Fat Activism

The thing that bugs me most about this stuff is that it ruined a whole branch of comedy - this shit is so ridiculous in actual practice, you can't parody it.

Kentaji Brown Jackson's Broadway Debut

NEW: Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson makes Broadway debut in “& Juliet,” a queer twist on Romeo and Juliet. The play features ‘May,’ Juliet’s he/she/they best friend.

Jackson previously said it was her life goal to perform on a Broadway stage. 

This sounds nice for her and like Chinese water torture for the rest of us.

A Not Terrible Strategy

I was wondering why would Ukraine wasn't doing more stuff like this.

Turns out, they have. Under this model, Ukraine could prolong the war for 75 years - basically adopting the Palestinian method - only they have several major advantages over the Palestinians: 1) the moral high ground 2) powerful and rich allies 3) bigger and stronger population 4) an enemy with the option of retreat

The Palestinians possess none of the above. 

LA Times...

...still needs work. The headline reads: "A necessary evil: the captive dogs whose blood saves live." 

Me, a dumb reader, is like: fuck yeah. That sounds like an awesome story. But within the first paragraph you of course discover the lives being saved by dog blood are sick pets. Not as compelling, is it? 

"Saves lives" - they do realize this term suggests human lives, right? Who are these writers and editors? Seriously.

Okay...

We need to correct some shit here. The "healthcare" industry doesn't kill people. Diseases and old age and other horrible shit kill people. You can't blame the healthcare industry for people dying. This is a ridiculous line of thinking. Again - I'm not a fan of the medical systems in this country - but there is a completely retarded dynamic emerging around this CEO murder that reminds me a bit of the BLM stuff. What it amounts to - really dumb people who can't even balance their own checkbooks or hold a job at Starbucks thinking that we need to "do something" about systemic racism or health insurance. Perhaps we do. But I know for certain if solutions are figured out - they won't be because these "conversations" dumbasses on the internet are having. I bet 90% of them don't even understand how insurance works. And the other 10% don't understand how treatments are developed. 

Hmmmm...

Greta shifts her attention from the global climate crisis to Palestine. Are we to understand the climate crisis was resolved from this attention shift? Is the Palestine-Israel thing now a more urgent issue? Please explain.

Torture Chamber

The best argument against the leftish worldview is to simply create leftist worldview spaces as a natural experiment and see what happens. Does anyone in their right mind think Bluesky will exist in 2 years?

This is happening to my former favorite coffee shop in town. Started out as your typical LA spot, but started becoming waaaayyy too into LGBT++++ all the time - like every new hire had to have their face fucked up and purple hair and on some type of weird drug regimen. I noticed the few "normie" employees aren't there as often. The other day there was a car with a Palestinian flag draped onto it. And the prices went up.

Anyhow, a new place opened up down the street the other day. More normie. Coffee quality roughly equal. Now I'm going there more often.

Stephen A

Goes ballistic on Jan 6 being an inside job and Democrats lying. 

It would help the Democrats if Donald Trump could stop being right about everything. 

The Drones

Shoot them down and figure out what they are. Not hard. 

Agreed

95% of people hating insurance companies is that people don't know how insurance works. 

A big problem in the world is that people are too dumb to govern themselves. The other problem is that people are also too dumb to govern others.

Duke Lacrosse

What's the world come to when you can't trust the word of an exotic dancer who murdered her boyfriend.

Good Point

Bryan Caplan says can leftists ever just say exactly what they want? Like provide a list. Cause I can think of a few examples just from recent headlines -

1) A Palestinian state. Well, the reality here is the Palestinians were offered states - twice! And turned them down both times. So again - what do they really want?

2) Obamacare. Isn't this what leftists wanted? And now apparently - they don't want it. Please explain.

"League of the Year"

Money quote: why couldn't Time put the entire WNBA on the cover and call it "the league of the year."

Oy vey. Anyone want to explain photography to this person? I can predict her next few ideas: I don't see why everyone can't be the lead character in this movie. I actually think we should have everyone be President of the United States. Have we considered giving out Gold medals to all the athletes?

Logging

Film: Old Fox (Taiwan)

2/3 done, but so far the film is about inflation.

UPDATE: Good movie.

What Are Movies

They used to be visual stories you'd go to with friends and family and watch with a community. I'm not sure they function that way anymore. I almost wonder if movies are a now a simply one of many subjects for which people can vent about online. Like they are themselves shorthanded symbols for certain tribal associations and belonging.

Observations

The other day I was at an eye doctor's appointment with my son, we had 30 minutes to kill so we went to a hip nearby LA coffee joint. It was packed with people. But here's the odd thing - the silence. You could hear pin drop. I noticed because I got a hair self conscious speaking with my kid because I could feel everyone able to hear us, if they opted to listen. I'm talking about 15-20 people lingering in this coffee joint, all working on laptops, etc. It was so busy, we couldn't find a place to sit for two.

I can tell you for a fact - 10-15 years ago - coffee shops just like these all around town were noisy. They were still packed with people writing their screenplays, etc, but there was a buzz about. They weren't like libraries. That's what was so odd. It got me thinking how maybe we've transported energy out of the physical world into the digital. In the old days people would chit chat with the folks around them. Not everyone, of course. It's not like there weren't introverts. But surely you would hear people TALKING in a public space. Even I (an introvert) was even chit chatting with the ordering guy. But it seemed like no one else was chit chatting. Well, they probably were - online somehow. Sigh.

I hated it.

Almost Naked Russian Tourist

Takes on four Thai police officers and seems to prevail.

One of the reasons Russia partners with China is that when push comes to shove, I think the Russians feel like they can do this to the Chinese. 

A tip from an Asian American. If you want to take this huge guy down - go for the legs and you need speed/momentum. These countries that don't play football are at a disadvantage. 

A lesson from Cooper DeJean taking down Derrick Henry who I suspect is at least 3x as strong as that Russian dude (as strong as that Russian dude appears to be). 

In Other Words...

...don't go all in with an inside straight draw, especially with a small stack. What Russia loses in Syria.

There Is A Place For These Kid of People

Like Taylor Lorenz...it's a coffee shop in the Haight with a laptop and a tattered copy of People's History of the United States on the table where she can mouth off to other non-employables -- not the public airwaves.

Assad Family

To the people who are all about stolen land...can the Assad family claim the "right of return"? Why not?

Wrong vibes, I guess.

Hilarious

Again Macaes is criticizing Israel for grabbing territory in Syria. Here is a thread:

In the past, Israel’s radars suffered from a significant blind spot, unable to see beyond Mt. Hermon and parts of Lebanon from their position on Mt. Meron. Iran's low-flying drones exploited this weakness, infiltrating Israel time and time again. 

So you see, his real objection is that Israel must accept vulnerability to enemy plans. It's so freaking strange. I mean the guy knows this is a small country hated by neighbors - how do you expect them to react? In what other way should Israel "exist"? Should they allow themselves to be a powerless minority in the region? Ask how that has worked for the Kurds. Or the Shia in Iraq. Or the Palestinians! Or any number of minorities within Iran or anywhere else. Absurdities. 

Maybe Chill A Little

Right wingers worrying about protests re: Daniel Penny acquittal. From this video, it looks like about 15 people in NYC. I'd chill out a bit.

Batshit

This "explanation" of "sex assigned at birth" and gender identity and expression is so batshit crazy and nonsensical - I cannot fathom how this became a thing.

Iraq War

So the real plan was to remove the Saddam domino, cause the Iranians to fill the power vacuum, thus tricking them to overextending themselves until the mullah regime collapsed as well?

A Lesson

I failed to learn. Pulled quads take 6 weeks to recover when you are in your 40s. 

Everything About Israel

Beware the critic who makes everything about Israel. He argues in some posts that Israel enabled Assad. In other posts, he argues Israel caused his downfall. He argues Israel causes all the chaos in the Middle East as a colonial power. Yet, silence on Turkey and Russia, who are also colonial powers and the major players in this Syria thing. It's very odd. What is unique about Israel? The Jews will say these arguments are antisemitic. Too easy. I think it's actually he expects Russia and Turkey to flex because they are big, historically powerful countries. Israel is small. And I think somewhere in this is the root of the some folks revulsion at Israel. How dare this little country act out of place. Don't they know they could be crushed like an ant? And Israel dares to say - no. We won't be crushed and we will do whatever it takes not to be crushed. 

