On Saturday, Robyn Pennacchia at Wonkette wrote about a new target of the QAnon lunacy... the CHUDs believe that Kate Bush's video for The Red Shoes depicts a murderous initiation into the international child-eating cabal, while we mundane well-read people can instantly recognize that it is straight out of Hans Christian Andersen's oeuvre. It's weird to me that these people, who claim to be champions of 'western civilization' have absolutely no knowledge of western culture. Sure, they have bullshit beliefs that red shoes denote Satanists, but a simple children's fairy tale eludes their ken.
The idea that Kate Bush is a murderous occultist is absolutely ludicrous, but I won't rule out that she very well may be a murderous mad-scientist, because she was once tasked with finding a sound that could kill someone from a distance:
All joking aside, that is one terrific video, for my favorite Kate Bush song, it's a very effective little horror movie packed into four minutes and forty three seconds, leavened with some funny Easter eggs and several cameos by the adorable Ms Bush, who directed the video.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Gomez' Birthday 2019
This being March 30th, this is the day I wish a happy birthday to my baby brother, dubbed 'Gomez' by my super-sarcastic sister when we were kids. As has been typical since he was a boy, Gomez asked my mom for money for hockey equipment for his birthday present. One of the funniest Gomez stories from high school involved hockey practice- Gomez is a goalie, and goalies, like drummers, are always in high demand. After his high school hockey practice at the venerable Murray's Skating Center in the City of Y______, he was approached by an adult who was there to play a friendly cops vs firefighters game. Gomez being a strapping lad, he was being scouted...
"Hey, man, we could use a goalie for this game tonight, can you stick around and play?"
"Uhhhh... I gotta ask my mom."
"ASK YOUR MOM?!? What's up with that?"
"I'm still in high school."
Ice time being a precious thing, mom granted Gomez permission to play goalie for the FDY, and he comported himself well with the older crowd. Thirty years later, he is still playing goalie, he's coaching his kids' teams, and he is refereeing hockey games as a side gig. He's on the board of the local hockey association. He's doing well for himself, and for others. Happy birthday, baby bro!
"Hey, man, we could use a goalie for this game tonight, can you stick around and play?"
"Uhhhh... I gotta ask my mom."
"ASK YOUR MOM?!? What's up with that?"
"I'm still in high school."
Ice time being a precious thing, mom granted Gomez permission to play goalie for the FDY, and he comported himself well with the older crowd. Thirty years later, he is still playing goalie, he's coaching his kids' teams, and he is refereeing hockey games as a side gig. He's on the board of the local hockey association. He's doing well for himself, and for others. Happy birthday, baby bro!
Friday, March 29, 2019
This Indecision's Bugging Me
I typically listen to my local NPR affiliate, mainly so I don't have to hear any of those accursed Kars4Kids commercials that play on the local CBS news radio station. At 3PM, the BBC Newshour is broadcast, and the main topic was the Brexit shitshow. The exit was supposed to have occurred today, but the numbnuts in Parliament haven't been able to figure out the terms of their divorce from the European Union, so there's a three week delay period until a 'hard Brexit' is bound to happen.
Americans tend to be fooled by British accents, they tend to assume that Brits are educated, sophisticated people, forgetting that the UK is home to the football hooligan and the lager lout... and these knee-biters seem to be running the country. The populace of the UK hasn't exactly covered itself in glory, but as an American, I have to note that the entire Anglophone world seems to be suffering from a malaise, rooted in bigotry and exacerbated by Russian propaganda campaigns on social media.
I'm generally in agreement with John Lydon about the English people- they tend to be a decent lot, led by some of the most horrible people around. With Brexit, though, the damage was self-inflicted by plebescite. Good guys like Charles Stross have sounded alarm about availability of medicines, and there was talk of impending food scarcity should a no-deal Brexit ensue. The government of the United Kingdom has inflicted two major famines on colonized peoples, and it looks as if it's going to inflict a third, this time on its own people.
The whole situation is beyond fucked up, and the Irish border situation is cause for alarm, so how about a musical interlude to take our minds off of this bloody mess?
Weird, when that song was released, it was considered one of the Clash's few non-political songs.
