We got in trouble at the Vatican

The trip with our students was pretty awesome and fairly hassle free (excepting one emergency room visit, a minor jellyfish sting, stomachs having bad reactions to foreign food, and an embarrassing trip I had to make to a pharmacy to buy feminine supplies). Above is my portion of the group. We saw the Prado and Royal Palace in Madrid (where I found awesome pints for one euro), the beach, Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia and Las Rambla in Barcelona, took an overnight ship journey across to Rome, and while there saw the Coliseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, etc. At the Vatican some of our group got fussed at and our tour guide was fined because some kids sat on the steps outside the Sistine Chapel. Hopefully the Pope was not personally notified. To be honest, I could have stayed a few more days. If you so desire, you can check out all the pics on FB, which is a social networking sight some of you may have heard of. Cue Chuck Berry's 'Back in the USA'...

Google+ Experiment

Hey bastards, I've been playing with Google+ again for the last week or so, and they've really made some noticeable improvements over the last couple of years. I was initially thinking of it as a blog replacement, but maybe G+ could be our blog away from blog. (Quick posts or comments directed only to your Bastards circle, for example.) Just spit balling, but tell me what you think.

One obvious advantage to using it is that it's much easier to post something of interest - especially from a mobile device. Another is that only we could see it.

Thoughts?

What is it with Jays and GBV?

"As you probably know, Dayton is the home of the Wright Brothers, the Dayton Peace Accords, and Guided By Voices, the greatest rock 'n' roll band of the modern era, in my humble opinion."

-- White House Press Secretary Jay Carney in today's press briefing.

Ha Ha

God bless Andy Richter.

Well ... ?

Who says you can't polish a turd? Same basic flavor, a few improvements. Still tweaking the top, don't panic ...

Live Every Week Like It's Shark Week!

Happy Shark Week, Bastards! Join me in saluting legendary pop culture sharks and shark-ish creatures. Learn more about laser sharks here or from our own four-star sharkmaster, Bastard Matt.







                                       Sharktopus

Freedom Riders

Anybody going to watch this? A little known fact: my cousin, Ray Arsenault, literally wrote the book on the Freedom riders, and by that I mean the book that this series is based on. He has been on Fresh Air, and was recently on Oprah, and my guess is he will get airtime in this. All kinfolk boasting aside, it does look like an interesting documentary.

It's on its way...check my Reverbnation page and become a fan.

Why The World Hates The US

This captures it pretty well.

A Holiday Message From Ricky Gervais

Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless. People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary. They are happy with their belief. They even say things like “it’s true to me” and “it’s faith.” I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite. It is ironic therefore that “I don’t believe in God because there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence and from what I’ve heard the very definition is a logical impossibility in this known universe,” comes across as both patronizing and impolite.

Read the rest of The Wall Street Journal article here.

AVAST!

I embrace the deep roots of bastardy with a hearty celebration of Talk Like A Pirate Day. Please enjoy an excellent talk like a pirate tutorial, the article that helped vault this holiday into world consciousness, and Los Bastardos Unidos translated into Pirate.

What The Kids Are Watching These Days

Anybody seen this show called The Misadventures of Flapjack? It's funny, but reeeally trippy. Watch the entire episode and you'll see what I mean.

"Legs!"

Brian Doyle-Murray has become quite the voice actor.

Normal, Simple, Unexceptional Lives

Dave's reading frenzy reminds me of a part from Baron Munchausen:

Horatio Jackson: Ah, the officer who risked his life by single-handedly destroying...
Functionary: [whispering in his ear] Six.
Horatio Jackson: *Six* enemy cannon and rescuing...
Functionary: Ten.
Horatio Jackson: Ten of our men held captive by The Turk.
Heroic Officer: Yes, sir.
Horatio Jackson: The officer about whom we've heard so much.
Heroic Officer: I suppose so, sir.
Horatio Jackson: Always taking risks far beyond the call of duty.
Heroic Officer: I only did my best, sir.
Horatio Jackson: Have him executed at once.
Soldier: Yes, sir. Come along.
Horatio Jackson: This sort of behavior is demoralizing for the ordinary soldiers and citizens who are trying to lead normal, simple, unexceptional lives. I think things are difficult enough as it is without these emotional people rocking the boat.