Friday, October 31, 2014

Chivalry....and the modern age...

This is an unusual post, I will stay away from politics except to say if you havn't voted or decided yet...then you are part of the problem.  Be part of the solution.  I decided to do a post on chivalry, what meant and the lack of it now.   This post has been eating at me for a long time and I finally decided to roll with it.

     I have been told that I am a throwback to a bygone age,my mannerism and vocabulary are archiac from what I was told.   I am a firm believer in manners, I like to quote "Lazarus Long" a character that Robert Heinlein created.  Basically Lazarus Long was an immortal and he would keep notes of his experiences and observations.  
    "Moving parts in rubbing contact require lubrication to avoid excessive wear. Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together. Often the very young, the untraveled, the naive, the unsophisticated deplore these formalities as “empty,” “meaningless,” or “dishonest,” and scorn to use them. No matter how “pure” their motives, they thereby throw sand into machinery that does not work too well at best."

     I will use other quotes from Lazarus here and there to make a point, Robert Heinlein  besides being a prolific writer was prescient also, but I digress.  The point I was making and he was with that quote is basically manners are the social lubricant for interactions with other people.  I have told my son more than once, to be nice to people and remember your manners, you get more accomplished with a kind word than being a jerk.  
     The Act of Chivalry as practiced long ago is no longer there, It used to be stressed as part of our culture, the culture of the West.  But it is no longer practiced because people out there believe that all cultures are equal and if you display chivalrous manners, you are denigrating other cultures.....Are you kidding?   The same people that denigrate Western Civilization, are the cultural marxist and their fellow travelers that use what is called "Constructive criticism" to challenge the beliefs of a culture.  This is from the Frankfurt School of Neo Marxist social theory.  Once you have forced a society to question it's long held belief system, you can then replace it with one that is more conducive to the goals of the marxist.  The Marxist believe in social and economic equality...the end results...Having one culture being superior to the other cultures kinda upsets the social applecart.  The lack of manners that is being displayed today is a result of this.  Remember back in the Victorian era, the manners were expected of all , even the "low class people" and if somebody gave you an affront, you were expected to deal with it yourself.  Usually with a duel or fisticuffs I believe it was called.  Even when I was in school, if somebody was bullying you , you either sucked it up or you beat the bully.  Now they want you to go tell an authority figure instead...People are afraid to do anything unless they have the power of the state behind them.  People are afraid to stand on their own two feet.  That is what the social reconstruction has wrought.
     This ties in with the decline of Western civilization.  

     "The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of “loyalty” and “duty.” Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute--get out of there fast. You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed. "

Another quote from Lazarus, Remember that the idea of duty and loyalty are denigrated in today's society as being "outmoded" and old fashioned. "  Duty is very hard to describe, Robert E. Lee had commented that " Duty is sublime and the harshest of mistresses".  Duty is difficult to describe, but duty is basically your obligation that you place on yourself as what you owe to society by your standards.  Duty is part of a person's personal code of honor and integrity.  Words that you don't see much of anymore.  People do " what feels good", not thinking that they are doing is contributing to the decline of Western Civilization.  Loyalty is another word that is not used anymore except to yourself.  People nowadays are taught by the decline of societal norms that  it is OK to "let it all hang out" where in the past such behavior is frowned upon.  If you did something that was frowned upon by society, you got the message pretty fast, this contributed to a code of conduct or behavior that was expected of all gentlemen.  Now it is OK to be a thug.  Again this is by design, if a society cannot remember its past or the moral upbringing, than they will accept anything that the statist put out there.

"All societies are based on rules to protect pregnant women and young children. All else is surplus age, excrescence, adornment, luxury or folly which can--and must--be dumped in emergency to preserve this prime function. As racial survival is the only universal morality, no other basic is possible. Attempts to formulate a “perfect society” on any foundation other than “women and children first!” is not only witless, it is automatically genocidal. Nevertheless, starry-eyed idealists (all of them male) have tried endlessly--and no doubt will keep on trying"

     Another quote from Lazarus,   It does harken back to the Victorian age of "Women and Children First".  Because in that time, they knew that it was the job of all men of virtue to ensure that the women and children survived, it was a way to guarantee their culture.  It also taught a person to put the needs of the society above his needs.  I always liked the phrase that the veteran at one time handed the government a blank check that would include payment including life if necessary.  people that are willing to out the needs of the country above their own are a rare breed,
     I remembered when I was in North Georgia College, the Military college along with VMI, the Citadel, and Norwich.  There was a painting on the wall that discussed  the rules of Gentlemen.  

