#Roger Kimball

[streetcars101magazine]

Cool cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Spring Fest was a hit! Check out the vehicle photos

Cool cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Spring Fest was a hit! Check out the vehicle photos

[mllemaenad]

Not that you are by any means the worst offender in this regard, but it rubs me ghe wrong way how much leniency the NCR gets when it comes to considering the effects of their actions, and perhaps more importantly, their intentions.

Groups like Caesar's Legion, The Brotherhood of Steel, House's factions, The Unity, The Enclave, and The Institute are treated as villains if anyone is even indireehurt because of them.

If two human surface-dwellers kill each other in Diamond City, people blame the Institute.

If the White Legs emulate Twisted Hair cultural traditions without fully understanding them, Ulysses blames the Legion.

And yet... the NCR is treated by fans as well-intentioned and good-natured despite the harm they cause. The situation in Nipton was the fault of the NCR. Its corrupt Mayor was from the NCR. The Powder Gangers were only in the Mojave because the NCR moved them there.

Vulpes set up his lottery (not that I'm saying it was a perfect solution) to address a problem that had gotten out of hand, a problem downstream of the NCR... and yet most fan discussions blame the Legion for what happened in Nipton.

ThevNCR seems to get a pass because people see their goals as noble... but their goals are to recreate the exact conditions that caused the Great War!

We see the exact same phenomena in pre-war terminals as we do in contemporary NCR. A government more obsessed with maintaining its own power than solving problems, a corrupt justice system that favours the wealthy, an obsession with democracy that makes decisions slow and bureaucratic, and a rapacious desire for resources that leads to expansion and conflict eith other factions.

Why is Caesar condemned for his ego, and his shortsigtedness, but Kimball is not?

Why is Roger Maxon blamed for creating an organisation that has hurt people, but not Aradesh?

Why is Justin Ayo blamed for his secrecy and lack of trust, but not Colonel Moore?

It's a double-standard. Others are blamed for trying something new, the NCR gets carte blanch to repeat old mistakes!

Hi, anonymous person.

So ... I've read this, and I've read it again, and again after that and ... I'm a little puzzled about what's bothering you. The NCR is broadly attempting to feed, clothe and house hundreds of thousands of people ... and fans tend to give them a little more leeway when they fuck up than they do, say, the Enclave, which is a fascist organisation bent on global genocide and this is ... bad?

Honestly not really seeing the problem there.

I've barely written anything about the NCR, and certainly not in depth character profiles of the people you bring up, so I'm not completely sure why this is directed at me. If you're saying that there are fans who refuse to acknowledge that the NCR has flaws ... well, I haven't met those people, but if you look for an opinion on the internet you'll probably find it, so I'm not going to try to claim they don't exist. I've seen people claim women don't play Fallout, which is kind of a problem, from where I'm sitting. :)

But. Well, okay.

It's a double-standard. Others are blamed for trying something new, the NCR gets carte blanch to repeat old mistakes!

Nobody's trying anything new. That's kind of the point here. War never changes. Just to do the main antagonists ...

Richard Grey/The Master is just doing eugenics with a sci-fi twist. He's going to forcibly convert everyone who can be into a super mutant, and prevent any remaining humans from breeding. One of the ways to beat him is to tell him that his "master race" is sterile. It's a horrifying plan.

The Enclave are American fascists. They believe that only their people are truly human and that everyone else should literally die.

Edward Sallow/Caesar is ... I mean he's just cosplaying as Caius Julius Caesar because he thinks it looks cool. That's an actual human being who lived, and who quite famously got stabbed to death. More historical precedent than you could shake a gladius at. Sallow got over excited when he read Caesar's Commentaries and decided he wanted to be Caesar. Presenting "doing ancient Rome" as new is ... certainly something, and particularly hilarious as a plan for a civilisation given the decades long clusterfuck that was the fall of the Roman Republic, plus fun subsequent imperial followups like "the year of the four emperors".

The Institute has just reintroduced slavery, only this time let's 3D print the people instead of abducting them so literally no one will care what we do to them! They also lean into the idea that they are the only real people, although they are not quite as committed to this as the Enclave.

What's new and exciting here that I should be willing to give a try? They're all old ideas, and ideas that seem to involve a lot of genocide, enslavement and general misery for anybody who isn't part of a specific in group.

Vulpes set up his lottery (not that I'm saying it was a perfect solution) to address a problem that had gotten out of hand, a problem downstream of the NCR… and yet most fan discussions blame the Legion for what happened in Nipton.

I ... what? Yeah, I'm going to disappoint you here. The massacre at Nipton was the Legion's fault because they were the ones who walked in there and, you know, massacred people. Mayor Steyn was absolutely engaging in a round of "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" and if anybody tries to argue that he was competent I will dispute that wholeheartedly. But there was only a massacre because the Legion actively set one up.

