Friday Ephemera
The Shining, the board game. // Big runaway balloon. // “I love my job.” // British Movietone newsreel archive. // Bond is coming. // Precarious camping. // Round-the-clock roundabout cam. Eternal vigilance. // “No artificial reverb added.” // TIE fighter music box. // Underwhelming special effects. From Shark Attack 3 to Killer Meatballs and Birdemic. // Author photo of note. (h/t, dicentra) // Pluto’s size. // Cactus chair. // Movie quote search engine. // Theatre auditoriums seen from the stage. // His sandcastles are neater than yours. // The Lost World (1925). // “All cute. All the time.” // Attention, ladies. Roadkill fur. // Fight the signs of ageing. // Old gold. // Tactical diaper bag and other dad gear. // And finally, defiantly, “What are you gonna do, put it on YouTube?”
The Shining, the board game.
You can check out any time you like . . . .
—And it’s definitely based on the movie and not the book . . . .
Pluto’s size.
That’s an interesting question. I’ve heard the commentary on American cold beer, or really bad sake as the case may be, vs the British tepid whatever, but given the advertising that proclaims Fosters. Australian for Bud, do the Aussies drink their beer with ice and such?
Movie quote search engine.
Does need partial searches, or the exact phrase, from Liver not too good. It`s definitely him, then. all the way back to My regards to Baron Samedi, as well . . . . .
Theatre auditoriums seen from the stage.
Oh, now that is the working point of view . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Lost World (1925).
_)#*$&_)*#$&_*(#&$*(@&#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then just a half step over from that page . . . And after playing bridge, his almost last movie ran him around Rome seven times . . .
Fight the signs of ageing.
My complication had a little complication.
“I love my job.”
“Brendan Walsh loves his job, but we can’t imagine how in the world that’s possible. Why? Because he makes a living diving into human crap.”
It’s almost as bad as trying to make sense of articles in the Guardian.
It’s almost as bad as trying to make sense of articles in the Guardian.
There are days when it feels very similar. And at least Mr Walsh can be hosed clean afterwards.
“Tuck in, children.”
Meanwhile:
Owen Jones “wants to pay more tax”. But…
http://order-order.com/2015/07/23/douglas-carswell-v-owen-jones/#_@/VrHQVeYZv-DevA
Fat Bottomed Girls Come Together Over Me…
Owen Jones “wants to pay more tax”. But…
I do like the phrase, spotted in the comments, “leftie bluster monkey.”
Owen Jones “wants to pay more tax”. But…
Owen looks desperate to change the subject. You’re not supposed to take him at his word.
You’re not supposed to take him at his word.
What’s telling is how unprepared he is for the challenge. Perhaps we should call it “doing a Toynbee.”
[ Added: ]
Mr Jones is paid somewhere in the region of £40,000 a year (excluding royalties, advances and appearance fees) to bang on, week after week, about how much more tax the rest of us should be compelled to pay. When invited to set an example and voluntarily fatten the state’s coffers, he declines and tries to change the subject. Because, he says, he wants “everyone” to surrender even more of their earnings. Oddly, Owen’s professed socialism – his alleged moral imperative – somehow excuses him from doing voluntarily what he wants others to be forced to do. In other words, he won’t do what he claims is the right thing to do, what he claims is needed urgently, unless the state forces him to do it, along with forcing everyone else.
Hence “bluster monkey.”
That’s an interesting question. I’ve heard the commentary on American cold beer, or really bad sake as the case may be, vs the British tepid whatever, but given the advertising that proclaims Fosters. Australian for Bud, do the Aussies drink their beer with ice and such?
Not sure if this question is rhetorical, but no Australian would complain that a beer was too cold (unless it was frozen).
A local council has suggested that cows be dressed in high-viz reflective jackets…
Some years ago, I was involved ex post facto in a situation where a herd of 100+ Black Angus cattle got loose on an interstate highway in the middle of the night after a storm knocked down a fence. Fifteen or so accidents (no deaths fortunately other than several head of cattle), ten state troopers, two counties worth of sheriff’s deputies and a bunch of locals spent the better part of a day clearing the highway. The cattleman in question took to spraying his cattle with reflective paint.
