Since last year was a poor one for tomatoes, I ran out of homemade salsa early this year, and had to make do with store-bought salsa this summer. But I had both time and tomatoes last week, so I made a 4-pint batch on Thursday; because I try to tweak my recipes to make too much rather than too little, that actually gave me four pints for canning and another which went straight into the refrigerator for immediate use. Those of you who remember how Grace and I developed the recipe together will not be surprised to hear that it was a bittersweet experience for me; on the one hand I’m not going to deprive myself of good salsa, and using a recipe which had more input from her than from me (because she was the Queen of Spicy Food) is almost like getting a little present from her. But on the other hand…well, I don’t think I really need to explain. And assuming I have enough tomatoes for a 2-quart batch of mincemeat (which does not remind me of her because she didn’t like mincemeat), I’ll be going through that same mixture of pleasure and pain again when I make another batch in a few weeks.
Posted in Diary, Miscellaneous | Tagged Grace, psychology, recipes, Sunset | Leave a Comment »
In my south Louisiana childhood, dragonflies were so common they sometimes looked almost like a fog overhead, especially in the late afternoon; if you sat still for a few minutes they’d start landing on you. The most common colors were blue and green, but in the canefield behind my house there were yellowish-orange ones with stripes on the wings, and we’d occasionally see big purple ones or shiny bronze ones. At my granduncle’s farm in Ponchatoula, I once caught an absolutely enormous bright orange one. They weren’t all that hard to catch, and if one held them by the wings for a minute or two their wings would become too damp to fly, and they’d simply cling to one’s finger or hand like the one in this picture while their wings dried off, then they’d soon fly away again. I remember one day when I was probably about 11 or 12, I organized the neighborhood kids to catch as many as we could in about an hour and put them in an empty garbage can with an old sheet over it; I then theatrically whipped off the sheet and they flew out of the can like a cloud. On another occasion, a gigantic swarm of them passed overhead while we were playing tag; it took over a minute to pass, and there must have been tens of thousands of them at a minimum.
But by the Eighties I barely saw them any more, and I haven’t seen one in person in decades. I believe the reason they became rare in the New Orleans area was the spread of mosquito control; dragonflies are predators (we used to call them “mosquito hawks”), so fewer prey means fewer dragonflies. There was no mosquito control in my home town in the ’70s, but there was when I returned in 1988 from years of living in the city. And while mosquito control is a necessary evil, of all the things lost to progress, I think the loss of dragonflies is among the ones I feel most keenly. So much so, I’ve intentionally included them in my stories, in descriptions of New Orleans summers of the 1920s. Yes, all progress has a price. But I wish beauty didn’t always have to be part of that price.
Posted in Biography, History | Tagged animals, Louisiana, New Orleans | Leave a Comment »
That was fun. – Polymarket bettor
A few months ago I got a deluge of links all at once, but I have found only using seven a week usually makes these columns more manageable; that’s why you’re seeing slightly less-current links lately, but I think we’ll be back to normal by the end of October. The links above the video were provided by Shiv Ramdas, Ryan Marino, Jesse Walker, Franklin Harris, IncarcerNation, C.J. Ciaramella, and Mistress Matisse, in that order.
- Instant karma.
- Bread and circuses.
- R.I.P. Cassandra Wilson.
- R.I.P. Leslie Parrish and Peter Cullen.
- What part of “never” is so hard to grasp?
- Another great moment in artificial stupidity.
- Uthmeier believes he’s literally holier than thou.
From the Archives
- 1984-esque rewriting of history by political regimes & their servant media.
- Beijing’s scheme to silence Chinese expatriates becomes more aggressive.
- Government thinks it even has the right to leer at the inside of your body.
- The state owes substantial damages to those it wrongfully makes pariahs.
- Ambulance-chasers give themselves the power to rob internet companies.
- A reminder that these vulnerabilities were intentionally installed for cops.
- A high-powered rifle should be able to take this out from a safe distance.
- Bloodthirsty politicians are furious about having their crusades thwarted.
- Another toothless “judgment” vs Clearview which will help only lawyers.
- 7 years since we’ve had an example of what real sex slavery looks like.