Workouts

Batting cage > lifting 

Forgot what it feels like to hit a ball in the sweet spot - one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Crazy Idea

Could you slice off a little bit of the new Syria for the Palestinians? Build them an airport, roads etc. Get a buffer space between them and the Israelis? Is no one else thinking this? Does it totally miss the point? Yes. But the benefit would be avoiding the back and forth mass murders. 

Logging

Book: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 

Felt like a great book written in the 1950s but indeed was written in 2004. Reminds me of something I love about American literature - something I can't quite articulate -- but it has to do with God, nature, and individualism.

This Is Not Possible

Marisa Tomai celebrating 60. 

Me So Angry

Aren't all the people who seem to be gloating about the healthcare CEO murder the folks that wanted Obamacare? I'm so confused.

UPDATE: Actually, I'm not. Because I understand the thing that drives them - envy. 

Logging

Film: Anora

While I enjoyed the humanistic portrayal of the characters, the storytelling ended up feeling a tad linear and not entirely satisfying by the end. I thought Baker might get more ambitious in his filmmaking as he progresses, but the film seemed to me too content being indy - if that makes any sense.

Maybe I've become real dull, but I feel an actual Cinderella version would've been better rather than just a Cinderella set up and then a ha-ha nod to it.

Russia and Iran

Are learning that overextension doesn't just apply to the US. They are subject to the same laws of finance, resources, and geopolitics.

Syria

How to feel about the more successful, moderate Islamicists that successfully rebeling in Syria? I'd argue we ought to be open to them. Our problem with global jihad was they declared war on us and wanted to  attack and kill Westerners. I wouldn't trust or be too excited about these folks coming to power, yet we have to be realistic about our options across the Muslim world. If folks want Islamic governance and they aren't militarily hostile, what problem do we have with them?

Logging

Film: The Truman Show

Unbelievably, I'd never seen it. It's not what I'd call my style of film and yet - it's quite remarkable. The absolute best sequence is basically the first act turn when Truman realizes - something isn't right in the world. He starts behaving in a way not prescribed for him - Carey's acting is wonderful. You track on his face this subtle realization about the nature of his life. The music too - patient. It grows. And it's all done in a rather simple, everyday manner but has an epic quality to it. Peter Weir one of the great directors of his time. Camera positioning in this film - brilliant design. And the end - the filmmaker pulls off a moment where man faces God -- totally biblical. I wonder if the Barbie filmmakers used this as a model. Also, it should be paired with the Matrix. What an interesting thing to look back upon - how Hollywood seemed to know something without really knowing - that we were entering this realm of unreality and was grappling with it on a conceptual level. 

UPDATE: And Google reveals in fact Gerwig spoke to Peter Weir before making Barbie.

Other things I'm watching or re-watching in parts:

Paris, Texas

Bob the Gambler

Heathers

Funny Games - all I can think about while watching the beginning of this film is about what pussies Europeans are. These are a people who once colonized the world? The fuck happened to you guys?

Ouch

What's the most important problem in the world right now? 

This student journalist deserves a pulitzer prize for best zinger.

I Admit It

Although I am a luddite about quite a number of things, I confess Christmas shopping is a whole lot easier with Amazon. I used to come away from the mall wanting to murder people. 

Interesting

Esquire retracts entire story because it was about something that never happened. 

I wonder how this happens.

Ha

I don't think my students read a ton, but in every single one of my classes, they read more than this Stanford student. And they all actually read because I speak with them about it. 

In my basic screenplay class they read at least 4-6 scripts along with watching 4-6 films. In Adaptation, they read 1 play, 1 novel, 1 long form article, 1 graphic novel, and 1 children's book. Along with all the film or tv adaptations.

I read several books a year out loud with my kids cover to cover - and I mean real books. Just finished Treasure Island. Have read Charlotte's Web 2x times. Tom Sawyer. Doing an abridged Moby Dick right now. Did graphic novel versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Not even mentioning all the non-fiction. Interesting to think about this. I tend to think there is some extra value in cover-to-cover reading. Especially when becoming "educated." Not about the efficiency but rather the accomplishment - maybe we create some sort of neural pathways when working through an entire work.

Search vs AI

One thing I'll say about google - search was almost immediately useful. With AI, I find it interesting, but perhaps not quite useful yet. Especially because it has enough ability to be plausible, but I still feel like I need to look over it. Sort of like how little kids perform chores - almost easier for you to do it yourself than to oversee them doing it. 

Apologies To My Political Allies

I gotta go the other way on this one after reading the Phd abstract of Olfactory and Politics of Smell PhD - I don't think it even sounds that bad. 

UPDATE: If nothing more, it's increased the vocabulary of thousands of losers by one big word - more success than most PhDs theses.

And This Is Why...

Brilliantly put. Again...my theory Dems won't have political control for 20+ years.

All the "what should Democrats do?" miss the obvious. Govern. Competently. When the blue states and blue cities are booming, safe, great schools, business flocking, call America and say "we're ready to run the country now."

Wouldn't mind some global stability either.

Common Sense...

I'm sure all these sensible folks calling the Hunter Biden charges bogus were also calling the Russian collusion hoax bogus as well...right...right? And the business records case in New York, right? Right? Just making sure.

Look, the Hunter Biden charges are a big nothing burger but it just looks so freaking terrible that Biden "trusted" the law when he was in power only to reveal he actually doesn't trust it all...

Fathers

My fathering technique is to urge my sons not to do shit you'll need to be pardoned for. 

Prediction

Democrats are going to lose 20 years of elections across the country because they are systematically unable to moderate on absurd issues.

They are going to sacrifice everything - the middle class, abortion, environmentalism - at the alter of trans rights. How do I know? They've already done it by purging the moderates and all sensible people from their ranks. Their hopes rest on Trump being a fascist loon. Bad bet.

Watchful Waiting

"If "Watchful Waiting" were new expensive treatment, everyone would be raving about its wonderful benefit/risk.ratio."

Doing nothing can often be a surprisingly good way to handle problems.

Logging

Film: Unhinged

I'm only halfway through but the film is a considerably more unhinged than I imagined...

UPDATE: Upon finishing, I have nothing more to add other than a question: why does the kid always ride in the backseat of the car - he's like 12-14 isn't he?

True In Life

Was watching a bit of Detroit-Indiana hoops last night and one of the commentators said Bickerstaff decided Detroit needed to build around something and that something was a defensive identity. 

When I was a kid, there was this idea of being a well-rounded person and I still believe in that. But when you're trying to build something, it helps to become more narrow and find someplace to start. And I actually don't think it totally matters what that thing is, so long as it's something. It's just a place to start.

Ceasefire with Hezbollah

That came in a hurry. Wonder the behind the scenes...

Taleb claims Israel is a terrorist state. No, Lebanon does not control its territory. Taleb's antifragile theory when applied to societies might be indistinguishable from anarchy.

Perk of Getting Older

Is being able to see through the lazy narcissism (or solipsism) of many 20-something college grads who you used to be.

Logging

Film: Gladiator 2 

I suppose a satisfying film in 2024 - although can anyone explain why they needed suped-up CGI monkeys and great white sharks swimming around the Coliseum? Felt like a different franchise...

As compared to the first film, several things stood out-

a) Tightness of the main story in the first film - despite being a historical epic, the original film has a lean story contained to one major POV whereas this film sprawls out into numerous tendrils, none of which totally lands on its own. Some major character changes and developments are just hustled through as if saying blah-blah-blah now he forgives his mom and blah-blah-blah now he hates his brother -- as if the filmmakers are saying to the audience - you get it, right? As opposed to walking us through the nuance of the emotions. I'm sure there was a 3.5 hour version that attempted to do all this, but it ended up just being plot.

b) Charisma of the star - this guy Mescal is pretty good in the film but cannot match the movie star charisma of peak Russell Crowe. This is more a reflection of Hollywood in '24 where the studios and streamers are completely incapable of generating sustainable stardom.

c) All said, some good performances all around - enjoy Denzel as bad guy and twin emperors start well (but have nowhere to go)

What American Parents Are Dealing With

Institutions and bureaucrats actively making it harder for children to succeed. 

For The Record

With Sinwar dead, I'm becoming more sympathetic to the what is Israel doing now crowd? I've lost sense of their goals at this point. Are they still saying: return hostages? Does anyone believe that is their actual goal?

