Gardening II: Late Winter Plantings

2 March 20211 March 2021 The Portly Politico3 Comments

After what seemed like two weeks of rain, we finally had a warm, sunny weekend here in South Carolina, with temperatures in the upper-seventies and clear skies. South Carolina tends to go directly from the depths of winter to a hot spring (or cool-ish summer), and this sudden leap in temperature and climate corresponded with a sudden change in mood. Instead of bundling up sleepily watching horror movies, the warm weather inspired some spirited outings.

Aside from a rather adventurous, muddy trip to Lee State Park (more on that in tomorrow’s post), my girlfriend and I dedicated Sunday afternoon to doing some late winter plantings (in keeping with my desire to homestead more on my property). Growing season for most garden-variety plants begins much earlier here in South Carolina than other parts of the country, so we took advantage of the warm water to pot some edible plants, and put two directly into the ground.

Monday Morning Movie Review: You’re Next (2013)

1 March 202128 February 2021 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Another weekend has rolled by, so it’s time for another Monday Morning Movie Review. While clicking around Hulu I stumbled upon a flick I saw some years ago, though I didn’t realize it at first.

That says something about the similarity of schlocky horror flicks out there—they all have basically the same premise and plot description. Except this one, 2013’s You’re Next, is actually quite original.

Lazy Sunday CII: Obituaries, Part II

28 February 202126 February 2021 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Another week is dawning, and it’s time to look at the sun setting on some excellent individuals. 2020 was a rough year for many reasons, not least because of the deaths it brought. Here’s hoping this week’s titans are resting in the arms of Jesus:

“Rock in Peace, Eddie Van Halen” – If any of these three aren’t resting in the arms of Jesus, it’s probably Eddie Van Halen, though I’m holding out hope he experienced some manner of conversion experience and is playing “Panama” inside the pearly gates. Eddie was a pioneering guitarist, but he also built on the legacies of past giants, like the violinist Niccolo Paganini (who was so good, it was said he sold his soul to the devil for the privilege; if that’s true, there’s a pretty good band in Hell right now—not that you’d want to go and hear them!)
“Rest in Peace, Alex Trebek” – Smarmy. Smug. Canadian (I think). Alex Trebek is synonymous with Jeopardy!, and it’s unclear that anyone can fill his shoes. He brought just the right balance of bedside manner and not giving a damn to his hosting duties, asking guests for their tedious life stories, and occasionally finding them lackluster. But, boy, he was a good host. Rest in Peace, Alex.
“Rest in Peace, Rush Limbaugh” – Speaking of irreplaceable hosts, Rush Limbaugh is one of the first greats to shed off this mortal coil in the great year 2021. I don’t think anyone can truly replace Rush behind the legendary EIB Golden Mic, but I’m hoping they hire Mark Steyn as a perpetual guest host. “The Rush Limbaugh Show w/ Mark Steyn” has a nice ring to it. That’s a Canadian I can get behind.

That’s it for another macabre edition of Lazy Sunday. Happier retrospectives to come in March.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Authoritarian Creep

27 February 202126 February 2021 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive. To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more. For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

Something with which I struggle to wrap my mind around is the authoritarian impulse. I’m not pretending I’m immune to this impulse—this desire to tell others how to live their lives, backing it up with the threat of force for non-compliance—but the older I get, what little appeal the tendency held continues to diminish.

What I struggle to comprehend is the apparent need to boss people around. I understand needing to be authoritative with children and students—setting clear boundaries, understanding actions have consequences, molding the child to become a self-governing adult—but this desire to boss around perfect strangers is increasingly foreign to me.

This impulse manifests itself in virtually every facet of our lives. It creeps in bit by bit. Modest policy proposals and laws suddenly becomes weaponized Karenism, empowering authorities and otherwise normal people to swagger about with impunity, assured of the righteousness of their cause du jour.

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Phone it in Friday XVII: Modern Homesteading

26 February 202126 February 2021 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

The weather is getting warmer—it hit a balmy 77 degrees at least one day this week here in South Carolina—and that means Spring is near. Spring means gardening, and if I’m going to dive into the deep-end of converting my humble half-acre into a very small-scale farm, I’d probably better get crackin’ now.

As such, it was with great interest that I listened to an interview with Owen Benjamin, the stand-up comedian-turned-survivalist. Benjamin is a controversial figure, and I don’t agree with some of his views, but, again, I can respect his knowledge in the area of homesteading without endorsing, say, his belief that the Earth is flat.

Regardless, Owen Benjamin’s message is a very Christian one: don’t despair about the wicked craziness of the progressive Left and the materialism of the modern world. Instead, “crush” it—be your own man (or woman), build something for yourself and your family, and give glory to Christ Jesus. Creating culture is the way to save it.

With that preamble, I thought I’d share Benjamin’s recent interview with Blonde in the Belly of the Beast. It’s a little over an hour long, but it’s worth your time. One thing I learned is that growing some tomatoes and raising a few chickens is very easy, and that the barrier to entry for small-scale homesteading and farming is much lower than I initially thought.

Enjoy!

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TBT: Lazy Sunday LIX: The God Pill Series

25 February 202123 February 2021 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Former pick-up artist and born-again Orthodox Christian Roosh V has a new book out about his miraculous conversion away from a life of casual sex to a life devoted to serving Jesus Christ. The book, American Pilgrim, is one-part travelogue, one-part social commentary, and one-part testimony (according to what I’ve read about the book; I hope to purchase my own copy soon).

To celebrate Roosh’s nearly-four-hundred-page release, I thought it would be worth dedicating this week’s TBT to looking back at The God Pill Series, a series of three posts about Roosh’s conversion. Many of Roosh’s former colleagues in the PUA world were suspicious of his conversion, but I detected something deep and sincere in it—chiefly, because no one becomes a Christian in 2021 expecting to make more money (the primary charge being that Roosh was “reinventing” himself to cash in; unpublishing all of his pick-up books suggested otherwise).

So here’s to celebrating a new brother in Christ. Here’s April 2020’s “Lazy Sunday LIX: The God Pill Series“:

Victory for Life

24 February 202123 February 2021 The Portly Politico3 Comments

Last week life found a way when Governor Henry McMaster signed the Fetal Heartbeat Bill into law. The Heartbeat Bill is a major victory for the protection of unborn lives.

The Virus Kabuki

23 February 202122 February 2021 The Portly Politico9 Comments

A big hat-tip (H/T in blogger parlance) to Mogadishu Matt for reblogging this New York Times piece about masks and The Virus. I tend to view mask mandates as a form of petty tyranny—a way of signalling virtue on the cheap while inconveniencing otherwise law-abiding citizens who don’t want to muzzle themselves every time they want to buy cereal.

As such, I was surprised to see the dubious wisdom of mask mandates questioned in the pages of the progressive Left’s favorite “mainstream” rag, The New York Times.

Monday Morning Movie Review: Movie Round-Up I

22 February 202122 February 2021 The Portly Politico2 Comments

With all the gloomy weather in South Carolina over the past week (please pray for the poor folks in Texas, who are facing truly dangerous weather conditions), it’s been ideal weather for staying home and watching movies. Surprisingly, Hulu has upped its game a bit in terms of selection.

I’m running a tad behind with today’s post, so I figured rather than diving deeply into one movie, I’d give a quick round-up of several movies, with some quick notes on each.

Happy Viewing!