Tidings
Or, He’s Put Tinsel On The Tip Jar.
Konkon’s Yawn, photographed by Tak.
As is the custom here, posting will be intermittent over the holidays and readers are advised to follow me on X, or subscribe to the blog feed at the very bottom of the page, either of which will alert you to anything new as and when it materialises.
Thanks for another 1.5 million or so visits this year and thousands of comments, many of which prompted discussions that are much more interesting than the actual posts. Which is pretty much the idea.
And particular thanks to all those who’ve made PayPal, Ko-Fi, or SubscribeStar donations to keep this rickety barge above water. It’s much appreciated. Should you be gripped by a seasonal urge to express encouragement via currency, by all means use the buttons below this post.
Just think of my little face lighting up.
Curious newcomers and those with nothing better to do are welcome to rummage through the Reheated series in search of entertainment. You may find things you’d missed. And this, needless to say, is an open thread.
To you and yours, a very good one.
Old Dutch Church, “Love Gathers Here”.
A veritable atom bomb of love!
Something tells me that my odds of experiencing the numinous would not be greatly enhanced.
I say put ’em all on a bus headed south from Memphis on US 61.
‘Tis the season! *hits tip jar*
Merry Christmas all!
Adorable dogs are always welcome here.
Normally I wouldn’t do this but…lost my Rocky back in September. Smart dog. He even knew Saturday mornings from Sunday mornings. Saturdays I would walk him around the perimeter of our subdivision, but on Sundays we would cross the street to the park where he could run off the leash since hardly anyone was there. On Saturday he would walk like the good boy I trained him to be. It used to amaze me how few people have put even that little effort into training their dogs to walk properly and behave. On Sundays, as we approached the park he would pull on his leash in that direction. Loyal, brave for a smaller dog, hardly ever barked unless it was important, knew a few tricks, loved to play hide-and-seek and a tag game we invented. Hardly ever did anything wrong but when he did, he showed proper shame. Didn’t like his baths but he still went willingly…sort of…into the shower without me having to pick him up or chase him. About the best dog I could have ever asked for.
Thanks for a year of laughs and madness.
*ping*
Thank you for all the wrongthink. Token of appreciation, etc.
Bless you, madam, and bless you, sirs. May your under-sink cupboard be orderly, with its contents easy to find and extract. Thereby avoiding a protracted, comical struggle to retrieve the goddamn boot waterproofing.
Gresham’s Law applies to more than money.
If you get hysterical over a piece of raw cotton the likelihood of you ever being a functional adult is low.
He’s very serious about neatness.
[ Revises views of life outside London. ]
WTP and politics: I have friends who appear to only watch MSNBC or read Facebook news feeds. They repeat crap verbatim from those sources, like Trump is a rapist. One spews anti-Trump hatred with no idea of why he hates him. Just parroting the approved line. Lovely guy otherwise.
Is that Camberwell?
Heh. We discussed news sources. He was convinced that I got all my news from Fox. The only Fox info I get is what my previously-Democrat wife forwards to me. I asked him what US news sources he thought were good, he actually said MSNBC. I mean…that’s about the furthest left you can get. They’re so far left that they finally figured out that they need to shed a number of their leftists.
I will say this for Facebook feeds, like Twitter/X, they do allow feedback. A lot of BS in the fact checking of course but as I was telling Mr. Canuck, never trust information from sources that don’t permit easy, readily available and accessible feedback. And always read what the other side has to say. Though in the current environment it’s kinda hard to avoid the leftist mantra. One potential blind spot for the right in the future, should the MSM continue to lose their big megaphones, will likely be a failure to pay attention to what the leftists are on about. They will regroup. They always do.
PING!
Have one on me, barkeep.
Bless you, sirs. Should you be tasked with taking to the bins an enormous, quite sturdy cardboard box, almost two metres in length, may you remember to flatten and fold the box before heading outdoors on the Windiest Chuffing Day In Human History.
#TrueStory
FYI for Americans…My wife likes to give our mail carrier $20 cash in a Christmas card every year. Well we just learned:
https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22349/html/cover_025.htm
God knows what happens to that 20 bucks.
[ Attends to wind-dishevelled hair. ]
Do you have a side job as a model for romance novels?