Articles

Feels like every substantial news I find perusing the internet is twinged with the same sense of foreboding -- hinting at an apocalyptic fear of whatever the subject of the article happens to be. Does anyone else notice this? Find it odd? It's like the same tonal treatment of literally every. single. subject. Trump elected - doom. Israel-Palestine - doom. AI - doom. Environment - doom. Guns - doom. Literally every subject somehow translates to existential dread.

Almost seems to me the subject is actually dread and the content merely an excuse to find it.

Bay Area

If you want a clue as to why Dems lost. Small example, but Newsom promises to build 1,200 homes for homeless people by fall. Spends $750 million. There are no homes yet. But we get a spokesman saying there is "progress," meaning they passed legislation and got some approvals. But again...there are no homes. Where is all this money going?

Interesting

Is polarization a good thing even if it feels bad? Like physical therapy. 

Percentage of the losing side who say the presidential election was illegitimate. 

2016: 56% of Dems 

2020: 70% of GOP 

2024: 10% of Dems

Something In This

"we live in a world where we don't so much own things, in many ways our things own us. Hot rodding is a form of radical ownership where you KNOW the thing, down to every nut, bolt, and wire."

That Jaguar Ad...

Is "copy nothing" except every single woke HR departments inclusion mandate.  

Argument Against Democracy

And especially in terms of bringing it to foreign countries. The number of folks who believe the US government was involved in 9/11. 

20% of people in the US? Do they even require 2nd order thoughts on the matter - like - what does the government stand to gain by being involved in such a thing?

A Generally Safe Prediction

If you elect a progressive DA or hire progressive prosecutors crime will go up. 

Logging

Film: Daddio

I believe we have a subgenre here - the taxi movie. Taxi Driver, Collateral, and Daddio... Features of this genre: primary location: a taxi. The taxi driver is a loner and a little weird. Some type of romance story as a subplot. Urban location, some reflection or perspective upon the nature of the city/environment. 

Feckless

If this is true, Biden will be remembered as one of the worst Presidents of my lifetime.

Time

Is time on Ukraine or Russia's side? 

Some argue any ceasefire or other actions to freeze the conflict benefits Russia because they can simply regroup and invade later.

On the other hand, Russia keeps descending into a lower geopolitical situation year after year vis-a-vis China and the US. Whereas Poland and other Eastern European countries are now hip to the game and will plan accordingly. Not obvious to me Russia will be in a better position in say, 10 years. Also, Putin might die. 

Then again, Ukraine might depopulate. Would you want to live next to a nuclear armed neighbor with designs on your land? Perhaps not. But if you want a free country, you are going to need to be willing to fight and fight for it. Not like the US was created overnight. We had to fight the War of 1812...

ChatGPT

Are we really that close to AGI? 

Checking to see if my students are cheating - "what are the visual symbols used in the sopranos pilot"

The Sopranos pilot, directed by David Chase, uses a variety of visual symbols to establish the world of the show and underscore its themes. These symbols often carry deeper meanings, connecting to the psychological states of the characters, the nature of their world, and the central conflict of the series. 

Here are some of the key visual symbols used in the pilot: 

1. The Squirrel Symbolism: The squirrel that appears early in the pilot, when Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is sitting outside, is an important visual motif. The squirrel is symbolic of Tony’s life in a state of confusion or tension. Its frantic, erratic behavior mirrors Tony's own inner turmoil and the unpredictable nature of his life in organized crime. The squirrel's ultimate death — being killed by Tony’s shot in the head — reflects the sense of violence that permeates Tony's world. 

Theme: This moment foreshadows the randomness of violence in the criminal underworld and the fragility of life in Tony’s world. It also suggests Tony’s emotional instability, as he is unable to stop the violence or chaos around him.

Hmmm kay.

 

 

The Process

Replace the word sex with gender. 

Define the word gender as something different from sex.

Apply the new word gender to all structures and institutions build upon the reality of sex differences.

Bring down civilization.

America

Matt Gaetz Attorney General

America:

My Wife's Theory 

On the election: median wages dropped significantly during the Biden administration. AKA-

It's the economy, stupid.

Weird

I just noticed today three huge apartment complexes are for sale in town. What is this a signal of?

The Biggest AI Use Case

For now, anyway, the biggest use case seems to be students cheating. 

Another Example Why People Voted For Trump

A psychologist argues you don't need to spend time with family members who voted for Trump because "family is not entitled to your time." 

Just...WOW. 

These people are psychotic - just making their own lives as miserable as possible. Then I read about 35-year old women who are giving up any type of interactions with men because of Trump -- joining the South Korean 4b movement.

Nutty.

I'm tempted to make a joke about the difference between fasting and starving, but I won't.

Wondering Why Trump Won?

Just another small example: CA trying to do something to address maternal health issues, but advocacy groups argue to suspend the suggested implementation because -- you guessed it -- "plan to reduce maternal mortality fails to address systemic racism and puts an undue burden on individuals."

Here's a part:

Sherrod said that even when accounting for other factors, “Black women still have worse outcomes.” For instance, one analysis of maternal deaths in California found that Black mothers with the highest incomes had worse rates of pregnancy-related mortality than white mothers with the lowest incomes.

Anyone want to bet black mothers with highest incomes are older than white women with the lowest incomes? Could that be impacting maternal health? Just a thought...

Campaign Spending

A clue. 

Campaign Spending; Trump Raised $381.54 Million

Trump spent $345.42 Million 

Only $10.4 Million was spent on Staff. 

Kamala raised $1.003 Billion 

Kamala Spent $1.37 Billion

Kamala Spent $582.53 Million on Staff.

I've often wondered why Democrats embrace such retarded policy positions. If you followed the 582 million, I bet it would explain some of it.  

The Clinton's invented this political access-->career pyramid scheme, but Obama hijacked it from them. The scam is now out in the open - but it remains to be seen whether Trump will take it down or use it himself. Probably a bit of both.

Why Trans Issues

Why is the trans issue such a big deal. It doesn't directly impact a ton of people in a meaningful way - this is true. But people are not dumb. They know if Democrats are willing to lie and obscure reality in this absurd a manner, it makes them think: what else are they lying about? And they realize - wait a sec - how about everything? Do you know the story about a shop owner who catches an employee stealing a small thing and fires her. Naive son says - why did you fire her? That's the first time she stole something. And he says, "no, it was the first time she got caught." This is the trans issue. It's a canary in the coal mine. It reveals everything about the mindset of progressives and far left liberals. 

Election Explanation #2

Is it possible the Democrats lost because when given the opportunity, they governed poorly? 

Adios

Qatar tells Hamas they are no longer welcome. 

Hmmm.

Logging

Film: Last Man Standing (Bruce Willis movie, not Tim Allen tv show) 

Dull and nonsensical from the moment the film starts. Cannot believe this film cost 60 plus million to make in the late 90s. Felt like almost no point to making the film, like a pure exercise. A lesson in here somewhere. 

Film: Jackie Brown

Odd feature of prime video - during credits of Last Man Standing it just flowed right into Jackie Brown. Music caught me. I ended up watching an hour, then fast forwarding to certain parts. DeNiro's character - Louis Gara struck me this time around. I could not help but associate him with with his Neil McCauley character from Heat. These films were made close together - Heat in 95, Jackie Brown in 97. So DeNiro more or less looks the same. In Jackie Brown, DeNiro spends most of the movie in Bridget Fonda's Hermosa Beach apartment looking at the Pacific Ocean. In Heat, McCauley has a famously post modern, unfurnished Malibu beach house that also looks out upon the Pacific Ocean. They are both ex-cons released from prison for bank robbery. DeNiro in Heat dresses very well, in Jackie Brown, DeNiro is most happy when Sam Jackson buys him some new duds and cleans himself up. On the surface, their characterizations couldn't be more different. Louis is a loser. A pothead. A space cadet. He can't even hang up a phone at one point. In fact, Louis is basically stoned out of his mind most of the movie and not paying much attention to anything at all. Methinks he's fantasizing. And what's he fantasizing about? Being Neil McCauley. Heat is Louis's fantasy version of himself - a version of what he should be, a coping mechanism for what he is. He should have discipline. He should have a code. He should be the best bank robber in Southern California. This is what Louis is thinking about as he watches dumbass TV shows with Bridget Fonda and smokes weed. He's powerless and what do powerless men do? They fantasize. 

