Islamic Glassmaking - The Art of Fire and Sand

Achilles Last Stand

Fishnet Friday

'Most Interesting Man in the World' Retires

F. World -The famed Mexican beer company, Dos Equis has said 'adios' to 'The Most Interesting Man in the World', thereby retiring him from the brand's ad campaign to replace the pitchman with a new face.

Amsterdam-based Heineken's Dos Equis announced in a series of ads on Wednesday that the 77-year-old actor Jonathan Goldsmith who has represented the brand since the start of its 'Most Interesting Man' campaign, will no longer appear in their familiar commercials, Washington Post reported.  Following the Dos Equis tradition of dramatizing commercials, this change was revealed in videos showing Goldsmith departing for a “one-way mission” to Mars. “From superheroes to superspies, our fans are accustomed to and enjoy different takes on the same character. We know ‘The Most Interesting Man in the World’ will continue to endure and grow, as the character’s story is bigger than one individual.” said Katz in a report by Deadline.


(h/t Dr. Tar)

It's Not His Fault You Don't Love Him....

Obama: “I Have Not Contributed to Dividing the Country.”

The Spectacle:

Barack Obama may have spent most of his morning press conference holding babies and snuggling Canadian Prime Ministers (they're best friends! though they've only met once), but he took a moment to reassure those gathered in the Rose Garden that he is definitely not the reason that the country seems to be at war with itself.

He's uniter, not a divider, and it's simply not his fault that people resist their basic urge to like him, thus upending the natural order.

“I do all kinds of soul searching in terms of, are there things that I can do better to make sure that we are unifying the country. But I also have to say… that objectively it’s fair to say that the Republican political elites and many of the information outlets, social media and news stations, talk radio, television stations have been feeding the Republican base for the last seven years a notion that everything I do is to be opposed, that cooperation or compromise somehow is a betrayal, that maximalist, absolutist positions on issues are politically advantageous, that there is a ‘them’ out there and an ‘us’ and ‘them’ are the folks who are causing whatever the problems you’re experiencing and the tone of that politics, which I certainly have not contributed to.” 

Did you hear that, Republicans? He's such an idyllic figure, so kind and gentle, so warm and compromising, that it's simply impossible not to love him. As such, you should be swept off your feet by his charm and grace, and if you're not, well, it's simply your fault for putting up such a resistance

Of course, if you notice, not once in his narrative about searching the depths of his soul for what he could do better, did it ever occur to him to change the latter half of his speech from a scorching criticism of the opposition party's "tone" and unwillingness to listen to a conciliatory invitation to gather by the fire, roast s'mores and sing songs on an acoustic guitar. It's the Republicans who have been fed the notion of my partisanship! Damn those Republicans!

Earl's 2016 Official Voters Guide

Earl dips his Di.. Toe into the Waters of the Lucrative World of

Campaign Media Consulting - Read More at EARL'S DESK

And Now a Few Words on Behalf of Bernie Sanders.

And I say any man who dances like this has no business in the White House!

h/t GOP-TEA-PUB

Monsoon Season Has Arrived Early.....

In most of Louisiana we always have our annual monsoon season. Here in 'Sportsman's Paradise', it makes for happy ducks, active gators and the great fishing afterwards, not to mention beautiful Azalea gardens.  But this year it has arrived early, and with a vengeance. We've had 8-12 inches of gully washing rain in the last 36 hours, with another 7-14 inches on the way up from the coast. Some places further south have received as much as 18 inches. Rain is said to continue for the next two days. Places that rarely flood are now flooding, and the SPD has closed the bayou bridge on the road to my house. Boo Hoo for me. It's gonna be a tee-shirt, shorts and barefoot extra long weekend. 

But, as long as the power holds out, it's a chance to catch up on some personal correspondence I'm behind on, and write some post I have been bouncing around in my head.  

Now, where did I put that corkscrew....

An Embarrassing Display

Dr. Tar-

Donald Trump took the opportunity at his press conference last night to rebut Mitt Romney’s list of failed Trump brand products by displaying them on stage. It made for a nice photo op. Only it was all so blatantly false and misrepresented that anyone willing to look beyond the surface would find Romney’s words confirmed.....

READ MORE HERE 

Norks Claim to Have Miniaturized Weapons Arsenal

Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country has miniaturized nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic missiles and ordered improvements in the power and precision of its arsenal, its state media reported on Wednesday.

Kim has called for his military to be prepared to mount pre-emptive attacks against the United States and South Korea and stand ready to use nuclear weapons, stepping up belligerent rhetoric after coming under new U.N. and bilateral sanctions. Kim's comments released on Wednesday were his first direct mention of the claim, previously made repeatedly in state media, to have successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead to be mounted on a ballistic missile, which is widely questioned.

North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 claiming to have set off a miniaturized hydrogen bomb, which was disputed by many experts and the governments of South Korea and the United States. The blast detected from the test was simply too small to back up the claim, experts said at the time.

Thank You MJA for the Linkage!