    
1. Be gentle to the fairer sex, it's in the name.
2. Dress well no matter the occasion.
3. Pride is dangerous, be careful.
4. Be humble, be grateful
5. Opening the door or giving up a seat for a lady isn't up
for discussion.
6. Work hard, that is if you want to own anything worth having
7. Starting / instigating a fight is for school boys, but men obtain the power to end one.
8. Ignorance isn't bliss, knowledge is power.
9. Suit up (make sure they're tailored to fit)
10. Confidence is a gentleman's trademark.
11. Comfort zones are for the weak, men aren't weak.
12. Foul language is for the less educated. Make eye contact and mean business. 
13. Make Eye contact and mean business.
14. Lower your standards for no one.
15. Being romantic doesn't make you a woman.
16. Stay groomed.
17. Admit when you're wrong
18. Always make the first move, you're the MAN
19. Handwritten "Thank you" cards aren't outdated. Use them.
20. Chivalry is not dead, there are just too many boys.
21. It is said you can tell a lot about a man through his handshake, so make it strong and firm.
22. Leave her breathless
23. Judge no one, just improve yourself.
24. Speak your mind, don't hesitate.
25. Offer your arm to a lady while walking, they'll feel secure.
26. You're the man, you pay.
27. Women love compliments, gentlemen provide them.
28. Never wear your hat indoors, it's disrespectful.
29. Make sure everyone has their plate before you start eating.
30. We don't always have to be the center of attention, but we are always noticed. It is our      signature   as gentlemen to come, make a statement, leave, and be remembered.
31.  Never discuss the virtues of your women with other gentleman, it is crass and beneath you.

  A gentleman is a successor of the knights that were sworn to defend the weak against injustice , this was a noble endeavor, it showed what it took to be the best of us, what made us more than mammals interested in the here and now.  A Knight was supposed to represent the best of their society by words and deeds.

   I don't know what will it take to bring back the old norms, it will take generations to undue the damage done to Western civilization by the Marxist and their fellow travelers.  I don't know if we as a society have the mental fortitude to make the proper call.  I almost think of the 40 years in the desert like the Israelite did after leaving Egypt until all that remembered the bondage was no longer there and the ones that were there grew up in freedom and adversity.
 

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Yosemite Sam...."Say yer prayers, varmint!"

I decided to continue with my cartoons..Which I do like....I have been called an overgrown kid.....And that ain't a bad thing.  Well I decided to go with "Sam",   I remember seeing "Sam" a bunch of times on the mudflap of trucks.
        Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park. Along with Elmer Fudd, he is the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He is commonly depicted as an extremely aggressive gunslinging prospector, outlaw, pirate, or cowboy with a hair-trigger temper and an intense hatred of rabbits, Bugs particularly. In cartoons with non-Western themes, he uses various aliases, including "Chilkoot Sam" (named for the Chilkoot Trail; Sam pronounces it "Chilli-koot") in 14 Carrot Rabbit (although in the same cartoon, when he tries to gain Bugs Bunny's trust, he cleverly invents alias "Square-deal Sam"), "Riff Raff Sam" in Sahara Hare, "Sam Schultz" in Big House Bunny, "Seagoin' Sam" in Buccaneer Bunny, "Shanghai Sam" in Mutiny on the Bunny, and "Sam Von Schamm the Hessian" in Bunker Hill Bunny and many others. During the Golden Age of American animation, Yosemite Sam appeared in 33 shorts.


Animator Friz Freleng introduced the character in the 1945 cartoon Hare Trigger. With his fiery, irascible temper, short stature (in two early gags in Hare Trigger, a train he is attempting to rob passes right over top of him and he has to use a set of portable stairs to get on his horse; in Bugs Bunny Rides Again, he rides a miniature horse), and fiery red hair, Sam was in some ways an alter-ego of Freleng. The animator often denied any intentional resemblance. However, in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, surviving members of his production crew assert, and the late director's daughter acknowledges, that Sam definitely was inspired by Freleng. Other influences were the Red Skelton character Sheriff Deadeye and the Tex Avery cartoon "Dangerous Dan McFoo". When he does a "slow burn" and cries "Oooooh!" he borrows a bit from such comedic character actors as Jimmy Finlayson (a frequent foil to Laurel and Hardy) and Frank Nelson (one of Mel Blanc's costars on The Jack Benny Program). Freleng also cited the Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang, a character in the Toonerville Trolley comic strip, as an influence. In his memoir Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist, Chuck Jones says that a great-uncle who occasionally visited his family was a retired Texas Ranger who was short, had red hair, a large mustache, and a hair-trigger temper (but no beard, unlike Sam). Mike Maltese originally considered calling the character Texas Tiny, Wyoming Willie, or Denver Dan, but then settled on the final name.
A running gag in the show is that sometimes Yosemite Sam tells Bugs "Open up this door open it up now!" and Bugs opens it when Yosemite Sam is in its way of opening and then closes it leaving a raging Yosemite Sam flattened.
Other characters with Sam-like features appear in several Looney Tunes shorts. The Bugs Bunny entry Super-Rabbit (1943) features the cowboy character "Cottontail Smith", who sounds a lot like Sam. Stage Door Cartoon (1944), another Bugs Bunny offering, features a southern sheriff character that sounds very much like Sam, except for a more defined southern stereotype to his voice. In a Daffy Duck cartoon called Along Came Daffy (1947), Daffy has to contend with two Yosemite Sams, one with Sam's red hair and one with black hair. Finally, Pancho's Hideaway (1964) features a Mexican villain who is designed much like Sam but has a different accent. In addition, in the 1949, Chuck Jones-directed cartoon Mississippi Hare, Bugs Bunny battles with an old, pistol-toting gambler called Colonel Shuffle, one whose role could have easily been portrayed by Sam. (The Colonel reappears in "Dog Gone South", this time pitted against Charlie Dog, and accompanied by a bulldog named Belvedere, who resembles Hector the Bulldog).
Freleng created Yosemite Sam to be a more worthy adversary for Bugs Bunny. Until then, Bugs' major foe had been Elmer Fudd, a man so mild-mannered and dim-witted that Freleng thought Bugs actually came off as a bully by duping him. Sam, on the other hand, was extremely violent and belligerent, not at all a pushover like Fudd. Freleng compacted into a tiny body and 11-gallon hat the largest voice and the largest ego "north, south, east, aaaaand west of the Pecos".

For over 19 years, except for one cartoon (Hare-Abian Nights in 1959) Freleng's unit had exclusive usage of Sam at the Warner studio. Though officially a cowboy, Freleng put Sam in a different costume in almost every film: a knight, a Roman legionary, a pirate, a royal cook, a prison guard, a duke (Duke of Yosemite, no less), a Confederate soldier, a mountain climber (climbing the 'Shmadderhorn' mountain in Switzerland), a hen-pecked househusband and even a space alien. The humor of the cartoons inevitably springs from the odd miscasting of the hot-tempered cowboy. However, some countries seem to prefer his pirate incarnation, as "Sam the pirate" is his official name in France and a frequent alternative name in Italy.
While Sam's basic character is that of a cowboy, he wears a black Domino mask (or actually, just a wide black outline on the outer sides of his eyes) to show that he's an outlaw. This is so associated with his persona that he wears the mask even when dressed as a duke, a riff, a pirate, or a Viking.

Sam is significantly tougher and more aggressive than Elmer Fudd when challenging Bugs Bunny. He is also quicker to learn from his mistakes, and never falls for the same ploy twice. But despite Sam's bluster, he doesn't prove much brighter than Elmer in his encounters with Bugs. His noise contrasts to the calmly cocky rabbit. Sam's own cockiness gets the best of him; Bugs can see he is incapable of turning down a challenge. Every time Bugs dares Sam to "step across that line", he can't help but do so, even if he steps off into empty space or down a mine shaft. In Wild and Woolly Hare Sam and Bugs play "Chicken" in two locomotives going toward one another-Sam doesn't crash into Bugs but still ends up losing. In the classic Knighty Knight Bugs Sam is a black knight with a fire breathing dragon.
While unscrupulous and ornery himself, Sam consistently displays an odd respect for religious conventions. Whenever he is preparing to shoot Bugs, he tells the "varmint," "Now say your prayers!", allowing Bugs enough time to foil his intentions.