The final moment of the Louis's journey suggests it as well. Sam Jackson says to him "you used to be beautiful." Really? There was no suggestion of this side of his character throughout the film. But Sam Jackson doesn't say this to anyone else. He lies only about things to advantage himself. He has no reason to lie in this moment. So what he says is true. Louis was something once. So maybe he could've been Neil McCauley. Because the best fantasies possess at least a possibility of truth. Maybe his fantasy version of himself wasn't so far off the mark. If only he had turned down that weed and that crazy pussy... 

My Theory on the US Election

Donald Trump had policy positions more aligned with American public opinion than Kamala Harris. 

Housing

The best solution to housing prices is to just build more. Every rule or complication after that including rent controls damage the big picture.

Matt Ygelsias

Spells out a 9 point plan to become reasonable liberals again. I can agree with it all. It also happens to be quite similar to all of Donald Trumps positions. And almost none of Kamala Harris's positions. Makes you think.

"Mental Strength Expert"

How does one become a mental strength expert I wonder? Is there a licensing board?

As Predictable As The Sun Rising

Trump's victory attributed to white supremacy... with the added bit of Latinos are racist too. The jig for this BS is up. 

The Positive Case For Trump

He can and did say this last night:

We're the party of common sense. 

We want to have borders. 

We want to have security. 

We want to have things be good, safe. 

We want great education. 

We want a strong and powerful military. And ideally, we don't have to use it.

Democrats cannot utter any of these words because they cannot think or speak without a thousand disclaimers and caveats that are full of internal contradictions. 

To A Hammer...

Everything is a nail. MSNBC now calling Black and Hispanic men misogynistic and racist for their voting patterns. 

This is not the way.

Logging

Film: Porky's

I doubt anyone spent election night 2024 in a more productive way that me - watching Porky's for the first time with a few friends.

God Bless America.

 

Reaction

The market sure likes Fascist dictatorships. 

Lessons That Won't Be Learned

1) Progressives are fucking nuts and 75% of Americans loathe them and every idea they stand for. And for good reason - they want to get rid of cops, gifted education, support Hamas, and make girls into boys.

2) Kamala was a terrible candidate from Day 1.

3) The Democratic party machine is giant group of liars subordinate to a collection of interests (including most of all, careers) and has no center or soul. Beyond irresponsible. They had four years to set up a candidate. Couldn't find one. Why? DEI.

Yep

The most "important" election of our lifetime. So says the people who said the same thing about the last 6 elections. 

Remember: the entire future of our nation, nay planet, depends on you selecting the least horrifying imbecile we decided to offer you

 

Vote This Woman

For President. 

What's noticeably absent from this Asian American immigrant - the total lack of what I'd like to call NPR-voice. NPR voice is symptomatic of the neurotic, emotional, incompetent elites we have running this country. The voice that equates inner feelings with goodness. The voice that thinks that words matter more than actions. Or results. The type of people who break systems like the border, public education, or the international order but since they - in their hearts - "want to do good" feel they are absolved of any guilt or responsibility. They should have the decency to take their inheritances and go live comfortable lives where they have no responsibility or power. But no, they want zero responsibility, zero accountability, and zero cost to their personal lives AND they want the POWER. That's what's disgusting about these people. 

Logging

TV: The English Teacher S1

A really good show, proud of its transgressive worldview. The version of the show that would be really pushing boundaries, however, would be a very similarly low stakes show about a straight, white male English teacher.

Still, I shouldn't complain.

Hmmmm

Tucker slept with his four dogs, woke up with scratch marks and presumed it was a demon that attacked him. Just a thought - before jumping to the supernatural conclusion - perhaps get those dog claws DNA swabbed. 

I Call Bullshit

Now a lot of people are coming out and criticizing the gender dysphoria social contagion. But I was there for this. It was so obvious as it was happening. Did anyone study the Salem Witch Trials? Anyone in these schools bother to read the Crucible? I know this doesn't make complete sense, but I believe a large amount of this madness we see today is simply people not reading anymore. Because they can't recognize what is happening right around them. The dynamics.

Logging

TV: The Penguin E1-4

After the flashbacks to Sophia Falcone's pointless torture at Arkham, I'm officially out on the show. I thought the show was about The Penguin rising to power...not watching Meadow Soprano in a torture porn. Is there anything more played out than mental illness or queer stories (not that there's anything wrong with it) on TV these days...

Ads 

I'm being targeted for men over 40 getting rid of love handles and belly fat. They know too much about us!

Sam Harris - Andrew Sullivan

One candidate captured his party, the other candidate is captured by her party. Neither is a vote of confidence. Trump's an ego maniac and a narcissist. Not a Fascist. Or a wannabe dictator. Harris is a nothing - a cardboard cut out who will do the bidding of whatever Democratic interest groups can apply the right pressure. What signature issue does she have? What does she actually care about? I honestly have no clue. I don't think she does either.

Israel - Palestine

If your issue was wanting the war to end, you'd have better odds with Trump as President. For egotistical reasons, he would be more likely to negotiate a deal to end the war than Harris, IMO. 

The Genocide Crowd

I never heard a peep from the genocide crowd during 2007-2023 while Hamas terrorized Gazans and Israelis and orchestrated this entire war. Nor during the entire Syrian Civil War. Nor while Iran quashed protests or executed thousands of their own citizens. Nor when the Chinese locked up millions of Uigers. Nor when Russia targeted civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Nor when North Korea holds all its citizens as slaves. Nor when ISIS massacred civilians all across Iraq. Continual silence. And now, they ask nothing of Hamas, Iran, or the Palestinians. And they wonder why no one in power listens. Because they have no principles, only feelings. 

Liberals Could Rule the Roost

I believe liberals could easily hold an electoral majority in the United States if they simply backed off the crazy pedal. Examples:

1) Relax on the extreme versions of DEI and trans issues. 

2) Don't do really dumb economic stuff - the pure thievery - like rent control or attempting to tax unrealized capital gains. 

It shows me a lot that they aren't capable of moderating and using common sense, despite it being in their interest. 

Maybe Evil?

Or at the very least toxic femininity. So many levels of wrong here.  NIH commissions a 9 million dollar study of the effects of puberty blockers on kids. Note: this is taxpayer money paid to scientists. The results show no mental health benefits to the kids going on blockers. BUT...here's the kicker...the women in charge of the study refuses to publish the results because of the "political environment." So...the American public is denied information it PAID FOR because the results don't conform to what the woman in charge wants them to. Insanity.

This is Weird

Kamala emotes re: being a parent and making mistakes.  Thing is - did she parent much? I'm not denigrating step-parents here, but the kids were already adults by the time Kamala married her hubby.

As an aside - if Trump had a successful career and didn't settle down until age 48 and then became a step-dad - would this be a political plus or minus? I have to think the Democrats would use this against him. It would be some type of evidence of being a toxic man. Yet for Kamala, it hasn't been an issue. 

Trump is a Fascist?

Harris calling Trump a Fascist makes me think Harris doesn't know what a Fascist is. She's closer to the Big Lebowski than Winston Churchill.

The Problem

With the Dems spending the past decade blaming toxic white men for all their problems -- now they've gotten some of what they want -- and ran many of those men out of town. But now they actually have to do stuff like produce tv shows, print newspapers, educate students, and run the country -- and they don't have the white men to blame anymore. Is there any evidence the job being done is better than before? Seems to me a whole lot worse.

My Guess - 50-70% 

Of trans kids have stories just like this one.

Young Boys Perspective

They see a guy like Elon Musk building rockets and cars. They see Ohtani hitting home runs against 95mph fastballs. They admire these accomplishments. Then they see Kamala being celebrated for...being a woman, half-black/half-Indian, and full of phony joy?

Who do you think they will admire? How do you think they will vote in the future?

Inevitable

Now it's racist to pay for things. 

The Liberal Mind

Is rotten. Andrew Sullivan goes on a deep dive this week about how liberals in the Biden-Harris administration suppressed scientific evidence to continue unwise medical treatment on "trans kids." Just a pure cut and dry case of ideology over reality. But there is so much more...

Harris criticized Israel's invasion of Rafah earlier this year. Had she been President, she might've used her leverage to stop it. Yet that is where Sinwar was. The invasion of Rafah lead to the death of Sinwar. Now I understand those who oppose Israel. They see the issue clearly: they think Israel was founded on a crime and can only continue to exist through more crime against the Palestinians. They are wrong, but they are clear. American liberals on the other hand are both wrong and unclear. They on the one hand welcome Sinwar's death and defend Israel's right to protect themselves. Yet...they Israel only to protect itself in a certain way - a way that won't allow them to protect themselves. They want to live in a dual reality where Israel can protect themselves without inflicting any damage on the Palestinians. Please explain how in the real world this is supposed to happen? This is like asking a football team to win the game, but not allow them to play offense because that will hurt the feelings of the other team. Huh? What are we even doing or talking about here?You see this on nearly every single issue for liberals. 

