Above the law? Not hardly.

Disclaimer: Yeah, this is old news by now. So what? I have a job and a family, so sometimes I have to wait a couple days to write on stuff that catches my attention. Spare time to write is something that I sorely lack. Anyways…


I have no biological children, even at my advanced age of 40, so some of you may think that I am unqualified to make a parental statement. But I think it’s safe to say that if some 43-year old man fed my 13-year old daughter a mix of bubbly and Quaaludes and then had sex with her, and she was too doped up and scared to resist or even to report it, it’s safe to say that the aforementioned rapist would soon be ventilated by several 230-grain jacketed hollow-points. I don’t exactly have a soft spot in my heart for kid-diddlers.

So, it really galled me this week to hear about all the Hollywood assholes coming out in droves in defense of Roman Polanski.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called Polanski's arrest a "bit sinister."
Really, Bernie? I find France’s harboring of a fugitive child rapist a bit sinister. Then again, you assholes also let convicted murderer Ira Einhorn hang out in your country for 20+ years too before he got busted again and sent home to face justice. I guess him and Polanski used to sip lattes together at the American Fugitive Bistro on the Champs Elysees? At times it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if you’ve been letting Joseph Mengele rent a villa on the Riviera.

Polanksi’s agent, Jeff Berg, has said that justice has already been served in the Polanski case. Really? How’s that, Jeff? He’s been treated like Hollywood Royalty across Europe for 30 years, despite the fact that he’s really not that great a director and his movies ain’t all that.

Frederic Mitterrand, the French culture minister, said, "In the same way as there is a generous America which we love, there is also a certain kind of America which is frightening, and it is this America which has now shown us its face." Just keep remembering the face of America that kept you from speaking German twice in the last century, pal. You’re welcome.

Noted film producer Harvey Weinstein had the audacity to open his festering suck-hole and say that ,"Every US filmmaker [should] lobby against any move to bring Polanski back to the US. Whatever you think of the so-called crime, Polanski has served his time."

So-called crime? Perhaps in your house it’s okay to bugger little girls? He didn’t serve any time. He had, as journalist Eugene Robinson put it, a “gilded exile” in his native France. While I personally would go a little crazy after 30 years in France, he wasn’t exactly in a harsh environment. You’re an asshole, Harvey. You effete, smug, Hollywood bastards all think it was okay to drug and rape a kid, just because Chuck Manson killed the guy’s wife and child? That doesn’t give him a free ride to feed a kid drugs and booze, put his wang in her mouth and her kiester, and then flee the fucking country.

Of course it’s no surprise that Woody Allen thinks this schmuck’s a class act. Although Woodrow likes to bang his own kids and not other peoples’…

And Whoopi Goldberg? Holy shit... It wasn’t rape-rape? I suppose you were okay with Megrahi going back to Libya because it wasn’t terrorism-terrorism? Maybe the Holocaust wasn’t genocide-genocide? Let’s free OJ Simpson because while he did get away with murder-murder, he shouldn’t be in jail because it wasn’t kidnapping-kidnapping. However I guess you should stick with flapping your gums on that crapfest TV show The View because your standup wasn’t comedy-comedy and your movies weren’t all that good-good.



At least a couple people out there have some common sense, though.

Sherri Shepherd, also on The View, made the very valid point that we chase down 75 year old Nazis. True ‘dat. So why shouldn’t we hunt down 76-year old rapists?

Luc Besson, director of last year’s film Taken, refused to sign a Hollywood petition calling for Polanski's immediate release. "There is one justice, and that should be the same for everyone," Besson said on French radio. "I have a daughter, 13 years old. If she was violated, nothing would be the same, even 30 years later."

From Alison Arngrim, the actress best known for her work in “Little House on the Prairie” and who has spoken publicly in the past about having been sexually molested as a child, came this: “If Roman Polanski were a Catholic priest or a Republican senator, would these [Hollywood] people feel the same way?”

Not a bit, Alison. They think that being a Hollywood elitist or a Democrat means that it’s okay to commit crimes with relative impunity. No one’s talking about the fact that David Letterman was screwing his female employees (most assuredly behind Regina Lasko’s back), but instead are covering it over by focusing on the extortion attempt.


I hope like hell that George W. Bush is having a great laugh at Letterman’s expense.

Another quickie: worth a thousand words.....

