Charlie McDanger

On set

2012-03-08T18:31:00.001-08:00

Vegas on the Mic 1Mar12

2012-03-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

2012-02-29T10:04:00.002-08:00

"I carry with me this constant solace: if I ever give up on my own life, I can always become a sports fan."

-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

In America things are different

2012-02-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing I've learned from being an American these last ten years, it's that our enemy has no regard for decency or human life. Those savage Muslims will stop at nothing to kill freedom, democracy, and puppies.

And I also know that things are different here. That's why I'm so appalled at the dirty lies in this article from the Daily Mail:

And this is the shocking film to show how U.S. Marines were used in hundreds of experiments by the US military to test the limits of nuclear bombs between 1951 and 1957.

During many of those tests, soldiers who thought of themselves as ‘ground grunts’ and were sworn to secrecy witnessed the atomic explosions first-hand, and from close range, before the devastating health risks of those bombs were fully understood.

Wait a minute. So you're telling me the government decided to send a bunch of working class kids to sit out in the desert next to nuclear explosions just to see what would happen? Oh I'm sure!

"How many sons of bankers and senators do you imagine were in those trenches?" some dirty liberal hippie is probably asking right now.

I wouldn't click that link if I were you, and I most certainly wouldn't watch the video. It's toxic propaganda that will probably turn you into a communist, and quite possibly a homosexual.

That's all for now; I'm off to my neighborhood Homeland Security meeting.

2012-02-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

"The human disposition is such that a man could set his life on a course of constant self-improvement, and by his dying days be only half so noble as the common dog."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

2012-02-26T02:34:00.001-08:00

"Blessed are the meek, for they won't give us any trouble."
-Charlie McDanger's Guide to Government

Q & A with Charlie

2012-02-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

Q: Charlie, how did you end up with so many dogs?

(Doc and Roadie, c. 2005)

2012-02-12T13:35:00.001-08:00

"If you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. But if you put a blonde wig and fake tits on a pig, it'll at least get a ride home from the bar."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

2012-02-10T14:32:00.001-08:00

"Patriotism is but one of a long list of excuses to not think for oneself."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

When you think government can't get any dumber

2012-02-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

Now it's illegal to throw a frisbee or football on Los Angeles beaches.

The updated rules now prohibit “any person to cast, toss, throw, kick or roll” any object other than a beach ball or volleyball “upon or over any beach” between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Should you decide your freedom is worth more than these imbecilic rules, there's a $1000 fine waiting for you. Oh yeah, and if your kids like to dig sand castles, make sure there are no holes deeper than 18 inches. That's good for a fine, too.

Yay America!

Unfortunate moments in home decorating

2012-02-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hot Springs Canyon

2012-01-30T09:56:00.001-08:00

2012-01-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

"Show me a guy who tries to demonstrate how smart he is at the poker table, and I'll show you a guy who's proving himself wrong."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

2012-01-18T20:49:00.001-08:00

"I'll give you that Nazis and the TSA may not be the same. The people who suffer them quietly, however, are not so very different."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

Get the f--- out.

2012-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

So some U.S Marines were filmed urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters, and now Leon Panetta (U.S. Secretary of Defense) is running around calling it "deplorable."

Sorry to keep resorting to the profane, but what the f--- is wrong here? Ten years of torturing the live ones and covering up the slaughter of innocent people, and this is what you're apologizing for?

This is indeed a huge embarrassment--just not in the way our politicians think it is.

2012-01-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

"Whoever said, 'The customer is always right,' never vacationed in Vegas."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

Sleeping Dogs Lie

2011-12-24T09:25:00.001-08:00

2011-12-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

"We spend our days chiseling. And since you can't un-chisel a stone, see that your aim is true."-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

Heckuva job, 'merica!

2011-12-15T09:34:00.001-08:00

Well we finally wiped our hands of that little mess called Iraq.

U.S. service members dead: 4484
Allied service members dead: 318
Iraqi civilians dead: 100,000+ documented, up to 1m+ estimated
U.S. dollars spent: $800 billion so far, $4 trillion all told

Where's all that money going? To the bankers and the defense contractors, of course. War is a racket.

Enjoy your dissent while you can

2011-12-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Check out the crowd control of the future, courtesy of the sick people at Raytheon:

It's not the first crowd control tool to use sound waves, but Raytheon's patent for a new type of riot shield that produces low frequency sound waves to disrupt the respiratory tract and hinder breathing, sounds a little scary.

Paul & Mykel 4dec11

2011-12-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

Ready set go

2011-12-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

A friend called this morning with this problem, and wants an answer by the end of the day.