Good times.
This may be of interest to some. Margaret Thatcher interviewed on Panorama, July, 1977. I started listening to it idly while doing something else and ending up watching the whole thing.
On paying more tax:
http://www.afr.com/news/politics/australian-labor-party-backs-warren-buffettinspired-35-per-cent-tax-on-the-rich-20150724-gijglz
“If adopted, the measure would potentially capture about 100,000 people, or the top 1 per cent of taxpayers who earn over $300,000. The rule, named after US billionaire Warren Buffett…”
The Buffett connection must be distracting Labor from thoughts of their disastrous mining tax, which was going to deliver shiploads of revenue but didn’t. Short memory and economic illiteracy go hand in hand.
As for Buffett himself – did he ever write an I-owe-you-this cheque to the IRS?
As for Buffett himself – did he ever write an I-owe-you-this cheque to the IRS?
Not sure anyone ever got to the bottom of how Mr. Buffett’s secretary paid more income tax than he did, but the media and the populist culture felt it to be another one of those facts too good to check. Buffett’s tax observations are similar to Stephen Hawking’s being in the news recently. Seems a few years back Hawking said we shouldn’t go looking for alien life because if they find us they might eat us, or something to that effect. Then just this week it’s announced he’s part of some $100 million project to go looking for alien life. Like Buffett, makes me wonder what side these guys are on.
Google news headlines . . . .
How to think about Islamic State
The Guardian – 4 hours ago
How? Get very relaxed, take a deep breath, exhale, tighten trigger finger slightly.
And stick to referring to Daesh as Daesh.
Not sure if this question is rhetorical, but no Australian would complain that a beer was too cold (unless it was frozen).
Really wasn’t certain, so was actually asking. Can’t stand the taste of alcohol m’self, so about the closest I tend to get to alcoholic subtleties is to note Budweiser as not being beer as much as really bad sake.
Also doing a Toynbee, the Guardian’s Leah Borromeo.
A bit of feminism-run-amok:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/24/sorry-buzz-aldrin-the-moon-landing-was-just-cosmic-manspreading/
“Let’s get real. Until a woman has been to the moon can we honestly say humanity has even left this planet? I think not. Buzz Aldrin should check his privilege.”
I should clarify, that’s Milo engaging in a bit of fun.
This male feminist has…. issues about barbecueing. Have we been here before? This seemed to remind me of a previous post on David’s blog but I couldn’t seem to find it.
Roadkill fur, eh? Well, waste not, want not….
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jan/31/foodanddrink.britishidentity
This seemed to remind me of a previous post on David’s blog but I couldn’t seem to find it.
One searches for barbeque . . .
One searches for barbeque…
I still think that one illustrates the mindset quite nicely. Ludicrously pretentious, unmoored from reality and impervious to factual correction. And a Guardian writer so determined to flatter himself that he somehow construes the subsequent barrage of ridicule as a validation of his posturing.
“Let’s get real. Until a woman has been to the moon can we honestly say humanity has even left this planet? I think not. Buzz Aldrin should check his privilege.”
Even though that bit is probably satire, hard as it is to tell these days, if one ever needs to shut the harpies up just point out that Armstrong and Aldrin may have been first on the moon but Margaret Hamilton got them there. If they start to get chuffed about that, though, you can bring them back down by pointing out the Saturn 5 engines were developed in Alabama – by ex-Nazis…
Even though that bit is probably satire, hard as it is to tell these days, if one ever needs to shut the harpies up just point out that Armstrong and Aldrin may have been first on the moon but Margaret Hamilton got them there.
They got to the moon on flying monkeys? 😉
‘Bond is coming’.
Hmmm … not sure what to make of this, although I will be watching the film.
