Jersey Shore Horror Show

Flicking through the channels the other evening while riding the bike at the gym...came upon "Jersey Shore." I was transfixed..as one is transfixed when you see a car accident or some other horrible calamity. I was appalled at the behaviour and deportment of these Staten Island miscreants. These kids were inarticulate,ill mannered, promiscuous, self-absorbed and generally low-brow in every facet of their beings. None of the inhabitants of the Seaside house could properly use the King's English....they behaved like spoiled, poorly bred scumbags both in public and at the house. The hideous tattoos and sleazy dress was merely bad window dressing for these self styled Guidos and Guidettes. I found everything about these kids to be repugnant. The guys treated women terribly and the women were obnoxious junior harridans.Clearly the collective IQ of this entire group is barely room temperature. Years back I spent considerable time in Bay Head, N.J., so we went slumming a few times to observe these creatures in their natural habitat ay Joey's Surfside and other Clubs in the early '90s. The Guidos were bad then...but are worse now as they seem to have undergone some quasi-Darwinian retrogression to be even more tacky and sleazy than back then. God help them....

Going to The Dogs

The 2009-2010 Waterfowling Season is coming to a close this Saturday. I wanted to post a tribute to our Hunting dogs. The pictures above are of my dog Archie, Scout who belongs to a hunting buddy, and Puddy, who belongs to my good friend and hunting companion Ned. Many bloggers prattle on about their dogs...but there is nothing like the bond formed between a hunter and his hunting dog. Perhaps it is the shared experience and the time spent in a truly cooperative and mutually involved activity that defines the hunter-dog connection. Most people hang out with their dogs in the evening, take them for walks, cuddle and generally enjoy the domesticated relationship. With a waterfowl hunter or upland game hunter the relationship is far more complex. We spend hours in cold ,wet duck blinds or goose pits with our dogs. They ride in the truck and the boat with us and quiver with excitment the moment the guns are brought out. They find the grouse and quail and show us where they are. They even seem to laugh at us when we miss a shot. They jump in frigid water to retrive our ducks. They charge across snowy fields to bring back 8 pound geese. They sleep at our feet by the fire and provide unconditional love and friendship. They make us laugh. A hunting dog is a companion like no other.

As I continue my foray into the world of boxing management I am continuosly impressed with the dedication and athletic ability of my Welterweight fighter Ardrick Butler. He is scheduled to fight 2/26/2010 at The Arena in Philadelphia in a 6 round bout. He is moving up from 4 round fights and his training and work-outs have adjusted to this longer contest. Anyone who has ever engaged in a combat sport like boxing, wrestling etc. knows the courage it takes to step into the ring or onto the mat. In addition to pure athletic ability,stamina and skill, it requires an emotional and mental strength that many people neither posses nor appreciate. Boxing is a great sport to watch live....far better than TV. Any sportsman should go to the fights in their area to experience " The Sweet Science" firsthand.

The recent news from Haiti is horrendous. The people of that island Nation have been struggling for years with an unsettled political system, terrible poverty, limited resources...and now they must endure a cataclysmic natural disaster. I have a friend and colleague,Picard Losier, who is a lawyer from Haiti. We have had many cases against each other over the years and have become quite friendly. He is organizing some early relief efforts here in Philadelphia and we all hope to help as much as we can.

From another perspective, one that is purely selfish and crass, I am concerned that the supply of one of Haiti's best exports will be disturbed. In particular, one of the finest Rums on the planet is produced by Barbancourt, a Haitian distiller. Barbancourt uses fermented sugar cane juice rather than molasses( molasses is the base of "industrial" rums) to distill it's fine spirit. The secret and distinction of Barbancourt is a double distillation process usually used in producing Cognac.They have several levels of aged rum ranging from 4 to 15 years. The 15 year old is a superlative rum best enjoyed neat or on the rocks with a slight squeeze of lime. The younger bottlings go well with tonic or soda. Here's hoping the rum supply flows...but more importantly here's hoping the suffering of the people in Haiti is swiftly remediated. Readers can click on a link to the left to help.

