Friday Ephemera
His copper bonsai is better than yours. || Serbian ensemble. || Like a stubborn jar of pickles. || I was previously unfamiliar with the erotic practice of stumping. || More joys of public transport. || Portraits rendered in charcoal. || Clouds over Lake Michigan. (h/t, DRB) || Twitching meat. || Lockdown scenes. (h/t, Dicentra) || Those prone to fainting should look away now. || Name the counties of the United States. You have 12 minutes. || Virtual tours of gardens and grand houses. || George’s besties. || It helps to have a back-up plan. || Hey, kids. Come play. || Old-school cloaking technology. || Simple but effective. || Filth removal of note. || And finally, topically, when the guy in front of you is doing this.
…when the guy in front of you is doing this.
Dude, it’s Tim Hortons coffee, just save yourself some time and drink the disinfectant. It probably tastes better.
And finally, topically, when the guy in front of you is doing this.
As was mentioned elsewhere, when the Kung Flu cancelled hockey playoffs it took Canadians about a week to develop a potential vaccine.
Tim Horton’s and hockey are two things you do not f*ck with around here.
The Left: we need to come together to defeat this virus!
Also the Left: destroy the family!
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/coronavirus-crisis-shows-its-time-abolish-family/
George’s besties.
At this point:
This Tweet is unavailable.
Which George?
David, your long nightmare is almost over:
https://www.salon.com/2020/03/26/star-trek-picard-finale-review/
Skimming through this, I saw mention of Picard resembling action films. ?? David’s description made it sound more like an inaction film, akin to Star Trek: The Motionless Picture. (40 years later I clearly remember squirming and fidgeting as the Enterprise crawled through Viger an inch at a time.)
To the end of her life that poor girl will be hearing “Aren’t you the one who was trying to fire the cannon?”
Star Trek: The Motionless Picture
There’s an absolutely fascinating story behind how and why ST:TMP turned out the way it did. Briefly, TMP was originally intended to be a two-part pilot for a new Star Trek series that was going to anchor a new Paramount/CBS television network (sound familiar?) Since it was originally conceived of as a TV movie, it didn’t have the action one would expect of a big-budget SF theatrical release, opting instead for a more philosophical plotline.
Morning, all.
David, your long nightmare is almost over
I think I’ll wait for the Script Doctor’s more credible review. Oh and, now that it’s finally arrived in the UK, I’m quite enjoying The Mandalorian. I’ve only seen the first two episodes, so there’s not a huge amount I can say yet. But despite the low-key vibe, and despite the limitations of the basic conceit – the minimal dialogue, the lead character’s face being hidden, etc., it has a certain charm.
Which George?
Monbiot, and his super-cool buddies Extinction Rebellion, who seem to publicly delight in people dying from coronavirus. For Mother Earth, you see.
[ Edited. ]
The Left: we need to come together to defeat this virus! Also the Left: destroy the family!

As we’ve seen, Ms Lewis is, shall we say, working out some personal issues, resulting in a kind of convoluted depravity.
Unlike Ms Lewis, this gets to the point:
And despite her pretensions of radicalism, Ms Lewis is very much of a type. She fits the standard pattern.
” Like a stubborn jar of pickles.”
She loosened it for him!
Star Trek: The Motionless Picture.
As I said during one late-night viewing of it, “Is this shot in real time?”
A dark and twisted selection this week…
I was previously unfamiliar with the erotic practice of stumping.
No-one needs to know about this.
Those prone to fainting should look away now.
I foolishly clicked on this but managed to click away in time to avoid trauma.
I don’t even want a credit note. I am going to try to self-isolate in Monet’s virtual garden. (band name)
I was previously unfamiliar with the erotic practice of stumping.
*looks for unsee button*
No-one needs to know about this.
Hey, I had to read it. I don’t see why the rest of you should get off unscathed.
Speaking of unstable ladies of the left:

I’m not sure that Laurie is quite making the point that she thinks she is.
Can we imagine the end of capitalism now?
Queues for food. Shortages of toilet paper. People dying. Sounds a lot like communism.
