Wasn't feeling well today, laying down for 20 minutes after grading a paper (Most papers are 12-15 pages, I provide 3-4 pages of comments). Skipped breakfast with an upset stomach. I ate some watermelon during the day. I walked down to a fast food spaghetti place, and got a caco de pepe takeaway. 8 Euros, but it tasted good and has stayed down.
Back to grading. I tell students to save their work as a word doc, they save it as a pdf. 😡 So I can't add comments to it easily.
World Cup final in a bit. I'll note that walking to the Spaghetto restaurant, I passed 25-30 Argentina kits walking towards a sports bar. I asked a local friend here, he says Spain is not popular in Italy.
There's a lot of emigration/immigration between Italy and Argentina. Pope Francis was born in Argentina to Italian parents and spoke Piedmontese before Spanish.
well, plan for the day... drum roll... organize spare room to make room for the keyboard. Right now it's in the front room where a sofa, elliptical & tv w/ stand are. Makes it a bit crowded. The spare room has become awfully junky, & I'd say at least 85% hubs. So, before my bday & anniversary, he asked what I wanted & I said clear it out. Then my craft room cabinet broke, so he had an easy way out & he replaced that. But now he's not liking the crowded front room area, so he's reluctantly agreeing to work on the spare room... we'll see how it goes.
Thanks —- he had a slow start. I went back to the craft room to finish some cards —- needed more masculine stuff plus I had a bunch of smaller note cards vs greeting cards. I asked him to holler when he was ready to tackle the spare room…. Well, time went by, I needed a break & a snack —— aaargfh - he was still at his computer. I jokingly said ‘all done?’ —- that prompted him off his rear. Quick snack for me & I joined him & we got a lot done. Still more - all his stuff which he claims he’ll take care of. But the keyboard is set up in there & looks good 👌
Wild Kingdom debuted on NBC on January 6, 1963, hosted by Marlin Perkins—a University of Missouri zoology dropout. At its peak, the show drew an average of 34 million viewers, powered by Perkins' scholarly manner and the derring-do of his younger sidekick, Jim Fowler, who tended to do the actual snake-wrestling while Marlin narrated from a safe distance. Perkins came by his caution honestly. Back in 1928, as a young reptile curator at the St. Louis Zoo, he was bitten on the finger by a Gaboon viper—one of Africa's deadliest snakes—with no antivenom on hand. He survived, becoming one of only a handful of people ever known to do so.
a newer incarnation, Protecting the Wild, is co-hosted by Peter Gros and Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Classic Perkins-era episodes still air Sunday mornings on the nostalgia-oriented MeTV
This fueled a running gag Johnny Carson loved during their many Tonight Show visits, which became a highlight on Carson’s show.
Johnny Carson, Jim Fowler & a coyote answering nature's call
and more from 1440, but start in the here & now: Bella and Luna remain the top two dog names for the fourth year in a row, according to U.S. News and World Report. Max, Coco, and Daisy round out the top five names in the 56 million American households that welcome pups. Bella is also the most popular name across breeds, topping the list of nearly 50 varieties. The top 100 names included a surprising nod to Greek and Norse mythology with Zeus, Loki, Apollo, Thor, and Athena.
Found on 1440: Xenophon, a historian from ancient Greece, proposed that the best dog names were limited to one or two syllables and referenced important qualities, like courage or speed. Some ideas include Médas, meaning ruler, or Spudḗ, meaning zeal. Other popular names translate to Growler, Happy, and Dagger. In addition to dogs like Cerberus being mentioned in Greek mythology, ancient Greek citizens had dogs for hunting and protection. The photo shown on 1440 was of a old drawing, not quite as old as a cave drawing, of a man leading a dog w/ a leash.