Time has been in limited supply this week, kids. I have stuff in the works though. I wanted to chime in on the Olympics fiasco, but by the time I get to sit down & do it, it'll no longer be relevant. I have half a blog written on Polanski, and yes, I'm finishing this one....too much to say about that rat-bastard to scrap that post now.

Thursday night was the beginning of HOCKEY SEASON!!!!! Hellz Yes! It's the most wonderful time of the year......

Rest assured, it should be another productive weekend at the laptop. Stay tuned!

Until I can get a minute to sit here and work on new material tonight, I leave ya'll with a simple picture, my latest creation.

Borrowing some words of wisdom on Conservatism vs Liberalism

Today I’m borrowing some words of wisdom that I’ve come across that I think many of ya’ll can understand....


I found this brilliant piece of wisdom over at www.redplanetcartoons.com, along with a couple of bad-ass illustrations that I plundered (thanks, guys!)

John Hawkins: Explaining Liberal Thinking In A Single Column.
Liberals love to think of themselves as intellectual and nuanced, but liberalism is incredibly simplistic. It’s nothing more than “childlike emotionalism applied to adult issues.” Very seldom does any issue that doesn’t involve pandering to their supporters boil down at its core level to more than feeling “nice” or “mean” to liberals. This makes liberals ill equipped to deal with complex issues.

Since liberals tend to support or oppose policies based on how those policies make them feel about themselves, they do very little intellectual examination of whether the policies they advocate work or not. That’s because it doesn’t matter to them whether the policy is effective or not; it matters whether advocating the policy makes them feel “good” or “bad,” “compassionate” or “stingy,” “nice” or “mean.”

* Why are so many liberals hostile to religion? Because religion sets rules and tells people that if they break those rules, they’re sinning! That keeps people from doing things that make them feel good and telling people that they’re sinning makes them feel bad.

* Why are so many liberals hostile to the troops? Because the troops tend to be conservative (evil) and because they’re out killing people and breaking things (which would make most liberals feel like bad people).

* Why are so many liberals unpatriotic? It makes liberals feel morally superior to rant about what’s wrong with their own country. Plus, as an added bonus, people from other nations agree with them and that makes them feel good as well.

* Why do so many liberals have so much confidence in the government? With liberals, it’s not about whether something works or not, it’s about how it makes them feel.
So, they can look at the IRS, post office, airport security, FEMA, and ICE and then say, “These are the same people we want handling our health care” — because it’s about making themselves feel good that they got people insured, not about getting the best system of health care for everyone.

* Why do so many liberals have so much confidence in the UN? See the previous answer and apply it on a global scale. The UN may be corrupt, anti-American, and utterly incompetent, but it makes liberals feel good to think that they’re sending money to the poor in some godforsaken country (sure, it’s not their money and almost all the money may be wasted or stolen, but it’s the thought that counts).

* Why are liberals so hostile to successful people who don’t happen to be celebrities, trial lawyers, or big donors to the Democratic Party? Again, this is another great opportunity for them to feel morally superior. They can feel like good people because they want to give money to the poor — granted, not their money, but rich people’s money. The rich have so much and the poor have so little, so why shouldn’t liberals take it from them and then pat themselves on the back for their compassion?

Once you understand the basics of how liberals think, you can understand everything that they do. Granted, there will be a few exceptions, but if the vast herd of liberals is doing something that doesn’t seem to fit the template, it’s either because there’s money or sex involved, they’re doing what they have to do to win politically, they’re taking that position because they refuse to be on the same side as conservatives, or there’s something going on you don’t know about and it’s not really an exception.




And over at Voyska PVO’s blog (www.voyskapvo.blogspot.com), he had a great piece sent to him by a friend that goes hand in hand with this:

The Difference

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a liberal
doesn't like guns, then no one should have one.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a liberal
is, he wants to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to
defeat his enemy. A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and
still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly enjoys his life. If a
liberal is homosexual, he loudly demands legislated respect.

If black or Hispanic men are conservative, they see himselves as
independently successful. Their liberal counterparts see themselves as
victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his
situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches
channels. Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A
non-believing liberal wants all churches to be silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about
shopping for it, or he may choose a job that provides it. A liberal
demands that his neighbors pay for his health care.

