Month: September 2024

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When I was a young man one of the things that appalled me was middle-aged men in socks and sandals. These men were at the bottom rung of cool. They had fallen so far from fashionable that they would go out looking like that. See above.

And then it happened to me. First it was just a one time thing. I had to help Bob with the groceries and my socks were on and my shoes weren’t. It was too easy to slip on my flip flops and help then for me to find my tennis shoes, slip them on and tie the laces. Besides nobody would see me. It has advanced to running chores around town because I will only be out for a minute or two and it isn’t likely that anyone will see me.

Now I just don’t give a damn. See below, me today.

Yes I have succumbed to the ultimate fashion faux pas for men — socks and sandals. Pray for me.

If you want to see more of this fashion abomination, go to this site.

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Missouri executed Marcellus Williams despite there being evidence that he was innocent. The family of the murdered woman asked that his sentence be commuted to life in prison so there was no pressure from them for execution. The county prosecutor found issues with his case and wanted further investigation. Missouri still went ahead because Williams was found guilty by a jury of his peers.

As if a jury sentence can’t be wrong when we know that human institutions are wrong all of the time. When the sentence is death, then the state should be confident that the verdict was correct. Any information that creates doubt regarding the verdict ineeds to be investigated to ensure that execution is merited.

This is why I am not a fan of capital punishment. A wrong verdict that takes away 20 years or so of a person’s life is bad enough but if the state discovers they were wrong, then the person, at least, has his life. Death can not be undone. Missouri seemed more concerned about carrying out the sentence than ensuring that the verdict was correct.

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Ryan Murphy, television’s master of horror, has a new series about the Menendez Brothers who famously killed their rich parents and tried to get away with it. Then when cornered pivoted to blame their parent’s deaths on the child and sexual abuse their father meted out. Sounds like a great pot boiler to me and just up Murphy’s street.

There is, however, one big problem with Murphy’s slant of the story. Murphy speculates that the two brothers had an incestuous affair. Murphy’s shows have always been free in throwing in gratuitous sex, especially gratuitous gay sex, so this should come as no surprise. But, then, this is also a “true” story. The Menendez brothers, in fact, killed Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brothers are still alive and are claiming it is a lie.

Murphy admits it is speculation, so where does this leave the story? Well as bullshit, pure unadulterated bullshit. If this were some little detail that was needed for dramatic continuity, maybe Murphy could be forgiven. But this is a bombshell. There may have been whispers in the past about an incestuous relationship between the brothers but never any confirmation. Murphy is saying it happened

Murphy could have fictionalized the story which would have given him a lot more leeway in how the story went. There would be no need to worry about strict adherence to the facts. But that isn’t what he did. He follows the historical information regarding the case to tell his story which would lead most viewers that this is a factual depiction.

There is even a case to be made for Murphy hinting at a relationship without actually coming out and saying it happened. The audience could then do their own speculation based on the facts. The facts are still largely followed but a certain mystery is added without actually stating it is truth. It would become part of the mystery of the story.

To veer off into speculation in the middle of a historical show, particularly speculation regarding the brothers sexual practices, is highly unethical. This is a bombshell. A bombshell that there is little proof to support and which the participants deny happened. The good news, at least for Murphy and his colleagues, is the Menendez Brothers are known liars and convicted murderers. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Trying to give their side of the story becomes a bit more problematic. Who are you going to believe — blood thirsty killers or a reputable member of the Hollywood entertainment community?

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Brett Favre announced today that he has Parkinson’s Disease. The Daily Beast called the diagnosis shocking which seems a bit of a stretch to me. Since Favre played football for over 20 years and has had as least 4 diagnosed cases of concussion while also claiming to have had close to 1,000 concussions in his career, shocking would be if doctors failed to find any brain injuries. But finding Parkinson’s Disease is sad and tragic but far from shocking for a man with his history.

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Since I have started writing on a daily basis, I have discovered that sometimes I have trouble coming up with the right word or phrase to actually explain what I am thinking. It happens frequently. I stop writing then and try to think of the right word.

I used to wait and come back to the piece and hope that it came to me. Sometimes it did but sometimes it didn’t. When I struggled, I started to use the best word or phrase I can come up to explain what I mean even though it wasn’t really the word I wanted. This allowed me to complete my blog but it bothered me when I did that because it isn’t exactly what I wanted to say and my meaning is a bit off. It is close but not quite right.

I tried the thesaurus thinking that since I am close, the thesaurus will list the correct word. This usually worked but sometimes, remarkably, the word I am looking for wasn’t there. Then I think that the word I was looking for hasn’t been invented yet which I find unbelievable. I am fairly certain that I am not the first person in 6,000 years or so of history to want this word. So where did it go and why can’t I find it?

It also dawned on me that this is the problem with all human communication. No one can quite say what they really want to say because they are missing the right words to say it. In order to communicate, people have to use whatever words come to them in order to move the conversation along. The problem is when the conversation continues with these not quite right words, are we really understanding each other?

So even when we speak the same language and are understanding the words we say, the person we are talking with may not understand us for lack of the right word It is really quite amazing that we get along as well as we do.

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The problem with comparing Donald Trump to Hitler is that Hitler is as bad as they come. Very few people quite match up to Hitler, Stalin and Mao spring to mind but then, after them, there is a pretty huge gap between potential Hitlers and actual Hitlers. It is very inaccurate measurement and should be used sparingly if ever. because if Trump is like Hitler, then isn’t killing Trump the right thing to do. There is no moral equivocation here. Better to kill the tyrant before the tyrant has power.

