Friday Ephemera

Grocery order substitution of note. || He does this better than you do. || Banana harvest of note. || 72 hours of Sherlock Holmes adventures, as read by Stephen Fry. || She makes miniatures. || “This unit will work with any make of car.” || Today’s word is calligraphy. || “Too much news coverage feels like commentary.” || Comedy night conditions of note. || Inclusivity. || The Christmas spirit. (h/t, Obo) || A Guardian Christmas. || Chuchel is a game. (h/t, sH2) || A guide to dimensions. || Hardcore. || A compendium of archaic sounds. || The Internet Boy-Band Database. || Motherhood. || Wings. || You want one and you know it. || And finally, when the road to Instagram stardom is rockier than anticipated.

Comments

[Hal]

Comedy night conditions of note.

By signing this contract, you are agreeing with our no tolerance policy with regards to . . . Islamophobia or anti-religion or anti-athieism.

Hmmm. How about bringing up that according to the contract, Islam isn't a religion or faith?

[Pogonip]

And here I always thought Scrooge was a man...

My deepest sympathies to Mr. Valenti, if there is one.

We used to have a Mr. Valenti several houses down, a nice old guy who went all out for Halloween and Christmas. Jessica’s probably the one who prompts sighs and eye-rolling from the rest of the clan.

[Hal]

Hardcore.

Oh, well done . . .

[R. Sherman]

I'm waiting for the Guardian article, Why Don't I Get Invites To Christmas Parties?

[PiperPaul]

Dimensions reminded me of Architectural Graphics Standards.

[Hector Drummond, Vile Novelist]

'Automobile cassette navigation' just makes me think that this would have been the greatest ever Mr Bean episode if only they two things had coincided.

[Pogonip]

You mean, “Why Don’t I Get Invited To Holiday Parties,” you bigot.

Actually I sympathize with overworked women at The Holidays, having been one. (This year I got lucky in a backhanded way—I’m not healthy enough to be expected to tackle it.). It’s just that whenever I see that Jessica broad’s byline, she’s whining about having to do something, and after the first few thousand of those, you think, or at least I think, “Jesus, bitch, do you believe you’re royalty? What DO you think you should do?” I think a good compromise is that women should cut back on The Holidays and Princess Jessica should pick up the slack for us all.

Speaking of The Holidays, Donald Trump has dis-invited the nation’s yellow journalists to the White House Holiday party. Good on him. If they had a shred of decency they’d have been embarrassed to show up anyway. I hope future presidents continue this policy.

[TimT]

Lesbian band Sapphic Musik would like to talk to you about kittens.

https://youtu.be/nBC-ehtW6NQ

[Pogonip]

Kittens! Kittens, I say! 🐱. AND puppies! 🐶

[TimT]

Rotating and unwrapping a 4D cube. "Fun"!

https://youtu.be/BVo2igbFSPE

[JuliaM]

"You want one and you know it."

Itchy!

[sk60]

Grocery order substitution of note.

A bit chewy.

[David]

Morning, all.

Itchy!

You could fight crime in an outfit like that. I mean, yes, superheroes tend to go for some rubberised material, but heavy duty woollens could be the new look.

[H]

72 hours of Sherlock Holmes adventures, as read by Stephen Fry.

Sorted.

[David]

Heh:

For some reason, this came to mind.

[Ted S., Catskill Mtns., NY, USA]

And here I always thought Scrooge was a man...

Wait until you see The Passions of Carol....

[John D]

"A ton of chocolate" has brought a local road to a standstill in Germany, according to local authorities. The road was closed in the western town of Westönnen late on Monday after a tank of chocolate in a factory spilled and poured into the street. The chocolate quickly solidified. About 10 sq m (108 sq ft) was cleared by 25 firefighters using shovels, hot water and blowtorches.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46537552

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Inclusivity.

Regarding the sociologists, you cannot begin to imagine my surprise upon finding this further down the thread, the third item and the last four - mind blown.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Article of note from Quilette.

Do not pity me. As a woman in a heteronormative patriarchal world I am accustomed to males like Jack Dorsey attempting to keep me silent. In my absence from Twitter, I took the opportunity to spend some time at a resort in Val d’Isère, where I could relax and contemplate my oppression. I even managed to write a book which I have entitled Woke: A Guide to Social Justice. I did want to call it My Struggle, but that title was already taken apparently.

RTWT, as the kids say.

[David]

Regarding the sociologists,

Which is why we end up with horseshit like this.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

In today's exciting episode of "Oppression Roulette !"...

[R. Sherman]

Hey, Siri. Show me a non sequitur.

[SumDumGuy]

In today's exciting episode of "Oppression Roulette !"...

I can, my son can't. Does that mean my families inherited sin will finally die with me? What a relief...