Liberals want "fairness" and/or to rectify past injustices, so we put into place something called affirmative action. But when you look at affirmative action you see there is a cost - a cost to the folks who would've otherwise gotten into college or a job without affirmative action. So this is unfair. But instead of acknowledging the issue and working toward a compromise, liberals change the language. They argue we don't need affirmative action, but rather - diversity. And now we are told that the "losers" of affirmative action policies are actually winners because "everyone benefits from diversity." It would be like saying we are doing the Palestinians a favor by letting Israel rid them of Hamas. Do any Palestinians feel this way? Even I doubt it. Liberals cannot admit there are trade offs. Or even choices to be made. They literally feel like they can engineer the world into being a better place with rhetoric.

Take homelessness. The liberal idea is that your can correct homelessness by calling them unhoused and pouring an ungodly amount of money toward the problem. Then, when it doesn't work, they think: we need to more 2x ungodly amount of money toward it. Then, a few normal people push back against their terrible policy ideas, and they turn around and blame the pushbackers of being the worst of all possible things: Republicans. And probably racist too. 

The liberal mind cannot solve problems because the liberal mind doesn't believe in natural forming hierarchy or priorities. So the Liberals will on the one hand will believe climate change is an existential threat, but then on the other hand not want to buy or support Tesla because Elon owns Twitter. Or, they will put tariffs on electric Chinese cars because they also recognize we need a domestic auto industry and all the union votes. So they can't ever decide upon what problem actually matters - does climate change actually matter? Or do auto unions matter? Or strategic industries?

I read some liberal semi-criticizing Musk on twitter and longing for a world where NASA was able to be as efficient as SpaceX. Feels like a weird way to critique Musk. Isn't the better case study - why isn't NASA able to do what Musk is able to do at cost? Does this have something to do with a design flaw in central organization? Answer this question first, it seems to me. 

 

Sinwar

Good opportunity for the Middle East players to bring this war to an end. Return hostages for ceasefire. Some type of political settlement whereby Hamas must compete with Fatah and other Palestinian groups for who calls the shots going forward in Gaza. Let Palestinians decide if they like the way Hamas ran things.

Trump Didn't Enjoy Getting Tackled in Football

This is the most sane thing Trump has said in awhile and Dems think it makes him look bad. 

I Support...

Women who want to wear bow ties. 

Anti-War

Do the anti-war and ceasefire people realize what they're really saying is: let's do this thing over again in 5-10 years when Iran has nukes? 

Overlap

I wonder what percentage of people who think Columbus was a force for evil also think Elon Musk is a force for evil. My prediction: 80%. And the only thing in common: men with tangible accomplishments.  

Columbus Day

Rather than celebrate nautical accomplishment and being a brave, bold explorer of the world, we shall now criticize and judge a man who lived 530+ years ago as a way to make us feel better about sitting on the coach staring at phones. Congrats America, we've made a lot of moral progress by simply nodding along with the zeitgeist. Who knew it was so easy to be a good person?

Of All The 20th Century Horrors...

Where would one rank the Nakba? I'm guessing in the 50s-70s. Why is this the only one the world doesn't want to move on from?

I wonder. A mystery wrapped in a riddle. 

Liberals

Called Reagan a fascist. Then called Bush 1. Then Bush 2. Then McCain. Then Romney. Then Trump. Now Elon.

Notice a pattern? Everyone who disagrees with the progressive agenda is by their account, a fascist. Cluster B personalities. 

Envy

Is what makes the world go round. This is right. 

The man could cure cancer, take us to Mars and miraculously walk on water and half this country would still hate Elon. Not surprising at all, unfortunately.

Psychotic

It is psychotic to want to see men playing in women's sports at a competitive level.

Hamas Documents

These are the people Israel is dealing with. There will be no peace for Israelis or Palestinians until Hamas and Hezbollah are gone. It will be fake and temporary. If you care about the Palestinians the fastest path would be surrender. If you cared about the Israelis...come on, you don't care about the Israelis...

Fire The Entire Commission

CA state commission in charge of coastal wildlife rejects SpaceX plans to shoot rockets because they don't like Musk's politics. 

And you wonder why Donald Trump appeals to people.

Tragedy

Yes, there are horrors in Palestine - a terrible situation for all. But made so by the intractable and ridiculous demands of Palestinian political leaders and all those who support them. Imagine if the Chinese who lived in Taiwan demanded their lands and property back - confiscated by the Chinese Communists. What if they conducted suicide raids on the mainland. What do they think would be happening to them? Would Americans be supporting them? Not in a million years. Plus, they aren't so stupid to think this could ever work.

My Lovely Alma Mater

Protestors at Pomona College celebrate October 7th in numerous violations of student codes.  

1) Disrupting classes, not letting teachers and admin into their work

2) Vandalization

3) Wearing masks on campus (many of these "protestors" are not students but activists from the area)

Easy solution - kick all participants out of the school. Make they pay for destruction to property. No arrests needed. 

Lunatics

Think Saleh was fired as Jets coach because he wore the Lebanese flag. These fools no nothing about football and see the world through one lens - Palestine. No one in the US or football fans even cares about this stuff. Delusional.

So Lame

Bring me back to the 20th century, please...

Who wants to play VR games on an omni-directional treadmill? Begin on a treadmill is a metaphor for boredom - go outside, people!

Vibes

The vibe I get from Kamala -- drunken class President who organized the 30 year high school reunion. Goes around hugging and slurring and reflecting how much she misses everyone.

Lies

From Scientific American about inequities between males and females in sport. 

In my casual observations as a youth soccer coach, by age 6 I can see significant athletic differences between boys and girls - strength, speed, coordination so much so that 95% of girls would simply not enjoy playing real competitive sport against boys. And for the record, 25% of boys do not like competing against other boys their age simply because of the physical challenges. So if you want to get rid of this gender stuff - and did a simple thing like made soccer co-ed - you would see probably about 1 girl per team of 8 actually playing and enjoying it. 

I Know

The Republicans are crazy, inept, and conspiracy-oriented. Yet there's quite a bit of evidence they'd be better at governing or at least not worse.

In Chicago, the public schools doubled per student spending over the past decade only to see test scores drop.

This is what happens when liberals govern. They spend more money for worse results. You see the same exact thing in California on both public schools and homelessness. Why? Because they create incentives for career bureaucrats to make up fake work for themselves in order to pay themselves more. The Republicans at least attempt to cut this stuff and do better by just not fixing what isn't broken.

All of DEI can be seen this way. It's all fake work. And costs money. To get worse results than if they had done nothing at all.

True

This is true about humiliation, but people also remember suicide bombings and fanaticism -- people know by instinct the order of things can be worse. Suicide terrorism is a glimpse into it.

Blacks and Browns

Are testing nearly six grades apart from Asian students in California. It seems like average black and brown students are 3 grades below grade level and average Asian students are nearly 3 grades above grade level. Even if you believe there might be some genetic and demographic aspect to these differences, I cannot think that could account for more than 1-2 grade levels at most. 

This is at least two trends - main one being a the total shit show of public education - bureaucrats trying to change how they teach basics like reading and math and no one in the system being held to any standards at all. And two, Asian parents not giving two fucks and insisting on their kids learning by paying for tutoring like Kumon to get it.  

My question: why not just outsource all math education to Kumon? It couldn't be worse than what the public school system is doing. Why won't they do it? Too many people making money for not doing shit.  

The Sopranos: Johnny Sack doesn't like the shoes

Answers

Now seems to be a great time to get deep answers about dark American secrets. Ask Joe Biden, he will forget what he's not supposed to say. "Mister President, was there a second shooter when Kennedy was shot?" "Oh yeah, definitely...right on the grassy knoll. I've seen the film." "Mister President, are there aliens living amongst us?" "Not living amongst us right now, but there are alien artifacts being studied by scientists in Area 51. Next question?"

Woops

CNN says Nasrallah agreed to a ceasefire before he was killed. Now remember Hamas and Hezbollah both had a ceasefire with Israel on October 6th.

