Friday, May 04, 2007

IT'S HERE!!!!!!




Ladies and Gentlemen... the moment you have all been waiting for! An adventure beyond your wildest dreams! An adrenaline rush from start to finish, says Hustler's Financial Supplement! Revolutionized my view of the world - I'm resigning! says Treasury Secretary Paulsen. Can you just pay me back half of what I loaned you, says the translator's brother, D.!

It came from the depth of misty olde England - a monster beyond reckoning! A disembodied shape! Neo-classical economics - can anyone stop this fearsome beast from destroying the world! Find out the answer - buy the book!

71 comments:

northanger said...

what's a basho?

Roger Gathmann said...

North, you smartypants! I know I should have made it larger, but if I expand it, it will look uglier.

Oh, and Im translating basho as locus. Think of it as like a class or a region.

And guess what? I saw a couple of bees yesterday. Hooray! Do you think I should report this to the local authorities? They were actually poking around in some weedy flowers, goddamn it. Sluffing off, when they should be pollinating the strawberries or whatever.

Roger Gathmann said...

That's good, that pic. I'm a-gonna put it on my sidebar, so that people will think I'm smart!

So, what are the occult forces saying about the bees? Something is going on in the aether - the realm in which "dwells a host of 365 daimons" - the bee, of course, being the overlooked link on Gaia. Ho ho ho - the Hummer demons are killing us.

I'm voting for the first presidential candidate who runs on a platform of bee friendliness. On this I stand.

northanger said...

what happened to the à la High Plains Drifter platform?

occult bee forces? hmm. i dunno, i should check huh? somebody needs to look at the bee vs polar bear aspect.

i know! the bee basho!

northanger said...

per wikipedia, Basho refers to a haiku poet & sumo wrestling.

The bee emerging
from deep within the peony
departs reluctantly


maybe the bees are stuck somewhere.

Roger Gathmann said...

North, are you accusing me of bein' a flip flopper? Are you saying my strong bee defense stand, which I'd like to say, over my many years of public service I have had the privilege and the honor to have observed those hardy little creatures at their work, in the Great State of Texas, in the fields of the Lord who, as we all know, married Adam to Eve, not Steve - uh, but as I was saying, my firm stand for our fine little bumbling friends, and my belief that immigrant terrorist bees should never be received with weakness, has, I think you will find in the public record, been unflinching, save for when I flinched, but that I am also firm on my stand on painting everything in America Red and electing a midget mayor. I think, well, I think Reagan himself was for bees, as for midgets, although he was also for not letting the bees get uppity.

northanger said...

just saying Roger, looks like we can use you as the flip-flopping, zig-zagging political baseline. beewise, of course. there's a asteroid named HAIKU! & then there's BEEGEES for the bees. what do you think of BARABASHOV for basho?

northanger said...

yup.

are we live blogging the kentucky derby tomorrow? i'm about to go to the store & i'm debating mint juleps.

northanger said...

i'm also trying to figure out how bees are related to BGs

northanger said...

gotta go! gotta a sloppy joes jones i gotta feed. cya!

Roger Gathmann said...

North, you are on. Looking at the tout sheets, I'm going for Street Sense - a cautious choice, I know. But I'm not going for the favorite, at least, Curlin whatever. I have a mixed record. When I used to go to the races in Shreveport, I went with my friend and boss, H. H. was the assistant manager in the hardware store I worked in, and he taught me the curves and how to read the spread sheet. Alas, H. was a little too full of his own knowledge, and soon was doing some unauthorized borrowing to cover the unexpected technical deficiencies of a few jockies. You know how it goes. And I watched some of the races in Saratoga, two years ago - I was sort of hurried out of there before I could repair the win loss margin, which stood at zero. Anyway, I like the way Street Sense is sorta grinning in this pic:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18480527/. A horse with a sense of humor! You might say, oh, it is that irony which will slow old SS down - but I feel like Street sense has one card up the old shank. Watch as he tells Curlin merlin a few shaggy dog tales as they are rounding the fourth turn.
I'm in. I'm there. We are gonna win!

northanger said...

i like Great Hunter.

here's the handicap thingy — what time is this thing?

northanger said...

um. i think The Queen will be wearing a tasteful green hat w/o a feather.

Roger Gathmann said...

Outside bet - to honor the colonial tradition so bravely carried forward in the Middle East by the Coalition, the queen will be wearing an explorer's helmet. She will also be wearing camo.

Roger Gathmann said...

Here's
Great Hunter.
A sweet prancing horsey, but I don't get a sense of GH's character from these shots. In fact, that 5th place finish in the Blue Grass stakes tells us a lot - the horse is bored. There's more to life than the track, he's thinking.

