neonvincent (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
neonvincent) wrote2018-01-03 11:21 am
neonvincent) wrote2018-01-03 11:21 am
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Saved comments from December 2017
Once again, I'm using my Dreamwidth journal as an attic for my main blog. Today, I'm storing comments I left last month on other blogs, which I plan on mining as raw material for my blog entries in the near future. Today, the featured comment is an entire blog entry, Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 44
At his request, I'm filling in for Don Durito this week. While I promise to keep the music and booze flowing, I am putting my own touch on the party while I'm the host.
Don Durito and I both share a love for 1980s rock music, but that's not what I have in mind this week. Instead, I'm going to indulge my love of movie music by featuring this year's nominated songs (so far) from environmental and political movies at the Grammys, Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and Golden Globes.
"Moana" was one of two feature films nominated by the Environmental Media Association as having an environmental theme worth recognizing, so I'm considering the Grammy nominated song How Far I'll Go to be from an environmental movie. Who am I to argue with the EMA? If nothing else, the CGI scenery is pretty.
"An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" won the Documentary Film award from the EMA. Al Gore also won an award for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, so its theme song, "Truth to Power" by OneRepublic (perfect band name, if nothing else) comes next.
The cafe/bar is open
In keeping with the environmental theme, tonight's drink is Earth Day Ocean Water.
Comments
Here's the video.
The problem is that YouTube recently added the attributes gesture="media" and allow="encrypted-media" to its embed code, which the software here does not like. They have to be deleted by hand to get the video to embed.
BTW, cool song choice and a surprisingly good movie. In addition to being nominated for Best Comedy Film of the year by Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics' Choice), the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Saturn Awards) nominated it for Best Action/Adventure Film. It worked as well as a spy movie as it did a comedy.
"Can you show me a before and after example?"
Here is the text of the unedited embed code of the next video I'm going to post:
iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GhY7qXGx-0" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen
This is the edited text:
iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GhY7qXGx-0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen
The tags 'gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media"' plus one space either before or after have been deleted so there is only one space between frameborder="0" and allowfullscreen.
Unfortunately, I can't embed the video, Andra Day - Stand Up For Something feat. Common [Official Music Video].
Thank you. Looking forward to posting another of these when the software issues are fixed (I can't imagine one of these without music videos).
I use Firefox to post here and had no problems posting videos until yesterday. Now, I get a similar kind of message when I try to post embedded videos.
Now let's see if this will embed.
Thanks plus Merlin and Vortigern as a mythic archetype
Welcome back to Dreamwidth! Both your most recent blog post and this entry are demonstrations that you do grant reader requests, in this case, mine. Thank you.
As for the topic of the entry, I'll note that much is made of The Hero's Journey in myth and legend. That is the story of the quest for the Holy Grail, if not of Arthur himself. However, the authors of "The Fourth Turning" note there are other archetypal tales. Merlin's interaction with Vortigern is one of those they use as an example of the Prophet's Journey. It's on page 77.
They also have stories about Nomads (Rogues) like Aladdin and Artists (Good Children) like the Little Dutch Boy, which are on page 77 and 78. There is more than one way to live a noteworthy life in myth and legend.
My comment on SPP Vol.642 & Old Time Froggy Botttom Cafe
Venturing beyond Utah, here is "National Parks from the air," although there is still a clip of Bryce Canyon in the video.
My comments on Vox on minor parties, pro and con.
To turn both the House and Senate completely over to proportional representation, you're right; it would require a constitutional amendment. However, there is nothing in the Constitution preventing individual states from selecting their U.S. Representatives this way. What might stand in the way of that is the Voting Rights Act, which places restrictions on multi-member districts. Matthew Yglesias addresses this in the Vox article by hand-waving it away.
I'm glad you did your part to help this diary entry catch on by recommending it. The second part did catch on elsewhere. I shared a link to the original post on my personal blog at the Join the Coffee Party Movement page on Facebook three days ago and it earned 12,281 page views from it. It's now the single most-read entry on my blog ever!
Yglesias and others at Vox have come to the conclusion that parliamentary systems are more stable in the long run and better expressions of democracy than our President-Congress system, so I'm not surprised that they're advocating for a reform that works better in a parliament than a our legislative bodies. That written, having multiple parties that have to form coalitions to govern can have suboptimal results and more short-term instability. Our system requires that coalitions form before elections, not afterwards.
As for a constitutional convention, that could be a disaster, so I'm not advocating for one of those!
My comment on Trump decrees the downsizing of two national monuments in Utah.
Thinking of this action as part of imposing the Shock Doctrine didn't occur to me, so my hat's off to you for proposing that. I just considered it to be an anti-environmental move pandering to part of Trump's base by a person who is known for being both anti-environment and a panderer to America's worst impulses. As for the rationale, you're right; it isn't based on any objective basis in the economy. Instead, it's a matter of opportunity (GOP control of all branches of the federal government for the first time since 2006) plus a crisis mentality arising from irrational considerations (the psychic wound common among white racists of having a nonwhite President). Just the same, the results of Shock Doctrine on the U.S. will be devastating, which might be the point. This will hurt Democratic constituencies and interests, and at least a few Republicans acknowledge this.