Beware the Toilet Paper Czar

In one ear I have Jason Bateman telling me not to flush my toilet. In the other ear I have Sheryl Crow telling me to swab my O-ring with but a single square of sandpaper.

They can have my plush toilet paper when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

The Enviro-Nazis are at it again, this time attacking Quilted Northern Ultra-Plush, allegedly the first 3-ply super-plush poo paper. The reason, they say, is that plush U.S. toilet paper is usually made by chopping down and grinding up trees that were decades or even a century old.

Toilet paper is far from being the biggest threat to the world's forests: together with facial tissue, it accounts for 5 percent of the U.S. forest-products industry, according to industry figures. Paper and cardboard packaging makes up 26 percent of the industry, although more than half is made from recycled products. Newspapers account for 3 percent.

But environmentalists say 5 percent is still too much. My guess is they wipe their asses with hemp and then smoke it. That, or just use their left hands like it’s the Fourth or Fifth World. Their compromise is using recycled paper and say that it’s a dire sin and crime against the Earth Mother to use an old growth tree in such an undignified manner.


The reason for this war lies in toilet-paper engineering. Each sheet is a web of wood fibers, and fibers from old trees are longer, which produces a smoother and suppler web. Fibers made from recycled paper, like from magazines, newspapers or computer printouts, are shorter. The web is often rougher. So, when toilet paper is made for the public loo market, the scary bathrooms in Wal-Mart, restaurants, offices and schools, manufacturers use recycled fiber about 75 percent of the time. Plus, they buy the cheapest paper imaginable because they’re sorta forced to provide the restrooms. Thusly they aren’t making money from your bung, and they buy whatever sandpapery, waxy, wood-pulpy, non-absorbent, flimsy, half-ply garbage they can.

But for the "at home" market, the paper customers buy for themselves, 5 percent at most is fully recycled. The rest is mostly or totally "virgin" fiber, taken from newly cut trees, according to the market analysis firm RISI Inc. I myself don’t go for the fluffiest, plushest around as it’s linty and too flimsy for my manly arse.


Y’know, by making everyone use cheap paper, you tend to use more of it. When they outlaw toilet paper, only outlaws will have toilet paper…and clean asses. Maybe Greenpeace and the other Enviro-Nazis will be happier if we go back to the 1800’s and use corn cobs to scrape ourselves? I demand a Toilet Paper Czar!!!! The Left will probably let us keep our good papers if only they can tax us per square.



Sure, I'll use one square at a time if I can use THAT roll...

Another American soldier was laid to rest, after 147 years.

Antietam National Battlefield National Park Service rangers carry a coffin containing the remains of an unknown Civil War soldier found on the Antietam National Battlefield during a ceremony Sept. 15, 2009.
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jameel S. Moses

I hate it when I miss bringing you a good story in a timely manner. This story slipped right past me, and I just happened along it while skimming the stuff at the Department of Defense’s website, and an article by Air Force Senior Airman Jameel S. Moses.

After 147 years, another fallen American soldier finally gets his proper burial and honors. Rest in peace, my unknown brother.


SHARPSBURG, Md. (Sept. 17, 2009) -- The remains of a Union Civil War Soldier found at the Antietam National Battlefield here will be buried today in his home state of New York on the 147th anniversary of the battle, the Civil War's bloodiest day.

The remains of the Soldier, believed to be between 17 and 19 years old when he was killed, were transferred Sept. 15 from the Antietam National Cemetery Lodge to the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, N.Y. He will be buried with full military honors.

"It is right and fitting that today's citizen-Soldiers from New York state bring home this unknown New York volunteer of the Civil War," Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, the New York adjutant general, said. "The Soldier's Creed reminds all American Soldiers that we never leave a fallen comrade behind. This is a way for Soldiers of today to care for a fallen comrade from our past."

The New York National Guard accepted the transfer of the Soldier's remains from the Maryland National Guard, which also conducted the honors ceremony at Antietam.

The remains were escorted by the Patriot Guard Riders Association for the 330-mile trip to the New York State Military Museum, where they lie in repose today with a military honor guard.

"The majority of the men who came here and were killed, did not have the opportunity to go back home," said J.W. Howard, superintendent of the Antietam National Battlefield and Antietam National Cemetery. "In our national cemetery, there are over 1,500 unknown graves and you do not know who these young men were, and yet you knew they came here and made this sacrifice. The idea of being able to send him home was something the entire staff stood behind. It was the right thing to do."

