No dirty talkin'. . .

. . .for Malkin. It seems she's actually conservative about things other than illegal immigration and terrorism. I find that rather admirable and refreshing. It's always struck me that many cultural conservatives struggle with consistency -- at least with regard to what they preach as it relates to how they live. I don't know much about Ms. Malkin's personal life -- in fact, I don't know anything about it. But, I assume from her column today that she frowns upon vulgarity and obscenity. And, until I find out otherwise, I applaud her for being a more upright citizen than I am. I've been known to work blue.

The only problem I have with Michelle on this matter is that she seems a tad more given to the vapors than your typical ante bellum debutante with regard to the First Lady's routine at the correspondent's dinner a few nights ago. The horse joke seems to have raised her dander more than anything else, and I don't quite understand why. Sure, the joke is risque. But, did it cross the line into tastelessness? I don't think so. That joke could have -- and probably has in one form or another -- appeared in any Jerry Clower routine.

I think labeling it a "horse masturbation joke" is more off-color than the joke itself. It's not as if Mrs. Bush drew a picture -- though Malkin certainly did. The joke itself could have been taken as completely innocent by a child who happened to be watching, noting the absurdity of someone attempting to milk a horse -- and a male one at that. But, had a child been watching with Michelle, he'd have had to wonder what was so offensive. At that point, it becomes Malkin who should do the explaining.

Just an observation. . .

. . .as I sit here listening to some tunes before heading into work. But, for a raging commie pinko, Tom Morello is one hell of a guitarist. And, make no mistake about it, the guy is a committed socialist -- but in the same sense that George Soros is. That is, I think it's much easier to decry corporate greed from atop a fat stack of cash.

I don't keep up with the break-ups and reformations of rock bands like I used to -- there was a time when I could recite the six degrees of separation between any guitarist in the world and Ronnie James Dio, but that was back in the day -- when Circus and Hit Parader magazines were the only things that kept me going from month to month. But, from what I understand, Rage Against the Machine are now completely defunct. It's often hard to tell, since it seems these days that a lot of musicians simply like to have their own side projects while maintaining the appearance of commitment to the the band that brought them to the dance.

But, it's all just as well if RATM never makes another record. I mean, how can you keep that name while cranking out radio-friendly platinum hits for the record companies? How can you write songs called "Guerilla Radio" knowing they're going to be played on Clear Channel? Is it possible to rage "against" the machine while being an integral part of the machine itself?

It's also ironic that Tom Morello's most recent involvement is a band called Audioslave. I can't knock the music. It's what I've been listening to as I write this blog entry. Very good stuff. But, don't you think the roadies and sound techs would be a little resentful on the road, working for a band called Audioslave? Don't you think at least one guy running cables and doing mic checks has said, "I gotcher audioslave right here"?

Speaking of which -- I need to get my ass to work. This internet connection ain't gonna pay for itself.

Another first. . .

. . .occurred in my life today. I was walking out of the kitchenette at work with my nearly perfect bowl of Cabana Boy chili when I ran into my boss -- the guy whose name is on the building -- as he was coming in for a lunch recess. He asked me to grab a sandwich for him at a shop just around the corner from the courthouse. So, I did that as quickly as I could, and came back to have my lunch. He decided to join me, so I asked him about the case he was trying today -- a $10,000,000 divorce.

After he wolfed down about half of the sandwich, he got up and said, "I need you to do me a favor. Take my car and fill it up. Here's the key, and let me get you my card. Be careful with the key -- you don't have to use any effort -- it does the work itself once you give it a little turn. Just run down to (area gas station), fill it up and bring me the receipt."

Five minutes after lunch, I was cruising down Kentucky Ave. in a Mercedes S500.

It's a little known fact. . .

. . .that the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth is over six times as hot as the surface of the sun, and that it was taken from the crust of a bagel that had just emerged from my toaster.

Here's a few links. . .

. . .that might be of interest. I'll be adding them to the respective blogrolls for future reference. The first is one that I've been meaning to post for quite some time, but have always had trouble relocating the URL until it finally dawned on me to Google the site's name.

Technically it's not a "blog," but Politics & Friends is more an off-site community for Ldotters looking for a place to chat among themselves, which is something that's not permitted on Lucianne.com itself. It's a fun bunch of people, many of whom have been posting at LCom for years. Way back when I was struggling to lose a considerable spare tire before my 15th-Year class reunion (which was cancelled due to the stroke of brilliance that led someone to schedule it for July 3rd), the folks at P & F provided me with a lot of support and some great ideas that helped me to lose what must have been 20 lbs. (I didn't use a scale -- I think they're discouraging.) There's really no limit on topics, except for the bounds of decency. Though, there is some ribaldry and occasional rakish humor. The point is that it's fun. Stop by and pay them a visit -- and tell 'em MFCB sent ya. Thanks guys!

UPDATE: Some have noted that the link to Politics & Friends leads to an ad. I should have pointed out before that this is Delphi's way of paying for bandwidth and storage costs. If you'll scroll down to the bottom of the ad, you'll notice a choice of links -- one of which is "No thank you." Clicking that will lead you straight into the forum. Sorry for the confusion. Now click it, would ya?

Next is a blog titled Homocon, which was kind enough to link to my most recent post on the latter day monomania of Andrew Sullivan. It seems it's not just the straight conservatives who find Andrew's laser-like focus on all things gay a bit tiresome. Homocon manages to cover a fairly broad spectrum of topics while being gay and conservative. Until recently, scientists thought this impossible and had completely abandoned the idea. But recent advances in perspective have produced a good deal of clear thinking among some segments of the gay right -- to which I say, "Welcome to the blogroll!" Or, as Andrew would say, "Gaygay gay gay, gay!"

Finally, Brad of Bradsblog was kind enough to stop by and give me a little praise, so it seems only fair that I should add him to my blogroll as well. I went over and checked it out. It's a lot like this blog in that it doesn't seem to cover anything in particular -- taking a scattershot approach. I've always found these types of blogs to be the most entertaining, which is why I take that approach myself. Brad does a nice job of it, and I hope you'll give him a click or five.

My ever-evolving recipe. . .

. . .for CabanaBoy's Chili just keeps getting better. I made a pot last night, which takes four to five hours to do properly. But, the time is very much worth it. I tried a bowl once it was finally done, and it was incredible. And, as is the case with all chili, it'll be even better after cooling and reheating.

I've changed a few things here and there, but the recipe I have linked is pretty close. I've added some baker's chocolate, which gives it a wonderfully rich flavor, and substituted one can of black beans for a can of the kidney beans. I'd intended to make a three-bean chili, but found out when I got home that I didn't have any pintos. So, it's only a two-bean chili, but it's still great.

I'm still experimenting in search of the perfect pot of chili. When I'm fully satisfied, I'll post the final recipe. In the meantime, the current recipe makes a fine pot for general consumption. And, the great thing about chili is that it's very forgiving of variations in ingredients and ratios. Any recipe is a foundation to be built upon. Mine started out as one that I snagged from AllRecipes.com, and I've added and substituted things over time to the point where it no longer resembles the original.

When my work is finally done, I will have produced "Cabana Boy's Signature Chili," which will make you rich and powerful, and all the girls at your high school reunion will wonder why they ever let you get away. You can still add, subtract, or substitute ingredients, but I can't guarantee any results with regard to wealth, power and envy if you should choose to do so.