Thinking about the talk yesterday of ants in the pants, or house or wherever, look what I found on 1440: The giant African harvester ant is rising in popularity as a pet and fueling illegal global trade, with creatures sometimes costing as much as $220. People are increasingly interested in certain ant species as pets due to their unique size, complex behavior, and low-maintenance care requirements. The growing demand for ants as pets is clashing with regulations aimed at preventing wild ants from moving into areas where they are not native. As a result, the underground ant trading has spread and driven up prices. Removing these ants from their native East Africa can have a negative impact on ecosystems, reducing food supplies for various animals, disrupting seed dispersal, and potentially harming new species that they are introduced to.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before I think I have – I have a huge concrete hand sitting in front ofmy fireplace. IMO, it’s really cool. Then I found some huge metal ants with bendable legs so I have placed those ants on that big hand crawling around on the hand. I love it or as the song says I like it. I love it. I wanna have more of it.
peace to you, & all. All are saying hotter days are coming... I'm looking into various games for the game group to play Aug. 3. Perhaps Dutch Blitz - we haven't played it yet. Altho one person who wants to play it goes north for the summer & won't be back till Sept/Oct.
I like playing Murder. It's best for larger groups. You have a narrator, then everyone is dealt a card face down (one card in the deck per person). Although it doesn't matter what actual cards you designate, I like having the two one eyed Jacks as assassins. The Ace of Spades is the Priest, the King of Clubs is the sheriff. The narrator has everyone close their eyes, then he invites the two assassins to identify who they will kill. Then after they close their eyes he asks the priest who he will save. Then he asks the Sherrif who he wants to arrest. Based on who was selected, the narrator weaves an inventive tale, the longer the better.
A. (if the priest didn't save the right person). There was a murder in town last night.
B. (If the priest saved the right person). There was an attempted murder last night.
If the sheriff picks an assassin, the narrator adds that to the two stories above.
But the key isn't to simply announce it, but to weave a story that is playful (how the victim died, etc.). For example: There was a murder in town. Apparently Jay told one too many puns and someone snapped! A pencil was found buried deep in his right eyeball socket! Apparently his last words were "I guess the Aye has it'! Police are sifting clues but there are too many suspects, and no witnesses!
It's best for a group where people know one another, so they can get the inside jokes. A good narrator makes it fun.
Once a person has been murdered or arrested, they don't have to close their eyes, so they can identify the victim, priest, and sheriff. But they're not allowed to say.
The game goes until either the two Assassins are arrested, or the sheriff is killed.
We used clubs because it was an inside joke with Christy. calling me a caveman, she said I preferred clubs because knocking women over the head with one was how I got dates!
yes, we've played that several times - everyone loves it!! My sons introduced it to me several yrs ago, When COVID hit, they would play via ZOOM w/ their friends. It's a great game, altho hubs doesn't like it 'cause you can't carry on casual conversation while playing. When he gathers w/ friends to play games, he likes something to chat while playing. Swoop is good for that, or Pegs & Jokers/marbles & Jokers (goes by many names, or Skip-Bo... I could go on, but he won't play Codenames.
Teengirl has broken her braces again, and we have an appointment on Monday for a repair. A reminder email came, and when I clicked the "Confirm" button, I got a message: "The custom error module does not recognize this error."
I am grading papers today. I took a nap, due to heat related dizziness. I bought 4 bottles of powerade and am drinking my 3rd one today. That seems to help a bit.
Foreign students use AI to write their papers; 😡 My favorite was the last sentence of the concluding comments; "This analysis is diagnosis only — it establishes the competitive and environmental context within which future strategic choices must be made — but it is a diagnosis that clearly identifies where the decisive strategic battle will be fought."
I found it fun and interesting to read two reviews on The Odyssey movie - both from National Review, and in complete disagreement. I do confess that I quite often do enjoy Armond White's reviews if for no other reason than he is funny - even if in the way Ignatius J. Reilly is in Confederacy of Dunces.
The two reviewers bios and a representative quote are below. I am sure we will see the movie, and enjoy it. The nihilistic chaos in Christopher Nolan movies can be mesmerizing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giancarlo Sopo is a cultural writer exploring the intersection of cinema, politics, and the conservative imagination.
