Good Work If You Can Get It

Coming around on this guy. He's discovered a little cottage industry of making DEI people look like total idiots. 

Genius

Man tricks students, catches 32/35 using AI. 

Racism 

For all the talk of systemic racism, the most obvious and glaring example, for some reason, is never discussed. The only reason folks hate on Caitlin Clark (and now, by extension, Sophie Cunningham) is her white skin. Not sure this is even debatable. All the folks spending their lives itching to find some racism finally get it thrust right in front of their faces and are silent.  

Odyssey 

I tried to see the movie before posting, but I just want to say how hilarious I find it that anyone - right or left thinks Nolan even had the option of not casting diverse actors. Make of that what you will.

Many Problems...

Can be solved by reading the instructions. 

Manual Cars

I read somewhere that driving one helps keep old people sharper. So no crosswords for me; whatever the most sensible manual car makes sense for me when the time comes shall be mine. Wish base model BMWs still had the option...

Is or Was or Will

Is Israel committing a genocide? Or did Israel commit a genocide? Or is Israel planning to commit a genocide? I'm never sure when people make the accusation. 

Network School

I only vaguely understand this concept and the world this place wants to build, but it doesn't seem freeing that on the whims of a local government (Malaysia), you can get the boot and have to entirely shift your operations to another random country where most people who attend won't speak the language or know the culture. I suppose it could work out, unless, of course, the Ukraine war spreads... 

Logging

Film: She's the One

First time I've done this: watched a film they were doing on the Rewatchables pod and then listened. Gotta say, pretty fun. But probably don't have time to do this very often. Never, however, has a stronger case been made for censorship than Wesley Morris insisting Mike McGlone's character in She's the One should "just been gay." How many times did he need to bring this up? How many times did the rest of the guys just need to laugh at his insanity and try to move on? But in addition to the worst take on the film, Morris also had the best take. Re: how Cameron Diaz's differs from Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock. She's DTF. When you're right, you're right.

Back to the film itself. Not great, but I never wanted to turn it off. They kept saying Ed Burns was imitating Woody Allen, and I see that. I see that for sure. But Allen is a neurotic and a comedian. Burns, however, is a sap. But I don't mean that in a bad way. In fact, watching this movie made me feel like we're really missing the sappy-dude movie. All the screaming harpies in the culture have really shriveled up our dicks. 80s-90s, lots of sappy guy films - Good Will Hunting, Dead Poet's Society, Stand By Me, Beautiful Girls, Brothers McMullen, Diner, Breaking Away. Someone emerge from the ether, I beg of you...

TV: Attack on Titan S1 E1-6

Incredible world building and antagonist force. Love me a good military sci-fi. But also, so unrelentingly bleak in tone, I'm not sure I want to be in the headspace. 

TV: House of the Dragon S3

With lower expectations, I'm kinda back into it.

NOTE: Inventive military tactics this season - the harpoon with water balloon pulling down a dragon? The burrows hidden on ground like mines to disable horses and slow a march? A terrorist campaign against cops within the capital? Not bad.

Other note, in E4-5 we get a little pro-life abortion storyline and some hints at religious conversion/curiosity for Rhaenyra  Who would've thought? Somebody in the writing room is paying attention to right wing cultural discourse. I say Get Out gave as a warning signal that "systemic racism" and "anti-racism" as an idea was about the hit a cultural tipping point in 2017 and the life choices made by the characters in Girls is a good foreshadowing of DSA and Mandami (aren't most of the characters in the show the folks who voted for him?). So what does House of the Dragon portend?

Reading

Tywin Lannister taught Jamie to overcome dyslexia by forcing him to read 4 hours a day until he started seeing the letters in the right order, despite the Maester suggesting he could never learn. 

He would've made a great first-grade teacher.

Ugh

The Senate character Gill asking these dumbass questions about Smithsonian DEI policies is, without question, an annoying "gotcha" type of inquiry. But the reason he's doing so is because people like Hartig, who clearly knows her shit, let all this DEI shit fester and grow under their watch despite knowing its a load of bullshit. The question is WHY did all these knowledgeable "leftists" indulge the nonsense from around 2017-2024? Is the answer simply the movie "Get Out"?

Unpopular Take on the World Cup Final

It was a good game to watch, despite the ugliness. All the soccer gurus are slagging on Argentina. This guy describes their game as anti-futbol. But here's the thing: wasn't this game better than the France-Spain game? Wasn't there more drama? More contrast? More tension? More to talk about?

I love the "beautiful game," but the purpose of the game is not to look good. The game is played to be won, and that is part of the beauty. Maybe the most underappreciated part. There is beauty in a stubborn Italian defense. There was a beauty in England's defense with 10 men against Mexico City in the Azteca. And yes, there is beauty in Maradona's "Hand of God." 

Argentina used a strategy. Hate it all you want, but it worked until that one idiotic, super-dangerous play by Fernández. They aimed to keep the game tied and win it via a moment of Messi magic or penalties. This was not a bad strategy against a superior opponent!

Here is another hot take: the Spain goal was a flukey play. Torres was in the right place at the right time with a good finish. And yes, Nico Williams, a nice play to keep the ball alive. The narrative around the subs scoring: good. But the play? The cross was mishit, and the exhausted Argentina defense hesitated a moment on the play, assuming the ball would not remain in a dangerous position. But Nico had a weird angle on the play and did what he did.

Commentators are slagging on them for not getting a shot on goal. Would Argentina rather be 0-0 at 90 minutes or down 4-1, which is probably what would've happened if they played open? They were a bunch of old guys who couldn't match Spain man for man. This is obvious. Only Argentina seemed to know it. The rest of the soccer world seemed to think they ought to play "futbol." Their best player was 39 years old. Granted, he's the best player ever. But still, he's 39! This is completely insane when you say it aloud. This would be like Michael Jordon on the Washington Wizards playing in Game 7 of the NBA finals against the Tim Duncan Spurs. They increased their odds to win by mucking it up and making it ugly and failed in a few moments of execution.  

Should Argentina play to win? Or play to win fans? 

I respect their choice. Still, FIFA should be heavy-handed toward to Fernandez and Paredes, who were pieces of shit.  

Major Epiphany

Pretty sure AI reads this blog. 

Phenomenon

Some summer camp counselors now use fake names. I found this extremely odd, perhaps even disturbing. From what I gather by googling, they do this so campers don't look them up online and see/contact them via social media. Which sort of makes sense as an independent variable, but begs a larger question of: what the fuck are we doing, people?

Not Too Much To Ask

Seems like Trump should explain to the American people and Congress the plan with Iran. Is there one? Can they explain our goals and how we plan to achieve them? Is anyone even paying attention to this?

Mao

Was an elementary school principal at one point in his life.

AI Test

I thought this wasn't AI.

Maybe I'm just dumb.

Stupid People

The DSA wants to get rid of the Senate because it's undemocratic. Do any of these people take basic US History?

Losers

Tyler talks about the special powers of AI and uses an example where it reminds them to drink water. This can't be the best use case.

AI

If AI is so smart, why wasn't AI able to know Kimi AI would be better than the other AI? This will be an ongoing question.

Absurd

Vance accuses Israel of manipulating public opinion on the Iran war. Who is he kidding? There is no public opinion on the war in Iran at all. 

The Odyssey Rap

Is this for real? Looks like a PSA from 1987.