As for this influencing future U.S. foreign policy for the better, we'll see.
My comment on Flynn To the Wolves? Which Pack? There Are More than One In This Dark Forest..
There was no "Midweek Cafe and Lounge" posted this week and I so missed posting my wine, women, and song videos in the comments to those diaries that I'm going to grace your diary entry with videos inspired by your title.* First, some wine (or booze) and a woman in two videos about drinks with wolf in their names, beginning with Wolf's Bite from Tipsy Bartender.
My comment on SPP/Froggy Bottom Lounge Vol.643.
Utah landscape video with action
I'm celebrating the completion of your painting with a lively video with Utah landscapes as a background.
Looking forward to your next painting.
My comment on Eleventh-hour activism.
I'm an officer and Director of Coffee Party USA, which is on Facebook as Join the Coffee Party Movement. The organization opposes the tax bill, especially the repeal of the "Johnson Amendment," which prevents nonprofits from partisan activity. The Coffee Party opposes unlimited and unregulated dark money in elections and politics and the repeal of the "Johnson Amendment" will result in more of it. The last thing the Coffee Party wants is more dark money sloshing around. On behalf of the organization, I signed a "community letter in support of nonpartisanship" for nonprofits. It's a small action, but at least it's something.
My comments on Conyers resigns, setting up scramble for his seat.
Thanks for reminding me of his part in "Fahrenheit 911." That was one of his best moments in the 21st Century. That written, we agree that it was past time for him to go and let someone else represent Detroit. Unfortunately, that won't happen for nearly a year as the special primary election for Conyers' seat won't happen until August and the general election next November. I'd have preferred the primary happen in May and the general election for the seat happen in August. That's still too long, but those are the next available dates for elections of this kind in Michigan.
BTW, I missed you posting a "Midweek Cafe and Lounge" last week so badly I left a "wine, women, and song" comments on one of AG's diaries. I'd rather not do that. Will you be posting one this week? If not, may I post one for you?
Sure, I'll post one this week while you and your family get well. I have the theme, music, and videos already picked out.
Cool! I wouldn't mind becoming a rotating host for the lounge. I like being both DJ and bartender. May I be worthy of both.
(This is where the featured comment would have gone if I hadn't moved it.)
My comment on An attack ad, drink, and song for today's special Senate election in Alabama.
I'll drink to Jones winning, too.
My comment(s) on Clapper Refocuses the Russian Investigation
No, the real-life Marie Antoinette in this Adminstration is Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's wife Louis Linton, who actually played Marie Antoinette on an episode of CSI:NY.
Perhaps you mean Mata Hari. Unfortunately, when I search for Trump and Mata Hari, I get back images of Melania Trump, who looks the part but almost certainly didn't act it in this case, Ivanka Trump Kushner, who is probably the wrong member of the couple involved in the #TrumpRussia scandal, and Anna Chapman, who has been out of NYC so long that she probably didn't have the opportunity, although she fits the profile.
My comment on Trump does not recognize climate change as a national security threat at Booman Tribune.
I hope a solution is found, too. Not being able to post videos is an inconvenience for me, as my default method of writing a diary entry or blog post is to find a video and write around it. A good example is Seth Meyers and The Grio mock animatronic Trump, which would be fun to post here except that it won't work without the embedded videos.
As for the environment, I hear you, but I have to keep sounding the alarm. Speaking of which, I'm wondering who else is a strong environmental voice here at the frog pond, or if I stand out in that regard.
So it looks like I'm occupying a niche that would otherwise be empty. To me, that means that I should keep posting on the subject.
"There are a number of factors that serve as possible predictors for aggression and violence (broadly speaking). Uncomfortable heat is one. I have some awareness of research on that issue."
You mentioned some ironic law of research in psychology earlier this month that made me suspect you have a background in psychology. So does my wife. We might have more to talk about besides music and the environment.
My comment on Midweek Cafe and Lounge is Closed For Now
This makes me sad. Just the same, thanks for the complement on my handling of what is hopefully not the last Midweek Cafe and Lounge. Here's to hoping the problem is solved, although I think it might involve Martin/Booman whitelisting this site, not whitelisting YouTube.
My comment on Video of the day -- peachy!
Thanks for reminding me to follow up on my idea to post Broken Peach songs for Christmas, an idea you approved in the comments to my Halloween post featuring this band. Speaking of which, I've already resolved to post this video, along with next year's Halloween production, in one of my Halloween posts next year. I've already suggested that they cover "Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance wearing these outfits as well as dressing like zombies and covering "Thriller" again. If they do either, I'll be thrilled!
My comment on A Novel Excuse for Lying.
