Category: Fourre-tout

The world used to be in awe of the White House. Not anymore.

Due to the childish outbursts of the current occupant, the White House appears to be greatly in need of a regent (a person appointed to administer a country because the monarch is a minor or incapacitated) or a Mentor.

When attaining the highest office in the land, a man ought to cast his personal demons aside and try his best to represent his country with gravitas. He should look and sound dignified, and be worthy of the nation’s confidence.
Such is not presently the case.

« Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop. » You cannot stop your true colors from shining through.

The present tenant of the White House is flighty, thin-skinned and vain, eerily taking after the crowned heads of yesteryear. The monarchs of the past were egomaniacs, surrounded by submissive minions eager to preserve their exalted positions. In today’s White House (like in the Kremlin) old servile practices have been restored.
Praise, but not a dissonant peep can be heard from the Casa Blanca.

A responsible president traditionally communicates with the country through regular press conferences. The press should never be considered an enemy, but a dependable channel to keep the nation informed. Bypassing the “fake news” press with impulsive digital tweets is childish and irresponsible.
It is absolutely impossible to articulate any presidential position through 140 characters or less. More importantly, it is beneath a president’s position to personally attack or ridicule people who disagree with him.

The president as a national standard bearer ought to inspire respect and not lend himself to ridicule in the (home and foreign) press and late night shows.

The commander-in-chief has frequently mentioned an 8-year reign.
He will be extremely lucky to crash-land without serious injuries at the end of a single term.

Alain

 

It is not uncommon today to see affluent young women strutting in torn jeans.
Some young men are emulating that trend (or is it vice-versa?) but one knows anyway that young males are inherent slobs.

Personally, I find this practice difficult to understand. It seems rather odd, even masochistic to derive pleasure from looking like in need of public assistance.

While millions of people are struggling to make ends meet and dress in a civil manner, a few fortunate individuals seem to take a perverse pleasure in aping destitute folks.
Why in hell would well-to-do people dress in rags? What is the subliminal message? Is it a misguided way to seek attention? Is it a cry for help? I wonder.

This odd behavior reminds me of an old episode of the Three Stooges.
Curly bangs his head against the wall and screams in pain.
Moe asks him why he is doing that.
Curly says: Because it feels so good when I stop.

So it looks like that these people do this as some kind of therapy to feel better after leaving their rags in the closet and putting on the Ritz… Peculiar therapy…

It seems to me that that a lot of these young ladies women would greatly benefit from a few shrink sessions instead of misspending money on purposefully mangled items.

A pair of “designer” ripped jeans can cost up to $1,000.

I don’t want to sound to sanctimonious, but I could treat myself to at least half a dozen sessions of mud baths for that price and feel much cleaner after that than parading for an hour in hand me down tattered clothes.

The torn jeans fad, like the Lava Lamps, will soon fade away and years from now your children will burst out laughing when you show them pictures of your “hot” torn jeans.

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous – Coco Chanel

I am with you Coco!

Alain

 

On June 25^th, the Sonoma’s Valley of the Moon Pétanque Club  hosted the FPUSA inter-regional Men’s & Women’s Triples.

I missed the morning games but showed up in time to witness and memorialize the finals.

The weather, which had been unbearably hot the previous week, cooled down significantly and while it became somewhat hot in the afternoon, it remained comfortable.

Surprisingly the attendance was rather moderate, (10 teams on the men’s side and 3 teams on the women’s side) maybe due to the Sears Point race, but the field was nevertheless packed with very good players.

Outstanding among them, the Awesome Threesome, the formidable troika of Peter Mathis, Wolfie Kurz and Mickey Coughlin, all certified shooters and pointers.

To win a game, you need at least a good pointer, a good shooter and a good “middle”. This “dream team” had it all and ultimately proved that versatility is key to victory.

Also outstanding, the Fresno formations whose names unfortunately escape me.

The men’s finals opposing Peter Mathis, Wolfie Kurz and Mickey Coughlin against Christophe Sarafian, Bee Moua and Silent Mike ended up by a 13/5 victory for the Awesome Threesome.

Surprisingly, Peter Mathis played as pointer and did an outstanding job doing so. He steadily put all his shots within a foot of the cochonnet and contributed immensely to the team’s victory.

Wolfie Kurz was the main shooter and also did an excellent job. I estimate his batting average to be between 85% and 90%.

On the opposite team, Christophe, Bee and Silent Mike also played extremely well but were eventually defeated I believe, by Peter Mathis consistent impressive pointing.

The Men’s finals took place on probably the most difficult spot of the field. Every pointing shot was demanding due to the pebbly nature of the terrain.
I believe that the Awesome Threesome benefitted from the familiarity of the terrain, but would have won anyway on any other venue.

Final results:

Concours

1^st place: Peter Mathis, Wolfie Kurz and Mickey Coughlin   $60.00 each
2^nd place: Christophe Sarafian, Bee Moua and Silent Mike           $45.00 each

 Consolante:

 1^st place: Patrick Vaslet, Jacques Mathieu, Cody      $30.00 each
2^nd place: David Katz, Adair Hastings, Cliff Knuckles?         $20.00 each

Alain

To look at pictures of this event, click on the “My Photos” link located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go Full Screen.