Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
Peach update, with pie
NYC update
Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
Pickled Peaches
Water Shoes
Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
Good news about The Great Courses
Uses of Hot Pepper Jelly/Sauce, Chutneys, and Jams
A Saturday Drive to Litchfield County, CT
How to Pick a Kayak
Civilized: Fruit forks and knives
Loads of kayaking on Cape Cod
Psychology Experiments' Questionable Results

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Saturday, July 15. 2017

Recent Doc posts

While I haven't posted a lot of articles on my site since I went on hiatus, I have posted a few choice goodies, so I thought I'd list them out.


Note: If the videos don't play using Firefox, read my comment to Mark.  Firefox is decidedly Flash-unfriendly these days and often deactivates
the plugin if it's outdated.


Fans of NCIS


While I obviously didn't watch any TV while I was in Colorado, the first thing I did when I got back to civilization was catch up on 'NCIS' and 'NCIS: New Orleans'.  The last NCIS post I made here was when we found out that everybody's favorite ex-Mossad assassin was leaving the show.


And then the delightful Ellie Bishop arrived.  Quickly becoming an ardent Bishoprophile, I made a number of posts highlighting her.  The last NCIS post I made here was titled 'Tonight's The Night'.  The next one on the list continues the saga.  The story of everyone's favorite blonde ex-NSA analyst begins with 'An Insidious Plot Revealed', which is about as me a post as there can be.


Web Vids


All in all, I think I have a pretty decent collection of short videos grabbed from the web over the past 20 years.  I've posted a number of them here.  Continuing the collection are 'Web Vids IV' and 'The Music Is The Message 2', both available here.


More fun and games below the fold.  (dudes, wait'll you see the 'For Guys Only' section, heh)


Video Essays


Judging by the number of comments, these were always my most popular Maggie's posts.  Here are some of the best:


(I'm using the posts from my site, since I've made slight improvements over the years)


Introducing Jackie Evancho — Best singer I've heard in 20 years


In The Spirit Of Equus — For horse lovers everywhere


Fun In The Wee World — For bug lovers everywhere


On America's Pastime — An inside look at baseball


In The Spirit Of The Green — Covering a few golf movies


There are three new additions to the Video Essays part of my site but, more properly, they should be in a section titled...


For Guy's Only


Well, I suppose we should start with my 2,486-word, 27-video post on Tinker Bell.


Yes, that Tinker Bell.


And yes — for those of you scoring at home — it's two words.  I always thought it was 'Tinkerbell', one word, but it's not.  The proof to this outrageous claim is in the post.


As for the origin of such a lengthy, video-ridden (27!) post on such a silly subject, do you know who movie producer John Lasseter is?  He of 'Toy Story', 'The Incredibles', 'Monsters Inc', 'Frozen' fame?  Blame him.  He started it.  I'm only a pawn in the grander scheme of things.


Besides, to be brutally honest, fairy pixies are hot.  Behold: The Tinker Bell Story


This brings us to cosplay.  If, for some reason, you like seeing beautiful Asian women prancing around in delightful costumes, then don't miss Cosplay: Tribute To A Master.


And then there's hot female YouTube drummers.  I mean, let's be honest: what red-blooded, all-American guy doesn't like hot female YouTube drummers?  To satisfy your carnal drumming desire, please visit Three Hot, Female YouTube Drummers.


And, of course, while it's not a new post, it's an official Maggie's post, now long deleted, which I've kept on my own site for posterity.  It's a set or guidelines for my fellow Maggie's bloggers on just how far they can go when posting a lewd, lurid, lascivious picture along with their article.  I'm speaking, of course, of The Maggie's Farm Smut Guide.


Well, that takes care of the updates on one of my sites (wiping fevered brow).


As for my Rainy Day site, with the humor and articles, here ya go:


Articles:


The Science Of 'Linked To'


Mars Or Bust*


My Rachel Carson Fantasy


Climate Hustled


History's Mysteries: What Killed The Titanic?