[R. Sherman]

Our national nightmare is over.

[Sam Duncan]

“Today’s word is calligraphy.”

“Aaand that's it d... AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

“A Guardian Christmas.”

When you're basically channeling Ebenezer Scrooge, it's probably time to stop and ask yourselves if maybe you're the bad guys after all.

“Hardcore.”

“You pussies whining about accessability ramps are just WEAK. WEAK, y' hear me?”

[Sam]

A Guardian Christmas.

No, I will NOT wrap all the presents. Why are women still responsible for the holiday joy?

I have to hand it to you, Jess Valenti. In a crowded field you still win "hottest take" by a long shot. You are truly gifted at your craft.

[David]

Our national nightmare is over.

Heh.

[Alan]

Which is why we end up with horseshit like this.

Oh my God. I'm still laughing but I think I should be crying for the end of standards.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Hey, Siri. Show me a non sequitur.

Is it, or are they implying there are 14,794 golf courses which need illegal immigrants to cut the grass 'Mercans won't cut ?

[Sam]

Our national nightmare is over.

I find the Bee's parody too on the nose, but that was pretty great.

Peterson ranted for a few more minutes before acquiescing with “Sure, I’ll host the bloody thing.”

LOL

[David]

I’m still laughing but I think I should be crying for the end of standards.

On his website, Dr Pitcher says, seemingly without irony, “Generally speaking I’d advocate not paying for academic writing if you possibly can.”

Below, Dr Pitcher in happier times.

He writes about “race, politics and popular culture,” you know. Which is terribly daring and so unlike a third-rate sociology lecturer.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Ben Pitcher, eh ? Looks like he is missing a couple of friends.

[David]

Looks like he is missing a couple of friends.

And this is the standard now. This is what you can get away with.

[[+]]

This.

https://twitter.com/williamhenryson/status/1073559890512240640

[David]

Our national nightmare is over.

Speaking of Jordan Peterson.

[Damian]

Sir Roger Scruton/Dr. Jordan B. Peterson: Apprehending the Transcendent.

[Jonathan]

Healthy at any size:

via Round Animals

[Jonathan]

I'm sure This was an episode of Seinfeld:

Organizers of a Christmas event have apologized to outraged parents after a fire alarm reportedly prompted Santa Claus to burst out of his grotto, rip off his beard and scream at children to "get the f**k out."

I laughed anyway.

[David]

Apprehending the Transcendent.

Two interesting people attempting to eff the ineffable, as it were. I’m going to need a glass of something before I venture further.

[Darleen]

Apprehending the Transcendent.

Just the first five minutes or so, soaring Western Civ architecture, classical style music, old white guy introducing other white guys to talk about Truth ...

Enough to send any by-passing SJW into seizures.

[Governor Squid]

In reviewing Table 7 of sociology opinions, one cannot help but wonder why it is that nobody circled Item MM3, "I support Marx's dictum to change the world."

Undeniably, 'tis a bit on-the-nose, but still one must insist that it should be noteworthy.

[Monty James]

Case closed:

‘White people brought crime to South Africa, they brought things they know we would be tempted to steal, just to make us look bad’---General Kehla Sithole

[Damian]

Two interesting people attempting to eff the ineffable, as it were.

As someone who normally can't be arsed to watch videos in lieu of just reading a transcript, I found it fascinating, though I am already a big fan of both. Perhaps it's all the seasonal cheer and such making me besotted with sentiment, but I found the discussion at the end about gratitude especially moving.

(Your comment immediately above my first wasn't there when I started writing it, which makes the juxtaposition even funnier.)

[FlynPigRanch]

General Kehla Sithole...
Somebody stole his "H"

[David]

I found it fascinating,

There’s plenty to chew on. I liked Scruton’s comments, about an hour and ten in, about the fundamental inadequacy, the negativity and meanness, of so much leftist education. The, as you say, lack of gratitude. Also Peterson’s opening comments about the transcendent being more real than everyday perception, which is a description common, practically ubiquitous, among people who’ve had religious or mystical experiences, timeless moments, etc. While largely ineffable, the experience has a sense of heightened reality, of being utterly and often shockingly convincing.

Your comment immediately above my first wasn’t there when I started writing it, which makes the juxtaposition even funnier.

The sublime and the ridiculous.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

An excess of cultural appropriation, I think.

I haven't the foggiest just what the hell Aquaman has to do with Africa, or a pale Cuban rapper (OK, if you say so) has to do with either Aquaman or Africa, but in the name of all things holy, do not listen to this.

[Daniel Ream]

General Kehla Sithole

It's a Sithole of a country.

[R. Sherman]

Also Peterson’s opening comments about the transcendent being more real than everyday perception, which is a description common, practically ubiquitous, among people who’ve had religious or mystical experiences ...