"Nolan Honors the Gods. He has delivered an epic that treats the metaphysical with moral seriousness, and honors the ruinous cost of crossing the divine."
Armond White is National Review’s culture critic and received the American Book Award’s Anti-Censorship prize.
"Christopher Nolan’s unheroic epic alters the history of movie-watching. This version of The Odyssey as an adventure spectacular goes against notions of survival, quest, intelligence, masculinity, civilization — foundational principles of the West that Nolan’s previous films all destroyed through his emphasis on chaos. Here, Nolan indulges chaos once again."
Unlike the Odyssey, there can be no disagreement about the artistry of that. Though I wonder what it is that drew 9.5 million views! What explains that?
Gosh. Literature, including the dramatic-epic kind, is literature and meant to be appreciated and enjoyed. I majored in that stuff, so I get how to read it, or view it if it's made into a movie. Some people are just trying too hard to figure it out.
I think that, if you're a writer about movies, you need to come up with a lot of Important Stuff to Say instead of, "I really liked (or didn't like) this movie."
It's good if they can provide two or three reasons, so I can decide how those related to my preferences. If a reviewer says, "The best thing about this movie was the non-stop action!" then I know that I don't want to see it, because that's not what I enjoy.
IDK if I'll go see it; it's awfully long. As a journal editor I grade on the "length to contribution"; 50 pages to same the thing as a 30 page? I go with the latter. A long movie that really provides depth and context, provided it's well done is probably okay.
I'm frustrated by the lack of good reviews, and errors. Elliott page plays Sinon, not Achilles, although I suggested Achilles in the underworld (showing Achilles being reduced from a near perfect specimen to a ghost of himself would be powerful). Gotta be honest; I don't see Matt Damon as Odysseus. Maybe I'll be proved wrong.
I listened to The Rest Is History podcast - two episodes - reviewing the story and tangentially the movie. If one is looking for a easy, interesting review of The Odyssey story, without the investment in time of the movie, this was enjoyable.
Right. Or if one of their reasons is it's not politically palatable to them, and I know I don't share their politics, I know that objection is not relevant to my enjoyment.
Smoke update: My windows were open overnight to let in the fresh air. As of 9 a.m. we have a reading of 49. This is green and categoriezed as "Good" with the statement "Good time to go outdoors." I plan to do that. This evening some more smoke is due to enter the area. I'll shut my windows just before it does, and mostly stay in tomorrow. Shifting winds should push it out of here by Monday morning, and I doubt it will be as bad as Thursday and Friday were.
I still get a little whiff of that chemical smell from time to time. My guess is that there was some settling of particles on surfaces indoors, and motion stirs them up. I put out some bowls of vinegar just in case that may do some good. It's supposed to help clear the air of cigarette smoke and cooking odors.
From my experience here, it seems that rain can be helpful, but it's more about which way the wind blows and where the fronts are. It turns out you do need a weatherman to know tha!!
"The cold front and the associated thunderstorms are expected to exit our area between 7-8 PM CDT this evening with otherwise dry conditions expected for the rest of the night. Behind the front, north-northeast winds will begin to usher in another plume of wildfire smoke. While the latest smoke guidance continues to show the concentration to be less than what wasseen the past couple days, upstream observations are showing visibilities in the 1-3 mile range across northern MI and WI."
That one's name is Yack. There's another one whose last name is Doom--I've seen him quoted in newspaper stories. Whether garrulous or bearing bad news, they are worth paying attention to. I now have a pretty good handle on what time to batten the hatches.
(However, it should be either "between 7 and 8" or "from 7 to 8." The hyphen or en dash doesn't work in this sentence structure. They know their meteorology; I know my copyediting.)
I also want to say that I really appreciate the infrastructure already in place for the public to get AQI readings for their immediate vicinity. For something so granular--it displays readings each hour, and (at least in my case and most of the north side) for a point within half a mile of one's location--it is pretty easy to figure out and use regularly. So kudos to the people who worked together to develop that.
