December rambling: Tread carefully

new Rebecca Jade music!

road-to-xmas-board-game
From https://wronghands1.com/2021/11/19/road-to-xmas-board-game/

Spotlighting The Black And Missing Foundation’s Commitment To Locating Missing Persons Of Color

Hillary Clinton was right about the “deplorables” — and about the end of Roe v. Wade. Still hate Hillary’s guts? Fine. But let’s admit that she saw all this coming — and way before the rise of Trump

The Roe v Wade Death Watch

But the Cancer Was “Indolent” — Doctors: Tread carefully when offering patients an optimistic outlook

What Is a Surgeon ‘Supposed’ to Look Like?

Instead of Travel Bans, Let’s Defeat Omicron Variant With Global Vaccination

Horse-paste enthusiasts are threatening hospital workers.

Dr. Oz Has A Long History Of Promoting Quack Treatments

Alden Global Capital, which has gutted newsrooms, desires to acquire
Lee Enterprises, the owner of the Glens Falls Post-Star as well as the Buffalo News and the Auburn Citizen

Awareness

Barbados Bids Farewell to British Monarchy as It Becomes a Republic. It is actually the only country I’ve ever been in besides Canada and Mexico.

The End Game (dealing with Stuff)

Louis Vuitton Designer Virgil Abloh Dead From Cancer At Age 41. Abloh “chose to endure his battle privately” and underwent “numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.”

How to Identify What You Enjoy. Arthur C. Brooks and Lori Gottlieb discuss the importance of fun and the cultural distortion of emotions as “good” or “bad”

College Students Write Children’s Book About Their Inclusive Friendship, Raise Awareness for Down Syndrome

Anne Rice, the gothic novelist who wrote ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ dies at age 80

Ken Levine remembers Shari Lewis, interviewing her daughter Mallory

Cara Williams, RIP

The Best of Trevor’s Accents – Between The Scenes | The Daily Show

Why younger people say ‘no problem’ instead of ‘you’re welcome.’

The Automat

The history of the blinking cursor 

Themself or themselves as a singular form? I’m leaning toward the former; cf yourself and yourselves.

A snowflake photo

 The history of paintings of dogs playing poker 

BobDole

I never voted for the longtime Republican Senate leader. He was elected to the House in 1960 and the Senate in 1974. He became Senate majority leader briefly in 1980s, then in 1994.

Gerald Ford picked him as his Vice-Presidential partner in 1976, but they lost to Carter/Mondale. He was the unsuccessful GOP nominee for president in 1996 against the incumbent Bill Clinton.

But I didn’t find him loathful. His right arm was left permanently paralyzed from World War II, and that gave him some perspective, to help veterans and those with disabilities. He is the first “real” person, as opposed to an actor, to promote pills for erectile dysfunction. (So THAT was what ED was.)

Redlining, continued

In response to a post of mine about redlining, Bankrate wrote to me. “Although housing discrimination is an illegal practice, its impact remains in mortgage and lending practices. Our experts created a guide explaining the lasting effects of housing discrimination, how it impacts the mortgage industry, and how to combat these issues.” Here’s the link

Subsequently, I read this.  To prove lowball appraisal, Black couple ‘white-washes’ home—value rises by nearly $500K. The CBS News story referred to a 2018 Brookings report: The devaluation of assets in Black neighborhoods – The case of residential property.

Also, When a Hyundai is also the family home 

The Racial Gap in Financial Literacy

Now I Know

The Road With a Toad-Away Zone and It’s Better to Be Afraid Than Embarrassed? and The Best Reason for a Delayed Flight? and Giving the Train a Slip and The Horse Hide

MUSIC

What’s It Gonna Be – REBECCA JADE: link and video

Jimmy Fallon, Ariana Grande, and Megan Thee Stallion release pro-booster It Was A Masked Christmas 

November Woods by Arnold Bax 

Mary Of Silence  · Mazzy Star

Batman TV show theme sans the word “bat”

Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick – Ian Dury and the Blockheads, because
1. Sondheim would love that rhyme that’s spelled differently:
In the wilds of Borneo
And the vineyards of Bordeaux
Eskimo, Arapaho
Move their body to and fro
2. Someone is “in the wild”, but “in the wilds of” a place. Why IS that?

Michael Nesmith — considerably more than a Monkee — dies at 78; a loose salute

 The Sting Interview by Rick Beato

Salon satire: Deleted scenes from “The Beatles: Get Back” we’ll never see

October Rambling: Enough with Dystopia; the Conservati​ve-to-Engl​ish Lexicon

from KUBE 93 Seattle Facebook page
from KUBE 93 Seattle Facebook page

My favorite website these days is The Weekly Sift. Sam Harris and the Orientalization of Islam and 7 Liberal Lessons of Ebola.

Sexual Assault in the Bakken Shale “Man Camps”.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Civil Forfeiture. “Oliver references a September report from The Washington Post, which states that, since 9/11, police have seized $2.5 billion in 61,998 cash seizures from people ‘who were not charged with a crime.’ ‘Under civil forfeiture laws, your property is guilty until you prove it innocent.'” Read more. And here’s another example

Modern art was CIA ‘weapon’.

The Forgotten Coup – How the US and Britain Crushed the Government of Their “Ally” Australia.

A Conservative​ve-to-Engl​ish Lexicon, 2nd edition.

Author Wants Southern States To Secede Over Gay Rights, Name New Country ‘Reagan’.