- Power begets the lust for power, the most dangerous of all perversions.
- Will Texas now try to stop people from crossing the border into Mexico?
- This is exactly why chatbot “therapy” needs to be banned immediately.
- Will the mainstream media finally admit pigs in schools are a menace?
- It’s very difficult for an ethical person to respond to unethical attacks.
- One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality.
- Bounty hunters are toxic filth made even more dangerous by fascism.
- This screw only started his rapist career by attacking caged women.
- Sleeping with a cop is dangerous both to women and their children.
- Texas seems uninterested in controlling its psychopathic politicians.
- More unintended but wholly predictable consequences of bad laws.
- He wasn’t a “former” cop when he repeatedly raped a six-year-old.
- I tried to edit out as much of the nauseating bootlicking as I could.
- It’s rare for cops to actually be indicted for murders they commit.
- Dare I hope fewer coroners are willing to cover up cops’ crimes?
- Seems like a significant fraction of child porn is spread by cops.
- Oh what a surprise, how could anyone have predicted this, etc.
- “Pastor and sex offender” is a large and ever-expanding group.
- It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other.
- What was once pure fraud can now be accomplished in reality.
- In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down.
- It’s good to see Asstoon in hot water over his poor judgment.
- Every Friday 13th, I ask non-sex workers to stand up for us.
- Too bad all authoritarian organizations aren’t so short-lived.
- “Program” is a helluva euphemism for “criminal conspiracy”.
- Everything cops and other “justice” officials tell you is a lie.
- All those who facilitate State evil are enemies of humanity.
- Cops, artificial stupidity, natural stupidity, and much more.
- Cop shops love their obfuscatory, blame-shifting language.
- Cops won’t drop this fantasy until media stop parroting it.
- Just another kind of federal cop, with behavior to match.
- Artificial stupidity makes those who use it stupid as well.
- Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors.
- Just another kind of screw, acting like any other screw.
- Had he not been caught, this would’ve soon escalated.
- Not even Australia is safe from Swedish rot-fanatics.
- Can’t y’all settle on one term for preachy molesters?
- Cops, scientists, James Earl Jones, and much more.
- Cops, kaiju, undead, Gary Wright, and much more.
- The rugs from my incall fit quite well in the atrium.
- The Backpage trial has become an evil self-parody.
- This was merely a way for politicians to save face.
- I now find comfort living in a past that never was.
- Piggies enjoying a cool sprinkler on a hot day.
- Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”.
- One thing I do not have is a green thumb.
- This just keeps getting more entertaining.
- Cop violence is never limited to adults.
- Thursday: Thrown Back and Loving It.
- When will this censorship fad end?
- House of Throwback Thursday.
- I, Throwback Thursday.
- Not a youth pastor.
I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one. Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful. But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer. So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets. Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements. Thanks so much!
Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny | Tagged acting, animals, artificial stupidity, California, Catholicism, cops, domestic violence, ethics, Florida, internet, Kentucky, Louisiana, Never Call the Cops, politicians, teachers, vaccines, video | Leave a Comment »
Parents should be worried about the long-term cognitive and social effects for both parent and child of constantly talking to and relying on…chatbots. – Frank Landymore
Elephant in the Parlor (#1074)
Politicians hiring male sex workers isn’t much less common than their hiring female ones:
…a chef named Joe Gera, owner of the Pennsylvania-based caterer Keystone Cue…[reported] in late July and early August [that Trumpist politician Josh Hawley hired a male escort at least twice]. However…he…[provided] no evidence, such as photos or videos, to support his story[, which is typical of cases involving sex professionals because of professional discretion]…Hawley’s team [of course denied] the…[report, and are risking the Streisand Effect by threaten]ing a defamation lawsuit…
Snopes fixating on the lack of “proof”, when many a political career has been derailed by similar evidence-free accusations, would be quaint if it weren’t so deeply stupid. And the statement that Hawley “has three children with his wife”, presented as though it were evidence Hawley never hired a male pro, is only convincing to those who have never heard of McNeill’s Law.