There's political corruption in Nipton, but the problem of the Legion is that they think a lottery that decides who gets beheaded, who gets crucified and who gets sold into slavery is some sort of solution to that problem, rather than an atrocity. That's why they're still the bad karma choice, even if the NCR is kind of fucking things up.

Also ... ha. I promise you imitating ancient Rome is not going to solve your political corruption problems. I mean ... I know Vulpes Inculta makes his little speech, but Rome never did solve the problem of profiteering governors and corrupt politicians. This is not a problem that is going to miraculously disappear under Legion rule. And the idea of Rome somehow getting rid of prostitution is just ... Honestly, Caesar's Legion would be hilarious if you didn't have to have these conversations standing next to people dying on crosses.

If two human surface-dwellers kill each other in Diamond City, people blame the Institute.

... Diamond City is run by the Institute, under the synth-replacement of Mayor McDonough. The leadership actively plays up the paranoia in the city by refusing to investigate disappearances. The particular scene you are describing is paired with one that occurs in Goodneighbor, where the neighborhood watch is able to accurately identify a synth infiltrator – because they are not Institute run.

It's also a feature of gameplay that an inhabitant of one of your settlements may be a synth infiltrator and become hostile to the other settlers. So I'm pretty sure people are blaming the Institute for things they're doing.

If the White Legs emulate Twisted Hair cultural traditions without fully understanding them, Ulysses blames the Legion.

... The Legion massacred Ulysses' people. They enslaved some and crucified the rest along the roadside, like Spartacus's army of old. That's why he's the only one left who understands what the braids mean. His reaction is somewhat unfair to the White Legs, yes, who had no way of knowing what they were doing was wrong ... but I can't see why blaming the Legion would be a problem. They did, in fact, exterminate his people.

ThevNCR seems to get a pass because people see their goals as noble… but their goals are to recreate the exact conditions that caused the Great War!

There's a line I like, that Deacon says in Fallout 4.

I never really much cared for the Minutemen. The idea sounds great. But you give small men big power and sometimes you'll pay for it. –Fallout 4, Deacon Miscellaneous Dialogue

In the context of Fallout 4, the Minutemen are the scrappy underdogs you root for. They're helping to rebuild the shattered settlements of the Commonwealth and they're a potential source of resistance against the Institute. But if you talk to Preston, you get hints of the politics and infighting that brought them down the first time. There's no reason that couldn't happen again. They could become a controlling and exploitative organisation.

Do I think that means you shouldn't work with them? No, of course not. You deal with the situation in front of you. You try to support the people who aim to make life better for everyone.

If we roll back around to the Commonwealth in Fallout 8 or something (assuming I haven't died of old age by then) and the Minutemen have become a military dictatorship ruling the people with an iron fist ... well, we go deal with the fucking Minutemen then.

Deacon's right about the threat, but if you don't take the chance on trusting people, you never build anything.

It's a thing in Fallout. War never changes. There are some truly evil, terrible ideas that turn up again and again and need to be slapped down. But there is no perfect Utopia on the other side of it. There are just communities banding together to try and make it work. What stops them from going bad? Nothing. It can always happen. You make the best choices you can in every story, given what you have to work with.

Or you do an evil playthrough. Your choice. Not my business.

The NCR is supposed to hurt. Watching them fail is supposed to hurt. It's no good if it doesn't hurt. No one cries when you blow up the Enclave. That's a job well done. You can't say good things about them.

The point of the NCR is that you can. They have some runs on the board! Democracy! Agriculture! Education! You want them to make it work. And yeah, it lets you ask much more interesting questions like: how many fuck ups do we let slide?

We don't need the Enclave, or the Legion, to fuck up to know they're bad news. Their goals are bad. We want them gone. But with the NCR ... how much bad are we okay with, to keep the good?

You haven't given me any examples to work with, so I can't reasonably speak to what fans say. But I don't think the games give them any sort of uncritical pass. Fallout New Vegas is ... absolutely about the problems of colonialism and aggressive expansionism. It's very clear that the NCR has not made good choices recently. The game gives you a lot of room to figure out what you want to do about that, and no answer is perfect.

It's only with regard to the Legion specifically that it's an obviously moral choice – and they level the playing field for you there. Both the Legion and the NCR have imperial pretensions, and those are not good. But since that specific thing is the same, well, we're supporting the people who aren't implementing mass slavery and treating women as "breeding stock", right?

If there are people who won't admit flaws in the NCR, well, yeah, I'd call them wrong. But I don't really think it's a double standard to favour a group that doesn't have "wouldn't it be great if we murdered everybody" as a core philosophy over one that does.