My sister, while administering a college exam, thought two students seated next to one another were communicating during the test.

The test had twenty-six questions, each with answers A through D. Of the twenty-six, Student A answered sixteen correctly and ten incorrectly. Student B answered sixteen correctly, eight incorrectly, and left two blank.

Of the questions that Student B answered, every single correct and incorrect answer matched the answers given by Student A. Assuming they did not cheat, what is the likelihood of them giving these twenty-four identical answers?

There are of course confounding variables, including different question difficulties and different plausibility of incorrect answers. Nonetheless, she'd like a reasonable approximation of the math.

Answers in the comments section please, and feel free to communicate with the person sitting next to you.

Need another reason to love Trader Joe's?

2011-11-28T18:06:00.001-08:00

Well for one, their honey isn't stealth Chinese poison, like other stores' might be.

More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn't exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News.

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled "honey." The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world's food safety agencies.
...
Ultra filtering is a high-tech procedure where honey is heated, sometimes watered down and then forced at high pressure through extremely small filters to remove pollen, which is the only foolproof sign identifying the source of the honey. It is a spin-off of a technique refined by the Chinese, who have illegally dumped tons of their honey - some containing illegal antibiotics - on the U.S. market for years.
...
Bryant found that every one of the samples Food Safety News bought at farmers markets, co-ops and "natural" stores like PCC and Trader Joe's had the full, anticipated, amount of pollen.

Guess which category the crap you're buying at Safeway or Walmart falls into! Hat tip to Karen De Coster.

2011-11-17T21:20:00.001-08:00

"I've discovered, descending through the various stakes of poker games, this remarkable fact: the lower you go, the more everybody knows."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

Penn State and the TSA

2011-11-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I posted this Facebook status:

People sure are worked up about Joe Paterno. I guess child molestation is only cool if the government is doing it.

A friend who is a prosecutor in Texas responded...

BB: What is that supposed to mean?

CM: With all respect, there's nothing I can say that won't offend your politics.

BB: Well, regardless of if you know I'll be offended or not, I'm curious as to what you meant.

CM: It's unclear to me why a child at football camp should be more protected from inappropriate touching than should a child at the airport.

If you believe in the security apparatus, this discussion won't make sense. I happen to not.

BB: Putting aside whether or not you are in favor of security at the airport, wouldn't you agree with me that an airport pat down (even if you find it inappropriate) is distinguishable from anal rape?

I guess my question for you (and you don't have to answer it if you find it stupid, but I am asking it because I am genuinely curious): Are you opposed to having airport security? What is the alternative? Which makes me think about some of the conversations we've had about cops. What is your proposed alternative to a police force?

CM: A small, transparent, and accountable police force is desirable. That is not even close to what we have today, largely thanks to the horrific war on drugs and the farcical war on terror.

As to the particulars of the Sandusky case: I do not feel that systematic fondling by authorities at the airport is any less bad, simply because it falls short of anal rape. In several respects it's worse, given its scale, its state-sponsored nature, and its corrosive effect on what Americans consider their liberty.

BB: I didn't write you back all weekend because I don't want to fight. But I do want to say that I think it's absurd to compare airport security to what happened at Penn State. I feel pretty confident in that opinion given that I work on a daily basis with children who've experienced things like what happened there.

And you still didn't answer one of my questions: Are you in favor of airport security at all?

CM: Private security at airports is far better than a bloated and corrupt government operation.

The idea that private screeners failed us on 9/11 is simply false. For decades they kept bombs and guns off planes, and then these guys walked past them with items that were explicitly *allowed*. This is a failure of policy, not execution.

I think the point of what I originally wrote has been lost. It is not to say that TSA and Penn State are on a par. It is to say that if people are so concerned about the inviolability of their children, they should absolutely be vocal against a system that inculcates an acceptance of molestation by authority.

If a screener gropes the inside of a child's thighs, I believe that is molestation. If a stranger touches your kid at all without your consent (and the kid's), I believe that is molestation. If you want to parse which authorities can fondle your kids and which can't, I would hope you could explain to the kid a good reason for which is which.

The government's reason is a lie and a joke.

Score one for the police state

2011-11-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

Behold this worthless coward cop, who picks a small Asian female (whose arms are bound) and starts slamming a baton into her gut. This during a peaceful demonstration. Oh, I guess it's time to start beating people!, the rest of the cops think.

When your government condones torture and murder abroad, I assure you the violence will return home. Dissent is criminal now. You take what the government tells you, and you will like it.

Read the SF Chronicle report here.

Day at the office

2011-11-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Title sequence for Ray Chau's production company.

