Funnies

 

Super Bowl - Jon Stewart

 Trump Defends Racist Obama Meme & MAGA Rages Over Bad Bunny’s Spanish Halftime Show -The Daily Show

Signs

 Joining Tom at Signs2

Wordless Wednesday Wordless

February 2026 - Toronto ON

New bakery on King St. East. 

This is an interesting sign on King St. East

Morning Reflections

 

Walk for Peace

 You can read all about The Walk for Peace at their Facebook page.

Today, the Walk for Peace Crosses into Washington, DC

Today marks Day 108 of the Walk for Peace - a meaningful moment as the monks leave Virginia and cross into Washington, DC, the final destination of this 2,300-mile journey.

After walking barefoot through many states, the path now reaches the nation’s capital. This crossing is not just geographic - it carries deep symbolic weight, reminding us that peace belongs in the heart of public life, dialogue, and unity.

Day 108 Schedule Highlights:

• 7:00 AM — Walk begins

• 9:30–10:45 AM — Public event at Bender Arena

• Lunch stop — National United Methodist Church (invitees only)

• 1:00–2:30 PM — Interfaith ceremony at Washington National Cathedral

• 2:30 PM — Unity Walk on Embassy Row

• Evening — Night stop at George Washington University (private event)

Everyone is warmly welcome to witness and support this sacred day. Presence, even in silence, is a form of participation.

Sachin Gautam

 

 

Behind the Walk for Peace stands not a single figure, but a small community of Buddhist monks, each carrying their own history, discipline, and quiet dedication to the path of compassion.

I would like to gently introduce 12 monks who are walking for peace, to share who they are, where they come from, and the teachings they embody through their presence and steps.

Venerable Monk: Bhikkhu Paññākāra

The #WalkForPeace is guided by Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra, the head monk and spiritual leader of this journey. With quiet determination and deep humility, he leads not through speeches or commands, but through example.

Venerable Monk: Sư Chánh Đạo (Samma Maggo)

From: France

Age: 68

Venerable Monk:  Natthapol.

From: Watnonswang (Udon Thani, Thailand).

Age: 32

Venerable Monk: .Vilasak Chaleunsoouk

From: Wat Lao Salt Lake Buddharam (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Age: 31

Venerable Monk: Douangphaneth Mingsisouphanh (Suvanno)

From: Wat Lao Salt Lake Buddharam, Salt Lake City, Utah

Age: 55

Venerable Monk:  Pongsawat Laohasakulwong

From: Wat Prasatbunyawat, Bangkok, Thailand

Age: 66

Venerable Monk: Tuey Chaieua

From: Wat Phouthasamakhy Lao (Houston, Texas, USA)

Age: 42

Venerable Monk: Ratanasak Chaoyod

From: Watpa Samakhi Nonkud (Udonthani, Thailand) 

Age: 43

Venerable Monk: Phiyathammoo

From: Wat Than Thong (Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand)

Age: 40

Venerable Monk: Thirasak

From: Wat Dongkaokalayaram (Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand)

Age: 52

Venerable Monk: Oneta Mingsisouphanh

From: Wat Lao Buddhavong (Catlett, VA, USA)

Age: 48

Aloka - the Peace Dog.

Photo credit: Kevin Blackwell

#WalkForPeace #PeaceWalk #BuddhistMonks

Olympics

 VIDEO

Lyin' and Spinnin'

 Lyin' and Spinnin' (and Cheatin' and Hidin') - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

Tuesday Treasures

 

Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

Crossing from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick

It is also the longest bridge over ice covered water in the world.

The Confederation Bridge was built between 1993 and 1997 to provide a more reliable and high-capacity means of transit between Prince Edward Island and mainland Canada. 

When Prince Edward Island joined Confederation in 1873, the Government of Canada committed to providing continuous communication to the island. This role was originally filled by the Cape Jourimain iceboat service, and later the Cape Tormentine ferry, which transported mail and passengers across the Northumberland Strait. 

Map of P.E.I. showing various routes across Northumberland Strait over time

Early proposals for a fixed-link crossing included an underwater tunnel and a rock-filled causeway. In the 1960s, a roadbed was built to the edge of Jourimain Island with the intent of building a fixed-link, but the project was never completed.

In the late 1980s, new-found enthusiasm revived the project and construction began in 1993. The 12.9 kilometre box girder bridge opened to the public in 1997, ending the service of the Cape Tormentine ferry and the Cape Jourimain lighthouse. 

