Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

I suppose. Thinking I would be clever and move BaWM over to a more user-friendly site (tumblr) I found, to my dismay, that someone took Badasseswithmoustches in October of last year. Possibly worse, it's essentially the same format as this here blogspot. Well, what're you gonna do, other than notify the legion of followers that the tumblr account is not associated with this blog.

That's right!

 

Stolen smooth from http://history.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/01/31/funny-pictures-history-mustaches-always-relevant/

Another infographic

  

I don't know that I agree with this 100% (and I don't recall where I got it from) but it's pretty cool :)

Ron Swanson

(as played by Nick Offerman) This dude is awesome. First, the 'stache, look at that magnificent crumb catcher!!

Ron runs the Parks and Recreation Department in NBC's former sitcom "Parks and Recreation." He has a home wood shop in which he has built boats, has done awesome carvings and the like. He taught self defense to the Parks and Rec Dept. He loves meat: refers to a 16oz T-bone and 24oz porterhouse as "turf and turf," bacon is his favorite meat (says "That's my number one favorite food wrapped around my number three favorite food. I'd go to a banquet in honor of those Somali pirates if they served bacon-wrapped shrimp")... and he's not afraid of Somali Pirates. Loves him some whiskey and cigars.

There's nothing about this guy that doesn't scream badass.

EDIT: RoflRazzi just added this Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness:

Here's the link to the original

Awesome....

 

This .gif is part of a larger movement to increase awareness of prostate cancer, called Movember (Moustaches plus November- the creators are Aussies, what do you want? :)  ).  Check them out: http://us.movember.com/about/

The Moustache is Too Damn Cool

Does this count?

A knitted cap with knitted beard... does it count? Seems pretty badass to me, but is HE a badass just for wearing sensible headgear?  You decide!

I'm Just Walkin...

