Friday Ephemera

Error detected. || The thrill of asteroids. || Some rumination on fries. || Fortune favours the bold. || He was indeed a big chap. || The joys of public transport, part 4,021. || Simple party secrets. || Plenty of meat on that one. || Those poor darling rapists and paedophiles. || Please report to the correct processing space. || The progressive retail experience, parts 405, 406 and 407. || The thrill of plankton. || Pillow fight. || Woke scholarship. || “That perfect middle.” || The patriarchy trembles. (h/t, Mr Muldoon) || Just one more time. || Motoring scenes. || Motoring scenes 2. || Salvation, you say? || Encouraging sounds. || Signage of note. || Safety first. || And finally, festively, one for the Christmas list.

Comments

[pst314]

"Passenger in seat 13A is breastfeeding a cat"

[pst314]

COVID lockdown madness, crack cocaine, or just crazy? Tennessee man threatens employees with AK-47 when told pizza would be ready in 10 minutes.

[pst314]

The Return of Mr. Thanksgiving Advice Man
What do you do with guests who show up with masks on?
Sprinkle them with Holy Water, Peggy. And if they start screaming and smoking, call a priest.

[The Sage]

Error detected.

I have had "posh beans on toast" as a breakfast menu choice before now (the Crown in Framlingham in years gone by). That involved sliced spring onions and chilis along with the mundane beans out of a can -- and proper slices of granary bread toast.

[Ricard Cranium]

@pst314, that made my day.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Trust Teh Media No. 784, the alleged perpetrator in Waukesha was Irish, apparently.

Meanwhile, more female antics.

[asiaseen]

A splash of vodka with everything

Now, there's an idea Mr Thompson to enhance things.

[Princess Cutekitten]

I liked the plankton, they were very relaxing. Thanks, David!

[Steve E]

I liked the plankton...

They can't be trusted. Any minute they might use mind control to steal the Krabby Patty formula.

[Mags]

Fortune favours the bold.

It's the comedy timing.

[David]

Morning, all.

It’s the comedy timing.

That, and the air of agitation expressed via the medium of flipflops.

See also, Motoring scenes.

[David]

Meanwhile, more female antics.

Note that the media class were among the first to succumb to each fashionable derangement.

[JuliaM]

pst314:""Passenger in seat 13A is breastfeeding a cat""

I have to ask, just who exactly is getting the 'emotional support' here?

[David]

Awkward.

[Killer Marmot]

"A red SUV inexplicably sped into the parade route and then directly into people marching into the parade and people watching it on the sidewalk," Maddow said.

Who can say why SUVs do such things? Perhaps it was miffed at something. Maybe its owner didn't change its oil regularly.

[TimT]

'This echoes my experience as an anti-racist racist, who, as a white persxn, identifies as a racist...'

Thank you, Woke Scholarship. An atrocious sentence in several ways.

[Joan]

Error detected.

Five quid for mini beans on toast.

https://www.ocado.com/products/m-s-10-posh-cheesy-beans-on-toast-566708011

[David]

Five quid for mini beans on toast.

They’ve taken beans on toast - quick, humble comfort food - and made it ironic. And unsatisfying. And fairly expensive. And the tiny, ironic versions somehow take longer to prepare.

Not an improvement, I think.

[pst314]

Who can say why SUVs do such things?

Not just SUV's. Motorbikes and ATV's are also inexplicably prone to such evil. Pay no attention to the faces inside the riders' helmets.

[pst314]

They’ve taken beans on toast - quick, humble comfort food - and made it ironic.

Didn't someone do an extended comedy routine about a character's crap art being embraced by art snobs because they think it's "ironic"? And then dropped when they decide it is no longer ironic?

[pst314]

The Return of Mr. Thanksgiving Advice Man

Columnist John Kass was forced out of the Chicago Tribune by his leftist colleagues, who were angered by his criticisms of George Soros.

[pst314]

I have to ask, just who exactly is getting the 'emotional support' here?

One does wonder about the exact nature of the woman's mental illness.

[Jacob]

Fortune favours the bold.

That was perfect. :-)

[David]

That was perfect. :-)

The gods, they mock us.

[pst314]

The gods, they mock us.

Which seems superfluous, considering how good we are at mocking ourselves.

[Burnsie]

Woke scholarship

Bah. Without self-flagellation, this is just lazy posturing. Where are the whips and cane? Show us true mortification of the flesh!

[asiaseen]

Not an improvement, I think.

But do they generate quieter and better perfumed farts?

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

Not an improvement, I think.

