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.
I saw a eulogy that went viral. I see or hear the thoughts shared regularly because of where I live - not in eulogies, just everyday commentary from time to time. The eulogy itself was quite unfortunate.
My personal view is, at worst, if I had a parent whose views I truly disliked as much as the speaker did, then I just wouldn't go to the funeral or (at least) show and keep my mouth shut. Speaking ill of the dead, of someone incapable of defending themselves, is rather disrespectful. There are moments and situations, rare enough, where it makes sense. I think we can all speak ill of Hitler and few reasonable people will feel bad about it. In general, doing this says more about the person speaking than those they speak about.
Still, it's hard to believe her father was really as bad as she paints him. She speaks of how he raised her. I'd be proud to raise a child in the fashion she describes. Strong, questioning things, pushing back on authority. I doubt he taught her to be vicious and hateful and self-centered. Yet that's what her eulogy exposes. Here's the kicker. People applauded her. I think I'd have remained silent and confronted her later.
I really doubt her father was racist or misogynistic, based on several facts I've learned about this woman since - but I suppose it's enough that he supported Trump for her to apply the broad brush. I know this happens because I didn't support Trump, ever, and often been painted with the same brush. Here's the video so you can have your own POV.
The tradition of Thanksgiving Day has its roots in the 1620 Pilgrim settlement in Plymouth, MA.
Those people had little to be grateful for, by our comfortable standards:
They arrived in November, late in the season, because the Mayflower's companion ship, the Speedwell, had to reverse course to England so the leaky Mayflower accompanied them back.
During the first winter 45 of the 72 passengers on the Mayflower died. Men, women, and children.
A lonely Squanto, who was a Godsend to the Pilgrims (few of whom were farmers, I think) died in 1622. He spoke English, having been sold in slavery in Spain, later taken to England. When he returned to North America, he found his entire tribal group dead from European diseases spread by explorers or Portuguese fishermen. (The large Indian farms were the ones that the Pilgrims took over.)
Their investors got screwed and the Pilgrims were in serious debt. Their London company, the Merchant Adventurers, hoped for good returns from timber, fur, and dried fish. Nope, never happened. Might well have happened had they arrived at the Hudson River. Those investors were unhappy.
Surely those Pilgrims were grateful for food, but for what else? I think gratitude was just bred in their bones. I would not compare them to Job, but it was rough.
I have more or less stopped watching Saturday Night Live, but it is intriguing to read that Dave Chappelle, who I find to be very funny, is hosting. What is more intriguing is that a large part of the writing staff has said they will boycott the episode. This is a benefit of youth, and one I'm interested in because I have my own story in this regard.
One of my majors in college (I had 2) was Television Production. I wrote, produced, directed and filled various roles in the studios at the university for both class and the university television network. Top-tier stuff, mind you. The kind of stuff you watch at 1am in the dorm lobby when you're half in the bag or snogging with your latest love interest. Nevertheless, it's what you did to learn the ropes. Back then, I was hoping to make documentaries.
One day I had to prepare a news piece for the 1984 election. It was a talk show with some local luminaries talking about various topics like nuclear war (it was right around the time that ABC ran The Day After, which some of you may remember), feeding the poor/welfare, deficits, etc. Standard fodder for any political news program. One fellow who showed up hung flyers on the set showing elephants dropping nuclear bombs on poor people of the world. I took them down. He put them back up, I took them down. My job was set design and management. The producer that day, a fellow student, came by and asked what I was doing. I told him the set was my responsibility and I felt the flyers would imply a bias of the programming, and that they personally offended my own sensibilities. The producer told me to honor the guests' wishes and put them up. I told him "since this is my set, then I'm asking to be relieved of my responsibility, I'd rather sit this one out."
Recently, I've had a number of bad events occur. Supposedly, these things happen in threes, and I'm hoping that's how it goes. I won't share the first two event details. Needless to say they are both very upsetting and expensive events. The third event was VERY expensive. And very avoidable.
What made it particularly galling was how it happened to me, someone who is ridiculously careful online because among the roles of previous jobs I've held, one has been the management of online privacy and data. Compelling partner companies to take extra effort, steps or other precautions to protect user data and information.
If your company is like mine, you take tests each year to identify several different forms of potential identity capture. Phishing, Spearphishing, downloading Trojan horses, etc. There are many ways to do it, and I'm familiar with all of them. I've always passed these tests with flying colors, and I've even caught several transgressors over the years.
Before I tell my own, very humbling, story, let me say this kind of event is not just an issue of being online. My stepmother is not as adept online as I am, so does not engage the internet to nearly the degree I do. Yet several years ago she was scammed out of several thousand dollars in attempting to do something good for her grandchild - so she thought. Unfortunately, she (much like I am about to detail) missed one or two key details in her situation, and fell victim to a con over the phone. Anyone can be a victim.
The Court's interest in revisiting racial affirmative action got me thinking a bit more about the idea of meritocracy.
Merit, say, for employment in my field, is relatively easy to assess. We want to hire people who are personable enough to be good colleagues, bright, eager, good writers and speakers, and easily-trainable. If they don't work out, they have to leave. We do not care about your golf game.
So, in my view, merit has to do with the right fit for a job or task. The right talent stack, as Adams would put it.
I know that many private secondary schools (the PSSAT) and, of course, still most higher ed wants test scores. The SAT and ACT are basically proxies for IQ or, at least, functional IQ as it has to be applied to a test. But is IQ a measure of general merit as a human being? Of course not. It matters, but how much?
Let's say you are head of admissions at a competitive higher ed school with far more applicants than spaces. Your job is to try to field a group of smart kids with enough talents to field sports teams, an orchestra, some math geniuses, etc. Fill each bucket.
You can do it on a fancy French ship, Le Commandant Ponant (which the two chuckleheads give you a tour of, below), or on a more spartan Russian ice-breaker (second video, with much more Arctic scenery).
First, Teaspoon. The expression is one teaspoon of loose tea per cup, and one for the pot. For a single cup, one teaspoon. Thus teaspoon. A tablespoon is three teaspoons.
True colors (or colours). Naval war etiquette required taking down your false flag before initiating battle.
Learning the ropes. Sailing ships had over 300 ropes and lines. Newbies had to learn them all, on the double.
Pink Floyd was a heck of a successful rock group. A founder, Syd Barrett, became schizophrenic but seems to have remained a shadow member of the group. Sound and fury signifying nothing? You be the judge.
What are your criteria to label a person a "solid citizen"?
That topic came up over beers with friends a few nights ago. It was like a college bull session for adults. When I was younger I would have considered it to be an American bourgeois question, unworthy of consideration by sophisticated kids like we were. We were all young idiots and certain about everything as only youth can be.
Assuming that we all have plenty of flaws, what would it take for a person to achieve the label of Solid Citizen? And is it worth thinking about?
What is "flavor." and where does it come from?
Abou