Interesting Conclusion
This guy seems to think Israel and the US are behind the migrants from Morocco entering this place called Ceuta, a little area I've never ever heard of. Seems quite far-fetched. Are we to assume Trump even knows what this territory is?
I Believe This
The number of words we speak a day is slipping.
Or, are they just being replaced by text?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
Voter Suppression
I don't see how using in-person paper ballots is voter suppression. Sorry. Is the main argument that it's not optimally convenient? Since when are Democrats primarily concerned with convenience? I was fine with the old system that allowed for absentee ballots. We can go back, just like we can go back to playing soccer without VAR. It's not that hard.
Back to the 80s
I get that it's becoming fashionable to yearn for kids having more freedoms of yesteryear, the latchkey generation, and so forth. But let me point out one thing: being of age now - that freedom meant a lot of young drug and alcohol use, and that stuff ruined a bunch of lives in different degrees. So you obviously have the deaths of despair - OD, suicide, etc - of which every one of my generation knows a few. But even separate from that, there are quite a few folks who spent time in prison, injured themselves in significant ways, had to get sober, or even didn't really hit their potential partially because of too much drug and alcohol use. Maybe there are some strong social benefits to this stuff, but we shouldn't dismiss all the downsides, and the fact that kids are drinking and using fewer drugs is probably, on net, a good thing.
England
Used the same tactic to preserve the lead against Mexico, but it didn't work against Argentina and backfired spectacularly.
I'm not sure why so many folks are down on Argentina. They seem like the one team who can decide to turn it on and then really, really turn it on. I mean they had like 7 chances on England before securing it today.
Logging
Film: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Better than it should be - a strange but funny premise of body-switching teens into alter egos in the game. The best parts are how these bodies are in tension with their minds and prior personas.
Film: Holiday 1938
What makes the film still feel different from most is that it has a true philosophical question at the core, about how life ought to be lived, the trappings of generational wealth, and one feels the characters actually wrestling with questions relevant to their own lives and the time. The father character as antagonist is quite unique: part monster, part sympathetic, part a loser, part a titan, part behind the times, and maybe ultimately, ahead of his time.
The Kendall Roy's of the World
Weird how behind all these DSA types is some weird, perverted, and incredibly wealthy heir to a vast American fortune. Freud often gets dismissed, but he seemed to understand at least one big thing.
Probably Right
Were the 80s so great for kids?
My biggest fear in the 80s was getting my ass kicked by some psycho kid using a weapon (and there seemed to be psycho kids around).
And I recall being bored quite a bit.
DSA
Takes away members' right to vote. Why am I not surprised?
I'd be more inclined to support working-class movements if somehow Israel and DEI-type topics didn't always come up as tangents.
A Thing About China
That's admirable...at least they invest in their own people. They commit to learning, training, and building, but don't grant folks much freedom. In contrast, America gives people freedom but doesn't strongly invest in building, training, or investing in our people. In fact, the other day I read something (can't find it) about becoming a post-literate society. And someone's comment was training his kid to be a reader so it will give him a superpower advantage over others. Embedded in this reaction is the idea that I think motivates elites in America - that what they really care about is providing advantage to their own children. While natural, I think overbalanced in the wrong direction. We should also care about the country and communities we live in. If we choose to build a society that doesn't care about itself, it should not surprise us when radical political ideas begin to get traction.
A Pretty Weird Fact
I read the entire interview with the head of the anthropology field. She keeps insisting we "know" there are more than two sexes as an undebatable fact. But she fails to mention that 99-99.8% of all humans fall into the two-sex category, whereas a very minuscule minority fall outside that binary. So is her point a relevant one? Also, she keeps switching between sex and gender and sexuality as if all these are the same category. Hopelessly weird and quite odd. She also doesn't say HOW many sexes there are. She makes it sound like there are dozens evenly distributed. You expect academics to maybe be pedantic or impractical, but this is something else entirely. Misleading, is what I would say.
Another Feather in Newsom's Hat...
Paramount is considering leaving California because of antitrust measures.
It would destroy Hollywood, but maybe it's already dead.
But in good news, the rents and cost of living will be drastically reduced since there will be no jobs.
Soccer Impressions
Tier 1: France, Spain
Tier 1.5: Argentina, England
Tier 2 Teams: Belgium, Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Croatia, Portugal, Netherlands
Tier 2.5 Teams: Mexico, Germany, Egypt, Colombia, Japan, Switzerland, Senegal
Tier 3: US, Uruguay, Cape Verde, Ecuador, Turkey, Canada, DR Congo, Sweeden
Tier 3.5: Australia, Paraguay, Bosnia, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Ghana, Iran
Not sure if I've seen others play.
US Soccer
Now everyone is trying to solve the problem with US Soccer, but everyone sees the issue the wrong way. Our big problem is that other countries are absurdly good. It'd be like saying the US needs to solve the issue of why French and Chinese cuisine is so damn good. This isn't a problem we need to solve, people! We get to watch Messi and Haaland on TV and in soccer stadiums. Count these as blessings.
Also - we're not that bad. We're about on par with Mexico, a country that probably does everything that all these pundits are suggesting. Relax. It's good that America isn't the "best" at everything.
More on the US Game
Watched most of the rest of the game.
-Reyna added something in the first 10 minutes or so of the 2nd half and looked like a good sub. When he came in, it was the best stretch of US play.
-During this stretch, there was a tackle Pulisic lost that he absolutely needed to win right in the middle of the field in the final third. If he had, it was going to be a major chance on goal at 2-1.
