Random Rants

 I went to Fantasy Land today. Yes, I went to the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Friendly Center in Greensboro.  Twenty years ago, I used to stop there a couple of times a week. Of course, that was a different time in a different place. We have both changed a lot in twenty years. I think this was my second visit since 2012. Ten feet inside the door, I remembered why I stopped going to Barnes and Noble. 

They had a table filled with books with a sign that read "Banned Books". I was left wondering that if the books had indeed been banned, why were they there for sale? I was not curious enough to ask an employee about this.

I looked around and realized that in their passionate desire to display their self-righteousness by stocking banned books, they neglected their own censorship practices. There are no gun magazines for sale at Barnes and Noble. You can buy hunting and fishing magazines but not gun magazines. They banned gun magazines years ago despite there never being a mass shooter who claimed he was inspired by a gun magazine purchased at Barnes & Noble. To sum it up, they ban gun magazines while criticizing others for banning books. What's the hypocrisy index rating of this practice?

Judging by the appearance of many of the patrons, one might surmise that they were holding tryouts for the circus. Sorry, I forgot that Ringling Brothers had shut down. I mistakenly assumed that the clowns had left town.

It wasn't the Barnes & Noble that I knew years ago. Now, they have shelves filled with "graphic novels" or "comic books" as we used to call them. I am sorry, but I prefer Archie, Betty, Veronica, Beetle Bailey and Thor.

There were many racks of books labeled "Manga". Afraid to actually touch them, I resolved to research them when I got home.  At home, surrounded by history and science books, I looked up "manga books" on Mr. Google. It turns out that they originated in Japan and are basically just another variant of comic books. Pardon me, they are another variety of "graphic novels" / "Comic books". I remember when we tried to get our kids to read books with words. At least, they weren't 18 when this happened, I think they were 4. I left B&N pretty quickly. I rushed home and held "A Brigade of South Carolinians" by J.F.J. Caldwell before hacking out this post. Having held a real book, I feel better.

In things not involving a 21st Century Bookstore, these thoughts. Why don't women identify as men so they can play men's sports? What if a woman did use the men's locker room? Wouldn't some big brassy bull dyke trans man be a laugh in the locker room? Can you imagine the insults? "Hey big fella! You didn't need a cup to protect that. You could have used a thimble." What's in that sack, a pair of dice?" "That's not a schlong, that's a short!" Where's Rosie O'Donnell when you need her? Maybe Roseanne Barr will go over to the other side, just for a day. We all know that won't happen,

In trying to get some of Joe Biden's emails from the National Archives, Comgressional Republicans have found that Joe Biden has been copying emails to names that in fact are pseudonyms that Biden has created. These fake names include Robert L. Peters, Robin Ware and JRB Ware. Joe scores no points for creativity. He's certainly no Pierre Delecto. Thanks, Mitt, for using that one on Twitter!!

We know that the National Archives has these emails, otherwise they would have had the FBI raid Biden's home and then have him indicted. If it works on Trump, then it must work on Biden??

My wife had surgery on her neck several weeks ago. She had to go back to the surgeon today for a recheck. The orthopedic clinic was filled with people who have been crippled by exercise. Should we rethink think this whole exercise thing? Just a personal point of view, but if I am the healthiest guy in the room, we need to regroup.

I'm a year late on this one, but I found out that one of my favorite authors passed away last year. He was Roger Welsch, who had written more books than I can name, but I will name a few.  His books include "Love, Sex and Tractors", "Everything I know about Women, I Learned from My Tractor," "Diggin' in and Piggin' Out, the truth about men and Food" and about two dozen other titles. He also did "Postcards from Nebraska," a feature for years on CBS Sunday Morning. Charles Kuralt called Welsch "America's Storyteller". I am saddened by his departure, but I will pull out some of his books and get some good laughs in his memory. 

Last shot! Biden is scheduled to attend the G-20 Summit in India in September.  Is he going on Air Force One or is he taking that Transpacific railroad to India that he said we are building??