On the one hand, I spot a potential danger of diving into the same gadget-driven stupidity of the Moore and Brosnan eras. On the other, Telly Savalas may no longer be the definitive Blofeld.
And there seems to be a definite yen for recycling old themes. ‘Diamonds are Forever’ with the ‘Skyfall’ theme, and ‘OHMSS’ with this trailer. Just so long as they don’t bring back ‘All Time High’ or ‘Die Another Day’, I’m happy.
potential danger of diving into the same gadget-driven stupidity of the Moore and Brosnan eras.
The Brosnan era was when I started thinking of Bond films as fun. As opposed to the Moore era, which I found dismal. [ Does embarrassed face. ]
On the other, Telly Savalas may no longer be the definitive Blofeld.
Rule #1: Give good villain. Marvel Studios please take note.
Rule #1: Give good villain.
This blog’s motto, surely?
Fascinating 1977 Thatcher interview
There’s an Interesting comment under Janet Daley’s very entertaining piece about Jeremy Corbyn:
I knew the husband of a nurse at St Mary’s Hospital London. During the eighties she said that hospital staff were hiding, and in some cases destroying, patients records.
The idea was to blame Thatcher and the “cuts” (actually there were no cuts) for the ensuing chaos
Fascinating 1977 Thatcher interview
It’s rare – to my ears, at least – to hear someone articulate their political position in quite the way she does. I also like that she corrects any attempt to distort her words. The chap from the Guardian – the one who shares some interesting eye contact with Mrs T – is the late Peter Jenkins. A man who was married to Polly Toynbee for 22 years.
Yes it’s also a good reminder for anyone who is unaware of the situation with the unions in the 1970s: the way they behaved for example after the 1973 oil crisis meant that people were actually afraid that voting in the conservatives would cause repeated union blackmail. They weren’t afraid of the tories, they were afraid that noone would be able to fight the unions!
Another feature is how formidable the women are in this discussion – perhaps we could compare with Natalie Bennett’s performances before the last election, and ask why the difference..
Another feature is how formidable the women are in this discussion – perhaps we could compare with Natalie Bennett’s performances before the last election, and ask why the difference.
I should imagine that forty, fifty years ago it still took an uncommon focus and aptitude to become a prominent female politician or commentator. Now it’s supposed to be much easier, certainly much less remarkable. Unfortunately, the number of exceptional political orators and thinkers has not increased significantly, if indeed at all. It’s just easier for mediocrities to get air time.
Barbecues are too atavistic, cupcakes are too twee, giving your kids a leg-up in your choice of school for them is evil, driverless cars are going to kill the planet, Eeyorish professional scold George Monbiot is weeping into his Fairtrade kale smoothie… The dreadful miserablists at the Graun, Slate, Salon, HuffPo never sleep. Their urge to condemn anything that might be construed as the slightest bit fun never wavers. It’s a single-mindedness of purpose that in many other fields would be quite commendable, but here is just potty. Worrying about whether grilling a steak is too cis-normative is the sort of concentrated Leftie self-regard that needs to be kept in a refrigerated vial in a jar of mineral oil.
Worrying about whether grilling a steak is too cis-normative is the sort of concentrated Leftie self-regard that needs to be kept in a refrigerated vial in a jar of mineral oil.
You could almost think of it as a kind of weaponised neurosis. If its proponents wished only to make themselves absurd and contort their own psychology, it wouldn’t be much of an issue, just an odd funfair attraction. But it’s a neurosis they wish to share. And sometimes they insist.
‘The Brosnan era was when I started thinking of Bond films as fun. As opposed to the Moore era, which I found dismal’.
Brosnan had a good start with ‘Goldeneye’ (less the utterly wretched Eric Serra soundtrack), then got lumbered with ‘Tomorrow You Only Love Me Twice’, ‘The Script Is Not Confusing Enough’ and ‘Dire Another Day’. He was not particularly lucky in role.
