Saved comments for July 2019
Aug. 1st, 2019 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neonvincentIt's the first day of the new month, so it's time to post the comments I left at other blogs during July.
My comments on Stagecraft.
I hope the Republicans on the committee who will be questioning Mueller use your questions, even if they don't give you credit. I'm sure they will be more intelligent and to the point than any they or their staffs come up with on their own. The exception might be Justin Amash, who would be on the opposite side of the issue.
By the way, a happy drum corps Canada Day to all of your readers from north of the border! I'm sure they're watching the events on this side of the border with emotions ranging from wry amusement to dread.
Last week, I asked that the readers here would wish me luck because it was time to make a couple of drinking games. I got a less than enthusiastic reaction, with at least one reader calling it a distraction. Why, thank you, that's exactly what it was intended to be. It turned out that I found four drinking games already, but no drinks to go along with them. Since I didn't feel like re-inventing the wheel, but also wanted to fill an empty niche, I suggested drinks for all the candidates in the debates, both Wednesday and Thursday. I plan on being a good environmentalist and recycling them for this month's debates in Detroit.
No problem, SoftStarLight. All is forgiven. I'll see about adding Everclear jello shots to the next set of recipes. I think Mike Gravel would be a good candidate for them, pun intended.
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 122.
"Our trusty bartender, Neon Vincent will have some really cool drinks to serve" — that's my cue!
I'm going to take a break from drinks about candidates this week to celebrate the Fourth of July. I begin with WXYZ's July 4th Cocktails, which features red, white, and blue drinks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1OTkFIqlT8
Now, Tipsy Bartender's Three Summer Margaritas, the first of which is a 4th of July Popsickle Margarita.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeAJCkC16es
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V6ooYse_N8
My comment on Ghosts of the Fourth.
I always thought that distinction belonged as much or more to the Battle of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) as it did to Kursk. It doesn't help that Wikipedia lists 11 feature films and documentaries about Stalingrad, one of which, "Enemy at the Gates," I recommend, while searches for movies about Kursk retrieve results about the sunken submarine named after the city, not the battle itself. Ah, the power of pop culture!
Our host brought up the possibility of downtown retail reviving once enough malls and big box stores die out along with globalism. He may have to wait longer than he expects for the Retail Apocalypse to reach that stage, as the new owners of Toys R Us, or at least its name, are planning on bringing the chain back in greatly reduced form. The same is apparently true for RadioShack. The dead, they rise again!
My comment on How I Became Internet Famous in India.
Wow! How long has this been a feature? I've been giving ratings here since the new site opened around the start of May, but this is the first time I've seen my rating become a comment. Of course, this is the first time I've given anything here a full 5, so maybe that's why.
On another note, I've been reading your interactions with your new Indian Twitter followers. I found them fun to read and a good change of pace.
My comment on I Hear That Train a’Comin’.
Hi, K-Dog! The closest we'll likely get to forced redistribution of a leftist sort are higher marginal tax rates if Democrats take control of both Congress and the White House, unless civil forfeitures for crimes, which are becoming less smiled upon, start going after those accused of financial crimes instead of drug crimes. That written, our host's invocation of socialism, which is a wedge issue within the Democratic Party, not a unifying theme, has some merit. Nearly all the Senators and Representatives running for the Democratic nomination are drifting to the left as they campaign, becoming either absolutely or relatively more liberal over the past month according to Voteview's analysis of their votes. The exception is Tulsi Gabbard, who is the one current member of Congress running for President who has moved to her right relative to the Democratic caucus in the House.
As for the current economic system falling apart, I still like my favorite metaphor for it, the Retail Apocalypse. Wired interviewed an expert on retrofitting suburbia for the 21st Century about what to do with dead malls. What she said about the history of suburbia and malls in particular looked a lot like what our host described in "The End of Suburbia." In fact, Wired used some of the same clips to illustrate her answers. Now I wonder if Wired watched the documentary.
My comment on Nemesis Rising.