-On the Pulisic injury play, I had to watch it about 5 times to understand what occurred. At first, it looked like a foul, but on replay, Tielemans gets to the ball just before, and it's a legit tackle. Pulisic was too slow on the play. He takes a microsecond too long, looks up to shoot, but maybe doesn't quite understand the guy was right on him, although he should've. Again, the speed of play gives him problems. Why he gets injured on the play is unclear to me. I suppose this is what people mean by his fragility.
-US team dummies the ball 3x during the game in the final third, and it doesn't get to a teammate ever. Dummy plays are sometimes brilliant but oftentimes used when the player doesn't want to attempt a play. I think this was the case in all 3 of the attempts, except maybe the first.
-Adams makes a brilliant pass to Freeman at one point that a world-class player brings down and gets a an attempt on goal. We have problems in this game. We have a few players not up for the level and no players who can reach a higher level to compensate. Freeman and Tillman play fine in the game, but cannot access that top tier level and this play was an example of it. Adams and Richards seem like perhaps the two players on the field who truly look on par with the Belgium players in that they don't need to expend too much effort to play as their equals.
-Belgium should've scored another goal before halftime on a cross
-14, 8, 10 on Belgium control the midfield most of the first half and made the difference.
-After Pulisic goes down, the game feels essentially over.
-I've heard people say Berhalter played well. Sure. It helps when the other team knows it has the game in the bag and lets you possess the ball because they don't think you are dangerous.
-Belgium played Pulisic, Balogun, Dest, and Reyna (when he came in) tight. Maybe McKinnie...I would need to rewatch. They let others have more space, so I guess they had scouted and knew who to pressure and figured our backs weren't gonna do much on offense.
-McKinnie moves positions at halftime when they took out Dest. After Pulisic goes down it seems like he disappears.
-Third goal was so bad it defies belief.
-Fourth goal, everyone had stopped playing because they knew the game was over. Don't know what that says about our team -- on some level, who cares, they were exhausted. On another level, a lack of pride to complete a game like this feels odd.
First 30 Rewatch
-Belgium came out to play a physical game, were aggressive and winning tackles at all levels early
-Seemed like both Pulisic and Balogun were man-marked at the beginning and Pulisic in particular didn't respond to it well
-US attackers relatively quickly had to come back further than normal to get touches on the ball
-The first Belgium goal was simply a missed clearance but a very sloppy, rec soccer type of play where 3 guys stand around waiting for others to clear
-A moment around 27 minutes Pulisic had a chance to take on the Belgium defense and for some reason doesn't and passes back. In the Paraguay game, he attacks there. Perhaps because he has lost the ball several times and Belgium are physical
-I think Belgium playing like EPL style and our guys are used to having more time on the ball and they are having real trouble adjusting. With Belgium playing so aggressively, US needs to skip the first level and make longer passes, but we weren't successful the few times we tried. Missed McKennie on one in particular. Maybe Belgium assessed all our "skill" players are not EPL style - Italian, Dutch, and French leagues and realized we wouldn't be used to the speed of the game.
-Right after our free kick goal, Pulisic takes on Belgium defense, actually gets fouled but the ref no calls it. He was fouled on the first play when he takes it around Tielemans, then nutmegs a second guy, who bodies him and Pulisic flops. Ref no calls because of the second foul, but actually the first play was the foul.
-Reem looks out of sorts, has no wheels so gives Belgium too much space. Sure, on their 2nd goal, the guy climbs on his back...technically a foul, but basically Reem gets out-muscled there and can't count on ref to make that call.
Bottom line - Belgium clearly came out with an aggressive game plan and it threw us off. We were not ready for such a fast and aggressive game. First goal was a tiny bit flukey but we did not recover well. We got fortunate on the free kick goal - we weren't really making much of an attack, the shot glanced off the head of someone. To me on second watch, it looks like we were physically outmatched - Pulisic and Dest too small for the bigger, fast Belgium match ups. Reem too slow. Our goalie too klutzy.
Young Progressives
I get this vibe from young progressives that they feel things like being mentally healthy, finding a job, building a stable relationship, buying a house, or even just making the rent each month are so impossible and difficult, and yet, they also think they have a really intelligent way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Please make it make sense.
Retards All Around
I watch the US-Belgium game. I listen to the commentary afterwards. I could not hear announcers during the game, though. I watch the post-game press conference with Pochettino. Nobody asks why De Bruyne and Doku didn't start? Nobody asks what Belgium did to completely nullify our midfield and attack, which had been our strength all tournament? I mean, this level of non-understanding of soccer is beyond me. They want to talk about Trump, about whether this is a disappointment for the US whether Pochettino will be back. What happened to Pulisic in the game? Why did he come off? Was he injured? What adjustments - if any - did any of the teams make? Here's what I can piece together...Belgium had looked rough all tournament and went down 2-0 against Senegal. Got desperate and subbed their two biggest stars - Doku and De Bruyne - and then somehow managed to come back to win 3-2. They decided to go with the hot hand, which I think involved handing the keys to Troussard and Tielemans and played a younger, more energetic 11. Maybe they always play with one striker, but I think they had 5 in midfield and completely dominated and our guys could not string any connection together with each other. Also, I read they decided to man mark Balogun. Did anyone in the entire United States notice this during the game? This negated our main target up front and I think disrupted our ability to possess in any dangerous spots during the game. I don't understand how we expect to get better and be better at soccer if we can't even understand the game being played.