[rvb-relationship-royale]

RVB Relationship Royale, Tournament 2- Friendship Fray

I'm alive, folks! I've finally finished rounding up all the ships, filling out the extra spaces in the bracket, and randomly generating the first round of matchups. As we have a total of 64 matches in round one, I plan to make it easy on myself and post 8 polls each Saturday and Sunday, starting this weekend.

With all that said, the matchups are listed below the cut!

Delta & Theta vs. Andersmith & Caboose

Doc & Wash vs Lopez & O'Malley

Wash & Simmons vs. Red Team

Donut & Wash vs. Carolina & Simmons

Tucker & Wash vs. 479er & Wash

Tex & York & North vs. Grif & Simmons & Donut

Tex & York vs. York & Illinois

Tucker & Junior vs. Grif & Bitters

Caboose & Loco vs. North & Carolina

Doc & O'Malley vs. Wash & Dr. Grey

Wyoming & Florida vs. Simmons & Caboose

Grif & Sarge vs. Doc & Donut & O'Malley

Doc & Lopez vs. Freckles & Caboose

Doyle & Dr. Grey vs. Carolina & Locus

Kai & Tucker vs. Gamma & Wyoming

Doc & Meta vs. Bitters & Matthews

Jax & Sarge vs. Epsilon & Carolina

Florida & V.I.C. vs. Locus & Siris

Church & Donut vs. York & Delta

Grif & Carolina vs. Donut & Tucker

Alpha & Wash vs. Kimball & Tucker

Andy & Crunchbite vs. Carolina & 479er

Grif & Locus vs. Kimball & Felix

Carolina & Donut vs. Delta & Alpha

Doc & Grif vs. Sarge & Lopez

Simmons & Lopez vs. Maine & Carolina

North & South vs. Church & Simmons

C.T. & Wash vs. V.I.C. & Red Zealot

Sarge & Wash vs. South & C.T.

Church & Tucker vs. Donut & Lopez

Simmons & Donut vs. Sarge & Caboose

Wyoming & Maine vs. Kai & Tex

Caboose & Andy vs. Kai & Doc

Caboose & Donut vs. Tex & Sheila

Locus & Sirius & Felix vs. Wash & Caboose & Tucker

FILSS & Carolina vs. Donut & Sarge

Tex & Donut vs. Grif & Tucker

York & Wash vs. Sarge & Surge

Murphy & Jenkins vs. Church & Sheila

Locus & Felix vs. Kai & Simmons

The Lieutenants vs. Lopez & Lopez 2.0

North & York vs. Church & Caboose

Church & Jimmy vs. Doc & Simmons

Caboose & Wash vs. Alpha & the Fragment AI

Wash & York & North vs. Blue Team

Grif & Church (Alpha) vs. Doc & Donut

Kai & Carolina vs. Tex & North

Jax & Dylan vs. Dr. Grey & Kimball

Tex & Caboose vs. Lopez & Sheila

Kai & Caboose vs. Temple & Doc

Kai & Donut vs. Doc & Junior

Carolina & Kimball vs. Caboose & Sheila

Carolina & Wash & Tucker vs. Lopez & Locus

Caboose & Lopez vs. Carolina & Wash

C.T. & Wash & Ohio & Idaho & Iowa vs. Sherry & Derryl & Terrill

Wash & South vs. Donut & Cronut

Rogers & Cunningham vs. Red Team & Blue Team & Doc

Sarge & Dr. Grey vs. Ohio & Idaho & Iowa

Lopez & Grif vs. Caboose & Delta

Sarge & Carolina vs. Maine & Wash

Grif & Kai vs. Tex & Sarge

Kimball & Doyle vs. Grif & Huggins

Gamma & O'Malley vs. North & Theta

Tex & Tucker vs. Tucker & Caboose

[archinform]

Graceland Cemetery images

Photos by Roger Jones 2024

Dexter Graves tomb, "Eternal Silence" by Lorado Taft

Martin Ryerson tomb

William Kimball tomb

Goodman tomb

Palmer tomb

John Wellborn Root monument

Samuel Klump Martin tomb

Lucius Fisher columbarium, sculpture by Richard Bock

John Spry Holmes tomb

Louis Henri Sullivan monument

Schoenhofen tomb

Hoyt tomb

Mausoleum

[darkmaga-returns]

In the end, it wasn't even close.

As bad a candidate for president as Hillary Clinton proved to be, Kamala Harris has surpassed Crooked Hillary for ineptitude, incompetence, and inadequacy on the campaign trail. 

