Sunday, May 31, 2020
Saturday, May 30, 2020
The Plumber
A conversation:
Person #1 (could be a Republican, or a member of the news media) - I am SO mad at my plumber.
Person #2 (rational sane person) - Why?
#1 - I can't believe how bad he is at building my new wooden staircase.
#2 - Umm...you said plumber. Don't you mean carpenter?
#1 - Sure whatever. I can't believe how badly the plumber did the bannister.
#2 - You just said plumber again, you mean carpenter.
#1 - Carpenter, plumber. What does it matter? Since they're both from the workman trades, they all can be lumped into one large group anyway.
#2 - No they can't. Plumbers are here to fix pipes and drains. Carpenters work with wood.
#1 - What's the point of me trying to keep them separate. And speaking of which, that damn plumber also screwed up when they installed the new electrical plugs on my basement!"
#2 - Okay wait a second. Now you are accusing the plumber of making the mistakes the electrician made.
#1 - Okay, sure I could specifically attribute the actions of the plumber to the plumber, the carpenter to the carpenter, and the electrician to the electrician, but it is much faster for me to just criticize the plumber. It streamlines the narrative.
#2 - But it blames the plumber for all the actions and mistakes of the carpenter or the electrician. That's wildly unfair to the plumber when all the plumber was doing was CORRECTLY fixing the drains and pipes.
#1 - Look at you being SOOOO nitpick-y. Fine, if it makes you feel better I will attribute the actions of the carpenter to the carpenter and the electrician to the electrician. Happy? By the way, you know what REALLY made me upset about my local plumber?
#2 - What?
#1 - Well the guy comes here from someplace out of state, shows up and then did a crappy job at fixing the concrete in my driveway.
#2 - Whoa! Did you hit your head? You mean concrete finisher, NOT plumber! And, if he was from out of state, then he sure wasn't local. You are purposely going out of your way to unfairly criticize the plumber for things the plumber HAS NOT DONE, even mislabeling the local plumber as an out of state concrete finisher, just because it's convenient to your narrative to blame the plumber for all the bad things that have happened.
#1 - That sounds about right!
The people protesting the death of George Floyd ARE DIFFERENT from the people looting, vandalizing and burning buildings to the ground. Labeling all the bad behavior as 'being done by protestors' is lazy, designed to vilify people falsely, and dismisses the actions of the people who are undeniably the criminals.
Republicans and media, stop being weak, stop pushing a false narrative and do your damn job.
Protestors protest. Rioters, looters, arsonists and vandals ARE NOT protesting!
And scene...
Person #1 (could be a Republican, or a member of the news media) - I am SO mad at my plumber.
Person #2 (rational sane person) - Why?
#1 - I can't believe how bad he is at building my new wooden staircase.
#2 - Umm...you said plumber. Don't you mean carpenter?
#1 - Sure whatever. I can't believe how badly the plumber did the bannister.
#2 - You just said plumber again, you mean carpenter.
#1 - Carpenter, plumber. What does it matter? Since they're both from the workman trades, they all can be lumped into one large group anyway.
#2 - No they can't. Plumbers are here to fix pipes and drains. Carpenters work with wood.
#1 - What's the point of me trying to keep them separate. And speaking of which, that damn plumber also screwed up when they installed the new electrical plugs on my basement!"
#2 - Okay wait a second. Now you are accusing the plumber of making the mistakes the electrician made.
#1 - Okay, sure I could specifically attribute the actions of the plumber to the plumber, the carpenter to the carpenter, and the electrician to the electrician, but it is much faster for me to just criticize the plumber. It streamlines the narrative.
#2 - But it blames the plumber for all the actions and mistakes of the carpenter or the electrician. That's wildly unfair to the plumber when all the plumber was doing was CORRECTLY fixing the drains and pipes.
#1 - Look at you being SOOOO nitpick-y. Fine, if it makes you feel better I will attribute the actions of the carpenter to the carpenter and the electrician to the electrician. Happy? By the way, you know what REALLY made me upset about my local plumber?
#2 - What?
#1 - Well the guy comes here from someplace out of state, shows up and then did a crappy job at fixing the concrete in my driveway.