Here's the home page. Enter your location, then when the page with the circle comes up, select "fire and smoke map," enlarge it to zoom in on your immediate area, look for a dot near you, and then fiddle with it until it lets you click the dot with your little hand cursor. That should give the latest readings--sometimes there's a lag in what you see. If you do it right, there'll be a nice little popup with a handy color hour-by-hour graph.
I am in Dallas seeing our new grandson. Everyone is doing well, but oh my gosh reminded how fortunate that we have the great medical care of today. Fifty years ago the mother would have been in dire straits.
Though we are Catholic, the mother's family is Jewish. The Bris is in a week. Last night at dinner with the family, I overhear the planning that I am to walk and present the baby to the procedure. Me... "wait, what?" Should I worry he will hold it against me forever more? Or is this a gracious attempt to include the gentiles for a sense of belonging? Both?
I’m just now reading this … 50 years ago the mother would have been in dire straits??
Breech birth? Large baby? My first was close to 50 yrs ago, breech/not only never turned but was sideways & was 11 lbs 3 ozs. Ex husband at that time was wanting natural delivery, cause that was cool, the right thing to say… - Dr told him, looking him in the eye, then you’d lose not just your wife but your son. Then when I had a c-section he couldn’t stay to hold my hand cage almost fainted. Poor baby. But so proud to have a son.
The mother is very small and the baby was getting big, so the docs wanted to induce a week or so early. The drugs or something caused blood pressure to spike, so more drugs for that. Then eventually a C-section. All the drugs, the long failed labor before they decided on C-section.. all of it has the poor momma all out of whack.
I can't remember what TV show it was, this was so long ago, but a subplot of an episode was that a Jewish man who was the good friend of a Christian family was invited to be a godfather. He was up for it, though he understood it was unusual. First thing he did when he stepped up for the church ceremony was put a yarmulke on his head. Nobody minded--it was how he was brought up to behave in the house of the Lord, so that made an ecumenical statement right there.
“Males will also make demonstration nests to show the females they aren’t totally useless.” That’s kinda one of the stories of my life. The effort often ends in failure.
For those who appreciate David French, here are 53 minutes of him and Sarah Longwell complimenting each other (at the beginning and the end 😉), with some middle conversation about why character matters.
Plovers! Cousins of the Montrose Beach Great Lakes Piping Plovers. They have things in common, like 4 eggs and vulnerability. Except the latter are endangered.
Ah... the "Europoors" being impressed by the wealth of the USA... 😉
Of course, the great majority of football supporters are working class, and therefore are among the poorer in Europe, and as we both know, no country is as bad (or as good), as it is portrayed on social media.
The WSJ a few weeks ago published an article based on the annual UBS global wealth report, claiming that Americans are much richer than Europeans, based on average wealth per adult.
However, the same report explains that individual wealth, without the distortion of corporations and a few very rich people, is much better represented by medium wealth.
Not only the main European countries have seen in the last few years a much higher increase of median wealth per adult than of average wealth, but it is the opposite in the USA. As we know, the US stock market has been mostly driven by AI and crypto-currency, which has increased average wealth, but not median wealth.
Moreover, when looking at average wealth per adult, the USA is indeed number 2 in the world, behind Switerland, but when it comes to median wealth per adult, it is 28th, well behind many European countries. For instance, the median wealth per adult in the USA is below 70000 USD, while in France, 14th on the list, it is above 120000 USD, in Belgium, 2nd, it is 277000 USD.
In some countries, the display of "wealth" based on personal debt, is not considered a good thing. But working class people coming from such countries might easily be impressed by such display, believing that it means something different from what it actually means: they are used to "iceberg" wealth, not "floating cork" wealth.
