The End of the Year, the Beginning of Another

The end of one year and the beginning of another is always a good time to read, or re-read, Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Harvard Address: Solzhenitsyn's Harvard Address

Just a Short 'Un

Victor Davis Hanson has this to say about the current situation in the Middle East (formerly known as the Near East): Victor Davis Hanson on Middle East on National Review Online. Mr Davis is probably the most realistic and practical observer or the Middle East and of the military that can be accessed without paying a lot of jack.

And if you disagree with Hanson and the inhabitants of Bloody Nib Manor you are just wrong, Wrong and WRONG.

Watch Remains of the Day starring Anthony Hopkins and James Fox and you may see yourself. And remember that James Fox is an actor and is a Christian. He was playing a role. Are you?

In Favor of Cheap Instruments. Again.

Long time readers of the Bloody Nib are aware that we at the Manor are all in favor of doing certain things on the cheap. Why spend $300 on a Honda lawn mower (along with the price of gas used to power the thing) when a manual push mower and a healthy fifteen year old kid will do the same job, and probably better than the smog spouter? Anyone who tries to make his patch of grass look like a putting green has a problem. A lawn is meant to be used and torn up by kids, dogs, horse shoes or lawn darts.

But each person has their own concerns on this type of thing. Each man sees his plot of land in his own way and some are more concerned about appearance than usage. Usually these people are called celebrities or politicians: both classes of people who seem to think that they deserve your attention and disposable income.

But one thing that your faithful correspondent is adamant about is the value of cheap musical instruments for both youth and adults. Consider the fact that most of us who mess about with cheap musical instruments such as the harmonica, ukulele, penny whistle, department store guitar or bodhran, never really master the instrument. So why invest more than a one hundred bucks for a Lyon guitar from Target (beware of the First Act guitar from Wal-Mart since it is so badly made as to be almost unplayable) or a dulcimer or a bodhran or a uke, or more than twenty bucks for a harmonica or penny whistle?

This came to mind the other day while talking to a co-worker at the dark Satanic mill. Said co-worker stated that his son, a lad of seventeen years, had told him that he wanted a drum set for Christmas. The kid had never owned any type of drum before; no snare, no marching drum, no kettle drum. The boy had "fooled around" with a neighbor kid's drum set and liked it. My co-worker, being a soft touch, went to the local music store and ended up spending over $600 for a drum set for the boy for Christmas. Yours truly would have suggested buying the lad a bodhran, a set of bongos or a conga drum and told him to work on one drum and become proficient at it before thinking of a drum set. Buying the kid a bodhran, a couple of Chieftains CDs and a couple of Mel Bay music books would have cost a lot less and been a lot more valuable than a drum set. If the boy wants to drum he'll drum on a coffee can and a Quaker Oats box. The cheap drums give the kid a chance to find out if drumming is what he thinks it is. As it is, he'll be starting out with a set that would have made Gene Krupa's mouth water. A bongo collecting dust in March is a lot easier to look at than a $600 drum set.

Sometimes cheap is good.

Finally, if you're thinking of drinking egg nog this season, please reconsider. A hot toddy is a much better deal.

Breaking the Silence Once Again

The Iraq Study Group released their findings this week and it was as expected -- a call for the United States to follow the example of Neville Chamberlain. The next thing you know a "blue ribbon" committee will be calling for us all to convert to Islam in the interest of world peace. Your faithful correspondent is not interested in placating the Islamic monster, not is he interested in abandoning Our Lord Jesus Christ in favor of following the teachings of an epileptic desert merchant with a taste for blood.

Baron Bodissey at The Gates of Vienna sounds the right note regarding the resistance to the prayer rug crowd: Gates of Vienna: WeÂ’re on Our Own

And Robert Fitzgerald at Jihad Watch reaffirms the need for not caving in: Jihad Watch: Fitzgerald: No opting-out

This week has seen accusations that the Associated Press has relied on "sources" for stories who have either been not who they claim they are, or non-existent. I'll not go into the controversy, but instead offer this link that graphically illustrates the trustworthiness of the established press organs: YouTube - All Your Fakes Are Belong to Us

Remember when you read a story about Iraq in your local newspaper that the person under whose by-line the story appears has probably not been an eyewitness to the story and has probably spent most of his or her time in Iraq in the Green Zone. That person has relied on Iraqi stringers to bring information. This is like an American war correspondent during World War Two using German stringers during the Battle of the Bulge to detail American progress.

Bustin' the silence again

The Great American Novel is delayed because of current events.

The next time you hear a politician, commentator, CAIR lackey. liberal theologian or useful idiot talk about Islam being the religion of peace, consider the following: Morocco jails German for trying to convert Muslims - washingtonpost.com and Compass Direct News : BANGLADESH - ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS FACE DEATH FOR KILLING C We in the West are supposed to be the world's Gumbys by letting every kooky religion on the face of the earth (and according to some, other planets) proselytize here and corrupt our youth and insane, while the Islamic monster is unable to bear the telling of the Truth in the Arabic homeland.

UPDATE!

This has just crossed the threshold at Bloody Nib Manor: Protestant missionaries face nine years for insult to Islam - World - Times On

Here's a thought. If you are a Christian or Jew you might want to consider praying loudly and visibly in the boarding area before your next flight, especially if there are any identifiable Muslims on the flight. The worst thing that could happen is that you'll get thrown off the plane. Then you can sue the airline and make some easy jack. The best place to try this is AirSaudia the national airline of our eternal friends. Good luck!