The Soldier's remains were discovered by a hiker from Oklahoma who was walking along the battlefield last October.

The hiker was walking on a trail running through the Miller cornfield, where the bloodiest fighting of the 12-hour battle occurred, Howard said. A pile of dirt that a groundhog had dug caught his eye. After a closer look, the hiker realized what he had stumbled upon.

The remains included more than 400 bone fragments from 24 different bones, seven coat buttons, two New York state cuff buttons from the left sleeve, six trouser buttons, a leather strap and a belt buckle. They were placed into a box made by a carpenter at Antietam from a walnut tree cut down on the battlefield.

The uniform items will be buried along with the Soldier.

"We consider this to be a part of his uniform he was wearing when he died," Howard said. "They should be buried with him."

Bagpipers escorted and piped in the casket to the somber tune, “Going Home”. It was fitting, since one of the regiments present at the Battle of Antietam was the 79th New York, famous for being the only American unit to ever wear Scottish kilts as their standard uniform. While the soldier’s true unit will likely never be known, it’s safe to say that he wasn’t from the 79th, as they fought closer to the town of Sharpsburg and this soldier’s remains were found in an area of the battlefield known as Miller's Cornfield, where the heaviest of the fighting occurred. There were sixteen different New York regiments at Antietam.

Nearly 23,000 casualties were suffered in a single day at Antietam, Union and Confederate both, Americans all. The Union suffered approximately 2.100 killed and 9,550 wounded, and the Confederates had 1,550 killed and 7,750 wounded. Another 1,770 from both sides were either captured or listed as missing. In general terms, casualties of Civil War battles included 20% dead and 80% wounded. Of the soldiers who were wounded, about one out of seven died from his wounds. Over 2/3 of the 622,000 men who gave their lives in the Civil War died from disease, not from battle.

The soldier was buried in a traditional 1860s pine casket, replete with U.S. Colors representing the 34 stars of the flag as a Union Soldier would have received in 1862. Now, for all time, he will rest at Section 7, Site 124 of the cemetery, given a special place of honor separate from the long rows of granite headstones marking more than 8,000 other graves at the Saratoga National Cemetery. "The majority of the men who came here and were killed did not have the opportunity to go back home," said John Howard, Superintendent of the Antietam National Battlefield and Antietam National Cemetery. "In our National Cemetery there are over 1,500 unknown graves and you do not know who these young men were, and yet you knew they came here and made this sacrifice. The idea of being able to send him home was something the entire staff stood behind. It was the right thing to do."

News Release: Zazi gets Presidential Medal of Freedom and Citizenship

Exclusive Lightning Man World Propaganda Network News Flash!!!


Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-born terror suspect who was being held illegally by white racist right-wingers and the victim of libelous accusations by Republican scum, has been released by Attorney General (Reichsfuher-SS) Eric Holder. In a brief statement, Holder said that ,”Angry racist mobs have planted evidence of wrong-doing against the Zazi family and other peace-lovng Muslims.”

Furthermore the Secretary of Homeland Security (Reichsfuhrer-DHS), Janet Napolitano, has conferred upon Mr. Zazi and his entire wrongly-accused family full and complete American citizenship.


Speaker of the House (Anführer des Amerikanischen Representantenhaus) Nancy Pelosi, almost cracked her Botox with a huge smile. “Today is a banner day for true American patriots like Najibullah Zazi and his family. Besides, that beard is sexy.”



And in a controversial move to end the day, President Barack Hussein Obama has conferred upon Najibullah Zazzi the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that a civilian can receive and similar to the military’s Medal of Honor.

“In these troubling times, it’s refreshing to see a young man of moral substance and fiber come here from a war-torn country with a vision and a plan of action. He’s got a job, and thus pays taxes. He’s traveled around this great nation and seen our great cities like Denver and New York City, and been inspired to do great things. So in addition to awarding Mister Zazzi with this medal, I am also appointing him the President’s Special Adviser for Guantanamo Closure and Muslim Reparations and Relocation, or as the Right will label him, my Gitmo Czar. His responsibilities will include advising me on Gitmo security, payment of bailouts to freed peace-loving Muslims, and setting up relocated former prisoners from Gitmo to subsidized government housing in San Francisco.”