History's Mysteries: The Final Truth About Fukushima


Humor:


Doc's Dirty Little Secret


The Dire Peril Of 'Trigger Warnings'


The Criminalization Of Breanna Youn


As for older posts, if someone asked me 'What is your best post?', I'd say it's a toss-up between History’s Mysteries: The Most Magical Moment of World War II and Life On Other Worlds: By The Numbers.  Both took a fair amount of both thought and insight, nor have I ever seen anything similar.  As for favorite post, I've always thought How To Get Into Guinness was kind of neat, just because it involves a somewhat brilliant idea I came up with coupled with my usual offbeat brand of humor.

Posted by Dr. Mercury in Dr. Mercury's Computer Corner at 14:00 | Comments (18) | Trackbacks (0)

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The embedded videos don't seem to work, but the links do. Good stuff.
#1 Mark on 2017-07-15 14:27 (Reply)
Are you using Firefox? If so, go over to Google and type in "flash update". Update Flash, then go to Firefox, Tools menu, "Add-ons", "Plugins" and set Shockwave Flash to "Always Activate". Firefox is real Flash-unfriendly these days and often deactivates it if the update is outdated.
#1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2017-07-15 14:33 (Reply)
Rachel Carson well deserves an installation into the international hall of mass killers. No one can hold a candle to the neo Malthusian cult.
#2 indyjonesouthere on 2017-07-15 18:16 (Reply)
I don't watch NCIS anymore. Breaks my heart. This new blonde thing is just no match for Ziva. And with what's his name gone, the sparkle is gone. Just another show now. And as for the New Orleans version, I used to live there. I can't stand people faking a Southern accent. Moreover, why do they think having a weird office setting is appealing? I'll still watch the old reruns, but that's it. I am sorry as well to see that Maggie's Farm has stooped to such low standards.
#3 Terry Kirkpatrick (Link) on 2017-07-16 06:31 (Reply)
I think most fans agree that the show lost a little something when Tony left, but it was made up for big-time with his new show 'Bull'. I thought it was fabulous. I'll probably do a review on it at some point.
#3.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2017-07-16 10:23 (Reply)
re Bishop

When they first introduced the Bishop character she was portrayed with a giant intellect and the ability to figure out things that no one else could . . . while sitting on the floor . . . an interesting eccentricity.

However, as the series progressed the writers seemed to turn her into just another agent making rookie mistakes and her unique problem solving talent seemed to be largely abandoned, which was unfortunate in my view.

At least that's how I remember it. I haven't seen the show in almost a year.

Being from the plains I did like her little Okie St. pennant behind her desk.
#3.1.1 feeblemind on 2017-07-16 11:26 (Reply)
I take it you didn't read my NCIS articles on her. Making her "just part of the team" appeared to be the idea from the beginning. What's noteworthy, though, is that it was often she who made that one little connection that ended up solving the case. In other words, she was just part of the team, but a vital part.

Did you watch 'Bull' last season?
#3.1.1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2017-07-16 11:30 (Reply)
Quite right Doc. I have not read your NCIS articles on her but I intend to. There is just an awful lot here.

I still think they should have left Bishop as she was. She reminded me of the women in the short-lived series Bletchley Circle. In that series a team of women that worked as code breakers at Bletchley Park in WWII end up reuniting to solve crimes in c 1952 London. One of the women is a pattern recognition expert, another a mathematician, the third an information gatherer and a fourth with a photographic memory.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2275990/


Anyhow, I think the 'original' Bishop made for a stronger, more interesting character and I was disappointed with the change.

I don't get TV so I haven't seen "Bull". If Netflix picks it up I will watch it. I suppose we could have watched it online from the network, but the wife refuses to watch any episode with ads.
#3.1.1.1.1 feeblemind on 2017-07-16 12:49 (Reply)
Welcome back, Doc!
#4 The Old Salt on 2017-07-16 13:03 (Reply)
And thankee kindly. Nice to be back among this band of drunken reprobates smart, educated readers. I've recently posted two movie review pieces which you might find of interest.
#4.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2017-07-16 13:18 (Reply)
re Tinker Bell

What? Only one rule 34 illustration at the link Doc?