Do Not Listen To This Guy
Thinks Balogun's play deserves a 5-game suspension based on a screenshot. He obviously didn't even watch the game and knows nothing about the situation. I agree with the preposterousness of the entire situation. Still, the sole focus on the Balogun play and Trump's supposed involvement in overturning the situation misses the grand absurdity going on with VAR.
World Cup
VAR resulted in Balogun receiving a red card. Now, a review of VAR has taken away the suspension. Please make it make sense. Does it mean the red card was a mistake? Does it mean the original referee's non-call was correct? No, we are going to be forced to accept that the VAR call was correct, the VAR post-match review of the call was correct, and that the rules are correct even though none of them make sense.
One of my favorite Henry Miller quotes: "Consistency is the hobgoblin of simple minds." Always liked the quote because it got at the complexities of the real world. That some things are apples and oranges. I never anticipated, however, the reverse impact of this idea. That we'd reach a point where we are expected to accept that oranges are not oranges - sometimes. What is this madness we've created? VAR is designed to make less controversy. Has it? Is there any less controversy? Did anyone watch the Paraguay match against France? There were 4 yellow cards and arguably several red cards by Paraguay. Not a one was issued. In the old days, this would be on the ref. We establish VAR to help correct this. But the VAR isn't used . Then it gets used in the Balogun instance. Why? It wasn't even a dangerous play.
Wrong Wrong Wrong
Noah Smith thinks the DSA is the left-wing MAGA. Please. These lunatics on the left are 10-50x worse than Trump, who, despite his corruption and bluster, is ultimately pragmatic.
Logging
TV: Widow's Bay
First four episodes were good. Clearly, they had no clue where the story went, and so the remaining ones are just spaghetti against the wall. TV was never meant to be novelistic. A negative legacy of Sopranos, Deadwood, etc is that the TV studios think they have capability they don't.
Film: T2, extended cut
Every scene they put back into the film made it substantially worse.
Unreality
Plan crashed into China's largest building, and they scrubbed all mention of it on the internet.
Odd place.
A Modern Slave Society
From a distance, China looks to me like a high-tech slave society.
They work the coolies for pennies, sell the goods to foreigners, and keep all the money. There is no political freedom or recourse. You don't own anything. What else might you call this situation?
Matt Walsh
I know this guy seems like sort of a loony dick, but he's right about a lot of basic things.
Female led action films in general are almost always a dud. There’s no audience for it. Nobody wants to see some 105 pound girlboss action hero. It’s a comedically absurd premise, and there’s no getting around that. The studios are of course aware of this market reality. Yet they keep churning these out anyway because they’ll willingly lose money for the sake of pandering to women who want these movies to exist in principle but don’t actually care to watch them. That’s how female-centric our society has become.
I'm literally in the belly of the beast of this world and this is 100% true. In public, women all say they really want these movies and yet they never actually opt to watch them. They will argue the movies "aren't good" and will further excuse them as "male-directed" or "male-produced" or when directed and/or produced by females, they will cite "lack of prior opportunities or experience" so the female directors fail because of systemic issues. None of these reasons are true. Women will watch the most dumbass reality shows set on an island if there are relationship issues at stake. And they know it's dumb. Just like a man like me will watch the most dumbass action movie if some bad dudes get killed in a clever way by the good guy. It's just the way it is. Action movies are fundamentally for the male audience because the male brain works differently than the female brain. Good action movies will be crossover hits to female audiences because many females are not dumb and can enjoy a male-coded movie if executed well. Just like I can enjoy a little Selling Sunset or Love Island at times.
But it's even worse than all this. Because they made a great female led action movie called Furiosa and guess what? No women went to it. So if anyone ever ever complains about not making or supporting female action films...first ask them if they saw Furiosa. They didn't.
Everybody Knows Who Don Viser Is...
Best scene in Rolling Thunder is with Tommy Lee Jones's family talking about Japanese-built cars, etc. and how whites can't make cars and even the parts in American TVs are Japanese-built and TLJ and Devane and just sitting there, unable to stand it. The echoes with today...uncanny. Really well-directed scene, too, with the camera angle on TLJ, his head down the entire scene.
Work Meetings
Is it possible to have one without someone criticizing capitalism or racism? Asking for a friend.
But for real. What is this about? Like seriously. Is this just a giant, giant cope? Are people just angry and want to vent and the only thing they can come up with is abstract concepts? Is this the result of years of propaganda and forcing us to root for King Kong and The Predator? We aren't allowed enemies, so the only enemy can be the system?
These Are Funny
What people do the during day to lifemax (whatever that means).
Here is mine:
-wake up, did a little work to make some money
-make breakfast for kids, friend kid gets dropped off
-teach class
-eat lunch, make lunch for other kids who showed up at house
-watch some more world cup
-play monopoly with all these kids at my house
-write
-watch more world cup and text a lot of people about game and other shit
-eat dinner w family
-write
-read blogs and look at baseball mitts and try to do some other work but got too tired
-will read teddy roosevelt bio until fall asleep or watch something on apple tv
I'm doing this wrong. Not reading enough classical books or performing skin care routines, athletics, or drinking and fornicating or criminal activity.
Iran War
I love the people who say we lost the Iran war. Are these even wars? In what world does the loser of the war come out richer, with a more intact military, society, and economy? And the winner comes out broke, their instruments of national power literally decimated, including their leadership. Something about the way we talk about these things is utterly lost.
