A Truism

The one thing I want to leave my children is an honorable name. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

Theodore Roosevelt

I spend an increasing amount of my time in the world of heritage and ancestors. Cultivation of heritage and respect for one's ancestors is, I think, one of the basic reason why we even are here and exist at all. This is why it is important to leave an honourable name; one is part of the long line of one's family and tribe. Life can be difficult, battles, even wars, can and will be lost, but how one conduct one's self in victory and defeat is the matter at hand.

Barry R McCain

It's Sleet, Not Freezing Rain

Happy to report that Oxford had a small amount of sleet and no freezing rain to speak of. There you go.

A Truism

Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in.

Edmund Burke

Red States and Blue States

The last few times I have been in Ireland and the UK I was often asked about the 'Red States and Blue States.' Well below is a map and some interesting statistics about the topic drawn from the last election. Perhaps this shall shed some light...

Interesting Statistics:

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law,
St. Paul, Minnesota, points out facts of 2008 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:
Democrats: 19
Republicans: 29

Square miles of land won by:
Democrats: 580,000
Republicans: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by:
Democrats: 127 million
Republicans: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Democrats: 13.2
Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won by Republicans was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country.

Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare. Professor Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

I could make another point left out by the good professor, the 'red' areas have living, vibrant, American societies. These societies are marginalized and largely ignored by the socialist elites on the east and west coasts and have no say in the media.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million illegal immigrants, who are actually breaking our laws, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

Apathy is the greatest danger to freedom and one would be hard pressed to find a nation in the course of man's history more apathetic than ours. Doesn't bode well, there's going to be fire works I'd think.

It's How You Finish

Here is a link to the talk of one very incredible man... have look, especially if you are a little down today or feel life is plotting against you.

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

Wet and cool in Oxford, Mississippi, today. The weatherman says we might have a dusting of snow or a little freezing rain. I don't believe him.

A Truism

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

H.L.Mencken

News Fasting

Have you ever news fasted? I recommend it highly, especially these days. All you need do is to turn the news off, go a few days without it. After a while you're a new man or woman. You smile at children, pet the dog, rub behind the cat's ear, even that sip of single malt from Islay takes on a warmer countenance and you can taste the salt air of the Irish Sea. The world becomes alive before you and you hear birds singing. I am convinced it is the cure.

The news we get today is really Newszak, a term coined by the late Malcolm Muggeridge back in the 60s when news broadcasting had already began to take the form it is now. The queer marriage of entertainment, pretty boy talking heads, wee bits of news mixed with 24 hour coverage of the latest soap opera presented as a major news event, interrupted with tabloid data on some starlet's underpants (or worse).

Malcolm Muggeridge

The constant drivel of Newszak puts one off his game, pours cobwebs and mud into the noodle's gears and literally numbs the mind. Not good, even my two Manx cats, Piscín and Pangur, seem to resent the noise, often leaving the room when the idiot box is tuned to the stuff.

In defense I used to put the Weather Channel on, but alas, they are now part of the worst offender, NBC, and have sunk to including a steady outpouring of politically correct quasi science, Al Gore-ism, and politically suspicious programs. Blast them for the silly sops they are.

I am on a three day (so far) newszak fast. Yes, I did miss all the inauguration hooplah, but I accomplish a lot of important things. I added all my Bach, Beatles, and Debussy to my Ipod which my clever sons connected to my computer, so now when the cravings for newszak strike me, I listen to music. Piscín and Pangur enjoy the change and have taken to cat- napping nearby.

News fasting. Try it; you'll like it.

Institutionalized Racism, say it ain't so

My my, hey hey, racism is here to stay....

Oh well, at least Change is not really change and when is change not really change?

Well, surely George Orwell's soul, where ever it might be, has a certain grim satisfaction if he chanced to hear Reich.

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others… said the pigs who controlled the government in George Orwell’s Animal Farm and also apparently, Obama's Reich certainly believes this. Nice, eh?

The Inauguration

Well I watched the inauguration; however, not the Obama one, the Kennedy one. Yes, I remember it well. It was very cold. I remember most an ancient Robert Frost getting up the read and the podium catching fire. I remember that. I was born in 1951, so I was pretty young. But, I was odd, I watched things like inaugurations and plays.

Robert Frost was a wonderful poet. On that day he came up to the podium and two events happened, a gust of wind scattered his prepared poem and the podium caught fire.