Godfather Question

I am a huge fan of the the movie " The Godfather" and have seen it countless times. I have also read the book several times. During the last time I watched the movie I had a serious revelation about the content and plot in the opening wedding scene. Specifically: Why was Michael not at the Wedding Ceremony? Michael shows up after the reception is well under way and it is clear from the reaction of Tom and Fredo that they are seeing him for the first time in a while. Also, he is not in a formal military kit but regular uniform. Hence, it is obvious that Michael was not at his Sister's marriage ceremony but only showed up for the reception

This absence seems extremely odd given the cohesive nature of "the family" which is a core theme of the movie and just really puzzles and perturbs me. No one has offered a compelling explanation. Did Coppola have a reason for this cinematic construct or is it just a mistake?

Hookey for Hunting

My buddy Hutch and I skipped work today for a morning duck hunt in Delaware. I was not scheduled in Court and the weather report was for morning snow showers and the tide was right. We headed down to the Club Monday night. There was a dust of snow and we set up decoys at Murray's Point Blind( Named after Judge Dick Murray, one of the Club's founders.) Not much action but I did manage to clip one duck at about 8 :15 a.m. as she cupped into our spread. The remainder of the morning was quiet. Hutch is pictured above with his favored waterfowl gun and a considerable wad of chew. We have known each other for 43 years, having met at Trinity Episcopal Nursery school when we were 3 years old. He is an agreeable hunting companion and a good friend.
Also pictured is the boardwalk across the marsh to the blind and a view out of the blind...a really pretty spot on a cold winter morning and the site of some memorable hunts and stunning sunrises.
Hutch and I are taking our sons down to hunt Monday as they are off school for the Holiday.

Eagles screw the pooch.

I have a friend in the ticket business who is also a rabid Philadelphia sports fan. He once said: "The Eagles will always break your heart." Well, they broke our hearts in their failed Superbowl attempt and they broke our hearts again last night.After a truly pathetic outing against the hated Cowboys last week, the hapless Eagles registered an even worse performance last night. The game was over by the 2nd quarter and there is plenty of blame to go around. Can we ever win the big game with this Coach? With this quarterback?
Football season is over for the Philadelphia Fan...but perhaps the Flyers can live up to thier pre-season promise...and 38 days until pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater.

Hunting the Weather

With the forecast for snow begining after Midnite and continuing into the morning, Charlie and I headed south for the duck hunting club. We watched the Bama v. Texas game and then an early rise Friday morning. It was snowing lightly as we approached Speakman's Blind. We could see loads of Canada geese cooped on the open water near the blind. Most of the river was iced up. Rather than put out duck decoys,we decided to change strategy and head for the field to hunt the geese...they were certain to get up in groups after sunrise and fly over. I had stopped at K-Mart and bought 3 cans of that fake snow spray that people use on their windows for Christmas decor. Charlie and I used the spray to put a coat of white camo on the Final Approach layout blinds to blend with the snow. We spread about 3 dozen goose full body and shell decoys over the snowy field and hunkered down to wait. We smoked cigars and talked about books (Hemingway, Conn Iggulden,Wilbur Smith, Patrick O'Brien and others) game recipes and general bull.....then the birds began to stir. The first few groups were a bit out of range and we let them pass. The next few were not so lucky. With some light calling we had geese coming in. Charlie dropped the first and I whacked another on the next flight. When I was out of the blind grabbing my harvest another flight came over and Charlie popped a beautiful double. A great morning. As an aside, we learned through empirical evidence that the 3 inch " Hevi-shot" shells Charlie was using hit really hard at long range. The 3 inch steel # 2's I was using hit like a grade school girl in comparison. We cannot wait for more weather and hope to have a crack at some of the big ducks we saw flying!

New Year's Eve Goose

On New Year's Eve day my Son and I went goose hunting at the Hunting Club in Delaware. After a night of cards and pool with other Club Members, we got up before dawn and placed lay-out blinds and Canada decoys in the soybean fields. About an hour after sunrise the geese were up and flying and I shot this bird at around 8:30 a.m. The snow and sleet and generally Wintry conditions were perfect. We did put out some duck decoys on the river and saw some Mallards flying but nothing in range or interested. Overall a great day with my Son.

Christmas Libations

One of the truly delicious Christmas drinks for cold nights is Myers dark Rum and hot apple cider. This concoction has led to some spirited and haphazard tree-trimming sessions with my Wife and I...but it remains a great festive mix.