Dude quit his civ engr job in NYC to walk across the US... just because.  Sounds like a plan. If he stops by the house, I might just join him on the return trip.  Here's the AP article and a link to his site at the end:   Adventurer leaves NY career to walk across US By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer Martha Irvine, Ap National Writer Thu May 27, 9:10 am ET   AVALON, Wis. – In these uncertain times, most of us cling to the things that make us feel secure. Those who have jobs give thanks. We hug our children a little tighter. We wait — and hope — for better times. So when someone like Matt Green comes along, we shake our heads a little and wonder. Who is this young man, bearded and weather-worn, pushing a cart down a country road, mile after mile? And why would he abandon a solid career as a civil engineer — a roadway designer, ironically — to walk all the way across America? "Good question," he concedes to those who frequently ask about his motives. Unlike others who've made cross-country treks, Green is not looking to break a record of any kind. Nor does he want to draw attention to a particular cause. He has no agenda, other than the handwritten list of directions he regularly compiles from Google Maps, in the event his cell phone can't access them from remote areas. No, for Green, there's just something about the act of walking that makes him really happy, much more content than he ever would have been in his office cubicle in Manhattan, where he used to daydream about doing something epic like this. On the road, there's a simple purpose to each day, he says. There is camaraderie with the people he meets along the way. There is excitement in discovering what's around the next bend. "Playing it safe isn't really that safe," he has concluded. "If you do that, you miss out on a lot of the great things life has to offer." For him, making this journey is freedom. ___ Green, a 30-year-old Virginia native, began his walk in late March at Rockaway Beach, a seaside neighborhood just south of New York's Kennedy Airport. The goal: Make it to Rockaway Beach, Ore., just over 3,000 miles to the west. By air, the trip takes a little more than six hours. Green figures it will take him about six months. He started planning more than a year ago, saving money by living frugally and designing a rolling cart to carry his tent, sleeping bag and the fewest supplies possible. On days off, he also prepared by leading groups on long walking tours in New York City, where he lived for five years. The routes he chose enabled people to see the city in new ways. He started them off at 6 miles, or 8, and worked them up to even longer distances. The groups steadily grew. People begged him to plan more neighborhood treks. And his own love of walking, and the connections that could be made at a slow, almost meditative pace, deepened. So when Green told his walking buddies he planned to do a cross-country trip, they were among the few who "thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever heard." Others, including his parents, weren't as convinced. They worried about his safety, that he'd get hit by a car or attacked. They also wondered whether their eldest should be more settled in his life. "For my generation, stability meant something different," says his dad, Barry Green, who lives in Ashland, Va., with Green's mom, Miriam. In his day, there was more of a premium placed on sticking with a job and moving around less. Not that he didn't have his own wanderlust, at least for a time. The elder Green remembers how, as a young man — even younger than his son — he saved up money, bought a car and did his own traveling. His own mother would wait by the telephone for him to call. Now he and Miriam find themselves watching each night for an e-mail that comes when their son pushes the "I'm OK" button on an emergency beacon that transmits his exact location by satellite. Green also carries pepper spray and a stick to fend off attacking dogs. So far, he hasn't needed them. He understands his parents' trepidation and does what he can to allay their fears, without giving up this adventure. But for now, he's less concerned about stability, or preparing for something far off like retirement, especially in a time when so many people are having to put off that retirement, anyway. "What's the point of living the majority of your life preparing for that last little bit?" he asks. ___ And so, he walks, up to a personal record of 28 miles each day, reloading on food — his main expense — when he passes through small towns. In the West, he figures there will be five-day stretches with few signs of civilization. But even now, in the Midwest, his directions sometimes take him on hidden roads that most people would miss. On one secluded stretch near Avalon, Wis., he happened upon a dairy farm with a large garden across the road. A handmade sign above it read: "Welcome Visitors — Gloria's Garden Tours Anytime." Green knocked on the door. The owner was 84-year-old Gloria Ransom, who was more than happy to show him the garden she'd planted and tended for years. "My kids would tell me not to talk to strangers, but I don't care. I like to think that everybody is good," she told Green, as she pointed out bright red poppies and other plants and flowers. "Heaven sakes," she said, "nobody who wants to go through your garden is going to rob you." She invited him into her grand old farmhouse. She showed him her quilts and paintings and photos of her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She even pulled out an old photo from a trip she made out West with her family in 1937, when she was 11. The mode of transport was a Ford "Model A" that pulled a camping trailer — a rig the adults in the group sometimes had to push up the steeper terrain. Whether it was that trip or something else, Gloria understood the allure of a trip like Green's. And when he left, she seemed genuinely sad to see him go. It's the type of connection Green has found repeatedly on this trip — another lesson, says the self-proclaimed introvert, in taking chances and stepping outside his comfort zone. "The people I've met who've had no fear of me, they generally seem to be really happy people," he says. "I just hope I can return that kindness to others." Jason Eppink, a 28-year-old assistant museum curator who met Green through the walks he led in New York, says Green's journey is "obviously a personal project, but I don't think it's a one-way street." Green, says Eppink, is "able to touch people." ___ Each night before the sun sets, Green counts on that ability, knocking on farmhouse doors to find a place to pitch his small tent. He doesn't always get a "yes." But night after night, there is always someone who takes an interest in this young stranger and his quest, including Liz and Ron Struzynski, a bank worker and laborer who live outside Milton, Wis. "I don't suppose you've watched 'Forrest Gump,'" Ron Struzynski said, chuckling as he compared Green — as many people have — to the movie character known for his penchant for running. Green grinned and nodded, as he went to set up his tent near the couple's newly planted vegetable gardens. The Struzynskis let him charge his cell phone and fill up his water bottles. He washed up in their barn, and they invited him in for a meal. "He's more than welcome, heck," Liz Struzynski said. "It takes a lot of courage to do what he's doing." Back in Virginia, his parents look at the photos Green regularly sends from his cell phone to his website, which is used by family, friends and people he's met along the way to keep up with the trip. Green is circumspect when considering whether the journey will help him figure out what he wants to do next. "I didn't want to be too ambitious about what I would figure out on this walk," Green says. "I didn't want to tell myself that when I was done, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. But maybe in the back of my head somewhere, I'm kind of hoping that." His parents are hoping that, too, though they're also learning about letting go. "You just have to have faith in somebody sometimes," Green's dad says. "So we have faith in him." ___ Online: Matt's website: http://www.imjustwalkin.com

Guest Contribution

Loyal reader Steve writes that this guy is a bearded badass for rescuing that dog from an ice floe. I agree- good work!

Nerd Double Feature

This installment brings us two super-creative guys, who happen to look (and sound) a lot alike: George A Romero and Stan Lee. Mr Romero launched the zombie fascination that we're experiencing with his "Night of the Living Dead" in 1968. This was followed by several sequels and many imitators.

Stan Lee created and co-created many of the most famous of comic book characters: X-men, Spider Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four, and others. Surely, comics wouldn't be what they are without him and we wouldn't have box-office bombs to look forward to every summer without Hollywood types messing up his visions.

Thoughts on banner ads...

This http://blog.pelland.com/?tag=banner-ads got me thinking.  You guys really were doing a good job.  According to that article, the average click through rate is about 0.2%.  One of my blogs had about 500% click through a couple of times and each had about 100% click through- so I can see why AdSense thought something was fishy.   The article also confirmed my gut reaction- people don't really like banner ads.  According to the article, 94% of people dislike banners, just 1% less than the number of people who hate pop-up ads.  Wow.    So even if AdSense reactivates my account, I probably won't reactivate the ads.  I have a hard enough time keeping any semblance of respectabiltiy, I don't need to shoot myself in the foot on top of it.

Ads...

I've had a few emails this morning asking me what happened to my ads. My AdSense account has been disabled, but Google won't say why (it's a "trade secret").  I did submit a help request last week asking why I wasn't getting page impressions but I was seeing ad clicks- no response (surprise). I appealed the disabling of the account and we'll just have to see what happens.  I guess you folks were just -too- curious about the advertisers.   I may have to reinstate the paypal buttons.

