internet Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

May rambling: potential dangers

Demographic Profiles for the New York Counties

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on the potential dangers of social media for children, highlighting its negative impact on mental health and overall well-being.

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has been fined a record $1.3B by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission for violating EU privacy regulations and was ordered to stop transferring user data to US servers.

The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

Imagine a Renters’ Utopia. It Might Look Like Vienna

Demographic Profiles for the New York Counties from the Cornell Program on Applied Demographics. Highlights: The median age in New York State was 39.0 in 2020, up 1 year from 2010 (38.0). Between 2010 and 2020, the median age in New York State rose 1.3 years for men (36.3 to 37.6) and 1.0 years for women (39.4 to 40.4).

Visualized: The Decline of Affordable Housing in the U.S.

Andy Warhol Ruling Limits Fair Use for Copyrighted Images, With Far-Reaching Hollywood Implications

These words made it into the African American English Dictionary

At 81, Martha Stewart is the oldest person to be featured in Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue

Unprepared Republicans Are Flooding Into the Presidential Race

Life and Death

Wait But Why: 10 Thoughts From the Fourth Trimester

Re: Hank Green’s Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Diagnosis: his announcement; his brother John’s response, Hank’s Press Tier List

Tina Turner by THR, the New York Times, Gloria Reuben, Variety, CBS Sunday Morning profile (2018)

Kareem: Jim Brown and me.

JC Glindmyer of Earthworld Comics in Albany died on May 8 at 65. I had just seen him at Free Comic Book Day on May 6. He was always good to me. Here’s a 2004 profile by Alan David Doane

You can preorder J. Eric Smith’s new book Ubulembu and Other Stories

Ed Ames, Singer and ‘Daniel Boone’ Sidekick, Dies at 95

CBS and Fox Share 2022-23 Ratings Title as On-Air Viewing Continues to Slip

The State of Video Streaming in 2023:

Notes from North of the Border: A Travelogue

Badge #1305, from a . Ford Motor Company radiator manufacturing plant

Thoughts on Grease at 45

Behold the Ritual Clearing of the Tabs

Now I Know: The Convict Who Pulled an Inside Job and Mr. Never Shower and The Cleaner Who Accidentally Became a Russian Mayor and The Fake Town That Became Real (Briefly) and The Worst Way to Target a Lower Stock Price?

MUSIC

Coverville 1442: Adele Cover Story and Coverville 1443: The Paul Weller (The Jam & Style Council) Cover Story and Coverville 1444: The Tina Turner Tribute

We Don’t Need Another HeroWe Don’t Need Another Hero – Tina Turner

Sentimental Me – Ames Brothers

Try To Remember (from “The Fantasticks”) – Ed Ames

The Stable Song by Gregory Alan Isakoff.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Josh Groban, and the current casts of Hamilton and Sweeney Todd get together outside the Richard Rodgers Theater on W. 46th Street in New York to merge their musicals

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

The Best TV Theme Songs of the Past 25 Years

Mtzyri – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov,

DISNEY PRINCESS CELL BLOCK TANGO, a Disney princess parody

The Music Man excerpt in Japanese

Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna – Franz von Suppe

December rambling: Fudge

Hanukkah in Santa Monica times 8

cold_complaints — **From https://xkcd.com/2714/**

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Addresses Joint Meeting of Congress

Did George Santos lie about everything? The representative-elect (R-NY), who allegedly made up his life story, explained.

Republicans turn final House hearing on far-right violence into a clown show

Arthur answers Roger: Ranking Choices (voting) and Indepen-dunce

Should Doctors Warn Patients About the Downsides of Medicare Advantage Plans?

Census Bureau: LGBT Adults Report More Anxiety, Depression at All Ages

Book About ‘War on Ivermectin’ Distributed by Major Publishing House — “Infuriating to see misinformation mongers being taken seriously”

Celebrities Shilling Crypto Face More Than Just Mockery

Why Economists Study Demographic Change

Barbara Walters, Trailblazing Broadcast Journalist, Dies at 93 – I started watching her on the TODAY show.

Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers’ legendary running back, dies at 72. He and I had the same birthday, albeit three years apart.

Soccer great Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele: 1940-2022

Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion and longtime coach dies at 79

Walking Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)

New VIP+ Special Report: Mobile Sports Gambling and Media

How to be a helpful host to your friends with food allergies

John Oliver on trash

Still not sure why a “door” nail, though . . .

Comics arrested onstage

What is the Democracy’s Library?