And you thought yours felt good

2011-11-04T16:04:00.001-07:00

AFP:

Nigerian actor freed after 25 bowel movements

Red Rock 30oct11

2011-10-31T21:04:00.001-07:00

Mother of Exiles

2011-10-25T10:18:00.001-07:00

I'm a little ambivalent about the whiny class-warfare nature of the Occupy movement; nonetheless the truth remains that most of the country has been crapped on by the banker-political complex.

This song seems to nail it. (HT: Teigen E.)

Mother Of Exiles (Lady Liberty) *** free download by Grant-Lee Phillips

2011-10-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Are you in the family?

2011-10-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

"I think Americans are more alike than most people realize. I don't care if you're a Republican, a Democrat, a Christian, a Muslim, a football fan, or a patriot. These are all part of one big family--and that's a family of sheep."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

p.s. For a non-sheep perspective on flu shots, check out Karen DeCoster's post:

The flu paranoia season is upon us, and, as usual, the government-medical complex is ramping up its fear mongering over … the flu. Coughing, sneezing, sore throat, diarrhea, fever, and other simple stuff has been elevated to life-and-death status. Read on...

p.p.s. I recognize that many thinking people describe themselves as patriots. Wanting what is best for one's country is obvious and sane, and needs no explanation or title. Justifying an action because one's country happens to be the actor, however, is plain thoughtless, and is in any case antithetical to the interests of the country.

Do self-described patriots in this country love the principles it was founded on? Or do they love what it has become? It surely cannot be both; any man who likes one must despise or disregard the other. Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel--of a torturer, of a warmonger, of a thief of civil liberties, of a bailout architect. All this is done in the name of patriotism. Think for yourself.

On the road to CA

2011-10-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Check out JetSuite

2011-10-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

There's a company you should know about, particularly if you live in the southwest. JetSuite offers empty-leg aircraft for $499...and you get the whole plane.

This means if you're willing to travel the following day--and figure out your own return arrangements--you get four seats and a world of comfortable, fun, TSA-free flying.

Today, for example, you could be on any of these flights:
SuiteDeal #1 $499 from Las Vegas, NV to Santa Ana, CA
SuiteDeal #2 $499 from Houston, TX to Lafayette, LA
SuiteDeal #3 $499 from Monterey, CA to Truckee, CA

To get started, click "Like" on their Facebook page. Read the FAQ and if you see a deal you like, jump on it. Here's a video of a recent flight I was on:

Get some

2011-10-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

A fortuitous side effect of my wide-angle lens getting stolen was that I discovered, by playing around with cheap attachments, the world of macro photography. This guy was getting lunch in Colma, CA.

Norm Dunn, d. 2011

2011-10-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

A good man died today. Not anyone who will be on the front of next week's Economist, or even widely known outside his own neighborhood, but a man who was good to his wife, honest in his work, and kind to everyone he met.

He was my next-door neighbor for the last four years, and this was the last time I saw him--two weeks before he succumbed to lung cancer. Nice knowing you, Norm.

Thunderstorm over Vegas

2011-10-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

Farrah 1Oct11

2011-10-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

An original film by Charles McDanger!

2011-09-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Mostly happy endings

2011-09-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

In today's edition we ask: Is a guy dumb enough to steal an expensive piece of camera equipment, and then try to sell it on Craigslist in the same city a week later?

The answer, it turns out, is yes, a guy is that dumb. His name is [redacted], and he (or an associate) swiped a lens from my bag while I was shooting around Aria a week ago. I was quite bummed and thought at the time that I'd be shelling out another $700 to replace it.

Well lo and behold, what did this dummy do but put it up on Craigslist the other night. How many people in Vegas are selling a Tokina 11-16 2.8, "like new, no box"? Not a whole lot, I guessed.

I arranged to meet the seller at a Starbucks near my house, and wrote the serial number from my warranty card onto a small slip of paper.

Pleasantries were exchanged, and he produced the lens. Well f--- if it wasn't mine. I read the serial number on the lens aloud, and handed him the small slip of paper. "Quite a coincidence, don't you think?" I said. "Do you want to just give me the lens, or should we call the cops?"

To cut to the punchline, the guy let the cops come and gave them a story about buying the lens on Craigslist for $500 and hoping to sell it for $600. Not likely, as his ad was the first for a Tokina that had come up since the theft.

Anyway, I produced the warranty card for the cops, and I'll have my lens back after a few days of processing and paperwork. As for [redacted], he lost a payday but is otherwise free to return to his life of thieving and merriment.

Ride on, [dude], ride on.