From her incoherent word salads to her puddle-sized understanding of the issues, Harris is dumber than Hillary, more boring than Hillary, and, ultimately, far more dangerous to the future of the United States and the world than Hillary Clinton.

This is not an exaggeration. After putting her up for president, the Democrats should be arrested for impersonating a political party. Unvetted by the electorate, Kamala Harris was manufactured in a media lab, probably at Columbia but the evidence is lacking. She's a Frankenstein monster whose personae have been carefully assembled, piece by piece, to reflect an America that doesn't exist except in the fever dreams of left-wing radicals.

Certainly, as far as the Democrats are concerned, she's a dream come true. She checks off three — count 'em, three — "identity boxes." She's a woman, she's black, and she's Asian. That trifecta of identities alone is worth 50 million votes.

Indeed, she can be all things to all people. She's a fierce abortion advocate  — a terror to fetuses the world over. She's compassionate to all, as proved by her willingness to spend trillions of other people's money for the poor, the downtrodden, and favored billionaires and large corporations of the Democratic Party.

Roger Kimball, one of my favorite ex-PJ Media writers, agrees with me.

[patiencesinners]

Emma Bürklin (@plush__baby): 

Earlier this year we completed 6 videos for @panicatthedisco filmed over the course of 9(.5) days. This was a massive undertaking for our crew and cast and this entire team knocked it out of the park. I will never get over the intricacy and care of every aspect. Thank you to everyone who made these happen❗️

Directed by @breadandwalter Executive Producer: @jesyodio Producer: @plush__baby Director of Photography: @ericbader Production Designer: @sokocreations Editors: Brendan Walter, Kevin Hindriks Production Company: @teenager.ent Color: Bryan Smaller, Kevin Hindriks

UPM: @doriansthomas 1st AD: @taylormade215 Script Supervisor: @andishezohoori Choreographer: @monikafelicesmith Costume Designer: @stylistbrooke Key Hair & Makeup Artist: @makeuphair_mayra Groomer: @aikafloreshair Gaffer: @kylebartreid Key Grip: Anthony Schrader, James O’Connor Sound Mixer: @life_jedy Location Manager: Pete Abrahams VFX: Taylor Armstrong Animators: Kevin Hindriks, Gon Borela, Glen Dones, DJ Belga, Paula Gohing SHIFTai @fotokem_la Stunt Coordinator: Travis Wong Casting: @rebelcasting

AE: Jonathan Rosenblit 1st AC: Rich Hawkinson 2nd AC: Brian Freeman, Kyle Deven, Greg Hatton, Deepak Adhikary DIT/Utility: Jacob Seldes Ronin Op: Ben Fredman Steadicam: Will Sampson, Quaid Cde Baca B-Cam Op: Geoffrey Brent Shrewsbury BBE: Justin Sadler, Jim Ed Willis, Sam Needham 1st SLT: Mike Winokur, Paul Kane 2nd SLT: Sam Needham Best Grip/Driver: Richie Brush Dolly Grip: James O’Connor Grip: Nick Limina, Abel Soto, Rich Ferrat, Christian Andrew, Shane Greavette Boom Operator: Ethan Rhanielle, Alex Gilroy Art Directors: Devin Parker, Spencer Trent Set Dresser: Mitch Dillon, Reno Bennedetti Leadmen: Shay Turner, Zach Riddle Pyro Tech: Anthony Delzio Lifeguard: Tony Whitmore Production Coordinators: Kalid Hussein, Nathan Vaughan Office Production Coordinator: Ariel Hutchins-Fuhr 2nd AD: Alexandria Cardiel 2nd 2nd AD: Teck Holmes AD PAs: Nafeisa Johnson, Anthony Sturdivant Office PAs: Jubilee Daws, Jane Kim, Hollis Dohr Truck PAs: Alex Reyes Méndez, Colin Hagiwara, Sean Lass, Jay Arias, Jordan Pelzl Set PAs: Collin Wade, Kyle Ali, Jem Murillo, Corey Cunningham, Skylar Conner

Assistant Costume Designer: Anastasia Magoutas On-Set Costumer: Maggie Kimball Costume Assistant: Lucas Ciotti, Rachel Apatoff, Brooke Mulkins Seamstress: Olga Podymova Costume PA: Marissa Channing SPFX Makeup Artists: Brittany Fontaine, Sam Tansey HMU Assistants: Rob Sheppy, Sophie Guzman, Julie Dinh, Ashley Lee, Kandi Hernandez, Charde Thompson, Stacey Gonzalez, Nadine Robinson, Megan Gray, Carmen Martinez Assistant Choreographer: Riley Roberts Key Crafty Attendant: Sabino Salas Miranda, Raul Aguirre, Josh Gresham COVID Officer: Stephen George, Caitlin Hiroto Set Medic: Melissa Reed Security: Crew Protection Stunt Double: Nikita Teterev Studio Teacher: Bettina Russo Drivers: EJ Smith, Bill Colino, Josh Collins, Malik Riley