The new excuse for persecuting “undesirables” before the Olympics: “security”:
Researchers estimate that close to 6,000 unhoused people live within a mile of Olympic and Paralympic venues in Los Angeles County, and could be a[ttack]ed by [cops in the name of “]security[“] for the 2028 Summer Games. That figure…is more than three times…the [official] L.A. County…estimate…which…was attached to an application with the state for $93 million in funding to [pay cops to harass and brutalize the] homeless…Whether the county will receive that money is unclear…
Another reason totalitarians want to eliminate cash:
The Department of [Father]land Security…subpoenaed [REI] in March, [demand]ing the transaction information for “all persons” in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area who had purchased a specific type of dark green beanie from the company since 2024…The [illegal demands for fascist collaboration] are part of a broader lawsuit by the federal government against 39 people[, including journalists,] who attended an ICE protest at a church whose [“]pastor[“] also worked as an…ICE [goon]…The subpoena to REI was one of 92 sent as part of [the persecution]…Other recipients included social media companies, airlines, telecom providers, a car rental company, and a state employment agency…
You’ll never go broke selling puritans new ways to immiserate themselves:
T[urn]ing sleep, [eating] and w[alking into bean-counting ordeals] has become [a normal form of self-immiseration] for many [Americans], but food intake [had until now] remain[ed] surprisingly [unexploited by gewgaw peddlers]. ODYSS wants to c[hange] that [by selling]…a…[“]dietary necklace[” to nitwits]. The company describes it as a [tech gewgaw] designed to automatically understand eating behaviour, [allow]ing the [many Americans who can’t do simple arithmetic] to [turn] every meal [into a shaming ordeal]. Food logging apps have attracted more than 300 million registered users…but…the[y are too] difficult [for people who aren’t even able to dependably think for themselves]…The N1 takes a different approach by attempting to [record]…hand-to-mouth movements to identify eating behaviour…The company [lies that]…privacy is a…major part of the device’s design [even though there are many existing technologies which can intercept the signals it sends to a cell phone]…
Conditioning kids to defer to chatbots from an early age:
[Chatbot-worshiping] moms and dads are using the tech for parenting in bizarre and downright dystopian ways that’ll bring out your inner luddite…a cognitive neuroscientist named Sarah Baldeo…programmed [a] chatbot…by uploading screenshots of texts between her and her son, as well as documents outlining her values and family rules…[then] encouraged her son to [defer to] the [chatbot for “]advice[“. The psychopathic]…Sam Altman recently [“]recommended[“] that parents…could [delegate the dreadful task of actually] talk[ing] to [their] kids…[to] ChatGPT…admitting that he [really doesn’t grasp how to talk to other humans. Other fools]…are interested in using a…[gewgaw] called Omi that constantly listens in on your daily life…[and can] record…and summarize…conversations that parents have with their child…to [customize spying on them]…
Imagine how future historians will view this censorship:
[After a Trumpist stooge]…ruled in favor of censorship…[by] overturning a lower court’s injunction against a law that…exposes librarians to criminal charges if a minor checks out [any]thing [that]…any [Froot Loop anywhere in the world pointed at while barfing out the magic words]…“obscene” or “harmful to minors” [and declares that politicians know more about libraries than librarians]…Arkansas libraries have [been forced]…to [infantilize young adults and censor their collections]…patrons under 18…are [now] prohibited from…check[ing] out materials from the [main] collection, [and are entirely relegated to books appropriate for young children]…
Some aspects of the modern dystopia are too odious even for authoritarians:
[Several new Congressional] bill[s] would [put largely-cosmetic limitations on]…ALPRs…illustrat[ing] the bipartisan, trans-ideological nature of the backlash against…[the unconstitutional warrantless surveillance devices], which cities across the country installed without giving much thought to…the [Constitution]. During the last year or so, [useful idiots] across the political spectrum, including…politicians…have belatedly recognized the implications of a nationwide surveillance network that operates without…meaningful supervision of any sort… Civil liberties groups…have been sounding the alarm about ALPR surveillance for years. But thanks [ironical]ly to…cops…[ab]us[ing] them [so egregiously]…public opinion is starting to reflect those organizations’ concerns…and…157 local governments…have canceled or declined to renew ALPR contracts since the beginning of 2025. [Mean]while…Flock[‘s]…CEO…dismisse[s] privacy concerns…and…condemn[s] [groups] like DeFlock…which…use[s] crowdsourcing to map…ALPR cameras[, as “terrorist organizations”]…
I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one. Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful. But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer. So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets. Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements. Thanks so much!
Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny | Tagged agency denial, Arkansas, artificial stupidity, Buried Truth, California, cell phones, censorship, Chauvinism, cops, crypto-moralism, dehumanization, Elephant in the Parlor, fascism, I Spy, law, libraries, Mad Libs, male prostitutes, McNeill's Law, Minnesota, Panopticon, politicians, robots, Stalkers in Blue, surveillance, Thought Control | Leave a Comment »
I’ve never followed the maudlin practice of turning September 11th into an observance, but because today marks 25 years since the event, I decided it would not be inappropriate to do the “Where were you when…?” thing today. In the ’60s and ’70s, it was “Where were you when you heard Kennedy had been assassinated?”, and in the ’90s it was “Where were you when you heard about the Challenger disaster?”; I imagine in the ’50s people used to ask, “Where were you when you heard Japan surrendered?” But for quite some time now the event so referenced has been the September 11th terrorist attacks. I have told mine many times in person and I may have mentioned it on social media, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never brought it up on this blog, so here goes.
At the beginning of September, 2001, Grace and I were living in an apartment near New Orleans International Airport and operating our successful escort service; I had just recently become engaged to Matt, but he was in Los Angeles at the time. I typically took gigs from 2 pm to 2 am and then took over answering the phone until 4 am so Grace could sleep; after that I forwarded the phones to our day operator and went to bed, turning the phone ringers off so nobody could interrupt my well-earned rest. Our answering machine had a light which flashed once per message, so for example if there were three messages it would go Blink Blink Blink {pause} Blink Blink Blink {pause}, etc. We also had a caller ID unit. Typically, I woke up between 11 am and noon, and that day was no exception, but when I went to turn on the ringer I saw the little light flashing so rapidly I couldn’t count the number. I pressed the playback button while looking at the called ID unit, and what I heard on the tape was a long series of hang-ups except for a single message from Matt, saying, “Don’t worry; they closed LAX so I’m heading home.” That was mystifying, as was the fact that the caller ID showed all those hangups had come from our friend Doug, who owned another escort service I did calls for. But before I could call Doug to find out what the hell he was thinking, the phone rang and this time I answered. The conversation went like this:
Doug: Can you believe this shit?
Me: What shit?
Doug: They blew up the World Trade Center!
Me: What’d they use, a nuke?
Doug: No, they flew a plane into it!
Me: You’re shitting me! Wait, there are two towers; how could a plane hit both?
Doug: They used two planes!
Me: OK, you are definitely shitting me.
Doug: Turn on your damn TV!
Me: What channel?
Doug: Every damn channel!
Me (after complying): OK, you obviously aren’t shitting me.
If you’re wondering how I could possibly be so nonchalant, it was because A) I was only half-awake; and B) I had been expecting some major terrorist action for some time, though I was obviously surprised by the supervillainous method the terrorists employed.
There is one rather odd detail I remember from that day. I had not seen Babylon 5 when it first aired, but Grace watched it every day in reruns on the Sci-fi Channel and I had seen enough in passing to get interested, so when they started running it again from the beginning I watched it. The day before, September 10th, they’d played the episode named “Believers“, in which the central conflict are aliens who believe surgery is evil and refuse to let a doctor save their child. On September 11th, they played it again; I thought that was odd, but I assumed somebody in their programming department was too upset by the morning’s events to change the tape or however that’s done. But then the next day they played the same one again, then again on Thursday and Friday; they didn’t move on to a new episode until the following Monday. I don’t understand why they did it, except that part of the show’s backstory is that terrorists had at some point in the past nuked San Diego, and perhaps the channel’s management wanted to put off getting to an episode where that was mentioned to avoid upsetting viewers; continually repeating an episode focusing on the harm done by religious fanaticism hardly seems like an improvement, though.