Zing

2011-09-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

Government issues CYA alert ahead of 9/11

2011-09-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Our big dumb government "anonymously" leaked a report that there are terrorists among us (U.S. citizens even!), and the lapdog media duly licked its master's hand and played along with the fear-mongering.

This is a no-lose proposition for the government. If something bad happens on Sep. 11, they can say, "See? We told you so!" If nothing at all happens, they can take credit for being vigilant and protecting everyone.

I wonder, what exactly is everybody commemorating tomorrow? The day our government was issued infinite power over individual rights, and a blank check to go bombing?

Tomorrow will fill us to the brim with homages to America's indomitable spirit and tributes to our heroism and resilience; meanwhile the government will carry on fondling our wives and children, reading our email, and encouraging us to report one another.

Call it Osama Bin Laden Day, if you want to make a holiday out of it; any other interpretation is a delusion.

"The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect . . . They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions, and their sensations. They conferred as against the government the right to be left alone -- the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men." -Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, 1928

CityCenter at night

2011-09-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Yosemite, Aug 2011

2011-08-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge.

Somewhere in Nevada, 1 a.m.

Tioga Pass, 2 a.m.

My uncle, a veteran of the Sierra, atop Lembert Dome.

Customer number fifty-one, your barbecue is ready.

Sky above Tuolumne Meadows, 10 p.m.

Hago el fuego.

Modeling for people who don't like hairbrushes

2011-08-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Canon 7D, Tamron 28-75 f2.8, shot at 37mm, ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/125.
1. Take picture.
2. Adjust color balance.
3. Smooth out skin blemishes and fly-away hair.
4. Add a diffuse glow.
5. Get rid of unsavory shadows, retouch eyebrows.
6. Add a faint vignette. Ta-da!

Terry Gilliam and cutout animation

2011-08-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

Brilliance, circa 1974.

San Francisco

2011-07-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

The drive home

2011-07-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas, 5:20 a.m.

Respect your police

2011-07-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

"All police officers deserve your respect."
"Nonsense. How do you figure?"
"Some of them are honest; that you can respect."
"What about the rest?"
"They are dishonest and have guns; that you can also respect."

The difference between Argentinian airshows and U.S. airshows

2011-06-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to a ton of airshows, but I can't recall any where people had to jump out of the way of a fighter jet that passed three feet off the ground.

Everything you need to know about tournament poker

2011-06-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

Have you wondered, friends, what preparation it must take to be a WSOP champion? To win a coveted gold bracelet? What mastery it must require?

Here's what it takes:

On Saturday afternoon two days ago, Matt Perrins sat down at 5pm and played his first ever hand of Deuce to Seven No Limit having watched roughly half an hour's worth of YouTube videos on the game. Two days later he has now been crowned a WSOP bracelet winner, beating a field of 275 to join his best friend Jake Cody as the second UK player to win a WSOP bracelet this year.

Now I can't say for sure if this kid is a fast-learning genius or a generally adequate player who hit a good run of cards, but I have a guess.

Given all the hype, it's hard to dispel the notion of WSOP champs as an elite club of poker experts. This is laughable. Poker tournaments are lotteries; the good players get two tickets and everybody else gets one.

Of course, a lot of experts win bracelets. That's because experts enjoy a fat payday like anyone else, and a lot of them play these events. But if you divided this year's winners into guys who could make a consistent living at poker and those who couldn't, I expect you'd find a distribution that's only barely skewed from the tournament field as a whole. If you're somewhat aggressive and not a complete idiot, you're in the hunt.

And yet Caesar's Entertainment (formerly Harrah's) keeps the lucrative myth alive, and absolutely fleeces players for the duration of WSOP, with respect to service, rake, and comfort. For discerning players, it's a tradeoff...are the suckers who show up at the Rio bad enough to justify playing there?

For me, it's a close call. I didn't set foot in the place last year, but this year I'm giving it a shot. The rake is absurd and the dealers mostly inept, but you can't say there's not action.

And there are also laughs. Like the guy hawking self-published books in the hallway, with a cover endorsement from Jerry Yang.

Who's Jerry Yang? He's the celebrated world champion from the 2007 Main Event. Now I can't say for sure if Jerry is a great player who got his due, or a terrible player who got lucky...oh wait, yes I can.

Off to the Rio for me. Adios, amigos.

2011-06-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Tricky landing

2011-06-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

You don't have to be a pilot to appreciate this clip about the airstrip on St. Barts.

2011-06-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

WSOP 2011

2011-06-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

Walked around and found some folks I know...

