Au Cochonnet Marin

So, believe the faithful…

“The Second Coming, also called Second Advent or Parousia in Christianity, is the future return of Christ in glory when it is understood that he will set up his kingdom, judge his enemies, and reward the faithful, living and dead.”

 Some people believe that this blessed event will happen toward the end of 2024. Enemies then, will be judged (and probably sent to gulags) while believers will be rewarded with Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh… and cushy government jobs.

Heretics say that the Second Coming (if it ever materializes) will be nothing but harsh vindictiveness from somebody who already tried and failed to be an inspired leader.

But if the Second Coming does indeed occur, what will happen to human rights? We don’t need democracy are trumpeting some dark angels. We just need strong leadership where dissent and lawlessness will not be tolerated. Strong men are beloved everywhere for their guidance and devotion to their people… “law and order” is their sacred mantra and under their wise guidance, everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Look at great democracies like Russia and China… Do you ever hear any peep coming from these model countries? Of course not.

But the Second Coming might not be everybody’s cup of tea. Some dissenters simply believe that we don’t need it. The First Coming was enough. When Napoleon left Elba and tried a comeback, it didn’t end well. His troops were defeated at Waterloo and the “Ogre” was exiled to exotic St Helena. He was never heard from again until his early demise in 1821 at the tender age of 52.

It is always wise for would-be strongmen to remember that in ancient Rome the Tarpeian Rock was not far from the Capitoline Hill”.

So, the Second Coming might inspire the faithful, but scare the hell out of non-believers. Everybody likes a winner, but no one likes a sore loser. It is not sporting! A well-mannered individual accepts defeat graciously, shakes hands with the winner, and vacates his official residence without hauling away half of the furniture with him.

Trying again when you have failed is laudable, but also keep in mind that “If at first, you don’t succeed, you may be at your level of incompetence already.”— Laurence J. Peter

Alain

If my memory serves me well (it is not always the case), the game of pétanque was born in the South of France, where the temperature is usually mild, and where people play in light, comfortable garments.

But yesterday, in Marin County this is not what happened. It was cold and windy for most of the day, and despite my five layers of clothing I still felt ill at ease. This @#^$** weather didn’t prevent players from all over the Bay Area to attend, but for me personally, it was definitely not my cup of tea.

Still, 16 teams (48 players) showed up, eager to compete and pocket vast amounts of cash. I was supposed to team up with my friends Francois and Serge, but at the very last minute, due to acute shoulder pain, Serge (Tamalou) Hanne had to opt out of the game. Bleys Rose gracefully accepted to take his place and we were grateful for this, but being somewhat superstitious, I have always been averse to last-minute changes.

Despite this contretemps, we did fairly well and won 2 out of 3 games in the morning. But in the afternoon (having been selected to play in the Concours) we were quickly booted out of the tournament.

Even though nobody likes to lose, I was not greatly affected by this development. To me, pétanque and photography always go hand in hand. With the help of Sneaky Pete II, I devoted the rest of the afternoon to trying to capture interesting pictures. Pay close attention by the way to the electric pole and the woodpecker…

As usual, in this sort of tournament, you have a blend of heavyweight and light players, and soon or later, skills and experience will prevail. Yesterday, it became obvious very early that one team did not come all the way from Fresno to return empty-handed.

In the Concours Finals, By Vang, Kham Chounlamany, and Janice Bissonnette faced Tom Lee, Brendan Cohen and Tim Wetzel. The Fresno team showed great cohesion and skills, and very soon it was all over. The game ended fairly early by a score of 13/5 in favor of the Fresnans. Congratulations lady and gentlemen!

Concours:

1^st place: By Vang, K. Chounlamany, J. Bissonnette ($171 to team)
2^nd place: Tom Lee, Brendan Cohen, Tim Wetzel ($144 to team)
3^rd place: Ed Porto, Louis Toulon, Wolfie Kurz ($114 to team)

Consolante:

1^st place: P. Moua, Krystal Pulsipher, Tim Peppel ($84 to team)
2^nd place: N. Marcovecchio, N. Semenenko, T. Efron ($57 to team)

Alain

PS: watch the pictures “Full Screen”

« Les loups ont envahi Paris
Soit par Issy, soit par Ivry
Les loups ont envahi Paris
Cessez de rire, charmante Elvire
Les loups ont envahi Paris.
Attirés par l’odeur du sang
Il en vint des mille et des cents
Faire carouss’, liesse et bombance
Dans ce foutu pays de France
Jusqu’à c’que les hommes aient retrouvé
L’amour et la fraternité… et alors »

I am sure that you have heard… Wolves have invaded Paris… Thousands of them, as young as 13, are setting Paris (and the rest of the countryside) on fire and chaos.

An obscure incident started this bloody rampage. An underaged teenager of North African descent was stopped by the police for “breaking traffic rules.”

According to the Independent, a British online newspaper, this is the gist of what happened:

“The 17-year-old, identified as Nahel M, was driving a car on Tuesday morning when he was pulled over for breaking traffic rules, prosecutors said. The teenager was too young to hold a full driving license in France.”

Police twice attempted to indicate to the car to pull over and park, but the driver continued driving and the two police pursued the vehicle.

The Mercedes had to stop at a traffic light, at which point the police asked the driver to turn off the engine and exit the vehicle.”

 Instead of complying with police directives, the teenager tried to drive away and was killed by a single shot fired by one of the two officers.

I don’t condone any killing, but such a tragedy could have been avoided. As a general rule, when stopped by the police, don’t argue or fight back. Don’t give them any excuse to use their firearms.

But many offenders attempt to flee, often with tragic consequences. Any killing gives looters and “casseurs” a good excuse to rampage and ransack. Peaceful demonstrations protesting wrongdoing can be understood, but what is the justification for destroying or stealing property? Don’t look too far or too deep… For many rioters, it is a good occasion to stock up on cheap Christmas gifts.

This new wolfpack mentality is setting a very dangerous precedent, abroad as well as in America. Many irate victims of such thievery will forcefully demand the restoration of law and order… and some power-hungry politicos will only be too happy to oblige.

How do you think that Hitler seized power in Germany? With a promise to restore law and order and Make Germany Great Again. Many German citizens were afraid and furious about the “Bolsheviks” and were only too happy to see the Nazis crush them.

Nobody wants to see this kind of tragedy ever again. Don’t break the law and don’t give any extremist any excuse for starting a brutal dictatorship!

Alain