So Long, Ed Asner

 

Behind the Voice Actors

Sergeant Mike Cosgrove (who also used the name Ed Asner) is gone. Freakazoid's pal and law enforcement chum has cashed out his life chips and departed this plane of existence. 

Ed was fun to work with, bummed cigarettes off the crew, and never seemed thrown by the often surreal dialogue he was called upon to read. I wish his family peace in this troubled time. 

Adieu, Ed and may you know eternal rest involving offbeat wholesome fun.

ZuccoloX

First Double Digit Run in 13 Years

 

finsmes.com

But how? 

You're fat, old and injured!

Excellent points, all. But first a bit of crowing: they said it couldn't be done—running any distance. (At least one orthopedic surgeon uttered as much.) And for a over a decade he appeared right. But last Wednesday, I ran ten miles thanks to chi running and a generous assist from the weather.

Starting near the Pasadena Rose Bowl I loped up into the Angeles National Forest above Jet Propulsion Labs to the fabled Elmer Smith Bridge. The round-trip took me 2:12:03. I employed a modest 3x1 run-walk ratio ala the Jeff Galloway method. 

But Los Angeles is blazing hot in August!

Generally, yes, you're correct. But around 7:30 AM the mercury hovered under 70 degrees. An overcast morning with grayish marine layer, there was also a fine light breeze. I was loaded down with water and Gatorade, Gu gel, and salt tablets. Only my sunglasses proved unnecessary. 

On the last few miles I encountered a thin misting rain. It stopped suddenly as if chided. 

1075

Just like the old days, huh? 

(There's a reason you're a minor heading.) So much to relearn. My feet burned on the last mile, a sign of inadequate shoe padding. The net uphill of the first five miles exposed my training. By contrast, the bridal trails of Griffith Park are mostly flat dirt with gentle rises, not the rolling terrain, patches of rocky ground and abrupt rises of Wednesday's run. Also, I sensed a need for more weekly miles, with emphasis on tempo runs. Increasing mileage can be tricky in the midst of training.

But a corner has been turned. I'm comfortable enough with chi running to cover longer distances. I'm still integrating the run-walk method, but the efforts show promise. In addition, my weight has dropped into the 230s, a plunge of around 30 pounds from January. 

Rummaging around, I found an old pair of trainers that should wear better on the trails until I can buy new distance running shoes. 

 So then: a short three miles today, rest tomorrow, then 12 miles on Wednesday.  

Wickipedia

Another Fine Rout

 

phukettimes

Political commentary isn't my usual forte, but for the second time in my life I watch America scuttle out of a foreign policy disaster. Here are a few scattered thoughts.

America is back . . . to the 70s

In 1975, I was still in the service, stationed on an air base in South Carolina. I recall the veterans around me numbed by the televised chaos as the South Vietnamese struggled to escape their country's fall to North Vietnam. Years later, I visited Vietnam and Cambodia. Speaking to inhabitants, I learned what people endured under the communists.  Awful things. Genocide, for one.

As an interesting comparison, the U.S. congress back in the day cut off all aid to South Vietnam. Lauren Zanolli writes in History News Network: 

"Historians have directly attributed the fall of Saigon in 1975 to the cessation of American aid. Without the necessary funds, South Vietnam found it logistically and financially impossible to defeat the North Vietnamese army. Moreover, the withdrawal of aid encouraged North Vietnam to begin an effective military offensive against South Vietnam. Given the monetary and military investment in Vietnam, former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage compared the American withdrawal to “a pregnant lady, abandoned by her lover to face her fate."

The cash spigot was never turned off in Afghanistan. Including Iraq, AP lists:. 

 

"Estimated amount of direct Afghanistan and Iraq war costs that the United States debt-financed as of 2020: $2 trillion.

Estimated interest costs by 2050: Up to $6.5 trillion."

A Tale of Two Armies

ARVN troops@militaryimages.net

At the very least, the South Vietnamese ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) went down fighting at Xuan Loc. I recall the battle and the last stand of General Le Minh Dao's 18th Division.

As for the 300k strong Afghan Army, ferocious when it came to shooting their NATO advisors, they forked over their weapons to the Taliban like scolded children handing over firecrackers to the cops. After twenty years of nation building, that is what our gasbag generals, greedy contractors and dim-witted politicians could produce . . . other than assurances that everything was going according to plan.

Now the Fun Starts

The Taliban are already going door to door with kill lists and shooting pilots, interpreters, and anyone else that backed the kleptocrat Ghani. Incidentally, he never struggled to escape. Ghani simply departed ahead of the crowd. Perhaps our fey elites will invite him to Aspen or Davos. With billions siphoned off in American aid the former Afghan president is, no doubt, almost as rich as the late Yasser Arafat—a man who never needed a lesson in fleecing globalist rubes.

Lessons learned?

One gets the impression that our political and military establishment are already reviewing the catastrophe. The failures are clear. They will never be repeated.