Democrat Policies
Seems to me that just about all the signature policies designed by Democrats are meant to encourage maximum insanity while still maintaining some vague semblance of legality.
So, for instance, I'm reading now about how ("people experiencing") homelessness in Los Angeles should be able to vote. Hmmm. Okay. Should they be able to register by the hundreds at addresses where they don't live? Should they have others filling out the ballots for them? Should they be getting paid to vote for certain candidates? If they support conservatives, should they be denied guidance? Because all this shit is going on. And also - what the fuck are we talking about? No, the homeless population in LA should not be voting. Are you kidding me? That is a road to fucking disaster, and every sane person in the world knows it. And also! Homeless people CAN ALREADY VOTE! If they can just follow the basic procedures like everyone else.
Hilarious
This Palestinian activist being deported has been in college/grad school for 17 years. One has to wonder: if he were not deported, what would his future be? Seriously, do people like this manage to stay in college for their entire lives?
Nothing to See Here
DSA-LA procedures on how to "get out the vote" aka ballot harvest.
Tell homeless degenerate losers how to vote for free stuff; withhold information from everyone else. Seems really healthy. Glad mainstream Dems support this.
Logging
TV: Your Friends and Neighbors
Enjoying it begrudgingly.
Book: To Rescue the American Spirit
A Teddy Roosevelt bio - pretty interesting so far - the man punched out a gun-toting asshole who insisted TR buy him drinks in a Montana bar. Can't imagine any current President doing such a thing, although if they had, I would argue it could make him more electable.
Film: The Rip
First 3/4 excellent. Carnahan building a quite respectable filmography.
Nithya Ramen
Surges to second over Spencer Pratt not by winning huge numbers from her home base and area where she's actually known (Studio City, east LA, Hollywood folks), etc. but from DTLA where she handily beats both Pratt and Bass (who's the incumbent). Shady as all hell. This lady isn't from LA, has no natural constituency, no political skills whatsoever, no track record to run on, and isn't even popular in her own district. What the hell is going on here?
AI
No one is gonna pay 50-90k a year, much less 30k to "learn" how to use AI from professors and institutions that don't know. Not sure why colleges are advertising themselves in this manner. I think the symbiosis is being formed because the AI companies need to cloak themselves in respectability, which the University is willing to sell them. Meanwhile, the University systems need a huge amount of money to pay their bills. I don't see this as sustainable. At all.
Oil Markets Adjust
NY Times opinion argues what I said over a month ago: Iran loses leverage every day they terrorize the straits.
What happens? Oil prices go up. Consumers react by using less oil. Countries ration. Higher prices. With higher prices, consumers seek out new sources and invest in new sources, like pipelines, etc. Is it a gigantic pain the ass? Yes. Is it expensive? Yes. But it will happen. We should and could obviously cut all gasoline and oil taxes that were once meant to curb consumption since we are no longer in an abundance scenario.
The IRGC hardliners hope and pray it will send the world into a recession. They certainly do not know any more about the world economy than the rest of us, so they are bankrupting themselves and impoverishing their own country, gambling on a particular short-term outcome. Maybe they will prevail temporarily. I personally doubt it.
A Thing I Don't Get
Not five years ago, every media personality and NBA player was up the butt of social issues, wearing jerseys that said things like "Group Economics" and now those same people are basically shills for online gambling. Huh? And it's not like they're short money - I'm looking at Giannis, Bill Simmons, etc - these are folks with more money than they can spend in their lifetimes and so why are they in the pockets of online gambling? I find it very confusing.
News Anchors
I see this CBS news anchor is mad about being fired. First of all, if you're over 65 and a multi-millionaire taking a huge salary, I'd say any work you're getting is gravy, and you've got no real right to complain. The only way to ensure you don't get laid off in life is to own your job. Which you can't if you're a newscaster. But again, that's the life you choose. Part of the reason there's so much resentment against boomers is precisely this situation: they cling to these prestige positions long past their expiration date, denying the next generation their moment.
Logging
Film: Tommy Boy
Mandatory screening at business schools on how to bring back American manufacturing. Also, one of the most pro-CEO films I've ever seen. Luigi Mangione should be required to watch this movie once a week for the rest of his life.
And as much as I like Tim Robinson, he owes Spade and Farley royalties for stealing their gag in the film Friendship.
I'm Pretty Sure This Is True
Iran was close to making a nuke. Which is why many folks against the bombings and war take their position. They secretly want Iran to have a nuke to fulfill their own dark imaginings.
AI - The Economy
When you outsource to AI, the money spent on it goes into investment. When you spend the money on human workers, it goes into consumption. I prefer a world with good restaurants, buildings, parks, etc. that can be used by human beings, than a world of dirt and shit with really high account balances on computer screens and bitcoin.
Hmmmm....
IRGC Navy carries out attack without IRGC coordination. Maybe there is a way to ally with elements within the IRGC to fight other elements of the IRGC. Just thinking out loud here.
Logging
Novel: Smonk by Tom Franklin
This a sick, disgusting novel written by a sick, disgusting man, and I quite liked it.
TV: Devil in Disguise
Proof the serial killer drama never gets old...if they won't make another season on Mindhunter, this will need to do. But one strange storytelling element - what's with the flashbacks to the victims? How is this going to pay off or come together? Will it? I'm very worried it won't. It reminds me of something I read once that all Wes Anderson films should be more Wes Anderson, but all non-Wes Anderson films should be less Wes Anderson. In the same way, all procedurals should be more procedural, that is to say, I never met a procedural that was too much procedural.