Starring: @onlyleah as Maggie Mike Naran on Guitar Nicole Row on Bass Dan Pawlovich on Drums The Beer Boys: Mike Viola, Rachel White, Jake Sinclair Robert Javinett as Manager Jesse Merlin as Host & Stage Manager Angel Ahabue as Salesperson Galen Howard & Nafeisa Johnson as “The PAs” Mauricio Marte as Medic Zak Cassar as Masked Man Monika Felice Smith as Teacher Christian Valentino Maita as Young Brendon Nora Harriet as Young Maggie Kids: Dominic McDonald, Aurora Lewis Jester: Galen Howard

Dancers: Crystal Chestnut, Cierra Crowley, Edith Morales, Genna Moroni, Katherine Cheng, Adriano Bettinelli, Cedric Thane Sanders, Hugh Aparente, Nicolas Karosy, Robbie Bianton

Cameos: Mike Naran, Nicole Row, Dan Pawlovich, Morgan Kibby, Butch Walker, Brandon Dermer, Suzy Shinn, Rachel White, Pete Wentz, Betty Who, Spencer Smith, Evan Taubenfeld, Nina Jordan, Tatjana Vujovic, Jake Wesley Rogers , Sam Barbera, Linda Ignarro Smith

Funeral Extras: Hannah May Evans, Jasmine Wilson, Abraham Baltazar, Robert "Rexx" Gonzales, Galen Howard

Extras: Ronee Collins, Chibuike Nwuda, Born M'Allah, Graham Selden, Gigi Ganza, Toky Mahamaro, Ludovica Rossato, Elise Biscaro, Jimmy Lee Nguyen, Stephanie Paige, Daniel Stonewall, Olivia Lodge, Hayley Olivia Strubbe, Mariah Salae Jackson, Mary Morgan Bond, Laura Dromerick, Drake Williams, Molly Malin, Shreya Jhalani, Zachary Colvin, Hakop Mkhsian, Michael Parker, Brittany McVicker, Umar Saqid, Romy Evans, Harsimran Ghotra, Andreina Boada, Richard Follin, Brianna Gurdzhyan, Andejela Belosevic, Cairo Spencer, Angela Lin, Robby Ché, Jonel Awit, Pearrie, Darius Levante, Stefan Freeth, Julia Cornell, Gordana Simunovic, Cort King, Robert Rodriquez, Ramona Tibrin

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

There was a radical worldview shift in the 1960s. What was its foundational source? Those pushing for an overthrow of the establishment learned a great deal when their radical and often violent actions failed to accomplish their stated goals to bring down the system and turned most of the population against them and their tactics. In time, the radicals understood it would be necessary to capture the institutions without ever firing a shot or blowing up another building. Roger Kimball captures the tactic well in his book...

[fancoloredglasses]

Captain America (Could you stop the film, please? I think I'm going to be sick), conclusion

(Thanks to Chas Blankenship)

[All images are owned by Marvel Disney and 21st Century Films MGM. Please don’t sue me]

PREVIOUSLY ON...

Polio survivor Steve Rogers is selected to undergo a process developed by Dr. Vaselli, a scientist who defected to the US from Italy, that transforms him into a super soldier code-named Captain America. Unfortunately, Vaselli is killed by a Nazi spy brought in by US Army officer Lt. Fleming after the process is completed, so Rogers is the last super soldier.

His first mission is to stop a rocket being launched by Vaselli's other creation, a man known only as the Red Skull. Rogers is defeated by the Skull and strapped to the rocket, but Rogers managed to divert the rocket (witnessed by a boy named Thomas Kimball, who takes a picture of the event), causing it to crash into the ice in Alaska, where Captain America would be frozen in suspended animation.

Fast forward 50 years. Tom Kimball becomes President and flies to Rome for an environmental summit, while the Red Skull has plastic surgery and becomes a shadowy terrorist leader.

Meanwhile, Captain America's frozen body is discovered, which makes the news. The Skull dispatches his daughter Valentina to deal with him. Captain America thaws and wanders through Canada (being chased by Valentina) before reaching his home town in California where he's reunited with his childhood sweetheart and her daughter Sharon.

Unfortunately, Sharon's family is attacked (and her mother killed) by Valentina as Kimball is kidnapped by the Skull. Steve (and, for some reason, Sharon) head to Italy to save Kimball and defeat the Skull.

That catches us up. If you would like to watch the film, it’s available out YouTube or behind your favorite paywall.

