Category Archives: Mr. Boy

Paul Newman, R.I.P.

Posted on September 27, 2008 | Comments Off on Paul Newman, R.I.P.

His movies seem dated to me now. Like me, I suppose. We’ve used his salad dressing for years. The jokes on the labels were some of the first that Mr. B. could read, and he insists on buying more whenever we shop for groceries. I also liked his wife. Didn’t everyone?

MORE:  I used to write obits, but I would never have attempted a movie star. This one is good.

UPDATE:  Glad I missed this aspect of him, however: "President Jimmy Carter appointed him as his delegate to nuclear disarmament talks at the United Nations…In 1995, Newman bought a controlling interest in The Nation, a liberal political journal, and even began writing for it occasionally….Newman is also on the board of Cease Fire, a gun control group funded by prominent celebrities…."

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Obituaries, Rancho Roly Poly, Scribbles

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McCain won, I think

Posted on September 27, 2008 | Comments Off on McCain won, I think

I didn’t watch much of it live. I have seen several clips, and I followed some of the live-blogging, and read the conclusions of others–some of whom thought that, while Barry may not have won, he didn’t lose, either. Mr. B.’s mom, whose job it is to watch such things, thought it was a tie. She thought Mac won on content but Barry won on style. Style. Like an Olympic gymnast. Sigh. In some of the clips I saw, he was clearly irritated. I thought it was Mac who was supposed to have the temper?

All in all, I don’t think any of these "debates," are very meaningful, since the participants seldom say anything imaginative. Just their stump speech points. Nor do I think they have much impact on the elections. On the Big Media and the soundbite collections, sure, but how many people do they persuade? I think Biden and Palin will be more fun to watch and I won’t miss that one.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Scribbles

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Sailboat sale

Posted on September 23, 2008 | Comments Off on Sailboat sale

Tom, OCS buddy and rare reader who cannot make the TypeKey comment system work, reminds me that I have not written much about sailing this year. The reason is I haven’t been doing much of it since April, for various reasons, mostly involving rancho chores, family travel and driving Mr. B. around to baseball, summer camp and, now, basketball and Cub Scouts.

In fact, the family sloop has been for sale for a few weeks and last Sunday I picked up two interested buyers. Am waiting on a local fellow to get his money together (he has to sell some stock, and this is not a good time for that, obviously), while the other one, from northeast Texas, says he is ready to buy it if the local one doesn’t. If Mr. B. enjoyed going sailing, I would have kept it, but, alas, he doesn’t. On one of our few outings, he pointed at a passing stinkpot (motorboat) and said: “Why don’t we buy one of those, Dad?” Sigh.

UPDATE: The sloop is sold. Feel a little bit sorry already, but that’s relieved by the young, local  buyer’s enthusiasm and excitement. It’s in good hands–younger and more energetic ones, too.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing

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Ike hype

Posted on September 12, 2008 | Comments Off on Ike hype

It doesn’t say much for education when the Austin public school system joins in hyping a hurricane hundreds of miles away from its forecast path. They’re letting Mr. B. and his chums out three hours early today.

He called me this morning from a teacher-telephone station on the playground, sounding worried, as of course he would be since he’s in the midst of group-think and not likely getting the local forecast for clear skies this afternoon and only normally-gusty winds tonight with just a forty percent chance of rain. What nonsense. There is some, but only just, concern that the wobbly storm may track farther west than the now-forecast radical curve northeast through East Texas, which would miss us entirely. It’s a wide storm, true enough, but the west side of it, where we’ll be, isn’t likely to carry much wind or rain this far inland.

MORE: Not saying there’s no danger, just that it’s not likely here. Coastal Texas already is seeing flooding with a big storm surge expected to seriously threaten life and property in the Galveston-Houston area. Could be Indianola, 1886, all over again down there. JD, at Mouth of the Brazos, already has fled. Check out this KHOU Houston aerial video of Galveston taken about 4 p.m. Friday showing waves routinely topping the seawall. That can only get worse as Ike crosses the coast.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Scribbles, Weather/Climate

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A windup Big Ben

Posted on September 5, 2008 | Comments Off on A windup Big Ben

We all got up a bit late this morning and had to rush to get Mr. B. off to school on time. He made it, but it’s not a good sign, considering Mom is flying out of town tomorrow for a week and I have to organize the morning rush by myself. But I have the solution.

It reminds me of my salad days in the 6th Cav, when I was late to the dawn regimental formation twice in a row. "Lt. Stanley, you need  a windup Big Ben," the First Sergeant, a short, stout Jamaican, told me. "Or else start sleeping in the barracks with your platoon." I got the clock. It worked, clanging me out of bed every morning. WestClox apparently no longer makes the old model with two big bells on the top, but Seth Thomas does. I’m going to buy one of those awful things today.

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Posted in Infantry OCS, Mr. Boy, Viet Nam

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Meow

Posted on September 1, 2008 | Comments Off on Meow

Well, not quite "meow." Hurricane Gustav still ain’t exactly a pussycat. But he’s weakened sufficiently to where he also isn’t Katrina II. So, as Mr. B. would say, let’s turn the volume from 4 to 2 on this one. I had a gut feeling this would happen. Nice to see the Pajamas’ weather geek also can downshift in a timely fashion.

UPDATE: More weather from Jeff Masters. Weaker means less damage. But it’s still strong, and liveblogging from Biloxi, MS, shows how much.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Weather/Climate

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Fall ball

Posted on August 27, 2008 | Comments Off on Fall ball

The one thing Mr. Boy likes about the resumption of school is the resumption of Little League’s fall season. He has first practice tonight at 6:30, which should end just in time for him to get a bath and go bed. Fall ball is less about competition than improving skills, so that maybe by the spring season he won’t be stuck in right field anymore. We sympathize with the nine-year-old who got booted from the league in New Haven, but Mr. B. agrees that at his age he would not like to have to face a 40 mph pitch.

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Posted in Mr. Boy

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