Home » Open thread 1/4/23

Comments

Open thread 1/4/23 — 31 Comments

  1. #MeToo with a twist….
    “‘Romeo and Juliet’ stars launch sex abuse suit against Paramount over 1968 film”—
    https://justthenews.com/nation/culture/romeo-and-juliet-stars-launch-sex-abuse-suit-against-paramount-over-1968-film
    (Franco Zeffirelli was, apparently, unavailable for comment.)
    Alas, poor, poor innocents. Guess they didn’t quite get the ars longa memo….
    (Shouldn’t it be enough for them that they were celebrated on this very blog, um—how many years back was it?)
    Though it’s quite possible that they only recently looked into the mirror…and then checked their bank accounts…and then said to themselves (in the most convincing facsimile of righteous indignation they could muster): “We may be actors but we’re no dummies!”
    File under: #WeTwo…

  2. Then I guess in 50 years she’ll try to sue for elderly abuse…

    (OTOH, nah…she wouldn’t hurt a fly…)

  3. We had a cat that would lie on the chair closest to the Christmas tree every year–the only time he wanted to be on that chair. My Basenji/Lab rescue (looked like a pit bull except for the German Shepherd ears) would sleep on the tree skirt under the Christmas tree here at my office. Brings back sweet memories.

  4. Maybe EVs aren’t going to take over the world just yet– Texas has a chain of gas station/roadside convenience stores/eateries called Buc-ee’s that has a beaver logo and beaver mascots who greet customers. The owner’s nickname is “Beaver,” given him by his mother after Bucky Beaver, a cartoon rodent used in Ipana toothpaste ads back in the 1950s (heck, I remember the “Brusha, brusha, brusha, new Ipana toothpaste” jingle). Buc-ee’s boasts the largest gas station in the world and the longest car wash– but no mention of charging stations. Buc-ee’s is now expanding beyond Texas– lovers of Texas barbecue should welcome that.

    The owner emphasizes that Buc-ee’s bathrooms are large as well as hospital-clean– and refreshingly, no mention of the transgender wars:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbV4XWpfMyE&ab_channel=CBSSundayMorning

  5. A Buc-ee’s opened in my area (another Southern state) a year or two ago. I had never heard of it and didn’t understand why a lot of people seemed to be excited about it. I didn’t know about the barbecue.:-) It’s about 30 miles from me but sometime when I’m over that way I may check it out. But then I have good barbecue much closer.

    “Brusha, brusha, brusha….” Oh no. I remember it too, along with who knows how many commercial jingles from that time. “You’ll wonder where the yellow went….” I did not remember the beaver, though, or any visual. Just the *(&^% jingle.

  6. My brother and his family went to one for the first time on a trip back from down south last year. They all rave about it. I don’t recall seeing one on any of my trips west. I only drove through the panhandle of Texas and perhaps they haven’t expanded there yet.

  7. Another open-thread comment about something I read.

    “Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch a version of Bing that uses ChatGPT to answer search queries. ‘The Information’ reports that Microsoft hopes to launch the new feature before the end of March in a bid to make Bing more competitive with Google. By using the technology behind ChatGPT — which is built by AI company OpenAI — Bing could provide more humanlike answers to questions instead of just links to information.” (https://tinyurl.com/mw2yp994)

    If you use the Brave browser, you may have noticed that their built-in search engine now has its own AI chatbot analogous to ChatGPT. The results are sometimes comical. So far, that’s the only significant benefit I’ve seen. Even so, the application shows promise. Of what, I’m not sure. Trade-offs abound.

  8. I didn’t know you could domesticate beavers. I thought it was a joke on the old Molson’s commercials.

  9. Since it appears (praise God) that Hamlin will survive, presumably scans will be done to determine if there are any underlying heart problems which may have made Hamlin more vulnerable. I hope he will come out of the sedation with his brain in good working order; he did receive oxygen on the field in addition to the AED shock and rescue breathing, so it’s to be hoped there is no brain damage.

  10. Kate:

    The usual protocol would indicate such tests have already been done. At some point they will probably announce whatever findings there are, but I suppose the degree of privacy would be up to the family at this point.

    To me, it sounds like his prognosis is at least halfway decent, although it remains to be seen. He seems to have gotten prompt resuscitation, fortunately.

  11. His survival so far is a good sign. Yes, they probably have already done tests. Announcing the results would be up to the player and his family. And, maybe, the football team.

  12. Ye-ye keeps killing me. I’m on a Francoise Hardy kick and “Ton Meilleur Ami — Your Best Friend” is on repeat.

    –“Ton meilleur ami ( 1962 ) – Françoise Hardy – Lyrics”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_evKxWHx3Q

    The female narrator is telling her lover that his best friend keeps hounding her how he, the best friend, loves her and his life would be meaningless without her.

    She brushes the best friend off, telling him he is wasting his time. She loves her lover and her life would be meaningless etc.

    A straightforward happy ending?

    Maybe. But I swear I read this deeper.

    The narrator is being tested. The best friend is a go-between from her lover, confessing his deep love while testing her love at the same time. But the narrator has cracked the code, let him know that she understands and she indeed loves him.

    Ah. … the French.

  13. When we lived in Texas, we drove past a Buc-ees every trip into town.
    I would say “large” but there are no “small” stores.
    Apparently, ours would now rate as just medium-sized.

    https://babylonbee.com/news/bucc-ee-beaver-announces-run-for-texas-governor

    If you haven’t been following the Babylon Bee series “Californians Move to Texas” you should start with Episode 1.
    https://babylonbee.com/video/californians-adjust-to-new-life-in-texas

    If you have, then enjoy seeing the Buc-ees Episode 5 again.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsImFkLdE4A

    Out-takes and extended cuts!
    https://babylonbee.com/app-search

  14. That was the funniest video I seen in awhile.
    Was eating and almost choked from laughing and had to stop it until I was done.

  15. The beaver was adorable, and it’s nice to see that even orphaned infant animals know what they are supposed to do, but I wondered what he was building the dam FOR, and why in that location.
    I did admire his construction technique, which is very similar to three-year-olds building bunk-bed forts.

  16. Re: Dalida / Mireille Mathieu

    Le Mot Juste:

    I had heard of these singers, but not listened. I’m a beginner. Indeed their renditions are queenly, soaring and “La Mer” est une superbe opportunité. I love the French chanteuse tradition. Thanks.

    I just discovered a new French singer in her 20s covering the Francoise Hardy classic, “Tous les garcons et les filles.” Her stage name, “Pomme”, is apple in English.

    –Pomme, “Tous les garcons et les filles — All the Boys and Girls” (2019)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eDXPMqlxxc

    The lyrics are presented in French and English with marvelous backdrops from French graphic novels.

  17. Here’s the ending of “Tous les garcons et les filles”:
    ______________________

    Le jour où je n’aurai plus du tout l’âme en peine
    Le jour où moi aussi j’aurai quelqu’un qui m’aime.

    The day that I will no longer be a lost soul
    They day that I, too, will have someone who loves me

    ______________________

    Swoon.

  18. Beavers.
    They mate for life and their kids build dens nearby.
    That’s why I wear mink!

  19. British oncologist on immune suppression post boosters.

    This will be paywalled in 72 hours. Open to all now.

    https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/01/05/covid-boosters-trigger-metastasis.aspx?ui=bf743dbd850f6d1916918cb0ab1f8d582871f2d67e92afc4cfc5ba6045399c91&sd=20220128&cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1ReadMore&cid=20230105&cid=DM1321022&bid=1686981687

    Mercola is not a crazy man. Nor are the people he features.
    He’s been right –on just about every thing. I can’t think of anything re: Covid or the injections that hasn’t been accurate.
    Plus, he is one of the first suppressed, per Twitter files!
    Disparaged with great regularity by the leftist MSM still.

    (It’s not that we are so far right–it’s that so far, we are right.). 😉

    Multiple studies in peer reviewed journals in the past two years have reported immune suppression that can lead to less cancer surveillance. (Again–this was PREDICTED by educated, experienced SUPPRESSED individuals, who cautioned/protested against mass injections, and especially of young people.)

  20. lee:

    I’ve read a lot of those articles, and the ones I’ve read don’t say what the vaccine skeptics say they say. They mention (for example) one type of immunity that is somewhat suppressed and that theoretically might have adverse effects, but no such effects have actually been found. I don’t just read what other people say the research says; I read the research itself, long form.

  21. My favorite old TV ad jingle, for Winston cigarettes:

    “It’s not how long you make it, it’s how you make it long”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>