I’m Expecting Gasps, Applause

Happy blog birthday!

Oh, and you may want a moment to process this.
“I would prefer not to.”

Lots of drama at the New York Times this week:
– Veteran reporter Don McNeil is forced out after having dared not to use the ‘N-word’ euphemism when referring to said word. A letter signed by 150 New York Times staffers asking their publisher to continue the inquisition of McNeil contains the remarkable declaration that ‘intent is irrelevant‘. John McWhorter has a good essay on Substack about how this ends up being yet another example of the soft bigotry of low expectations.
– Taylor Lorenz falsely accused Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen of saying ‘retard’, when in fact (a) it wasn’t him and (b) there was no reason for censure, even if he had said it. Felicia Horowitz – blessedly, a Woman of Colour – was explaining that WallStreetBets users describe themselves as the ‘retard revolution’. More from Glenn Greenwald here.

Given that the New York times ‘[does] not tolerate racist language regardless of intent’, the Washington Free Beacon asked Nicole Hannah-Jones whether it was appropriate for her to have used that dreaded word in the past. Rather than reply to the journalist, she posted his email to Twitter, including his phone number (ultimately deleting it a day later).

Here’s to 14 more.
*hits tip jar*

Happy birthday! Although I am mostly a lurker – and part of my Sunday morning oasis of predawn calm is to click on your Friday ephemera links – one must acknowledge a birthday, so … ping!

Let me brighten everyone’s day with this good news from CityLab:
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-dangerous-neighborhood
Thank God for academics to set us straight on this–although this fellow does seem to have a bit of trouble staying on message:
“The knowledge that we’ve gained since 1982 unequivocally tells us something else: Serious violence is extremely concentrated in very particular places and, most importantly, among very particular people. Dispelling the notion of “dangerous neighborhoods,” extensive research on geographic concentration has consistently found that around half of all crime complaints or incidents of gun violence concentrated at about 5 percent of street segments or blocks in a given city.”
Many more facts getting bludgeoned into lifeless non-sequiturs at the link.

I think Cody has been listening to Titania McGrath, but didn’t understand the irony.

“quit”…. bloody spellcheck. Doh.
Yes, yes, “preview is…” and all that.

Possible addition to the punishment cave
I prefer the term moral realignment lounge. It’s softer, more inviting. Puts people at ease.

Anyone want to make book on whether she gripes about her student loans being unaffordable?
How dare you mock our fearless, thrusting journalists? Ms Lorenz is a “young influential,” which is apparently a noun now, and is “shaping media, marketing and tech.” Also “memes and social media.”
See their fearlessness. Feel them thrust.

Today is this blog’s birthday. Fourteen bloody years.
Felicitations, David. Here’s to many more to come. And since this is an open thread, today’s words are dishonesty and gaslighting:
https://twitter.com/PolitiFact/status/1358810121183330304

“Fourteen bloody years.”
Only four more and we can buy it a drink.

Only four more and we can buy it a drink.
15 will get you 20…

Only four more and we can buy it a drink.
Like I’d let this virginal young thing go drinking with the likes of you.

I come from the world of Instagram.

I doubt it comes in peace.

When you fling your detergent liquitab into the washing machine, may it never rebound and roll across the floor.
LOL. Husband does that all the time. Must be a man thing.

Isn’t “To Serve Man” a bit, oh, gender-specific?
Oh, BTW, *ping*.

Congrats from a longtime fan.
Here’s an interesting app/website. Has anyone heard of this Radio Garden thing? Click on a dot on the globe and hear a radio station from (supposedly) anywhere in the world.
http://radio.garden/live/toulouse/radiopresence

Oh, BTW, *ping*.
Bless you, sir. May your enemies know the aggravation of trying to find a simple, elegant men’s watch, without the usual encrustations of bulk and visual clutter.

That radio station link appears to be limited to stations that simulcast on the web. Still interesting.

Small donation. Not enough for Seamless avocado toast though.
Not sure I’m ready for that kind of, er, fine dining. And bless you, sir. May you know the combination of fresh snowfall and oddly pink late-afternoon light.

AKA Romeo and Joliet…
A joke that will undoubtedly require some explanation for our overseas… brethren. And sisteren.

Like I’d let this virginal young thing go drinking with the likes of you.
The parents are always the last to know.

The parents are always the last to know.
Heh.
Meanwhile, in the Guardian:

“It remains one of the enduring symbols of white male supremacy.”

It also adds a little colour, if inclined, and hides the buttons.