The Ultimate Answer to Kings: Oh, Lord...

They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means "The Ultimate Argument of Kings," and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. "We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it's about: You'll do as I say or I'll send my goons to kill you."

I thought about that for a long time. If there's an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I've got bullets - he's got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that's not going to happen. So if there's an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain't bullets.

It finally came to me - and that's when I left the city, abandoned a goodly percentage of my goods, and gave all that was behind me a good, stiff Randian Shrug.

The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Oh, Lord...

It's pretty bad when you come back on-line after a crazy weekend and note that your hit numbers are in the toilet even after you scored a QoD from Uncle.

Or maybe that's pretty good - not sure. Claire always said a niche gulching blog would never have world-class numbers...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hey! Don't blame me. I've checked in a dozen times. Not that I don't share your enthusiasm, but I'm so tired of looking at that damned CFL bulb I could scream. K; September 6, 2010 at 5:19 PM
CorbinKale said...: You may not have had lots of hits, but the QUALITY of those visitors is what you should be questioning.

I popped by, and my quality is always in question.

Aren't you lucky? :); September 6, 2010 at 5:20 PM
The Grey Lady said...: Hey now, I even checked in from my remote camping location...grumbles as she walks off feeling unappreciated and dejected..... :O); September 6, 2010 at 8:17 PM
The Grey Lady said...: When did Barbie join the blog????; September 6, 2010 at 8:22 PM
Weetabix said...: For what it's worth, I read you, but I don't read Uncle.; September 7, 2010 at 8:53 AM
Joel said...: Oh, I'm not really bitching about numbers. Truth is, since holidays don't really mean anything to me I just forgot it was one, and wondered where everybody went...; September 7, 2010 at 2:45 PM
Joel said...: Also, K - You might be tired of looking at that lightbulb, but I never get sick of it. :^); September 7, 2010 at 2:46 PM
MamaLiberty said...: I look every day now that I've got you on my permanent blog patrol list. I just figured you were busy.

Don't do "holidays" myself much either. My "day off" is Tuesday, though I can switch things around if there's something good cooking on the weekend.; September 9, 2010 at 2:40 PM