#2 - Whoa! Did you hit your head? You mean concrete finisher, NOT plumber! And, if he was from out of state, then he sure wasn't local. You are purposely going out of your way to unfairly criticize the plumber for things the plumber HAS NOT DONE, even mislabeling the local plumber as an out of state concrete finisher, just because it's convenient to your narrative to blame the plumber for all the bad things that have happened.
#1 - That sounds about right!
The people protesting the death of George Floyd ARE DIFFERENT from the people looting, vandalizing and burning buildings to the ground. Labeling all the bad behavior as 'being done by protestors' is lazy, designed to vilify people falsely, and dismisses the actions of the people who are undeniably the criminals.
Republicans and media, stop being weak, stop pushing a false narrative and do your damn job.
Protestors protest. Rioters, looters, arsonists and vandals ARE NOT protesting!
And scene...
Friday, May 29, 2020
The Friday Link for 5/29/20
I'm exhausted.
I planned on at least three blog entries this week, but then Minneapolis Police decided to kill George Floyd. Then Minneapolis exploded. Then it exploded again, and again...
I'm too tired to type anything, plus it's my youngest daughter's birthday.
The Friday Link piggy backs off the song I played on my show today. Here is the entire Rush in Rio concert from 2003.
When my mind is getting ready to break, I listen to Rush, the exceptional Canadian band. With Neil Peart gone it's a bit sad, but I'll take it over the insanity of our world today. Neil's drum solo is at 1:53:30.
Plus watching 70,000 Brazilians go nuts is kind of fun. My favorite part is them singing along to the INSTRUMENTAL song YYZ (28:15). This was the concert which made the music industry say "maybe we were wrong about the legacy of those prog rock guys.
Have a good weekend everyone. Please stay safe.
I planned on at least three blog entries this week, but then Minneapolis Police decided to kill George Floyd. Then Minneapolis exploded. Then it exploded again, and again...
I'm too tired to type anything, plus it's my youngest daughter's birthday.
The Friday Link piggy backs off the song I played on my show today. Here is the entire Rush in Rio concert from 2003.
When my mind is getting ready to break, I listen to Rush, the exceptional Canadian band. With Neil Peart gone it's a bit sad, but I'll take it over the insanity of our world today. Neil's drum solo is at 1:53:30.
Plus watching 70,000 Brazilians go nuts is kind of fun. My favorite part is them singing along to the INSTRUMENTAL song YYZ (28:15). This was the concert which made the music industry say "maybe we were wrong about the legacy of those prog rock guys.
Have a good weekend everyone. Please stay safe.
Friday, May 22, 2020
The Friday Link for 5/22/20
Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone!
I hope you have a nice weekend. Please take a few moments to remember those who have fought for our country, those who serve our country, and the 100,000 people we have lost due to Corona Virus.
A few yeats back I featured a mash up. That's when you take to songs, usually from different genres, and mix them like a club DJ. If I remember correctly is was an Ozzy Osbourne/Earth Wind and Fire combo platter, and it was really goo.
That was nothing.
Meet The Hood Internet and the INSANELY good mash ups of 50 songs from any given year, into a 3 minute long song. The first one I watched was 1980. At a minute in, Rush shows up (always a solid choice), but then he mashes together Steely Dan, Diana Ross and AC/DC. AND IT WORKS! The next 30 minutes was me just watching this insanely well put together mass ups.
For your listening enjoyment, let me post 1980, 1981, 1983, and 1986. They're all gold!
Last thing this Friday, Randy Rainbow delivers again, this time with 'Distraction!'
Have a great weekend everyone!
I hope you have a nice weekend. Please take a few moments to remember those who have fought for our country, those who serve our country, and the 100,000 people we have lost due to Corona Virus.
A few yeats back I featured a mash up. That's when you take to songs, usually from different genres, and mix them like a club DJ. If I remember correctly is was an Ozzy Osbourne/Earth Wind and Fire combo platter, and it was really goo.
That was nothing.
Meet The Hood Internet and the INSANELY good mash ups of 50 songs from any given year, into a 3 minute long song. The first one I watched was 1980. At a minute in, Rush shows up (always a solid choice), but then he mashes together Steely Dan, Diana Ross and AC/DC. AND IT WORKS! The next 30 minutes was me just watching this insanely well put together mass ups.
For your listening enjoyment, let me post 1980, 1981, 1983, and 1986. They're all gold!