Yosemite Sam is one of Bugs' toughest antagonists. Yosemite Sam is a character more violent than Bugs' most famous antagonist Elmer Fudd given that Sam has a tougher accent, a higher fierce voice, and a more violent spirit. Yosemite Sam has had several occupations in his life that Bugs has gotten in the way of. Among his occupations are:
  • Prison Guard: In Big House Bunny, Yosemite Sam arrests and imprisons Bugs for a false accusation (escaping prison) and gives him 99 years in jail. However, he gets infuriated and lets Bugs out of prison after Bugs annoys him including briefly getting Sam beaten up and locked up in jail himself. However when letting Bugs out, he is jailed by the Warden (who gets infuriated with the antics that causes Bugs to get Yosemite Sam in trouble with him) for Bugs' doings and for letting a prisoner (Bugs) escape. Yosemite Sam then vows to get even with the stool pigeon who squealed on him. It then cuts to Bugs on a stool making the sounds of a pigeon.
  • Pirate: In Captain Hareblower, Yosemite Sam is a pirate captain who is able to intimidate and scare sailors and other pirates. Captain Sam encounters a trading ship led by Bugs Bunny and decides to take it for himself. With all of Bugs' fellow sailors too cowardly to face Sam and drowned in the ocean; Bugs challenges Sam to a fight. Captain Sam and Bugs Bunny battle each other's ships with Bugs on the verge of winning. The battle ends up with Sam being forced to abandon ship to escape an inevitable explosion on his own pirate ship. Captain Yosemite Sam then triumphs over Bugs by lighting Bugs' gunpowder room into exploding and escaping by himself, but not before giving a warning for Bugs to leave (an order Bugs Bunny does not follow).
  • Riff-Raffer/Cowboy: In Sahara Hare, Yosemite Sam is a proud intimidating North African version of a cowboy; a Riff-Raffer who owns the Sahara Desert. When Bugs ends up in the desert when trying to find Miami Beach, he sees Bugs trespassing and chases Bugs into a deserted castle. Yosemite Sam sees Bugs using the castle for protection and tries several unsuccessful attempts at breaking into the castle; eventually ending with Bugs escaping after causing a booby trap that Sam falls for; an armed bomb coated door that will explode if Sam opens the door to the castle.
  • Guard Captain: In Roman Legion-Hare, Yosemite Sam is the captain of the Roman Imperial Guard, and he is ordered by Grand Emperor Nero to find a victim for the lions at once... or else he will be their prey. He then heads out to look for a victim with a small band of Imperial Guards when Bugs shows up. When asked if it was a convention of the legion, Sam replies he is looking for victims to feed the lions... and is shocked to learn that no other victims - save Bugs - are present. He then chases the crafty cottontail into the Colosseum, where the lions await. Try as he might to keep the big cats quiet, they always tear his golden armor to shreds or ruffle the fuzz on his helm. And when he presents Bugs to Nero, the lions surge directly toward them, leaving Bugs unscathed.
  • Viking: In Prince Varmint, Sam is a Viking grunt who attempts to raid the archduchy castle, which happens to be under Bugs Bunny's protection. Bugs teasingly tells him that it's too early for Halloween and then kicks him out of the castle. He even hires an Indian Elephant to first ram what Sam thinks to be a door, but it's really a painting imitating a door, so the elephant is reduced to the shape of an accordion - before smashing his master into the same shape. Next. the elephant tries to demolish the castle walls with large boulders, but Bugs still remains persistent in defending the castle by sprinkling pepper over the elephant, which causes the pachyderm to sneeze and launch a bolder into Sam. Next, he suggests attacking the castle from the rear, but Bugs (defensive as always) cleverly places a champagne cork in the elephants trunk, leading Sam to permanently evict the elephant: "AND DON'T COME BACK!!!!!" His attempts to raid the castle are cut short when the same elephant joins Bugs in kicking him out of the kingdom for good.
  • Indian Chief: In Horse Hare, Yosemite Sam is the chief of an Indian tribe during the Indian-American wars in 1866. One day Yosemite Sam sees a USA fort and decides to steal it for his tribe. He sees that Sergeant Bugs Bunny is guarding the fort and challenges him to war. Chief Sam has his men attack through various means such as launching himself into the fort, firing guns, etcetera but Sam is put on probation when he is accused of firing at one of his soldiers (It was actually Bugs). Eventually the USA cavalry return and help Bugs defeat Sam and his army of Indians.
  • Legendary Mountain Climber: A legendary mountain climber in Piker's Peak, Sam hears of a contest where whoever hikes up and reaches the deadly highest mountain in the world, will receive money equaled to trillions of dollars in today's money; 50,000 Cronkites (named after legendary TV host Walter Cronkite). Yosemite Sam takes the contest and decides to climb up the mountain which is based on Pike's Peak. However when he reaches base-camp at thousands of feet, he encounters Bugs Bunny who hears about the contest. With both of them wanting the prize, Yosemite Sam then must race and defeat Bugs along the way up to Piker's Peak to get the money.
  • Cowboy: In Wild and Woolly Hare, Yosemite Sam is a legendary cowboy gangster who dominates much of the wild west through intimidation. One day he comes to take over a cafe in an old western town and is insulted by Bugs Bunny. Angered by the insult, Yosemite Sam challenges Bugs Bunny to a fight to the death. With Bugs on the verge of winning through trickery and deception, Yosemite Sam decides to try one last time to intimidate the town; to rob a train. But Bugs Bunny hijacks the train to save it. Yosemite Sam tries to follow it by horse and orders Bugs to get off by the time he counts to a specific number. However just before he reaches his final number he always runs into something such as a telephone pole, a tunnel wall and falling off a bridge. A frustrated Yosemite Sam tries to get on another train and force Bugs to surrender by preparing to ram head-on into Bugs' train. However Bugs foils him by switching the railroad tracks causing Sam's train engine to crash hundreds of feet, into a gorge's river.
  • Alien: In Lighter Than Hare, Yosemite Sam of Outer Space is an alien from a foreign planet. Inside a flying saucer spaceship, Yosemite Sam reveals his mission to find an earth creature to take back to his planet for uses such as slaves, producing on their planet Etcetera. Yosemite Sam detects Bugs Bunny and has his armies of robots to attack Bugs' hideout. After a long struggle Yosemite Sam's armies of robots are blown to pieces. Finally, an exasperated Yosemite Sam uses an incinerating laser cannon to threaten Bugs into surrendering and boarding his space ship. Yosemite Sam then flies out of earth to his planet, unaware that he has actually captured a decoy of Bugs filled with bombs. When Yosemite Sam presents the dummy to his leader, the bombs explode.
  • Sailor: In Rabbitson Crusoe, Yosemite Sam is a sailor whose boat has sank in a thunderstorm in the Pacific Ocean and lives as a castaway. Yosemite Sam jumps across rocks to a deserted island and spends there for many years but being targeted for a meal by a shark named Dopey Dick. After some time, Yosemite Sam grows tired of eating coconuts and finds Bugs Bunny. He decides to cook up Bugs for dinner. After a long battle, eventually the island is reclaimed by the seas and Yosemite Sam ends up being chased by Dopey Dick. Yosemite Sam is then forced to make a deal with Bugs where Bugs will not let Dopey Dick eat Sam and take Yosemite in his boat (the cooking pot) back to civilization....but only if Yosemite Sam is the one that does all the work in paddling 2,736 miles to San Francisco California USA.
  • Chef: In Shishkabugs, Yosemite Sam has one of his rare performances where his goal is not for evil purposes and where he is not the aggressor. In this episode, Sam is a very kind, generous chef for a very rude spoiled king who has Sam enslaved through blackmail. One day, Sam makes the king a usual buffet only for the King to rudely kick it away and demand something new. That something new is Hasenpfeffer whose base is cooked rabbit. Sam captures Bugs and puts Bugs in the meal, but Bugs outsmarts Sam twice and the King blames it all on Sam. Eventually, the King loses his patience and has guards arrest Sam and installs Bugs as his new chef. The King claims to have set up Sam's death. But since Sam is seen alive in more episodes, it is presumed that either he was found not guilty by the kingdom court, the citizens demanded Sam's release, or Sam escaped.
  • Knight: In Knighty Knight Bugs, Sam is the Black Knight and has stolen the Singing Sword. King Arthur hires court jester Bugs Bunny to retrieve the sword. After retrieving it, Bugs escapes Sam and manages to lock Sam out of his castle. Sam attempts to break back in, but each attempt backfires. Eventually, Bugs leads Sam and his fire-breathing dragon into the dynamite storage facility. The dragon sneezes, blowing the two of them to the moon.
  • In all Sam episodes, even though he is disguised in different outfits, the red moustache and beard, his short stature, and voice remains the same. It is an exaggerated Western accent (except for Pancho's Hideaway, which is a Mexican one, and isn't really even Sam, but very well could be), and many of the things he says return from each previous Sam cartoon. Here are some of the most common, or as Sam would say, the common'nest:
  • "I'm givin' ya one last chance ta surrenda!"
    "Shaaaad up!"
    "Say yer prayers, varmint!"
    "Great horni-todes (horny-toads). I'm (or I've)..."
    "I'm a gonna blow ya ta smithereens (smithereenies)!"
    "...or I'll blow ya ta Kingdom Come."
    "Charge!"
    "I'm the roughest, toughest, root'nest, toot'nest, fastest gun-slinger west of the Pecos!"
    "...or else my name ain't...(name within episode)"
    In response to Bugs' "Dem's fight'n words," "Yeah, dem's fight'n words."
    "Start walkin', varmint."
    "Clear out, ya lily-livers."
    "Ah hates rabbits."
    "Whoa, mule, whoa!" (or camel, plane, etc - whichever animal or vehicle he is attempting to control). Usually followed by "When I say whoa, I mean whoa!", and an assault on the mount/vehicle to force it to stop.