Whites riot over pumpkins in NH and Twitter turns it into epic lesson about Ferguson.

The Problem With That Catcalling Video.

A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days – a sobering lesson learned.

Condolences to my buddy Steve Bissette, whose dad passed peacefully on October 28.

The late Marcia Strassman was NOT happy on Welcome Back, Kotter.

Unfortunately, the cancer has returned for Eddie Mitchell, the Renaissance Geek. Send him a good thought.

How (Not) to Talk About Vaccines.

Atheist At A Funeral: A Contemplation In Four Hymns.

Want to see the Dole/Kemp 1996 campaign Web site? Dustbury notes that you still can see it and a lot more at the 4president.org site.

In an excerpt of The Republicans: A History of the Grand Old Party by American history professor Lewis L. Gould, he recounts the mid-’90s Republicans’ desperation to preserve their image — and how that desperation led them to impeach President Bill Clinton.

Chorus Nylander – Rebecca Jade Interview. Also, Brianna Cara, Angie Sagastume and Rebecca Jade sing the national anthem. Plus Help Rebecca Jade make a new album!

Cover versions you may not have known were covers.

Quincy Jones on Sinatra, Mentorship and His New Clark Terry Documentary.

2014 may be the first year ever with ZERO platinum-certified albums since they started the designation. But never underestimate Taylor Swift.

The Technical Constraints That Made Abbey Road So Good.

Chuck Miller: They’re tearing down 309 South Broad Street in Philadelphia.

Jeff Sharlet: The Writer Who’s Using Longform to Take Instagram to the Next Level. BTW, he recently sent me a pic of his late mom, his sister, himself and myself from c. 1979.

Ken Screven on being the only black kid in the class. I can relate; that was me for most of K-9.

Enough With Dystopias: It’s Time For Sci-Fi Writers To Start Imagining Better Futures. To that end, both SamuraiFrog and Jason Bennion recommend the new book by Jaquandor called Princesses in Space! Stardancer. Read all about it at his new site, ForgottenStars.net. Especially you, Uthaclena.

Speaking of Jaquandor, he reviews a book about minor league baseball that makes me want to read the tome. Or better still, go to a game. Cartoon: Why Baseball Is Better. Short audio: Take Me Out to the Ball Game – The Skeletons. Commercial: Throwing like a girl.

These Are the Grammar Rules You Don’t Need to Follow. Also, 10 Grammar Mistakes People Love To Correct (That Aren’t Actually Wrong). OK, but I just can’t say “data is…”

TV Legend Norman Lear: ‘Even This I Get To Experience’. He was the creative force behind All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons and many more programs.

The Nine Lives of ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Film Reviews by Cotton Mather.

Dull Men’s Club.

Playtex Living Spacesuits. Don’t think the movie has come out yet.

My computer screen went sideways this month, for some reason. I found how I turn it back: Try pressing Ctrl + Alt + UP Arrow Key, or try Ctrl + Alt + and a different Arrow Key.

SamuraiFrog’s alphabetical Muppet gallery includes Lenny the Lizard and Mr. Johnson (one of my FAVES) and Nutty Bird and Ohreally and the wonderful Prairie Dawn; the school plays on the latter are great. Plus Bill Cosby and the Muppets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLeUvZvuvAs&feature=share
Sesame Street: Janelle Monae- Power of Yet

John Cale & Brian Eno / Spinning Away

A mildly interesting story about Mark Evanier, Henry Kloss and home electronics. But this coda is even better.

The Strange History of Corn Flakes, which, being a cereal aficionado, I actually knew.

Every time you make a typo, the errorists win.

GOOGLE ALERTS (me)

Arthur writes about that Raven no racial/sexuality labels thing. (BTW, Cosmo responds to Raven.) He also muses about mayonnaise.

Dustbury notes the Tchotchke Index.

Jaquandor cites me watching MASH reruns.I also made his sentential links HERE.

Both Jaquandor and Dustbury are sad about the apparent cancellation of the Fantastic Four comic book.

Drug Ad Interdiction

My favorite celebrity ad featured former US Senator (R-Kansas), and 1996 Presidential candidate BobDole for something called ED.

 

One of my colleagues REALLY hates those commercials featuring non-medical celebrities who hawk prescription medicines. For instance, if she develops osteoporosis, she’s not going to use Boniva just because actress Sally Field has recommended it in a series of advertisements; I assume she actually has the condition. Among other things, some Boniva ads are misleading, according to Consumer Reports. Google Sally Field Boniva and you’ll see Sally Field – The Boniva Drug Pimp, and other less than flattering characterizations.

Now, actress Blythe Danner is plugging a similar product, Prolia, for a condition she has. The elaborate staging of Gwyneth Paltrow’s mom is unconvincing from a viewer’s POV. Actress Janine Turner, who has chronic dry eye, used to promote Restasis.

Of course, my favorite celebrity ad featured former US Senator (R-Kansas), and 1996 Presidential candidate BobDole for something called ED. The initials are made up by the pharmaceutical companies, in part to avoid addressing embarrassing topics, in this case, erectile dysfunction, a/k/a impotence, for which he was taking Viagra after prostate cancer surgery. But initials are more memorable in pharmaceutical advertising. Indeed the direct-to-consumer drug ads prompt patients ask their doctor for various prescriptions, generally more than what is medically necessary.

I so wish the flood of pharmaceutical ads would end in the US. But we’re quite unlikely to see that genie put back into the bottle.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial