call it what it truly is, hated.

So go drinking with your friends instead.  Your family sucks.

How sad.  I cherish my time with my family.  It's way too rare, and I love the time we're able to spend together.  Do we have differences?  Of course, every family does.  But we also have a common bond that keeps us together that is stronger than the desire to drown our perceived slights with our friends.

I hope that bond continues to last.

In the meantime, I find the trends of how our families are viewed as heartbreaking.

Charlie Rose is a Pig

If you harass people that work for you, you're a pig.  If you grab their thigh while you're driving, you're a pig.  And for Pete's sake, if you march around naked in front of someone you work with, you, Charlie Rose, are a disgusting, filthy pig.

Who's next?

Al Franken is a Pig

I know this picture has been shown a thousand times.  I don't care. Look at it.  Look good and hard at it.  That woman could have been your wife, mother, sister, niece, etc.  

This is the champion of women's rights?  This is a leader?  This is even a man?

Hell no.  This is a pig.

Al Franken not only needs to lose his job, he also needs to get his ass kicked by this poor woman's husband.

And don't think I'm playing partisan games, either.  Judge Roy Moore has some amazingly credible accusations against him regarding his seeking to date underage girls, and actually getting physical with at least one.  That sick pig needs to go away as well.

How come so many of those that have won life's lottery seem so consistent in behaving this way?  

The media, politics, and Hollywood have long been accused of being aligned.  I guess they truly are.

Pigs.  All of them.  Yet nobody will lose their job, the millions will continue to flow to them, and we'll continue to circle the toilet as a society.  

God help us all...  

Saturday Song Share: Little Feat - Willin'

Slow version (just OK) of an all-time classic:

Busy, Busy, Busy

Things have been a bit crazy lately.  Work has been busy, but that's pretty much a constant, isn't it?

Beyond that, for this week I've participated in two board meetings, took four hours of training in curling (oh yes I did), and overall been on the go.  Writing has suffered, but in terms of rounding things out, my life has not.

It's nice to have choices, instead of things that I HAVE to do...

Saturday Song Share: Bob Dylan - Standing in the Doorway

This is easily one of my top ten Dylan songs of all time.

Kind of crummy camera work, but let your ears enjoy

Where's Woody Allen?

Hollywood is going through its purge of sexual deviants, attempting to clean itself of its longest and deepest rooted sins.  The witch hunt is in full swing, and the witches are burning, baby.

Except one.

Woody Allen continues to skate.  HE MARRIED HIS DAUGHTER.  But he continues to skate.

Sorry, but whatever the torrid story du jour hits, it won't stack up to Allen and what he's done.  Yet Hollywood still hails him a genius.

These are the EXACT same people that demanded that we "move on" from what Bill Clinton did multiple times to an intern.  

Until things get serious there, and guys like Allen (and Roman Polanski, for Pete's sake) are made to pay for their crimes - and I most certainly mean crimes - I view what's happening in Hollywood to be nothing but pandering for the politically correct crowd.

What a cesspool.  

Sam - Life with a Gun Dog

To those of us that have hunting dogs, this tells the story very well:

Burger King Bullying Ad

I know we talked about Burger King already this week, but this ad needs to be called out.

While it is a little over the top, it does provide something for us to think about:

Thinoptics Comes Through

There are a lot of things to dislike about ageing.  Perhaps the biggest one is not being able to read anymore without glasses.  I went from having incredible eyesight to Mother Nature snapping her fingers and not being able to see a damn thing.  

It's super frustrating.  Beyond the challenges at work, reading menus, ingredients at the grocery store, deposit slips at the bank, or anything for that matter is an impossibility unless I have some glasses hanging from my nose.  And if I don't have those glasses?  I'm screwed.

Then I found Thinoptics.  Basically, if you have your phone, you have glasses.  Here is how they work:

Beyond their incredible utility, they get even better.  They have a lifetime guarantee.  So when you drop your phone and this happens:

all you do is email Thinoptics and a new pair is in the mail, no charge.

It's hard to describe how much this product has helped me.  I'm now on my second case and third set of glasses, all for my original fee.

This product is flat amazing.  

I'm a Tony Romo Fan (in the Booth)

I admit that when I first heard Tony Romo announce, he rubbed me the wrong way.  I didn't like his delivery, and I didn't like how he sounded.

Unfortunately, I was concentrating not on what he said, but how he said it.

Once I started listening to what he was saying?  Incredible!  Nobody had covered the NFL like this before.  It was like he was doing color commentary from the field itself.  

Here's an example:



I couldn't have been more wrong about the guy.  He's incredible in the booth, and I'm a big fan.

Saturday Song Share: American Scarecrows - North Country

The M I S S I S S I P I I 
Begins in a land where I know I'm going to die

KFC Twitter Follows are Brilliant

KFC has done some really incredible marketing these past couple of years, and it has truly breathed life into a brand that was floundering.  Think about it - how in the world in 2017 do you make fried chicken relevant?  And with a Colonel as a corporate icon?  Goodness.

In the latest, it was just noted that KFC only had 11 folks they followed on Twitter.  Here they are:

They're the 5 Spice Girls, plus 6 other guys, all with the first name of "Herb."