Posted in Biography, History, Miscellaneous | Tagged imaginative fiction, New Orleans, New York, psychology | 1 Comment »
Posted in Miscellaneous, Perception, Tyranny, Words | Tagged blogging, fantasy, imaginative fiction, language, politicians, psychology, STEM, yin and yang | 1 Comment »
I don’t like reading anymore. – child subjected to “Amira”
They usually try to make this sound like the rapist was doing his victims a favor:
…In the early morning hours of September 20, 2024, a…[typical and representative] Giddings, Texas [cop named]…Cory James Williams…pulled over…a [young woman and threatened]…to…arrest…[her and] take her to jail [unless she submitted to rape]…he…[had already] shut…off his body-worn camera and dash camera…and…when [she] refused, Williams…[wrote her several expensive tickets and threatened to continue harassing her every time he saw her, saying] he “wouldn’t be able to miss a pretty face like hers”…She [immediately] reported [him and later filed a]…lawsuit…investigation of Williams’ records and body camera footage…[dis]covered that Williams turned off his cameras during nine traffic stops, a[nd]…in at least three of those…Williams [tried the same thing]…the lawsuit [was filed after the city let him off with a slap on the wrist]…
Cops will invariably use warrantless surveillance to harass people:
While standing in a private parking lot in Sussex, Wisconsin, on May 4, 2025, Napoleon Jones witnessed a[n illegal] traffic stop…So…[he] walked over and recorded it…before Jones could exit the parking lot, [power-mad pig Brandon] Shayhorn…initiated a second [illegal] stop, claiming Jones’ temporary license plate…was unreadable…[and] demand[ing] to see Jones’ driver’s license, but Jones refused…[because they were both] on private property…[Shayhorn then brutalized and illegally] arrested [Jones]…but after being held in custody for five hours, he was released with no citations or criminal charges…[because] Shayhorn’s supervisor informed him…that…[his] illegal…stop…[was indeed illegal]. The next day, Jones filed a…complaint…and…then [a lawsuit]…While litigating those claims, Jones’ attorney, Nate Cade, found…over 100 Flock searches for a white BMW in the weeks following Jones’ unlawful arrest…by Shayhorn himself…and [several of his cronies]…In July 2026, Jones amended his complaint to include the additional [rooting pigs]…who searched for his vehicle…”in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right of recording a traffic stop”…
Safetyism makes the whole world less safe:
A new identity theft service [which recently] launched on the dark web…is selling digital scans of more than 153 million drivers licenses from people in the United States and Canada…The service, dubbed Nexus…includes…not only drivers licenses but also marijuana dispensary cards…the license images are coming from an active breach at “a major identity verification company”…[which appears to be] the New Orleans-based…idscan.net…[which] provides identity verification services for numerous big brands, including Hertz, Target, Fedex, Motorola…and Caesars [Casinos]…
“Renewed attention to a problem our industry has faced for years“:
…Adult workers and businesses routinely face account closures, denied applications and restrictions on financial services, often without warning or a clear explanation…[despite recent] federal [demands that banks stop doing what the government has repeatedly demanded they do]…the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released preliminary findings from its review of the nation’s nine largest national banks…f[inding] that all nine had maintained policies or practices that [complied with federal demands that they]…subject…certain customers to heightened review because of their lawful business activities…If you’ve been denied an account, had one suddenly closed or experienced another form of banking discrimination, share your story with FSC…You may also be able to file a complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency…FSC is also working to establish Opportunity Credit Union, a financial institution designed to serve people and businesses that traditional banks have too often shut out…
Note that it isn’t the wealthy consigning their kids to this travesty:
In New Mexico, Facebook and Instagram are considered a “public nuisance,” but letting [computer progra]ms record and store young kids’ voices and score their reading prowess is…required [by the state for] all public schools…Amira [is a progra]m designed…for mandatory literacy assessments, dyslexia screenings, and weekly tutoring sessions in kindergarten through second grade…some parents and school districts [have complained so much]…the state’s Public Education Department…[is] granting school districts the right to opt out of Amira this year…Amira is [also mandatory] in…Idaho—and…authorized for state use in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas…schools are…not…in charge of the [collected] data…and…New Mexico does not currently have…student data privacy requirements…Amira is [also] incorrectly scoring student reading [and] causing anxiety in young learners…who…are [be]ing [used] as guinea pigs…