Summer Days

2011-06-05T09:11:00.001-07:00

2011-06-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Daisy Days

2011-05-22T16:02:00.001-07:00

Vegas

2011-05-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Philip Bloom is a titan of digital film-making. Here he takes on one of my favorite places in the world. (Be sure to click the full-screen button.)

24 Hours of Neon from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Treetop flyer

2011-05-09T21:06:00.001-07:00

I will do this before I die.

Hoover Dam overflight in a Remos GX

2011-05-03T20:51:00.001-07:00

My brother was in town for the weekend, and since he digs flying, we took the doors off a Remos and headed out over the Colorado River and Hoover Dam. Several pics and a short video of the return to KHND below.

(Third pic and vid courtesy PHW.)

Bye-bye excuse

2011-05-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Obama and a crowd of Pakistanis.

Obama: Good news, everybody! We got the guy we came here for.

Man in crowd: Wonderful! Does this mean you're stopping with the drone strikes?

Obama: ... How 'bout them Cubbies?

Humility

2011-04-22T17:52:00.001-07:00

There are times in life you have to accept the fact that some people have bigger balls than you do.

This is one of those times.

Superstar

2011-04-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

My cousin Pam, who's a ~~pathological~~pathologist and mom of two in her spare time, just qualified for the U.S. ultramarathon team with a brilliant run in Wisconsin.

Runner-up Pam Smith's time moved her to tenth fastest all-time US performer and 17th fastest performance.

Sheesh, what have I done today?

Wowoweewa

2011-04-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

The best part of Mark Zuckerberg's back-stabbing race to fame and fortune didn't even make it into Aaron Sorkin's script.

Check out the story of the guy who funded Facebook's initial development, was promised 50% of the business, and then got kicked to the curb.

Beware Muslamic Ray Guns

2011-04-11T11:13:00.001-07:00

via FilmDrunk...

2011-04-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Scarlett Nozomi Marra, five days old.

Perspective

2011-03-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

One man's sweet is another man's sour;

One man's weed is another man's flower.

-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

Everyday heroes

2011-03-31T12:15:00.001-07:00

Sometimes elephants wander into crop fields and trample the crops, which is annoying. Luckily, there are brave Americans like GoDaddy founder/CEO Bob Parsons, who are willing to wait in the fields until the elephants show up, and then shoot them.

Watch his courageous adventures here.

p.s. I cancelled my two domains with GoDaddy.

2011-03-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

Fun with Craigslist

2011-03-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

This morning I posted this ad in the photography section:

camera, lenses for sale - $50 (green valley)
Got a whole bunch of stuff that my ex-girlfriend left behind. Her parents bought her all this photography equipment that she never really used. I'd just like to get rid of it. There are two cameras, one says Rebel T2i on it, the other says 5D Mark II. I think she probably used them twice in the year she had them. And that was to take pictures of her other boyfriend...at least I found out.

Really any offer I'll take. I just want my closet space back.

Extra lenses that are in the same box: I don't know all the specifications, but there are a whole bunch of lenses still in their packaging...I think five or six in total. The one attached to the "5D" camera is white (not the coolest, I know) and says Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-200mm f 2.8 L IS. I don't know what all that means but you probably do.

Except for the "5D", everything looks pretty much untouched.

Dumb girls. They get all this stuff and don't even use it.

You can email any time. Probably I'll end up taking this stuff to Goodwill, but just in case there's some camera freak out there I thought I'd put it up here first. Maybe I can make something positive out of this whole ordeal and maybe get enough for a fresh tank of gas or something. Thanks for looking.

I got seven emails before the ad got flagged. The gear as described is worth maybe $10k; two people generously upped the price from $50 to $100. Without my even asking!

(Secret decoder ring tip!!! Read the first letter of each paragraph.)

2011-03-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

"Philosophy: what happens in a man's head when he's not thinking about boobs."
-Charlie McDanger's page-a-day calendar

2011-03-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hey! what gives you the right
To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in
If God was here, he'd tell you to your face, man you're some kinda sinner

Offline

2011-02-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a break for a while. I fall asleep next to a laptop, the country is crumbling around me, I haven't read a non-poker book in five years, and really, what am I doing?

Is this thing even on?

Hello?

/runs away crying, trips over microphone cord

State of the Union

2011-02-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

This is your U.S. government

2011-01-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

This is the kind of stuff Vladimir Putin dreams up.

Pay attention

2011-01-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

I used to laugh at the liberals in Berkeley who drove around with bumper stickers reading, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." I considered marketing an alternative sticker: "If you're not outraged, you're a pretty chill dude."

