Monthly Archives: October 2012

Rough Night

Here’s a grim item: a time-lapse film of Sandy ravaging New York, shot from a camera above the East river.

My Fifteen Minutes

Got picked up on Michelle Malkin’s popular Twitter-aggregator site today. Not quite ready to quit the day job just yet, though.

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

Here’s a video that’s making the rounds, from Steven Crowder (the fellow who gave us that Lena Dunham parody a few days ago). In this one Mr. Crowder “redistributes” Hallowe’en candy to reduce inequality. Needless to say, the kids he’s taking the candy from don’t like it. It’s a funny video, sort of, and yes, […]

Welcome Back!

Mangan’s is back up, after a long hiatus. Pop over for this item on the effects of high diversity.

Worlds In Collision

From NOAA, here’s the Water Vapor Loop for the eastern US.

Uh-Oh

Here’s the big Con Ed plant at 14th Street. Blowing up. Here’s Long Island City and the East River. Jesus. Three feet of water on the floor of the NYSE (maybe; there are conflicting reports). This is getting biblical, folks. Worst of all, now: NYU medical center reported to be without power and no backup […]

It’s That Bad

Tweeted just now by @tonywoodlief: Hurricane Sandy forces closure of UN, causing intolerable delays in the global spread of moral equivalence. Meanwhile, in New Jersey there are sharks in the streets. Update: that last one’s a fake. Here’s Atlantic City. And Brooklyn Bridge Park. Stuyvesant Town. Holy crap. Dennis Miller (@DennisDMZ) tweets: I’m in NY. […]

Comic Relief

Rickles at Reagan’s second inaugural. Here.

I Feel Better Now

Cheers!

Waiting

It’s 2 a.m., and getting mighty windy here in Wellfleet as Sandy moves north. Everybody knows the power’s going out sooner or later. I know that the worst of this storm is going to be felt south and west of here, but my, that wind sure is howling, and at times like this it’s awfully […]

Feel-Good Story Of The Day

This warms my heart in so many ways.

The Council Of One

With a hat tip to Bill Keezer, here’s a look at the Obama administration’s increasingly routine use of kill lists and drone strikes to prosecute foreign policy. I excerpt two notable quotes from this post. The first is by its author: Benghazi illustrates the problem of the President having the authority for everything and the […]

Circle Of Life

Kevin Kim gives us a memorable visual recap of the recent execution by mortar round of a tippling Nork military bigwig.

The Panopticon Is Here

With a hat tip to the indefatigable JK, here’s the latest on micro-drones. When I was at Singularity University this past April, a recurring theme was that the coming ubiquity of tiny, cheap and efficient sensors will soon have a seismic effect on the technological, and therefore the human, landscape. We like to think that […]

Auxetic Material

Never heard of it? Neither had I. It has a negative Poisson ratio. Here. See also here and here.

Magnitude 7.7

Breaking: big quake in the Queen Charlotte islands, off British Columbia. Here.

Methinks They’re Going To Need A Bigger Rug

Here’s a story that’s making the rounds today. I have no way of assessing its veracity.

Movie Night

By now you’ve probably seen the Obama campaign’s video featuring Girls star Lena Dunham. It’s a pitch to female first-time voters, and the conceit of the video is to liken a girl’s first voting experience to her first sexual experience. “Your first time shouldn’t be with just anybody,” the tattooed Ms. Dunham explains. “You want […]

Wild Kingdom

It being a lovely day yesterday, I stopped by the harbor to take in the view. Here’s the vista from Mayo Beach: After a minute or so I noticed that there was some sort of large animal in distress just offshore. All I could see was a single dark flipper lifting out of the water […]

The Apology Tour

Mitt Romney drew scorn from Obama supporters, and warm approval from the rest of us, when he referred to Barack Obama’s “apology tour” during Monday’s debate. Obama apologizing for America? Never happened, says the Left. (Indeed, they even said it here.) Pah! Mere pettifogging and hairsplitting. Blogger Jeryl Bier explains, deftly and succinctly, here.

Aid And Comfort

As we all know by now, the “Arab Spring” has led not to a flowering of pro-Western secular democracy, but instead has brought about a profound shift toward Islamist government throughout the region. Barry Rubin examines the President’s influence on this process, here. Hat tip: VFR.

Currency Wars

Do forgive me for all that doom & gloom in our previous thread. Here, this’ll cheer you up. From Jim Rickards.

All Done!

Well, there you have it, America. We don’t have to watch any more debates until the next presidential campaign gets underway, which won’t be for several months yet. Romney held his own well enough, and landed a few good blows (best of all: the apology tour). He looked steady and calm, and plausibly Presidential. That […]

Final Round

Readers, today we have come to the last debate of this historic election cycle. The stakes couldn’t be higher: upon this election hinges the very survival of this great Republic, and the security of our children, and our children’s children. So here’s tonight’s drinking game.

An Old Hand

From about 1580, in fact. Here.

Losing Our Lease!