The way to improve it is to get rid of the beans and replace the beans with Nutella.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Why, in the name of all that is holy, would there even be such a thing as a WiFi connected barbecue grill?

[asiaseen]

a WiFi connected barbecue grill?

Barbecue Connections Matter

[pst314]

a WiFi connected barbecue grill?

Some men are stupid that way.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

The way to improve it is to get rid of the beans and replace the beans with Nutella.

That or throw the whole mess in the trash - Why, in the name of all that is holy, would anyone put beans on toast, with or without cheese, to begin with?

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

Probably because they're British.

[recalls getting in trouble in a previous comment section where I suggested the way to ruin a British breakfast was Marmite.]

[Eagle]

What was that old map that said "Here there be monsters"?

I watched the above, and saw that map. But with "Here there be crazy" instead.
Racist of me?

[David]

[recalls getting in trouble in a previous comment section where I suggested the way to ruin a British breakfast was Marmite.]

[ Finger hovers over mysterious red button. ]

[pst314]

What is this marmite you keep talking about? I can't find it in my geology handbook.

[David]

What is this marmite you keep talking about?

“It’s like chocolate.”

[John]

The “inexplicably evil” bike and ATV attack took place over a year ago. If the victim had been a different colour the media would still be reporting about it.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

What is this marmite you keep talking about?

Thermite, not marmite, the way to improve a full English breakfast is thermite. Ignite before instead of eating.

[WTP]

He was indeed a big chap.

Heh. Reminds me of the trouble I used to have with ties, trying to tie the average sized ones such that they would be long enough. Ironically (B-b-but that's raaaaacist!), the three I bought at a sidewalk stand in Tokyo years ago were actually the perfect length.

[PiperPaul]

Marmite is made from these

.

[pst314]

The “inexplicably evil” bike and ATV attack took place over a year ago.

Yes. I believe I saw reports of other mayhem that occurred this summer.

[pst314]

Thermite, not marmite, the way to improve a full English breakfast is thermite.

[pst314]

The way to improve a full English breakfast is to feed the beans and the emulsified high fat offal tubes to the dog, and drop the Marmite into the Cracks of Doom.

[Sam Duncan]

“Simple party secrets.”

Dammit, I knew I'd done something wrong. My painter was clean-shaven.

Did a lovely job of the wainscoting, mind you.

“Plenty of meat on that one.”

I'll just quote my exact words: “Yeaaaargh. Aaaaaaargh.”

“Pillow fight.”

In fairness, the bloke who invented Lawn Tennis as an amusement for garden parties would probably be baffled by the World Tour.

“The patriarchy trembles.”

Is that Matt Lucas? He's a card, isn't he?

“And finally, festively, one for the Christmas list.”

🎶♬♪ ♩♬♫♩.

[pst314]

Maybe I overreacted. Throw these into the Cracks of Doom. And when you do so, remember that the people pushing this really are Gollums.

[David]

[ Replaces self with life-size cardboard cut-out, sneaks out to buy wine and treats. ]

[pst314]

Imagine being so in love with the NHS that you would rather a family member die than seek private medical care:

Labour leader Keir Starmer tells @bbcnickrobinson about his late mother:
"She was also just a passionate defender of the NHS, you couldn't say a word against the NHS to my mum in any shape or form, it absolutely ran through her and again an abiding memory I have of being in an intensive care unit and it was very touch and go and she just held my hand and said 'You won't let your Dad go private, will you?' She feared that if things got really really bad there might be a temptation to try something else and she wasn't going to have it"

[Squires]

So it was a near miss from Starmer becoming an honor killing, then.

[pst314]

'You won't let your Dad go private, will you?'

Monstrous.
And as I recall Labour has been trying to nationalize (i.e., steal) all private health care, making private health care possible only for those wealthy enough to travel abroad.
Doubly monstrous.

[pst314]

So it was a near miss from Starmer becoming an honor killing, then.

No, I think he was saying that his mum would have preferred that her husband die rather than get private care.

[pst314]

Thanksgiving dinner: Talking about the really important issues

[pst314]

Our ruling elites are cultural vandals

[Mark]

The joys of public transport, part 4,021.

I do admire her creativity...

[Mark]

I, too find that a wonderful time is to be had by adding a splash of vodka to everything.

[Mark]

Your response to them, tells me everything I need to know about you

Yup, tells me all I need to know, as well.

[Daniel Ream]

Any minute they might use mind control to steal the Krabby Patty formula

It has always amused me that the actor for Mr. Krabs and The Kurgan from Highlander are one and the same. But then Clancy Brown does get around a bit.

[David]

Ooh snow.