I do not have access to the body of the article which you quote, but on what do they base their conclusions? On anecdotal evidence of some social media accounts? (Some of which have been demonstrated to be fake)
I have worked for about 2 years in the USA, and it is not that bad, but it is not that good either. 😊
I glaze over with the statistical stuff; it's sublimated cock posturing. I just liked a piece that wasn't cranking on all the stupid stuff in America, and laugh that shitty ranch dressing out of a bottle impresses folks. After that, I don't care.
the ranch dressing stuff is a perfect example of stuff which is wildly exaggerated, and that the TSA is "warning" people about it, simply shows that there is "official" propaganda behind these things.
Carerefore Express near the Pantheon doesn't have it. I actually looked. I was pleased to find Ambi Pur (Febreeze) available about a ten minute walk the opposite direction. But I went there Thursday, so i didn't look for Ranch dressing.
Carrefour Express, is a very small supermarket, in city centers, with little choice and high prices. Most tourists only know these small supermarkets and have never been in the huge hypermarkets.
The ranch dressing at Monoprix is made by Amora, the same company which owns Maille (which I believe you find in the US), and Amora is the biggest condiment manufacturer in France (now owned by Unilever, but still "French"), so if Amora makes a "sauce ranch" it will be found in any large supermarkets (hypermarchés) in France.
I used to live near the Panthéon, in the late 70s, early 80s, I loved the neighbourhood.
All this talk about ranch dressing seems to come from Americans who have never been to Europe and pretended to be Europeans for the benefit of... Americans, and as soon as something get some traction on the Internet, people doing tiktok, etc., do the same, because it increases their views, likes, etc. It has nothing to do with what they really experienced or thought, but with what will bring them more views.
A false trend is very easily created and only sloppy journalists believe it is real. I believe it was Scott Lincicome at The Dispatch who wrote a lazy article, similar to the one in the WSJ, as well as Goldberg and Hayes in some podcasts who referred to ranch dressing.
All they had to do was to checl whether ranch dressing could be found in European supetmarkets, on their Web sites. Of course they have to realize to call it "sauce ranch" and not "ranch dressing" in France.
Unless they meant people who dress like cowboys. Yeeha !
Addition: the Gini coefficient, which measures wealth distribution ( the higher, the worse), is 0.77 for the USA, 0.57 for France, and 0.46 for Belgium. Which confirms that Belgian people are indeed individually much wealthier.
"Yet fans flocked to the U.S. by the millions anyway—and what they found was an America that looked nothing like the one they’d seen on social media back home."
What they found was America [or China or Europe or...] was nothing like what is seen on social media.
The story was nice. Noting that it was in the WSJ not the NYT, it was safe to see somme of the readers comments too.
Yeah. The emphasis on "...what they found looked nothing like what they'd seen on social media." That's my operating thesis on China; people in the West don't have a clue because it's all media and social media driven nonsense. That's not to say Americans would like China, in fact I'd guess most folks wouldn't like it for lots of reasons, but that's not the same as not understanding what it is.
There. That...that's kinda the basis for not liking something/anything one is unfamiliar with. Expectations. That was the key to my business...managing client expectations.
There's plenty of ways to burn out on China...like 1.4 billion of them. Just the nonstop sheer crush of humanity in almost all activities can wear one down if they're not ready for it.
Killdeer are ubiquitous here in WI. They seem to do just fine even with a 50% nest failure rate. Yesterday my dog breeder posted a photo on Facebook of a killdeer watching over her pond except she called it a kingfisher. Everybody commented “that’s a killdeer.” Oops. I’m getting real sick of this heat. I think it’ll break Monday or Tuesday.
Wasn't feeling well today, laying down for 20 minutes after grading a paper (Most papers are 12-15 pages, I provide 3-4 pages of comments). Skipped breakfast with an upset stomach. I ate some watermelon during the day. I walked down to a fast food spaghetti place, and got a caco de pepe takeaway. 8 Euros, but it tasted good and has stayed down.
Back to grading. I tell students to save their work as a word doc, they save it as a pdf. 😡 So I can't add comments to it easily.
World Cup final in a bit. I'll note that walking to the Spaghetto restaurant, I passed 25-30 Argentina kits walking towards a sports bar. I asked a local friend here, he says Spain is not popular in Italy.