The next nation we build will have mandatory Drag Queen Story Hour.

Vromans

Our bright caring elites know what is important.

A Salute to Athletes Who Didn't Quit

I know this subject. 

I know when I've run well and I know when I've listened to that little voice in the back of my head telling me I've done quite enough for the day. It's a moment lasting an instant when you must choose between believing your training or responding to a play-it-safe voice that smothers dreams. 

Training for a marathon in November, I've been battling the quits in hot temperatures. My times, to be frank, suck. But I've continued on as new inspirations emerge.

In Tokyo today . . .

. . . a woman competing in only her third marathon . . . 

. . . in eighty-degree temperatures . . . 

. . . against Kenyans . . . 

. . . became just the third Yank lass to medal since 1984. 

Molly Seidel ran like a champ, pushed the pace, and stayed in the hunt for gold and silver until the very end. At 2:27:46 - only three hours ahead of my fall projected finish time - Bronze Medal Molly displayed the heart that inspires even an elderly, injury-plagued marathoner such as myself.

swimsuits.com

Speaking of grit . . . 

. . . Allyson Felix won her eleventh medal—seventh Gold—in the 4 x 400 meter relay. She surpassed Carl Lewis to become America's top Olympic medalist. Dating back to 1996, Felix has notched her medals in between a difficult childbirth, brutal losses, and, at 35, the hour-glass draining fast on elite speed. Allyson's unquenchable perseverance and mental toughness rated her those eleven trips to the podium.

Atlanta Black Star

As for me . . . 

. . . maybe I'll add another day to my running week. 

Gymstrodamus Wrong?

 A coy oily header. But where might this fellow be incorrect in a world where 60% of locked down U.S. businesses never reopened and Jeff Bezos, Big Phrama and their dear friends in government are swollen with cash like pufferfish? 

American Eric

The Babylon Bee Reimagines John Lennon

 Such a tasty subject, the mocking of communism, yet so few diners. The Babylon Bee examines the fruits of Marxism in this touching parody tune.

The Babylon Bee

Prostate Cancer Real Talk #3

 El and Shay tackle the issue of why Afro-American men are more susceptible to prostate cancer. Doctor Adam B. Murphy joins them in exploring the topic.

Prostate Cancer Real Talk

Manson's Acting Skills Often Overlooked

 My friend Ken sent this along. It's from The old Ben Stiller Show and is a parody of Lassie with a surprise replacement for the collie. Pretty darn good. Ad warning.

suedejones

Xi Jinping's Stand-Up Comedy Act

 When not threatening to vaporize Japan, the President of the Chinese People's Republic likes to stay sharp honing his stand-up comedy chops. Over the years, Xi Jinping has worked up a killer set which he polishes during open-mike nights at various Beijing night spots. Here's a smuggled out sample of Jinping at Club Five-Year Plan riffing on current events.

Now, comrades, the comedy stylings of . . . 

qz.com

"Whoa, thank you. This place is based. I gotta say: this club is almost as much fun as gang-raping a Uighur. You heard me. Yeah. Someone once asked me why I never bring a stool on stage like certain other comics. I told 'em, 'You try sitting with Joe Biden's head up your ass.' Whoa, yeah, you guys are quick. This crowd is sharper than the scalpel at a Falun Gong organ harvesting. Hell, yeah. Someone stop me. I'm a mad man.

What else is happening? Crazy week. Crazy week, isn't it? I met with the leaders of the Taliban. Did you see that? Yeah. I mean we've actually got a few things in common; like watching the United States scamper away in defeat like a little girl—Vietnam, anyone?— and kicking the shit out of Christians. Other than that, the Taliban smell like goats in a cess pool. Whoa. Did I say that? Somebody build a shower in that country. Puh-leeze.

Man, I should've gone to the bathroom before I came up here. I'm leaking worse than the Wuhan Lab. Come on. That was funny. Check your social media scores. This whole club is getting downgraded. That's better. Yuk it up. And don't forget to tip your waitresses. They all dodged forced abortions. Lucky ladies. Wild stuff, huh?

Okay, time to hit the old Belt and Road. And remember, when life hands you lemons, beat a Tibetan with an ax handle. Goodnight, everyone.

Freakazoid Friends at Warner Bros.

L. to R.: Joe Leahy, Jonathan Harris, Paul Rugg, and I

 Rummaging in some old files and scrolled across this photo circa 1997. Note my stylish collarless shirt. I never really thought about moments such as this because I was always looking ahead to the next job. Now I realize my work at Warner Bros. was the most fun I've ever been paid for. Not that my current life isn't fun. But I'm not paid for sitting around—though that is no longer universally true in California. I wonder who took this?

Editing Diversity Pleases Chi Com Censors

 Money talks and the LGBTQ walk as comic Ryan Long exposes Hollywood hypocrisy. 

Ryan Long