I Was Gonna Say
A lot of trees all over the world are older than the countries they are in. I say bring on the AI, it's smarter than most of these idiots out there.
Imagine Being...
Someone who would actually hold up a Karen Bass sign in public. That is a rare species of human that needs to be captured and studied.
All These Cameras Are Bad, But...
Every now again they capture something worthwhile: brawl at kindergarten graduation.
The Homeless in LA
Are overwhelmingly not from LA. We attract them via policy and weather. We can fix one, not the other.
Just A Sense
Ferrari releases a 600K electric car to mockery.
My basic sense is that new companies built around electric vehicles are at a significant advantage in this arena - Tesla, Rivian, etc. Older companies like Toyota, Ferrari, etc., will do better in certain niches - for instance, I think Toyota hybrids are a smart compromise. However, down the road, infrastructure could become an issue. Interesting to see what will become of BMW because they are trying to do both gas and electric on the same platforms.
UPDATE: Former Ferrari chairman, "at least the Chinese won't copy that car."
Imagine
If an Obama supporter were murdered in their house.
The Left are everything they accused the right of being: domestic terrorists.
Logging
Film: Gone with the Wind
First half terrific. Second half, less so.
Film: The Spy Who Loved Me
James Bond films are for the moments and the set pieces. The stories are secondary. Driving the car out of the water onto the beach, the ski jump off the cliff to the British flag parachute, Jaws killing the shark - chef's kiss moments.
One of the reasons Bond is such a sustainable character is that the man is patriotic. Screenwriting lesson.
Also, Roger Moore most underrated Bond.
Pratt Summer
When I hear critics of Pratt's homeless plans, etc., they all center around: it's more complicated than he makes it sound, he won't be able to fix it, etc. So the argument seems to be: homelessness is too complicated to fix. Alright fine. Then step out of the way. Admit what's the case: you and your ideology cannot fix the problem. So why are you even here? Why are you involved in politics? If your politics is that nothing can be fixed, then go away and let others cook.
Random Ideas
Maybe AI will make 20-hour-a-week jobs where people can earn 80k to live and spend the rest of their time competing in a winner-take-all type business environment on their passion projects.
Went to a neighborhood park in Studio City the other day, surrounded by single-family homes with two baseball fields, workout equipment, tennis courts, and got to thinking - why isn't 50% of LA just like this? Seriously, every block or two in residential areas should have little parks with a baseball hoop, maybe a pool, a few have baseball diamonds, some playground structures. Maybe all houses in this area pay like an HOA-park fee or something for maintenance? Homeowners work with police, etc., to keep homeless from taking over. Maybe a secret is that they don't have public bathrooms? I mean, this would save on backyards for people - they wouldn't need one! Kids just walk right over to the park and just play with whoever is around.
The Bills Are Coming Due
For COVID, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Entitlements.
Not lying, the grocery store tried to charge me $32 yesterday for a bag of cherries imported from somewhere.
Novel Writing Capacity
I'm fascinated by how much money is being invested into AI to write novels and essays - billions and billions plus all the ongoing energy costs. The irony, of course, is: what is the total amount of money the globe spends on novels? Or essays? It's gotta be less than we're spending on the AI to write them. Someone explain this.
The other thing - why would anyone need an AI novel? Are there people out there who've read every novel they want to and are like - come on, please hurry up, we need an infinite number more? Or is all this to write one great novel?
Good Lord
Devastating and a bit funny AI political ad. I didn't think about this before - but AI will come first for the cheese-dick quality stuff - so think corporate videos, political ads, pharmaceutical products, infomercials.
Real movies a long way off, IMO.
Taiwan
For those who claim Taiwan has always been a part of China...when was the last time this was true? Here is a hint: 1895. Meaning, not a single person alive in the world today can remember such a time.
Before that, it was part of China from like 1660. So for roughly 200 years. It's almost NOT been part of China for longer than it has been part of China.
Chugging Along
I'm not a geography or geopolitical expert, but in the long run, closing the Straits will hurt Iran's leverage the most, I imagine. Why? Because once they act on the threat, the rest of the world will counteract with contingency planning. So if I were KSA or UAE, I'd invest in major oil pipelines to the Med or Red Sea - essentially expanding what I already have.
If I were in Asia, I'd start buying gas from the US or Canada. Or invest in renewables. And so on. Iran crashes their own leverage in the long run.
Thugs
Iran is attacking anyone who goes by the Straits - South Korea, UAE. Not sure why they think this hurts the US. Seems to me, it would push the right kind of folks toward us.
JP Morgan
I wonder if AI will become a better storytelling device than a storyteller. Because this guy who used AI to come up with a bogus legal claim about being sexually harassed by his hot female co-worker, is quite a funny story in and of itself. Not the story he told by the way, which was obvious BS from the get-go, but the actual real version...
Country Bans
So, this Venice art exhibition will ban artists from certain countries for doing bad things. That seems to only include Israel and Russia. Hmmm.
Chinese Cars
I still know very little to nothing about Chinese cars other than the hype that "soon" they will be very good. But can someone explain why there's no similar hype to Korean cars, which are here and now totally awesome? But also, Japanese and German cars remain pretty damn awesome too. As are Teslas. The only thing that seems to make the Chinese cars interesting is that they are Chinese. What am I missing?