Speaking of Italy…

…the Red Skull is shooting Kimball full of chemicals that will make the mind-control implant more receptive (or something like that; I admit I wasn’t following his technobabble) As they drag Kimball to the VIP cell…

…he pockets some sort of compound.

Later, Steve and Sharon (why exactly is she tagging along?) have landed in Rome and head for the village the Red Skull came from.

Oh, he is NOT trying THAT again, is he? Surely, she’s too smart to fall for-

…I stand corrected. Steve wants to keep Sharon out of danger (then why did he take her to Italy?) so he ditches her in the middle of Rome. Yeah, that makes sense.

Back at Casa Skull, Kimball pulls out the compound and…

Oh, it’s acid! Why the hell was there acid in the room when Kimball wasn’t being tortured?

Meanwhile, Steve has found the location given in the diary and finds the owner to ask about the previous occupants, but she doesn’t speak English.

Fortunately, Sharon found a taxi to follow him…and, more importantly, speaks Italian.

She doesn’t know much, but her parents saved a few things when they acquired the house, including a tape recorder. They get it to play the tape, which is audio of the Skull’s family being killed 57 years ago. Sharon uses her own recording device to copy the footage

While Sharon and Steve plan their next move (preferably without Steve trying to ditch Sharon again)…

…they’re spotted by Valentina, who takes a seat nearby and draws her pistol! Too bad Steve sees what she was up to and knocks her down. Sharon quickly steals her wallet and they run off.

Unfortunately, Valentina has backup in a car and chases them down. They eventually lose him in the narrow streets, but…

Geez, how many goons did Valentina bring with her? Steve manages to de-cycle the rider, but by then Valentina and her goon squad have shown up, so…

Hey, it’s better than nothing. However, the bike has no brakes and they wind up losing control and falling into the ocean below. Well, at least they lost Valentina.

Once back on land, Sharon goes through Valentina’s wallet and finds her ID, but more importantly…

…proof of her connection to the Skull and an address! Time to go meet the President! Unfortunately…

…Valentina doesn’t give up that easily! How do they plan on outrunning a Porche and a Ferrari in a Fiat?

Sharon decides to be a diversion and draw Valentina’s goons away while Steve storms the fortress. Of course, she’s still driving that Fiat so good luck.

Yeah, that’s kinda what I expected. For whatever reason, Sharon is captured instead of killed. Steve chases after her and finds her earphones and somehow knows Valentina has her.

Inside, after Valentina issues some not-so-veiled threats at Sharon…

…one of her goons finds the recording and gives it to her.

After Valentina leaves, Sharon hears (thanks to a hole in the ceiling)…

…the Red Skull’s plans to inject the implant into Kimball in about 20 minutes. Then he wanders off for a chat with…

…General Fleming (remember him?)?! THE RAT BASTARD! Well, at least that explains what he was doing with a Nazi spy 50 years ago.

Outside, Steve prepares his assault of the Skull’s compound.

…after he changes into his work clothes. Has he even washed that thing after being frozen in it for 50 years?

Inside, the acid has weakened Kimball’s cell door enough for him to kick it open (why is there no guard stationed either at the door or close enough to hear Kimball’s escape?) He hears a few goons and the Skull’s surgeon approach (though they’re just strolling so they obviously didn’t hear the squeal of the cell door being forced open) and open the door (missing the fact that the cell is obviously empty), allowing Kimball the chance to slip out.

…but not escape. Kimball jumps over the side to his death rather than surrender to the Skull.

…but is caught by Captain America! Cap pulls Kimball inside…

…where Kimball shows Cap the picture he took 50 years ago. The Moment ends as they hear the Skull’s goons looking for them.

Between the two, they give the Skull’s goons what for until they manage to knock a goon out that has a satellite phone, so Kimball calls in for reinforcements.

As Cap looks for the Skull, General Fleming (THE RAT BASTARD!) tries to sneak out but is confronted by Kimball and knocked out by a vicious right cross.

Meanwhile, Cap has found the Skull.

(Thanks to TheMovieDump)

In the aftermath, the environmental summit (remember that? That was the whole reason Kimball was in Rome in the first place!) is a success.

Roll credits.

Would this be a better movie with a better lead? Who knows? It likely needed a better script and director as well.

[wimpydave]

Plutarch and the Art of Biography | Roger Kimball

[beingstill-blog1]

My Testimony

My Calling To Write

I was called to write when I was 14 years old, but, somewhat like Moses, my time to serve the Lord and actually become a writer, would not come until I became old. Now I am old. Here is my story.

