Because Every Monday 8

Should start out with a laugh.

Because Every Monday 7

Should start out with a laugh.

Because Every Monday 6

Should start out with a laugh.

Three Words

Don't. Buy. Dell.

As you can imagine, my absence is partly due to my computer's Hard Drive being fried.

I was completely happy with the fact that I had installed that PSU myself a while ago, but I confess, though I have tried every hint in the book: trying to boot it up with a disk, and trying Safe Mode. It just does not want to work. Chkdsk stops midway in stage 2.

I am therefore in your blogging debt.

That desktop computer was my last one working, seeing as how my laptop is fried too.

I refuse to take it back to the sillies who charged me a fortune to install a new Hard Drive only last year (conveniently now OVER the warranty), so I have to hunt around to see who can fix it, and cheaply.

This may take a while, guys, so please make yourselves at home on the blog. At least, I have the Kindle's web browser, so I can read Sundries that way, even if I can't email.

Grumble. Grumble. Harumph.

Ah well, such is life, right?



P.S.: I'll schedule a few posts, to keep you tied until I get back. I really do miss blogging...

Dennis Miller Takes Down Nancy Pelosi

"When there's money involved she's up and down like a seal at Seaworld."

(Via Instapundit)

Everything You Needed To Know About Portuguese Water Dogs

Thankfully, we weren't afraid to ask the resident dog breeder extraordinaire, Peggy Gero DaValt. Here is her delightful reply, full of insight and tips, as usual. I just hope President Obama and family read it one day!

"The Portugese Water Dog is an excellent choice.

Here are my reasons:

(1) It is a purebred dog. It's not a designer dog.

As a purebred dog owner and breeder, so much time and effort goes into genetic research/pedigree preparation/public education. It is pure.

Most purebreds are registered by the American Kennel Club or the United Kennel Club.

Naysayers will say, but there are so many dogs that need homes.

This is true and I applaud anyone that rescues a homeless dog...but a shelter dog got there because people did not spay or neuter dogs that were not intended to be bred.

A designer dog, such as the GoldenDoodle is a Mixed Breed dog. It's a very expensive Mixed Breed dog. I will bet you that people pay more for a GoldenDoodle than they would for one of my purebred Gordons.

A GoldenDoodle has a parent that is a Golden Retriever and a Poodle (most likely a Standard Poodle). So, when you combine those two breeds you have a Mixed Breed dog. You also have a dog that has the potential for health issues associated with the Goldens and/or Poodles or a combination of both. So rather than having just one set of health issues for one breed to contend with, you've opened up Pandora's genetic box by combining two different breeds.

(2) The Obamas made it clear that they need a dog that sheds little if any due to child allergies. I think this dog is a wise choice.

When I suggest to people a type or breed of dog to purchase, you need to take into account: trainability/life style/commitment to the dog.

Any dog in the sporting/working/herding groups produce dogs that are meant to work with man.

As a member of the Working Group, the Portugese Water Dog is no exception. It is a moderate sized dog and with the lifestyle of the President and his family, I think this is a great selection.

They are good with kids and they will be content playing with the Obama girls and who knows may even accompany the President on a jog or two as the puppy matures and his growth plates have closed.

(3) I had some very good breeder/handler friends who raised "Porties" and I loved them and their dogs. Judy died last February and Bruce died about 7 months later. When I see a "Portie" I will always think of them. There are also some great breeders in the Chicago area that I know, too.

For more information I would suggest these web sites:

American Kennel Club - Portguese Water Dog Standard

Portugese Water Dog Club of America Website

Quiz - How Much Do You Know about a PWD? This is from the Portugese Water Dog Club's web site. Have fun!!

Each breed of dog in the AKC has a standard that the parent club has put together with what they see as the "perfect" dog for that breed. Each breed has a standard to which it is judged/evaluated. As a breeder, we know there is no such thing as a "perfect" dog, but it's the standard to which we strive to improve our lines upon generation after generation.

Thanks, Victoria, for asking for my opinion. I hope that I haven't offended anyone and have offered valuable educational information about this breed and dogs in general.

Peggy :)"

...no, Peggy. Thank you. You are a hidden ace up the Sundries sleeve, and I am very grateful to you for taking the time to compose this for the readership!

Kenneth The Page Responds

I don't know who this internet chatter character is, this Kenneth the Page, as I don't watch television, but from this clip I can see what they are trying to suggest.



Ann Althouse suggested there was an undercurrent of racism about the personal attacks on Governor Bobby Jindal's speech. After all, it was just a speech, and some people bomb in them. He did last night, stylistically, but given the instantaneous diarrhoea of posts his performance got (possibly as much as the actual and much more important State of the Union), you'd think he had slain three kittens on national TV.

Althouse asked.

"Why the urge to paint him as a white white man? Where did that come from?"

Probably the critics will mention that his regionalism and conservative religion made the connexion evident, but she is going for something deeper here.

There is a programme on IFC called "The Whitest Kids You Know".

A blogger described such kids as:

"The whitest kids I know all sort of look like Ashton Kutcher, listen to Jack Johnson, think Dane Cook is funny, and dig Adam Sandler movies."