That was 2003, before the uneasy feeling crept in that they were perhaps on to something. They were, of course, and if you weren't completely disabused of the illusion of American righteousness by the end of George W's reign, you really weren't paying attention.

I mention it because it's happening again. And in a bigger way. People may vaguely mistrust the big banks, Ben Bernanke, and the American political machine, but they either don't understand enough or don't care enough to see what's really happening.

Let Karl Denninger illustrate it for you.

There's an implicit warning in what's going on over in Egypt today, as if this spreads through the Middle East, and it very well may, and radical elements get their hands on all the nice weapons we sold these nations under the premise of being a "friend" to America, you might want to think about what happens if the Middle East oil conduits get shut down, and whether that might create some "interesting" dynamics HERE in the United States.

Are bad things coming to U.S. shores? Maybe. Luckily, in the United States we're taking steps to keep the rich and powerful safe from the hungry masses.

Get in line, folks. Your TSA scan is waiting.

Back to work

2011-01-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well my baby left me, for three months anyway. So I had my first all-nighter at the tables in a long time. Did I plan that? Is it healthy? No and probably not, but I do know this...

Balance is hard to achieve in this line of work. You can plan to go to the casino and put in x hours and go home, but that's not how this business goes. If I had done that last night, I would have found myself at the six-hour point stuck a thousand bucks, tired and cranky. I would have gone home unhappy, slept badly, and started the next day feeling like a whipped dog.

So instead, I looked around, thought "these guys are all atrocious," ordered a coffee, and went back to work. I got home after sunrise, exhausted and caffeine-jacked all at once, but I brought some scalps home with me. And when I woke up a few hours later, I felt pretty good.

Of course not all nights end like that, but still I wouldn't trade this for anything. I'd rather lose at poker than win at a job, I've said before, and I stick to that. Would I want my daughter to marry a gambler? Probably no. Will I want her to know how to play cards? Certainly yes.

Point is, it isn't for everybody, but it is for me. I don't need much, but what I do need, I can get. It feeds me, and it feeds my dogs. When the country finally goes bonkers with terror-paranoia, I'll go do it somewhere else. Til then, come visit me in Vegas. I'll buy you a drink.

Red Rock 22Jan

2011-01-26T09:56:00.000-08:00

Bingo

2011-01-24T12:00:00.001-08:00

From Prison Planet, regarding the Moscow airport bombing:

Roughly the same number as those unfortunately killed in today’s suicide bombing will die on America’s roads today, as well as tomorrow and in fact every day of the year – an average of 115 Americans are killed in car accidents daily, about one every 13 minutes, but you will never see it make the national headlines never mind gain global attention.

And why is that? Because every time we climb into our cars we subconsciously accept the price of freedom – which is the chance of being injured or killed. We take the same gamble every time we board an airplane, cascade down a ski slope or go up in a hot air balloon. We do so because the benefits of being a free human being are infinitely more rewarding than living in constant fear and demanding omnipresent “security,” which is never achievable anyway.

Art of War

2011-01-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

I have found no text remotely so pertinent to poker as Sun Tzu's Art of War. Whatever your line of work or play, the parallels likely run deep.

You can download the mp3's for free here from archive.org, or stream it below.

From the "Yay America!" file

2011-01-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

Security at the Super Bowl:

The federal security arsenal will be on full display in Arlington, Texas for the upcoming Super Bowl. Agents are foaming at the mouth in anticipation of the opportunity to show off and play with their latest technological toys: four mine resistant, armored personnel carriers (got to watch out for those parking lot mines), sniper rifles with scopes, the ubiquitous, obnoxious police canines (to help herd the human sheep and set a good example of obediently serving your master while sniffing the grounds and fans for contraband), a roving robot camera called a "throwbot" (because it's so small it can be tossed through a window), and hundreds of extra agents who will be locked and loaded with shock-and-awe caliber weaponry.
...
The US police state will be sickeningly omnipresent and its cousin, the US militarist state, will be religiously recognized and glorified at this goofy event. Outside, people will be harassed, searched, prodded, questioned, threatened and herded along like the enslaved livestock they are. Once inside, they will cheer, chant, pray and celebrate how wonderful it is to be "free."

Is law school a fantastic waste of money?

2011-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Why yes, yes it is. A mountain of debt, three years of tedium, and schools that lie through their teeth about job prospects. NYT:

With corporations scrutinizing their legal expenses as never before, more entry-level legal work is now outsourced to contract temporary employees, both in the United States and in countries like India. It’s common to hear lawyers fret about the sort of tectonic shift that crushed the domestic steel industry decades ago.

Tell your kids, tell your grandkids.

U.S. gov't cracks down on organized crime, says it doesn't need the competition

2011-01-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

These guys should have gotten jobs at Goldman instead.

2011-01-19T15:55:00.001-08:00

I forget which is which, but one of these guys owns the Oakland Raiders.

2011-01-19T13:09:00.000-08:00

I love Ricky Gervais

2011-01-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

I don't think you'd be going out on a ledge to say Hollywood brims over with smug elitism and self-important pricks. This is both why I adore Ricky Gervais for his relentless assault at the Golden Globes, and why Hollywood and its sycophants can't take the joke.

Check out Film Drunk for commentary and the reactions of the press: "Pussies hate how awesome Ricky Gervais is."

The Atlantic redeems itself

2011-01-17T10:06:00.001-08:00

Recently I posted on the ill-informed panic piece that Jeffrey Goldberg wrote on private aviation.

Another columnist for the Atlantic has since published a critique.

The issue also has a feature by Jeffrey Goldberg that is interesting, like everything Jeff writes, but is to my mind completely wrong-headed. And wrong-headed in a way that I think Jeff would be the first to recognize if it concerned a field he was more familiar with.

I encourage you to read the whole column. If you're still questioning what keeps small planes safe, perhaps this letter from a private-jet captain will prove enlightening.

January 8, 2011

Mr. James Bennet, Editor
The Atlantic
600 New Hampshire Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20037

Dear Mr. Bennet:

I’ve been a business aviation pilot and writer most of my life. While I respect Jeffrey Goldberg’s talents as a writer too, in his story, Private Plane, Public Menace, he’s just flat wrong. The piece shows – by Mr. Goldberg’s own admission – his inexperience with business aviation. Honestly, business aviation tends toward a low public profile in transportation, sometimes to their own detriment. We’re not often surprised then that people don’t understand this segment of transportation very well. But let’s set the record straight here.

The fact that Mr. Goldberg doesn’t believe he was thoroughly vetted before he climbed aboard the airplane, doesn’t mean some security-focused action didn’t occur behind his back. As a business jet captain for many years, the cardinal rule has not changed … we never carry people we don’t know personally, or who have been vouched for by someone we trust. I know of no private jet operator that does anything different.

The reason business aviation continues to be self-regulated is that the system works. But that doesn’t mean business aviation is not open to competent TSA scrutiny. Safety of passengers, crew and the people on the ground has always been our MOST important concern. We just want to make certain the TSA doesn’t impose some absurd regulation on business aviation that destroys the flexibility of our system to countermand a non-existent threat. A business jet has never been hijacked, while airliners have, quite a few times. A pop-up Al-Qaeda operative on a business airplane … oh please! And one more thing your research could have shown … the majority of people who travel aboard private jets are not wealthy individuals, but middle and upper management types.

Opinion pieces in The Atlantic that question the status quo are fine, but like the security concerns about which Mr. Goldberg frets, his text should have been vetted with a little research to remove words like “menace” where one does not exist. How about a question mark after menace at least, to indicate the outcome is still on the table? I expected better from your magazine.

Robert P. Mark, CEO CommAvia, Evanston, IL

Vegas sunset

2011-01-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

A story that warms my heart

2011-01-13T12:26:00.001-08:00

Half the time I see an AP or Reuters article from Europe, I think the reporter is just bored and making things up. If this one is true, though, it's pretty great:

Fox shoots hunter with hunter's gun.

Going out in public is a privilege

2011-01-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

Don't like nudie scanners at the airport? Don't fly. Flying is a privilege granted to us by the government, you see, and the rest of us want to feel safe while doing it.

Simple, right?

I would have thought this argument fantastically dumb, if it weren't so persuasive. Most of the U.S. public has bought it, and if you're still flying and not opting out, you bought it, too.

How will you feel when security guards at any public gathering get to scan and grope you? I hope you won't mind, because it's coming.

Use of these machines in airports normalizes them...

DHS is interested in scrutinizing crowds wherever they may be. Air travelers today. Sports fans tomorrow.

Are public gatherings a privilege rather than a right? Should you have to stay home if you don't like your body being searched? Your wife being fondled? Your kids being nude-scanned? Will this bother you?

No, no, I don't think you'll mind very much. You don't mind very much so far. I should think by then you'll have quietly grown to enjoy it.

But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.

Unintended ironies

2011-01-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

I've read many items recently with these two elements: an attack on people who, without evidence, blame Palin for the Arizona shootings; and a call to pray for the victims.

Figure that one out.

Throwbacks

2011-01-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

I love this video. If you're not familiar, it's in reference to this guy.