The Christmas tidings for this individual, should be life in prison.
“You would be lucky to date a trans woman.”
This may prove useful.
Another illusion shattered.
Site to show political leanings before buying a house: real estate agents are mostly forbidden from saying anything about your potential neighbors. I saw a graphic that helps them get around it. It was a map of San Fran showing Whole Foods and Walmart stores. The two brands are distinctly separate and show working class vs elite neighborhoods. Would not work in my town because the two stores are across the street from each other. Nevertheless, the clientele in the two stores are distinctly different.
Trans “woman” and dating: Sex is not a social construct. Everything about a woman that a man responds to is distinct compared to men–hair, skin, voice, curves, smell. There are pheromones involved as well. More than one transvestite or “trans” has been beat up or killed after the male partner discovered the deception (see “Lola” by the Kinks). It is also interesting the high % of XY trans involved in the sex trade (as far as I can tell). This would not be the case if they were otherwise normal.
It is insisted that taking hormones completely converts the sex to the opposite, so “trans women” no longer have a sports advantage. If so, then why are not more (ie more than zero) XX trans getting into male sports and winning?
I seem to recall reading about an American realtors association making it a code-of-ethics violation to tell buyers about crime levels. Political culture would be just one more step down that twisted road.
Realtors and codes of ethics:
Many years ago, when I worked with a realtor to find a suitable home, she was always unable to answer any questions about matters that might detract from the value of a particular home. My favorite example was the house 50 feet from a river which regularly flooded, but she knew nothing about such matters although she’d lived and worked in that area for many years.
I guarantee you that such “ethics” are not the individual realtor’s ideas. It’s the lawyers and political hacks working through the Realtor association threatening loss of licenses, accreditation, and lawsuits. None of it answerable to the people.
It would truly make Christmas bright to unload a full can of that into his gullet.
Diabolically funny Bill Murray
It would truly make Christmas bright to unload a full can of that into his gullet.
At least the shitheel got arrested.
I’m not sure what crimes he can be charged with for poisoning food, but I’d like to see him put away until he’s got arthritis and dementia.
Never understood the popularity of his films.
What could go wrong? This. (FYI: I haven’t found any other reports online.)
I’m not sure what crimes he can be charged with…
The Federal Anti-Tampering Act of 1982, passed in the wake of the Tylenol poisonings, provides for up to 20 years in prison.
Never understood the popularity of his films.
I didn’t know who the hell he is, and, having found out, the only thing I ever heard of is that Hairspray abomination, which probably explains why the best he can do is stand up at The First Church of The Presumptuous Assumption of The Blinding Light.
My tentative assessment, based on a small number of acquaintances long ago, is that there are people who have a fascination with ugliness and degeneracy, and that this fascination is due to a cluster of personality disorders which tend to manifest in various forms of depraved behavior. But that was a very small sample size.
Of course, that hypothesis, even if true, is far from an actual understanding. Perhaps some minds are just too alien to truly understand–hence the popular characterization of certain personality types as “reptilian”, a characterization which goes back at least to Emperor Caligula.
Lava Lamps for internet security.
That’s kinda cool, actually. Better than a pseudo-random number generator.
Further to some of the comments above regarding Canadian anti-Americanism. It is an unfortunate feature of Canadian politics, and perhaps of Canadian identity. I have also noticed the same thing in Kiwis vis-a-vis Aussies, so maybe it’s just (or at least in part) a ‘big neghbour’ syndrome. It is unfortunate when (some) Canadian refuse to acknowledge the undoubted virtues of our southern cousins – sure, they have problems (and who doesn’t?), but over their almost 250 year history as a country they have been an unequalled force for good in the world. As far as any particular election result or outcome – the proper response from Canadians in public life is “their country, their choice; we will deal with the government Americans choose for themselves.”
OMG. Legend.
A little classic levity.
I think the plunging neckline speaks for itself.
[ Activates wind machine. ]
When not attempting to poison random shoppers, chappie likes doing things of this sort.
The news reports I’ve seen blame social media, which has connotations of victimhood, or being led astray. Though I think this antisocial dance requires some fundamentally shitty people. I mean, so far as I can tell, the fact that TikTok exists has not made me feel an overwhelming urge to start poisoning random strangers.
