State Of The Union

 

Sometimes a picture's worth a thousand words. That said, what's with the sign language obsession. Are more people deaf now, their eardrums blown out by the sheer volume of vacuity thundering across our airwaves like an MLRS barrage on the Dnieper? Possibly.

https://dragon-first-1.livejournal.com/

Speaking of which, Old Joe's gonna give those Russians a lesson they won't forget. That's right, no more US airspace for you, Russkies, you can't fly here, just like you couldn't during the pandemic. Take that. We can imagine Z Force sheepishly withdrawing from the Donetsk/Luhansk breakout and rolling wretchedly back across their start line. But that's not all.

Kherson Tonight

No, Joe's going to beat inflation by raising wages and lowering costs, and it works like this. You have a business with workers which makes a product, say T 14 power plants. These were already expensive and now, thanks to supply chain snarl ups and associated costs they're even more expensive. Problem. 

Solution? Raise wages, that way your product's even more expensive which is why it's cheaper. Not unlike Climate Change aka the weather; the hotter it gets the colder it becomes. You see, there's a logic to this and the market responded, pushing WTI crude to just under $110 a barrel on the heels of the Commander in Chief's SOTU encouragement. The Russians were taken aback too, reportedly advancing in Kherson and Mariupol. 

I'm afraid we're in for a rigorous Lent.

Your Old Pal,

LSP

The French Sixty Nine

The eternal suns and systems,

Solid and silent all,

To me are stars of an instant,

Only the fires that fail

From God's good rocket rising

On this night of carnival.

What better way to relax before the onslaught of multiple pancake dinners and the rigours of Lent than a fortifying French 69. You can shake it up like this.

69ml Champagne

30ml Old Raj gin

15ml elderflower liqueur

15ml lemon juice

Lemon twist garnish

Combine gin, elderflower liqueur and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled flute. Top with Champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Then, as you reflect upon the strange mystery of Ash Wednesday falling on Valentine's Day, raise your glass and drink to victory.

Cheers,

LSP

Allahu Akbar

Presented without comment.

LSP

Something Nasty in the Woodshed

Pretty creepy, eh? The penitential season obviously starts early here. Please try not to be sick.

God bless,

LSP

Shrove Tuesday

As we're on the eve Lent it makes sense, perhaps, to leave the bracing air of Valentine's Day bears and Lee Enfield projects behind, if only for a time.

Here's some Farrer to get the penitential spirit moving -- from The Crown of the Year.

"CHRIST broke his mysterious body and gave it to his disciples at the Supper without explaining at that time what the breaking and giving would mean. There was no need, the facts would presently make it clear. What, then, was done to this body? It was stripped, scourged, and nailed to a cross: stripped of all dignity and all possession, scourged with the stroke of penal justice, and nailed up like a dead thing while it was still alive. The body you receive in this sacrament accomplished its purpose by nailing to a tree. You are to become this body, you are to be nailed: nailed to Christ’s sacrificial will. The nails that hold you are God’s commandments, your rules of life, prayers, confessions, communions regularly observed. Let us honour the nails for Christ’s sake, and pray that by the virtue of his passion they may hold fast."

Serious business. 

LSP