The Kimmel Joke
Reading all these things second hand, but Kimmel arguing the "joke" is about Trump and Melania's age gap is an obvious lie. The joke is an expression of the hidden desire of Kimmel and his fans for Trump to die. Put another way, would the joke be funny if made about Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones? Would it be funny about Beyoncé and Jay Z? Of course not. Kimmel is not calling for his assassination, but he and his fans are indeed wishing for the result. In this respect, Melania is correct.
Trump Shooter
From what I read so far, the weirdest part about this latest Trump shooter is how un-weird and un-crazy he seems at first glance. Cal Tech grad. MS in Computer Science. Had a job. Had hobbies. Built stuff. Seems like a pretty average-to-above-average American nerd. What's going on here?
I hold that the right-wingers have a point on this - assassination chic is a real thing on the left these days. I was just waiting for a cappuccino yesterday, and had to listen to some goofy lady chatting with her friend about how men were all evil and how Trump started the Iran war to distract from his pedophile crimes involving foreign children. What is this nonsense people come up with? Where is this information coming from? This is just a normal public conversation that people have in public now? Lunatics.
Timelines are Dumb
Germany to build Europe's most powerful military by 2039.
If I were an enemy of Germany, then I'd be incentivized to attack now.
Lies and Propaganda
An article headline in the LA Times: "In Your Face Racism at Pomona College."
In which the most egregious case of "racism" is a professor using the N word related to a discussion about a documentary film in class. Another incident seems to be a discussion of a student's hair amongst friends. Come on now...we're really stretching here guys...
Unleash The Disease, Sell the Cure
So SPLC was really funding the KKK and the Democratic Socialists?
This makes a ton of sense. So much of the "chaos" we see in the US is just folks doing dumb shit to protect jobs and funding rackets.
A Middle East Round Up No One Asked For
I wish all the critics of the Iran war would contend with the main issue - Trump clearly thought Iran was close to making a nuke. Why does no one address it in the discouse? Do they believe that Iran wasn't close to making a nuke? Or, it that it doesn't matter if Iran makes a nuke. Or, do they argue now Iran is now even closer to making a nuke? Since no one talks about it, I can't really assess their point.
Yes, Israel wants to undermine and destroy the societies that define themselves as in opposition to the Israeli state. A lot of folks like to rebrand this as genocide. Uh...no...they just want their enemies to be weaker. Anyone would. Plenty of countries like Saudi, Egypt, and Jordan shifted how they engage with Israel and Israel leaves them completely alone. That's called evidence! And don't give me the Palestinians were there before nonsense. 75 years ago, maybe. But these days? Come on...
Good Work, If You Can Get It
Obamas part ways with Netflix, pocket 40 million. For what content exactly?
Chimp Civil War
Has anyone looked into their iPhone usage as a potential cause? Systemic racism? Economic inequality?
Truth
Mt. Rainer can rarely be seen, even from up close. She's a big giant mystery wrapped in a riddle.
American Politicians
Although Reagan was President when I was young, I have no memory of his impact as a politician. So in my lifetime, I rank Bill Clinton as the best "politician" I've ever seen. The guy could sell ice to an Eskimo. He was a sleazebag and yet, you could still feel like - there's more good than bad here. Now, I voted for Obama twice and "like" the guy, but he was more of a symbolic figure than an old-fashioned "politician." Nor did he seem to like the whole thing much or be very good at it. I still can't tell you a signature accomplishment of Obama other than Obamacare. He has signature "positions," but not accomplishments.
But I have to say...time will only tell...but Trump - as a politician - is getting up there with Clinton. This is the most peak Trump post I've ever read.
China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting??? BUT REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else!!! President DJT
It completely embodies Trump. It's simultaneously nonsensical, grammatically incorrect, absurd, hopeful, pessimistic, and yet probably the best we can do given the constraints of the world at the moment. Also hilarious.
Not Showering Himself in Glory
JD Vance failing on this Iran negotiation doesn't bode well for his Presidential ambitions. Rubio pulling ahead. Maybe JD can be VP for 12 years.
Forget Trump For A Minute
And just look at the issues. Iran is holding the world hostage over nuclear material. It's that simple. They want a bomb, and won't give up the quest. And to achieve it, they will hold the world economy hostage. Those are the sticking points. So the options are:
1) Allow Iran to develop the bomb. And BTW, every single far-leftist and anti-Israel commentator secretly really wants this outcome. Don't believe otherwise.
2) Do what Trump is doing: attempting to negotiate and not giving in.
3) Overthrow the IRGC, also called the Israel plan
What are the other options?
If there was such a thing as a global order, we'd be all be working together to overthrow the IRGC so long as they threaten the straits.
This Will Sound Crazy
But Trump deserves some credit for backing down.
Everyone says this is a win for Iran. I don't think most of these people have any clue whatsoever, but are paid to talk out loud and thus must say something. I would not overestimate their takes. Like with most things, time will tell...
Wait...What?
Gavin Newsom's wife killed her own sister with a golf cart? And thinks prisoners in San Quentin are in jail for accidents? What the hell is going on here?
Low Pressure
Part of me wonders if we can flip the script on the Iran situation and keep a low-level pressure on the Iranian regime until they begin to crack or need to negotiate. They think they can keep the low-level on pressure on the US until we cut and run. Why can't we flip it around? I don't understand why we always do this timetable thing with our adversaries - it basically signals to them: just hold out for 2 weeks. Which is easy to do. But if the timeline becomes uncertain for them, I feel the calculus changes.
The Liberal Worldview
Has no sense of duty or obligation or limits. It's all feelings all the time. Not making you feel good, you oppose. Make you feel good = support.