And in educational news.
He put… bacon and eggs in to the dryer.
So…
Did it turn out all right? Did it taste good?
That has a tinge of parody to it.
“Do you like your new genders?”
“NOOO!”
“Well, that’s too bad!. All the guys now have to listen to Nickelback and Joe Rogan.”
TikToxic. Still deserves a kicking though.
Well, yes. Or, Platform premised on narcissism, on endless, escalating self-absorption, has negative consequences shock.
But again, if the implied line of thinking is,
Then, well, this isn’t exactly encouraging.
There are of course some amusing or affirming items on TikTok, a few of which I’ve linked to unironically. But broadly speaking, encouraging people to live as if they were the stars of their own low-budget reality show, always performing for an audience, always craving attention, doesn’t strike me as a happy thing.
Normally I wouldn’t do this but…
The loss of a pet is as emotional as the loss of a human loved one. And I am sorry for yours. I remind people, when God created the creatures, He pronounced them as being “good.” How could anyone think, then, that He would ever forget them? Indeed, in the New Testament, Jesus tells His followers that God notices even when a sparrow falls – if the Almighty feels it necessary to do that, you can be sure He sees our pets when they leave us and cares for them.
I lost my Zeke back in October in an auto accident, so I feel your pain. They both now play in the fields of Heaven, where the weather is always fine and baths are never needed.
I enjoy finding nuggets like this in the New York Times. The story is about Blake Lively’s suit against the co-star and director of her latest film. I can accept the qualifier regarding to whom she is married . . . but please note, she is also CLOSE WITH TAYLOR SWIFT.
I did not know a person’s credibility or reputation is now measured by proximity to Taylor Swift.
Lady’s got balls.
Posting adorable dogs does have the advantage of finding the spot where I last left off reading the comments, especially for posts like this that will have some longevity.
I was at a spot in the Smokies to shoot a marriage proposal and met this wee gentleman named Prosciutto. When I can, I share these little impromptu portraits with owners – his was driving cross-country to Arizona and stopped in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to show his dog the sights.
Not too shabby.
Lady’s got balls.
WWASOS.
IYKYK.
A+ both for bravery and ingenuity with that shield.
Not what I was expecting (happily).
Oh and ping.
Bless you, sir. May you always have eggs.
As in, have them available, that is, should you fancy eggs. Not that you should be compelled to eat eggs for every meal, every day, until the stars go out.
That wouldn’t be much of a blessing.
Heh. As much as he hated his baths, and I offer this as advice to dog owners who may not have thought of it, when his bath was over he always got a Greenie treat. I really think he understood that was part of the deal. When his bath was over, I could barely get things put away as he would bug me and bug me until he got his Greenie.
Indeed.
Theodore Dalrymple again:
Recalling the words of that USMC drill instructor:
What are you doing in my neck of the woods?
Sadly, over the past generation, Kingston, and Ulster County in general, has gone from working-class, all-politics-is-local Democrat to whackadoodle thanks to all the rich NYC people migrating north to get away from what they turned NYC into (or to get second homes). Remember Kingston was the place that the Atlantic writer who complained about quiet neighborhoods moved to when her own neighborhood suddenly became too “vibrant”.
Sorry, but I hate the artificiality of turning one’s marriage proposal into a photo shoot for social media monetization.
Any time I read one of those stories about a guy putting up a marriage proposal on the Jumbotron, I think his girlfriend should say no and tell him not to put her on the spot in front of 50,000 people like that.
Nice twitter feed. Bookmarked. Thanks.
And in not-at-all-alarming toilet-related news.
Some might say they “fall in with the wrong crowd” but more it’s more honest to say they choose the wrong crowd.
I vaguely recall someone suggesting, back in the 70’s, using a radiation detector for the same purpose.
As cuts go, it’s ahead of its time.
Quiet at the back.
Speaking of social contagion,
OK, I am not exactly seeing the connection to Christmas and lesbian herpes singles* any more than any other communicable disease, but OTOH I suppose the disease control aspect is a good thing.