Last thing this Friday, Randy Rainbow delivers again, this time with 'Distraction!'
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thursday, May 21, 2020
The Sadness
I can't tell you how many times I've tried to write this post on this blog over the last few weeks. I start writing, and...I get sad. I've told myself maybe I'll just post something else, but I just don't have the heart.
I know the following statement is a big 'No duh,' but excuse me for never having been here before. Pandemics suck.
In 6 months we're going to have more people in the US die from COVID-19 than the number of soldiers killed in WWI. Think about that for a second. Think about every community who has a memorial in place for the lives lost in 'The Great War.' That war, like the the Civil War and WWII, shook this country so much every small town went out of their way to remember the people they lost, yet today most people insulate themselves from the Corona Virus dead via Tiger King.
CoronaVirus is a real nasty virus. Depending on how we coordinate our adjustments in the next two months, we could see a far deadlier 2nd wave; an explosion of deaths doubling or even tripling the initial body count. At the end of the day, human life should matter most of all, but for a shocking amount of people it doesn't.
Trump did not cause Corona Virus, but his Administration's INSANE handling of this crisis has done unfathomable damage. We're the worst county on the planet for number of people killed and the number of cases total. My friends who live overseas refer to the US as a third world country now, saddled with a government incapable of taking care of its own citizens.
To be fair, the executives running the medical industry in America have made US medicine far less capable of taking care of the countries 330 million people. They've turned to a business model geared to supplying healthcare to the people with the biggest bank accounts, streamlining every other medical service into limited use. It's a system only focused on what's in front of the care giver at that given moment, a system of bare minimal care at an extraordinary cost. This pandemic is only exposing the problems created by executives more concerned about their third vacation homes, as US medicine has become for profit only.
This was the worst thing that could ever happen to America with a guy like Trump in office. A crisis like Corona Virus demands empathy, a trait Trump is incapable of delivering. This is a man who only cares about his image. He tries to dismiss the virus. He tries to bully the virus. He tries to make the virus disappear, and yet (shockingly to no one) the virus isn't listening to him. HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT AMERICANS DYING!!! He only cares about getting his stock market bragging rights back and holding more of his Trump rallies, something he'd already done if not for staff members telling him no way.
Then there are the Trump supporters. Screaming in the face of Governors who are trying to save their citizens. Screaming the faces of scientists who dare tell them the virus won't just go away, and that ingesting household cleaning supplies is not a safe option. Screaming in the faces of doctors and nurses because they feel they're part of some massive conspiracy to cost Trump the election. Screaming in the faces of people who want to social distance or wear a face mask, accusing them of also being part of the conspiracy against their beloved leader. And dismissing the dead, as long as it's someone else's mother or father, grand mother or grandfather, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, neighbor or friend. "How dare they die just to make Trump look bad."
The irony for Trump is how he could've saved his presidency by showing even the slightest bit of competency, by not getting jealous of all the media attention Corona Virus was getting. If he would've been just passible in this crisis, the US death count would be dramatically less, people would feel safer, and he sure wouldn't have to encourage a near suicide death cult like mentality in his followers to feel better about himself (to the horror of the rest of us).
This is sad. This is a freaking mess. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
I know the following statement is a big 'No duh,' but excuse me for never having been here before. Pandemics suck.
In 6 months we're going to have more people in the US die from COVID-19 than the number of soldiers killed in WWI. Think about that for a second. Think about every community who has a memorial in place for the lives lost in 'The Great War.' That war, like the the Civil War and WWII, shook this country so much every small town went out of their way to remember the people they lost, yet today most people insulate themselves from the Corona Virus dead via Tiger King.
CoronaVirus is a real nasty virus. Depending on how we coordinate our adjustments in the next two months, we could see a far deadlier 2nd wave; an explosion of deaths doubling or even tripling the initial body count. At the end of the day, human life should matter most of all, but for a shocking amount of people it doesn't.
Trump did not cause Corona Virus, but his Administration's INSANE handling of this crisis has done unfathomable damage. We're the worst county on the planet for number of people killed and the number of cases total. My friends who live overseas refer to the US as a third world country now, saddled with a government incapable of taking care of its own citizens.