Just got this in the mail from the Obama campaign:  

The New Navy

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about defense-spending cuts. All I can say is they’d better not cut this.

Strengthen That Brand !!!

With just over two weeks to go until the election, I know many of you are still in the critical “undecided” column. If so, then perhaps this rousing exhortation, sent to me this morning by African Americans for Obama, will help you make up your mind: The American people and President Obama know how to […]

“What Makes Your Big Head So Hard?”

Here’s a gloomy piece about my genetic homeland. It contains this priceless quote from P. G. Wodehouse: “It is never difficult to distinguish between a ray of sunshine and a Scotsman with a grievance.’

Too Bad ‘Chartwell’ Was Already Taken

Here’s an odd little story — a million maps found in a 948-square-foot cottage about to be torn down.

Forward!

Want more of this? It’s up to you. Sixteen days and counting.

And What A Scene It Is

Some “random thoughts on the passing scene” from Thomas Sowell: Not since the days of slavery have there been so many people who feel entitled to what other people have produced as there are in the modern welfare state, whether in Western Europe or on this side of the Atlantic. Yes, so much so that […]

Comic Relief

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama did a little standup comedy at the Alfred E. Smith Dinner tonight. Have a look. I’ve seen the President cracking wise before, but never Mr. Romney. I have to say, he was downright Carsonesque.

Jay Mark Johnson

Amazing slit-camera photography. See here and here.

Be Very Afraid

I haven’t posted anything about martial arts in quite a while, so I thought I’d share this clip of some truly remarkable practitioners. Hat tip: Matt Blazon.

Romney, Syria

I wouldn’t want anyone reading the previous post to think I’m particularly stoked about Mitt Romney; he’s a total squish on many issues of importance to conservatives, and just another democracy-exporting dreamer when it comes to foreign affairs. Speaking of which: in this weeks Radio Derb, John Derbyshire zeroed in on the same comment from […]

Galluping To The Finish

Mitt Romney’s “steady erosion in the polls” continues: as of this afternoon’s Gallup survey, Romney now leads fifty-two percent to forty-five percent among likely voters. Not that I put a lot of stock in polls, mind you — after all, only about nine percent of the people pollsters call actually respond. Nice to see this […]

Not Politics!

From Edge.org, here’s a fascinating article about human athleticism, and how it compares to that of other mammals.

Whack-A-Mole

Tim Carney brings the mallet down on a load of tendentious hogwash from Politico. Here.

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!

Here we go again, folks. Tonight’s debate is now considered to be a must-win for the incumbent, thanks to what one of our commenters referred to not long ago as Mr. Romney’s “steady erosion in the polls”. So what’s tonight’s drinking game? Well, this time, readers, you get to take your pick. Sadly, I won’t […]

1000 Words

Possible debate strategy for Mr. Romney tonight: just stand there holding this chart.

Génération Identitaire

Here. Hat tips to Bill Keezer and GoV.

This And That

I must apologize for the thin content here over the past few days — from time to time the demands and obligations of personal life leave me no time for blogging. (I realize that for waka waka waka to go dark for a day or two deprives no one of oxygen, but a lot of […]

Narcissist-In-Chief

For weeks now the Obama campaign has been offering a chance at dinner with The One to those who chip in a few bucks. (We commented here on one such solicitation.) That dinner has now taken place, it appears. I know this because Mr. Obama just tweeted a picture with the heading: Table for four: […]

It Ain’t Necessarily So

Some house-guests arrived sometime after midnight Thursday night  —  the night of the bizarre VP debate  —  and of course before anyone could go to bed we had to spend an hour or so arguing about politics. (They’re liberal sorts.) Healthcare came up. So did the alleged “fact” that the healthcare system of the  U.S.A. […]

In Cold Blood

From Danger Room, here’s a damning summary of the runup to the assault in Libya (thanks to Lokilinkster for the link). An excerpt (emphasis added): The security situation in Benghazi was “a struggle and remained a struggle throughout my time there,’ (.pdf) said Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, the State Department’s Site Security Team commander in […]

You’ve Got Mail!

OK, enough grim reality. Let’s all lighten up and take a break. Here, for example.

The Truth, For Once

You’ve probably heard people mentioning Lara Logan’s blunt talk about Afghanistan last week, but you should take twenty minutes and actually watch it. It’s here. If you are informed enough, and wise enough, not to be taken in by the steady diet of lies and self-serving propaganda this administration feeds us about our Mideast adventures […]

Bump In The Road

From the Heritage Foundation, here’s a sharp video on the Obama administration’s deceitful, ass-covering response to the Benghazi attack. But hey, look  —  Big Bird!

Time Out

I haven’t said much about politics for the past few days; that’s because I haven’t had much to say. It’s been delightful to watch the discomfiture of  Mr. Obama’s media catchfarts as they’ve watched the momentum shifting sharply in Mr. Romney’s direction, though. A couple of things worth mentioning: First, Mr. Romney’s foreign-policy speech certainly […]