2022

Academy Awards releases its shortlist of 10-15 nominees in 10 categories

Celebrities who died in 2022 from Vanity Fair and TCM

Cory Doctorow: A Year in Illustration

SATIRE: Elon Musk Named Most Exhausting Person of 2022

Orange crush

Trump still has no credible response to the Jan 6 report

He somehow avoided a Mandatory IRS Tax Audit for two years as President

David Whelan, Paul’s brother, gives him a tongue-lashing for his reaction to Brittney Griner’s release

His trading card images appear to have been lifted from catalogs and stock collections

‘His World Is So, So Small’: Former Adviser Says He Cracked During White House Isolation

Now I Know

He Could See Fine. But He Still Wore His Glasses and Why the NFL Doesn’t Play on Saturdays in October and November and The Town in Alabama That Has Huge, Random Sculpture and The Mystery of the “p” in “pH”

Music

Tell Me If You Still Care – Kevin Flournoy, ft. Phil Perry and Shannon Pearson, with Rebecca Jade on background vocals

Speaking of RJ: 2022 Year-End BEATS Magazine noted Breakout Artist: Rebecca Jade (p. 22) and Best Artist: Dave Koz, with whom Rebecca toured in December 2022

Hollywood Reporter Music Editor Picks the 10 Best Songs of 2022, most of which I have never heard of

AmeriNZ: 2022 pop music mashups

Eight versions of the Tom Lehrer classic Hanukkah in Santa Monica. It also includes the Maccabees ‘ Latke Recipe. which is to the tune of Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon, a song from 2014 that I managed to have missed.

Istanbul – They Might Be Giants

Dino Danelli, the original drummer of The (Young) Rascals, dies at 79

Sept. rambling: Suicide prevention

Way Less Sad

NAMI: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. “It’s Okay to Talk About Suicide”

Food insecurity soared roughly 9% last year for Americans

The LMNOPs of Caring for the Nursing Workforce: Healthcare systems can do more to prevent staff burnout

A Guide on Racism, Inequality, and Health Care for African Americans.

Household COVID-19 risk and in-person schooling

Fines Double for Refusing to Wear a Mask on a Plane

‘I’m learning firsthand how difficult it is to be shunned by people you love’: The vaccine wars are getting personal

Once-in-a-Century Weather Events Every Week

Why ‘I’ Hurricane Names Are Most Likely to Be Retired

What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind, -Grief, conspiracy theories, and one family’s search for meaning in the two decades since 9/11

How can America wake up from its post-9/11 nightmare?

Tycoon, Contractor, Soldier, Spy (Erik Prince, 2010)

A Dozen Observations about Abortion, Texas, and the Supreme Court

Power Move: Charles Blow wants Black people to reverse the Great Migration and form majorities in the Southern states.

Journey with Jesus: Richard Rothstein on “The Color of Law”

Is it Better Not To Know?

‘SNL’ Alum Norm Macdonald Dead At 61

Sporting News

every_data_table — **https://xkcd.com/2502/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.**

Pittsburgh Pirates lineup from Sept. 1, 1971, the first time an AL or NL team had fielded an all-Black and Latino starting lineup.

60+ Key Stats About the Olympic and Paralympics

The Woman Who Invented Stuffed Animals

John Green: My Two Favorite Jokes. From the comments: “I went into the library and asked the librarian for a book on turtles. ‘Hard back?’ ‘Yeah, with little heads.'”

How Much of the World’s Bourbon Is Actually Made in Kentucky?

Surf the Vintage Internet

ZOOM: Celebrating 10 Years of Zoom: “Some of you have only known Zoom since early 2020.” Including me.

What Is a Squinting Modifier?

A 13,654 stick bomb

Now I Know: The Friend on the Bench and The Man Who Gets People Out of the Hospital and The Magical Place Where Everyone Can Play

MUSIC

Elegy by Mark Camphouse

I heard this song called Way Less Sad by AJR this week for the first time last week. It came out in February 2021. For the life of me, I recognized but could not immediately place the horn riff. No, not Chicago or Blood, Sweat and Tears or Earth, Wind and Fire. Finally, it came to me, without looking it up: the way too sad My Little Town by Simon and Garfunkel! Paul Simon even gets a writing credit for Way Less Sad.

Times Will Be Better – Elena Romanova

I Bought Myself A Politician – MonaLisa Twins

Flivver Ten Million by Frederick Shepherd Converse, played by the Buffalo Philharmonic, conducted by JoAnn Falletta

Michelle – Julian Neel

Arlington from John Williams’s score to JFK

17 Quotes on the Transformative Power of Music

June rambling: And They Lynched Him

1600 Black Lives Plaza

goofus and galliant Mia Birdsong is the host of More Than Enough, a Nation podcast that uses the concept of universal basic income to start a conversation about dignity, deservedness, and the country America can and should be.

UMBERTO ECO: a practical guide for identifying fascists.

In Memoriam: Duane Ivan Todman.

Sudan: Anatomy of an internet shutdown.

People Who Tried New Quarantine Hobbies Tell Us How That All Worked Out.

Deciphering appliance error codes for washers, dryers, dishwashers, and ranges.

A Stroll Along State Street in Albany, New York, a stretch of road I know extremely well.

Kurt Thomas, U.S. gymnastics’ first world champion, dies at 64.

