Friday Photo(s): Veterans Day

These taken at the otherwise miserable Titans loss to the Bengals last Sunday.

Veteran's Day is today; this display by the 101st Airborne was accompanied by tributes to all branches of our military. Thanks to all the vets who are serving and who have served in support of this great nation.

Looking from LP Field to the Pedestrian Bridge...

...and from the Pedestrian Bridge back at the stadium.

Click to enlarge. The flag - field photo is scaled massively; to 1920 x 1110, to fit a decent monitor's screen. T'other two at 1200 x 800.

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Titans fail to OCCUPY their End Zone. The Texans, however, did OCCUPY theirs, and frequently.

This was one miserable game, from start to finish. The booing started in the 1st Quarter; the booing was ominous.

The Defense was booed for it's inability to stop a known-sorry-ass Texan offense (both pass and run); the Offense was booed for it's inability to run, or pass (and catch) the damned ball. The entire overall effort of this Titans team, today, was one big, fat, collective FAILURE to COMPETE.

CJ didn't stand out as a catalyst because that $53 million is weighing him down, but he's not the only player on the team. Sure, he was paid the 'big bucks' to get out there and be a 'spark', but there's other players too that could've stood out. There was no team member with any 'sparks' whatsoever; no one else stood out as a 'team leader'. There was no evidence that anyone on that field was putting out the extra effort that's required of a professional NFL team player. I was reminded of the Titans team that lost in the snow, 59-0, to the New England Patriots back in 2009. If the Titans hadn't been playing at home, and were matched up against a better team than the lame-ass Texans, they might've had those numbers eclipsed today.

Fans were calling for backup QB Jake Locker just past halftime. He did come in during 'garbage' time, but he's no Tim Tebow.

Whatever those players and coaches did during the bye week was ineffectual. Yes, for that, blame the coaching staff as well. Munchak and his staff were out-coached.

Lame ducks, the lot of 'em. We expect much better, really.

Oh, some photos. At least I had fun with these.

A-10 (s) Overflight. This is what Ahmadinnerjacket is gonna see, next president.

Matt Hasselbeck: 14 for 30, 104 Yds, 1 TD, 2 INT. Lousy.

Matt Schaub: 18/23, 296 Yds, 2 TD, 0 INT. Winning.

Jake Locker: 1/1, 12 Yds, 0 TD, 0 Int
Tim Tebow: 13/27, 161 YDS, 2 TD

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Friday Photo: ROSIE O'DONNELL: IS THAT YOU ?

My original photo, unaltered (clicky to embiggen)...

The same pic, rotated and cropped so's you can clearly see the...face!

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Titans whip Ravens in home opener, 26-13

Yes we did whip the Ravens! But it was a surprise to all, especially to me.

9/11 Remembrance at Halftime

Tit-ans Tee Weather

Just about every Titans fan who came to this home opener wondered how in the hell we were going to perform against a team that beat the (turns out, overly-) vaunted  Pittsburgh (PissBeUponYellowTowels!) Steelers, after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend in the awful Jags stadium; a place that's half-wrapped in tarpaulins, many seats are mothballed because they can't sell the damned place out. It has a permanent for-sale sign out front...how much longer before they move to Los Angeles I wonder? No wonder we lost last weekend; how can a team get interested in playing when they're playing in a half-dead venue?

#5 (inch) Joe (Flaccid) Flacco

So, Ravens Quarterback Joe (Flaccid) Flacco brings his non-performing self to LP Field, and proved that even Viagra can't help if you're a weenie with a wobbly throw.

Ray Lewis was mentioned only once, and spent his sideline time mainlining formaldehyde to try to keep rigor mortis from setting in. He's done, Ravens staff, please let him go.

In all, this was a good home opening win for Coach Munchak, our Hall-of-Fame coach who proved he was no Jeff Fisher, by taking it to the Ravens in the 3rd and 4th quarters, when Fish might've slacked off and tried to milk a lead for just enough time by running the clock. Fisher lost a few dozen games doing that, trying to just squeak by. Looks like Munch won't have that nonsense. If there's points to be had, go for 'em, put 'em on the board.

Someone's grownup stepchild?

Great work, if I do say so myself.

Next, the Broncos, with Orton behind center and Tim Tebow playing, what, defensive end next weekend? Who knows.

Bring 'em.

Hasselbeck: finally, an adult at quarterback.

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Friday Photo: NOT a Barking Spider

...but a backyard spider.

Cute little fella, eh?