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Morning Reflections

 

Peter Mandelson

 Peter Mandelson VIDEO

Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, (born 21 October 1953) is a British former Labour Party politician, lobbyist and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004 and served in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's cabinets as Minister without portfolio, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Business Secretary and First Secretary of State. He was the British Ambassador to the United States in 2025 under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

In September 2025 a scandal emerged concerning Mandelson's association with the convicted child sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, which had been revealed in 2019. Following reports that Mandelson had continued his friendship with Epstein after his 2008 conviction, he was dismissed as ambassador by Starmer. In February 2026, there were further reports that Mandelson and his husband had received payments from Epstein, and that in 2009 and 2010, Mandelson allegedly passed sensitive government information to Epstein. Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party and from the House of Lords, and the Metropolitan Police began a criminal investigation into alleged misconduct in a public office.

Video doesn't seem to be up on Youtube yet, so click the VIDEO link above.

Books

 

Funnies

 

Super Bowl

This was written by Michael Garrett - NC Senate

 I watched Bad Bunny deliver the most American halftime show I have ever seen. Then I came home and watched it again. And I am not okay. In the best possible way.

He sang every single word in Spanish. Every. Single. Word. He danced through sugarcane fields built on a football field in California while the President of the United States sat somewhere calling it “disgusting.” Lady Gaga came out and did the salsa. Ricky Martin lit up the night. A couple got married on the field. He handed his Grammy, the one he won eight days ago for Album of the Year, to a little boy who looked up at him the way every child looks up when they dare to believe the world has a place for them.

And then this man, this son of a truck driver and a schoolteacher from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, stood on the biggest stage on the planet and said “God bless America.”

And then he started naming them.

Chile. Argentina. Uruguay. Paraguay. Bolivia. Peru. Ecuador. Brazil. Colombia. Venezuela. Panama. Costa Rica. Nicaragua. Honduras. El Salvador. Guatemala. Mexico. Cuba. Dominican Republic. Jamaica. The United States. Canada. And then, his voice breaking with everything he carries, “Mi patria, Puerto Rico. Seguimos aquí.” My homeland, Puerto Rico. We are still here.

The flags came. Every single one of them. Carried across that field by dancers and musicians while the jumbotron lit up with the only words that mattered: “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.”

I teared up. I’m not ashamed to say it. I sat on my couch and I wept because THAT is the America I believe in. That is the American story, not the sanitized, gated, English-only version that small and frightened people try to sell us. The REAL one. The messy, beautiful, multilingual, multicolored, courageous one. The one that has always been built by hands that speak every language and pray in every tongue and come from every corner of this hemisphere.

That is the America I want Jack and Charlotte to know. That when the moment came, when the whole world was watching, a Puerto Rican kid who grew up to become the most-streamed artist on Earth stood in front of 100 million people, sang in his mother’s language, blessed every nation in the Americas, and spiked a football that read “Together, we are America” into the ground. Not with anger. With joy. With love so big it made hate look exactly as small as it is.

And what did the President do? He called it “absolutely terrible.” He said “nobody understands a word this guy is saying.” He called it “a slap in the face to our Country.” The leader of the free world watched a celebration of love, culture, and everything this hemisphere has given to the world, and all he could see was something foreign. Something threatening. Something disgusting.

Let that sink into your bones.

The man who is supposed to represent all of us looked at the flags of our neighbors, heard the language of 500 million Americans across this hemisphere, and felt attacked. That’s not strength. That’s not patriotism. That is poverty of the soul.

And then there was the Turning Point show. Kid Rock in a college arena in North Dakota. Three million viewers watching a man who once wrote a song about liking underage girls perform as the “family-friendly” alternative to a Puerto Rican artist celebrating love. They called it the “All-American Halftime Show”, as if America has a velvet rope. As if this country belongs to some of us and not all of us. As if you need to sing in English to count.

Here’s what I want to say to everyone who posted about that show tonight, who shared it proudly, who turned away from Bad Bunny’s celebration because it was in Spanish and the flags weren’t only red, white, and blue:

Your children will see those posts. Your grandchildren will find them. The internet doesn’t forget. And one day, when the history of this moment is written, when our kids and their kids look back at 2026 the way we look back at the people who stood on the wrong side of every bridge and every march and every moment that mattered, they will know exactly where you stood. They will see who chose Kid Rock over a hemisphere of flags. They will see who called love “disgusting.” And they will carry that knowledge the way all of us carry the knowledge of what our ancestors did when they were tested.

