Friday Ephemera
Micro-actuators of note. (h/t, Damian) // Maslow 2.0 // The cunning stunts of Buster Keaton. // Attention, barren women. Prepare to be overjoyed. // Yes, it’s big and pink. What are you going to do about it? // Sketching perspective with the help of elastic. // The trees of Slope Point, New Zealand. // Arrange your succulents pleasingly. // Why voices squeak during puberty. // How to look punk, 1977. // A brief geographical history of the Roman Empire. // 80s knitwear of note. Avert your eyes. // No, like this. // “Notice that wall.”// Coral, accelerated. // Hummingbird courtship. // Aerodynamic cycling. // Things old people do. // Somewhat imperfect designs. // Drops of water. // The perils of self-service checkouts. // And finally, forgetfully, it’s a good job his wife has skillz.
Prominent American sportscaster reveals: Hair-plug operation nearly destroyed my vocal cords
Who knew this could happen?
David, where do you come up with these links?
The ” How to look punk 1977″ people don’t look very 1977 punk to me. Or am I misremembering…or is that the joke?
Anybody figure out the “rules” for arranging those succulents? Or is it just some weirdness in my Chrome permissions for running scripts?
I achieved some nice layouts, but without positive feedback (you know, cash, access to the upstairs hottub) it all seems so pointless. Much like watching Vice-Presidential candidates debate.
I know, I know: “Credit note only”. Sheesh.
Ooh, kewl! Check out the other stuff at that first link (with the creepy fingers)
https://twitter.com/MachinePix
How to look punk: pick up a copy of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 1st edition.
What are you going to do about it?
Why, I think I’ll “view the translation”.
Subject to Pelican’s sugar Creeper face (lol) paw walking
Wut?
The trees of Slope Point
Shit, you are getting a bit close to home now.
Spiny, it’s no wonder you got confused. A more accurate, colloquial translation goes like this:
“Doss face of Sugar got the horse mackerel (laughs) today Pelican Petapeta Walking”
at least according to my superfine browser.
See, without the mackerel it just makes no sense at all.
Yep, Fred, none at all. Heh.
The cunning stunts of Buster Keaton.
An interesting bit of trivia from Wiki:
At the age of three, Keaton began performing with his parents in The Three Keatons. (…) The act was mainly a comedy sketch. Myra played the saxophone to one side, while Joe and Buster performed on center stage. The young Keaton would goad his father by disobeying him, and the elder Keaton would respond by throwing him against the scenery, into the orchestra pit, or even into the audience. A suitcase handle was sewn into Keaton’s clothing to aid with the constant tossing. The act evolved as Keaton learned to take trick falls safely; he was rarely injured or bruised on stage. This knockabout style of comedy led to accusations of child abuse, and occasionally, arrest. However, Buster Keaton was always able to show the authorities that he had no bruises or broken bones. (…)
Decades later, Keaton said that he was never hurt by his father and that the falls and physical comedy were a matter of proper technical execution. In 1914, Keaton told the Detroit News: “The secret is in landing limp and breaking the fall with a foot or a hand. It’s a knack. I started so young that landing right is second nature with me. Several times I’d have been killed if I hadn’t been able to land like a cat. Imitators of our act don’t last long, because they can’t stand the treatment.”
Keaton claimed he was having so much fun that he would sometimes begin laughing as his father threw him across the stage. Noticing that this drew fewer laughs from the audience, he adopted his famous deadpan expression whenever he was working.
Oh, and Keaton got his nickname from Harry Houdini (his father’s showbiz partner):
According to a frequently repeated story, which may be apocryphal, Keaton acquired the nickname “Buster” at about 18 months of age. Keaton told interviewer Fletcher Markle that Houdini happened to be present one day when the young Keaton took a tumble down a long flight of stairs without injury. After the infant sat up and shook off his experience, Houdini remarked, “That was a real buster!”
I saw Steamboat Bill Jr. when I was a boy and don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much before or since. When that scene with the house front falling came on, I remember my dad saying Buster Keaton had done that without a stuntman. It’s really impressive how he stands so nonchalant as the house is coming down over his head, that had some serious potential to go wrong. One of a kind, Keaton.