See, also Plato's Cave allegory.

[Hal]

Chinese litter.

[Damian]

I liked Scruton’s comments, about an hour and ten in, about the fundamental inadequacy, the negativity and meanness, of so much leftist education. The, as you say, lack of gratitude.

Out of all Scruton's books and talks, one thing he said that has stuck with me the most is how his experience as a student in Paris made him realize that he was a conservative. Watching the soixante-huitards engaging in nihilistic destruction shocked him into the awareness that as imperfect as the world is, he nonetheless loved much about it and realized that they wanted to destroy all of that without the slightest idea what they might put in its place. That also echoes what Michael Oakeshott said in his essay about the conservative temperament.

(Scruton's recently re-issued book Fools, Frauds and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left is also a fantastic read that I would highly recommend. Not only is it satisfying to see him attack all the big names of the academic left, but his writing was so witty and his metaphors so vivid that I frequently found myself laughing aloud.)

[PiperPaul]

"they wanted to destroy all of that without the slightest idea what they might put in its place"

Which of course sounds suspiciously like a parent-hating adolescent's attitude. Peterson's definitely on target with his "clean room first, then remake world" message, and who better to deliver it than a clinical psychologist?

[Darleen]

Speaking of Jordan Peterson -- here again is Cathy Newman trying to take shots at him, and free speech, while acting the consummate victim.

[Darleen]

Healthy at any size:

Photoshop.

[pst314]

Speaking of Jordan Peterson -- here again is Cathy Newman trying to take shots at him, and free speech, while acting the consummate victim.

What she mostly writes about in that linked item is that she got numerous vicious threats and that her Wikipedia page was repeatedly vandalized.

I have no problem with complaining about that.

However, she also glosses over how bad her interview of Peterson was:

"At the beginning of the year I challenged the controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson about the gender pay gap, among other things."

Is "challenged" now a euphemism for "uttered stupid and easily refuted falsehoods?

"Afterwards, his army of online followers, many hailing from the alt-right, aimed all the verbal weapons they had at me..."

And now she uses "many" when in truth very few if any of his followers are alt-right (he condemns it), while "conveniently" failing to note that Peterson is emphatically not alt-right. Furthermore, a woman who habitually misrepresents the positions of those she targets is not in a good moral position to complain about being unfairly targeted.

A lobotomized lobster would make a smarter and more honest journalist that her. Maybe people should not send her threats, but I would be very amused if she started receiving an endless stream of lobster postcards.

[PiperPaul]

"Apprehending the Transcendent."

I tried watching that but from the beginning there were majestic drone-captured video images of structures obviously built by old white dead patriarchs.

[David]

realized that they wanted to destroy all of that without the slightest idea what they might put in its place.

This came to mind:

Also, I liked the recognition, by Scruton and Peterson, that the zero-sum attitude common to many leftists, in which everything is reduced to a power struggle, oppressors and oppressed, becomes sociopathic when applied to intimate relationships.

As illustrated, quite vividly, here.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

...realized that they wanted to destroy all of that without the slightest idea what they might put in its place...

Related, also an abject ignorance of the law of unintended consequences, however obvious they might have been.

[Ten]

I liked the recognition, by Scruton and Peterson, that the zero-sum attitude common to many leftists, in which everything is reduced to a power struggle, oppressors and oppressed, becomes sociopathic when applied to intimate relationships.

The gentlemen are advised to eventually extend their observations to the reactionary right, whose insistence on being in this abusive relationship with progressive freaks is no less remarkable. In a normal world you either throw out the abuser or leave, never to deal with them again.

Reporting their lunacy is an important component of, in the clinical adage, walking down a different street. The right just has no such street, which is a fatal flaw it itself contributed.

[Bill Peschel]

https://web.archive.org/web/20091129045530/http://dennisthepeasant.typepad.com/dennis_the_peasant/2008/01/move-over-glenn.html

The above was what I discovered after going down the rabbit hole from David's link above.

Seeing this nonsense from 2008, demonstrating attitudes that are now dominant and censorious on social media in 2018, seems tremendously disheartening.

[pst314]

Seeing this nonsense from 2008...

I see that the blog is gone. Were the last words posted "Help, help, I'm being repressed!"?

I don't recall a great deal about Dennis the Peasant, except that he was occasionally moderately interesting but often spouted nonsense.

[Burnsie]

No, I will NOT wrap all the presents. Why are women still responsible for the holiday joy?

One of the holiday classics.

Try imagining Jessica Valenti as a source of "joy." It's hilarious.

Cracks me up every time I read those two sentences.

[David]

The words never satisfied come to mind.

[Darleen]

"I sense there's a growing feeling, maybe it's only online, I hope it's only online, that people want to burn everything down."

