La Bomba goes Kaboom

Some days, I get up and think: " wow.... am I lucky to be alive"

Other days, I get up and think: "wow.. what a weird place this is."

That's most days, I guess.


For instance, since my post on UFO's went online, there's been some activity on the part of the United Nations. ( do you think they read my blog? )

It seems they ( the U.N.) have deemed it necessary to appoint a special Ambassador to any aliens that might show up ----- Malaysian Astrophysicist Mazlan Othman.

"The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several entities, sustains the hope that some day human kind will receive signals from extraterrestrials," Othman said. "When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject. The UN is a ready-made mechanism for such coordination."

mmmmm hmmm... sensitivities... coordinated response...... yeah right.

... sounds like they're ready to teach political-correct-babble ( PCB ) to the Martians.



That UFO post from the other day really got me a-thinking, though .......

What would an alien race wanna come all this way for, anyhoo?

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized.......

The potential unavailability of redheads in outer space not withstanding, there could be another reason.

This place is a real circus.

It'd be well worth the trip from just about anywhere.... you'd never know what you'd see next.


For instance, if you were in Charlotte on Tuesday morning, you could see me and some other guys pulling a jet plane across a tarmac with a rope ( for charity ).

Doesn't sound quite normal, does it?


But, the truth is, that's nothing compared to how some folks around the world get THEIR jollies.

Take the annual festival in the little town of San Juan de la Vega, east of Guadalajara in Mexico.

The men in this town take Carnival ( the first week of February ) very seriously..
.... especially the first Tuesday when they stage the mock battle.

..... to honor their patron Saint ( a guy coincidentally named Juanito ) they tie packages of explosive TNT to the hammer end of sledgehammers, and whack them as hard as they can onto steel plates.

No special gear needed.... hell, you dont even have to wear a shirt if you don't want to.

(.... it is awful hot down there, you know... )

Just grab you one of them big ole sledgehammers, and a nice bundle of blow up juice.

The resulting KABOOOMs recreates a battle that the ole Patron Saint had with the forces of law and disorder.

You see, this Juanito guy was a kinda Robin Hood outlaw, who robbed from the rich and gave to the peasants.

Unfortunately for him and the peasants, the (Spanish) Mexican government looked rather unfavorably upon his activities, and had trapped him in a church, with some of his confederates.

He attempted to make his escape using dynamite.

Thus, the KABOOOM part of the festivities.

Hundreds of costumed and uncostumed villagers take part in the mock battle every year.

You'll see devils, cowboys, drag queens, even guys in sombreros - all goin' fer it.

 Imagine a community game of "whack a mole" with a gigantic explosion every coupla seconds.

 Now that I think about it, though.... it's not so much of a "Kabooom"  as a "POW".

 Just add plenty of dust and guys being literally blown out of their shoes, and you got a pretty accurate mental picture of what it looks like.

 That clarification is only necessary if you're an explosives connoisseur , of course.


 Participation does require a certain largeness of cajon-ic endowment.

One wonders how many come up considerably... err...  less endowed after the fun, though.
Just thinking about the shock wave involved makes mine shrink.


 OK....  I admit it..... it is FUN to watch. 

 It's got everything a guy like me enjoys, if sex isn't directly involved.

 Danger, cheap thrills, and plenty of noisy explosions.

 ( actually - I enjoy that stuff even when sex is involved. )


 And interestingly enough, even though the explosive hammering goes on all day long,

.........  there are usually very few casualties.

 During 2009's festival, only 17 people were injured, and none seriously.



 The ringing in your ears will go on much longer, though.