To be fair, the executives running the medical industry in America have made US medicine far less capable of taking care of the countries 330 million people. They've turned to a business model geared to supplying healthcare to the people with the biggest bank accounts, streamlining every other medical service into limited use. It's a system only focused on what's in front of the care giver at that given moment, a system of bare minimal care at an extraordinary cost. This pandemic is only exposing the problems created by executives more concerned about their third vacation homes, as US medicine has become for profit only.
This was the worst thing that could ever happen to America with a guy like Trump in office. A crisis like Corona Virus demands empathy, a trait Trump is incapable of delivering. This is a man who only cares about his image. He tries to dismiss the virus. He tries to bully the virus. He tries to make the virus disappear, and yet (shockingly to no one) the virus isn't listening to him. HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT AMERICANS DYING!!! He only cares about getting his stock market bragging rights back and holding more of his Trump rallies, something he'd already done if not for staff members telling him no way.
Then there are the Trump supporters. Screaming in the face of Governors who are trying to save their citizens. Screaming the faces of scientists who dare tell them the virus won't just go away, and that ingesting household cleaning supplies is not a safe option. Screaming in the faces of doctors and nurses because they feel they're part of some massive conspiracy to cost Trump the election. Screaming in the faces of people who want to social distance or wear a face mask, accusing them of also being part of the conspiracy against their beloved leader. And dismissing the dead, as long as it's someone else's mother or father, grand mother or grandfather, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, neighbor or friend. "How dare they die just to make Trump look bad."
The irony for Trump is how he could've saved his presidency by showing even the slightest bit of competency, by not getting jealous of all the media attention Corona Virus was getting. If he would've been just passible in this crisis, the US death count would be dramatically less, people would feel safer, and he sure wouldn't have to encourage a near suicide death cult like mentality in his followers to feel better about himself (to the horror of the rest of us).
This is sad. This is a freaking mess. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
Friday, May 15, 2020
The Friday Link for 5/15/20
Well I failed at posting anything this week. I could tell you I didn't get anything written this week because I was busy (I was), or that I was exhausted (I was), or that I had other commitments (I did).
The truth is every time I started to write, I got sad.
Trust me, I've started to write numerous posts about the insanity which is the conservative mentality towards Corona Virus, but I get one or two words into it, realize how depressing this whole mess is, and I have to stop.
I took some really nice photos at the Arboretum today with the kids. I'll post them tomorrow.
For this weeks Friday Link, let's talk about great movie scenes. With more home based evenings, I've been watching more movies and here are some classic scenes which (in my opinion) make some movies just classics.
A warning: I don't want to have anyone get upset with me about spoilers. You click on the link, you are choosing to watch the scene. If you want a spoiler free Friday Link, then go watch the movies and then come back.
First up a classic scene with Dudley Moore from Arthur. The Moose scene. This won't ruin the movie for you, but it is an all time classic movie scene.
Next up is a shockingly good scene from a movie I've watched repeatedly, and not just because I love baseball. Moneyball is about finding a way to win without superstar players, and Brad Pitt's Billy Beane coming to grips with his career not being what he though it would be. In this scene, Pitt and a wonderful Brent Jennings visit Chris Pratt, and surprise him.
Finally, and this scene will give away a lot, so if you want to watch Silver Linings Playbook without having it spoiled, then go watch it.
This is the dance competition scene at the end. You have to watch the whole movie be able to put it into context but the reactions are brilliant, and Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper dance their cabooses off. When you get two very unlikeable characters and are rooting for them in the end, a lot of things have gone right with the movie.
The language is quite rough too. You've been warned.
Have a great weekend everyone.
The truth is every time I started to write, I got sad.
Trust me, I've started to write numerous posts about the insanity which is the conservative mentality towards Corona Virus, but I get one or two words into it, realize how depressing this whole mess is, and I have to stop.
I took some really nice photos at the Arboretum today with the kids. I'll post them tomorrow.
For this weeks Friday Link, let's talk about great movie scenes. With more home based evenings, I've been watching more movies and here are some classic scenes which (in my opinion) make some movies just classics.
A warning: I don't want to have anyone get upset with me about spoilers. You click on the link, you are choosing to watch the scene. If you want a spoiler free Friday Link, then go watch the movies and then come back.
First up a classic scene with Dudley Moore from Arthur. The Moose scene. This won't ruin the movie for you, but it is an all time classic movie scene.