    Yosemite Sam made appearances in several television specials in the 1970s and 1980s, and in three of the Looney Tunes feature-film compilations.
    Sam was the star of his own comic book series from 1970 to 1984, for a total of 81 issues. Published by Gold Key / Whitman Comics, the official title of the series was Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny.


    Sam makes a cameo appearance in Disney/Amblin's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, complete with his "britches" on fire.
    Yosemite Sam was one of the classic Looney Tunes characters who appeared as faculty members of Acme Looniversity in the 1990s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures. Sam was shown teaching classes in Firearms and Anvilology (the study of falling anvils, a staple joke in the Looney Tunes genre), and was sometimes portrayed as the school principal (though at least one episode identified Bugs Bunny as the principal, and Wile E. Coyote was Dean of Acme Loo). As with all the main Looney Tunes characters, Sam had a student counterpart at Acme Loo in Montana Max. In "K-Acme TV," Yosemite Sam was seen as the judge of "Toon Court" (a parody of The People's Court) where he proceeded over a trial where Calamity Coyote issues a complaint against the ACME Corporation for negligence and faulty workmanship. The ACME Corporation's representative Bobbo ACME claims that the devices made by the ACME Corporation work if they are used right as he demonstrates the catapult on Calamity Coyote. Judge Yosemite Sam finds in favor of the ACME Corporation. In the same episode, Yosemite Sam appeared as a prospector in a documentary detailing about the sightings of a furry creature called Bigbutt (a spoof of Bigfoot).

    Yosemite Sam also appeared along with Bugs Bunny in a number of Mirinda commercials in early 90s, most probably due to direct competition to Fanta, being advertised with Disney Characters at that time.
    He also appears in the movie Space Jam as a player for the Tune Squad. In a memorable scene, he and Elmer Fudd shoot off the teeth of one of the Monstars while clad in Pulp Fiction-esque attire, complete with Dick Dale's Misirlou playing. In an earlier scene, when the Nerdlucks hold all the toons hostage, Sam sneaks up on the Nerdlucks, pointing his pistols at them, and orders them to release all the toons, only to have the Nerdlucks fire a laser pistol back at him, which leaves Sam naked and beardless as the phasers burned off his mustache.
    Sam also appeared in The Warners 65th Anniversary Special and two episodes of 1995's The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries.
    In the 2003 movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Yosemite Sam is a bounty hunter employed by the Acme Corporation who was hired to finish off DJ Drake and Daffy Duck. In this film, he owns a casino in Las Vegas, which he calls Yosemite Sam's Wooden Nickel, and is accompanied by Nasty Canasta and Cottontail Smith (who may be originally employed as his security guards) (from Super Rabbit). He goes as far as betting a large sack of money to get the card, stealing Jeff Gordon's car, and even using a stick of Dynamite to beat DJ and Daffy. Though putting up a good chase, in the end, his car crashes into the wall of his own casino while the spy car flies above it. He get launched in a pitch black room full of Dynamite, and he lights all of them when he tries to look around with a match. He is last seen in the Acme building trying to cover his failure on DJ, Dusty Tails, and Daffy, though his boss couldn't even understand what he's saying.
    A younger version of Sam had appeared in Baby Looney Tunes, in songs. In one episode, Bugs dresses up as Baby Sam for Halloween.
    Sam also plays the role of alien occasional guest villain K'chutha Sa'am (a parody of the Klingons, and right in line with Sam's aggressive personality) on the Duck Dodgers animated series.
    He also appears in the video games Loons: The Fight for Fame, Taz: Wanted, Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2, Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3, The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout, Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage, Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble, Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time, Bugs Bunny and Taz: Time Busters, Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf, Looney Tunes B-Ball, Daffy Duck in Hollywood and Loony Tunes: Back in Action the video game.
    In Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal, Yosemite Sam makes an appearance riding a railway cart on the Wild West level.
    Yosemite Sam appears in multiples episodes of The Looney Tunes Show, voiced by Maurice LaMarche. He first appeared in the show in two Merrie Melodies segments called "Blow My Stack", and "Moostache". Yosemite Sam is one of Bugs and Daffy's neighbors. In the episode "Daffy Duck, Esq.", it's revealed that his full name is Samuel Rosenbaum. In "Ridiculous Journey", it is revealed that Yosemite Sam has a cousin in Blacque Jacque Shellacque who Yosemite Sam enlisted to recover Sylvester, Tweety, and Tasmanian Devil after they were accidentally shipped to Alaska. It was through Yosemite Sam that Bugs Bunny and Granny enlisted Blacque Jacque Shellacque's help.
    Yosemite Sam made two cameo appearances in a MetLife commercial in 2012. In one of the ads, a producer knocked on Yosemite Sam's trailer and he thought there were "varmints" bothering him and he took down and shot some fur coats of animals with rage. Even though he would shot some animals with rage, his temper calmed and revived the animals with puppies.
    Yosemite is also nose art on the WWII F4U corsair Skyboss at the American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport in Farmingdale,NY
    Yosemite's F4U Corsair