Of course, Joe Biden offered to make it all better by having Zazi over to the White House for a beer since it worked before...

The New Obama Youth Song! (Obama Loves Me)

What with all the Fuhrer Furor over the NJ schoolkids singing their odes to The Obamessiah, I felt that mayhaps a new Obama Youth Anthem was in order.



Obama loves me, this I know.
Rahm Emanuel tells me so.

Do away with tax relief
As he dines on Wagyu beef
Fly for pizza on Air Force One
Or Mecca’s Vineyard or some fun.

We must be strong in our fight
To vanquish our foes on the Right.
Back room deals have all been made.
Corporate bailouts, cap and trade.

Under a bus we shall push
Blame it all on Dubya Bush
Single payer health reform
Socialism is the norm.

Obama loves me, this I know.
Rahm Emanuel tells me so.

Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer
Speaker P., the Chief Botoxer
Strongest women in the land
Don’t you dare to call them “ma’am”

While our soldiers fight and bleed
“The war is lost”, says Harry Reid
Unemployed ‘cause there’s no jobs
You’re just angry racist mobs.

Please don’t spend your welfare check
On those who advertise on Glenn Beck
He’s a hater filled with scorn
For the heroes at ACORN.

Obama loves me, this I know.
Rahm Emanuel tells me so.

No black paint jobs on your cars
And no oversight on the Czars
Democrats have got your back
They’re “user fees”; it’s not a tax.

You’ll no longer be bereft
If you lean towards the Left
Hope and Change and all that’s good.
Serve Obama, yes you should.

All good children must obey
In Obama’s name we pray.

©2009 Lightning Man

Obama Loves Me, yes I know.

What’s that funny aftertaste in the back of your mouth? It’s the vile flavor of wanton bullshittery at its most insidious.

Nary a fortnight after our Dear Leader B. Hussein Obama began his indoctrination program of addressing our children in their schools, pre-empting the learning process to fill their wee brains with his Hopey-Changey brainwashing routine, the Obama Youth are singing their anthems about their Fuhrer.


In a scene reminiscent of a Hitler Youth rally or Soviet Young Pioneers convocation, the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, NJ has been found to be indoctrinating impressionable young students by having them sing odes to Obama rife with pro-Obama drivel, slogans, and praise for The Dear Leader.

Understandably, the furor and uproar is huge. This is bullshittery of the greatest magnitude. Look at this crappage for yourself. Here’s the text of the two songs the kids have been taught, one of which seems to have been ripped off from a Christian spiritual.

Song 1:
Mm, mmm, mm! Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand to make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm! Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today; equal work means equal pay.
Mmm, mmm, mm! Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand to make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm! Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black or white; all are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm! Barack Hussein Obama
Yes! Mmm, mmm, mm! Barack Hussein Obama

Song 2:
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"
Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!
Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country's economy number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!
So continue ---- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick
So here's a hearty hip-hooray ----
Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray!


I think I may puke.


Kinda reminds you a bit of the Hitler Youth Hymn:

Fuhrer, my Fuhrer, given me by God. Protect and preserve my life for long. You saved
Germany in time of need. Be with me for a long time, do not leave me Fuhrer, my faith,my light. Hail to my Fuhrer!

And lest we forget the actual Hitler Youth anthem, The Fahnenlied (Banner Song), written by Hitler Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach, which ends with the final refrain:

Unsere Fahne flattert uns voran (Our banner flutters before us)
Unsere Fahne ist die neue Zeit (Our banner represents the new era)
Und die Fahne führt uns in die Ewigkeit! (And our banner leads us to eternity!)
Ja, die Fahne ist mehr als der Tod. (Yes, our banner means more to us than death.)



Ya’ll don’t find this shit to be just the weensiest bit creepy? This on top of yet another of Obama’s Czars, this one the Safe Schools Czar (wtf?), being found out to be less than savory. This guy (one Kevin Jennings) is the Director of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools wrote a book in which he rambles on about spending his weekends in high school drunk and stoned, watching the lights of planes coming & going in Honolulu.

I’m thinking it’s a bit hypocritical for Mister No Drugs In School to be an old-skool stoner. Then again, this is the Obama Bizarro World, where illegal aliens are true patriots, any screwball can be a Czar, private industry has been nationalized, shady organizations are teaching citizens how to cheat on taxes and set up whorehouses, and if you disagree with the Dear Leader, you’re a racist mobster.

