Booyah

Some of you reading this may already know that actor Tony Shalhoub has deep, lifelong roots in northeast Wisconsin.  Specifically, Green Bay, where he was raised as the ninth of ten children in a Lebanese-American family.

Tony's mom is a Seroogy and if you're from around here you know all about Seroogy's Chocolates in De Pere.  Tony's father, 'Big Joe' Shalhoub was known as a distributor of meat and sausages to local groceries throughout the region.

Tony, himself, is a graduate of Green Bay East High School and was an extra in the school's production of the King and I which coincidentally led him to the Yale School of Drama and eventually to his acting career and resulting fandom in our northeast Wisconsin household.

This past winter Shalhoub released a documentary series titled: Breaking Bread; an episode of which eventually led to this stop.  

The Booyah Shed.

Returning home at the end of last week following a trip to the Naked City I asked The Missus if she was interested in lunch.

Almost immediately she mentioned the joint introduced in Shalhoub's documentary and the onboard navigation indicated we were only 17 miles outbound.  So we checked it out.

For anyone unacquainted with booyah it is hearty chicken and vegetable stew of Belgian origin and is ubiquitous to northeast Wisconsin and happens to be a signature dish during Belgian Days in my hometown.  Booyah at the Shed is first rate.

They also serve-up an extensive menu of specialty burgers, sandwiches, hand-cut fries, adult beverages and more.  Fast and friendly.

 

Enter the shed, go to the window and squeeze the rubber chicken to summon the cheerful lady to place your order.

With only a couple of four-top tables and six two-tops, in-door seating is limited, but turnover is quick with patrons bussing their own tables.  Carryout business is brisk.

If you find yourself in Green Bay and want some local comfort food; this joint comes highly recommended.

Hat- tip to Tony....    

April Astronomy - Meteors On Tap!

The month of April brings us the Lyrid Meteor Shower which will reach its peak the evening of April 21-22.

This meteor shower is made up of the remains of the Comet Thatcher and could produce up to 10-20 meteors per hour. Your best viewing opportunities begin late night tonight until sunrise on tomorrow when they're expected to peak.  They'll hang around to a lesser extent for the remainder of the week.  

 

 

 

Lyrid meteors radiate from near the brighter star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp.  The key is knowing that the constellation rises in the northeast sky before midnight.  Look to the northeast for these shooting stars to originate from the radiant from midnight until dawn.  While not as impressive as the Perseids (last August) the Lyrids don't require anything but the naked eye in order to enjoy them.  They're also known to produce fireballs, which are impressively bright meteors characterized by leaving a glowing trail of ionized gas in their wake.    

 

Moonset is around midnight so you can count on dark skies.  Fingers-crossed for good viewing conditions..... 

 

Spring Turkey

Braumeister and I drew permits for spring turkey this week.  With skilled calling we're hopeful to lure a long-beard within range of our place of concealment and hopefully get a couple of turkey birds in the freezer.

The boys have loving on their mind this time of year which makes them vulnerable to a skilled hunter with a steady hand and good aim; and isn't napping.

They're on the move.....

 

 

Gobbler Romance

The resident long beards around these parts have got lovin' on their mind.

And both Braumeister and I have valid permits for second season next week...

 

Hero

Earlier this month, Cambodia unveiled the world's first statue honoring a landmine-detecting rat.  Who knew?

Magawa the rat was trained by the Belgian charity Apopo before moving to Cambodia to begin his bomb-sniffing career.  He lived to eight years of age and identified more than 100 landmines and other explosives from 2017 to 2021.

There are more than 100 African pouched rats deployed in detection operations such as this across the world.  The rats are trained to sniff out explosive compounds like trinitrotoluene (TNT) as the rats are not hefty enough to trigger a detonation.  

Following decades of conflict it is estimated that in Cambodia alone there are as many as six million undiscovered landmines.  Consequently, since 1970 more than 20,000 people have been killed and another 40,000 wounded and maimed by this lurking ordnance.

Magawa cleared more than 1.5 million square feet of land and could search a tennis court-sized area in 20 minutes compared with four days by a human.

In 2020, Magawa was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal - the George Cross for animals - for his 'life saving devotion to duty'.  He was the first rat to receive the award in the charity's 77 year history.

And that's not all.  Learn more about the African pouched rat's ability to detect tuberculosis here.  

Chorale

Further evidence that there is more sign of spring and less of winter there is this chorus in the evening.  

They’ve been singing for almost a couple weeks now unless the overnight temps drop to freezing.  If I step out on the porch, rap on a pillar and in my deepest director voice announce:  ‘AHEM!’  The chorus stops immediately.

It resumes in short order so clearly sway over my subjects is limited; consequently I’ll not let my authority go to my head.

I recorded this last Sunday evening - so turn-up the volume for some chorus frogs. 

(The flashing hazard lights emit from towers on Brussels Hill)

 

Friday Morning Bible Study

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just prayed over the Iran war; and he used a fictional Bible verse.

From the previously unknown Book of Pulp Fiction.

At the Pentagon's monthly worship service on Wednesday, April 15, the Secretary of Defense stood up, told military leaders what they hear in worship should  'inform' their war decisions and then read a prayer calling for 'great vengeance and furious anger' on Iran. He said the prayer was called  'CSAR 2517,' which stands  for Combat Search And Rescue, and was based on Ezekiel 25:17.

Only it wasn't.

It was from Pulp Fiction. Specifically, it was the speech Samuel L. Jackson's character recites before executing an unarmed man.

The actual Ezekiel 25:17 has one sentence. The rest, including 'the path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,' was invented for Tarantino's 1994 film.  

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

- Quentin Tarantino 

The Secretary of Defense read a fictional hit man's execution speech to bless an actual war.

And then he said this: 'Fifteen minutes ago I was talking about blockades with Admiral Cooper, and now we're going to study the Lord's word. May what we talk about, how we worship today, inform the remainder of our day and the remainder of our week.'

The man coordinating a naval blockade and potential strikes on Iran is citing Bible verses that don't exist. 

From Hollywood. 

To bless a war that has killed men and women in service to our country, thousands of Iranians and threatens order, security and the entire global economy.  

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Pope Leo responded to Hegseth's earlier violent prayers on Palm Sunday. The Pope quoted actual scripture, Isaiah 1:15:'  Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.' 

Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich called Hegseth's sermons 'shameless blasphemy.

This is the man in charge of American military.  You know; the good guys.

The Crusader-tattooed former Fox News host who prayed for 'overwhelming violence' at his confirmation.  Who has fired Army leadership out of paranoia. Who invoked a movie as scripture to justify killing more civilians.

Too be clear, I have no sympathy for the Iranian Mullahs.  But this mash-up of God, guns and country implies Hegseth belongs back in rehab.  

Why your ask?

Because you can’t make this shit up.