     


Monday, October 27, 2014

Monday Music "The Highwayman"

On Todays "Monday Music" I am continuing with Johnny Cash, but a change up, Johnny Cash in the 80's joined with 3 other really big names in country music.  I was big into my 2nd British invasion music, the "New Wave" as it was called.  But I remembered hearing this song on my dads radio in his car and I remembered the song because it was so different, and the people who sang it , each had very distinctive voices and it played well with each other.

The Highwaymen were a Country music supergroup composed of four of the genre's biggest artists well known for their pioneering influence on the outlaw country subgenre: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Active between 1985 and 1995, these four artists recorded three major label albums as The Highwaymen: two on Columbia Records and one for Liberty Records. Their Columbia works produced three chart singles, including the Number One "Highwayman" in 1985.
While not credited as The Highwaymen, between the years of 1997 and 1999, Nelson, Kristofferson, Cash, and Jennings also provided the voice and dramatization for the Louis L'Amour Collection, a four CD box set of seven Louis L'Amour stories published by the HighBridge Company.
Besides the 4 members, only one recording vocal artist ever appeared on a Highwaymen recording: Johnny Rodriguez (Spanish vocal on 'Deportee', a Woody Guthrie cover, from "Highwayman").

"Highwayman" is a song written by American songwriter Jimmy Webb, about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history, a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and finally as a starship captain.



Webb wrote the song while in a London hotel suite. His suite included a piano, and after he woke up from a dream about being an English highwayman, he went to the piano and started writing the song.
"I had a black cape and pistols, and I was definitely a bandit. A highwayman, as it were. I was being chased within an inch of my life by these grenadiers on horseback, and I knew for a fact that if they caught me, they were going to kill me."
 
— Jimmy Webb, on the song: "The Highwayman".
Webb's lyrics allude to the life of hanged highwayman Jonathan Wild, the "sailer's graveyard" near Cape Horn,

and the deaths of over 100 men during the Hoover Dam construction near Boulder City, Nevada.

He first recorded it for his 1977 album El Mirage, released that May.

Webb then brought the song to Glen Campbell, who recorded it in 1978. But his record label, Capitol Records, wanted him to go in a different direction and record music like the group The Knack.Campbell wanted to release the song as a single, but Capitol refused. After recording 30 albums for the only record label he had worked with since 1962, Campbell got up and left the main studios of Capitol, never to return. Although he would record three more albums with Capitol, the relationship was at an end. After disagreeing with the label, he released the song on his 1979 album Highwayman, released in October.

Campbell then played the song for Johnny Cash. Webb brought the song to Waylon Jennings in about 1981, but Jennings, having heard the Campbell version, said "I just couldn't see it then". Cash, Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson were all together in Switzerland doing a television special and decided that they should do a project together.In 1984, while the four were recording, Marty Stuart again played the song for Johnny Cash, saying that it would be perfect for them, four verses, four souls, and four of them. Campbell then played the song to all four of them, and the quartet had the name for their new supergroup, The Highwaymen, the name of their first album, Highwayman, and the name of their first single. The four thought it was a perfect name for them because they were always on the road and all four had the image of being outlaws in country music. In their version of the song, each of the four verses was sung by a different singer: first Nelson, then Kristofferson, Jennings, and finally Cash. Their cover of the Webb song remains the most popular and widely known of The Highwaymen's songs, being their only song to reach number 1 ("Desperados Waiting for a Train" at number 15 is the next closest). The version by the quartet entered the Hot Country Songs Billboard chart on May 18, 1985, rose to number 1, and spent 20 weeks total on the chart. It finished 1985 as the number 5 country song of the year in terms of airplay.

The version by The Highwaymen earned songwriter Jimmy Webb a Grammy Award for 1985's "Best Country Song"

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sunday stuff.....

Sorry about not posting sooner, still busier than a democratic operative signing up voters at the latest Ferguson protest and dodging the Brown family feuding on the sale of merchandise celebrating the saint of Swisher Sweet short life after getting capped for slugging a cop.