It was Spring time of 1973 when, my literature teacher Mrs. Kimball at TH Rogers Junior High in Houston, Texas, asked us to write a poem about Easter. I started to think about what I was going to write and all of a sudden, the words started coming into my head almost faster than I could put them down on paper, to the point that I thought the words in my head were never going to come to an end. When the flow stopped, my fingers literally hurt from writing. I had written 2 pages complete pages in 15 minutes. The next day, my paper was posted up on the bulletin board with a big red A+ written across the top of it. I do not ever retrieving that paper from that bulletin board. Had I known than what I know now I probably would have take the poem and published it: it is forever lost.

The idea of me actually becoming a writer did not come to me till almost 2 decades later, after I already had 4 children to raise, two being teenagers. I had the inspiration to write, but, I was trying to do it, too hard, all on my own. I did not take enough time to talk to the Lord about my writing or ask Him for His strength and guidance. I was still a baby Christian, learning how to listen to God's voice. I suffered from anxiety and depression a great deal and I was letting the world pull me in all different directions. I was too distractable. I knew the Lord was calling me! I could feel His inspiration daily and I knew I should be writing my thoughts down daily in a journal; however, I was too undisciplined, lacking an ability to stay focused.

Around that same time period, I had a very interesting dream. In the dream, I was sitting in a row boat all by myself, paddling upstream, around curves and up embankments. Above the boat hovered a little cherub. I asked the Lord what the dream meant. Not really getting an answer; I decided it probably meant that I was a person that would always go against the current, that my life would always be filled with challenges, and difficulties that I needed to accept. The Lord I think was basically telling me that I needed to accept this. This was my reality, but He was also saying that He would always be with me keeping a watchful eye over me.

A year or two after the occurrence of the dream, in 2014, I was coordinating a youth rally and hay ride for Halloweens night in the little town of Coalmont, Indiana where we were living at the time and it was not going well. I thought God was calling me to do this, but, no-one would give me any help. One day I was sitting in bed when I suddenly heard a voice! This was not my own thoughts. This was not someone speaking to me. I was at home alone. This was the voice of my guardian angel or God. The voice said, "Look to Moses". That was all the voice said. I said, "What does that mean" ?The voice did not speak to me again. I guess, I was just suppose to figure it out on my own. After years of thinking about this short conversation, I have come to the conclusion, that the Lord was trying to tell me that the youth rally was not what was suppose to be doing. I was stubborn, bullheaded, impatient and a bit vain. I thought I knew what was important in life, but, I still had many things to learn.

I did not want to wait till I was old to serve God,: I wanted to do something for Him right then and there so everyone could see that I was just as close to God as they were. God was calling me to serve Him with my writing, that I knew without a doubt. I just did not know exactly how. I was sure I did though: however, the Lord was trying to tell me that my time, had not yet come.

My job was to raise my children and take care of my husband; however, I could not get either one to behave very well in spite of the fact that we went to church almost every Sunday. I was frustrated, because of the lack of cooperation and as a result it was not very fulfilling. I kept looking for something, anything to make me happy.

The Lord was not going to give up on me though! He gave me a verse, Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God, etc. Be still, this is a hard thing to do. It takes practice, lots of it. The Lord gave this verse to me because He was trying to get me to trust Him. Looking at the world the way sometimes do and me being the dense person I am; I thought I was suppose to preach this verse to other people. Thank you Lord for your patience with me and not giving up on me.

[leanstooneside]

MUSIC APPRECIATION

Princess Diana's tight upper arm

Mia Farrow's tight upper arm

Angelina Pivarnick's tight upper arm

Christina Milian's tight upper arm

Melissa McCarthy's tight upper arm

Barbara Walters's tight upper arm

Roger Federer's tight upper arm

Scott Disick's tight upper arm

Beth Ostrosky Stern's tight upper arm

Bradley Cooper's tight upper arm

Richard Gere's tight upper arm

Emily VanCamp's tight upper arm

Megan Fox's tight upper arm

Rebecca Gayheart's tight upper arm

Beyoncé Knowles's tight upper arm

Mike Fisher's tight upper arm

Patrick Schwarzenegger's tight upper arm

Lara Flynn Boyle's tight upper arm

Matthew Bellamy's tight upper arm

Josh Brolin's tight upper arm

Ellen Page's tight upper arm

Mena Suvari's tight upper arm

Benjamin McKenzie's tight upper arm

Seth Rogen's tight upper arm

Ellie Goulding's tight upper arm

Ashley Greene's tight upper arm

Adrian Grenier's tight upper arm

Russell Brand's tight upper arm

Hayden Christensen's tight upper arm

Cheyenne Kimball's tight upper arm

Tila Tequila's tight upper arm

Victoria Beckham's tight upper arm

Billy Ray Cyrus's tight upper arm

LuAnn De Lesseps's tight upper arm

Adam Sandler's tight upper arm

Joe Jonas's tight upper arm

Odette Yustman's tight upper arm

Alexander Ludwig's tight upper arm

Jersey Shore's tight upper arm

Frankie Delgado's tight upper arm

Bobbi Kristina Brown's tight upper arm

George Clooney's tight upper arm

Joel Madden's tight upper arm

Kourtney Kardashian's tight upper arm

Lady Gaga's tight upper arm

[alphaman99]