Next up is a shockingly good scene from a movie I've watched repeatedly, and not just because I love baseball. Moneyball is about finding a way to win without superstar players, and Brad Pitt's Billy Beane coming to grips with his career not being what he though it would be. In this scene, Pitt and a wonderful Brent Jennings visit Chris Pratt, and surprise him.
Finally, and this scene will give away a lot, so if you want to watch Silver Linings Playbook without having it spoiled, then go watch it.
This is the dance competition scene at the end. You have to watch the whole movie be able to put it into context but the reactions are brilliant, and Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper dance their cabooses off. When you get two very unlikeable characters and are rooting for them in the end, a lot of things have gone right with the movie.
The language is quite rough too. You've been warned.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Friday, May 8, 2020
The Friday Link for 5/8/20
Howdy all.
Yes this blog has been light but I'm losing 12 to 15 hours per week with kids stuff, now that they're home. I've a lot of great post ideas but I find I'm too exhausted by the time I have a window to type. Sorry. I'll try to do better.
Tonight, let's start off with two adorable animal videos from The Dodo. These stories will make you want a beaver and a squirrel for your own.
Finally, It's another edition of Some Good News. This episode seemed appropriate considering the decision today to basically cancel all graduation ceremonies for any school with more than 100 graduates. John Krasinski tries to make good for the graduates without a graduation.
Be sane graduates. We're all really proud of you.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Yes this blog has been light but I'm losing 12 to 15 hours per week with kids stuff, now that they're home. I've a lot of great post ideas but I find I'm too exhausted by the time I have a window to type. Sorry. I'll try to do better.
Tonight, let's start off with two adorable animal videos from The Dodo. These stories will make you want a beaver and a squirrel for your own.
Finally, It's another edition of Some Good News. This episode seemed appropriate considering the decision today to basically cancel all graduation ceremonies for any school with more than 100 graduates. John Krasinski tries to make good for the graduates without a graduation.
Be sane graduates. We're all really proud of you.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, May 1, 2020
The Friday Link for 5/1/20
Howdy all!
This Friday, I'd be wrong to not feature Brad Pitt's Dr. Fauci impression from last weeks SNL out of the gate. "Miracles shouldn't be 'Plan A.' Even Sully tried to land at the airport first." Outstanding!
That being said, it's time to ask the question; is 2020 the worst year ever?
Not even close. Hey, so far it's been pretty rough, and I highly doubt things are going to become stellar by Autumn, but it would take a lot to make this year the worst of all time. Seriously it would take a lot to make 2020 worse than 536.
Scientists have actually tried to figure this out, and they stumbled upon the consensus 536 was a God awful year to be alive, and not just because of the lack of internet and how you could die of a tooth ache. How bad? The sun disappeared, and then it went downhill from there. Let me pass it off to Weird History and let them explain why no one is taking the time machine back to 536.
Then again, we really haven't seen this planet get its worst. Currently we are ramping up on the heat scale and are very likely to have a massive die off on the planet in the next hundred years or so, but eventually the planet will cool back down. That's how these things eventually go.
PBS Eons takes us back to the REALLY bad days; the last TWO TIMES the planet froze over.
On that bright note, have a great weekend everyone!
This Friday, I'd be wrong to not feature Brad Pitt's Dr. Fauci impression from last weeks SNL out of the gate. "Miracles shouldn't be 'Plan A.' Even Sully tried to land at the airport first." Outstanding!
That being said, it's time to ask the question; is 2020 the worst year ever?
Not even close. Hey, so far it's been pretty rough, and I highly doubt things are going to become stellar by Autumn, but it would take a lot to make this year the worst of all time. Seriously it would take a lot to make 2020 worse than 536.
Scientists have actually tried to figure this out, and they stumbled upon the consensus 536 was a God awful year to be alive, and not just because of the lack of internet and how you could die of a tooth ache. How bad? The sun disappeared, and then it went downhill from there. Let me pass it off to Weird History and let them explain why no one is taking the time machine back to 536.
Then again, we really haven't seen this planet get its worst. Currently we are ramping up on the heat scale and are very likely to have a massive die off on the planet in the next hundred years or so, but eventually the planet will cool back down. That's how these things eventually go.
PBS Eons takes us back to the REALLY bad days; the last TWO TIMES the planet froze over.
On that bright note, have a great weekend everyone!
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