*(as opposed to the singles, the debut album of Lesbian Herpes went viral)
“Timing is important when discussing herpes…”
More honest still to say they are the wrong crowd.
Meanwhile, one would hope this is a piss take.
Robert Heinlein witnessed this in his 1953/54 trip around the world. A Kiwi guide boasted that they had the world’s biggest and best geysers and became very angry when Heinlein mildly said that while NZ’s were very beautiful the Yellowstone site was larger.
Suzi is sad: Everyone frowns at her when she stands under the mistletoe.
from the link:
That cruel and unfair stigma associated with a communicable incurable disease.
I assume that name-dropping is crucially important in the celebrity news biz, no matter how irrelevant the mention may be.
Perhaps the herpetic need their own Molokai so this wouldn’t happen, OTOH, stigmata and Christmas do go together, so there is that.
Regarding the dog photo above, there is no such thing as an adorable Pug, and whatever demented moron who thought it would be a good idea to breed a dog that can’t breathe (they should rename the breed to Floyd’s) and has more health problems than an assisted living community should be shot into the sun along with the jerks breeding cats with flat faces.
Heh. That’s not terribly uncommon. Happened to a friend’s dad. My friend’s brother had a pet snake that got out and disappeared…until…one night…their old man gets up to relieve himself, as old men do, goes into the bathroom, flips up the seat and was greeted by the formerly missing creature.
Particular strangers, however . . .
New York Times style guide, revised.
Sorry, but I hate the artificiality of turning one’s marriage proposal into a photo shoot for social media monetization.
No need to apologize. Me, I like the $1,000 they spend for an hour of my time.
Back when I did weddings, I got quite a few gigs from this because they enjoyed working with me. I have also heard that they like to use the photos for their wedding, either incorporating them into table pieces or making a slide show. As for whether they use it to monetize social media, meh, most of my clients don’t strike me as “influencers.” In fact, one of the challenges I always like when shooting couples is taking those who frankly look pretty pedestrian and making them look like rock stars in their photos.
The sad thing is that in a way, their very existence shows what they’re capable of. An excerpt from https://barsoom.substack.com/p/you-can-just-do-things-the-politics:
And if only they would recapture some of that spirit! That Substack post describes a group who are attempting to do just that.
Seen on the internet: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, except Mars is Barsoom and Santa Claus is an unexpectedly powerful warrior.
For those of you in need of a five-hour breakdown of Die Hard.
let’s build a thriving civilization in a freezing hellscape, using a shotgun marriage of two nations who absolutely detest one another, who have been at war almost continuously for like a thousand years.
Proving Daniel Ream’s point:
The English and the French are willing to live together rather than be American. This uneasy shotgun marriage has been characterized as “two solitudes.”
I’ll take Things That Never Happen for $100, Alex.
Wouldn’t bank on it.
I think my favourite example of the phenomenon was when a psychology professor at Claremont McKenna College slashed her own tyres and defaced her own car with abusive and racist messages, before walking over to bewildered onlookers and asking if they’d seen who was responsible.
It captures the unhinged quality quite well, I think.
Also, psychology professor.
Her Wikipedia page has been purged, ostensibly because it exists only because of that one fake hate crime but I’m sure we can agree that the real reason is the left’s desire to suppress information about such hoaxes.
Apologies if this can only be watched in Facebook or IG, but a friend sent this and it is absolutely hilarious. I want little Seamie at my Christmas dinner.
“maybe… just maybe ppl shouldn’t be doing drugs? This will prevent them from being addicted to drugs in the first place.”
from the linked “public radio” article:
Many words were written without addressing the loser subculture of urban blacks which leads to addiction, illegitimacy, welfare dependency, crime, and other pathologies.
A public service announcement from Down Under about your Down Under.
Migrant or invader?
Again, that example in particular captures the psychology in play. The unrealism, the spite – blaming her own students – the eye-widening dishonesty. We see the type over and over again. High in neuroticism, low in conscientiousness.
Theory.
Compost.
One can hope.
Speaking of perv immigrants: Don’t forget Arthur C. Clarke. No different from all those Thailand sex tourists. And responsible for the popular perception that “Westerners are pervs”.
Woman burned alive on New York City subway train. The perp fits the usual profile.