LOL and ick, Pete Hoekstra. I'm embarrassed to admit that he's from Michigan. Worse yet, he served in Congress for 18 years including a stint as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from 2004 to 2007, making him about as Establishment Republican as one gets around here. He came in second to Rick Snyder in the Republican Primary for Governor, as a lot of independents and Democrats crossed over to keep someone they saw as too conservative from winning the nomination. He then ran for U.S. Senate in 2012, losing to Debbie Stabenow. He showed his ass then, as his campaign hired the same ad firm that made the Christine O'Donnell "I am not a witch" spot. They made a commercial that used Chinese ethnic stereotypes and aired during the Super Bowl. It pissed off a lot of people, including a Chinese-American Republican County Commissioner who promptly donated to his primary rival. After that loss, I thought I'd never hear about him again. Ha! He's back!
The worst part is that Hoekstra's not a bad pick for Ambassador to Holland on paper. He was born in Holland, he has governmental experience, he has foreign policy experience, he has Establishment credentials, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, and all kinds of people who look good on paper are disasters in person, Hoekstra included.
My comment on Sander Levin to retire, likely leaving Fred Upton as dean of Michigan's Congressional delegation at Booman Tribune.
I'll do my best to consider the choices available and pick the best one from among them. After all, I get to vote in both the primary and general. And, yes, it's time for a changing of the guard here in Michigan. This will happen on both the state and federal level here next year, as all state offices are up for election, from state House of Representatives to the Governor.
Good luck to all the Democratic candidates down there in your red state, especially in your district.
My comment on
Happy Festivus, time for airing of grievances and feats of strength! Today, I'm going to recycle last year's theme, airing grievances about Donald Trump. Last year, it was Keith Olbermann. This year, it's Vox. Without any further ado, here is How Trump makes extreme things look normal (click on link to watch video).
It may not be up to Keith's level of high dudgeon, but it's still quite the airing of grievances. Speaking of Keith, he has stated he's retiring from political commentary. That's quite a loss for his fans, including me, as well as the country. So concludes the airing of my grievances for today.
Modified from Vox airs its grievances about Trump for Festivus 2017 at Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
My comment on Seth Meyers, The Grio, and various Tweeters mock Disney's animatronic Trump
I haven't been to Disney World since 2003 and had been there only once before in 1994 or 1995. I grew up in southern California and lived in Anaheim during 1988-1989, so I was visited Disneyland a lot. There, the attraction was Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which I first saw at the World's Fair in New York as a little boy. Yes, I'm that old. At least at Disneyland, there is no room for Trump.
So we both used to live in southern California? Small world (and not the ride with the earworm as background music)!
I saw that post. Good thing I've had a European Tribune account since 2008. Now I have a reason to use it.
My comment on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 45
I had a feeling the pre-iframe YouTube embed code would work and it looks like you have recreated it.
Now let's see if this will embed.
(Not here, as the iframe embed code is required. The old YouTube embed code won't work on Dreamwidth.)
Since you posted music from a post-apocalyptic science fiction film, (in fact, the Best Science Fiction Film of 2006 at the Saturn Awards, beating "V for Vendetta," a song from which you posted in the comments), I am sharing two drink recipes for apocalypse, beginning with one for The Fake Mayan Doomsday of 2012 from Tipsy Bartender, Mayan Hot Chocolate.
The bartender is taking requests.
My comments on The most honored political documentaries of 2017 examine crime, injustice, and the Syrian Civil War,
For me, the movie I want to watch about our shared former hometown (or at least, metro area) would be "LA 92," which won an Emmy already and beat two Oscar winners. The rest on my list are the ones that have science in them. Fortunately for me, I had already left southern California for Michigan by that time, but I was watching the news intently. I was not surprised that there was a violent reaction. I was only surprised by how widespread and intense it was.
As for the other films I want to view, I've already said I will be watching both "Chasing Coral" and "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" for work to see which one I want to show to my students. The rest will mostly be those that have either science or art as themes, "Jane," "Ex Libris," "Faces, Places," "Icarus," "Long Strange Trip," "Rat Film," and "Unrest." The one exception is "Abacus," which is also on my watch list. That will certainly be nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary and is already my favorite to win. I plan on blogging about it more when those nominations are announced next fall.
That's sad to read, but I don't have to travel back to L.A. to see that. I live in the suburbs of Detroit and, if anything, racial and economic inequality is even more pronounced here. The only difference is that since the bankruptcy, I'm seeing progress, at least in terms of increasing racial tolerance, if not harmony, and an economic revitalization of Detroit, even if it's not widespread.
I'm friends with David Neiwert on Facebook and have been reading Orcinus for nearly a decade, so I'm very familiar with his work. As for making a documentary out of his latest book, that's not a bad idea. Unfortunately, while I know a couple of documentary film makers, they're not speaking to me any more. However, I might suggest to Neiwert that he approach them.
Great, now I actually have to follow through. That's some New Year's Resolution!
My comment on ‘Star crossed lovers’ circa 2018: are revenues and expenditures the Romeo and Juliet of our time?
Bravo! You did an outstanding job of explaining the tax cut using a Coffee Party voice with a Coffee Party point of view. You did better than I did on at least the second part, as I just repurposed a post I was already going to write about the timing of the next recession. I just pointed how destructive the tax could would be from an economic perspective; you pointed out the immorality, cognitive dissonance, and psychological unhealthiness of it. Then again, that's why several of us are undertaking this common project, so we can present multiple perspectives.
https://crazyeddiethemotie.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-tax-bill-and-us-economy-in-2018-and.html
As for invoking "Romeo and Juliet," it reminds me of the line from the play quoted multiple times in the HBO series "Westworld": These violent delights have violent ends. I hope that isn't the case with these tax cuts.
My comment on Link round-up for 31 December 2017.
You linked to me four times -- that's a record. Thank you, I'm flattered! I guess I have been doing something useful while on vacation.
You've convinced me to follow several people you linked to, Vagabond Scholar, Beyond the Trailer, and Dangerville. You told me about Vagabond Scholar last year, but I didn't follow through. As for Beyond the Trailer and Dangerville, they're even better than Hybrid Network, which you also introduced me to.
As someone who blogs about science fiction and the decline of civilization, thank you for linking to that mini-review of "The Three-Body Problem." Now I'll have to write about it.
I suspect Milo Y. was more interested in insulting people he didn't like than writing a good book. The book was just his excuse for being a jerk. Speaking of which, my wife and I watched him on "Real Time with Bill Maher" earlier this year and were not impressed. We both used to be master trolls on Usenet (we're now retired) and we thought "this is what a great troll is these days? What a punk!"
Finally, Nonnie is always a hoot!
With that, Happy New Year!
My comment on What happened to transcendence?
Even during the 1970s, when what became New Age was still in part the Human Potential Movement, there were already people trying to strip the mysticism out of it. In particular, I'm thinking of Werner Erhard, who founded EST. According to the biography of his that I read, he cobbled it together out of Zen Buddhism and Scientology and geared it to making people better adjusted to their lives and work instead of helping them seek the divine. Of course, that reminds me of the J. Krishnamurti quote, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
"[N]ot Whole Paycheck, there's one of those too but I'd sooner trim my ears with a cheese grater than put up with the pretentious snots who shop there, with their 'Out of the way, peasant!' attitudes." That's one of the problems my wife and I have with the shoppers at the nearest one in the northwestern Detroit suburbs. My wife finds them rude. She's from Chicago, where the people are friendlier than Detroit. I'm from L.A. and grew up in a neighborhood very similar to the one around that store. I'm kind of used to the attitude. Not all stores in the chain are like that. The one in Midtown Detroit has a much more pleasant clientele.
Next up, the top posts of December 2017 on Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
At his request, I'm filling in for Don Durito this week. While I promise to keep the music and booze flowing, I am putting my own touch on the party while I'm the host.
Don Durito and I both share a love for 1980s rock music, but that's not what I have in mind this week. Instead, I'm going to indulge my love of movie music by featuring this year's nominated songs (so far) from environmental and political movies at the Grammys, Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and Golden Globes.
"Moana" was one of two feature films nominated by the Environmental Media Association as having an environmental theme worth recognizing, so I'm considering the Grammy nominated song How Far I'll Go to be from an environmental movie. Who am I to argue with the EMA? If nothing else, the CGI scenery is pretty.
Music video by Auli'i Cravalho performing How Far I'll Go. (C) 2016 Walt Disney Records"Chasing Coral" and "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" both had their original songs nominated at the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. Both movies were also nominated by the EMA in the documentary film category. "Chasing Coral" didn't win, so its theme song, Tell Me How Long Music Video Feat. Kristen Bell goes first.
Kristen Bell performs "Tell Me How Long" from the new film Chasing Coral, now streaming on Netflix.The scenery is just as pretty and here it's real.
Music & Lyrics by Dan Romer and Teddy Geiger
"An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" won the Documentary Film award from the EMA. Al Gore also won an award for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, so its theme song, "Truth to Power" by OneRepublic (perfect band name, if nothing else) comes next.
Music video by OneRepublic performing Truth To Power. (C) 2017 Mosley Music/Interscope RecordsI'll post the nominated songs from non-environmental political movies in the comments. I'm looking forward to your favorite movie music in the comments, too.
The cafe/bar is open
In keeping with the environmental theme, tonight's drink is Earth Day Ocean Water.
1 ½ oz. (45ml) Coconut VodkaThe bartender is now taking requests.
¾ oz. (22ml) Blue Curacao
½ oz. (15ml) Lemon Juice
2 oz. (60ml) Lemon Lime Soda
Lime Peel
PREPARATION
1. To an ice filled glass add coconut vodka, blue curacao, lemon juice and lemon lime soda. Stir well to mix. Set aside.
2. Using scissors or a small knife roughly cut the shapes of the continents out of lime peel. Place shapes inside a round glass and pack with crushed ice.
3. Pour mix into glass and serve. Enjoy responsibly!
Comments
Here's the video.
The problem is that YouTube recently added the attributes gesture="media" and allow="encrypted-media" to its embed code, which the software here does not like. They have to be deleted by hand to get the video to embed.
BTW, cool song choice and a surprisingly good movie. In addition to being nominated for Best Comedy Film of the year by Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics' Choice), the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Saturn Awards) nominated it for Best Action/Adventure Film. It worked as well as a spy movie as it did a comedy.
"Can you show me a before and after example?"
Here is the text of the unedited embed code of the next video I'm going to post:
iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GhY7qXGx-0" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen
This is the edited text:
iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GhY7qXGx-0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen
The tags 'gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media"' plus one space either before or after have been deleted so there is only one space between frameborder="0" and allowfullscreen.
Unfortunately, I can't embed the video, Andra Day - Stand Up For Something feat. Common [Official Music Video].
"Stand Up For Something" by Andra Day feat. Common. Written by Diane Warren and Lonnie Lynn, from the original soundtrack to the motion picture "Marshall", in theaters Oct. 13, 2017.This song has been nominated at both the Grammys and the Critics' Choice Movie Awards. I expect it will be nominated for an Oscar.
Thank you. Looking forward to posting another of these when the software issues are fixed (I can't imagine one of these without music videos).
I use Firefox to post here and had no problems posting videos until yesterday. Now, I get a similar kind of message when I try to post embedded videos.
Now let's see if this will embed.
"Stand Up For Something" by Andra Day feat. Common. Written by Diane Warren and Lonnie Lynn, from the original soundtrack to the motion picture "Marshall", in theaters Oct. 13, 2017.My comment on The Prose Merlin in Middle English
Thanks plus Merlin and Vortigern as a mythic archetype
Welcome back to Dreamwidth! Both your most recent blog post and this entry are demonstrations that you do grant reader requests, in this case, mine. Thank you.
As for the topic of the entry, I'll note that much is made of The Hero's Journey in myth and legend. That is the story of the quest for the Holy Grail, if not of Arthur himself. However, the authors of "The Fourth Turning" note there are other archetypal tales. Merlin's interaction with Vortigern is one of those they use as an example of the Prophet's Journey. It's on page 77.
They also have stories about Nomads (Rogues) like Aladdin and Artists (Good Children) like the Little Dutch Boy, which are on page 77 and 78. There is more than one way to live a noteworthy life in myth and legend.
My comment on SPP Vol.642 & Old Time Froggy Botttom Cafe
Venturing beyond Utah, here is "National Parks from the air," although there is still a clip of Bryce Canyon in the video.
"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave." We hope you celebrate National Parks week by spending this weekend in nature! National Park, State Park, anywhere, but get out there. This video was created by Neftali Loria Bonilla in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Parks service, filmmaker Neftali Loria Bonilla traveled over 10,000 miles across the US enduring extreme weather conditions to capture these beautiful landscapes.
My comments on Vox on minor parties, pro and con.
To turn both the House and Senate completely over to proportional representation, you're right; it would require a constitutional amendment. However, there is nothing in the Constitution preventing individual states from selecting their U.S. Representatives this way. What might stand in the way of that is the Voting Rights Act, which places restrictions on multi-member districts. Matthew Yglesias addresses this in the Vox article by hand-waving it away.
Questions about representation for ethnic minority groups or communities of interest are taken care of exactly the way they should be — from the bottom up by voters and parties. If Latinos want to vote for fellow Latinos, then they will end up being represented by Latinos in proportion to their numbers. Or if Latino identity loses salience relative to other factors (ideology, geography, socioeconomic class, whatever) they won’t be.I'm not that sure it will be quite that easy, but at least he's not completely ignoring the issue.
I'm glad you did your part to help this diary entry catch on by recommending it. The second part did catch on elsewhere. I shared a link to the original post on my personal blog at the Join the Coffee Party Movement page on Facebook three days ago and it earned 12,281 page views from it. It's now the single most-read entry on my blog ever!
Yglesias and others at Vox have come to the conclusion that parliamentary systems are more stable in the long run and better expressions of democracy than our President-Congress system, so I'm not surprised that they're advocating for a reform that works better in a parliament than a our legislative bodies. That written, having multiple parties that have to form coalitions to govern can have suboptimal results and more short-term instability. Our system requires that coalitions form before elections, not afterwards.
As for a constitutional convention, that could be a disaster, so I'm not advocating for one of those!
My comment on Trump decrees the downsizing of two national monuments in Utah.
Thinking of this action as part of imposing the Shock Doctrine didn't occur to me, so my hat's off to you for proposing that. I just considered it to be an anti-environmental move pandering to part of Trump's base by a person who is known for being both anti-environment and a panderer to America's worst impulses. As for the rationale, you're right; it isn't based on any objective basis in the economy. Instead, it's a matter of opportunity (GOP control of all branches of the federal government for the first time since 2006) plus a crisis mentality arising from irrational considerations (the psychic wound common among white racists of having a nonwhite President). Just the same, the results of Shock Doctrine on the U.S. will be devastating, which might be the point. This will hurt Democratic constituencies and interests, and at least a few Republicans acknowledge this.
As for this influencing future U.S. foreign policy for the better, we'll see.
My comment on Flynn To the Wolves? Which Pack? There Are More than One In This Dark Forest..
There was no "Midweek Cafe and Lounge" posted this week and I so missed posting my wine, women, and song videos in the comments to those diaries that I'm going to grace your diary entry with videos inspired by your title.* First, some wine (or booze) and a woman in two videos about drinks with wolf in their names, beginning with Wolf's Bite from Tipsy Bartender.
This Absinthe based shot is called, "The Wolf's Bite." It's colorful, tasty and very potent.Next, a similar drink with the same two hosts, Wolf Pack Venom from Tipsy Bartender.
...
WOLF'S BITE
1 oz. (30ml) Absinthe
1 oz. (30ml) Midori Melon Liqueur
1 1/2 oz. (45ml) Pineapple Juice
Lemon Lime Soda
Splash of Grenadine
It's colorful, delicious and loaded with booze...THE WOLFPACK VENOM!Now for the song and another woman (so I can truly say wine, women, and song), Wolves by Selena Gomez and Marshmello.
...
WOLF PACK VENOM
1 oz. (30ml) Hennessy
1 oz. (30ml) Hpnotiq
1/2 oz. (25ml) Midori Melon Liqueur
1 oz. (30ml) Orange Juice
Splash of Grenadine
Music video by Selena Gomez, Marshmello performing Wolves.
*Feeling flattered, AG?
(AG replied that he was bored.)
My comment on SPP/Froggy Bottom Lounge Vol.643.
Utah landscape video with action
I'm celebrating the completion of your painting with a lively video with Utah landscapes as a background.
Looking forward to your next painting.
My comment on Eleventh-hour activism.
I'm an officer and Director of Coffee Party USA, which is on Facebook as Join the Coffee Party Movement. The organization opposes the tax bill, especially the repeal of the "Johnson Amendment," which prevents nonprofits from partisan activity. The Coffee Party opposes unlimited and unregulated dark money in elections and politics and the repeal of the "Johnson Amendment" will result in more of it. The last thing the Coffee Party wants is more dark money sloshing around. On behalf of the organization, I signed a "community letter in support of nonpartisanship" for nonprofits. It's a small action, but at least it's something.
My comments on Conyers resigns, setting up scramble for his seat.
Thanks for reminding me of his part in "Fahrenheit 911." That was one of his best moments in the 21st Century. That written, we agree that it was past time for him to go and let someone else represent Detroit. Unfortunately, that won't happen for nearly a year as the special primary election for Conyers' seat won't happen until August and the general election next November. I'd have preferred the primary happen in May and the general election for the seat happen in August. That's still too long, but those are the next available dates for elections of this kind in Michigan.
BTW, I missed you posting a "Midweek Cafe and Lounge" last week so badly I left a "wine, women, and song" comments on one of AG's diaries. I'd rather not do that. Will you be posting one this week? If not, may I post one for you?
Sure, I'll post one this week while you and your family get well. I have the theme, music, and videos already picked out.
Cool! I wouldn't mind becoming a rotating host for the lounge. I like being both DJ and bartender. May I be worthy of both.
(This is where the featured comment would have gone if I hadn't moved it.)
My comment on An attack ad, drink, and song for today's special Senate election in Alabama.
I'll drink to Jones winning, too.
My comment(s) on Clapper Refocuses the Russian Investigation
No, the real-life Marie Antoinette in this Adminstration is Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's wife Louis Linton, who actually played Marie Antoinette on an episode of CSI:NY.
In a turn of events that is almost too good to be true, it appears that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Marie Antoinette-ish wife Louise Linton once literally played Marie Antoinette on TV.
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Linton literally played a woman who attends a costume party dressed as Marie Antoinette in a 2007 episode of CSI: NY. Linton's costumed character unfortunately meets an untimely end via guillotine in the episode and, in an even weirder turn of events, the person who ushers her to her demise is none other than a pre-fame Shailene Woodley...
Perhaps you mean Mata Hari. Unfortunately, when I search for Trump and Mata Hari, I get back images of Melania Trump, who looks the part but almost certainly didn't act it in this case, Ivanka Trump Kushner, who is probably the wrong member of the couple involved in the #TrumpRussia scandal, and Anna Chapman, who has been out of NYC so long that she probably didn't have the opportunity, although she fits the profile.
My comment on Trump does not recognize climate change as a national security threat at Booman Tribune.
I hope a solution is found, too. Not being able to post videos is an inconvenience for me, as my default method of writing a diary entry or blog post is to find a video and write around it. A good example is Seth Meyers and The Grio mock animatronic Trump, which would be fun to post here except that it won't work without the embedded videos.
As for the environment, I hear you, but I have to keep sounding the alarm. Speaking of which, I'm wondering who else is a strong environmental voice here at the frog pond, or if I stand out in that regard.
So it looks like I'm occupying a niche that would otherwise be empty. To me, that means that I should keep posting on the subject.
"There are a number of factors that serve as possible predictors for aggression and violence (broadly speaking). Uncomfortable heat is one. I have some awareness of research on that issue."
You mentioned some ironic law of research in psychology earlier this month that made me suspect you have a background in psychology. So does my wife. We might have more to talk about besides music and the environment.
My comment on Midweek Cafe and Lounge is Closed For Now
This makes me sad. Just the same, thanks for the complement on my handling of what is hopefully not the last Midweek Cafe and Lounge. Here's to hoping the problem is solved, although I think it might involve Martin/Booman whitelisting this site, not whitelisting YouTube.
My comment on Video of the day -- peachy!
Thanks for reminding me to follow up on my idea to post Broken Peach songs for Christmas, an idea you approved in the comments to my Halloween post featuring this band. Speaking of which, I've already resolved to post this video, along with next year's Halloween production, in one of my Halloween posts next year. I've already suggested that they cover "Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance wearing these outfits as well as dressing like zombies and covering "Thriller" again. If they do either, I'll be thrilled!
My comment on A Novel Excuse for Lying.
LOL and ick, Pete Hoekstra. I'm embarrassed to admit that he's from Michigan. Worse yet, he served in Congress for 18 years including a stint as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from 2004 to 2007, making him about as Establishment Republican as one gets around here. He came in second to Rick Snyder in the Republican Primary for Governor, as a lot of independents and Democrats crossed over to keep someone they saw as too conservative from winning the nomination. He then ran for U.S. Senate in 2012, losing to Debbie Stabenow. He showed his ass then, as his campaign hired the same ad firm that made the Christine O'Donnell "I am not a witch" spot. They made a commercial that used Chinese ethnic stereotypes and aired during the Super Bowl. It pissed off a lot of people, including a Chinese-American Republican County Commissioner who promptly donated to his primary rival. After that loss, I thought I'd never hear about him again. Ha! He's back!
The worst part is that Hoekstra's not a bad pick for Ambassador to Holland on paper. He was born in Holland, he has governmental experience, he has foreign policy experience, he has Establishment credentials, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, and all kinds of people who look good on paper are disasters in person, Hoekstra included.
My comment on Sander Levin to retire, likely leaving Fred Upton as dean of Michigan's Congressional delegation at Booman Tribune.
I'll do my best to consider the choices available and pick the best one from among them. After all, I get to vote in both the primary and general. And, yes, it's time for a changing of the guard here in Michigan. This will happen on both the state and federal level here next year, as all state offices are up for election, from state House of Representatives to the Governor.
Good luck to all the Democratic candidates down there in your red state, especially in your district.
My comment on
Happy Festivus, time for airing of grievances and feats of strength! Today, I'm going to recycle last year's theme, airing grievances about Donald Trump. Last year, it was Keith Olbermann. This year, it's Vox. Without any further ado, here is How Trump makes extreme things look normal (click on link to watch video).
The scariest part of Trump's first year as president isn't how abnormal he is, it's how normal he makes everything else look by comparison.
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“Don’t normalize this” has become a kind of rallying cry during President Trump’s first year in office -- a reminder to not get too acclimated to Trump’s norm-breaking and erratic behavior. But the real danger of the Trump presidency might have less to do with Trump’s abnormality and more to do with how “normal” he makes other Republicans look by comparison. And the concept of the “Overton Window” helps explain why our politics and media might be warped long after Trump’s presidency comes to an end.
It may not be up to Keith's level of high dudgeon, but it's still quite the airing of grievances. Speaking of Keith, he has stated he's retiring from political commentary. That's quite a loss for his fans, including me, as well as the country. So concludes the airing of my grievances for today.
Modified from Vox airs its grievances about Trump for Festivus 2017 at Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
My comment on Seth Meyers, The Grio, and various Tweeters mock Disney's animatronic Trump
I haven't been to Disney World since 2003 and had been there only once before in 1994 or 1995. I grew up in southern California and lived in Anaheim during 1988-1989, so I was visited Disneyland a lot. There, the attraction was Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which I first saw at the World's Fair in New York as a little boy. Yes, I'm that old. At least at Disneyland, there is no room for Trump.
So we both used to live in southern California? Small world (and not the ride with the earworm as background music)!
I saw that post. Good thing I've had a European Tribune account since 2008. Now I have a reason to use it.
My comment on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 45
I had a feeling the pre-iframe YouTube embed code would work and it looks like you have recreated it.
Now let's see if this will embed.
"Stand Up For Something" by Andra Day feat. Common. Written by Diane Warren and Lonnie Lynn, from the original soundtrack to the motion picture "Marshall", in theaters Oct. 13, 2017.Hah! Success!
(Not here, as the iframe embed code is required. The old YouTube embed code won't work on Dreamwidth.)
Since you posted music from a post-apocalyptic science fiction film, (in fact, the Best Science Fiction Film of 2006 at the Saturn Awards, beating "V for Vendetta," a song from which you posted in the comments), I am sharing two drink recipes for apocalypse, beginning with one for The Fake Mayan Doomsday of 2012 from Tipsy Bartender, Mayan Hot Chocolate.
Get ready for the apocalypse with a.....MAYAN HOT CHOCOLATE!Next, a drink for a more generic Doomsday, Flaming 4 Horsemen of The Apocalypse Shot.
Getting nice and toasty warm as you sit by the fire with a hot chocolate on a cold winter night is the best, and drinking a MAYAN Hot Chocolate will warm you up even faster! We take regular hot chocolate, spike it with brandy and Kahlua, and make it extra chocolatey with cocoa powder. Then we make it extra hot and spicy with cinnamon and chili powder! Finally, we top it with whipped cream and we're all set! This is the perfect drink to enjoy on those cold winter mornings, or nights!
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MAYAN HOT CHOCOLATE
1oz (30ml) Cognac
1oz (30ml) Coffee Liqueur
1 Tbsp Hot Chocolate Powder
1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Chili
Powder Whipped Cream
A potent flaming shot from the depths of hell...THE FLAMING FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE!This may be a bit too on the nose, but hot damn!
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FLAMING 4 HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE SHOT
Jack Daniel's Whiskey
Jim Beam Whiskey
Johnnie Walker Black Scotch Whisky
Jameson Irish Whiskey
Bacardi 151 Rum
The bartender is taking requests.
My comments on The most honored political documentaries of 2017 examine crime, injustice, and the Syrian Civil War,
For me, the movie I want to watch about our shared former hometown (or at least, metro area) would be "LA 92," which won an Emmy already and beat two Oscar winners. The rest on my list are the ones that have science in them. Fortunately for me, I had already left southern California for Michigan by that time, but I was watching the news intently. I was not surprised that there was a violent reaction. I was only surprised by how widespread and intense it was.
As for the other films I want to view, I've already said I will be watching both "Chasing Coral" and "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" for work to see which one I want to show to my students. The rest will mostly be those that have either science or art as themes, "Jane," "Ex Libris," "Faces, Places," "Icarus," "Long Strange Trip," "Rat Film," and "Unrest." The one exception is "Abacus," which is also on my watch list. That will certainly be nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary and is already my favorite to win. I plan on blogging about it more when those nominations are announced next fall.
That's sad to read, but I don't have to travel back to L.A. to see that. I live in the suburbs of Detroit and, if anything, racial and economic inequality is even more pronounced here. The only difference is that since the bankruptcy, I'm seeing progress, at least in terms of increasing racial tolerance, if not harmony, and an economic revitalization of Detroit, even if it's not widespread.
I'm friends with David Neiwert on Facebook and have been reading Orcinus for nearly a decade, so I'm very familiar with his work. As for making a documentary out of his latest book, that's not a bad idea. Unfortunately, while I know a couple of documentary film makers, they're not speaking to me any more. However, I might suggest to Neiwert that he approach them.
Great, now I actually have to follow through. That's some New Year's Resolution!
My comment on ‘Star crossed lovers’ circa 2018: are revenues and expenditures the Romeo and Juliet of our time?
Bravo! You did an outstanding job of explaining the tax cut using a Coffee Party voice with a Coffee Party point of view. You did better than I did on at least the second part, as I just repurposed a post I was already going to write about the timing of the next recession. I just pointed how destructive the tax could would be from an economic perspective; you pointed out the immorality, cognitive dissonance, and psychological unhealthiness of it. Then again, that's why several of us are undertaking this common project, so we can present multiple perspectives.
https://crazyeddiethemotie.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-tax-bill-and-us-economy-in-2018-and.html
As for invoking "Romeo and Juliet," it reminds me of the line from the play quoted multiple times in the HBO series "Westworld": These violent delights have violent ends. I hope that isn't the case with these tax cuts.
My comment on Link round-up for 31 December 2017.
You linked to me four times -- that's a record. Thank you, I'm flattered! I guess I have been doing something useful while on vacation.
You've convinced me to follow several people you linked to, Vagabond Scholar, Beyond the Trailer, and Dangerville. You told me about Vagabond Scholar last year, but I didn't follow through. As for Beyond the Trailer and Dangerville, they're even better than Hybrid Network, which you also introduced me to.
As someone who blogs about science fiction and the decline of civilization, thank you for linking to that mini-review of "The Three-Body Problem." Now I'll have to write about it.
I suspect Milo Y. was more interested in insulting people he didn't like than writing a good book. The book was just his excuse for being a jerk. Speaking of which, my wife and I watched him on "Real Time with Bill Maher" earlier this year and were not impressed. We both used to be master trolls on Usenet (we're now retired) and we thought "this is what a great troll is these days? What a punk!"
Finally, Nonnie is always a hoot!
With that, Happy New Year!
My comment on What happened to transcendence?
Even during the 1970s, when what became New Age was still in part the Human Potential Movement, there were already people trying to strip the mysticism out of it. In particular, I'm thinking of Werner Erhard, who founded EST. According to the biography of his that I read, he cobbled it together out of Zen Buddhism and Scientology and geared it to making people better adjusted to their lives and work instead of helping them seek the divine. Of course, that reminds me of the J. Krishnamurti quote, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
"[N]ot Whole Paycheck, there's one of those too but I'd sooner trim my ears with a cheese grater than put up with the pretentious snots who shop there, with their 'Out of the way, peasant!' attitudes." That's one of the problems my wife and I have with the shoppers at the nearest one in the northwestern Detroit suburbs. My wife finds them rude. She's from Chicago, where the people are friendlier than Detroit. I'm from L.A. and grew up in a neighborhood very similar to the one around that store. I'm kind of used to the attitude. Not all stores in the chain are like that. The one in Midtown Detroit has a much more pleasant clientele.
Next up, the top posts of December 2017 on Crazy Eddie's Motie News.