     The shoot went well and from all indications, the Chicfila foundation was very happy with the range and how it was run. 
    




The BB range set up and ready

 Archery Range set up.

The Dads and Kids shooting...
The kids loved it, and the so did the Dads, Stuff like this makes me enjoy doing 
the range setup.  I had to run it a little different than a standard range, normally when I run a BB or an Archery Range, I have the groups there at one time...but with them straggling in I had to change up a bit on how I ran the range.  I still used the standard range commands but I grouped them in smaller groups to allow for turnovers of the firing positions...I use the 4 rules but I also tell then there is one rule that is more inportant than the 4 rules...I call it the "Rule Number 0"
 "What do you do when you see a real gun laying around somewhere...?"   I let them answer first to see if they have the answer.  Most of the time they don't so I tell them..."Who is that guy standing behind you?"...they would look behind them and see an adult..."My Dad...?"   I go "Yes....and?"   They think for a moment....then usually say "Go tell him?"  I go "YES  go find a grownup...that is what we are here for...to solve problems".  The parents like the fact that I stress that and the kids remember it.
Now here are the 4 rules that I use......
"1. Always keep the barrel pointed in the safe direction, this applies to all projectile instruments from BB's to Archery, to Pellets to .22's and shotguns that y'all will shoot when you are older to the big rifles your parents have in their gun safe in their closets."  I get a lot of smiles from the dads when I use that line.
2.  Any weapon you handle..make sure it is on SAFE."
3.  Never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot"
4." Always know what is behind your target"
I also use an example..." My Name is Bob, I am an asst Scoutmaster for my troop, I was a Webelo Den leader and one of my Weebs was using a Wrist Rocket(I hate those things) and was shooting at a target...well he missed and took out his Mom's plate glass window....He violated rule number 4...Know what is behind your target.   Last time I talked to his parents...he was still grounded."  The kids laugh at that one but it sticks......
  I then spent Saturday with the scouts building a Trebuchet for the fall campout.  We started it
The boys had a good time.  We will continue construction here and there until it is done.
   We then took them to the Scouting base 1.5 hours away to walk the ramped up haunted trail set up for boy scouts.   Needless to say...I was tired.



Thursday, October 23, 2014

Stuff and more stuff....

I am busier than a democratic operative busing illegals to a polling place.....I got asked to set up a "cub scout" aged BB and Archery range for Chic-fil-a doing a "father and son" event at a place called "Nash Farms".  So I will be setting up a range to run for 4 hours.  I went by the district storage and grabbed the range stuff that I had squirreled away since cub day camp. 
     Here I am loaded up from the storage.  My friend was giving me grief telling me that "You need a larger truck".  I suppose I do, but the Ranger still gets the job done.  Although I will start looking out for an older truck preferably a Ford. 
     While I was at work, I went into our "Free Issue" area where we can get some stuff and order parts,, we call it a "Yellow House",    Back when Delta was a "crop dusting" service in Monroe LA, they would get parts for the airplanes from a "Yellow House", Well time has changed, but the places where we get parts still is called " the Yellow house" even though it is a room inside the hanger.  Well I was walking through a different "yellow house" farther away than the normal one I usually use and I looked on the shelf and saw this,,,
   I figured that is what the flight staff use to keep themselves amused.
    Also when I was making use of the facilities as they say....I saw this....
  I figured a lawyer was behind that label,  They had it in both English and Spanish.... I guess somebody must have drank the cleaner and the results didn't work well the the drinkee.  Jeez.....lawyers.......That label to me shows the death of common sense here in America.  I look at it as "Social Darwinism".  If you stupid enough to drink cleaner....perhaps you shouldn't be in the gene pool.....

Monday, October 20, 2014

Monday Music " I walk the line" by Johnny Cash

Last week I went with a song from the 90's, well this time I decided to roll with a song from the 60's.  I always liked Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black",
My dad was a big fan of Johnny Cash, he always was playing the albums, so I remember quite a few of the songs, My dad loved the "Folsom Prison Blues"  and San Quentin.  Both were real good albums.  He would play Cash's songs along with Elvis Presley.  I grew to like the songs my Dad liked and that is the joys of being a "Daddy", you get to inflict your taste on your kid.  My son sings to my "80's" songs that I like to listen to.  One day he will do the same thing I did, inflict his taste on his kid...in the fullness of time....I don't want to be a grand-dad too soon.  Harry getting married and having a kid in his late 20's would be good.



"I Walk the Line" is a song written by Johnny Cash and recorded in 1956. After three attempts with moderate chart ratings, "I Walk the Line" became the first number one Billboard hit for Cash. The single remained on the record charts for over 43 weeks, and sold over 2 million copies.