I'd be remiss (since I mentioned barking spiders) not to link this (h/t JeffG) at Military Times ...

So here’s the news: audible farting has been banned for some Marines downrange because it offends the Afghans.

I know there are many things in the Afghan culture that don’t seem normal to Americans and it’s hard to spend seven months working in someone else’s back yard. Still, the Marines I saw downrange are doing a pretty good job at trying to do the right thing around the Afghans.

They’re not supposed to cuss because it could be misunderstood (that one goes out the window a lot). And they stay away from talking about politics, religion or girls because those topics could escalate into major disagreements (they can’t communicate anyway because of the language barrier).

But farting? That’s practically a sport. Ok, it’s not soccer, but a good contest could open the door for cross-cultural exchanges, jokes and other gallows humor.

So, for all Marines getting ready to go downwind, I mean downrange, be forewarned — you may have to hold it in… at least until you get back to your hooch where you can loudly crop dust your friends.

OK.

Be sure to read the comments there; this one is typical...

Really? We are worried about offending people who crap in the corner of their own living space. On a daily basis Marines are accosted by the grotesque living conditions of the ANA and ANP, assaulted by non-stop request to go to the sack with them, have to put up with their complete incompetence, have to worry about whether or not their ANA and ANP tag along is going to bail during a fire fight (or shoot at you, or maybe he is the one who put that IED in place), but we can’t fart in front of them. Sure thing. Maybe the guy who made this call should step away from his desk for a minute and put eyes on what’s really happening down range.

And some wag put together a list of terms that mean 'farting'. Yes, 'barking spiders' is one of them; but I'd heard that one decades ago, and is one of my favorite euphemistic synonyms for that familiar human condition.

Oh, Semper fidelis, Marines, and let 'em rip.

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Windswept yellow dress makes things better for a hot, busy day.

Sometimes you see a photo that just makes you say, 'damn, but that's good.'

Kate Middleton makes a yellow dress talk, doesn't she ?

I'm in a hurry, so no time to belabor the debt issue, except for...that Polypfeiffer fellow makes me ill..

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said on his Twitter account on Sunday night that congressional leaders will return to the White House for further negotiations on Monday. At 11 a.m. that same morning, President Barack Obama will hold a press conference in the White House briefing room, according to his official schedule. These announcements are the first formal fallout of Sunday night’s talks on the subject, led by the president and involving top politicians from the House and Senate.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said afterward that Democrats are “still hopeful for a large bipartisan agreement,” one that will do “no harm to the middle class or to economic growth (and) protect Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries.”

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader [SIC] Mitch McConnell, meanwhile said that he found it “baffling that the president and his party continue to insist on massive tax hikes in the middle of a jobs crisis.”

No bad news is bad news delayed, I suppose.

More Yellow Bird (no kitty!) just below the fold...

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Photo Study: James Richard Verone, a Lifelong Democrat, I'll bet.

I've got wild staring eyes
I've got a strong urge to fly
But I've got nowhere to fly to

This guy, James Richard Verone, robbed a bank so he could go to jail to get health care. Not a large sum robbery; just a dollar, but with intent to defraud North Carolina out of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in health care.

LeftLibProggs frame this as a failure of our society to provide equal outcomes. I frame this as a simple man who's made a lifetime of poor choices, culminating in the poorest choice of all: opting in to jail, to get 'free' benefits. Go to jail for free; screw the taxpayers.

The idiot LeftLibProgg linked above decries that Government hasn't taken enough monies from the 'EVIL RICH' to make this gentleman whole, sound and his life one of equal outcome.

The second link, to Bag News Notes, isn't as simple-minded; but the guy does claim that Verone isn't making a political statement. Wrong. Yahoo! News...

"Verone also presented the view that if the United States had a health-care system which offered people more government support, he wouldn't have had to make the choice he did."

and

"He said he's hoping to receive back and foot surgery, and get the protrusion on his chest treated. Then he plans to spend a few years in jail, before getting out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach."

So, we see someone here, James Richard Verone, who is so-far gone in his expectations of a nanny-state government that his plans for the rest of his life are to defraud the state of North Carolina for health care, then 'retire' to the beach on his Social Security. Made worse by a couple of lefty sites that want to use the guy as exemplar of our failed society.

It's failed only if he gets away with this.

Seems that James Richard Verone has been a lifelong Democrat to me, and now is a poster boy for the dirty socialists. Wild and crazy-eyed

Wouldn't his mother be proud of him.

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