The Mythbusters

The main members of Discovery Channel's Mythbusters, Jamie and Adam, have been basically blowing stuff up for years to test urban legends. The first season was geared toward the urban myth more than, well, each season since. Over the years they've tested lead balloons, underwater car escapes, many, many bullet and gun myths, and too many more to mention. I almost always question the validity of their method, but I'm generally entertained by the results.
As long as they keep blowing stuff up, these two moustachioed maestros of mayhem will keep being badasses.

Guy Fawkes

Remember remember the 5th of November- the gunpowder treason and plot...   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

U.S. Offical who resigned over Afghan War- Matthew Hoh

This is Awesome.  You don't have to agree with the guy, but let's look at this.  He served as a Marine Captain in Iraq (and claims he enjoyed hearing about his unit "whacking a bunch of Iraqis") and now is the (former) Senior Civilian Representative for the U.S. Government in Zabul Province, Afghanistan.  His reasons- the people we're fighting don't want -anyone- else to be there, not even other Afghanis.  Nevermind the US who supports a "corrupt local government" (his words).  Also, this is a civil war that's at least 35 years old (see "Charlie Wilson's War for the Hollywoodized fict-history of the Russo-Afghan conflicts in the 80s).  I think you can hear his big brass 'uns clacking as he walks down the hall.    This story is all over the place right now.  BadassesWithMoustaches is cutting-freaking-edge on this story, but check someplace else for developments because I'm too busy/lazy to update this all that often.   Here's his 4 page resignation letter: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/ssi/wpc/ResignationLetter.pdf?sid=ST2009102603447

Paul Haggis- "Crash" Director

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/crash39-director-paul-haggis-quits-scientology-ap I wasn't a huge fan of "Crash."  I thught it was a little schmaltzy and simplistic- so that's not why this guy gets a badass stamp of approval today.  Homeslice quit Scientology (sure, I'll capitalize it) which is, I hope, a sign of things to come for the "church" that isn't.  But more than that his reason for quitting: Scientology's stance against gay marriage.  Now it would have been awesome if he just said, "well, after 35 years I realized this was bullshit" but it may be better that he said (I paraphrase), "I can't sit idly by and let you guys consent to discrimination against gay people... it's especially hypocritical, because this town is known as a Mecca for gays, and my two sound guys have been together since before I started making movies."  So, no more Scientolo because of gay rights, plus a little face stubble in the pic equals the badass stamp of approval.

Abe Lincoln

No I didn't say "Hey Blinkin." It's Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president. He was born in a log cabin, but he didn't build it himself despite rumors to the contrary. He's on the $5 bill and the penny. He wouldn't let the Confederates take federal property (Fort Sumter) so they decided to start the Civil War. Then he emancipated slaves who were still in the South (which is to say the first declaration was kinda meaningless and shifted the focus for most people onto the issue of slavery instead of states' rights). He did manage to save the Union (with a little help from Grant and Sherman and a few hundred thousand soldiers) and was killed the same week that Lee surrendered.


Interesting trivia: was acutely aware of how goofy he looked, especially at 6'4 and wirey as a pipe cleaner. Is said to have had a high pitched voice. Was socially inept and was prone to telling off color jokes while amongst polite society (awesome). He is said to have enjoyed watching wrestling. He completed the equivalent of a 9th century online degree- he was mostly self taught and became a lawyer. We get a day off from work and school to commemorate his birthday.

Verdict: 100% badass.

Jonathan Coulton

I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to entertainers being badasses, but I'm going to make an exception in this case. Jonathan Coulton has become a nerd icon with his "Thing a Week" compilations which include "First of May" (Rated "R") a rousing rendition of "Baby Got Back" and "Code Monkey." He'll be rocking Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) again this year and yours truly sincerely hopes for "Still Alive" the end credits theme for Valve's game "Portal." How can you not like a song about science, cake and guns sung by a deranged mainframe?

Pens fan crashes Stanley Cup Celebration...

First- go Pens.  I started watching when Jagr was dropping straight pwnage with that ridiculous mullet and FOX was trying comet trails on slapshots.   Second- my new hero, read the full story here: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/How-a-Penguins-fan-crashed-the-Stanley-Cup-party?urn=nhl,180369   From the Daily News, here's how Kraft maneuvered down from the stands to the ice, in his own words: "So I go over in position where a family member might be, and after about 15 minutes, (defenseman) Philippe Boucher(notes) skates over and points to the guy in front of me. When that guy raises his hand, I raise mine. The security guard sees both of us, opens the door and everyone just assumes I'm a relative. "Once on the ice, it's open season. I have access to the tunnel back to the locker room and it's just a big celebration - players everywhere, hanging out, playing music and spraying champagne. "A couple players pick me up and swing me around. I'm spraying a bottle of champagne. Amazing."    Amazing, indeed.

Nicola Tesla

Intel claims to have "invented" over the air electricity... suck it bitches, this crazy Croat had that going on while your grandpappy was still in diapers. Plus he was played by David Bowie in "The Prestige" so how effing cool does that make him? So happy birthday to another misunderstood genius. If only they had the math you needed to make the world believe.