That wasn’t there before.

[David]

A reminder of how much of an arse Seth Rogan is.

[Sue Sims]

Ooh snow.

That wasn’t there before.

That's not snow, David. It's solidified particles of global warming.

[pst314]

That's not snow, David. It's solidified particles of global warming.

Either way, more vodka is called for.

[pst314]

A reminder of how much of an arse Seth Rogan is.

Speaking of which, when did Stephen King become such an vile arsehole? He hasn't deleted the original tweet yet, which suggests that he is not embarrassed even after the evidence and testimony shown at the trial.

[anon a mouse]

"'You won't let your Dad go private, will you?"

Hmm. That sounds a bit, well...

[David]

I like that, despite the years, I’m still slightly excited on discovering that it’s snowed overnight.

#JustABigKidAndAdorableWithIt

[WTP]

when did Stephen King become such an vile arsehole?

He’s always been one. Creeped me out how popular he was. Not just his books but he himself. And our bloody libraries are full of his books. Multiple copies at times. Yet try and find anything by Thomas Hobbes or anything of substance and it’s like the Monty Python Cheese Shoppe sketch.

[pst314]

He’s always been one.

I never really knew anything personal about him until the internet. Read The Stand when it came out in paperback. Was sort of okay but not good enough to get me to ever read another of his books--although my dislike of horror fiction might also have been a factor. ;-)

Not sure what it is about horror that appeals to some people (entirely foreign and mystifying to me) but I speculate that there must be multiple factors as there seems to be great variety in what sorts of horror people like/dislike/loathe. For instance, I knew people who liked HP Lovecraft or vampire/zombie stories but who could not stomach the art of HR Giger. One woman proudly brought her Giger coffee table book to a party, and the photo of the artist removed all doubt that he was a seriously disturbed and possibly dangerous person. Ann Rice might be another example: I knew people who really liked her, but when I finally took a brief look at two of her novels I was horrified by how they reveled in cruelty.

Creeped me out how popular he was.

Fan adulation has always tended to creep me out. Unable to distinguish between the art and the artist? Pathological need for someone to worship? Everyone has faults that make them unsuitable objects of worship, and writers/artists tend to be especially flawed. Although I've personally known a few who were fine people who I very much liked.

[Sam Duncan]

“Our ruling elites are cultural vandals”

“What they are proposing to do to Notre-Dame would never be done to Westminster Abbey or Saint Peter’s in Rome.”

The Church of England: “Oh, I dunno though...”

“I like that, despite the years, I’m still slightly excited on discovering that it’s snowed overnight.”

One thing I miss about being a kid is snowball fights and building snowmen. But I suppose being free to do whatever and go wherever you want is a fair trade-off.

Oh, wait...

[David]

One thing I miss about being a kid is snowball fights and building snowmen.

This morning, with the temperature somewhere around zero, I drove past three students wearing only underpants and having a snowball fight. I’m assuming the activity was over pretty quickly.

#TrueStory

[pst314]

I drove past three students wearing only underpants and having a snowball fight.

Likely, but you never know: When I was about 6 years old my friends and I would sometimes play in the snow while wearing only indoor clothing. It took a long time before we started to feel cold and want warm jackets.

[Buck F]

Physical virtual space? Or is it virtual physical space?

I threw an online orgy and virtually nobody came.

Color processing ended when Eastman Kodak folded.

Exactly what does one do when processing emotions surrounding the Rittenhouse verdicts? Is it permissible to dance and frolic?

[WTP]

An example of the politicization of damn near everything. My wife asked me why the Auburn-Alabama football rivalry. Game was called the "Iron Bowl". I knew it had something to do with Birmingham, AL being a steel industry area but was curious as to other details. Picking this Wiki article up and putting it down twixt plays and such, I stumble across this extensive paragraph...