Dave Rubin interviews Gad Saad aka Sargon of Akkad on the purging by Patreon.

[Pogonip]

It’s probably her sour expression. I base this guess on my still getting the occasional “Hey, baby!” and I’m a fat 59-year-old, however, I’m reasonably satisfied with life, and I think your general outlook and personality shows on your face.

I don’t count Mexicans, as the Spanish-speaking countries have an admirable tradition of not leaving any woman, regardless of age, out of the game. I’m only counting “Hey, baby!”s from native English speakers.

[Pogonip]

Re the gifts: has no one informed Jessica of the existence of gift bags? You don’t HAVE to wrap any more. And thank God for that, as I’m terrible at it. If I wrap a package it looks like an intoxicated 5-year-old did it. When I retire I’m going to take one of those free gift-wrapping classes ritzy stores offer in December.

[David]

Gad Saad aka Sargon of Akkad

Um…

[Darleen]

oops.... apologies, I got my aka's wrong. Carl Benjamin is Sargon of Akkad ... The deplatforming was picking them off all about the same time.

[Darleen]

Saad is among many Patreon users who are establishing Subscribestar accounts as an alternative. And now Subscribestar is under attack.

Imagine that.

[David]

oops.... apologies, I got my aka’s wrong.

You know the rules, Darleen. Only one six-pack a day.

[Darleen]

[puts #7 back into 18 pack ... moves it to the refrigerator into the garage ...]

[David]

Don’t make me call your probation officer.

[Pogonip]

Seems like there could be big bucks in establishing a platform for the Unpersoned, if your geek could figure out a way around Giggle, Facebarf, and the rest of the usual suspects.

[Darleen]

Seems like there could be big bucks in establishing a platform for the Unpersoned

which is why Subscribestar is now under attack. The Left wants to leave no alternative for WrongThink at any level.

[Pogonip]

Free market, bitches! When they say that, they are, um, right. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Americans could stop worshipping their (badly understood) FM and their oligarchs and push for laws treating the Internet as a public utility.

In the meantime, start grooming right- wing geeks.

[Daniel Ream]

push for laws treating the Internet as a public utility.

"The Internet" is already a public utility (mostly). Individual web sites are not. The reason conservatives are getting so badly trounced in this fight is that they've become addicted to the free services and have forgotten how to use things like property rights and contract law to deal with these kinds of abuses.

[Spiny Norman]

Seems like there could be big bucks in establishing a platform for the Unpersoned

The Banned Legion?

[Pogonip]

Good point, Daniel!

Maybe “The Legion of Indecency”? Or is that David, his henchlesbians, and his commenters?

[Ten]

"The Internet" is already a public utility (mostly). Individual web sites are not. The reason conservatives are getting so badly trounced in this fight is that they've become addicted to the free services and have forgotten how to use things like property rights and contract law to deal with these kinds of abuses.

The right lost the goal almost entirely. It's falling all over itself retrenching its most superficial points - in its binary world the only enemy is the public institution so dammit, "private companies" shall never toe any lines - and adopting the left's points - you racist! sexist! anti-semite! whatever - to either add to pointless contemporary moralities, keep its cowardly head down, or point out hypocrisy to the tribe that invented hypocrisy.

The left took nothing it wasn't given. The tabloidist, secular right is slothful and complicit.

[jones]

Shatner Claus, the perfect Christmas gift.

https://www.amazon.com/Shatner-Claus-Christmas-Rollins-Rundgren/dp/B07GJ56YX5/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

[Sam Duncan]

“'The Internet' is already a public utility (mostly). Individual web sites are not.

Which is why I never signed up for Facebook or Twitter. It was obvious from the start that this, or something very much like it, would happen. There are open protocols that do 99% of what they do - hell, XMPP predates Twitter - but people fell for the convenience of websites giving them “free” accounts.

And, as Sargon points out, this is no longer a free market. It started out as one, sure, but it's been captured by the “social justice” control freaks who run the Twitface-Google oligarchy. Yes, “we” stood aside and let them do it, but that doesn't change the facts. The targetting of Subscribestar is the perfect example. They have the power to make running your business as you see fit very difficult for you. Wait till they start flexing their muscles on the DNS system (as they did against the - for the avoidance of doubt, genuinely abhorrent - Daily Stormer).

[jabrwok]

Dalrock on Miss Valenti: https://dalrock.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/not-tired-enough-to-stop/

[Daniel Ream]

this is no longer a free market

If you type "alternatives to ${BigSocialMedaiOrgOfChoice}" into Google, you'll get a minimum of a dozen competitors. I'm a DevOps engineer; it is easier than it's ever been to start up a completely new web-based service. It can be done in hours.

The market is fine. The problem is soi-disant conservatives who have become charter members of the Free Shit Army, howling because their Free Shit is being taken away.