The unique chord progression for the song was inspired by backwards playback of guitar runs on Cash's tape recorder while he was in the Air Force stationed in Germany. Later in a telephone interview, Cash stated, “I wrote the song backstage one night in 1956 in Gladewater, Texas. I was newly married at the time, and I suppose I was laying out my pledge of devotion." After the writing of the song Cash had a discussion with fellow performer Carl Perkins who encouraged him to adopt "I Walk the Line" as the song title. Cash originally intended the song as a slow ballad, but producer Sam Phillips preferred a faster arrangement, which Cash grew to like as the uptempo recording met with success.
" Live at San Quentin"
Once while performing the song on his TV show, Cash told the audience, with a smile, "People ask me why I always hum whenever I sing this song. It's to get my pitch." The humming was necessary since the song required Cash to change keys several times while singing it.
The song was originally recorded at Sun Studio on April 2, 1956, and was released on May 1. It spent six weeks at the top spot on the U.S. country Juke Box charts that summer, one week on the C&W Jockey charts and number two on the C&W Best Seller charts. "I Walk the Line" crossed over and reached number 19 on the pop music charts.
It was performed with the help of Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins, two mechanics that his brother introduced him to following his discharge from the Air Force. Cash and his wife, Vivian, were living in Memphis, Tennessee, at the time. Cash became the front man for the group and precipitated the introduction of the group to Sam Phillips of Sun Records. In 1955 they began recording under the Sun label.
The song was re-recorded four times during Cash's career. In 1964 for the I Walk the Line album, again in 1969 for the At San Quentin album, in 1970 for the I Walk the Line soundtrack, and finally in 1988 for the Classic Cash: Hall of Fame Series album.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #30 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song is very simple and like most Cash songs, the lyrics tell more of a story than the music conveys. (You've got a way to keep me on your side/You give me cause for love that I can't hide/For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide).
It is based upon the "boom-chicka-boom" or "freight train" rhythm common in many of Cash's songs. In the original recording of the song, there is a key change between each of the five verses, and Cash hums the new root note before singing each verse. The final verse, a reprise of the first, is sung a full octave lower than the first verse. According to Cash, he loved the sound of a snare drum, but drums were not used in country music back then, so he placed a piece of paper in his guitar strings and created his own unique "snare drum"
      Johnny, with the Temptations outside his door and a new wife at home, wanted the lyrics to say, "I’m going to be true to those who believe in me and depend on me to myself and God. Something like I’m still being true, or I’m 'Walking The Line.' "The lyrics came as fast as I could write," says Johnny. "In 20 minutes, I had it finished."


Sunday, October 19, 2014

Came back from camping....again......I feel like Bill Murrey on "Groundhog Day"


    Before I do another rant......because I do those you know......I went camping again......I am tired, I worked the mess hall again...My son's troop had a sleepover at the scout hut so I left the mess hall and headed to the scout hut 1.5 hours away.  Sleeping on an air mattress does have its drawbacks let me tell you.  it worked better this time from last week, we actually had a scoutmaster that volunteered several members of his troop to do the KP stuff which made it easier.  My friend Louie and I showed up, and spent most of the day prepping food because they do breakfast, lunch,dinner and "Cracker Barrel".  Which basically is munchies like wings and cheese sticks.  I left around 5ish and rode the bike almost 1.5 hours back home to get my sleeping bag and other stuff.
     I am home now but I figured I would do a bit of a political post. as a continuation of my Friday musings....
     It seems that Dear Leader has appointed a "Ronald Klein" as the EBOLA Czar.    Hmmm According to the bio from several leftist newspapers....He is a chief of staff for V President Biden and was on the staff of Al "Global Warming" Gore....so basically our new Ebola Czar is a :
   Our "Dear Leader" has appointed a shameless hack as the czar.....he could have appointed somebody that has a clue of what Ebola is rather than what the New York times or some of the other state organs of the regime has pontificated about.    Is something about this disturbing....what makes it worse is that nobody is really bitching about it.  It is either 2 things....the people will blindly follow the words of "dear Leader" or that the people already know that he is full of crap like a Christmas  Winter Solstice goose.  This is a concern...this shows that there is a major disconnect and lack of trust in what the government says.   It could be from the information that is disseminated reported by the media doesn't track with the reality.

  After Summer of Recovery six; after the best unemployment statistics ever, which in fact aren’t, because no one is reporting on the fact our work force participation is smallest since women joined the work force in droves; after ISIS as a JV team; after Benghazi; after the IRS scandals, which even if not fully reported have made it through, like a trickle under the door, to pollute public trust; after Fast and Furious; after journalists joining in presidential debates AND LYING in favor of the administration; after the purposely inflated stock bubble; after global warming; after the press has finally reversed itself on the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (after spending years telling us Bush lied); after the secrecy and rumors about the current president’s past.  Many things are starting to leak out about the trust of lack of trust in the political forum.
     This is an issue, We expected the government to fudge a little but be accurate in the major issues, from weather to who our enemies are .  Now we have doubts on these issues also.  As far as weather goes, we have the "Climate Change" crowd using weather to bludgeon the political opponents of "Dear leader" and his policies and calling ISIS the "JV" team.  it has come out that he has missed 60% of his National Security briefings but has time for golfing.....wait he DID cancel one fundraiser because of the Ebola situation, the horror of the situation must be really bad for "Dear Leader" to cancel a fundraiser....well it ain't too bad.....he hasn't cancelled a golf outing.

   So what the heck is going on? I don’t know, and neither do you. The government won’t tell the truth and the press won’t report anything that hurts this government. (One reason to vote Republican is that while they can be just as corrupt and venal, the press doesn’t protect them.) And after this administration that’s reason enough. Though the fact the press outright lied about WMDs doesn’t help either way.
     I keep drawing a parallel from the way the media handled the Katrina situation to the way they are handling the Ebola problems and any other issues that seems to reflect poorly on "Dear Leader" and his political party.  If this doesn't scream lack of impartiality...I don't know what does....