Robert Mosby

Darth Sidious, er, Merrick Garland, has appointed David Weiss as Special Counsel. Weiss, US Attorney of Delaware, who has been slow-walking the Hunter Biden investigations and offering deals unavailable even on Black Fridays, is clearly ineligible for at least two reasons: first a Special Counsel must by statute not be a government employee (which Weiss manifestly is) and second the ineptness or corruption (take your pick) of his "work" so far. Clearly we live in a universe far, far away from anything we'd imagined even a short ten years ago. Giving credit where it's due, Roger Kimball suggested the Darth-Garland entanglement.

[rvb-relationship-royale]

Victory Summary- Friendship Fray Round One Part Two

We're moving on to round two! The results of the latter half of round one are as follows:

Caboose & Andy vs. Kai & Doc: Kai & Doc victory

Caboose & Donut vs. Tex & Sheila: Caboose & Donut victory

Locus & Sirius & Felix vs. Wash & Caboose & Tucker: Wash & Caboose & Tucker victory

FILSS & Carolina vs. Donut & Sarge: Donut & Sarge victory

Tex & Donut vs. Grif & Tucker: Grif & Tucker victory

York & Wash vs. Sarge & Surge: York & Wash victory

Murphy & Jenkins vs. Church & Sheila: Church & Sheila victory

Locus & Felix vs. Kai & Simmons: Kai & Simmons victory

The Lieutenants vs. Lopez & Lopez 2.0: Lieutenants victory

North & York vs. Church & Caboose: Church & Caboose victory

Church & Jimmy vs. Doc & Simmons: Doc & Simmons victory

Caboose & Wash vs. Alpha & the Fragment AI: Caboose & Wash victory

Wash & York & North vs. Blue Team: Blue Team victory

Grif & Church (Alpha) vs. Doc & Donut: Doc & Donut victory

Kai & Carolina vs. Tex & North: Kai & Carolina victory

Jax & Dylan vs. Dr. Grey & Kimball: Grey & Kimball victory

Tex & Caboose vs. Lopez & Sheila: Tex & Caboose victory

Kai & Caboose vs. Temple & Doc: Kai & Caboose victory

Kai & Donut vs. Doc & Junior: Kai & Donut victory

Carolina & Kimball vs. Caboose & Sheila: Caboose & Sheila victory

Carolina & Wash & Tucker vs. Lopez & Locus: Carolina & Wash & Tucker victory

Caboose & Lopez vs. Carolina & Wash: Carolina & Wash victory

C.T. & Wash & Ohio & Idaho & Iowa vs. Sherry & Derryl & Terrill: C.T. & Wash & The Triplets victory

Wash & South vs. Donut & Cronut: Wash & South victory

Rogers & Cunningham vs. Red Team & Blue Team & Doc: Reds & Blues & Doc victory

Sarge & Dr. Grey vs. Ohio & Idaho & Iowa: Triplets victory

Lopez & Grif vs. Caboose & Delta: Caboose & Delta victory

Sarge & Carolina vs. Maine & Wash: Maine & Wash victory

Grif & Kai vs. Tex & Sarge: Grif siblings victory

Kimball & Doyle vs. Grif & Huggins: Grif & Huggins victory

Gamma & O'Malley vs. North & Theta: North & Theta victory

Tex & Tucker vs. Tucker & Caboose: Tucker & Caboose victory

As always, congrats to our winners- and to our losers, remember, you're still beloved in our hearts!

[benicebefunny]

I have forgotten Captain America's last name.

Steve...

Andrews?

Arthur?

McArthy?

Jones?

Johnson?

Smith?

Porter?

Prince?

Jeffries?

Davis?

Kimball?

Nelson?

Rogers?

Rogers!

[adribosch-fan]

Una lección de historia para Joe Biden

Putin no hizo ningún movimiento en Ucrania durante la administración de Trump. ¿Coincidencia? Vladímir Putin (Getty) Escrito Por: Roger Kimball Algunas personas moderadamente inteligentes, reflexionando sobre la confusión de los acontecimientos actuales, citan a sabiendas la observación más famosa de George Santayana: que aquellos que no pueden recordar el pasado están condenados a…