As soon as I read the title of today's essay, I thought of the Shriekback song "Nemesis," which I consider my personal theme song. It mentions both prehistoric animals and parthenogenesis, which were subjects of my M.S. and Ph.D. research respectively, and is a cool song to boot. I have it playing in the background as I'm typing this.
As for all the talk about the Clintons, especially Hillary, and sex, I'm reminded of what I wrote in Sarah Palin's Naughty Monkey Shoes. Conservatives openly hate and fear Hillary, but I think they secretly lusted for her, too, much as liberals hated, feared, and lusted for Palin. I think both sides would be better off if they admitted their lusts.
My comment on What Looms Behind.
No, the economic weather that's coming over the horizon does not look good. While I agree with our host that the inevitable decline in tight oil production will usher in a repeat of 2007-2014, I suspect the attention of politicians and the media will be focused on a possible calamity that could happen much sooner, the U.S. bumping its head on the debt ceiling, which could happen in less than two months. Nothing like a deadline or an execution to focus one's mind!
As for our host noting "many of the activities enabled by the oil industry are wrecking the planet, not just CO2 emissions, but the plastics and chemical industries especially," we saw some of that earlier this month, as a record heat wave in Europe began summer 2019. I expect a hot summer and the second or third warmest year on record. Stay cool, everyone!
My comment on Progress and Amnesia.
Seven years ago, I wrote "One of the most popular catchphrases for expressing disappointment in the lack of technological progress during the 21st Century is 'Where's my flying car?'" I even featured a news story about the Terrafugia in it and thought at least the rich would get their flying cars. Not even that has happened, along with other technologies science fiction predicted, like personal jetpacks, which you also mentioned, nuclear fusion, and robot armies. We may be closer to getting self-driving cars, another science fiction technology that people are trying to make real, but I recall that you're skeptical about those becoming an everyday reality as well. As for me, I'm working on reducing my driving. As I've mentioned here before, I think that's better than advertising how virtuous my diet is (it's not; being a diabetic limits my options).
"We’ve wasted fifty years pretending that a flying car is going to take us to Tomorrowland" — that reminds me that four years ago, I left a comment at The Archdruid Report about Disney's movie "Tomorrowland." The story was "about how the shiny retro future we were promised 50 years ago is in danger. Disney has no idea." That included the box office, where it lost to "Mad Max: Fury Road." Dystopia outsold optimism, at least in the theaters.
My comments on Final Voyage.
I don't know where you could find a physical copy, other than a someone who deals in rare used books, but there is a PDF of it available online.
As for our host's contention that the Democratic Party is sailing off to disaster, that remains to be seen. I have been monitoring the ideological progress of the Democratic candidates and found that in only one month nineteen of the twenty-six present and former contenders have moved to their left economically, socially, or both. The biggest jump was by Marianne Williamson, who went from Moderate Liberal to Hard-Core Liberal. I'm not surprised. Charlie Pierce wrote on Twitter that her campaign was like a lava lamp running for President.
Thank you, neighbor across the Detroit River, for doing what I couldn't, finding the book for sale on Amazon. I took Pucker's statement of futility at face value so I didn't even look!
Speaking of Amazon, John Oliver examined Amazon warehouses for Prime Day, which was enough to make me feel guilty for being an Amazon Prime customer, but not enough to induce me to convince my wife to cancel our membership. Usually, I worry more about the effects of Amazon on brick-and-mortar retail chains than on its own employees, but Oliver, whose voice is starring in "The Lion King," managed to direct my attention to the employees instead of the employers.
Amazon and online shopping seem to be having an indirect effect on casual dining, too. Dead malls no longer bring in foot traffic, which means the restaurants inside them no longer have customers and they close. Ruby Tuesday relied a lot on mall locations, so the Retail Apocalypse is hurting them, too.
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 123.
It's National Daiquiri Day, so I'm serving the All-American Daiquiri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6DS3TV3rNM
My comment on What Goes Around.
Our host normally posts between 9:30 and 10:30 A.M. Eastern Time, so he wasn't late today. Besides, patience is a virtue.
I read a comment last Friday from a reader who was hoping for a comment about the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the Moon but was disappointed. Whoever it was is probably disappointed again, as our host has his own agenda independent of his readers' wishes. Of course, that's why lots of us read him. Just the same, I wrote about the historic event for National Moon Day. Yes, that's an actual holiday of sorts.
Looking forward, the Democratic candidates are holding another pair of debates in Detroit this week. Montana Governor Steve Bullock made the second Democratic debate, so I found some drinks to imbibe while watching.
My comments on July 2019 Open Post.
A belated Happy Souther to you! When you first suggested the day and its wombat mascot, I wondered what the wombat would do on its day. Well, the first Souther fell on National Ice Cream Day, so the mascot would eat ice cream. This year's fell on National Ice Cream Day as well and I found a song for it. Last year, a band called The Wombats recorded a song with the title of "Ice Cream," which is now the theme song for the holiday. I couldn't have asked for a more fortuitous piece of music. So, now I'm wondering if the two of us performed some kind of working, making this an example of TSW?
Antoinetta III asked "Financing issues aside, what’s the general take here as to when we hit hard, geological Peak Shale?" I just happened to have an article on Seeking Alpha open that declares U.S. Shale: Peak Oil Finally Arrives. The author makes the case that Peak Shale may have just happened. I'm not convinced; one week falling below trend needs more confirmation. However, the the projections from the Energy Information Administration that I have looked at predicted as far back as 2011 that we would hit a bumpy plateau about now that would last until about 2024, so I'm not surprised that we may have reached the first stage of peak tight oil in the U.S.
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 124.
"The jukebox and bar are open." That's my cue!
Yesterday was National Tequila Day, so I'm serving tequila drinks all week. I begin with a slushy tequila sunrise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wwoMyi3fw8
Now, a sour apple tequila.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNcsZdyRoY
I'm going to take care of all the rest of the drinks I will serve with four easy tequila recipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcXtKSk7lo
That's it for this edition unless someone makes a request. Requests?
I'll serve the White Russian recipes on this week's volume, which you just posted.
My comments on A Purview of Dust.
The late night comedians had very different takes on Mueller's testimony from our host. The most neutral was Trevor Noah, who made fun of both sides and admitted that Mueller wasn't going to help the Democrats like they thought. The most partisan was Samantha Bee, who outright called for impeachment, although Jimmy Kimmel was close behind followed by Seth Meyers.
As for "epic global financial disorder in the months ahead," the most likely cause for that would be if the U.S. defaults on its debts. I doubt that will happen, as the Republicans and Democrats in Congress have agreed on a deal to suspend the debt ceiling until after the 2020 election. All that needs to be done is for Our Cartoon President to sign it. That's not guaranteed. Just the same, there will be economic hardship, as 12,000 stores are predicted to close in the U.S. this year, 5,000 more than have already been announced. The Retail Apocalypse rolls on.
I second your emotion regarding the possibility of Madame Secretary running for President. It ain't happening. It would be like liberals still being afraid of Sarah Palin running for President. We're not, because we know that's not happening, either. Who needs Palin while Our Cartoon President is in office?
The fear of Madame President reminds me of our host comparing Representative Nadler to the Mayor of Munchkin Land warning about being taken over by witches. If I want to see that, I'll watch television, where there are plenty of witches in fantasy and horror shows, although the latter are still infested with zombies.
My comment on Things to Come.
Happy Earth Overshoot Day, the earliest ever! The economic contraction our host speaks of has been hitting retailers for the past couple of years, as people spent more online and less in brick-and-mortar stores. Just last week, another chain bit the dust, as Charming Charlie declared bankruptcy and will close all stores. The Retail Apocalypse rolls on!
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 125.
"The jukebox and bar are open." Since Don Durito requested a White Russian, here's "How to make a Black Russian & White Russian" from Tipsy Bartender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-4qN81ZtEc
My comments on Stagecraft.
I hope the Republicans on the committee who will be questioning Mueller use your questions, even if they don't give you credit. I'm sure they will be more intelligent and to the point than any they or their staffs come up with on their own. The exception might be Justin Amash, who would be on the opposite side of the issue.
By the way, a happy drum corps Canada Day to all of your readers from north of the border! I'm sure they're watching the events on this side of the border with emotions ranging from wry amusement to dread.
Last week, I asked that the readers here would wish me luck because it was time to make a couple of drinking games. I got a less than enthusiastic reaction, with at least one reader calling it a distraction. Why, thank you, that's exactly what it was intended to be. It turned out that I found four drinking games already, but no drinks to go along with them. Since I didn't feel like re-inventing the wheel, but also wanted to fill an empty niche, I suggested drinks for all the candidates in the debates, both Wednesday and Thursday. I plan on being a good environmentalist and recycling them for this month's debates in Detroit.
No problem, SoftStarLight. All is forgiven. I'll see about adding Everclear jello shots to the next set of recipes. I think Mike Gravel would be a good candidate for them, pun intended.
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 122.
"Our trusty bartender, Neon Vincent will have some really cool drinks to serve" — that's my cue!
I'm going to take a break from drinks about candidates this week to celebrate the Fourth of July. I begin with WXYZ's July 4th Cocktails, which features red, white, and blue drinks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1OTkFIqlT8
Now, Tipsy Bartender's Three Summer Margaritas, the first of which is a 4th of July Popsickle Margarita.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeAJCkC16es
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! Are you ready for the 4th of July?! Try these 3 summer drinks!Here's a video I posted on my blog two years ago, Four 4th of July Drinks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V6ooYse_N8
My comment on Ghosts of the Fourth.
I always thought that distinction belonged as much or more to the Battle of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) as it did to Kursk. It doesn't help that Wikipedia lists 11 feature films and documentaries about Stalingrad, one of which, "Enemy at the Gates," I recommend, while searches for movies about Kursk retrieve results about the sunken submarine named after the city, not the battle itself. Ah, the power of pop culture!
Our host brought up the possibility of downtown retail reviving once enough malls and big box stores die out along with globalism. He may have to wait longer than he expects for the Retail Apocalypse to reach that stage, as the new owners of Toys R Us, or at least its name, are planning on bringing the chain back in greatly reduced form. The same is apparently true for RadioShack. The dead, they rise again!
My comment on How I Became Internet Famous in India.
Wow! How long has this been a feature? I've been giving ratings here since the new site opened around the start of May, but this is the first time I've seen my rating become a comment. Of course, this is the first time I've given anything here a full 5, so maybe that's why.
On another note, I've been reading your interactions with your new Indian Twitter followers. I found them fun to read and a good change of pace.
My comment on I Hear That Train a’Comin’.
Hi, K-Dog! The closest we'll likely get to forced redistribution of a leftist sort are higher marginal tax rates if Democrats take control of both Congress and the White House, unless civil forfeitures for crimes, which are becoming less smiled upon, start going after those accused of financial crimes instead of drug crimes. That written, our host's invocation of socialism, which is a wedge issue within the Democratic Party, not a unifying theme, has some merit. Nearly all the Senators and Representatives running for the Democratic nomination are drifting to the left as they campaign, becoming either absolutely or relatively more liberal over the past month according to Voteview's analysis of their votes. The exception is Tulsi Gabbard, who is the one current member of Congress running for President who has moved to her right relative to the Democratic caucus in the House.
As for the current economic system falling apart, I still like my favorite metaphor for it, the Retail Apocalypse. Wired interviewed an expert on retrofitting suburbia for the 21st Century about what to do with dead malls. What she said about the history of suburbia and malls in particular looked a lot like what our host described in "The End of Suburbia." In fact, Wired used some of the same clips to illustrate her answers. Now I wonder if Wired watched the documentary.
My comment on Nemesis Rising.
As soon as I read the title of today's essay, I thought of the Shriekback song "Nemesis," which I consider my personal theme song. It mentions both prehistoric animals and parthenogenesis, which were subjects of my M.S. and Ph.D. research respectively, and is a cool song to boot. I have it playing in the background as I'm typing this.
As for all the talk about the Clintons, especially Hillary, and sex, I'm reminded of what I wrote in Sarah Palin's Naughty Monkey Shoes. Conservatives openly hate and fear Hillary, but I think they secretly lusted for her, too, much as liberals hated, feared, and lusted for Palin. I think both sides would be better off if they admitted their lusts.
My comment on What Looms Behind.
No, the economic weather that's coming over the horizon does not look good. While I agree with our host that the inevitable decline in tight oil production will usher in a repeat of 2007-2014, I suspect the attention of politicians and the media will be focused on a possible calamity that could happen much sooner, the U.S. bumping its head on the debt ceiling, which could happen in less than two months. Nothing like a deadline or an execution to focus one's mind!
As for our host noting "many of the activities enabled by the oil industry are wrecking the planet, not just CO2 emissions, but the plastics and chemical industries especially," we saw some of that earlier this month, as a record heat wave in Europe began summer 2019. I expect a hot summer and the second or third warmest year on record. Stay cool, everyone!
My comment on Progress and Amnesia.
Seven years ago, I wrote "One of the most popular catchphrases for expressing disappointment in the lack of technological progress during the 21st Century is 'Where's my flying car?'" I even featured a news story about the Terrafugia in it and thought at least the rich would get their flying cars. Not even that has happened, along with other technologies science fiction predicted, like personal jetpacks, which you also mentioned, nuclear fusion, and robot armies. We may be closer to getting self-driving cars, another science fiction technology that people are trying to make real, but I recall that you're skeptical about those becoming an everyday reality as well. As for me, I'm working on reducing my driving. As I've mentioned here before, I think that's better than advertising how virtuous my diet is (it's not; being a diabetic limits my options).
"We’ve wasted fifty years pretending that a flying car is going to take us to Tomorrowland" — that reminds me that four years ago, I left a comment at The Archdruid Report about Disney's movie "Tomorrowland." The story was "about how the shiny retro future we were promised 50 years ago is in danger. Disney has no idea." That included the box office, where it lost to "Mad Max: Fury Road." Dystopia outsold optimism, at least in the theaters.
My comments on Final Voyage.
I don't know where you could find a physical copy, other than a someone who deals in rare used books, but there is a PDF of it available online.
As for our host's contention that the Democratic Party is sailing off to disaster, that remains to be seen. I have been monitoring the ideological progress of the Democratic candidates and found that in only one month nineteen of the twenty-six present and former contenders have moved to their left economically, socially, or both. The biggest jump was by Marianne Williamson, who went from Moderate Liberal to Hard-Core Liberal. I'm not surprised. Charlie Pierce wrote on Twitter that her campaign was like a lava lamp running for President.
Thank you, neighbor across the Detroit River, for doing what I couldn't, finding the book for sale on Amazon. I took Pucker's statement of futility at face value so I didn't even look!
Speaking of Amazon, John Oliver examined Amazon warehouses for Prime Day, which was enough to make me feel guilty for being an Amazon Prime customer, but not enough to induce me to convince my wife to cancel our membership. Usually, I worry more about the effects of Amazon on brick-and-mortar retail chains than on its own employees, but Oliver, whose voice is starring in "The Lion King," managed to direct my attention to the employees instead of the employers.
Amazon and online shopping seem to be having an indirect effect on casual dining, too. Dead malls no longer bring in foot traffic, which means the restaurants inside them no longer have customers and they close. Ruby Tuesday relied a lot on mall locations, so the Retail Apocalypse is hurting them, too.
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 123.
It's National Daiquiri Day, so I'm serving the All-American Daiquiri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6DS3TV3rNM
My comment on What Goes Around.
Our host normally posts between 9:30 and 10:30 A.M. Eastern Time, so he wasn't late today. Besides, patience is a virtue.
I read a comment last Friday from a reader who was hoping for a comment about the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the Moon but was disappointed. Whoever it was is probably disappointed again, as our host has his own agenda independent of his readers' wishes. Of course, that's why lots of us read him. Just the same, I wrote about the historic event for National Moon Day. Yes, that's an actual holiday of sorts.
Looking forward, the Democratic candidates are holding another pair of debates in Detroit this week. Montana Governor Steve Bullock made the second Democratic debate, so I found some drinks to imbibe while watching.
My comments on July 2019 Open Post.
A belated Happy Souther to you! When you first suggested the day and its wombat mascot, I wondered what the wombat would do on its day. Well, the first Souther fell on National Ice Cream Day, so the mascot would eat ice cream. This year's fell on National Ice Cream Day as well and I found a song for it. Last year, a band called The Wombats recorded a song with the title of "Ice Cream," which is now the theme song for the holiday. I couldn't have asked for a more fortuitous piece of music. So, now I'm wondering if the two of us performed some kind of working, making this an example of TSW?
Antoinetta III asked "Financing issues aside, what’s the general take here as to when we hit hard, geological Peak Shale?" I just happened to have an article on Seeking Alpha open that declares U.S. Shale: Peak Oil Finally Arrives. The author makes the case that Peak Shale may have just happened. I'm not convinced; one week falling below trend needs more confirmation. However, the the projections from the Energy Information Administration that I have looked at predicted as far back as 2011 that we would hit a bumpy plateau about now that would last until about 2024, so I'm not surprised that we may have reached the first stage of peak tight oil in the U.S.
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 124.
"The jukebox and bar are open." That's my cue!
Yesterday was National Tequila Day, so I'm serving tequila drinks all week. I begin with a slushy tequila sunrise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wwoMyi3fw8
Now, a sour apple tequila.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNcsZdyRoY
I'm going to take care of all the rest of the drinks I will serve with four easy tequila recipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcXtKSk7lo
That's it for this edition unless someone makes a request. Requests?
I'll serve the White Russian recipes on this week's volume, which you just posted.
My comments on A Purview of Dust.
The late night comedians had very different takes on Mueller's testimony from our host. The most neutral was Trevor Noah, who made fun of both sides and admitted that Mueller wasn't going to help the Democrats like they thought. The most partisan was Samantha Bee, who outright called for impeachment, although Jimmy Kimmel was close behind followed by Seth Meyers.
As for "epic global financial disorder in the months ahead," the most likely cause for that would be if the U.S. defaults on its debts. I doubt that will happen, as the Republicans and Democrats in Congress have agreed on a deal to suspend the debt ceiling until after the 2020 election. All that needs to be done is for Our Cartoon President to sign it. That's not guaranteed. Just the same, there will be economic hardship, as 12,000 stores are predicted to close in the U.S. this year, 5,000 more than have already been announced. The Retail Apocalypse rolls on.
I second your emotion regarding the possibility of Madame Secretary running for President. It ain't happening. It would be like liberals still being afraid of Sarah Palin running for President. We're not, because we know that's not happening, either. Who needs Palin while Our Cartoon President is in office?
The fear of Madame President reminds me of our host comparing Representative Nadler to the Mayor of Munchkin Land warning about being taken over by witches. If I want to see that, I'll watch television, where there are plenty of witches in fantasy and horror shows, although the latter are still infested with zombies.
My comment on Things to Come.
Happy Earth Overshoot Day, the earliest ever! The economic contraction our host speaks of has been hitting retailers for the past couple of years, as people spent more online and less in brick-and-mortar stores. Just last week, another chain bit the dust, as Charming Charlie declared bankruptcy and will close all stores. The Retail Apocalypse rolls on!
My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 125.
"The jukebox and bar are open." Since Don Durito requested a White Russian, here's "How to make a Black Russian & White Russian" from Tipsy Bartender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-4qN81ZtEc
We show you how to make two awesome ass drinks, THE BLACK RUSSIAN and THE WHITE RUSSIAN! These cocktails are true classics. They're super simple to make and both taste great! If you prefer stronger drinks, you'll love the Black Russian: it's a mix of vodka and Kahlua. It's strong as hell but it's good! If you're partial to weak drinks you'll dig the White Russian. It has the same liquors and amounts as the Black Russian, but an ounce of milk or cream is added to make it nice and smooth. They're both delicioso...see which one you like better!The video even mentions that it's the favorite drink of The Dude in "The Big Lewbowski."