During the 1930s and into the 1940s while the football rivalry was in hiatus, Auburn under the leadership of President Duncan, became the administrative home for several New Deal agencies: the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Soil Conservation Service, and the Resettlement Administration. The federal Government funding flowing into Auburn soon drew the ire of the University of Alabama trustees and their partisans in the Alabama Legislature. President Duncan was able to influence the placement of these agencies at Auburn due to his support for Governor Bibb Graves. Both the president and the governor supported the New Deal faction of the Democratic Party in Alabama. Graves was well connected in Washington D.C. with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and often lobbied in D.C. on "plum-tree-shaking expeditions". Meanwhile, Duncan with his connections in the Alabama Farm Bureau and as the director of the Extension Service exercised great control over the organized farm vote. By the mid 1940s, the Democratic Party was splintering in Alabama, with the rise of the Dixiecrats and those who remained loyal to the national party. One of the most outspoken critics of Auburn was publisher Harry Ayers, who would later endorse Harry Truman in 1945. In 1940 Duncan had successfully opposed Ayers' candidacy as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, which deeply offended the publisher. The Anniston editor had been a long-time advocate of consolidating Auburn and Alabama, "so that Auburn would become the dangling tail of a Tuscaloosa kite". In August, 1942, President Duncan wrote to Raymond Paty, the newly-appointed president of the University of Alabama, that the relationship between their two schools was "of such magnitude and gravity" that he had given the question more attention than any other problem he faced as president. He urged Paty that Auburn and Alabama should agree upon a funding formula that would give each institution the same appropriation per in-state student, an idea which worked against the University of Alabama's self-image as the state's capstone university.

WTALF? What?!? Football. American football. Does it really entail this much political detail? Who cares? FDR was from NY. Truman was from Missouri. How did any of this lead to the Pat Dye years? Did Bear Bryant leave Kentucky for Alabama because of someone lost or gained TVA funding?

[Bun]

The Salvation Army calls fake news.

[Richard Cranium]

But then Clancy Brown does get around a bit.

My word, Mr. Ream; I have learned something today thanks to you. I thank you for that.

[ccscientist]

On the Notre Dame cathedral thing: During the French Revolution, the mob took over all church property due to the church being rather aligned with the monarchy. The cathedral still belongs to the state, not to the church. The state just leases cathedrals back to the church to use. Odd I know.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

“My name is Morning Star Bear,” she said tearfully as the crowd cheered.

“I’m Bear Clan. I’m Anishinaabe Métis from Treaty Four Territory,” she proclaimed as she described an impoverished childhood beset by violence.

Meanwhile...

...a laborious trace of Bourassa’s family tree revealed that her supposedly indigenous ancestors were in fact immigrant farmers who hailed from Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.

TBF, the supposedly indigenous were immigrants from Siberia, which is part of Russia...

[pst314]

her supposedly indigenous ancestors were in fact immigrant farmers who hailed from Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.

Would this be another case of immigrants doing the jobs that natives won't do?

[pst314]

“My name is Morning Star Bear,”

Sounds like a name crafted for maximum appeal to fatuous sandal-wearing liberals: Remember how sixties hippie chicks would give themselves names like Star Flower Moon Child"?

[pst314]

During the French Revolution, the mob took over all church property

I got the impression, back in the sixties and seventies, that many of the American left wanted to do that to all the churches--and especially to the Catholic Church. It's possible that this attitude has significantly declined, now that so many churches have been successfully infiltrated and subverted, but I'm not sure.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Sounds like a name crafted for maximum appeal to fatuous sandal-wearing liberals...

It is a variant of the We Wuz Kangs phenomenon, or the now largely defunct "past life" craze where everyone had been nobility but no one the chamber pot cleaner, or the "Vietnam-Era Veteran" because time in the Fulda Gap or one on the Korean DMZ doesn't get you the same points.

"My name is Limping Beaver" just isn't going to cut any ice with the hippies.

[anon a mouse]

"...a laborious trace of Bourassa’s family tree"

What's fun is that this is wommenz vs. wommenz. Of pallor, they are all.

Time for popcorn.

[Sam Duncan]

“On the Notre Dame cathedral thing: During the French Revolution, the mob took over all church property due to the church being rather aligned with the monarchy.”

And turned Notre Dame into “the Temple of Reason”. As Mark Twain (is reputed to have) said, history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.

[Sue Sims]

“My name is Morning Star Bear,”

Sounds like a name crafted for maximum appeal to fatuous sandal-wearing liberals: Remember how sixties hippie chicks would give themselves names like Star Flower Moon Child"?

I once taught a girl called Liberty Moon Upchurch ('Upchurch') was her surname). Her parents were definitely of the hippie persuasion, and she was exactly what you might expect - a complete and total nutter, who didn't see any reason why she should sit at a desk, refrain from shouting across the room to her friends, or do any work if she couldn't be bothered. She could very rarely be bothered.

[ccscientist]

pst314: note that during the riots of the past 2years many churches were fire bombed and statues vandalized.

The desire to be important and noticed and special is so strong that people make up a complete fake indian identity. Losers. I think this is part of the crazy with people who are "nonbinary"--they want attention. In a world of billions, you have to go pretty far to stand out and earning it is just too much work.
I met a famous mathematician years ago who was very short and insecure. He made sure you knew he had published 1800 papers--which for those who don't know is astounding. So he was a little bit of a jerk BUT he had accomplished real things with his drive to be noticed. Stolen valor (the "indian" lady) is just sad.

[Darleen]

The Salvation Army calls fake news.

They can "call" all they want. Doesn't change the fact that the 67-page "Let's talk about Racism" guide has merely been moved from the front page to the resources section and their International Social Justice Commission is still intact.

I will not support the Woke cult at SA any more than contributing to Hamas' candy fund.

[WTP]

'Upchurch'

Even that name annoys me, though probably only for personal reasons. Hadn't thought about this kid in probably 50 years...until now. Spoiled rich kid by that name who dressed like a slob/bum but would ride around the area on his mo-ped. He was maybe 13-14 max at the time. He would stop in our neighborhood because he was somewhat friends with the slightly less annoying kids across the street, who also thought he was a pompous ass. Fascinating character study IRL. Knew damn near everything and everyone but was always wrong or could never back up with any proof. Yet he persisted in being extremely confident. Nothing could change his mind and he could bamboozle even the most street smart kids in our neighborhood with his BS. At least until he rode off. Then suddenly kids would say how full of s*t he was. Yet in the guy's presence they were all, "yeah, cool man". My guess is by the time we were older teenagers he had either moved away or his sociopathic skills ran him into the wrong SOB. Or drugs. But my God what a creep. Never seen anything like it since. Close but never with that kind of effectiveness. Especially in someone so young.

[David]

Doesn’t change the fact that the 67-page “Let's talk about Racism” guide has merely been moved from the front page to the resources section

See how they lie. For “social justice.”

[pst314]

The desire to be important and noticed and special is so strong...

On a lighter note, I used to know a lot of people in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). Nearly all of them were Lord this and Lady that. Too often it spilled into real life.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Whatever you do, don't insult the snails.

[pst314]

They can "call" all they want. Doesn't change the fact that the 67-page "Let's talk about Racism" guide has merely been moved from the front page to the resources section and their International Social Justice Commission is still intact.

"Who are you going to believe? Our spin doctors or your lying eyes?"

I will not support the Woke cult at SA any more than contributing to Hamas' candy fund.

Well said. And an entirely fair comparison.
However, some of my friends would like to explain to you the Conservative Case for Never Excluding Communists From Your Beloved Institutions.

[pst314]

Or the Libertarian Case for...

[Steve E]

Sounds like a name crafted for maximum appeal to fatuous sandal-wearing liberals...

And how can we forget Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson.

Also, I believe Ms. Bourassa is known to her husband as Four Horses....Nag, Nag, Nag, Nag. (Shamelessly stolen from somewhere. Probably here.)

[Sam Duncan]

“I think this is part of the crazy with people who are "nonbinary"--they want attention.”

Of course it is. As we've often discussed here, there are already perfectly servicable non-masculine, non-feminine pronouns in English. But being called “it“ doesn't garner as much attention as loudly telling everyone that you want to be known as “❆/✿/❦”.

I actually wandered on to this train of thought earlier today while considering the transgender flag. Surely if it represents an indeterminate midpoint between two extremes, it should simply be a uniform grey? But that's not special.

“their International Social Justice Commission is still intact.”

The concept of “social justice” is utterly antithetical to Christianity. And the really sad part is that there are so many alleged Christians who would be genuinely shocked by that statement.

[John]

On the subject of the the transgender flag I am currently being annoyed every couple of minutes by said flag flashing across the sky tv screen while I’m trying to watch Chelsea. Clearly pissing off your fans by kneeling before kickoff isn’t enough.

[WTP]

Nearly all of them were Lord this and Lady that.
...
loudly telling everyone that you want to be known as “❆/✿/❦”.

Then there was that artist, whatshisname.

[Captain Nemo]

Christmas decoration fail of note:

https://twitter.com/_HelenDale/status/1464993832634925062

[David]

Christmas decoration fail of note

Is he... scratching himself...?

Yes, that must be it.

[pst314]

What exactly do these hand gestures mean?

[WTP]

What exactly do these hand gestures mean?

His right hand...saw that used by NC State Wolfpack fans yesterday...maybe that's it?

[pst314]

His right hand...saw that used by NC State Wolfpack fans yesterday...maybe that's it?

I assume it's not actually "hook em horns" but then there is much I do not know about the fine points of ghetto culture.

[Steve E]

I assume it's not actually "hook em horns"

Back in the day--High School in the 70s--that meant "bullshit." I have no idea what it means today. I've seen it used in too many contexts. I guess I'm getting old.