The Straits of Hormuz 

So, in the past 50 years, has anyone looked at a map and thought about railway lines from the ports in the Persian Gulf across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea? Can't we just go around? Sorry, what am I missing here?

Blusky

Never been and don't intend to go. But this is brilliant.

Bluesky is Sartre’s No Exit

A “safe” place where moral hypocrites are trapped together to torture each other 

Their misery is self inflicted but they refuse to stop 

The door is unlocked but they refuse to escape 

Hell is other people indeed

I just hope we can keep it contained. It's seeping into California. Maybe our only hope is the high cost of living. 

Logging

Film: Silver Linings Playbook

This here is a damn good movie. I venture to say, one of DeNiro's last truly, truly great performances. And the "bench" on this film? It has acres of talent oozing out in every direction. They hardly even use Jackie Weaver, Shea Whigham, John Ortiz...

I didn't even mention the stars.

Problem

Seems like Trump and Israel thought decapitating or pressuring the mullahs and IRGC would lead to a popular uprising to take back power. But the problem is the same as it has been since 1979 - the population hates the mullahs but doesn't have the will, firepower, or army to take back power from them. Seems like we should've at least had some sense that the army or some other institution would've been willing to turn their guns on the IRGC. If not, what did we expect would happen exactly? 

Logging

Film: Rear Window

When I first saw the film, I found it boring. Next time I watched, I understood it to be darkly hilarious. Now I find it boring again. Although I can see why the movie would be fun to direct.

UPDATE: One of the funniest conceits in film is that the "watched" object cannot perceive or sense being "watched". Like, wouldn't all these people close their shades? In detective films, it's so hilarious when you have the "detective" in a car across the street watching a house and someone leaves. If I'm leaving my house, I basically know the cars in the neighborhood, and if I see a weird car running with a dude watching me, I'd notice in like 3 seconds if he followed me. 

Living in LA, I Realize It

Upper-class Americans live like upper-class Brazilians. It's gross how we let our communities go to shit. People talk about why kids don't ride around the neighborhood? Because they are guaranteed to run into an insane homeless person.

Alternative Energy

For all the decades of investment in alternative energy, it seems oil still lubricates the global economy. A 10-day war with 5 days blockage of a single shipping channel sends the world into a panic state? So what did we get for all that investment? It seems no less dependence on oil. Cleaner air...

Hezbollah and Hamas

Among the most preposterous claims by "moderate" Arabs like Taleb are that Israel created Hamas and Hezbollah. Granted, I know nothing of the region, but this strikes me as absurd as saying that Abraham Lincoln created the Ku Klux Klan. These fools seem to think Arabs have no agency in these matters.

UPDATE: These takes require believing two things at once - Israeli's are evil geniuses capable of manipulating events to create bastardized homegrown "movements" in neighboring Lebanon and Gaza. But at the same time, they are so stupid that they've created lethal foes who plot to murder their children and destroy the state. I guess that's why people say such things are anti-semitic, especially when coupled with admiration for countries like Iran, etc. 

Theory

There's a theory that the new leader of Iran is already dead, and the announcement amounts to an intelligence operation to mislead Israeli assassination attempts. How funny would it be if this were true, then Trump abruptly ends the war, and Iran is stuck with a fake Ayatollah? Even 90s screenwriters couldn't come up with such a scenario.

If We and Israel Are the Destabilizing Bad Guys In The World...

...How come the only countries we attack tend to be the biggest, gaping, assholes? Doesn't it seem like once in a while (if we were the bad guys, remember), we'd attack some more normal country like Canada or Belgium or Mexico? 

Speculation

Seems no one has seen Mojtaba, so he might not be the successor after all. My guess: he's figuring out how to secure his family wealth and exit plan. 

Bad

I've heard this guy is worse than the father, so no, not a good sign.

And great line:

"I think this might be one of the few instances in modern history where a greater percentage of the society being bombed was supportive of military action than the society that was doing the bombing." -

So Now...

We can make fun of disabled people at awards shows. 

Where are the "punching down" people at?

Heard on a Podcast

Baby boomers hold more wealth in their retirement accounts than all the sovereign wealth funds in the world combined. Crazy. It partially explains why things cost so much, though in certain parts of the US. 

The Iran Thing

Look, I know nothing about any of this and am trying to figure out, like everyone, but a few things...

What are we (and Trump) doing?

Much of the discussion is about what we're doing wrong, but to discuss that, I feel we must first understand what we are doing at all. My impression is that a new theory and practice of war is developing. One modeled around the perceived success of Israel's operations against Hezbollah and Hamas last year. Israel, one-by-one, took down the small enemy forces surrounding itself, thereby significantly weakening their "grand enemy," Iran. (NOTE: Whether this is an intelligent strategy is a separate question altogether. It seems to me Trump concluded direct personal talks with Putin couldn't get a ceasefire, and he realized in fact, the US is facing a powerful coordinated enemy coined by Velina Tckahkarova as the "Dragon Bear." We are, in fact, already in Cold War 2.0. So how to win Cold War 2.0? We need to strike around the edges to punish anyone who decides to ally with the Dragon-Bear to reestablish deterrence. The other option is to wait for the Dragon-Bear to strike, in which case, we get surprises like Putin's invasion of Ukraine or Hamas's invasion of Israel. Anyhow, that is the best I can surmise about what is going on behind the scenes. 

Tactical efforts

Seems the war plan is to take out layer upon layer of the leadership structure to avoid putting boots on the ground. It seems like Trump keeps offering offramps to the Iranians but the Iranians no longer trust ceasefire options because they feel it will just weaken them more. Part of me is tempted to say it would've been smarter to do all this before Iran killed 30K protestors but it seems that was logistically impossible. I wonder if the mullahs did the massacres in a way to cement loyalty within the 15% or so parts of society who support them. They implicated masses of people in the crimes so that those 15% would fight to the death for fear of reprisals. 

Trump

Definitely not what Americans signed up for with Trump...voted for him on the promise of less Middle Eastern wars, but it should tell us something about the nature of that region that no matter who the President, their hands always seem to get pushed to take action.

The Israel Thing

Everyone who thinks we are "doing Israel's bidding" need explain to me why none of the other countries in the region try to similarly influence American foreign policy. Is it because they are too noble? Somehow I doubt it. 

Me

I hope it works. I'm worried it won't. What more to say?

Iranian Women

I'm sure none of the people who celebrated Kaepernick will similarly celebrate the Iranian women who refused to sing the national anthem of the Islamic Republic.

What Powerful Logic

This guy argues we are attacking Iran now because Israel feels it can no longer anticipate American support in a decade. 

Like all anti-Israel/anti-US logic, it ends up being circular and two things at once. We are attacking Iran not because we support Israel, but because we will eventually not support Israel. Makes a ton of sense.  

Money

There is money to be made by creating spaces either coded "no AI" or banned AI. Like one movie studio at least should simply say: we don't use AI at all. Or one news organization. Or internet site. Or schools.

Logging

Film: Love and Death

Enjoyed quite a lot...although in hindsight Woody Allen's creepiness seems maddeningly obvious. Not by the plot mechanics, by the way, but simply his face in this film. 

Film: The Pink Panther (2006)

The kids liked it and are now asking a lot of questions about Steve Martin and Clouseau...so the film deserves some credit.

Film: Clovers 

Weird to write about a friend's film...but screened at Slamdance. Terrific movie and hope it finds a wider audience. 

Make It Stick

Trump offering immunity to IRGC to lay down weapons. Never put your opponent on "death ground" meaning they cannot surrender. Then you force them to fight until the death. This is the mistake the Russians and Germans make, historically speaking.