This is like something from a dystopian sci-fi novel:
The Texas sheriff’s office that [ab]used Flock to search more than 80,000 cameras nationwide for a woman who had a self-administered abortion used Axon’s Draft One…to [shit out] a police report about the incident…which…has since become a [prime example of how easily]…ALPR…cameras [are abused]. Flock’s CEO, Garrett Langley, [is still repeating the 15-month-old copaganda]…that the search was done only for the woman’s safety because her [“]family[” – a euphemism for]…her…abusive partner…[wanted] to charge her with a crime…Concern from her [actual] family is never mentioned in…the [chatbot-shat] police report…
Alas, many of these are simply switching to less-radioactive surveillance brands:
New data compiled by a Bay Area anti-surveillance advocacy group shows that not only are American localities dropping [Flock] cameras…but they are doing it at an accelerating rate. Communities from Lansing, Michigan, to Pflugerville, Texas, are ending their relationship with Flock, largely over [bad publicity] regarding out-of-control surveillance, unwanted data sharing, high expenses, and…[cops predictably] abusing the tool…During the last 30 days, an average of three localities per day have halted contracts with Flock…[which claims it isn’t worried because new useful idiots have replaced those backing away] by approximately 10 to one…[but in reality,] Flock [is so nervous about the threat to its fascist revenue stream that it is now demanding a “compromise” between basic civil rights and unconstitutional warrantless surveillance, absurdly claiming that it isn’t the unconstitutional warrantless surveillance company‘s fault if cops predictably use its unconstitutional warrantless surveillance cameras for unconstitutional warrantless surveillance]…
Florida is revoking permits for Flock cameras and similar license-plate readers on state roads, de[spite spokespigs oinking]…the…[word “]crime[” at politicians. The]…Florida Department of Transportation…gave [cop shops] 30 days to remove the cameras from state roads, or FDOT will remove them itself…[Florida governor “Two-Face”] DeSantis said the use of such cameras is “out of control”…but…has also [thrown] money [at cop shops] to purchase hundreds of…[such] cameras in…the…[name of “]immigration enforcement[“]…
I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one. Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful. But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer. So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets. Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements. Thanks so much!
Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny | Tagged abortion, artificial stupidity, California, censorship, Choke Point, cops, domestic violence, Enablers, fascism, Florida, Georgia, I Spy, Idaho, internet, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Panopticon, politicians, propaganda, psychology, rape, robots, surveillance, teachers, Texas, To Molest and Rape, Welcome to the Future, Wisconsin, You Were Warned | Leave a Comment »
This is the time of year when the pigs, guided by their amazingly acute sense of smell, start spending a lot of time under the apple trees, feasting on drops. Then in the late afternoon, when they know dinnertime is approaching, they head back to the east paddock, where they know I’ll be bringing their dinners. Last week I heard them through the open window, and managed to catch them heading toward dinner; the fuzziness is due to the window screen because I knew if I took the time to go outside, they’d already have passed. Bonus: y’all get to see and hear Louie being a drama queen when Cicero just looks at him too hard.
Posted in Diary | Tagged animals, Sunset, video | Leave a Comment »
If you use social media, you’ve undoubtedly seen games like this. Typically they get a moderate amount of attention, but recently I played this one and had a lot of responses trying to guess my answers. I say “answers” because it’s difficult to choose one single favorite; in fact, I’ve done three columns of favorite movies over the years. Because it proved popular on Bluesky, I decided to share it with my blog readers also.
- A teacher offers to help a lonely guy get a girlfriend.
- A brilliant guy is too preoccupied with his sinus problems to tell a woman he loves her.
- A bunch of cartoons about a big marble.
- A group of Hollywood assholes gossip about each other.
- An old man interferes with a real estate deal.
- An ad executive gets mistaken for a nobody.
- Some military guys barge in on a reclusive academic and his daughter.
- A guy makes an antiwar speech.
- A woman steals her school rival’s boyfriend.