Is that what she meant? 🙂
Queues for food. Shortages of toilet paper. People dying. Sounds a lot like communism.
Is that what she meant? 🙂
Wouldn’t this be the perfect time for that “fully-automated luxury communism”* they’re always banging on about to make an appearance and show the capitalist pigs how it’s done?
Thought not**.
* – I know that’s Aaron Bastani’s thing but let’s face it, I can’t imagine Laurie wouldn’t fall hook, line, and sinker for it.
** – Actually, if it really does hit the fan, this has the potential to change things in a commie direction which is really quite concerning.
I can’t imagine Laurie wouldn’t fall hook, line, and sinker for it.
I’ll just leave this here.
Is that what she meant? 🙂
It’s in much the same category of moral obliviousness as when the self-styled “Occupy theoretician” David Graeber, a comrade of Laurie’s, imagined that the lumpen masses, i.e., the rest of us, would thrill to a vanguard of middle-class poseurs “destabilising the country” with a “vision of revolution inspired by anarchism.” Because the one thing that nice Mrs Wilson down the road can’t wait for is an anarcho-communist coup, economic ruin and lots of burning cars in the street outside.
fully-automated luxury communism
A long-winded and shiny new way of selling the lie of plain old communism. The communist elite get the luxury, the masses get to play the automatons.
Beef jerky?
Twitching meat.
Band name.
These irresponsible bassards will infect millions !
I mean, really. Just look at the crowds, and to think they took a private means of conveyance to get there. They are all probably racists too which is a good enough reason for the Derbyshire plod to bust their asses.
Speaking of asses, I want to be there when the CO2 levels in that thing getting in the 1-2500ppm range, not that she appears to functioning normally in the squash anyway.
Beef jerky?
Golf clap and jazz hands.
Star Trek: The Motionless Picture.
Great soundtrack though. One of Jerry Goldsmith’s best: dense harmonies and interesting orchestral textures. I could listen to the music on its own.
I’m surprised no-one linked this from Kate at SDA especially you David.
Made I larf tho’
especially you David.
[ Peers over spectacles. ]
I could listen to the music on its own.
Funny you should say that. I once put the Motion Picture Soundtrack in my DVD player instead of the Motion Picture itself, and it took me the better part of 20 minutes to realize my mistake.
The communist elite get the luxury, the masses get to play the automatons.
Ooh, that’s good. Also, now shamelessly stolen.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m entirely alone in really liking ST:TMP.
Drama students at Tisch complain that you can’t hold acting or dancing classes over Zoom and want their money back.
Dean responds.
Tbf her dancing is as good as or better than some of the “performance” art David has highlighted here.
h/t smalldeadanimals
More joys of public transport.
He’s an “artist”.
via: https://twitter.com/FabFitzy/status/1242819824339890176
Those prone to fainting should look away now
I made it approximately 0.75 seconds into that video, which was how long it took me to move the mouse to the close tab icon. I think I acted quickly enough to save my appetite for lunch.
“Name the counties of the United States. You have 12 minutes.”
2130 isn’t too shabby considering I only knew about three, and just randomly guessed Founding Fathers and 19th Century presidents (plus a few educated geographical punts) for 11 minutes. The 100km splash damage helps, mind you; I probably only got about 20 actual correct answers.
I’m not sure I could name all the counties in Britain in 12 minutes, to be honest.
“it took Canadians about a week to develop a potential vaccine.”
That was quick, but as the Blogfather is wont to say, faster please.
“I’m not sure that Laurie is quite making the point that she thinks she is.“
I’m sure as hellfire imagining the end of Chinese Communism right now.
Virtual tours of gardens and grand houses.
Here’s another one. Clarence House, the London residence of Prince Charles:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5040999,-0.1386013,2a,75y,137.68h,92.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ss7_mUMxT-W4AAARAtEaLtg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
I was previously unfamiliar with the erotic practice of stumping.
Watching Rio Bravo will never be the same again.
can we imagine the end of capitalism?
Sure, then we wouldn’t have Ford & 3M teaming up to use parts off the shelves to make respirators, or Dyson pivoting on a dime from vacuums to ventilators, or Anheuser Busch & distilleries making hand sanitizers, or, now, MIT MacGyvering a ventilator for $100 out of readily available parts.