Loon
Taleb says Israelis can't fight.
Then explain how they took on an enemy Arab and Persian population about 10x their number for 50 years and seem to be winning.
Gavin Newsom's Wife
Changes the protagonist of male stories to women when reading to her kids. This is one of the most psychotic admissions I've ever heard uttered. Why?
a) A more sensible approach would be to read books with female protagonists (of which there are many!).
b) Total arrogance and zero respect for the author who made a deliberate choice
c) And we wonder why children are illiterate?
Rahm
But the problem with the Emanual bros is that they are careerists first and foremost. So he's right at the wrong time and when it no longer matters. If you think about it, the ascendency of these guys more or less coincides with the downfall of the institutions they mastered. Rahm for the Democratic party and Chicago politics, and Ari for Hollywood. That tells me something...their true skillset is scavenging the carcasses of dying giants.
LGBT Cruelty
Fine, I'll weigh in on this Jaden Ivey thing. Everyone here will flip sides, including me. The woke folks will argue the NBA has every right to fire Jaden Ivey even though they said the exact opposite about Colin Kaepernick. I'll argue something a bit different - if this is all true about his troubled childhood - maybe we ought to give Jaden Ivey a little grace.
For the Record
I pitched this idea weeks ago: oil pipelines bypassing the Persian Gulf either into the Mediterranean Sea or the Red Sea.
No brainer to build in flexibility.
Bad Idea
To blow up Iran's water. Again, a misestimation of who we're facing. I agree they are suicidal maniacs running their country, so what makes us think this ridiculous threat wouldn't just play right into their hands?
Logging
Film: Project Hail Mary
Hollywood is back.
They managed to pull off what I didn't dream they could anymore - a crowd-pleasing four-quadrant live action film. I loved the first 1/4 to 1/2 of the film. When it becomes more like ET, less so. But that's my taste. Also, they didn't, IMO, stick the landing. Unnecessarily complicated. But overall, couldn't ask more from the studios these days.
It got me thinking about Gosling and how I perceived something in both the film and marketing. He's passed Leo in movie start status. Here's what I think it means to be a movie star: they connect with a number of different audiences. Leo became a heartthrob with Titanic and Romeo and Juliet, but became a star when he began a successful collab with Scorsese. Leo became a guy both men and women championed.
A movie star needs multiple avenues to maintain a connection with audiences and stay relevant in the public mind. This is why so many benefit from the tabloid angle. Leo had it all for a while - heartthrob, tabloids, men, and the "film buff" crowd. Scorsese was a brilliant collaborator because he helped Leo connect with both men and film buffs.
So what has Gosling done that Leo hasn't? Gosling, I think, has found an angle with Project Hail Mary to connect to the "next generation." The kids. Leo hasn't. That's why no one watched the Oscars this year. Millions of young audiences didn't give a shit about any of it. This film (and if the new Star Wars project works) can give Gosling 10+ more years of runway.
One Battle did nothing for Leo but fan service. He already had the film buffs. This is the one problem for PTA - he has only one audience going for him - male film buffs, college/grad school types. Scorsese also appeals to working-class men.
Going through some other stars in my mind, and I observe a pattern:
Denzel. Spike Lee and the Scott Brothers. He managed to become an icon of black audiences via Spike Lee collabs, but an icon to American men by working with the Scott brothers. But the moment Denzel become a bonafide star was Julia Roberts freaking out over his Oscar. At that moment, the most trusted female star of her generation gave him the stamp of approval after their Pelican Brief collab and boom! He hit the trifeca and has never looked back. It also helped he was a Lakers fan and maintained a connection with the sports audience.
Tom Cruise. Still the GOAT movie star. Two big moves - with Top Gun Maverick, he managed to pull a Gosling before Gosling and get an entire younger generation on board with him. A family friendly action film with him front and center that kids could love. But his second great move was his own myth-making stunt gimmicks - of being an old guy who does these remarkable stunts. This is a clever way to remain public without resorting to tabloid relationship stuff, to get notice even when you don't have a hit movie. To lay groundwork.
TBC...
5th Column
I'm sympathetic to the charge that many in the US (and the West in general) root for our defeat. This is a common refrain from the Right side of the aisle. But I have trouble squaring this belief with the war of choice with Iran. How can one believe we are being eaten within and are one Donald Trump election away from "losing the country" and also think we should be going to war? I find these two ideas contradictory. In fact, if we are indeed on the brink of "losing the country," the last thing we need is a war.
No Kings
I'm 100% convinced that the "No Kings" is a social event for many of the participants. Americans post-COVID stopped having parties and social engagements are probably down 20-25%. I believe this impacts what Alex Trebek would call "losers" the most. They want something to do. No Kings offers them this.
Criticize youth sports in the US all you want, but all the parents I know are spending Saturdays at Youth Sports stuff, and not a single person would miss a sports event for No Kings. To put in perspective how important this thing is for regular people.
And as a political message, I can't remember a dumber slogan. We don't have a King. Trump was elected. Like it or not.
Funny, If It Weren't True
How it started, how's it going...
We shouldn't really be surprised young people are prone toward lunacy...John Walker Lindh showed us 25 years ago. What's surprising is when the Dems attempt to use these kids to score political victories.