Altogether, they're "11 herbs and spices."

Whoever hatched this idea on their social media team deserves a fat raise.

Latino Victory Fund Ad - Liberals Wrong Again

Recently, a political action group calling itself the Latino Victory Fund published the following ad:



It checked all the boxes for liberal hate:

• White guy
• Pickup truck
• Confederate flag
• "Don't Tread on Me" License plate
• Republican

It also checked all of the racial buttons for those that liberals love.  Hence, when the ad showed what liberals hate trying to run over and murder those that liberals love with a pickup truck, it was an ad made in lefty-heaven.

Only one problem.  This was this guy and this truck that actually went out there and killed people in New York:

Of course the talk-off of the Left is that this is an isolated incident, there's nothing to see here, it's old news, and beware harm to our Islamic brothers and sisters because of "backlash," etc.

Liberals call us racists, yet they're the ones that see skin color everywhere

Liberals call us homophobes, yet they're the ones that demand a sexuality scorecard

Liberals call us haters and killers, yet enable an environment where haters and killers can thrive

While the offending video has been taken down, it's too late.  We already know what is truly in liberal's hearts and what they truly value.

And I'm the neanderthal?  

Hallmark - "Diversity" Matters. Does Talent?

This week, via their LinkedIn feed, Hallmark posted the following:



Seriously?  Instead of stressing the talent, education, skills, or value their new hires bring to their organization, Hallmark instead chooses to tout their appearance.  

That's it.

When all you care about is how people look, you become the racist that you're trying to avoid.

Burger King Calls Out Ronald

I've always felt clowns are creepy; Ronald McDonald included.  It's nice to see that Burger King feels the same way, and is totally calling out their rival:



Now I just wish Burger King would do something about their own creepy mascot:

The Hawk Ate My Teal

I had one of the strangest mornings I've ever had while waterfowling.

I was in camp alone, and decided to hunt an area we call "Goose Island."  It is a patch of cattails in fairly shallow water and provides good cover plus the ease of being able to walk around to set most of the decoys.  

The morning started out well, and I was treated to this fabulous sunrise:



The ducks were flying, especially the mallards, and they really seemed to like my set.  I had a number of flocks over my decoys and presenting me with fabulous shots.  Unfortunately, I shot incredibly poorly.  Perhaps it was because I was wearing another full coat over my traditional one and messing up my sight plane, or maybe it was just a funk.  Regardless, I was ice cold.

I finally did eventually connect on a teal on a close shot, which made me feel a little more confident.  Instead of taking the boat and picking up the downed bird right away I opted to stay put for a while.  The birds were flying, and I had a good line on the teal's drift, hence I'd go pick him up later once things slowed down.

About 15 minutes later, the teal had drifted about 50 yards away from me.  As he was bobbing on the water, a hawk suddenly appeared and headed right for my bird.  "That's funny," I thought to myself, "I bet that hawk wishes he had my teal."

The hawk must have felt the same thing because he dove at my teal and extended his talons.  "No way he's picking that up!" I thought.

Wrong.

The hawk did get airborne, flew about 20 yards, then landed on a patch of floating bog and proceeded to make a breakfast of my teal.

Here's a photo of him helping himself to my bird:



In all of my years of hunting and all of my time on the water, I've never seen anything like it.

Church as MASH Ward

This past week, Fr. Don passed along the following:

The Bishop of Rome (Francis) received very favorable reaction to an interview given in August, 2013. One line resonates with many: "I see the church as a field hospital after battle." A recognition that we all have been wounded or at least have wounds from "the slings and arrows" of life. We need healing, a work for both Word and Sacrament, for the touch of the Lord who loves us. Ordinarily that love comes to us through another human being’s compassion and sympathetic understanding. An often used prayer entitled "Hail, Holy Queen" has a line about "poor, banished children of Eve". With little children this often comes across as "poor, bandaged children of Eve", an unwitting intuition of this truth! That certainly fits with "field hospital."


By gathering together on Sunday, under the same roof and seeking the same nourishing and healing, we are cared for and we heal.  Certainly, we may not be healed fully, (it is a MASH unit - not a hospital) but we are made better.  We're restored.  We're propped.  We're better prepared to endure what life will give us in the coming week.

It is not a panacea.  Sometimes the wounds that life throws at us are far too much that they cannot be healed.  But in those situations, just like in a field hospital, at least there will be comforting and compassion and communion.  

Our weekly visit also serves as a reminder of how we can play the role of medic for each other the remainder of the week.  As Christians, that is what each of us is called to do.  

You'll bump into many people this week that are hurting and are in need.  Don't wait for them to scream, "MEDIC!"

Saturday Song Share: Kristin Diable - I'll Make Time for You

Huntego's CleanShot - A New Way to Clean Your Gun

Bore cleaning is a pain in the tail.  You need to get out your chemicals, rags, and plunger and horse it through your gun, then get it all broken down and put away again.

With this, however...



I am so trying this and will post up and let you know.  