My narrow viewpoint of the efficacy of comparing Trump to Hitler, however, is not universally agreed upon. People are comparing Trump to Hitler, or at least to a potential Fascist dictator, and claiming he is an existential threat to democracy. If he is indeed that dangerous that leaves us with the question does Trump deserve killing?

I, personally, think it is a bad idea. A really bad idea. This means we who oppose the man need to be careful when people try to make an attempt on his life. Make it clear that Trump does not deserve this treatment and that this behavior is unacceptable. Indeed assassinating political opponents is far more dangerous than Trump himself. So far, Democrats, at least publicly, are saying this. There is, however, this unspoken sentiment that the world would be better off without him.

I think it needs to be said: he is a human being. An awful human being but a human being nonetheless. If he doesn’t rise to Hitleresque, and he doesn’t, then he deserves, as much as I do, his life. Nobody has the right to execute someone because you don’t like him or his politics. If he gets elected, we will need to see what happens.

It is a risk. But one that is preferable to people taking the law into their own hands. A Trump assassination is potentially disastrous in so many ways because, if the right wing is as dangerous as the Left believes, there could be bloody revenge and then what happens? This means President Trump is a better bet than a dead Trump.

Now, a better solution is for Harris to beat him, and beat him soundly, in the upcoming election.

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I watched the debate on Tuesday and I didn’t catch the same vibe really. I mean Trump sounded crazy as shit, he fell into Harris’ traps and his lies were so outrageous that the moderators had to correct him twice. I realize this has irked some people but honestly Harris’ lies were pretty well hidden and arguable enough that no moderator could justify the interruption. Trump’s, on the other hand, were whoppers and easily refuted.

That said, he didn’t seem any more crazy than usual. This was your standard Trump performance. I can’t see that it will make much of a difference with ardent Trump supporters. There may be that very thin slice of voters who hate Trump but are going to vote for him any way who might be influenced but I think these people have already made their peace about their vote. If they were on the Titanic, they would drown because they went back to their rooms to retrieve their jewels.

There are people who claim to be neutral but how many people are really in that camp. Trump has been around too long and is too divisive for people not to have an opinion on him. People either like him or they don’t. That means something like a debate, while entertaining for those of us who support Harris, is going to change very few minds. Trump’s performance was pretty much the same level of craziness that he has displayed for years without serious effect.

The fact that 68 million people watched it might have a little significance. Maybe the few undecided voters who watched will make their minds up based on her superb performance. But, then, there will be people who won’t like the sound of her voice, her vivid facial reactions to Trumps bull shit, or some bit of minutia that would be of no significance to the normal person but is of overwhelming importance to this voter. I know a woman who couldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton based on Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. Yes that was the determining factor in her vote — some nonsense about Chelsea’s wedding dress.

So, for now, the debate has given me hope but I am still worried about how this is all going to pan out. Keep in mind that Hillary Clinton won her two debates as well so what this means is difficult to know.

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Elon Musk, ever the gentleman, has offered to impregnate Taylor Swift and defend her cats after she coyly endorsed Kamala Harris for president with a single cat lady joke. Musk thinks he is being humorous and this one almost rises to the level of a smirk but it also draws attention to his own rather bizarre family life.

Musk has 12 kids from three different mothers, only two of whom he has managed to take down the aisle. His approach is simple. He inseminates the women, gives them the money to raise his children and off he goes to the next woman to impregnate. His idea of being a good father is providing his children with DNA and money. He certainly isn’t living with all them or doing simple fatherly tasks like taking them to school, having dinner, and tucking them into bed.

How he fits into being a good father is none of my business until he bangs on about the need for more children in this world. Most men don’t have the billions he has to hire other people to do his fatherly chores. They have to do them all themselves. It would be wise for people who are so concerned about the depopulation of the earth to show how busy men can both be productive individuals while still being a hands-on father. to a brood of 12 children.

Until then, he might shut is gob, even if he is joking, about bringing another child with a distant father into the world.

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I think most conservatives will agree that Kathleen Ryan, an Oakland County Michigan judge, needs to be removed from her position. The headlines are pretty cagey about why she got canned. It sounds like she is getting the ax for racism when actually it is for sexual harassment. Her racism is just the icing on the cake and I am sure will come into play if she eludes removal for sexual harassment.

Ryan’s problem, as a judge, is that her impartiality has been impinged beyond repair. She also appears to be a bit of an idiot which I think everyone, Right, Left and Center can agree on. Most smart public figures, in this day and age, know that it is unwise to speak this way unless they absolutely know for certain the other person agrees with them because her opinions are flagrantly racist. She was bound to piss off someone sometime and she did. Ryan was talking with an employee. If nothing else, this shows an amazing lack of good sense.

She could have relayed her opinions through a coded racist cant that lets everyone know what she was thinking without exposing her to racist’s complaints. Ryan gleefully and unapologetically cuts loose with her racism. Worse still, she is unaware that what she is saying is racist which is troubling. How is she supposed to rule in a case where racism is involved, if she has an inability to identify what racism is?

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I complain a lot about autocorrect particularly after I quickly type a text and send it without reviewing my text. Invariably, autocorrect has changed something and made my clearly understandable statement into something utterly confusing. But, after you eliminate these mistakes, which technically are mine because I failed to review the text, I do believe my spelling is getting better because of autocorrect.

The other day I typed tattletail and got the old red line. I was mystified. So I typed tattle tail but it occurred to me that this might be wrong because tattle and tail are two valid words so I was forced to looked it up. Boy was I surprised to learn that I have been misspelling tattletail for a long time. It is tattletale not tattletail.

For some reason, a bunny comes to mind every time I think of tattletale. Which makes me think of tail instead of tale. But after reading the definition it makes so much more sense to spell it tattletale than tattletail. And I owe it all to autocorrect.