So I think the key for his team is to get him interested again.

Roger Gathmann said...

More on my horsey:

"Ian Wilkes, the assistant to Street Sense's venerable trainer, Carl Nafzger, says, "It wasn't our idea to have only two preps. The horse took us there. He just wasn't right when it was time to start running races.'"

A great sense of humor, a superb sense of his own limitations - shit, I'm not just betting on Street Sense for this race, I'm for him for president. We can't do worse!

Roger Gathmann said...

From a Caligula bio:
“Caligula had a favourite horse, the famous Incitatus, which was reputedly provided with a fine stable decorated with marble and ivory and with a fine jeweled collar. Before races soldiers were posted to keep the area quiet. Many stories were spread about Incitatus, originating most likely from Caligula’s own humourous quips. The horse was supposedly invited to banquets. Dio claims that Caligula promised to make Incitatus a consul, and Suetonius reports rumours of such a plan. Possibly out of a perverted sense of humour, Caligula would pour libations to Incitatus’ Salus, and claimed that he intended to coopt him as his priest. “

I have changed my mind about Queen Elizabeth. Knowing her penchant for royal history, she undoubtedly will reference Caligula in her ensemble. Look for a toga and gold foil laurel leaves.

Anonymous said...

so why is this race called a 'run for the roses'? any particular color? please dear god don't let it be red roses!
anyway, i'm with Street Sense as well!
LI, a president running on the laudable bee-friendly platform might be asking for too much. i'd be content with one who mentioned friendliness at all! it would be a nice change from campaigns which are all about work and war and war and work and...

Roger Gathmann said...

The Bee Loving Party!
I predict, as the planet dwindles down to the last precious few humans and the pollen is all gone, they will set up shrines to
this movie.

northanger said...

Amie, google says Bill Corum came up w/ the red roses phrase. derby roses are red.

Roger, it's all savages & bees with you!

Roger Gathmann said...

North, I saw that. Your horsey is pretty hot to prance. But does your horsey have the fire in its belly?

Hey, and where do I find out what Q E2 (who is not a bee girl) is wearing?

Roger Gathmann said...

Life is good in kentucky!

"For a distinctive Kentucky flair, she posed with a look-alike of Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain.
Judith Gindy of Miami, the impersonator who refers to herself as Queen Elizabeth Too, admitted to being a great admirer."

northanger said...

thanx for the pic. i think:

green = mint juleps
red = roses
classy lady!

Roger Gathmann said...

O.J.'s pick.
How does green equal mint juleps? That drink isn't green. Or am I confused?

northanger said...

mint julep, the weed thingy, is green.

"the most exciting two minutes in sports": post time 6:04 PM EST

Roger Gathmann said...

CNN had a nice little tribute to Barbaro. But basically, this is an MSNBC thing, it looks like.

So, who is QE2 going for? Will she take OJ's advice, and put her money on Tiago? Will she be texan, and put it on Street Sense? Or will she be a chancer like you, North, and put it on Great Hunter?

My suggestion, if she is reading this, is that she put everything on Steet sense. I mean everything. The crown, the palaces, the jewels. She's lived a full life. The kids are provided for. If she loses, worst that can happen, she ends her days doing a Las Vegas act. But just think if she wins! Go for QE2!

Roger Gathmann said...

Pardon. Go for IT, QE2!

Anonymous said...

Why are there no asses in the Derby field? Asses can run the country but they can't run in the Derby! It's an outrage that I hope the Poofiness Manifesto will redress!

northanger said...

Why are there no asses in the Derby field?

too plebian?

gematria whoa. giddy up horsey.

AQ 133 = #2-CURLIN.

Roger Gathmann said...

Amie, I think asses are pretty stubborn about those occasions they will race and those that they won't race. Did Sancho Panza ever get his donkey to trot? Ah, the little things one overlooks in literature!

Speaking of which, here's the bare bones of one of the great racing stories,
Comrade Bingo, by Wodehouse.
Bertie is persuaded to bet his chemise on Ocean Breeze, and of course, as he says in the end of the story, the horse did so badly that it almost came in first in the next race. Cool thing, though, is that Bingo grows a beard and hangs around with anarchist, of course under the sway of the divine passion for some slip of a leftwinger. Bingo is pretty good as a disguised street orator. He calls Bertie a "prowler, a trifler, and a bloodsucker. And I bet he still owes the tailor for those trousers."
But as Bertie says, "He seemed to me to be verging on the personal."

Roger Gathmann said...

North, since our exciting two minutes are before us: do you ever go to the track at Del Mar, whereever the hell in California that is? Built by Bing Crosby.

northanger said...

nope. but i'm near Santa Anita. i should go there this summer.