Hey Jay, seems like you’re not feeling the best these last few days —- hope whatever is happening is mild & short lived
There's a lot of emigration/immigration between Italy and Argentina. Pope Francis was born in Argentina to Italian parents and spoke Piedmontese before Spanish.
well, plan for the day... drum roll... organize spare room to make room for the keyboard. Right now it's in the front room where a sofa, elliptical & tv w/ stand are. Makes it a bit crowded. The spare room has become awfully junky, & I'd say at least 85% hubs. So, before my bday & anniversary, he asked what I wanted & I said clear it out. Then my craft room cabinet broke, so he had an easy way out & he replaced that. But now he's not liking the crowded front room area, so he's reluctantly agreeing to work on the spare room... we'll see how it goes.
Bye for now... peace be w/ us 😉
Good luck on the day!
Thanks —- he had a slow start. I went back to the craft room to finish some cards —- needed more masculine stuff plus I had a bunch of smaller note cards vs greeting cards. I asked him to holler when he was ready to tackle the spare room…. Well, time went by, I needed a break & a snack —— aaargfh - he was still at his computer. I jokingly said ‘all done?’ —- that prompted him off his rear. Quick snack for me & I joined him & we got a lot done. Still more - all his stuff which he claims he’ll take care of. But the keyboard is set up in there & looks good 👌
Wild Kingdom debuted on NBC on January 6, 1963, hosted by Marlin Perkins—a University of Missouri zoology dropout. At its peak, the show drew an average of 34 million viewers, powered by Perkins' scholarly manner and the derring-do of his younger sidekick, Jim Fowler, who tended to do the actual snake-wrestling while Marlin narrated from a safe distance. Perkins came by his caution honestly. Back in 1928, as a young reptile curator at the St. Louis Zoo, he was bitten on the finger by a Gaboon viper—one of Africa's deadliest snakes—with no antivenom on hand. He survived, becoming one of only a handful of people ever known to do so.
a newer incarnation, Protecting the Wild, is co-hosted by Peter Gros and Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Classic Perkins-era episodes still air Sunday mornings on the nostalgia-oriented MeTV
This fueled a running gag Johnny Carson loved during their many Tonight Show visits, which became a highlight on Carson’s show.
Johnny Carson, Jim Fowler & a coyote answering nature's call
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRYuUNGjYHk
and more from 1440, but start in the here & now: Bella and Luna remain the top two dog names for the fourth year in a row, according to U.S. News and World Report. Max, Coco, and Daisy round out the top five names in the 56 million American households that welcome pups. Bella is also the most popular name across breeds, topping the list of nearly 50 varieties. The top 100 names included a surprising nod to Greek and Norse mythology with Zeus, Loki, Apollo, Thor, and Athena.
Found on 1440: Xenophon, a historian from ancient Greece, proposed that the best dog names were limited to one or two syllables and referenced important qualities, like courage or speed. Some ideas include Médas, meaning ruler, or Spudḗ, meaning zeal. Other popular names translate to Growler, Happy, and Dagger. In addition to dogs like Cerberus being mentioned in Greek mythology, ancient Greek citizens had dogs for hunting and protection. The photo shown on 1440 was of a old drawing, not quite as old as a cave drawing, of a man leading a dog w/ a leash.
the mother of our two goldendoodles was named Bella, and one pup in both litters was named Luna. Both of the Luna are black haired, as is our Hades.
Thinking about the talk yesterday of ants in the pants, or house or wherever, look what I found on 1440: The giant African harvester ant is rising in popularity as a pet and fueling illegal global trade, with creatures sometimes costing as much as $220. People are increasingly interested in certain ant species as pets due to their unique size, complex behavior, and low-maintenance care requirements. The growing demand for ants as pets is clashing with regulations aimed at preventing wild ants from moving into areas where they are not native. As a result, the underground ant trading has spread and driven up prices. Removing these ants from their native East Africa can have a negative impact on ecosystems, reducing food supplies for various animals, disrupting seed dispersal, and potentially harming new species that they are introduced to.