“Notice that wall.”
Suddenly everything is clear.
#ThankYouScientology
Suddenly everything is clear.
At first I thought there must be some context in which the photos and captions would be less… well, less how they are.
But as they’re from a Scientology handbook – supposedly a guide to overcoming terrorism, immorality and the travails of modern marriage – the original context might not be entirely helpful or reassuring.
Besides, context is for weaklings.
November 18.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLtpcxtk4HI
That hummingbird should make James Cameron up his game for ‘Avatar 2’…
sH2,
I like the first comment under that video. I’m not much of a Top Gear fan – I dislike the British habit of keeping shows running for decades – but that new show does look good, and funny.
Is this a guide to gay dating?
Is this a guide to gay dating?
Yes. First you break a chap’s arm, then you touch his other hand and rub your crotch against his knee.
Compared to heterosexual courtship, it’s fairly straightforward.
I’m not much of a Top Gear fan
[ Piano player stops, room falls silent. ]
Some real gems this week David. Thanks.
(My coworkers are still a little nervous after my reaction to the wheelchair/dalek accessible staircase.)
This.
This.
https://twitter.com/RantingOwl/status/783732347581657088
This.
Oh, I dunno. They’re not entirely useless to human survival. The tins could be taped together and used as a roller or rudimentary wheels. Or to hold down tarpaulin. Just be sure to get rid of the contents.
“Attention, barren women” – finally, they’ve got an alternative to writing for theguardian (sic).
For those of you interested in such things, I now have a Gab account. Not sure what to do with it as yet, but there we are.
Regarding ’80s “jumpers,” a/k/a “sweaters,” I recall a few years back when my wife attempted to donate one of mine to charity. When I retrieved it, she inquired why I insisted on keeping it. My response? “It is the first present you gave me in 1984.” She became all teary and “romantic.”
Cue marital”sack dance.”
Cue marital “sack dance.”
You’ve ruined knitwear for everyone.
Now I want to know more about L.A. KNOCKERS, punk-funk singing and dancing group
Sack Dance.
Sack Dance
Ah. In fairness, you can understand the confusion.
You’ve ruined knitwear…
Credit note only.
Apostasy will not be tolerated.
Proving again that while Trump is a bombastic a**, this is why he has a following.
Apostasy will not be tolerated.
As I said yesterday, the Huffington Post’s “queer voices deputy editor” doesn’t seem to comprehend how his own condescension, proudly aired – and his assumption that gay people should be some homogeneous leftwing vote farm – are part of why some people are opting for Trump.
And, as if it needed saying, lefties project.
Micro-actuators of note.
Are these things available for, uh, personal use? Asking for a friend.
O/T, David
But… it’s time for your annual ‘flu jab. We don’t want our favourite blogger drowning in rivers of snot again. £9 at Tesco: £8 if you get the voucher on the promotional leaflet….
it’s time for your annual ‘flu jab.
Heh. Funny you should say that. The same thing occurred to me last night.
Not for my benefit, you understand, but for my readers and commenters.
“Micro-actuators of note. (h/t, Damian)”
Please, no-one tell this woman (I almost typed ‘lady’, but…) about this breakthrough:
https://twitter.com/MarkGSparrow/status/784373387850317824
Please, no-one tell this woman (I almost typed ‘lady’, but…) about this breakthrough:
“They tried to remove it using a fork handle and barbecue prongs but all efforts failed.”
“Not for my benefit, you understand, but for my readers and commenters.”
False dichotomy, David: on this, your interests and those of your readers coincide completely.
Nemo – that’s very good. Well done.
““They tried to remove it using a fork handle and barbecue prongs but all efforts failed.””
Quite! They are going to wonder why all their dinner party invites go unanswered, aren’t they?
They are going to wonder why all their dinner party invites go unanswered, aren’t they?