‘Tomorrow You Only Love Me Twice’
Heh. The Dalton films passed me by – I still couldn’t tell you much about them – and I remembered the Moore era films as awful, cheesy tat that bored me as a kid. Whereas the Brosnan films were the kind of cheesy tat I could happily enjoy.
And I’ll thank you not to judge me.
I recently re-watched Moonraker, and it was dreadful rot (ten year-old me loved it. Lasers in space! Yay!). But I also saw Live and Let Die again, and I loved it.
It’s rare – to my ears, at least – to hear someone articulate their political position in quite the way she does. I also like that she corrects any attempt to distort her words.
That. That is what American conservatives need to emulate. Not Reagan. Not to dis the man but he was nowhere near the tough, unwavering voice standing up to socialism that Thatcher was. She didn’t take crap from her critics and had no problem correcting their incorrect inferences. She truly understood wealth, what it is, where it comes from, and the responsibilities of maintaining it. She had a scientific mind. She understood things well enough at their base to be able to articulate the conservative position and thus was well armed for deflecting poorly grounded attacks.
When I see GOP pols discussing economics on news shows, it makes me cringe. It’s like they learned by rote what to say but seem to have little fundamental understanding of the subject matter. And they let their inquisitors get away with all kinds of groundless assertions and other BS. While not a big fan of Cruz or Trump, I give them great credit for not taking crap. Even where I disagree, I admire that they don’t let the interviewers push them around.
By all means, study Reagan if you want to win a popularity contest. But if you want to win an argument, study Thatcher. I was gonna say “Thatcher is your role model” but in the video she seems to not care for that term. And I understand why.
Very interesting article about how safe spaces and victimhood politics end up harming the very people they’re (supposedly) meant to help.
I have in the past found myself disagreeing with policies for safer space building, policies made by people who are open about their traumatic history. I am a rape survivor, but I prefer not to disclose this as a general matter, for the simple reason that it is private and I don’t want this part of my history to be the first thing people know about me.
But without acknowledging it, I have on various occasions been accused of ‘speaking over’ and oppressing those who are open about their history, meaning that I have to out myself, and render this trauma up for scrutiny. This has happened on several occasions, not least at the women’s campaign meetings at my former university, where – in a debate about how to make spaces safer, I had the choice of outing myself to a room full of almost-strangers, or stepping back from the discussion but retaining my privacy.
Looking broadly at these communities, in order to be heard you must speak ‘as a rape survivor’, not as an individual with a more complex identity. Your status as a survivor becomes the key that gives you a voice. From a student activist standpoint, I could see the negative effects this had – students talked to me (as Gender Equalities Officer) in privacy about their fears of rejection if they accessed therapy, or tried to take steps to change their mental health.
By the constant focus on identities as the prime way in which people have a ‘right’ to speak on a topic, our communities in effect force people to bind themselves to traumatic parts of their identities. And as, typically, those with traumatic pasts or mental illness lack power and a voice in society, the experience of being heard can be immensely powerful and empowering.
However, in order to retain that voice in the community, as well as its care and protection, it can feel like your mental illness, or your identity as a rape survivor has to remain a cornerstone of your identity.
When you make something so negative a crucial aspect of your identity it becomes harder to heal from it.
https://opendemocracy.net/transformation/clare-mohan/problem-with-safer-spaces
Bond’s a psycho. One day they’ll send the cleaners after him.
‘I recently re-watched Moonraker, and it was dreadful rot (ten year-old me loved it. Lasers in space! Yay!). But I also saw Live and Let Die again, and I loved it’.
I don’t think that casting Roger Moore as 007 was a problem. I have seen ‘Live and Let Die’ recently and while the film has its flaws, Moore isn’t one of them. He has the poise and self-assurance (or arrogance, if you prefer) that Bond needs. During the scene in the New York ‘Fillet O’Soul’ he strides in like a Company OC in the Foot Guards inspecting his troops, and he doesn’t even lose his swagger when he’s captured.
But this was before the motorised gondola, the clown disguise and the Buster Keaton stunts in San Francisco.