The only one most people seemed able to guess was #6. Once you’ve given up, go ahead and take a look at the three “favorite movie” columns, and you’ll probably be able to get six or seven of them; if you get above seven, let us know in the comments!
Posted in Favorites, Miscellaneous | Tagged games, Hollywood, imaginative fiction | 9 Comments »
You’re not the future anymore! – Mark Zuckerberg, sort of
Though Tim Curry died only the day after Dolly Parton, I wasn’t going to cheat him of a proper sendoff. The links above the video were provided by Ryan Marino; Radley Balko; Scott Greenfield and Dan Savage; The Onion; Ryan Marino again; Amy Alkon; and Nun Ya, in that order.
- Sic transit gloria mundi.
- I’m sure you feel safer now.
- R.I.P. Tim Curry and Gloria Steinem.
- Simultaneously funny and horrifying.
- More great moments in artificial stupidity.
- Everything I see makes me more determined never to fly again.
- Why did anybody think something called a “cloud” was permanent?
From the Archives
- Civil rights violations claimed as “solutions” to politician-created problems.
- How long will America ignore the cost of its sick worship of state violence?
- Americans’ sick lust for torture turns imprisonment into a death sentence.
- When will the mainstream media admit that pigs in schools are a menace?
- Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do.
- Politicians don’t even try to make their new laws Constitutional any more.
- Don’t label your product “My X” unless you’re marketing it to 1st-graders.
- I’m not sorry for women who happily threw other women to the leopards.
- The way local media parrots clearly-foolish copaganda is utterly pathetic.
- It’s rare a court rules an action so stupid even a cop should know better.
- Seattle is notorious for cloaking its police-statery in bogus “liberal” cant.
- Two forced-birth states are moving to legally reduce women to serfdom.
- Governments are growing increasingly bold in their internet censorship.
- The Japanese are the only people who can still tell fantasy from reality.
- Red/blue fools pretend anti-sex authoritarians “do not agree on much”.
- Prohibition can never actually succeed in eradicating the banned thing.
- Unusually, they didn’t pitch this as the rapist doing his victims a favor.
- Don’t teach kids about sex; fill their heads with anti-sex propaganda.
- I’m really pleased with how well Durabak works on wooden surfaces.
- Some censors believe KOSA won’t destroy the internet fully enough.
- The resources flushed down the “culture war” toilet are incalculable.
- Government thugs continue their crusade against Christian charity.
- It’s far too late to cram this djinni back into its bottle, God help us.
- When a headline asks a question, the answer is nearly always “no”.
- Elon Musk’s “DOGE” didn’t “fail”; it worked exactly as he intended.
- It only starts with political pariahs like sex workers or gun owners.
- Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths.
- Government internet censorship attempts grow increasingly bold.
- Ex-politicians’ changes of heart are cynical attempts to fool God.
- Cops, animals, artificial stupidity, Helen Fisher, and much more.
- “Pastor and sex offender” is a large and ever-expanding group.
- A powerful look at men playing D&D on Texas’ death row.
- Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors.
- The worship of Santa Muerte has expanded worldwide.
- Cops, Roger Corman, Jimmy Buffett, and much more.
- Sleeping with a cop is dangerous even for other cops.
- PayPal is becoming a major threat to civil liberties.
- Chatbot usage actively harms brain functions.
- Cops, language, ice cream, and much more.
- This childish puritanism is so exhausting.
- Thoughts on the Bonnie Blue gang bang.
- Don’t let computers call them, either.
- Another “security” system that isn’t.
- Presentation isn’t my strong point.
- Laura Agustín on her new project.
- The Throwback Thursday Squad.
- Good riddance to bad rubbish.
- Zuckerberg is out of his mind.
- Cop is a cop is a cop is a cop.
- Sunset is a place for friends.
- Throwback Meets Thursday.
- It’s about goddamned time.
- Much more of this, please.
- Cicero loves apple season.
- Greenback Thursday.
- The Beat Goes On.
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Posted in Current Events, History, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny | Tagged acting, artificial stupidity, Australia, California, Canada, China, Colorado, cops, drugs, I’m Sure You Feel Safer Now, Mad Libs, Rome, sex toys, Shame Shame, Spain, video, Washington DC | Leave a Comment »
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