Our Betters Solve Our Problems
May 09, 2021
We don’t deserve their insights.
Also, stealing is, like, totes radical.
“They/them. 22.”
Update, via the comments:
With the above in mind, some candidates for woke non-binary barista de-escalation.
And here’s a challenging, though increasingly common, scenario.
In you go, love.
It would, I think, have the makings of a compelling reality TV show. With preening, mouthy woke-lings encountering the realities they’ve so carefully ignored. The subsequent tears and meltdowns could constitute a drinking game.
We’ve touched on this before, of course.
And yes, open thread. Share ye links and bicker.
Well, the plane is gassed up, pre-flight is finished. Time to spread some love:
Posted by: pst314 | May 11, 2021 at 03:49
I'm an iconoclastic curmudgeon. I'm disinterested in Lovecraft Country because, like zombies and bacon, the Cthulhu mythos has been done to death, dug up, resurrected, done to death some more, remixed, and shoved into every imaginable property by this point. It has suffered the ultimate, final death for any horror monster: it's become trite, predictable, familiar, and boring.
I'm not so sure. The pop-culture version of the mythos is extremely superficial--face-tentacled oogly-booglies are not the active ingredient of authentic Cosmic Horror fiction. I think a fairly straight film adaptation of, say, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward or The Shadow Over Innsmouth would catch your average modern geek unawares, and the entire Dreamlands cycle, some of my favorite stories, have gone almost untouched by the Lovecraft-Pop Culture Complex. When the game and movie producers are done with that, then they can start in on Clark Ashton Smith's work.
With regards to Lovecraft Country, I decided not to bother once I found out the garbage angle they were taking.
Posted by: Directrix Gazer | May 11, 2021 at 05:40
@pst314: You own a plane? Obviously this site attracts very posh people - and I thought it was just for commoners.
Posted by: NTSOG | May 11, 2021 at 06:06
Pst314:
You got a STC for that Chemtrail system, huh? Or are you renegade?
Posted by: Fred the Fourth | May 11, 2021 at 07:55
I watched the whole Lovecraft Country. It was an example of checklist writing: they have a list and they’ll cram the list items in wherever. In the 4th episode, I think, the Indiana Jones episode, they find a desiccated corpse at a desk who becomes revitalized before their eyes. For some reason she is naked, probably so the viewer can see she has breasts and a penis. She immediately announces she is a “2 spirit” Despite being set in the 1950s no one says “hey that girl has a wiener!” It’s just another checklist item.
If you thought the first episodes were bad the writing goes downhill fast and by e10 it is like superhero fan fiction.
There were some laugh out loud moments along the way. There is some good characterization and special effects but what a waste.
Posted by: Col. Milquetoast | May 11, 2021 at 08:52
You own a plane? Obviously this site attracts very posh people - and I thought it was just for commoners.
Actually I don't, but it seemed like a funnier way to sign off for the night than just "see what I found".
You got a STC for that Chemtrail system, huh? Or are you renegade?
[ smiles ]
Posted by: pst314 | May 11, 2021 at 12:56
Alternate responses: No, but my employer owns thousands. And mine is painted black. Best you don't ask any more questions.
Posted by: pst314 | May 11, 2021 at 13:08
I'm disinterested in Lovecraft Country because...the Cthulhu mythos has been done to death
I was moderately interested, as I have never seen or read many Lovecraftian stories.
...I decided not to bother once I found out the garbage angle they were taking.
Same for me.
Posted by: pst314 | May 11, 2021 at 13:12
as I have never seen or read many Lovecraftian stories
Much like Conan, The Lord of the Rings or Starship Troopers, the original works are excellent and the various adaptations and homages utter dreck.
Most of the Lovecraft mythos, which is not exclusive to H.P. Lovecraft, is contained within short stories. So they make quick, self-contained reads if spare time is your nemesis.
Posted by: Daniel Ream | May 11, 2021 at 18:20
These modern day podcasts based on Lovecraft's stories are surprisingly good. Once they settle down. It starts off a little overwrought.
Why surprising? Well, it is the BBC.
Posted by: Karl | May 11, 2021 at 19:00
Also worth bookmarking, though 'tis not the season.
Posted by: Karl | May 11, 2021 at 19:04
I think someone (I don't remember who) posted this here a couple of threads back.
If so, I missed it. Thanks. A succinct review of the Chavis "affirmative action" scandal.
Wow - karma's a bitch. I'm willing to bet the carjacker had similar pigmentation to Chavis, so no cry of RACISM could get him out of that one. After what he did to that poor woman I'm not shedding many tears over his demise, either.