Now, I’ve played music before on stage, I say this, because, I know only too well things can go wrong when you stand in front of many people and have a bit of music or some words you must do. But, the professionals always cope. On one of the Beatles early performances on Ed Sullivan, John Lennon’s mic did not function, he was singing the lead vocal on that particular song… without missing a beat; Paul took over the lead vocal.

Professionals with talent do what they need to do to perform always, God’s grace in action, whether you are Paul McCartney, Michael Schumacher, or a Robert Frost. That’s the way the world works.

Well Robert Frost did not miss a beat, he changed poems to one he had in his head from memory and chanted it, in the way the old poets do that have been trained in the old style. For those who are young, go buy some CDs of poets from the early 20th Century reading, back when they still knew these basic tenets of the ancient and honourable craft. Robert Frost was a poet at his best in difficult circumstances.

So you see I did watch the inauguration, but it was many, many years ago.

The poem he recited that day:

The Gift Outright

by Robert Frost

The land was ours before we were the land’s
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England’s, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she will become.



Me thinks the world has changed much since that day on 20 January 1961, perhaps that is the change I hear spoken so much of…. then again, maybe not.


Barry R McCain

Lovely Snow

There is a lovely light snow falling this morning in Oxford, Mississippi. The flakes are large and dry, not the wet snow type. Just flurries and I doubt there will be any accumulation at all, but still looks beautiful.

Father Winter Visits Oxford Mississippi

By special arrangement by his highness Al Gore, Father Winter paid a visit to Oxford, Mississippi this week. Yes, it was cold lads and lassies. Here at the McCain compound we saw a morning temperature of 11.5 F a couple days ago and it has been below freezing since Wednesday.

I produce the photograph above as evidence thereof; it was taken just off the Square here in Oxford yesterday afternoon. Yes, that lovely fountain is frozen, that is ice. Neat, eh? I think so.

Old Man Winter

I for one am very happy to see Father Winter visit us. I have hopes of fewer insects and other nasties come Spring due to the low temperatures. We have been some three days below freezing, which in my part of Dixie is something these days.

above, my two Manx cats on a much warmer day, they are optimists and like to sleep in the bird bath...

My two black Manx cats were entirely impressed. They set all time records for speed sprint bathroom brakes. Did not take the lads long to go outside, do their business, and shoot themselves back inside. They are clever, they take the chairs closest to the fireplace. Thanks to the help of my son Conar, a strong 14 year old, I have plenty of firewood and the last few days the hearth had a fine fire non stop.

I hope that Father Winter enjoyed his visit and will come back again soon. We miss him. Next visit I hope he brings snow, a good foot or more would be to my liking. I hope it hits on a weekday and the children will have the joy of missing classes and snow.

Barry R McCain
in the wooded hills of north Mississippi, just outside Oxford

Patrick McGoohan Rest In Peace

Tintin and the BBC

Cartoon legend Tintin celebrated his 80th birthday last weekend and he is popular as ever. Right, fair enough, both my boys grew up reading all the Tin Tin cartoon books. They loved them, still do. I enjoyed them also, excellent homeschool reading material.

The immortal boy reporter first appeared on January 10, 1929 bound for the Soviet Union, in a supplement to the Roman Catholic Brussels weekly, Le Vingtieme Siecle. The character was the creation of Belgium writer, Georges Remi, better known as Hergé.

Since then, 24 comic books about his adventures have been translated into more than 50 languages, with over 200 million copies sold and new young fans attracted to this timeless and ageless character.

Now one would think a nice celebration of this literary character would be in store and the BBC would do this simple act, i.e. celebrate Tintin.

But no… they drag out some rancid cat’s meat called Matthew Parris, a homosexual, and do an interview with this turnip who claims, the great boy reporter Tintin is ‘gay.’

Stupid I know, but you wonder just how far down can the once great BBC sink? The BBC has become much like the New York Times, no longer relevant. The BBC seeks to pumb the bottom it seems.

Here’s a quote from the blister…

A callow, androgynous blonde-quiffed youth in funny trousers and a scarf moving into the country mansion of his best friend, a middle-aged sailor? A sweet-faced lad devoted to a fluffy white toy terrier, whose other closest pals are an inseparable couple of detectives in bowler hats, and whose only serious female friend is an opera diva…

… And you’re telling me Tintin isn’t gay?’ said Matthew Parris.

Now this sack of damnation Parris is yet another ex-Tory MP. Which is a sidebar, as in what is it with this semi-right politicians and their testosterone levels? He was giggling and laughing in the interview. Isn’t that special? Shades of several country club Republicans I could name.