Roger Gathmann said...

Hey, here's
Comrade Bingo on youtube!
The answer to the Zizekian quest for a revolutionary movie that includes a horse racing motif!

North, you should start planning your chapeau, then, for Santa Anita. Aim for maximum impact.

Anonymous said...

I suggest that in honor of P.G. Wodehouse and his immortal Psmith's manner of introducing himself with "the P is silent", Poofs should introduce themselves as oofs, "the P is silent."

northanger said...

Indian Runner for the November Handicap. Evelyn Waugh. twenty to one at present.

northanger said...

lol, Roger. my hat is a disney chapeau (cha-oh?). a khaki number with mikey & my name stitched backwards.

riders up!

northanger said...

mikey = mickey

northanger said...

trumpet!

Roger Gathmann said...

I believe Comrade Brian is taking care of the Poofs department.

North, stitched backwards?

Okay, I'm going to MSNBC to see if there is any last minute movement on the odds.

northanger said...

the sun shines bright on my old kentucky home. 'tis summer, the people are gay ...

ahem.

northanger said...

stitched backwards = newg

3rd largest crowd in derby history!

northanger said...

Curlin "was named for Charles Curlin, an African-American slave from western Kentucky who fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. One of his original owners, through his interest in Midnight Cry Stables, is Charles Curlin's great, great grandson."

Roger Gathmann said...

Nice pick of OJ's pick, Tiago, on the MSNBC slide show. 11.
Still no word on House of Windsor's pick. Damn, she'd playing her cards close to her chest.

northanger said...

Teufelsberg means "Devil's Mountain".

northanger said...

if Stormello wins, trainer Bill Currin gets knighted.

northanger said...

that's Hugh Laurie.

northanger said...

when's post time?

northanger said...

a horse blind in one eye? what a handicap!

Roger Gathmann said...

Whose Hugh Laurie?
I wouldn't count on patriotism determining QE2's bets. She keeps a close watch on OJ, as is well known, so I'm sure she'd tempted by the Tiago longshot. Meanwhile, Street sense is making his move to the favorite position. This could be bad. Am I being duped and decoyed? I can't get over Street Sense's face, though - it is the face of a winning horsey. Gravitas and that, that irony about the eyes.

northanger said...

we're off

northanger said...

is that Hard Spun?

northanger said...

Street Sense. 19 to first place. whoa.

"a stretch running sensation!"
2 mins & 2 secs

northanger said...

AQ 255 = 7-STREET SENSE = JUSTICE LEAGUE.

Roger Gathmann said...

Wait. It's over? I didn't get to see any of it! What's up with MSNBC?

So sweet street sense won?

North, man, talk to me! I'm getting all sweaty!

northanger said...

Street Sense started "slow", 19th after the start. then worked himself up (awesome jockey!) to first place. i think that's the longest stretch ever. 19 to 1st.

Roger Gathmann said...

That was fast. Is that all there is? OJ and QE2 are bummin'. Last time she listens to him.

They still won't give my street sense his due, though. Talking about a below par field. No great horses. My ass! Damn, wished I had a packet to have put on my horsey.

Hey, I like the backwards cap thing, now that I think about it. Tres Wiccan. You should cast a spell over the horses, North.

Roger Gathmann said...

The horse trainer is from Texas, you know. A bronco buster.

northanger said...

ok. you called it Roger.

northanger said...

jockey's from Louisiana.

northanger said...

he rode the rail on that almost the entire race.

Roger Gathmann said...

Louisiana! My states, Louisiana and Texas! My man Henry, the guy who taught me horse (and saw that I was a total goof) if he is out of jail, might have made some bucks on this. Shreveport lives to bet.

northanger said...

Regor. my Great Hunter was 12th. :(

northanger said...

you know how to ride horses?

Roger Gathmann said...

Who said ride? I was talking about bet - as in read the turns, the tracks, all that handicapping shit. And in the end, what does it get you? into deep trouble.

Still, its fun.
God, I could use some 9-2 dough at the moment.

Roger Gathmann said...

Imagine if Hard Spun had won. Now, that's a nice payoff.

northanger said...

oh, lol.

northanger said...

"the red sea parted" - that's how they described the hole Street Sense ran through.

what about the Preakness?

northanger said...

the run for the black-eyed susans

Roger Gathmann said...

When is that, next month? I'm game.
I'm truly psyched about you going down to delmar with the backward stitching, by the way. Go on the right day and MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

northanger said...

Del Mar's way out there near San Diego. i'm going to Santa Anita.

Preakness is 2 weeks.

northanger said...

Hugh Laurie = Wooster

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