Take back our country, America!

Just a quick hit...

It's been a helluva week. We went to a new schedule at work that inconveniences everyone except the dude who runs the transport section, most especially us poor two bastards who pick the orders for ice cream, but I digress.....I just haven't had any time to write this week, as I now have to be in at 4AM on Tues/Weds/Thurs and I live over an hour from work.....Anyways, I thought ya'll would get a kick outta my latest picture creation....

If it's not Scottish, it's crap!

"A man in a kilt is a man and a half"--General Sir Colin Campbell

Yesterday the missus and I attended the 38th annual Charleston Scottish Games & Highland Gathering, something we’ve done every year since we first met. But I always get the question of “What’s a Scottish Games?”… so I guess I should answer it.

Each year there are hundreds of Games/Highland Gatherings around the country, in every state of the Union. Many of the largest events are right here in the South, due to having such decent weather and from having such large populations of people with Celtic heritage. Think of it as a big party for folks of Scottish ancestry, but bringing in Irish & English folks as well. The Irish have their St. Patrick’s Day, and in Charleston, the Scots have their big to-do six months later.

The Games in Charleston are held every year the third weekend in September, which almost always puts it halfway to Saint Paddy’s, and are held over at the gorgeous & historic Boone Hall Plantation. There’s bagpipe bands, tents galore for each Scots Clan in attendance (a Clan is a family group), piping & drumming competitions, Highland dancing competitions, Celtic musicians, border collie demonstrations, educational displays about Scots history, and lots of vendors with Celtic regalia, clothing, leather goods, iron work, jewelry, foods, and even bagpipe supplies.

There’s a few thousand men in kilts roaming the grounds, including me. Don’t have a kilt? You can order one from folks right there. There’s usually two or three vendors there who do made-to-order kilts, generally delivered in about 8 weeks. (I’m hoping to get a new one next spring!)



But the Games…what about the Games? Usually “Games” refers to the whole event, but actually the Games themselves are competitions in the events known as Scottish Heavy Athletics. Picture insanely burly men in kilts performing feats of strength such as the Weight For Height (a 56-pound iron weight tossed with one hand over a raised bar) the Sheaf Toss (using a pitch fork to heave a 20-pound hay bale over a raised bar twice the height of the WfH), the Hammer Throw (16 or 20-pounds), Putting the Stone (like the Olympic shot put), and the one most everyone associates with Scottish Games, the caber toss….

The Caber Toss is what most folks refer to as “throwing the telephone pole”. Athletes will fling a slightly tapered pole, on average 18 feet long and about 110 pounds. The athlete will hoist the caber, so that the bottom of the pole is about level with his elbows, cup the smaller, tapered end of the pole in his palms, and balance its weight against the shoulder. After a running start the athlete will push upward and out, away from the shoulders. The intention is to flip the pole, with the larger end of the caber hitting the ground, so that the pole lands in a straight line perpendicular to the shoulders, being scored like a clock. A 12 o’clock is a perfect score.

Tossing the caber, photo from Chuck at www.chuckography.blogspot.com

The Games take on a special meaning for my wife and I, as that’s where we got married in 2005. Seriously. It was a great way to have a Scots-themed wedding, and at historic Boone Hall Plantation (not a cheap place to rent for weddings whatsoever), surrounded by friends and family and thousands of happy festive people in kilts with bagpipes aplenty. We started dating on St. Patrick's Day in 2003, so we actually do an anniversary every six months. Also, my wife was a huge fan of Patrick Swayze; his miniseries “North and South” was partially filmed there, and the opening scenes were filmed a mere few feet from where we took our vows. Of course, she had to have her wee moment of silence for him Saturday.




We got married right in front of the mansion at Boone Hall. Good enough for Orry Main, good enough for us. And yeah, that's us 4 years ago, in our wedding gear.

So yesterday I got to wear my kilt, see some old friends, hear the pipes, eat some haggis, celebrate my anniversary, and bought some new t-shirts. Even the weather held out; there’d been a 50% chance of rain, and it was sunny and upper 80’s all day. All in all, it was a great time. I'll probably write more about it during the week.

Looking for a Games near you? Go to http://www.asgf.org/ or http://www.cosca.net/ for a listing.

Me at the Games in 2007