Nicole Hannah-Jones Article

I'll applaud one aspect: it was truthful. She almost puts it together. But we should stop there. For someone in her position to be so lacking in common sense for much of her adult life is truly astonishing.  She denigrated and called racist all the people who got to where she is now intellectually. Her own daughter, at age 10 or so, figured out what everyone knows - certain schools suck and can't be fixed in a timely enough manner for it to matter to the current student population.

But the truly most ridiculous thing she writes is being totally in the dark about how her daughter thought she knew math, but actually didn't. One of the reasons Asian kids seem to do well in school is that no Asian-American parent would ever let this happen. And truth be told, very few just above-average, college-educated folks of any color would either. Personally, I don't trust the schools, so I'm quite on top of various subjects, including math. But even if you were the type of parent who wasn't too on top of it, math comes up in daily life and in basic things like board games and discussions. Even things like long division, which her daughter didn't know. I find it almost hard to understand how a parent could be so blind. She interacts with her daughter, doesn't she? Did she not notice her multiplying and dividing up things wrong all the time? I just find it very confusing.

I Take Back

Anything negative I've ever said about AI videos. 

The Replies

Just reading the replies - solid comedy.

Interesting Take 

On JD Vance.  

My gut instinct is that he's not Presidential material. Rubio and DeSantis both fit the bill better.

Question: why isn't DeSantis more popular nationally? Is it simply his height? Guy gets elected in Florida and seems to govern well there...whereas Newsom governs terribly and is somehow a leading candidate? Is it really just height?

AI Doom

I thought we could always just unplug it, but what do I know? The main problem seems to be bad human actors using it for evil ends, but the same processes of crime and deterrence would work, right?

Also, what happened to global warming?

I Don't Know

Who is Macklemore?

Exaggeration

Mamdani hires an advisor who was a former editor for a gay communist magazine. I always thought the term was a funny exaggeration for a liberal, but I guess it turns out to be a real thing!

And Leverage

DHS has come up with an insane proposal to deport legal immigrants immediately if they lose their job - eliminating a 60 day grace period.

Can you imagine the power now held over these folks by some shithead boss?

Google

When you Google "Sydney Sweeney controversial new ad," you can't actually watch the ad, but instead only get reactions to the ad. Modifying search parameters doesn't help. Tells you something.

Logging

Film: My Big Fat Greek Wedding

A shockingly racist, anti-white film that reinforces the Great Replacement Theory paranoia. 10x worse than Get Out.

Also, not very good.

Film: Miss Congeniality 

On the other hand, a delightful star vehicle for one of our national treasures, Sandra Bullock. All-around characterization is much better than you would think for this sort of film - up there with Clueless and Devil Wears Prada as one of the best fem-comedies Hollywood has produced in the past 50 years. Hilarious depiction of male workplace dynamics. Actually pulled off the frumpy/violent/gross ugly duckling-into-swan transition. Hard to do. Perfect role for Ben Bratt. Michael Caine is excellent. Candy Bergman has the best line of the film: "I've been dealing with women like you my entire life...feminists, intellectuals...you know, ugly women."

The Crazy Plan

It seems to me that Lindsay Clancy's defense went with what I'll call "the crazy plan": find crazy jurors who'll sympathize with his crazy client. Crazy plans, however, have a way of backfiring because crazy goes both ways.

Europe's 2-State Solution

Hate to break it to them, but Bill Clinton tried this in the 90s, and the Palestinians rejected it. Instead opted to up the ante on suicide attacks.

But good luck this time.

Vote No On Everything

LA steals money earmarked for fire victims to pay families impacted by ICE raids. I don't see how this is legal.

Okay...

"Phoebe Bridgers Praised by Fans for Showing Leg Hair and Pit Stains at Glamorous Venice Film Festival."

This makes the applause for "Free Palestine" make more sense.

Data Centers

I've got no POV on the issue, but pretty obvious the "concerns" about water and power generation costs are wildly blown out of proportion because folks don't like the vibes.

Logging

Film: The Drama

Couldn't finish. I am not a millennial and struggle to relate to their worldview. The big first act "twist" was such a boner killer. No, I don't buy that her character did what she said she did. And even if she had...maybe so what? I don't know. Millennials want to give Mao and Stalin and communism a big "pass" for murdering millions of people, but this one character "plans" a school shooting, doesn't even do it, and this is some sort of unforgivable transgression? Then the filmmaking takes a turn with flashbacks, unclear POV, and inserting the actor at a different age playing Zendaya alongside the wedding planning. Nah. Sorry, just not into this at all...

So I watched The Last Samurai instead...

Film: The Last Samurai

Man, I miss these mid tier historical melodramas...not great movies or cinematic masterpieces, but just the scale and commitment and attention to certain values and representation at the movies - there's a quality to these kind of films absent today. On some level, it's a more satisfying and impressive "movie" than even The Odyssey. Easier to watch, following, take something from, and even maybe learn something about the world (dare I say). And here's the thing: it's not even that good. But it's competent. And the older I get, the. more I can appreciate it.

PS - Tom Cruise here getting some reps for his Top Gun Maverick role