The whole thing is definitely a tragedy all around, and if we keep up this equity crap and critical race theory anti-racism BLM BS, there will be a lot more Chavises out there, and a lot more dead patients whose black lives don't matter.
Posted by: ComputerLabRat | May 11, 2021 at 19:20
The whole thing is definitely a tragedy all around, and if we keep up this equity crap and critical race theory anti-racism BLM BS, there will be a lot more Chavises out there, and a lot more dead patients whose black lives don't matter.
I suppose everyone should know how to check on their doctors to find out if they have a record of complaints or disciplinary actions.
Posted by: pst314 | May 11, 2021 at 22:23
I suppose everyone should know how to check on their doctors to find out if they have a record of complaints or disciplinary actions.
And what good would that do? For most people, it's too damn late. The choice of doctors was limited enough 20 years ago when this and related problems that limit supply should have been addressed. But today? Yeah...good luck. Maybe with specialists things could be better, I wouldn't know myself as I haven't needed one in about 15-20 years. But GP's and such? It's hard enough to find one taking new patients and most of those are younger, thus limited track record.
Posted by: WTP | May 11, 2021 at 23:52
Well, in my case things seem to be better than you describe: I can choose my primary care physician from any in the local office, or I can find one I like in another office. Similarly, I could check the reputations of the specialists in the various affiliated hospitals.
But I do agree that incompetents should be allowed to practice, and inferior students should not be admitted to med school much less "helped" to graduated...and to hell with those who cry "racism!"
Posted by: pst314 | May 12, 2021 at 11:56
After thinking about it, I have had some experience changing specialists, specifically dermatologists, and it was not too much of a problem. I had a few to choose from but the person most highly recommended to me by friends was not taking new patients. Either way, I was happy with the options available and the one I chose.
But as for primary care, I have had trouble. Especially finding one available and on my plan. I recently decided my current PCP, what with the politicization of nearly everything, was just too much given my last appointment with him when the pandemic started. Plus his being a DO and not a PhD bothered my wife..and me a little, but mostly because I did sense a sloppiness in his thinking skills. I wanted to just interview with another doctor, I had to make an appointment 2-3 months in advance. Then the day before the appointment I get a call telling me it was going to cost $475 just for initial consultation. I decided instead to switch to the son of a previous doctor. The father had retired and passed away, and as I reasoned I at least slightly knew the son and I did mostly like his father (though he nearly killed me...slight exaggeration...but I digress...), this was a better option. My first appointment is tomorrow.
Posted by: WTP | May 12, 2021 at 13:19
I'm disinterested in Lovecraft Country because...
Did you really mean 'disinterested'? There was a Matt Helm novel where the mistaken use of 'disinterested' by his boss alerted him to the fact that all was not well.
Posted by: Sonny Wayz | May 12, 2021 at 21:12
Plus his being a DO and not a PhD bothered my wife...
I trust you meant "DO and not an MD", because having a PhD as a PCM would really be a disaster...
At any rate, aside from a few who still believe in their chiropractic origins from the mists of antiquity, the current difference between an MD program and a DO program is the spelling.
Posted by: Farnsworth M Muldoon | May 12, 2021 at 23:45
Yes, MD. As I said, I generally didn't care. It was the sloppy thinking, whether that has anything to do with the DO or not on a broad scale, well I've never cared enough to do the research. Generally speaking, I'm not a big proponent of medicines in general. I prefer to address things in a more holistic manner. That said, there is a lot of crackpot BS in holistic approaches that I don't care for either. As a (sort of) engineer, I favor doing the minimum that isn't "natural". I'm physically mostly healthy guy who has had fewer and fewer sicknesses as I've aged. The last real illness that I had was a (likely) Noravirus five years ago. As bad as that was, I was still able to find the humor in how I could be fine one minute and three seconds later throwing up in the sink because I couldn't make it to the john in time. But that's just the sort of thing that I find amusing. Or used to. When I had capacity to be amused by stuff.
Posted by: WTP | May 13, 2021 at 00:00
I'm not a big proponent of medicines in general. I prefer to address things in a more holistic manner.
My great aunt was firmly in that camp too, and I absorbed some of her thinking. For instance, statins may be useful for high cholesterol, but it's better if you can find behavioral changes that fix the problem: More exercise? Fewer carbs and no sugar? And so on. Come to think of it, a lot of common medical problems nowadays seem to stem from poor diet and a sedentary life.
Or used to. When I had capacity to be amused by stuff.
Sigh. My sympathies. Should I post more funny stuff?
Posted by: pst314 | May 13, 2021 at 01:03