Monster Commercial

Monster does a great job in its new commercial and plays off the fact that most people will leave a job because primarily because they dislike/hate the person for whom they work:

I used to have one of those bosses we see at the lead, and I actually had the finger snapped at me multiple times as I sought to make myself more productive while he held meaningless conversations on the phone.  In fact, whenever we met in his office, he'd nearly always pick up an inbound call and would demand that I sit there and wait. 

What'd I do?  

I ultimately got the hell out of there.  Life is too short, and work too much of that short life to be treated like garbage. 

Dog Slowing Down

My yellow dog is now at 12.5 years old.  She's slowed quite a bit, and I've not hunted her for two years now.  

Her days are now a mixture of good and bad days.  Sometimes she's not ravenous for food; indeed she may not even finish a meal and will pick at it gingerly.  She'll be lethargic or sullen.  She'll also sometimes develop incredibly loud belly noises - noises that can be heard from well across the room - and foul flatulence.   

Then, by miracle, the next day she's back to her old self.  

So now the age-old question that every owner of an old pet needs to ask: when is the right time to seek medical treatment?  In invoking Dr. Google, the Yellow Dog's maladies could be quite serious and could require surgery.  But for a dog her age, is that fair?  Just like humans, old age will ultimately ensure that something conspires to take you out.  We don't last forever.  

But could the short-term quality of life be improved?  That's a question I'm wrestling with.

This morning I woke to the loudest belly noise she's ever had.  She did take some water, and slowly ate most, but not all, of her breakfast.  A quick morning walk elicited the necessary "deposit" which appeared normal.  

She was like this a couple of weeks ago and bounced back well.  Hence, we'll sit tight and keep a close eye on her.  We'll also keep you all posted.

Hunting With Kin Recap

This past week we held our nearly annual hunting with kin weekend up at the duck camp.  It was attended by not only two of my cousins, but also by my young nephew.  We've been at this for 14 years as of this January, and it has been a blessing on so many levels.  The ducks have been just an excuse; the true reason we get together is for the laughs and the memories.

Here are some of those for this trip:

Duck hunting is not an easy pursuit.  Hunting starts a half hour before sunrise, and with all of the work to do ahead of time (setting decoys, travel, coffee, biological needs, etc.), and we're up incredibly early.  There are some benefits of being the only ones in the world up at our ungodly hour, and one of them is that we're often treated to God's beauty.  Here was just one example. 

 Another great sunrise.

My nephew had never been pheasant hunting, and 15 minutes into his first hunt he bagged this bird on a hard crossing shot.  Truth be told, I shot first and missed.  The kid backed me up.  I have no idea how many hunts I had been on before I shot my first pheasant, but it felt like it would never happen.  It happened for the kid only a couple hundred yards into his first hunt.  Lucky dog... 

Here's a buddy with a rare end of October blue wing teal.   

Here was the sunrise for our last day.  Another fabulous way to begin our day, and end our trip.

While the bag wasn't heavy, we did scratch out our share, with the kid and I contributing to a last day's brace of drake wood ducks.

Other highlights included:

• My cousin's famous gumbo night, which was attended by a bunch of neighbors.  Not sure how many folks we had in total, but we fed over 20 (and still had leftovers)
• My cousin bagging his first pheasant in who knows how long
• Victories by the Gophers, Irish, Tigers AND Vikings (when does that ever happen?)
• Too many laughs to count

Hopefully, we'll be able to do it all again down in Louisiana in January.

Saturday Song Share: The Tragically Hip - Locked in the Trunk of a Car

Still tough to think he's gone...

6 Year Old Invites Teddy Bridgewater to His Birthday

This superfan created a video to invite his hero to his birthday:



So what happened?  This happened:



NFL players are taking a pretty bad rap nowadays.  Here's to one of the good guys.

RIP Gord Downie

Gord Downie, the lead singer and soul of one of the biggest bands in Canada finally succumbed to his brain cancer and passed away yesterday.

He was 53.  My age.

The Tragically Hip is Canada's version of U2, with Downie playing the role not only of Bono, but that of Dylan, Springsteen, and Jim Morrison all rolled into one.  He was musician, magician, showman, poet, and the voice of a whole damn country.  

How much did he mean?  Here's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meeting the press and talking about Gord:



I had the pleasure of seeing the Hip three times in my life, and was blown away by Downie's stage presence.  He was a live wire - jerking and jiving the whole night.  Likewise, he spewed out stream of consciousness jargon throughout the concert; stuff that made no sense but perfect sense at the same time.  He was a lyrical gymnast and often replaced words in his own songs - ones that still rhymed with the original, but nuanced the song all the more.  

I've loved this band since the 80's and across thirteen different albums.  I still remember when I first heard Up to Here - where I was, what the day was like - and thinking "who the hell ARE these guys?" Since then, they've been a soundtrack to my adult life.

I got the news while at lunch, sitting in my car and checking the web.  Like Trudeau, I cried.

I leave you with my favourite song (and given their library, that's saying a lot and I spelled "favourite" that way for a reason), and a performance that is classic Gord Downie.

Goodbye, Gord, and thank you.

Words Matter

As a marketer, this really resonates: