Saturday 21 December 2024 10:44:19 PM CDT

Wednesday 18 December 2024 10:29:34 PM CST

Ian Anderson isn't just brilliant and massively talented but among top three or four performers for charm, much of which is his intellectual depth which - even if the audience isn't quite to his level can get the spirit of the humor if they don't always get the joke right away. Hunting Girl is an example - everybody knows there's something going on even if they haven't figured it out yet. Ian would never be so crude as to use the technical terminology as Ian Gillan did on at least one occasion - I have the video - when introducing Knockin at Your Back Door. It's not like we didn't get that one right away. Gillan is hardly on the same level as Ian either in intelligence or culture or style. Fact is it didn't bother me when Joe Lynn Turner replaced him for a while and it probably would have been better for Purple if he had stayed. Of course Ritchie left after Gillan came back and so...

I forgot about Imboden Live for a while and hadn't looked at in a while. They seem to do pretty good with local advertising. If you don't know what Imboden is click the link. Just kiddin', it's a little town up Highway 63 in Lawrence County. Main reason I know anything about it is I drove through it a few hundred times back in the day. North of Black Rock and south of Ravenden. Got caught by weather one time, four of us in two cars and freezing rain that was supposed to be there the next day got there a day early. Not much up there in the way of motels but we got to one and it was three days before we got out. Seems I may have told you about that. Anyway not much news, mostly obituaries sheriff arrest reports for Sharp and Izard counties. Dunno why they don't have them for Lawrence County. Apparently the Sharp County sheriff has a Chief Deputy nicknamed Bart Simpson. Okey-dokey. Reading some of them reports there's people from all over the place gettin' arrested, way outside the county. Anyway he don't have commentary on the articles. You'll get more traffic if you can get people to talk about stuff. I know moderation can get to be a problem but it's not that difficult if you nip it in the bud and are willing to put in the time.

KAIT put up a video of the basketball coach that allegedly harassed the kid. Usual assaults and stuff, luckily criminals don't seem to be getting any smarter. Slapping a kid around at school when there's cameras on all the time or going to get drugs while your every move is being monitored by the law that done caught you when you weren't wearing the surveillance jewelry isn't smart. Dunno why you write a article about somebody being arrested, the when where and what for and age and sex but no name. I went to the jail.. I mean detention center website and looked it up but why not put the name in? You can put the disclaimer about non-guilt like the guy that puts all that in, mugshots too usually.

Looks like Wynne will have four murder trials sometime next year. Four guys up on murder one - wonder if one or two will cop pleas to make sure one or two others get it. I believe I can convince them I'm too disabled if they get me for jury duty. Would be interesting I guess.

Seems most of the Jan 6 victims that were from Arkansas and Missouri were reported on KAIT. Looks like they're from the Gray feed. Looks like this guy may not even get into prison before the pardons are issued.





Thursday 19 December 2024 11:49:24 PM CST

Dunno if I'll ever do the whole library again. Need at least 400 square feet that I don't have. If I live long enough to build an annex for just my stuff I probably will. Anyway my decorator put a big old china cabinet in the main room and put a couple of boxes if classics in there.

Those have Nelson Doubleday on them and I guess they're from the 1970s. I was a member of some book clubs and one of them was the Science Fiction Book Club. They printed most of their own stuff and could sell hardcovers for not much more than paperbacks. Some of their stuff was from the original publisher and cost a bit more - I got a Chilton copy of Dune from them.

They also sold other stuff, had a little catalog with neat stuff in it. And they had non-SF books like those. Got a lot of sets in matching bindings - Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Thomas Costain's History or the Plantagenets - lot of stuff like that.

I haven't seen the new Ben Hur. Around 2000 movies started to suck so bad I rarely finished watching one. I read good things about the Ben Hur remake and even in 2016 some stuff hadn't been desecrated the way Disney and Amazon did with some classics. Maybe I'll get to it before long.

Called this on day one. The shocked expression was again not needed.

This gets resurrected regularly. Jonestown was back then was one of the least likely places for it to happen but no place is safe these days and hasn't been for a while. Some truth has been leaking out recently but until it coalesces and overcomes the obfuscation it will continue to happen and probably in more formerly unexpected places. As one character in Shibumi put it...

What, Chris?

Right, innocent youngsters might read this. Read the book and look for the part about the Statue of Liberty. Anyhow I remember my reaction:

I remember it well and have commented sufficiently elsewhere. It's one of those things you don't forget and when it happens where you live it's as like the big events you always remember. I was in my second grade classroom when the teacher came in and told us about JFK and she took the class over to her house to watch the funeral and I sat on her husband's lap. We were on the way home from the spelling bee when we stopped for gas and Dad went in to pay and came out and told us about MLK. This is certainly one of the worst things ever to happen in Jonestown.



It was. I was watching CNN or Fox or something - I suppose if it was KAIT or even one of the Memphis stations it would have been pretty much nonstop for a while. Or not - I didn't watch enough television to know how the local stations handled it.

OK, what else? Little short on time just now so going through the crimes I may have to limit to a Joe Bob Briggs drive-in totals: Looks like one homicide, two rape convictions and one charged, one stabbing at a party, one guy throwing rocks and threatening to shoot. Looks like that covers it for now. I want to get to an editorial in the Jonestown Sun. Actually only the title is abjectly ludicrous - the remainder is a description of how the formalization of the election works. He then laments the fact that there will not be enough unfaithful electors to reverse the election. In the event of a one or two vote victory that could happen but it's extremely unlikely that a flaky elector would be from Arkansas. As for whose vote matters someone opined:

The votes that matter are the nearly 800,000 that voted for President Trump. The six electors represent us. We have six because we have four Congressional Representatives and the usual two Senators. We elected four Republican representatives and two Republican Senators. And a Republican governor and a Republican just about everything else. Pretending that somehow six people from Arkansas or seven from Oklahoma are the only votes that matter - you don't seem to have a problem with 54 from California or 28 from New York.   Alex@MyndCryme
Since the Democrats hated the Electoral College for years but decided it was all right when Biden "won" it in 2020. Now they don't like it again but since Trump thrashed them in both electoral and "popular" votes what are they gonna do. It probably won't do any good not to run at best midwit women in pantsuits but it probably wouldn't hurt. Anyway I suspect the first woman to be elected president may well be our current governor.





Friday 20 December 2024 09:12:54 PM CST

That's one of the more whateveryoucallit passages. MacArthur's Freehold is set somewhere around this time. Probably right about now if the election had gone the other way. We saw that sort of behavior during the Plandemic and the...

Hey Chris, is there a name for the perv attack on society or whatever?

Apparently not. Anyway you should get the idea. Very few resisted - most went along to keep their jobs and not get arrested. That breeds another generation of sheeple and the chances for getting out from under it become skinnier. I don't even want to think about the things that happened in Nazi Germany, Maoist China or Stalininst Russia but the condition of the populace at that point was near to what it would take for that sort of thing to happen here. I say then because it seems that what happened in the election represents a shift. Whether it is a big enough shift remains to be seen but it is a pause. Old as I am a pause of four years is pretty good but that's rather a cynical point of view. On the other hand I know of one particular dossier that describes me as a stoic/cynic hybrid so there's that. Some argue that stoicism and cynicism are mutually exclusive but they apparently don't understand either. Benjamin was certainly cynical and for what it's worth Google AI agrees with me:


OTOH Google AI already has some the predictable built-in bias but like Wickedpedia is so far pretty decent on generic stuff. If I look up Henry VIII the article still says he had six wives but if I look for Donald Trump or Elon Musk given recent events - watch out.

What happened in NEA in the last 48? I know people who know the guy in this one and it's a sad story but I suspect a lot of them are. Had one in my family that went off the rails long ago and died young or younger than he should have if he had lived differently.

Dunno about this one. I'm suspicious of law enforcement a lot but I'm a lot more suspicious of 'social services'. A lot more but then I got first-hand experience with being in the belly of the beast and as bad as LE types can be when they're bad when they're good they can be pretty good. Government institutions not so much.

I'm guessing he's a pretty good guy because I trust Governor Sanders' judgment. I don't know much about him so that's all I got to go on. Arkansas politics is pretty much musical chairs at that level and that's not great but if you can keep the bad people out of the chairs it's not as bad. We had a bad one as governor but term limits took care of that and not a minute too soon.

Okey-dokey, what day is it? Chris?

Dunno where he went. Ever tell you about the time I was in the hospital because the doctor said I needed surgery or I was gonna have a heart attack? Went and had the surgery and the next day had a heart attack. Pump shut down and no breathing for twelve minutes. Called my folks who left to go to church thinkin' I was probably right and told'em I was gone. But it got worse when they figured out I wasn't gonna die...

Nah, just needed to know what day it is. I'm about done here.

Seeya.






Saturday 21 December 2024 11:12:13 PM CST

Was there ever a lamer name for an action hero than 'Scott James'? And I love Chuck Norris movies but they coulda done better on some details. This was when they were getting better. I notice that Chuck was early in his career in a disgraceful treatment of Matt Helm so... and I like Dean Martin too. As an actor. Him and Sinatra both I wasn't a fan of that type of singing - not that they weren't good at it but it wasn't my cup of tea. They were good in the movies though. Favorites being Von Ryan's Express and Rough Night in Jericho - there's one for each there. Anyway the treatment of Matt Helm was disgraceful and then some - read the books and ask why they even bothered.

Anyway The Octagon was a fun flick, the lovely Karen Carlson doing the tragic dying scene that still makes me... nevermind, I'm cynical and stoic. Lee Van Cleef is as expected - why he didn't become as big as Clint Eastwood or at least Charles Bronson I have no idea.

Like the Dirty Harry films Chuck's have the socio-political commentary but none became as iconic as Clint's stuff. C'mon man, after 'do you feel lucky' and 'go ahead, make my day' what are you gonna do?

Okey-dokey, what's on for this Saturday? Too early for fun stuff so maybe wrap up the week.

Seems the old feller arrested for murderin' an older feller didn't murder him after all so they gonna let him go. Good that it wasn't a murder but sadly someone somehow died anyway.

This one is weird . this young guy died in police custody in Jonestown a while back. No, not the one that just got beat up or the civilian that got T-boned by an off-duty Jonestown cop hauling ass on back streets and turned into a paraplegic. No, this one died. And the people of Jonestown are apparently good with that since they elected the same mayor again.

Anyhow the guy's father gets arrested and charged with murdering another guy. And acquitted. Hmmmm,

Few crimes around Jonestown - assault, threats, theft. Woman from Mississippi driving a car belonging to her boyfriend in Illinois steals somebody's credit cards and spends 8K buying pre-paid cards at Lowe's and Sam's. Pretty comprehensive account, like you'd get for a basketball game over at Jonesbororightnow. Somebody gets arrested and in jail and they tell you most of it except the name. Gotta go look that up. Now a basketball game you'll get the names of several players and how many points they scored in each quarter. The really important stuff.

Gonna call it a week. Be back about, lessee, Thursday or Friday.


























































Crop handle carved in bone; sat high upon a throne of finest English leather. The queen of all the pack, this joker raised his hat and talked about the weather. All should be warned about this high born Hunting Girl. She took this simple man's downfall in hand; I raised the flag that she unfurled. Boot leather flashing and spurnecks the size of my thumb. This highborn hunter had tastes as strange as they come. Unbridled passion: I took the bit in my teeth. Her standing over me on my knees underneath.

Prime Chuck Norris 1 hour ago during January 6 Capitol breach He's probably been in prison longer than the sentence will be. In any case he walks after 20 January. That has to hurt those clown prosecutors and judges. And with all the empty cells in the gulag they should have a good start on putting away some of them. @ When I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you. Reply +21 Terminus Est 1 hour ago That's one parade I can't wait to see. Over a thousand people who sadly paid a high price for patriotism. Too clever is dumb. ~ Ogden Nash Reply +34 [- Jessica Atreides Marshall 48 minutes ago It will be good to see them out. The younger ones may be all right but a lot of people's lives have been destroyed beyond repair. Personally I wish they would get a few million each in reparations. We have entered the time when all will turn against us and seek our lives. Reply +5(+]-) DePloraBelle 37 minutes ago I hope someone makes sure he frees all the abortion mill prayers and others that were wrongfully imprisoned. What difference, at this point, does it make? Reply +1(4+]-) Terminus Est 25 minutes ago I believe they will but they need to be reminded until they get it done. After the debacle of Joetard handing out Universal One Size Fits All Forever Pardons it will be difficult for the state-run media to kick much about it. What's left of them - I saw the other day MSLSD was down to under 50,000 viewers Too clever is dumb. ~ Ogden Nash Reply oGl[-) Rosetta Stoned 18 minutes ago That's probably the ones that died while watching and there was no one to turn off the TV. 3 Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim. ~ George Santayana Reply oGl[-)

"The survival instinct, in most people, overrides logic, reason, and conscience." said Gordon. He rarely said much in their discussions, leaving most of that to the younger ones. When he did, it was usually to contribute something strategic or philosophical based on his greater life experience. "During the second World War, when the Germans were killing Jews in the death camps - in the gas chambers - they had something called the Sonderkommandos. These were Jews temporarily spared for use as labor. They removed the bodies from the gas chambers and moved them to the crematoriums. I watched an interview with one of the survivors - there were very few because after they had been used for a while they themselves were killed and replaced by new ones. "This man, who was not very old and the film looked old, so apparently it was not long after the war, described what happened. He said that among the incoming prisoners he sometimes recognized people he knew, and would avoid being seen by them because of his shame, knowing what was being done to them and being part of it. "He said he was asked, after the war, by people who knew what he had done, 'why did you do it? why didn't you refuse? why didn't you resist?' "Clearly tormented by his guilt, he said when facing death, it is human nature to do anything, absolutely anything, to live just a little longer. "Which is true. And a strong survival instinct in individuals is obviously essential to the survival of the species. Very few people will sacrifice, or even risk, their lives for principle, even when that principle is essential to the survival of the species. "Taken too far," Jessica said, "the instinct can be self-defeating."

Mandroid 1 hour ago TBF they usually have balance such as it is. Cal Thomas is good but hardly iconic these days if he ever was. Harrop seems to be about the intellectual level as the outgoing regime - junior high and not TAG. Maybe not ‘special needs' but not much above it. I don't know that improving the quality of editorials would extend their life expectancy. The big boys are still in business only because their owners subsidize them. How long that will last I have no idea but some of the television outlets (MSLSD and CNN) are being cut loose. Electric eye, in the sky, Feel my stare, always there, There's nothing you can do about it, Develop and expose, I feed upon your every thought, And so my power grows. Reply +64 ) MAGA Hertz 1 hour ago Her stuff has always been recycled anti-conservative propaganda but since the election is's pure butthurt. Trump didn't ask these guys - not even Elon. Elon got behind him because he saw the looming disaster if the current situation continued. All the big money guys are going to kiss the ring because that's what they do. Elon is the one exception among the ultra-rich. Bezos sometimes show signs of knowing what is right but money comes first so he's in. If he does something to fix the Post - instead of dumping - there may be hope for him. "I should know better, but where's the fun in that?!" Reply HG DePloraBelle 51 minutes ago I'm about 120% certain he didn't call Tim Cook. Apple may be big but not able to help or harm much. The big medical industry guys are interested in not being held accountable for their crimes (and reform - won't like RFKjr) and the energy companies know they're golden. What difference, at this point, does it make? Reply HG Jessica Atreides Marshall 43 minutes ago I believe the Sun and the Paragould paper are owned by a small company in Kentucky that owns a bunch of small-town newspapers. It's privately owned so numbers are hard to find but just about all of them appear to be milking it for as long as the local advertising will keep them afloat. It may be that quality syndicated content costs more. 8 We have entered the time when all will turn against us and seek our lives. Reply oG Rosetta Stoned 32 minutes ago I don't know what they pay their own writers but whatever it is is too much. Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim. ~ George Santayana Reply HG Twisted Mentat 19 minutes ago How long before they throw in the towel and just use Al-generated content? If they use the right generator it will have the same bias that causes people to ignore them now. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. Reply oG

I was sick enough to stay home from work that day but extra a quart of orange juice and a couple of extra doses of vitamin C and the chicken soup and about ten hours of sleep I felt better but was still a litle groggy. I turned on the TV and got dressed and left to get my favorite way of finishing a recovery - a trip to Burger King for a double Whopper and super-sized fries. On the way out the door I heard the news reader saying "more on that school shooting in Jonesboro." Please don't let it be this Jonesboro, I thought. There are a bunch of cities by that name and no reason it should be this one.

AI overview Benjamin is the donkey in George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm. He is the oldest animal on the farm, and is the only donkey that lives there. Benjamin is a complex character, with many interpretations of his role in the story: # Pessimistic Benjamin is cynical and ill-tempered, and he doesn't get excited when things go well for the animals. He is also stoic and stable, knowing that things don't change much for animals in his situation. @ Wise Benjamin is contemplative and has incredible foresight. He knows that complaining about powerful people can lead to trouble. @ Caring Benjamin is caring and speaks up when his best friend, Boxer, is taken to the slaughterhouse. @ Represents the old people of Russia Benjamin remembers the old laws that have been changed, and he is alive in the last scene of the novel. # Allegory for a social class Benjamin's role in the story has been interpreted in a number of ways, including as representing the old people of Russia. @ Allegory for the Russian Revolution Animal Farm is an allegory for the evolution of Communism in Russia, with each animal representing a different social class. @ Generative Al is experimental. Export + Dsve 0) GQ

Tibor: Before you go out there to save the world, I can tell you. It doesn't want to be saved. Only to be left alone. Scott James: Your world maybe. Not mine.

"The survival instinct - in most people - overrides logic, reason, and sometimes even conscience," Gordon said. He seldom said much in their discussions, leaving most of the talk to the younger ones. When he did, it was usually to contribute something strategic or philosophical based on his greater life experience. "During the second World War, when the Germans were killing Jews in the death camps they had something called the Sonderkommandos. These were Jews temporarily spared for use as labor. They removed the bodies from the gas chambers and moved them to the crematoriums. I watched an interview with one of the survivors - there were very few because after they had been used for a while they themselves were killed and replaced by new ones. "This man, who was not very old and the film itself looked old, so apparently it was not long after the war, described what happened. He said that among the incoming prisoners he sometimes recognized people he knew, and would avoid being seen by them because of his shame, knowing what was being done to them and being part of it. "He said he was asked, after the war, by people who knew what he had done, 'why did you do it? why didn't you refuse? why didn't you resist?' "Clearly tormented by his guilt, he said that when facing death, it is human nature to do anything, absolutely anything, to stay alive just a little longer. "Which is true. And a strong survival instinct in individuals is obviously essential to the survival of the species. Very few people will sacrifice, or even risk, their lives for principle, even when that principle is essential to the survival of the species." "Taken too far," Jessica said, "it would seem that the survival instinct could become self-defeating."