For all the folks who claim to stand with the Lebanese Shia and Palestinians on "moral" grounds - does it give them any pause to consider these are groups are allied, funded, and controlled by the mullahs in Iran? Does that reality sink into their mind at all? Does it give them pause? 

Bring It On

Some students at Tufts want to "bring the war home." These folks are so weird - desperate for their lives to have meaning, but at the same time too scared to step off campus. 

When They Tell You Who They Are...

Believe them. A US progressive organization wants to "Flood the Streets of NYC" on October 7th.

Now This Is True

I woke up with a disturbing thought: with Kamala there is a near-certainty of more wars coupled with a lot of bullshit about "peace" initiatives. With Trump (rather, Trump-Vance) there is a possibility of peace coupled with loud saber rattling.

A Lie Agreed Upon

Both Israel and Iran are incentivized to lie about the damage done by the Iran missile attack. Iran, so it looks like they can retaliate. Israel, so it looks like they are under siege and continue their war on Hezbollah.

Weird times. 

 

Apparently, Charles Schulz had the same issues with organized kids sports that I have in 1972-1973. Hmmm...

Logging

Film: The Wild Robot

It would not surprise me to see this get a best picture nomination. I'm loathe to admit, but movie animation making large creative strides that cohere artistically unlike its live action counterparts.

Film: Megaopolis

I've encountered this phenomenon twice now in theaters where some part of the audience laughs, but I'm not sure whether it's at the movie or with the movie. Or perhaps both? For all the low audience numbers in the press, at the AMC on Monday night, this movie was half-full. Not bad although this might be the movie crowd sensing it won't last long in cinemas. One of these laughs was when a giant hand reached out of a cloud and grabbed the moon. Cut to Giancarlo Esposito sitting up in bed telling his wife "I just had a dream where a hand reached out of a cloud and grabbed the moon." Not sure what's going on here on a narrative, filmmaking, and audience level -- is it the equivalent of listening to drunk Uncle Bob on Thanksgiving? At another point in the movie Adam Driver says something to the effect, "Man should only love women," which elicited uncomfortable chuckles (I am assuming he was quoting Marcus Aurelius, btw).

I'm enjoying the contrarian takes on the film that its full of ideas and not boring, etc. But...come on now. What astonishes me is not all the clunky writing and uneven pace and plot holes but how the film wasn't all that pleasurable to look at. Consider the images in The Godfather films, The Conversation, or Apocalypse Now -- or even the documentary films he produced - Koyaanisqatsi or Powaqqatsi? It seems to me the quality of images has regressed.

For the first half of the movie I was thinking: this is brilliant - Coppola has managed at age 85 to make what feels like a first feature film. He's somehow regressed into his youth. But by the end, I no longer felt that way. 

I have one strange theory...this film was actually made to be re-cut by billions of people on the internet into their own remix versions of the film.

Film: Billy Madison

Kids loved it.

Film: Mission Impossible 

Kids weren't that into it, actually got frightened by first act since Ethan Hunt's entire team was murdered. I did not recall Emilio Estevez was in this film and gets impaled in the first act. That said, I think I'm doing them a service by showing them how DePalma places the camera...

I might start including the scene in the restaurant between Cruise and Henry Czerny as a scene study. Really awesome scene...

Lemme Get This Straight

Progressives are complaining about the US not putting brakes on Israel destroying Hezbollah. This is a terrorist organization with American blood on its hands and your position is that we should help it survive? That we should be ashamed of building the bombs that Israel used against them?

I guess their argument is that Hezbollah will just disappear on its own if we do nothing. Feel like that tactic has been tried for 30+ years. Did it work?

This Argument

That Israel created Hezbollah and Hamas by its actions is bizarre. It'd be like saying the Northern states caused the KKK by defeating the South in the Civil War. 

APAIC

Re: the claims made by folks like Macaes and Taleb that APAIC controls Congress, etc. If this were the case, why wouldn't the Arabs have formed a similar group to influence Congress in their favor? Lack of money? Doubt it. Nobility? Doubt it. They just can't accept the reality that Americans aren't going to be persuaded by suicide bombing campaigns and invasions of Israel. Sorry. Just go visit a 2nd grade classroom, they'll tell you all you need to know.

Is It Just Me

Or does Israel seem like they're handling all family business. 

To all the naysayers and Jihadist apologists: the receipts are all on twitter. 

Terrible Ideas

Both candidates have terrible, disqualifying ideas toward the center of their campaigns. For Trump and Republicans - its these tariffs and trade wars. Bad idea with a lot of unintended consequences. For Kamala, reparations and taxing unrealized capital gains. Can you think of a more polarizing idea than reparations? Can you think of a more clumsy and burdensome procedure than taxes unrealized gains?

The good, the bad and the ugly - Ecstasy of Gold

Can AI Do Better Than This?

Spending Money

When CA spends money on homelessness, we are giving money to people and organizations who "work" with the homeless -- not, actually, the homeless.

Must Watch Clip

On why parents of trans children will fight to death on the issue. She is right. They will never accept what they have done which is irrevocably harmed their own children. 

They Have A Name for this in the US

It's called the suburbs. 

Right wing dude moves family to Budapest in order to discover Montessori schools. Loony. 

Logging

TV: Alex Gibney Doc on the Sopranos E1

So far, great. My favorite bits are Chase's early days in LA.

And it reminds me -- this is so clearly the greatest tv show ever created. It's far better than The Wire or Deadwood, as great as those shows are. Only close competition is Seinfeld. 

Funny bit (not from the doc) by Chase:

It’s just very difficult to end a series. For example, ‘Seinfeld,’ they ended it with them all going to jail. Now that’s the ending we should have had. And they should have had ours, where it blacked out in a diner.

I Wonder...

What would happen if Hollywood just made normal movies that attempted to entertain the 1 billion or so English speaking adults in the world.

Logging

Film: Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I've never heard anyone talk about the Godzilla and Kong cinematic universe, but this has managed to pay many bills for some decent actors and keep the trams at WB working, while at the same time showing the total lack of imagination and exhaustion of Hollywood. This is what you get for trying to make movies for 1 billion Chinese people you've never met or care to meet.

Logging

Screenplay: The Killer 

I like my nihilism in art to avoid it in real life.

Kamala

My only real worry with Kamala becoming President is WW3 and nuclear holocaust. But if a supreme court justice retires and she can nominate a Democrat, those might cancel each other out.

Agree

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the old school tech industry of navy blue suit / red tie IBM yes men and pocket protector autistic worker drones in beige cubicles. At least they didn't try to convince themselves they were cool visionary hippies

Also, they didn't feel the need to "change the world." They kinda sort of happened to (although are things so different, really?) but didn't go on and on about it. 

Random Memory

On 9/11, I was in central California at a PG&E office on a consulting assignment - my first post college job. For all intents and purposes, this was like being in a red state. They had set up a tv in the conference room where we were working. Everyone from my consulting team and the office were in and out all day watching the news. I remember an older white women was watching it unfold and she said "we gotta bomb them." I said "bomb who." She looked at me and said, "you know who."

The Case Against AI

Ladies and gents: an American politician:

In comments made on the forum of a porn website between 2008 and 2012, Mark Robinson called himself a "Black Nazi," said he supported reinstating slavery and -despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric - said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography.

and

On the porn website Nude Africa, Robinson also graphically described his own sexual arousal as an adult from the memory of secretly “peeping” on women in public gym showers as a teen, recounting the story as a memory he said he still fantasized about.

AI will never be able to come up with stuff and that's why there is a future for us.  

Logging

Film: A Woman Under the Influence

Johnathan Haidt and his fellow "free range" parents ought to watch or rewatch this film. As much as I'm persuaded that we over-parent -- the sequence of Peter Falk dragging the kids out of school, taking them to the beach, throwing them in the back of a pick up truck, and giving them beer to get to sleep without eating dinner seems me maybe actually NOT better than the parents today all taking kids to soccer practice. I dunno. 

Rules Based Order

The same people who are saying the Western "rules based order" is dead because of the way Israel is fighting Hamas and Hezbollah also claim Israel stole land from Palestinians in 1948. So - I'm confused -when did this "rules based order" die. It seems like it never quite existed in their minds and yet, it has suddenly just died. They act as though there was some fair system before (that they of course, rejected) and now that fair system has somehow become worse? Incoherent people. 

Israel's Opponents

Tough to take seriously the moral condemnations of Israel's beeper attack by Hamas and Hezbollah supporters. 