Flashback
To understand why Hollywood is dead, look at this Variety article about the best one-liner in the past 15-20s uttered by none other than Alex Trebek. No mention of the brilliant timing or content, which transcends time and national boundaries or even the good-natured way in which even the contestent takes the quip. This is an all-timer. Also, the feather in the cap of Trebek's long career - like Messi finally winning the World Cup or Elway getting his Super Bowl. And yet...here is Variety's headline:
Alex Trebek Faces Backlash After Calling Nerdcore Hip-Hop Fans ‘Losers’ on ‘Jeopardy!’
And their take:
After an antagonizing sigh, Trebek replied, “Losers, in other words” before following up to say he was “teasing.”
Sounds About Right
Liberals believe the US should support our allies, but they don't need to return the favor.
So is liberal now just synonymous with unreasonable women?
Threatening to Leave
Iran's flawed strategy to close the straits. Anyone who's ever dealt with a crazy partner knows crazy doesn't work for long. You threaten crazy shit, and the partner backs down the first time. But then they realize, wait...I don't need to deal with this shit and call the bluff. The crazy person might do the crazy shit, but by doing so, lose all leverage.
We, the US, could sit on our hands and say, fine...keep the straits closed. Who says it's our responsibility to keep it open?
One Addition to the Polyamory Discussion
Just want to point out that 15-20 years ago it was fashionable for liberals to mock Mormons mercilessly (for polygamy, among other things). I say these same liberals must mock polyamory; otherwise, I can only conclude they are religious bigots and not opposed to Mormonism on the grounds of their practices or beliefs, but just the fact that they are different.
Logging
Film: Perfect Days
In a spectacular grand finale, the man plays a game of shadow tag with a stranger he briefly connects with. Then drives around listening to music.
Man drives around listening to music, a verifiable genre - Drive, Baby Driver, and Perfect Days
But in seriousness, I took the film to be about a celebration of the physical world and a total rejection of the virtual. The key line "Can I find this on Spotify?" And he responds, "Where's that place?" Exactly.
Consider this - the film romanticizes the most unpleasant of all physical tasks - cleaning toilets. The man delights in playing the dumbest game in the world, tic-tac-toe. But these small things all exist in our physical world. There can be no pleasure in playing tic-tac-toe online. That is the point.
Logic
Chicago Dem accused of blaming a student for her own murder.
Notice the logic pattern - the student was expected to treat the presence of an armed illegal immigrant murderer as an inevitability. Many folks who critique the Iran war do a similar thing - treat the Islamic Republic and its actions as an inevitability. My question: Why don't we treat the student walking on the lake as inevitable? Or the "free world" as the inevitability?
War Crimes
Whenever I see posts criticizing Israel or the US of blowing up hospitals, etc, they happen to coincide with people who think the wars they/we are waging are wrong to begin with. Which makes me confused. Would they support the wars if we didn't blow up hospitals and only killed terrorists, etc? Do these people oppose war in general? Or this particular war? More often than not, I think these folks actually favor war and are just wish-casting that we or Israel lose. To be honest.
Had I Known That Was Frowned Upon...
UN judge, human rights advocate found guilty of modern day slavery.
Logging
Film: 12 Angry Men
Haven't watched this since high school and boy... the main thing, you think this film is a courtroom drama about the sacredness of the legal system, etc. but that's not it at all. This film is about male personality types and dynamics. The moment when Henry Fond tells Juror #3, "you're a sadist" this entire concept locked in for me. Each character is a carefully drawn male type - the skeptic (Fonda), the racist, the analytical guy, the indifferent cynic, the sadist, the weary old man, the superficial ad man, the idealist, etc. And the film patiently shows you how these personality types interact with not only the legal and moral questions of the film, but with the other personality types! The film shows you more about male psychology than I imagine most psychologists understand. It shows you how men lock into positions. It shows you how men change their minds. It shows you what triggers men to rage. What triggers them into nobility. What triggers them into meanness and, sadism. It's really quite remarkable. The woke idiots will look at this film and say, oh it's a bunch of white guys and totally miss the point. Each character is so different and detailed. How do people miss this about the film? It literally tells you right in the title: 12 Angry Men. Nothing about legal shit, guilt or innocence, etc. It's just about men.
Hollywood
Blaming Newsom and Bass for Hollywood's downfall is like blaming a child for not knowing how to drive a car. We vote for fools whose skillset is renaming things when the omnicause asks them to. If we vote for incompetents; we can't expect them to suddenly became capable.
My "Strong" Critique of Israel
Would be they don't do much to offer the Palestinians a dignified way to co-exist. They might argue it's not their job to. To a certain extent, they are right. Yet it would benefit them as well for the Palestinians to express their energies differently than a hatred of Israel.
Are You A Zionist?
Must be among the dumbest questions in our current discourse. As I understand it, Zionism was a movement to make the country of Israel in the Jewish ancestral homeland. The country of Israel exists. Whether one is a "Zionist" is as relevant as asking whether you are a supporter of the American Revolution or the Communist Revolution in China.
Pointing out in 2026 that Israel shouldn't have been formed in 1948 has got to be one of the dumbest, most pointless, and self-defeating of all current political ideas. If anything, we should be creating more "Israels" - dynamic countries that people will be proud of and fight for. It's the countries and people that oppose a place like Israel that are the problem. What do they imagine? Should people continue farming olive trees in the same place their ancestors did for the next 1000 years? Should we turn the San Fernando Valley back into orange groves? For what purpose?
Logging
Film: Perfect Days
Only watched 1/3 or so last night before jet lag caught me. But my wife asked while I was watching, "what's the story?" And I said, a man wakes up and goes to clean toilets. Good use of sound design and music thus far... I got really excited about what he was going to eat for lunch.