Dear Navy, grow a pair of balls

2011-01-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

You've probably heard by now about the Navy commander whose career just got flattened by some "raunchy" videos he recorded for his crew a few years back. As a guy who got into hot water in high school and in law school for jokes that hurt nobody, I'm sensitive to this type of stuff.

This is what our military leadership has become...a wimpering, politically correct bunch of wusses who can't stomach the thought of sailors swearing or making jokes about men showering together.

Blow up a bunch of Iraqi civilians by mistake? No problem. Make a harmless comedy video that has the word "fag" in it, and watch your career get ruined.

Read more and watch the "offensive" (pffft) videos over at FilmDrunk.

The tardedness that begets a security state

2011-01-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

In the current issue of The Atlantic, Jeff Goldberg takes up the cause of general aviation security. Purportedly a critic of TSA, he apparently wants to foist the same security apparatus on private aircraft.

“So let’s just say that I’m a terrorist pilot,” I said, “and I have a bag filled with handguns and I shoot these two pilots and then I take control of the plane and steer it into the headquarters of the CIA,” near which we would soon be flying. “What’s stopping me?”

“There’s nothing stopping you,” my friend said. “All you need is money to buy a plane, or a charter.”

Lordy lordy. When enough idiots get enough uninformed opinions into respectable publications, we're in for it.

Private aircraft are neither a practical nor a realistic way for a terrorist individual or organization to do much damage.

Do you want to kill a lot of innocents? There's no one aboard your private aircraft. You'd have to crash it into something, and even then you'd do far less damage than a U-haul truck filled with fertilizer.

Two people have flown planes into buildings since 9/11. Total fatalities leaving aside the pilots: zero.

Goldberg makes a big deal out of the fact that he wasn't personally known to the pilots. But the chain of business is so tightly personal in private aviation that he'd have had no way near the plane unless he was trusted and supposed to be there. If Joe Al Qaeda rolls up and wants to charter a plane, there will be scrutiny. And he's not going to get very much on the plane besides himself and a small bag.

Buy a jet? Good luck. If you don't think the feds watch this stuff, you haven't been paying attention. You can't get a car loan anymore without the government sniffing in on you.

It's a marvel, but general aviation has thus far escaped the panicky, flailing security that smothers commercial flying. In time, the Bushes and Napolitanos and Goldbergs usually get their way. Til then, there's one place you can still feel relatively free in this country. Enjoy it while you can.

New Year 2011

2011-01-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

A freedom lover meets the TSA

2010-12-31T12:10:00.001-08:00

Shane Atwell describes his long-dreaded encounter with airport security over the holidays. A gripping account, you might say.

Happy New Year, everybody.

Charlie goes to the movies

2010-12-30T04:59:00.000-08:00

Been catching up on films for the last couple weeks, and have a few recommendations. All but the first on DVD.

Black Swan. Darren Aronofsky in fine form. If you liked Requiem for a Dream, this one will twist your gut the same way. Plus hot lesbian action.

Fantastic Mr. Fox. Wes Anderson is another of my favorite filmmakers, but Life Aquatic and Darjeeling Limited were letdowns. This one is closer to the Tenenbaums end of the spectrum. Appealing stop-motion animation that doesn't miss out on Anderson's hallmark directorial quirks, and a quality performance by George Clooney in voicing the lead.

Vicky Christina Barcelona. Woody Allen offers up sharp writing, interesting female characters, and a compelling take on lust, love, youth, and society. If you can put up with some sloppy cinematography and editing, it's worth the ride.

King of Kong. Two guys battling for supremacy in the world of vintage video games, circa 2005. One a mullet-sporting hot sauce salesman from Florida. The other a high school science teacher from Washington state. This is real life. I don't care who you are--don't miss this. Brilliant, funny, low-budget documentary touchdown.

Also, if you're at all film dorky or like weird graphs, check out this graphical representation of 2010 box office receipts.

All aboard the Vick Express

2010-12-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

NBC reports that Obama called the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles to congratulate him on giving Michael Vick a second chance.

President Obama explained that a level playing field rarely exists for prisoners who have completed their sentences. Vick’s success gives all of them hope.

Don't get me wrong--I enjoy watching Michael Vick and hope with my heart and pocketbook that he keeps going strong. But it's some convenient timing for the Prez to hop on the bandwagon, now that Vick has had an MVP-worthy season. Where was he a year ago, when everybody still hated Mike Vick?

If Obama is so concerned with redemption and second chances, why not take a crack at mandatory minimums and the mass incarceration of non-violent offenders? That seems to be a one-way ratchet that even a progressive won't touch.