Ugh

Watching some of these Republican Senators grilling Maya Berry - ugly. I have zero tolerance for Hamas apologists, but the hyperbole about Jewish students being in danger on campus is out of control. I agree the pro-Hamas stuff is gross, but what the hell are Lindsay Graham and Josh Hawley gonna do about it? Nothing but blow hot air. Do Senators need to be involving themselves in this? Cannot the campuses resolve these issues? Are Hawley and Graham gonna go around reading all the protest signs and distinguishing between free speech and hate speech. Don't they have more important things to be doing? This just furthers my suspicion that the vast majority of our so-called elites just enjoy their status and like pretending to be doing their jobs. What they should actually be doing is figuring out how to sort out this new world order that's growing in front of our eyes. Instead, they want to pick the low hanging fruit.

Man...I don't know...

Logging

Film: Rebel Ridge

Rather enjoyable all things considered. Conceit of the action hero who wants to do no harm worked in the end. Casting all around not terribly exciting for me, though.

Book: Life's Work by David Milch

Fascinating he could write this thing while losing his mind. Tons of nuggets about life and writing along with some decent gossip. Quite a candid discussion of professional and personal failures. At rare moments, I get exhausted by his weighty approach to drama. Still, a singular voice and person - unlikely to have another like him.

Think For Yourself

The crazier the world gets, the more important it becomes to think and for yourself. Parent listened to the internet and the doctors and pretty is responsible for mutilating their child. Heinous. Tropes are often tropes for reasons - they are true.

"Putin Warns" 

NATO will be at war with Russia if Ukraine uses long range weapons. But according to Putin, he started the war to prevent NATO expansion into Ukraine. So...is anyone double checking his strategy...

Tyreek

Unpopular opinion over here...the issue isn't that Tyreek is a criminal or the cops are terrible racists...he's just dumb. Like really dumb. He's driving too fast, he gets pulled over. Why? Not because the world is racist, but the world doesn't want people driving 60 mph in a 40 mph zone. The community is going to want/have some type of police to enforce basic safety laws. He interprets this as racist, because he's dumb. And somehow doesn't understand that other people aren't cool with crazy drivers. So he starts protesting, acting a fool because he thinks he's a victim when in fact, he's being mildly irresponsible. Cops overreact because they are dumb too, just not quite as dumb as he. 

Logging

Film: Predator 2

In honor of the heat wave in LA, decided to rewatch. Not a stand alone classic as the original film, yet holds up as a maniacal genre exercise. Gary Busey and Bill Paxon are both in this film. Also, the film deserves quite a bit of credit of expanding and elaborating the so-called Predator mythology. 

Could pair well with Marked for Death as entries in the Jamaican gangs as villains sub-subgenre. 

Good Line

From the Lady Bird script:

They perform the next night. 

No fun. It’s no fun because their boyfriends are gay.

Israel-Hamas War

I'd be sympathetic to the so-called pro-Palestinian position if they proposed neutering the Iranians and starving Hamas financially rather than taking it out on the Palestinian people. But I never hear such ideas or proposals. 

Georgia School Shooting

Boy does this sad story have something for everyone. It's like a Rorschach test.

Liberals can point blame at gun laws and trans/homophobia, two of their favorite topics.

Conservatives can point blame at the public schools and radical trans-ideology brainwashing the kid.

One thing we can probably all agree on...I would guess...the father is freaking nuts for giving a gun to the kid. 

America can probably to a 75-80% degree agree with what makes good parents. I wonder if that's a starting point.

My Politics

Could probably best be described with an image - a man somewhere outside Indiana or Iowa wearing a Caitlin Clark jersey while watching an NFL football game.

No Change

Hamas murders seven innocent hostages, violating every single international and moral law known to man. But it changes nothing to the ceasefire crowd. It only reconfirms their priors. I would like to understand how one is expected to make a ceasefire with such a group? All those who want to stop the war, should join along with the coalition to end Hamas as quickly as possible so that the war will stop. And stop it will when Hamas loses the will and support to fight.

A New Approach to Cold War 2.0

I'm sure Xi, Putin, and Sinwar will be dissuaded to rein in their evil plans by auntie Kamala's charming insistence on having a slice of cake.  

Individual Stocks

Strong article on why to avoid individual stocks, but this detail particularly compelling:

Even among the 30 stocks with the highest cumulative compound returns the results were relatively modest—the median annualized return across the 30 stocks was 13.03%, while the mean was 13.05% and the largest was Altria Group’s 16.29%. How many investors would have guessed that one?

Meaning even if you manage to pick a winner (not as easy as it looks), the annualized returns are not what I'd call spectacular.

Okay...

Now we're getting somewhere with ideas about how to deal with student loans. Rubio proposes a one-time financing fee to be paid over the life of the loan. Loan to be paid back based upon income. Not bad.  

Alien 3

Another note: committing to the suicide of your main character makes for an unsatisfying ending. A character who sacrifices for another, perhaps. But not for some abstract, corrupt world we do not care about.

Logging

Film: Aliens and Alien 3 

Wow is Aliens an enjoyable film. So much wit. Humor. Full of small character moments. Full of life. In contrast, Aliens 3 incredibly dull and seems half-baked. A promising concept - crash landing into a prison environment where the inmates are devoutly religious, but boy the storytelling just doesn't work. They adopted an almost procedural element early on where Charles Dance (later to be Tywin Lannister) is a doctor who pairs with Ripley to try and figure out why strange deaths and events are occurring around the prison. Spoiler alert: it's an Alien. For some reason, each of them withhold quite a bit of information from each other, but they also sleep with each other. I'm watching the film on Hulu and think to myself has Hulu like skipped ahead on accident or done something weird with the cut? I'm honestly not sure. It feels like when you watch an airplane version of a movie. But maybe this is just the movie? I don't know. They have some other good ideas - back to one Alien, Ripley has an Alien inside her, and the prison has no weapons so they need to fight this Alien with primitive tools. But execution, not just ideas, matters. 

The most noticeable thing is how much less charming Ripley herself is in this film compared with the others.

Logging

Film: Alien Romulus 

A movie! A real movie, this is. Patient. Cinematic. Was it shot on film? It certainly looked like it. The downsides of the film: writing and star power. Now let me clear, the acting isn't "bad" but it lacks charisma. Perhaps tied to the writing. There's a noticeable lack of charm in current films - when you go back and consider the original Alien, or even Jaws, the characters are funny, dimensional, human. The characters in Romulus are basically victimized, bummed out, sad monkey, or neurodivergent. But they are diverse of course (which ulimately is meaningless because surprise, surprise mostly they all die). Question: does an Asian audience member care more when an Asian character dies? I wouldn't think so, but what do I know. 

Another problem with films like this - they fall into the same storytelling patterns as the original, so the surprises don't really land as surprises. It becomes more ritual. Like the birthday cake at a party. I guess with my drama, I'd like something more.

Still worth, the cinematic experience in IMax 100%.

Amen

Vanderbilt college president:

The university would not divest from Israel. 

It would not banish provocative speakers. 

It would not issue statements in support or condemnation of Israeli or Palestinian causes. 

Before the hour was up on Monday, he added that Vanderbilt would not tolerate threats, harassment or protests “disrupting the learning environment.”

It's quite easy. Now enforce the rules.  

Ayso-ification of the US

In public, ASYO constantly reiterates "winning doesn't matter" at the young ages. But this is a lie that no one accepts. Even 4-5 year olds start playing for fun any game they want to win. The question they are trying to answer is how not to become overly competitive and focus more on development. But this is a false dichotomy. I believe if people compete and play hard to win, they better accept losing since they tried hard. And feel like they've learned for next time. Saying "winning doesn't matter" encourages what? It encourages nothing. It encourages not playing because it suggests it doesn't matter. 

We see this mentality in our current world. Most people in the US don't see winning in Ukraine or Israel as mattering. This is why we limit how the wars are being fought. We assertlame guardrails on the fight - like bowling with bumpers in the lane. We seem to think it we somehow leverage our "superpower" these wars will eventually just go away and we can return to the way things were in 2012 or something. But that time is over. There is no returning. We should've encouraged Israel to go to war and win quickly. A protracted situation over there is Vietnam-esque. Israel used to know this and fight like this. I don't know what's going on with those folks anymore. 

Putin crossed a red-line and revealed the Europeans won't fight. Which we basically already knew. Scary times. We should know that if Putin isn't stopped it's going to be 100 more years of Russian aggression.

In Hindsight

All the signs were there that at some point a candidate would dance their way to the Presidency.

Why?

We all talk about the JFK-Nixon debate playing on TV vs Radio. Well, we are post-TV. We are in a world of clips. So what plays well on clips? Dancing.

Sorority girls have figured it out.

Dancing with the Stars has it figured out.

Raygun knows, too.

If Kamala wins, it will be known as the election that was decided by dancing. 

Random Notes Reading The Odyssey Graphic Novel

-Odysseus a bit of a man-whore

-Story jumps around episodically and through time quite a bit more than I recalled.

-Outfoxing cyclops was not as "brilliant" as I remember it, but like a little bit clever.

-Filed in the library under non-fiction graphic novels which seems a bit weird

-Reading aloud, I have quite a bit of trouble with the names

Interesting But Similar Dilemmas 

Religious people are happier, but religious societies are poorly governed.

Being thrifty is good for your personal well-being and stability, but bad for the overall economy.

Big heavy SUVs are safer for the drivers in the car, but less safe for the folks outside the car. 

David Milch Wisdom

"Irony ultimately is not an adequate informing principle for long-term conduct. It can get you laid or it can get you through a short conversation, but that's about it."

Random Notes Watching Jaws

-death of first girl seemed unrealistic for a shark attack but it works as a movie set piece

-nice withholding of information - when Sheriff arrives he's only responding to the girl's disappearance, but his deputy finds the body while Sheriff is present in the scene to give the needed emotional trauma to get our story going. a lot of bad scripts will "radio in" this moment instead...

-the psychological coherence of characters and dynamics are not entirely realistic...but work as melodrama. the sheriff slapped in front of the mayor by the 2nd victims mother - a powerful and needed emotional moment for the story. of course, it makes no sense. sheriff wanted to close beaches. mayor refused. but woman blames sheriff and he takes it.

-sheriff's flaw is often reported in screenwriting books as his fear of water, but this is not the case. his flaw is being "new" to the community and wanting to fit in. this is why he takes bad advice early on and listens to others, ie gets himself in trouble. 

-well handled exposition re the shark. show brody reading shark books (where he got them - who knows or cares?). later, he runs through ideas of territoriality, etc with dreyfuss - having already taught himself the theories. a lot of "expo" happens off screen. like they realize it's a shark attack and share this info with brody off screen - we just learn it through him typing up the police report

-a good number of "altman" esque filmmaking with multiple characters talking in the background while some type of action is foregrounded, but not heard completely. keeps the frame "full" and we take in quite a bit of information simultaneously. for instance, we track brody's son enjoying/liking the water while brody gets reports about a missing girl. we sense businessmen in the town worried for their livelihoods while at the same time brody is worried about the shark. 

-now they're out on the boat. a nice detail - they don't plan stay the night - but rather only do so because they got a single barrel in the shark and now feel as though they can track him. 

-in case you missed it, quint delivered the bomb. when i was younger, i thought they helped with the targeting or something but now i realized they literally were the ship that carried the bomb from the us to wherever the planes were parked. funny how one can hold onto a small misconception for decades. 

UPDATE:

-many filmmakers would've made the section of the film on the boat the third act, but in Jaws it's like a whole movie-within-a movie. i've heard it said before Jaws is two movies - a movie about a sheriff trying to keep the town safe and then a movie with 3 guys on a boat. i think that is right. 

-the streaming service flowed right into the option of watching The Meg, which I had never seen before. So to be a good citizen of the cinematic world, I gave the movie a shot. I should mention that I also watched Only Angels Have Wings this week, the old Howard Hawks film. Not a bad trio of films by way of comparison. All deal with characters interacting with physical tasks and vehicles - boats, submersibles, etc in Jaws/The Meg and airplanes in OAHW. Some overlapping themes of duty, dealing with death and grief, etc. But all three movies seems as if they are from entirely different civilizations. The understanding of human nature in Only Angels Have Wings is so far beyond The Meg, you would think some type of alien AI made the film. Maybe it did for all I know. Jaws is legit tho and reflects on an underlying humanity of the characters, but I feel like it ultimately is more of a movie than anything else. Like a human element of the story is subordinate to some other thing entirely - I guess what you might call cinema. It doesn't offend me, yet I somehow feel this is "less" that the moments in OAHW even though from a movie/entertainment perspective Jaws is more impressive. The Meg I turned off and was laughing out loud at the film. Let me say this as kindly as possible - this is movie made by and for retarded people. And when I say retarded, I mean not those with down syndrome, but type of person who was called retarded as an insult on the playground. 

Charlie Munger

"I'm used to things not working perfectly. So why should I expect my society is always marching upwards because it has for a long time? I believe you just adjust to whatever society turns out to be. And you do the best you can and that's all any human being can do and it's all I'm going to do."

Silver Lining

While I keep reading about all these weird things they teach in public school like sex is "assigned at birth," there is one silver lining. Schools are so slow with material, you can easily teach basic mammal biology to a kid long before so they can spot the BS.

John From Cincinnati

Feels like the time to finally watch...  

Is it Cake...

Can only end in one way: Mikey Day cuts himself in half to reveal that in fact, he was cake the entire time.

Gonna Get Ugly

I have this lingering suspicion the economy is going to get ugly, but I can't tell which way to play it. We might have a melt up - a worse version of our present situation where inflation just continues upwards and envelopes start costing $50 a pack and coffee hits $9 a cup. In which case, it's smart to hold stocks and fixed mortgages. On the other hand, we might see a big ole bust in the stock market the result of the chickens coming home to roost on all the government fueled spending from COVID, etc. In which case it would be smart to hold short term bonds and pay down the mortgage with these inflated stock prices. 

Or I could do what I normally do: nothing.

The Biden Economy 

Caitlin Clark can't afford Caitlin Clark.

Also Not Surprising

Impact on savings of sports bettors.

So dumb to legalize sports betting and marijuana. People who like to smoke weed and bet suddenly become libertarians when it comes to these single issues and Dems see "harmless" ways to get more money in the public sector. Example of government exploitation of citizens.

Not Surprising

Given the confusion and dysfunction of Democratic policies during the COVID lockdown, none of this surprises me about our mixed up policies between Ukraine and Israel.

The result of believing in secular fantasies and lacking imagination. 

Thrifty Ice Cream

Took the kids last night. $2.79. Good deal, don't get me wrong. But I remember when it cost $1. Was that 20 years ago? Does it make sense that things from 20 years ago should cost 3x? Maybe? Or is it just ice cream?

UPDATE: VTI is about 5x since early 2000s, so had I invested that $1 in the SP, it would be now about $5 so maybe that Thrifty is a good deal still. 

Envelopes

For the first time in a decade of marriage, I needed to buy envelopes. One, we don't mail much stuff. And two, we had a big box. A box of 100 cost $27 at Office Depot. $27. For envelopes. I suppose if it lasts another decade, it'll be worth it. But still. Seems like a lot.

Logging

Film: Trap

If there's a scale of madness to greatness, Shyamalan tilted mad long ago. In this film, he casts his daughter as an Olivia Rodrigo type pop star who around the midpoint decides to take it upon herself to trap the serial killer who was up until that point, the protagonist of the film.

I was entertained.

Age

An unpleasant aspect of getting older is getting injured doing things that were once routine. 

Logging

Book: Pick-Up by Charles Willeford

One of the most depressing novels I've ever read. Still, wonderful writing. I'd read anything by the author if I had the time.

If This Is True...

And the Biden admin gave up Mossad agents to the Iranians, we should just give over world control to the Chinese. 

Trump - Musk

Listened to a good portion. Trump makes some good points. On foreign policy he's got this whole position that's compelling: Russia would've never invaded Ukraine. And Israel-Hamas wouldn't have gone as far as it has. Counterfactual impossible to prove, but he said something that rings true: Biden's managed to anger both the Palestinians and Israelis - something that's hard to do. Really remarkable -- only there are thinkers out there who predicted that's exactly what would happen. 

Logging

TV: Bad Monkey Pilot

Hard to make Vince Vaughn and John Ortiz boring, but... 

Race

Any discussion of race ends up being full of half-truths and misleading representations. Take for instance Kamala Harris. Is she Black, Indian, or both? Or is she white? She has an ancestor who owned slaves. Quite a large number of black americans probably do. Would this mean paying reparations to themselves?