LOL. Just giving you a bad time.

Somehow she just doesn't strike me as the fairy that repairs pots and pans, which as I understand it, is how she got her name.

Ya know? I guess I'm getting old but I find old Tinker Bell's career track more interesting than her looks.

Think about it. She is arguably a peripheral character from a children's story who was snatched up by Disney and turned into a multi-million dollar enterprise.

Has any other minor fiction character ever done as well?

As for Disney, why pick Tinker Bell for stardom? Why didn't Walt create his own character to present the credits for the Wonderful World of Color?

And who would have guessed all those years ago that she would someday be starring in her own movies?
#5 feeblemind on 2017-07-16 18:45 (Reply)
"Somehow she just doesn't strike me as the fairy that repairs pots and pans"

Pardon me? Are you judging a book by its cover? Are you...playing to stereotypes? Actually, that's what the first movie is all about. When she becomes a Tinker, she immediately starts collecting 'lost' items, like paper clips, screws, buttons, etc, and starts experimenting with them. Then her boss steps in, tosses all the stuff away and tells her to make things by the book. In the end, it's Tink's creative skills that save the day. In some of the rest of the movies, she invents some wonderfully creative things.

"Has any other minor fiction character ever done as well?"

Not even close, and good observation on your part. A few of the animated Disney characters had spin-offs, like their own comic books (Unca Scrooge, Goofy, etc), but none of them had their own movie -- much less six movies -- much less John Lasseter movies. That's a feather in anyone's cap.

"but I find old Tinker Bell's career track more interesting than her looks."

Interestingly, I think they actually downplayed Tink's looks. Most of the other six are actually much better looking. Vidia and Silvermist are total knockouts, and Rosetta isn't far behind. And in the sixth movie, Fawn got a total makeover and went right to the big leagues.

Did you watch any of the short vids on the page? The fanvids are all great, and "How to have a snowball fight" is a total hoot.
#5.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2017-07-16 21:17 (Reply)
Am I playing to stereotypes? Absolutely Doc. As a humble peasant, I just don't know any better.

I do recall the comic books of Scrooge McDuck and some of the minor Disney characters from the early to mid 60s.

BTW shouldn't his very name an offense to Scots everywhere? I am sure back in the day they were playing 'thrifty scot' angle as a humorous, subtle twist-of-the-knife. Kind of a case of the creators saying, "We'll model Scrooge McDuck after Ebeneezer Scrooge, but we'll give him a Scottish surname to make him even worse, because everyone knows they're really cheap basturds."

I dunno, but I digress. It was a different time. Cartoonists poked fun at nearly every group of people. They were funny and there was no outrage.

How did it all go so wrong? I digress again. Sorry Doc.

Haven't seen the vids yet Doc but I am headed there.
#6 feeblemind on 2017-07-17 11:31 (Reply)
"BTW shouldn't his very name an offense to Scots everywhere?"

I think you've just nailed the origin of 'cultural appropriation'. Disney started it! Who knew. :)
#7 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2017-07-17 11:47 (Reply)
LOL (Paying Tribute to the invalid message prompt. Laughing out loud).
#7.1 feeblemind on 2017-07-17 13:01 (Reply)
re baseball

A good post. I would suggest that baseball is the closest game to chess with real players ever devised.
#8 feeblemind on 2017-07-17 13:03 (Reply)
Glad you liked the baseball post. It was obviously fun to write. The most telling point is that most people don't realize how pitch-by-pitch the game is. Two balls and no strikes is a massively different situation than no balls and two strikes.

The video where the ball hit the bat three times was one for the books. :)
#8.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2017-07-17 14:33 (Reply)
re The most telling point is that most people don't realize how pitch-by-pitch the game is.

Yes indeed Doc. It is the game within the game. The ignorant casual fans just doesn't see it see it. They can view it as exciting as watching paint dry.
#8.1.1 feeblemind on 2017-07-18 11:15 (Reply)

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