Americans tend to be fooled by British accents, they tend to assume that Brits are educated, sophisticated people, forgetting that the UK is home to the football hooligan and the lager lout... and these knee-biters seem to be running the country. The populace of the UK hasn't exactly covered itself in glory, but as an American, I have to note that the entire Anglophone world seems to be suffering from a malaise, rooted in bigotry and exacerbated by Russian propaganda campaigns on social media.
I'm generally in agreement with John Lydon about the English people- they tend to be a decent lot, led by some of the most horrible people around. With Brexit, though, the damage was self-inflicted by plebescite. Good guys like Charles Stross have sounded alarm about availability of medicines, and there was talk of impending food scarcity should a no-deal Brexit ensue. The government of the United Kingdom has inflicted two major famines on colonized peoples, and it looks as if it's going to inflict a third, this time on its own people.
The whole situation is beyond fucked up, and the Irish border situation is cause for alarm, so how about a musical interlude to take our minds off of this bloody mess?
Weird, when that song was released, it was considered one of the Clash's few non-political songs.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
I Like the Toy More than the Dog Does
This morning, my upstairs neighbor texted me to ask me if I could let Georgie out to pee because she was occupied with work and wouldn't be coming home at the usual time. The wee doggie and I get along well, so I was happy to socialize with him.
Georgie has a new toy, given to my neighbor by a cousin of hers (they are both immigrants from Northern Ireland) who isn't sympathetic to the MAGA agenda:
I have to confess that I enjoyed the toy more than Georgie did, there's something cathartic about throwing some ugly, ludicrous thing around the yard. Usually, when I throw something, it's beautiful and smart.
Georgie has a new toy, given to my neighbor by a cousin of hers (they are both immigrants from Northern Ireland) who isn't sympathetic to the MAGA agenda:
I have to confess that I enjoyed the toy more than Georgie did, there's something cathartic about throwing some ugly, ludicrous thing around the yard. Usually, when I throw something, it's beautiful and smart.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
I'm Taking This Cartoonish Supervillainy Personally
Just when you think that this current maladministration can't sink any lower, Betsy DeVos' Department of Education is planning on cutting DoE funding for the Special Olympics' education program. This funding, weighing in on a budget-crippling $18 million, is mainly spent on the Unified Champion Schools program, which unites athletes with and without special needs. It's a program Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver described as designed 'to end social isolation' of students with developmental issues.
One of my friends, Dan, is a Special Olympian. I met him on the job almost a decade ago, and in that time, he has competed in volleyball (for which he won a gold medal) and softball. Dan is one of those 'gentleman athletes' that preparatory schools are supposed to produce- he knows how to work a room, has a repertory of songs at his command, and has met all sorts of dignitaries (his typical greeting is a hug and a 'hey, buddy'... when he told me that he was going to a meeting with Cardinal Dolan of the New York Archdiocese, I joked to him and his aunt/godmother, "remember to address him as 'your eminence, buddy'").
Back in 2014, I wrote of Dan:
Having gotten to know mother and son, I have to say that it's heartwarming to see a man who would have been locked away a couple of generations ago living a happy, productive life- a life in which he has achieved splendid goals.
This is EXACTLY what is at jeopardy if DeVos' plan is put into action. By having outreach in the schools paid for by the taxpaying public, the government sends a message that people with handicaps are valued members of society, that they contribute to the common good. I judge the worth of a society by the way in which its most marginalized members are treated, and the current US isn't looking so good. Sure, there will be private and corporate funding for the Special Olympics, but a public funding component has a symbolic value.
While I am not appalled, I'm not exactly surprised at such a policy coming from the administration of a man capable of this:
The Era of Gratuitous Cruelty marches on.
One of my friends, Dan, is a Special Olympian. I met him on the job almost a decade ago, and in that time, he has competed in volleyball (for which he won a gold medal) and softball. Dan is one of those 'gentleman athletes' that preparatory schools are supposed to produce- he knows how to work a room, has a repertory of songs at his command, and has met all sorts of dignitaries (his typical greeting is a hug and a 'hey, buddy'... when he told me that he was going to a meeting with Cardinal Dolan of the New York Archdiocese, I joked to him and his aunt/godmother, "remember to address him as 'your eminence, buddy'").