I think what many people don't like about Jindal is that he doesn't talk like Apu, doesn't look like he could break into a Bollywood dance routine, and therefore isn't the "other" that is cool because of cultural expectations. Take it into another level, and they are also inferring that he is a race traitor by being a poseur, this Republican Southerner Indian fella.

What I BELIEVE Althouse is saying is that he fails to live up to some kind of stereotype they refuse to acknowledge they have deep inside themselves.

He acts like just another vanilla geeky white guy, like Kenneth the Page. More Millionaire, than Slumdog, if you will.

And that makes him the fairest of game.

Sure, he did himself no favours with that speech.

But if Obama had stunk up the joint, and others had criticised him so savagely, don't you think that his supporters wouldn't have claimed racism as a possible reason for the derision?

You bet they would have.

ADDED: Some journalists are not even hiding their references about Jindal and his Indianness.

“Bobby Jindal was ‘pitiful,’ Helen Thomas tells film crew, right before making a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ crack.”

That is Helen Thomas, the doyenne of the press corps who practised unbiased reporting all those years, you know.

IN THE COMMENTS: I mean, after Chris Matthews admitted he uttered that infamous "Oh God", and stating that the GOP CPAC conference this week will resemble a Star Trek convention (you know, more uncool geeky white guys), what do we expect anymore.

But JSU reminds us of his latest Jindal crack.

There was definitely something rotten in Matthews' "outsourcing" remark.

Obamas Choose First Pooch

Thankfully, I have lighter news to relay to the readership today. The First Family have chosen that highly anticipated puppy dog.

It's a Portuguese Water Dog. Behold.



Cute. But he looks like a shedder. Peggy Gero DaValt will weigh in about this, hopefully.

RIP Ivan Cameron

Another sad bit of breaking news on this busy Wednesday morning.

Ivan Cameron, aged only 6, has passed away as a result of Ohtahara Syndrome (often confused with cerebral palsy). He was the son of opposition Tory leader, David Cameron.

Here the poor lad is being cradled most lovingly by his dad. My deepest condolences to the Camerons.



Losing a child, any child, is unimaginable. I hope there is no media circus about this, or any child of a notable personality.

BREAKING: No Miracle On The Amstel

Unlike the unbelievable landing on water by an US Airways plane, a Turkish airliner crash landed in Amsterdam's Schiphol* airport a few moments ago -- breaking the plane in three.



1 person is already confirmed dead, possibly 80 passengers are safe according to reports, in a total of 135 passengers. Horrifying.

Let's hope it turns out as best as the situation can.

*If you ever have a spare 2 or 3 hours, try to get a Dutch person to teach you how to pronounce "Schiphol" correctly.

As Seen On TV

Meet the new Snuggie pitchwoman, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is already hard at work.

State Of The Union Word Cloud

Think you caught some words in President Obama's State of the Union debut, occuring more than others? Let's see if you were right.

According to one source, Curtiss on Althouse, here were some word count stats.

- Crisis: 11
- Bank: 12
- Jobs: 19
- Economy: 22
- I: 73
- Freedom: 1

Here is a retrospective on some past State of the Union word clouds.

PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON, 21 January 1790



PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 3 December 1861



PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER, 3 December 1929



PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, 3 January 1934



PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN, 21 January 1946



PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY, 30 January 1961




PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, 26 January 1982



PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH'S AMALGAMATED STATES OF THE UNION



PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, 24 February 2009



(Latter via Jason Griffey)

Somewhere Deep In Alaska A Woman Is Laughing

Governor Bobby Jindal gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, the first time each for both men.

There is a long tradition in both Parties that an up-and-coming politician is allowed to respond to the adminstration of the day, after such a speech. For example, then Governor Clinton responded after President Reagan, and Obama did it for Bush's final State of the Union, only last year.

Since the spotlight is on them, a priceless few minutes face-to-face with the remaining viewers left watching (but more importantly, with the journalists who will digest the rebuttal and come to conclusions about the person and the speech, influencing Americans' opinions of it later), this allows them to have A Star Is Born moment, if they are capable of delivering it.

Problem is, Bobby Jindal didn't deliver tonight.

By choosing him, though, were the GOP signalling that Bobby Jindal, and not Sarah Palin, is the presumptive front-runner in the Republican Presidential stakes? I think so.

Bobby Jindal, despite the need some people have to look at his skin colour and origins, is the archtypical kind of politician chosen to run on the Republican ticket (something neither McCain nor Palin could be said to be, for various reasons).

He is a serious family man, with undazzling personality but having rock steady ideals, who furthermore exudes professionalism. From Eisenhower on down, that has been the candidate template the Republicans tend to follow whenever possible, usually with unfathomable success for the opposition.

I think it's premature to count out Bobby Jindal because he had a disappointing outting last night. But the one thing that you cannot afford to be with such a partisan media who have long ago abandoned any pretense at neutrality (see post below), and are frankly cheering on their man, Barack Obama, is to be ridiculous in some way.

And when Jindal traipsed into camera view last night, it was almost as if a pimply-faced Student Government President was making his debut, courtesy of the AV department sophomores.