Now in the real world, as anyone who has read Herge’s Tintin books knows well, our hero Tin Tin is an average young lad, completely normal in every way, but lucky enough to have adventures while a young man.

The Belgium-based Studios Hergé reacted stoutly to the maggot Parris’s insane theory, with spokesman Marcel Wilmet declaring: ‘Tintin is not at all gay - he was very macho in fact. He has many friends who are boys but they are not boyfriends.’ The BBC is nuts and the responsible parties for interview the scab Parris should be horse whipped. Do them a world of good and Tintin, along with James Bond and Bat Man, is very mucho, he is very masculine.

This silly episode reminds me of another dung ball that wrote a tell-all book insisting that Errol Flynn was bisexual. This happened some years back when many of Errol Flynn’s friends were still alive, they to the man and woman declared this odd theory to be insane and the book a blight of fiction written for the mere reason of making money, more over, Errol Flynn was arguably the most straight, excessively heterosexual, man to walk this planet.

Alas, the BBC has become Crap.

Barry R McCain

Sugar Pancakes

Watching the Establishment Media these days is like sitting down to a breakfast of pancakes made with all sugar and eggs, no flour, with corn syrup poured on the top, then granulated sugar liberally sprinkled on top of that, then the whole concoction topped with a cup or more of honey, and a little powered sugar sprinkled just to up the sweetness even more.

And why are they so sweet? The coming of the Lord… the anointed one of course; the one who will make the rivers flow with honey, the one who will pay your mortgage, will punish the wicked and reward the many victims. No need to ever worry again.

Crime is over, poverty is over, rainy days are over… rejoice all. The One is Here...

We need never want again.

Barry R McCain

The Armed Christian

Life in Mississippi.

We live outside of Oxford, in the hills to the east of town proper. And for this reason cell phone reception is poor to non existent. However, today my older boy’s cell phone rang; he being in the shower, my younger son answered it. I listened to the relay of information between sons and I noticed this was one of my older son’s friends I had never heard of so I made small talk; ‘Is he a fellow student at Ole Miss,’

‘Yes.’

‘What’s he like,’ I ask. My older boy grins and says, ‘He’s really Christian and has a lot of guns and is a really nice guy.’

Now, I ask you is not Mississippi a splendid place? At no time was there any judgments being made, no, just pithy, concise, Mississippi speak to say a lot with few words.

Barry R McCain

Words For Today, Tom Lehrer and Cornbread

Today I offer the sound words of satirist Tom Lehrer, who said, 'Don’t be scared be prepared'.

We live in a world similar to Chicken Little's, i.e. the sky do be falling, son. We supposedly have Global Warming, yet the non- political scientists tell me that since 1998 the climate has been stable and even shows some signs of cooling. We have economic collapse due to deficit spending... gosh, do you think it would help if we and our governments lived within our budgets?

It is wet and cool in Oxford, Mississippi, today. Reminds me of being in Ireland in fact. I left the TV on for a bit of news and weather today. The Talking Heads sound pretty lame to this Mississippian.

Pinto beans, turnip greens cooked with their roots, corn bread made with whole kernel corn meal, and ice tea to drink... is on the menu today, boys. Life in Mississippi

Barry R McCain

Epiphaney and Beyond in Oxford

As I was driving down North Lamar Avenue today I noticed that many homes have already jettisoned their poor Christmas trees and had taken down their festive Christmas house trimmings. I even saw the lads at the fire station taking down their Christmas lights. A bit too soon I think and it is good to remember that Christmas lasts into January. It does not end on 26 December as the commercial concerns would have us believe.

A very enjoyable part of attending church, especially a traditional Catholic church, is that the Christmas season lasts well into January. All the wonderful aspects of Christmas are enjoyed for a longer time, the food and drink, gatherings and music, and the less pleasant commercial aspects which modern society assaults us with are lessened.

First we have Advent from 29 November to Christmas Day. The magic continues with ‘Christmastide’ which begins on 25 December and goes well into January. Then you have the Twelve Days of Christmas that run from the evening of 25 December to the morning of 6 January, with the evening of 5 January being the 12th Night, and a time of merriment and joy. The last feast day is on 11 January, with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The traditional Christmas follows the ecclesiastical calendar of course and there are things profoundly comforting and wise in observing the natural flow of this season. The remembrance of the Incarnation follows a natural course when the traditional Christmas is kept; and this gives us hope and comfort in an often hostile world.

Barry R McCain