Back in 2014, I wrote of Dan:
Having gotten to know mother and son, I have to say that it's heartwarming to see a man who would have been locked away a couple of generations ago living a happy, productive life- a life in which he has achieved splendid goals.
This is EXACTLY what is at jeopardy if DeVos' plan is put into action. By having outreach in the schools paid for by the taxpaying public, the government sends a message that people with handicaps are valued members of society, that they contribute to the common good. I judge the worth of a society by the way in which its most marginalized members are treated, and the current US isn't looking so good. Sure, there will be private and corporate funding for the Special Olympics, but a public funding component has a symbolic value.
While I am not appalled, I'm not exactly surprised at such a policy coming from the administration of a man capable of this:
The Era of Gratuitous Cruelty marches on.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
The Senator from Utah Can't Recognize His State Dinosaur
Via Crooks and Liars... Mike Lee, Republican senator from Utah, decided to try humor in his critique of the proposed Green New Deal, and it didn't go too well:
My biggest beef with this speech, aside from the general menacity, is Lee's assertion at 1:53 that the dinosaur Reagan is riding is a Velociraptor... velociraptors were small things, about the size of turkeys. Lee, being from Utah, should have recognized that bigass dromeosaur as a Utahraptor. It's only the state dinosaur of his homeland.
As expected, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has the best response to Lee's drollery, by which I mean trollery:
Weird, mediocre white guys like Mike Lee never seem to suffer imposter syndrome.
My biggest beef with this speech, aside from the general menacity, is Lee's assertion at 1:53 that the dinosaur Reagan is riding is a Velociraptor... velociraptors were small things, about the size of turkeys. Lee, being from Utah, should have recognized that bigass dromeosaur as a Utahraptor. It's only the state dinosaur of his homeland.
As expected, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has the best response to Lee's drollery, by which I mean trollery:
Like many other women + working people, I occasionally suffer from impostor syndrome: those small moments, especially on hard days, where you wonder if the haters are right.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 26, 2019
But then they do things like this to clear it right up.
If this guy can be Senator, you can do anything. https://t.co/vU4ChbTnnr
Weird, mediocre white guys like Mike Lee never seem to suffer imposter syndrome.
Monday, March 25, 2019
Survivor Guilt, Plus a Year-Long Litany of Abuse
In an upsetting coda to the horror of last year's Parkland mass shooting, two of the survivors, and the father of a Sandy Hook shooting victim, have taken their lives recently. Besides being witnesses to horror, and coping with survivor's guilt, these individuals have been subject to torrents of abuse online, and at the hands of well-payed arms industry shills.
After every mass shooting, the trolls come out of the woodwork, with their accounts of 'crisis actors' and 'false flags'. This American Life had a recent episode about Lenny Pozner, father of Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner, and his efforts to turn the tables on the trolls who have hounded him from residence to residence with their accusations of deception and, in extreme cases, their death threats. Mr Pozner comes across as a tough, competent, experienced individual, the sort of person who can weather the barbs and brutalities of his tormentors. Sydney Aiello and the unidentified sophomore who took his life, were teenagers, more vulnerable to anonymous tormentors.
I can't fathom the sort of cruelty which would lead people to bully the bereaved. The natural human instinct, the natural mammalian instinct, is to console the suffering... what the hell is wrong with anyone who would harangue and harass someone who has been a witness to utter horror?
After every mass shooting, the trolls come out of the woodwork, with their accounts of 'crisis actors' and 'false flags'. This American Life had a recent episode about Lenny Pozner, father of Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner, and his efforts to turn the tables on the trolls who have hounded him from residence to residence with their accusations of deception and, in extreme cases, their death threats. Mr Pozner comes across as a tough, competent, experienced individual, the sort of person who can weather the barbs and brutalities of his tormentors. Sydney Aiello and the unidentified sophomore who took his life, were teenagers, more vulnerable to anonymous tormentors.
I can't fathom the sort of cruelty which would lead people to bully the bereaved. The natural human instinct, the natural mammalian instinct, is to console the suffering... what the hell is wrong with anyone who would harangue and harass someone who has been a witness to utter horror?
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