Geeky is one thing, though that's deadly enough in America, the land which invented "cool", but he and his advisors misjudged the importance of the speech by making him sound like an infomercial pitchman. That weird cadence he had was outrageously upbeat to the point of distraction.

He wasn't wearing a beanie, a pocket protector, nor was he wearing Bob Gates smudged up glasses, but it wouldn't surprise anyone if he did privately.

Here I would just like to point out that I mentioned these very traits to Sundries' readers, after the Republican Governor's Association conference in downtown Miami last November.

In the blogpost, Crashing Into Sarah Palin, I wrote this about Governor Jindal:

After a while, so as to draw attention away from my lolly-gagging around, I went to the Indigo restaurant downstairs. To my astonishment, as I sat near the bar, about 20 feet away, almost as if he were in a cubicle, there was I do believe Governor Bobby Jindal. He is much younger-looking than you can imagine. He looks like he's a college freshman, and actually, in profile looked bizarrely similar to a young JFK. He was utterly alone, and since I didn't want to stare, I am not sure if he was having a quiet moment to catch up with news, or if he were on his laptop or what.

What an ascetic air he has!

There is a problem with Jindal's chances to run for the Presidency in 2012, as I see it.

There are some people who give off a certain something (more on that in a bit). Jindal didn't at all give me that impression. He seemed utterly unmagnetic, and though not ordinary, perhaps I was expecting more. Frankly, he was nerdy-looking.

To become a genuine threat to run for the Presidency, especially given the adoration of his followers, and the presence that President-Elect Obama gives off (which is genuine, he truly is impressive up close), I believe you need to be a charismatic person. Jindal looks like a rather earnest priest.

I'll stand by my words after last night's response, especially the last sentence.

Look, it was ONE speech, and the Governor has three years to work on delivery, wardrobe, speech-writing, and all the rest.

But those who thought Jindal is the strongest Republican candidate in the early early handicapping for the 2012 race, should start backing off just a tad.

Full Text Of Governor Jindal's Response

The Football Arrives

I did not know the briefcase containing the nuclear codes had to follow the President even to the State of the Union address. Here it is, carried by an unnamed military aide, arriving at Statuary Hall.



Thanks to Wikipedia, we learn the following about the so-called "football":

The case itself is a metallic, possibly bullet-resistant, modified Zero Halliburton briefcase which is carried inside a black leather "jacket." The entire package weighs approximately 40 pounds (18 kg). A small antenna, presumably for the SATCOM radio, protrudes from the bag near the handle. A common misconception is that the football is handcuffed to its carrier. Rather, a black cable is employed that loops around the handle of the bag and the wrist of the aide.

That's a sobering thought. Perhaps much more reassuring than also learning via Wiki of something that happened back when, to President Jimmy Carter.

"Jimmy Carter once left nuclear launch codes in his suit when it was sent in for dry cleaning."

Never mind "ineffectual". Try incompetent.

You Don't Mess With Joe!

I don't know, maybe President Andrew Johnson called for a spitoon to lob chewing tobacco once, but for me, this is the single-handed most un-Presidential moment in any State of the Union I have ever witnessed. Both in the giving, and in the receiving.

Who Said 'Oh God' Just Before Jindal's Speech

Given that Governor Bobby Jindal gave a most lacklustre rebuttal speech, I want to know if the person who is audibly muttering, "Oh God" can read palms too.

He's obviously a fortune teller.



(Via Allahpundit)

Incidentally, if Bobby Jindal were black and not brown (as Juan Williams of Fox constantly likes to point out that he is) and I were a Democrat who loves to read these things into every moment, I would say what Olbermann - or whomever - said, has a racist tinge to it.

Too bad no one watches MSNBC else people would be justifiably outraged.

ADDED: Just in case anyone thinks the 'Oh God' was not about Jindal, I say nuts. Check out the inside laugh by an MSNBCer in the studio, just after the dismissive phrase.

As I Climb Into Bed

I am saddened by the lack of quality and passion seen in the "Monday of carnival" by Rio's escolas de samba.

Usually the camarotes, the high-priced private balconies inside Sambodromo, are full hours ahead of time. But this time, you could see gaping holes where obviously nobody had shown up (or had not been able to afford to rent them). On the other side, in the bleachers section, the crowd looked like they had been double-ticketed, they were so packed. That tells me that the recession has well and truly arrived even in the most anticipated touristic event in Brazil's calender.

So far, only Salgueiro have what I consider to be an outstanding overall presentation.

Comically, Ronaldinho Gaucho and Pato of AC Milan called up the Globo presenters to say they were gathered with a group of carnival aficionados in Milan, even at that late hour. They called in specifically to say they were impressed by Salgueiro's band.

I'll post some photos for you to see -- though as Sundries readers know, the photos of the carnival always look fantastic. It's the narration that people like me provide, that separates the mediocre from the outstanding.

Unfortunately, I will have to shuck the chaff from the wheat this year.

It's late, there are still two escolas left to go at 4:30 AM EST, so please forgive me if I am not on time on Tuesday.