A Pirate on the Prairie

“WATCH THE MOUNTAINS!” — Anthony Edwards as LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw in Top Gun I first watched Top Gun back in 1986 and to this day it is one of my favorite movies of the 1980s and of all time. Two of my biggest disappointments in life have been my inability to serve in the military and my inability to fly or to serve in an aviation-related position in the military due to my being asthmatic. The closest that I have been able to get to flying a fighter or an interceptor has

“Bon Jovi - She Don't Know Me” https://youtu.be/omLgJe9cnCw

“Ray Charles | You Don't Know Me (Visualizer)” https://youtu.be/d6s9a-CBHXY

Say what you will, but Budweiser can bring a commercial that tugs at one’s (patriotic) heartstrings. That’s true even though the company is now owned by AB InBev, a Belgian multinational company. 🇺🇸🦅 🐴 🥲 “Budweiser | Super Bowl LX Commercial 'American Icons'” https://youtu.be/a_mh-v02-Tw

“Hurricane - I'm On To You (Official Video) (1988) From The Album Over The Edge” https://youtu.be/SA744u6DqmI

“Whitesnake - Fool for Your Loving (Official Music Video)” https://youtu.be/8Tp0K9YiTPE

Okay, twist my arm. 😉 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO https://youtu.be/DSqp-W1pWoU

“Cherry Bomb” https://youtu.be/JxVdAZqjRfA

One of the things that I miss the most following my decades of living on the Southeastern North Carolina coast is the abundant, readily available, and delicious seafood that I enjoyed eating when I lived there. There was certainly no shortage of excellent and good seafood restaurants when I lived in the Wilmington area. My family moved to North Carolina before I entered kindergarten. My father had been stationed at Fort Bragg as a member of the vaunted 82nd Airborne Division

This is going to be the year (Lord willing) that I FINALLY get my “big, stompy robots” and other instruments of future warfare painted and on the field of battle. I happen to own the BattleTech Alpha Strike box set in addition to other BattleTech box sets and related wargame and roleplaying game products. Click on the link below for a 2023 Goonhammer review of that particular product. “Battletech Alpha strike: The Goonhammer Review” https://www.goonhammer.com/battletech-alpha

“Suddenly Everyone Is Scared to Dance at Concerts and Clubs” https://apple.news/AobRQ7JA3SUm53j7UnGQVog This article from The Wall Street Journal (click on the link above) points to a rather sad consequence of our arguably out-of-control social media culture. And this is coming from someone that is not exactly inclined to go out on the town for a night of dancing ( https://www.apirateontheprairie.com/post/shagging-on-the-beach-and-the-boulevard and https://www.apirateonthep

Anthony Michael Hall and the rest of the Weird Science cast were fantastically funny in the blues club scene. I have included a link below to a video clip. Enjoy. I, myself, have plans to enjoy some more live blues performances in 2026. I will have to remember though to take it easy with that Blind Dog bourbon. “Weird Science (5/12) Movie CLIP - Gary's Blues (1985) HD” https://youtu.be/g9GBuciv20A

Help isn’t coming. Be prepared to self-rescue. Great song. I was fairly certain that I had shared it on this blog previously. Oh well. “Hal Ketchum - Past The Point Of Rescue (Official Music Video)” https://youtu.be/BDbBBq1Dn2U

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze The one great thing about failed New Year’s resolutions is that you can dust them off and try again in the upcoming New Year (and you can admittedly also recommit to a resolution during the current year if you’re missing the mark). While I didn’t complete one of my two purchased The Great Courses Plus courses in 2025 as planned, I did finish viewing the course on the American Revolution and I watched parts of two add

You may plan to sing “Auld Lang Syne” tonight while celebrating New Year’s Eve with family, friends, and/or strangers. At the very least you will probably hear it being sung or played, as it is traditionally sung or played as people ring in the New Year. But have you given any thought to what it means? Well, I am here to help. Below are links to a short video explaining the meaning behind this Robert Burns song, a couple of articles on the song, and a video of the song being

“Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole.” 😏 “Repo Man (1984) | Burning Sensations - ‘Pablo Picasso’” https://youtu.be/AE2Vwefur0U

I bet no woman ever told David Cassidy or Keith Partridge that he was just infatuated or feeling nostalgic. 😉 “The Partridge Family - I Think I Love You (Audio)” https://youtu.be/bb4FMn-IWEY

Happy Thanksgiving Day 2025! If most of us are being honest, we have much to be thankful for even during trying or tumultuous times. I say this to humbly acknowledge my blessings for which I am sincerely thankful and to head off any understandable criticism that might follow in the wake of a random thought that brought a wry smile to my face. Sometimes something that we initially see as a cause for joy, celebration, and a feeling of gratitude is later revealed to us to be so

“Aaron Tippin - "My Blue Angel" (Official Video)” https://youtu.be/WHVGfC67eMM