I don’t say that with anger. I say it with sadness. Because hate is an inheritance nobody asks for, and yet it gets passed down just the same.

Bad Bunny didn’t say “ICE out” tonight. He didn’t need to. He just showed the whole world what America looks like when we are not afraid of each other. When culture is shared, not policed. When language is music, not a threat. When a flag from every nation in this hemisphere can walk across a football field together and the only words you need are the ones he gave us:

The only thing more powerful than hate is love.

Over 100 million people saw that tonight. 

And no Truth Social post can take it away.

Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural

March 2025 - Louisville KY

“Hope Springs — The Wishing Well,” 4th and Main Streets By Whitney Olsen

This mixed-media art piece transforms MSD’s downtown flood pump station into a shimmery, underwater work of art.

I really wanted to try one! But the timing wasn't right. 

In the 1920's, The Brown Hotel drew over 1,200 guests each evening for its dinner dance. By the wee hours of the morning, guests would grow weary of dancing and make their way to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Sensing their desire for something more glamorous than traditional ham and eggs, Chef Fred Schmidt set out to create something new to tempt his guests' palates. His unique dish? An open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and a delicate Mornay sauce. The Hot Brown was born!

Foto Tunes

 Hosted by Tom The Backroads Traveller

"Lanterns"

Be a lantern burning

Never gonna go out

Oh, the winds are turning

Never gonna blow out

I've had a life of learning

I know people come and go

Be a lantern burning

Your fire burns low

Be my lighthouse shining

Out on the sea

Be my silver lining

Be my golden key

I've had a life of climbing

Don't let me fall from the trees

Be my lighthouse shining

When I'm out on the sea

Morning Reflections

 

My Recipe Box - Pulled Pork

February 2026 - Toronto ON

This is my go-to pulled pork recipe, I don't know why I've never published it before!

I typically serve it on toasted hamburger buns with coleslaw.

I looked through my files and notice that I did have an even earlier (2010?) version which only used bottled ingredients!

Another slow cooker recipe is Mexican slow cooker pork served with tortillas.

 Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This slow cooker pulled pork is coated in a homemade spice rub, then simmered in the crock pot until tender. Shred the meat and add BBQ sauce, then dinner is ready to serve!

Notes - my slow cooker has a browning feature, which cuts down on washing another pot.

Servings 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 pounds pork shoulder bone in or boneless, can also use country style pork ribs

1/4 cup BBQ rub homemade or store bought - homemade recipe below

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce homemade or store bought

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper to taste.

Brown the pork roast, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Coat the pork in the BBQ rub.

Place the pork in a slow cooker.

Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low, or until pork is very tender.

Drain off the liquid. Shred the pork with two forks. Stir in the BBQ sauce, then serve.

BBQ Rub Recipe

This all purpose BBQ rub is a blend of spices that pairs perfectly with chicken, pork and beef. It's great for grilled, roasted or smoked meats and you can even use it on vegetables and potatoes.

Servings12

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

Mix all of the ingredients together. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Spice rub keeps for up to 3 months when stored in a cool, dry place.

Super Bowl

 Super Bowl LX Shame For Trump? Las Vegas ‘Pedo Bowl’ Video Leaves Him Publicly HUMILIATED

Activists projected a large “Pedo Bowl” video on to a building in Las Vegas on the evening before this weekend's highly anticipated Super Bowl. The video features a spotlighting of famous men mentioned in the Epstein files, including President Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick, Steve Bannon, Bill Clinton, and Bill Gates.

“This is what accountability looks like when institutions fail,” said analyst Brian Allen, who shared a clip of the projection on X.

In the footage, each person mentioned in the Epstein files is presented like an NFL football player, with stats and a “leader board” of those reportedly most mentioned in the files. Footage of the video shows Trump's mentions as 5,300 times, while Elon Musk's mentions are at 1,465 times, Bill Gates 2,592 times, Steve Bannon 2,901 times, and Bill Clinton 1,210 times.

The video appears to end with some of the characters mentioned mocked up as NFL cheerleaders, including Kid Rock who has been a vocal supporter of MAGA and is fronting an alternative Turning Point USA half time show this weekend.

Another version of the video.