The Explorers' Club
№ CCLXXI - The Marianas Trench, including the Challenger Deep, the deepest point on the Earth's surface.







Project MERCATOR
This Super Bowl Sunday (or, as our guest priest pointed out at Mass, the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time), I found myself in the horns of a dilemma. I'd received invitations to two discrete Super Bowl parties, but the dilemma was not in deciding which to attend (one was in Grand Blanc & the other in Lapeer, past B.F.E.); rather, not being a fan of the No Fun League, whyever should I want to watch Super Bowl XLVI? (Aside from a fondness for Roman numerals that will surprise no regular reader of "The Explorers' Club," that is.) In the end, in clear violation of Project MERCATOR's strictures, I stayed home. I made good use of my hermitage, though, watching This is Spinal Tap, laughing & laughing & laughing…

Obamboozled
President Obama left United States allies the Czech Republic & the Republic of Poland twisting in the wind over ballistic missile defense in order to foster his prized "reset" of relations with the Russian Federation. Later, in order to curry favor with the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), Mr. Obama declined to put American defense industry workers back on the job when he refused permission for Taiwan (the Republic of China) to purchase vast quantities of weapons from the U.S. The fruits of the president's suborning of American security & economic interests to generate goodwill with Moscow & Beijing? The Russian Federation & the P.R.C. vetoed an already watered-down United Nations Security Council resolution concerning the ongoing civil strife in the Syrian Arab Republic: veto-link.

Normally, the title of this feature, "Obamboozled," refers to the way in which then-Senator Obama bamboozled so many non-hardcore left-wing voters into supporting his '08 campaign. In this specific instance, though, it perhaps more rightly reflects the way in which the Russians & the Chinese bamboozled President Obama & Mrs. Clinton, his hapless Secretary of State, tricking them into making vital compromises of American interests & American values in exchange for empty promises & all-too-predictable betrayals. He who Obamboozled has himself been Obamboozled. I'd guffaw but for all the innocent Syrian blood shed.

Vote for Kodos
Misfortune befell me today insofar as I found myself engaged in a political discussion with a wretched Libertarian, a supporter of Representative Ron Paul's bid for the Republican presidential nomination. (He was not especially wretched, beyond the de rigueur wretchedness of all that misbegotten ilk.) Our discussion was fairly grounded in reality until he got to the "real reasons" for the Iraq War & the recent Western intervention in the Libyan civil war: in 2003, Saddam Hussein was about to start selling petroleum in euros; in 2011, Muammar Gaddafi was about to begin selling petroleum in a "gold-backed pan-African currency." Wow. A slow, ironic wow. You never have to dig too deeply into the beliefs of a Paul supporter before you find the break from reality. The misfortune ended shortly thereafter when I was able to make a lucky escape.

I strenuously wish those duplicitous Libertarians would go back to their own screwball party & stop pretending to be Republicans. I want my G.O.P. back, you rat finks!

CADMUS
Operation VAUXHALL is back in effect, & so far so good.

The Queue
There is a noticeable decline in the quality of The Adventures of Tintin at the end of the series, specifically in Flight 714 & Tintin and the Picaros. I'm confident that much more goodness awaits in the early & middle adventures, based on the strength of Cigars of the Pharaoh & Tintin in Tibet. For now, back to ghost (short) stories.

Recently
Stephen Weiner, Jason Hall, & Victoria Blake, illustrated by Mike Mignola, et al., Hellboy: The Companion
Hergé, The Adventures of Tintin: The Calculus Affair, The Red Sea Sharks, & Tintin in Tibet
Hergé, The Adventures of Tintin: The Castafiore Emerald, Flight 714, & Tintin and the Picaros

Currently
Henry Mazzeo, editor, & Edward Gorey, illustrator, Hauntings: Tales of the Supernatural

Presently
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes
H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines
David Ignatius, Body of Lies
Len Deighton, City of Gold

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "The Girl I Can't Forget" from Out-of-State Plates, Disc Two (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: One of my very favorite songs. I will need The Last Angry Bride, whether I've met her & just not yet realized who she is or our paths have not yet crossed, to have the sense of fun & generosity of spirit of the titular girl.

Sonntag, 5 Februar
Spinal Tap, "(Tonight I'm Gonna) Rock You Tonight" from This is Spinal Tap (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: I am a persnickety chap, insisting on ångström instead of angstrom, for example, but I cannot countenance the "official" spelling of Spinal Tap due both to the ridiculous & ungrammatical umlaut over the "n" & the lack of a dot over the "i". The characters are so outlandishly unreal—which is the point of them, yes, I know—that even when I cut & pasted that spelling of Spinal Tap into this post's H.T.M.L., it would not display properly on the published post. The R.B.D.S.O.T.D. was a toss-up between "(Tonight I'm Gonna) Rock You Tonight" & "Big Bottom," because I do love that bass line.

Samstag, 4 Februar
Flogging Molly, "Devil's Dance Floor" from Swagger (T.L.A.M.)