Triangles vs. Rectangles: What’s the Better Way to Cut a Sandwich? (it involves math)

She Gets Calls And Texts Meant For Elon Musk. Some Are Pretty Weird.

Ain’t it the troooth.

If you can’t find self-rising flour, just add 1.5 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt per cup of all-purpose flour.

Why Is It ‘Eleven, Twelve’ Instead of ‘Oneteen, Twoteen’?

Race in America

George Floyd’s Autopsy and the Structural Gaslighting of America.

The cascade of crises in black America.

The Mimetic Power of D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Mural.

Why The Small Protests In Small Towns Across America Matter.

The protests bring on a Me-Too reckoning and media reckoning on race.

This Is How It Feels To Be Racially Profiled.

From 2018, and still unfortunately relevant: Before You Call the Cops – The Tyler Merritt Project.

The Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List and Anti-racism books (NYT).

CNN/Sesame Street town hall on racism.

Lots of resources here and here.

What You Should Keep In Mind About COVID-19 If You’re Protesting.

Fox News apologizes for segment linking stock market gains to the deaths of unarmed Black men.

vlogbrothers.

Iowa Republicans Vote Out Rep. Steve King, the most overtly racist member of Congress.

Ella Jones Elected to Serve as Ferguson’s First Black Mayor.

The myth of the kindly General Lee.

#IMPOTUS

If He Goes Even Lower, We’d Better Be Prepared.

The Regime Is Beginning to Topple.

History Will Judge the Complicit Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president.

Cockwomble (noun) – A person, usually male, prone to making outrageously stupid statements and/or inappropriate behavior while generally having a very high opinion of his own wisdom and importance.

This is your America.

NYTimes Op-ed warns of a ‘vaccine’ October Surprise.

The unemployment rate is really 3% higher than claimed.

Lincoln Project ads: Leadership and Steps and Mattis.

An idea: buy a postcard, send it to Temporary Occupant, 1600 Black Lives Plaza, Washington, DC 20500 (ZIP Code should get it there), and send your message of disdain. (Postage is 35 cents, but hey, spend 20 cents more, slap that first-class stamp on it, and support the USPS.)

The Bunker Boy – Randy Rainbow.

Now I Know

The American Civil War of World War II and Giving a Word a Different Spin and They Called it “Massive Resistance” and A Step Too Far? and Cherries, Helicopters, and Hair Dryers and High Altitude Flatus Expulsion and It Doesn’t Stand for “Eradicating Dangerous Mosquitoes”.

MUSIC

And They Lynched Him On A Tree by William Grant Still.

Lift Every Voice, Karen Briggs violin rendition.

Rise Up – Andra Day.

EK Ellington, W Marsalis, O Wilson.

No One – Kevin Flournoy ft. Rebecca Jade.

Jungle Love – Morris Day and The Time.

People Get Ready.

Lizzo.

Coverville 1311: Cover Stories for Outkast, Lauryn Hill, and Jack Johnson.

Took The Children Away – Archie Roach.

Flivver Ten Million by Frederick Shepherd Converse, performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Let The Sunshine In from HAIR Virtual Corona Version | 2020.

Sound of Silence – Dana Winner.

21st Century Schizoid Man – Toyah & The Humans, A tribute to Bill Rieflin.

Smile – Voctave A Cappella Cover.

Once in a Lifetime – Kermit the Frog.

Mr. Ed Theme Song, in German.

Fighting digital divide: national defense

DARPA

As a librarian, I’ve been hearing about the digital divide practically from the beginning of my career.

It is defined as “the growing gap between the underprivileged members of society, especially the poor, rural, elderly, and handicapped portion of the population who do not have access to computers or the internet; and the wealthy, middle-class, and young Americans living in urban and suburban areas who have access.” Three years ago, it was a quarter of the nation.

If we’ve learned nothing else from the COVID-19 experience, it is that When School Is Online, the Digital Divide Grows Greater. The problem has not improved greatly in recent years. Americans turned to technology during the COVID-19 outbreak. An outage would be a problem.

A highway is a highway

I’m wondering if the previous arguments have been off. People I know speak of the digital divide in terms such as “economic justice” or “fairness.” That might attract us liberals, but meh. They see underserved as one letter off from undeserved. We need to sell it as a Defense Initiative. Internet Force! Y’know, like Space Force.

And there’s a lot of history behind this. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has funded projects that “have provided significant technologies that influenced many non-military fields, such as computer networking and the basis for the modern Internet, and graphical user interfaces in information technology.”

There may be not enough money in the domestic budget for such an initiative. But there seems to always be money in the Defense budget. This is a national security issue. This will keep us safe in the next disaster. The interstate highway system was purportedly built, in part, “in case of atomic attack on our key cities, the road net [would] permit quick evacuation of target areas.” In the case of the next disaster, we need our people to have access to the information highway as well.