An aggravating tool for aggravating tools who talk too loudly. || Fly the skies in style and comfort. || British Seaside Simulator. || And then, quite suddenly, sadness happened. || Assorted bendy rivers. || Fat Bear Week is upon us. || The state of British cooking, with Mr Vincent Price (1972). || Entirely unrelated, substance relocation. || Car relocation. || I believe it’s powered by beer. || Possibly not ideal. || Revealed preference. || Incoming. || Cheeeldren of the night, what music they make. || I’d say they’re sick of your shit. || Sshh, he said. || Tongue action. || Today’s word is turbulence. || Sobriety test. || Excessive toe. || That’s exactly how I would have done it. || You want one and you know it. || The wings are full of fuel. (h/t, Elephants Gerald) || And finally, your mind is filthy.

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Currently doing the rounds, The late Norman Rockwell depicts Modern America:

Oh, there’s more. Not all of it savoury.

Update, via the comments:

There’s some discussion below about the aforementioned unsavoury content – the anti-Semitism and so forth. I did wonder about whether or not to link to the full selection, or what I assume is the full selection. But on balance, better to have the wider context, I think. Regulars of this site are, after all, grown-ups and can make up their own minds without my hand-holding.

And in case it needs pointing out, the basic juxtaposition that runs throughout the series – those jarring ideals – does rather throw into relief some fashionable assumptions of our time. The Forties’ suits with pronoun pins, the applauded looting, classroom violence, transgender sports, the Pride-obsessed educators with big, phallic balloons, etc. There is, I think, a certain… resonance.

The Rockwell aesthetic and period setting invites the viewer to imagine how one’s grandparents or great-grandparents might have reacted if faced with our time’s more modish pieties. A borderless, degenerate, bug-eating dystopia in which childhood is bureaucratically sexualised, and in which sporting unfairness and feral selfishness are met, by our betters, with pretentious approval. It’s very now.

Also, open thread.

Readers may recall this unhappy scene, mentioned here, part of a spree of racially targeted Seattle home invasions:

The day is coming when thugs like this will be shot by angry homeowners or neighbors, and no one will give a shit, because it would have improved life for everybody. https://t.co/lrz5KGBO81

— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) August 29, 2023

In a more cheering turn of events, the perpetrators, five black men and one black teenager, were recently apprehended and charged with no fewer than fourteen similar crimes, the victims of which were all of East Asian ancestry:

Hey, it’s an easy mistake to make. Accidentally putting on a balaclava and stalking someone, based on their race, then menacing them, and tasing them, and tugging the wedding ring from their twitching finger, and then barging into their home and taking their stuff. And then doing it all over again, and again, and again, all entirely by accident. I mean, who here hasn’t done it?

And as we’ve been told, repeatedly, from on high, the creatures who do such things are just like us.

Only more downtrodden and deserving of sympathy.

Needless to say, most of the suspects have extensive criminal histories and over a dozen prior convictions for assault, burglary and robbery, plus numerous other charges for domestic violence, animal cruelty, and driving without a licence. One suspect, a Mr Javez Tubbs, has been the subject of 30 warrants since 2006.

Fourteen firearms were found in the gang’s possession.

What catches the eye, however, is this brief exchange between the sixteen-year-old home invader and the judge:

Or,

I paraphrase, of course. Though not, I think, outrageously.

Consider this an open thread. Share ye links and bicker.

Further to this, and lifted from the comments:

One of my favourite things about The Age Of Stupid is that we’re expected to find a man wearing women’s clothes either:

A. Immediately absolutely hilarious, what a laugh eh
B. Not remotely funny at all, how dare you

Depending entirely on what that man wants. pic.twitter.com/Ju9wBkvqd5

— Gareth Roberts (@OldRoberts953) September 25, 2023

The New Rules Of Pretending, illustrated here, aren’t entirely coherent, even if one were willing to play along. On the one hand, fat, screeching drag queens are supposedly comedic and a kind of jolly panto, something exaggerated and silly, and suitable for children. Something to make the kiddies laugh.

But on the other hand, dysmorphic men and autogynephiles, who are often difficult to distinguish from drag queens, are supposedly Beings Of Infinite Seriousness And Validity, and even a raised eyebrow can result in finger-wagging and accusations of hatred. And so the sight of a cross-dressing man is something that we must find both absurd and amusing, and, simultaneously, not at all funny.

It’s a tricky manoeuvre. I mean, do we chuckle or not?

And what about this sinewy nymph?

Answers on a postcard, please.

The secret life of cats. || I’ll be back. || About bordellos. (h/t, o4p1) || The thrill of barrel relocation. || Pair of 1960s Star Trek Tribbles, $2,000. (h/t, Things) || Her thighs are too powerful, you see. || Some gentle sponging may be needed. || Today’s word is influencer. || Question asked. || Dining scenes. || Adornment. || Fair point. A reply in the comments. || Plot twist. || Caption competition. || Spraying scenes. More to come, I suspect. || The progressive retail experience, parts 505(a), 505(b), 505(c), 505(d), and 505(e). || “The modern university is the primary laboratory for the Cluster B pathologies.” See also. || Telling obvious lies. || Meanwhile, in women’s gaming and e-sports news. || How to make Worcestershire Sauce. (h/t, Mark) || Today’s other word is focus. || And finally, fashionably, the thrill of early Eighties hair.

If tempted, you can follow me on X / Twitter.

To register with the blog and thereby enable extra commenting options – including @username mentions and live notifications – scroll down to the black ‘Meta’ box at the very bottom of the page. It’s free and quite painless.