More zbouillabaisse!
1. Inspiration from rob
rob's last post motivated me to post Nina Simone's version of House of the Rising Sun. The last 30-or-so seconds will remind you that she was a classically trained pianist who turned to jazz when she didn't get into Juilliard.
2. Inspiration from Professor G. Truck
Prof. Truck's recent post motivated me to tell you that many of the old Spider-Man cartoons from our childhood (the 1967 version) are available on Youtube. zdaughter is into Spider-Man and she likes to watch a video before bedtime and these short cartoons fit the bill perfectly. New ones go up and get taken down by whoever owns the copyright (Jack Urbont?)--until today they were all available in a playlist but now you have to scroll through them all. This one reminds me of a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
3. Politicians crack me up
New Hampshire state Rep. James Spillane (no relation to Mickey) endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024 but has suddenly switched to Ron DeSantis, stating “I can no longer continue endorsing former President Trump. I am officially withdrawing my endorsement, as his most recent attack on Kayleigh McEnany is beyond comprehension and explanation .... Against my deepest hopes that Trump had learned some measure of control, he has attacked those who have been his staunchest supporters with no regard for their loyalty."
Spillane further opined "The reason being that when I did endorse Trump I thought that he would be able to continue with a positive message, learn from his past mistakes and give us a way forward to continue the policies that he started before … But it’s become evident, especially with the latest attack on Kayleigh McEnany that there’s no loyalty in him.”
To be fair and balanced he added that "The people of NH, and the people of this nation, deserve messages of positivity and hope, not negative attacks and degradation as we have seen is the hallmark of the Biden administration."
Trump's "attack" on McEnany was his calling her a Milktoast (sic) RINO because she said Trump was 25 points ahead of DeSantis in the polls when he thought he was up 34 points.
So just to be clear, Spillane is fine with the coup and extorting Ukraine, but calling Kayleigh McEnany a Milktoast is a bridge too far for him. I guess we shouldn't be surprised given his history.
Also, Mike Pence joined Sons of Anarchy.
4. Texas cracks me up
Like the citizens in most red-leaning states, many Texans have been conditioned to believe that "The Government" is their enemy, coming to steal their "Freedom!" with malign "Regulations!".
Texans won't stand for that hooey. For example, Texas proudly deregulated their electricity utilities in 2002. Electrons need freedom too! That experiment didn't turn out exactly as expected, but Texans won't get fooled again by slick corporations and their externalities.
Or not. Elon Musk's Boring Company (boring because they dig tunnels, not because they're dull, get it?) broke ground in Bastrop County Texas and they're running roughshod. Or perhaps not, depending on your view of Freedom! and Regulations!.
A local organic farmer commented “Between Elon Musk coming in here and all the sand and gravel mines ... suddenly this bucolic, pastoral prime farmland is now more than a thousand acres of an industrial site. There’s no zoning, there are no rules. It’s the Wild West.”
The local county commissioner replied “This is Texas. This is called property rights. If you own the property and you stay within the state laws, you can pretty much do what you want.”
A local real estate agent perhaps summed up things best when he said “I love Elon, and we need more industry here. I just don’t want him to dump his poop in the river.”
If only The Government could protect the little guy's Freedom! from Musk's musky dung. Maybe with some Regulations!. Nah, that's awful stuff.
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