Yes, Laurie, you, too, could just sit at home and die while the Great People’s Republic leaders were the only ones with access to healthcare – usually in a different, capitalist country.
Yes, Laurie, you, too, could just sit at home and die while the Great People’s Republic leaders were the only ones with access to healthcare – usually in a different, capitalist country.
At risk of being vulgar, I’m going to quote myself. From the comments following this:
It’s what makes Laurie, and all the other Lauries, so contemptible.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m entirely alone in really liking ST:TMP.
Of the entire Trek opus, I like the ship designs in the TMP era the best.
The uniforms look like they’re bundling up for a stroll on a nippy fall day though.
I’ve tried putting in terms that a spoiled college brat would understand:
Admittedly, the message gets through to very few. They always assume their Marxist philosophy professor will be the Commissar, never imagining that it’s far more likely they’ll be First Against The Wall.
The uniforms look like they’re bundling up for a stroll on a nippy fall day though.
I recently re-watched ST:TMP on Amazon. One of the trivia sidebars stated that the uniforms were so awkward and uncomfortable the entire cast refused to sign on for the sequel unless the uniforms were replaced. There was also something about Shatner and about a corset, but I shan’t traumatize you with details.
If you ever decide to supply your own beans and roast them yourself, you’ll have to do it in secret
The Modern Little Red Hen by Sir Ronaldus Magnus 1976.
Her status and career would have been much less likely without the very same bourgeois values she claims to despise and urges others to reject.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m entirely alone in really liking ST:TMP.
You are not alone. It could certainly be a bit shorter, and the philosophy is kind of dopey, but I enjoy watching it. And, as others have said, the soundtrack is a masterpiece.
Gov. Squid If I may, the example of history would be Ersatz Coffee, usually Chicory. No way the P.G.R. elites are gonna let the proletariat have real coffee beans.
http://www.ww2incolor.com/modern/Linde__sErzatz.html
Ersatz Coffee, usually Chicory
Don’t forget Postum.
After a couple of days of free publicity, Greta Thunberg has decided she didn’t have Coronavirus after all, thus saving herself from having to stay cooped up with Pa Thunberg for a couple of weeks.
Feminist, Queer and Trans Geographies: abolish the family!abolish the state! “What really matters to me… is the abolishment of the isolated privatization of human misery: the radical scarcity and overwork that is born of the logic of marriage and of family”
David, here’s an epic Picard rant for you. Enjoy! Also includes a bonus rant about some exceptionally silly-looking comic book characters.
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/386563.php
here’s an epic Picard rant for you
“I actually went back and looked on Google Groups, which acquired Usenet [..]”
Oh, FFS.
It’s actually not true there were no complaints about the “female captain”, but the rants were usually about how inconsistently and nonsensically her character was written. And in the later seasons where the show had devolved into Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan failing to conceal their mutual loathing despite having to have multiple “heartwarming” scenes together in each episode – the quip “Voyager? More like Her Voyage, if you know what I mean” was not unheard of.
here’s an epic Picard rant for you
That’s quite a rant. But not, I think, unwarranted. And Mr Chabon, like Mr Kurtzman, is shameless in his dishonesty.
It’s a variation of The Laurie Penny Manoeuvre:
I paraphrase, of course, but only a little.
Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan failing to conceal their mutual loathing
And so, we had a totes-progressive and totes-empowered female captain, played by a Hillary-hugging actress who famously had on-set meltdowns about the arrival of a younger, prettier cast member. A rivalry that lasted years, resulting in a notoriously awful work experience for everyone else, with Mulgrew issuing regular demands that Ryan be fired – basically, for being prettier and attracting more press interest – along with endless petty behaviour. Say, deliberately disrupting Ryan’s lighting and makeup checks – and issuing openly spiteful conditions of her presence on set. As when demanding that she, the younger, prettier actress, not be allowed to use the bathroom during the working day.
As a supposedly inspirational model of women in positions of authority, a microcosm of feminism, it was almost funny.