You don’t want to be sitting down to a meal and then wondering whether the cutlery has… history. I realise there’s a proud and longstanding tradition of parents embarrassing their children, but the custom is to wait until they’re teenagers, and preferably in front of their friends.
Hmmm, we seem to be getting way too much yet still too little information here: Wrexham’s an awful long way from Wallasey and there’s plenty of hospitals in between, so I’m guessing it’s not the answer to ‘where’s the worst place you’ve ever lost a vibrator?’, but it was still 45 minutes in an ambulance in the wee small hours, so is Wrexham Hospital a centre of excellence for this sort of thing? It is in Wales.
Apostasy will not be tolerated.
That HuffPost Deputy Editor coined a new word: “HomoNationalist”
Were I of the homosexualist persuasion, I would take that up at once as a self-identifier. If you start a line of caps with that logo, David, I shall buy one.
Jeff Wood
Those caps might suit the hench-lesbians, too.
Good thought, Theo. I take it for granted the Henchlesbians are extreme Alt-Right, to a degree which would make even me nervous.
Anytime someone says “hench-lesbians,” I picture them swinging into the Notre Dame shouting “Sanctuary! Sanctuary!”
Sack Dance
I fear we are separated not just by a common language, but also an approach to terpsichore.
They tried to remove it using a fork handle and barbecue prongs but all efforts failed.
Given that she was unaware of the whereabouts of the mislaid item until she inadvertently activated it by touching her stomach, would it be ungallant of me to speculate that its removal was perhaps rather more difficult than its introduction had been?
They tried to remove it using a fork handle and barbecue prongs but all efforts failed.
I suppose a couple of cups of coffee, a fry-up and a few hours wait was out of the question.
Jeff Wood: Sorry, I can’t visualize the henchlesbians having any particular political bent, at least not in their official capacities. The tapes I’ve managed to get, poor audio quality aside, contain only various assertions of complete and utter loyalty to Our Gracious Host. There was really too much interfering noise from the hottub bubblers to hear much else.
(And there’s no chance of obtaining better – the equipment all vanished, the only hint being a Chinese Fortune left in my in-box the next day: “Man who say It Cannot Be Done should not interfere with Man Doing It” Make of that what you will.)
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer led illegal purge of male employees, lawsuit charges
Up through about a year ago I worked at a company which claimed great bewilderment that an entire class of extremely competent staff—male and female—were openly running for the doors, as well as getting fired.
The alleged management stating the bewilderment equally practiced the same form of harassment of the competent and capable, and also openly practiced promotion of the incompetent and politically connected.
In response to NUS president Malia Bouattia, mentioned here recently, this, by Courtney Hamilton, is worth a squint:
As I’m sure I’ve said many times, modern leftism is corrosive to stoicism, to self-possession, and ultimately, to success.
Before becoming overtly racialised, this approach to education was couched in terms of ‘relevance’: essentially, the idea was that those new to, or unprepared for, or estranged from, education should not be confronted with anything unfamiliar to them. This is antithetical to the very idea of education, which should provide the learner with a window onto the world, rather than a mirror in which to preen.
I am reminded of Diane Ravitch’s The Language Police about textbooks being bowdlerized or censored in order to ensure that students only study ‘relevant’ and inoffensive materials. One example that sticks in my mind was Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, deemed unsuitable as students living inland would struggle with the concept of a large body of water (the words ‘old’ and ‘man’ are obviously deeply problematic too).
Huh. It turns out that the modern art that we love so well was mostly funded and promoted by the CIA. They thought they could use it as a weapon in the culture wars.
You see, on the other side of the planet, the Russian style of choice was Socialist Realism, which depicted accurate, politically-tinted scenes of home life, productive countrysides, and such. It’s beautiful school in its own right—but a pretty enormous distance from the uncaged, violently individualistic monster of American modern art at the time.
No wonder it took 70 years to get rid of the Soviet Union…..
via Gizmodo
Socialist Realism is no more beautiful than its Nazi equivalent.
Socialist Realism
Two words that don’t generally belong together.
People often look puzzled when I tell them I want to go live in a cabin on a mountain top, surrounded by triple strand concertina 300 yards out, and a moat beyond that. One reason. Another.
One reason.
Don’t forget the University of Michigan’s $13,000 vibrating nap machine.
Wonders of wonders, a programme on Radio 4 pointing out that it is often a really good idea for Governments to so nothing, pointing out examples, reasons why it would be a Good Thing and reasons why it never bloody happens:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x20bz
…$13,000 vibrating nap machine…
Thank goodness we have risen from the savagery where one had to take an elevator, or worse, stairs, to one’s own bed to nap.
Trevor: In the US, at least, there was a prior to “relevance” which was “accessibility”. You note that in your remark about teaching Old Man and the Sea. One saw this also in discussions of the validity of e.g. IQ test questions like “Which of these 4 animals are pets?” presented to a child from a culture with a very non-western view of “pet”.
The basic problem I see is not in the specifics, but in the truth of Moore’s Laws of Bureaucracies, in particular “Bureaucracies are Immortal” and “Bureaucracies grow without bound.”
My favorite example is the US concept of “Affirmative Action” in higher education. A review of the congressional arguments about the proposals from the 60s is eye-opening. Fundamentally it was sold to the public as little more than funding for “outreach” programs, where Unis would extend their marketing and recruiting efforts into underrepresented communities, e.g. inner cities. We can all see what happened to those good intentions.
My point is that the tendency of reasonable folk to agree to try these harmless-sounding ideas historically results in the endless extension of tasks and powers for the various groups actually employed (i.e. paid) to do them. The pernicious effect on the philosophy surrounding the original concepts, and on the associated people, both directly (employees) and indirectly (e.g. uni students), of this tendency has certainly provided Our Gracious Host and His Minions with plenty of fodder.
This is antithetical to the very idea of education, which should provide the learner with a window onto the world, rather than a mirror in which to preen.
Ethnic and Gender Studies, aka Angry Studies = The Preening Mirror.
Two words that don’t generally belong together.
I think that fits the adage that attaching “social” to a word inverts its meaning.
This is antithetical to the very idea of education, which should provide the learner with a window onto the world, rather than a mirror in which to preen.
“Yes, the world and everything in it, and all that has ever been in it, is all about you, and how beautiful and noble you are, and how you’re so unfairly put-upon by all those terrible people who aren’t you and who don’t even look like you.”
A few years of that, reinforced all but daily, and pretty soon you’ll get things like this.
I think that fits the adage that attaching “social” to a word inverts its meaning.
To take the obvious one, the term “social justice” is generally used by the kind of people who want the rest of us to believe that they’re much more virtuous than they actually are. Which, terribly cynic that I am, strikes me as a somewhat suspicious ambition. Despite the frequency with which the term “social justice” is deployed, it remains a conveniently woolly buzzword, little more than a way to signal in-group piety among scoundrels and idiots. It sounds unassailably benign, but it’s often deployed so as to obscure some other, less edifying intent.
One of the things it seems to entail in practice is treating people not as individuals but as categories. And then judging a person and their actions based primarily on which Designated Victim Group they supposedly belong to and assigning various exemptions and indulgences according to that notional group identity and whatever baggage can be attached to it. And conversely, assigning imaginary sins and “privilege” to someone else based on whatever Designated Oppressor Group they can be said to belong to, however fatuously and regardless of the particulars of the actual person and their actions.
Which is to say, “social justice” is largely about judging people not as individuals but tribally, cartoonishly, by different and contradictory standards, based on some supposed group identity – their melanin levels or genitals or whatever. It’s glib, usually question-begging, and quickly becomes pernicious. It’s a parody of morality for the vain and mediocre.
“Which is to say, “social justice” is largely about judging people not as individuals but tribally, cartoonishly, by different and contradictory standards, based on some supposed group identity – their melanin levels or genitals or whatever. It’s glib, usually question-begging, and quickly becomes pernicious. It’s a parody of morality for the vain and mediocre.”
Brilliant comment, David. Now will someone please hit the media with a clue bat?
Oh, wait – they’re not what they pretend to be (and expect us to believe), either.