No sympathy for people with pet ants. Unnngh.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before I think I have – I have a huge concrete hand sitting in front ofmy fireplace. IMO, it’s really cool. Then I found some huge metal ants with bendable legs so I have placed those ants on that big hand crawling around on the hand. I love it or as the song says I like it. I love it. I wanna have more of it.
Ant decor is different from pet ants.
I sent pics to kids - well, some have seen IRL - & asked if it will be a wantable for inheritance…
When one set of grandkids visit they rearrange all the critters & rocks in the house which is fine - they love ‘em as much as I do
Placido Domingo, everyone! High of 95 today, might rain in the afternoon.
I was 4th in Wingspan again.
peace to you, & all. All are saying hotter days are coming... I'm looking into various games for the game group to play Aug. 3. Perhaps Dutch Blitz - we haven't played it yet. Altho one person who wants to play it goes north for the summer & won't be back till Sept/Oct.
Have you heard of "Codenames"? That's a game for a variable number of players: each team has one "spotter" and any number of additional players.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codenames_(board_game)
I like playing Murder. It's best for larger groups. You have a narrator, then everyone is dealt a card face down (one card in the deck per person). Although it doesn't matter what actual cards you designate, I like having the two one eyed Jacks as assassins. The Ace of Spades is the Priest, the King of Clubs is the sheriff. The narrator has everyone close their eyes, then he invites the two assassins to identify who they will kill. Then after they close their eyes he asks the priest who he will save. Then he asks the Sherrif who he wants to arrest. Based on who was selected, the narrator weaves an inventive tale, the longer the better.
A. (if the priest didn't save the right person). There was a murder in town last night.
B. (If the priest saved the right person). There was an attempted murder last night.
If the sheriff picks an assassin, the narrator adds that to the two stories above.
But the key isn't to simply announce it, but to weave a story that is playful (how the victim died, etc.). For example: There was a murder in town. Apparently Jay told one too many puns and someone snapped! A pencil was found buried deep in his right eyeball socket! Apparently his last words were "I guess the Aye has it'! Police are sifting clues but there are too many suspects, and no witnesses!
It's best for a group where people know one another, so they can get the inside jokes. A good narrator makes it fun.
Once a person has been murdered or arrested, they don't have to close their eyes, so they can identify the victim, priest, and sheriff. But they're not allowed to say.
The game goes until either the two Assassins are arrested, or the sheriff is killed.
We used clubs because it was an inside joke with Christy. calling me a caveman, she said I preferred clubs because knocking women over the head with one was how I got dates!
yes, we've played that several times - everyone loves it!! My sons introduced it to me several yrs ago, When COVID hit, they would play via ZOOM w/ their friends. It's a great game, altho hubs doesn't like it 'cause you can't carry on casual conversation while playing. When he gathers w/ friends to play games, he likes something to chat while playing. Swoop is good for that, or Pegs & Jokers/marbles & Jokers (goes by many names, or Skip-Bo... I could go on, but he won't play Codenames.
Teengirl has broken her braces again, and we have an appointment on Monday for a repair. A reminder email came, and when I clicked the "Confirm" button, I got a message: "The custom error module does not recognize this error."
Honestly!
I hope TG broke her braces eating something, and not by falling face first onto a rock!
The wires just cone loose. They aren't very secure: just something to do with her teeth, I guess.
I now have 3 grandkids (1 in each son’s family) with braces. I get updates: today they tightened so things are sore, & can’t eat certain sticky stuff.
2 of my kid had them long time ago in the dark ages so I don’t know how things are done now.
Is that system provided by Disgus?
I am grading papers today. I took a nap, due to heat related dizziness. I bought 4 bottles of powerade and am drinking my 3rd one today. That seems to help a bit.
Foreign students use AI to write their papers; 😡 My favorite was the last sentence of the concluding comments; "This analysis is diagnosis only — it establishes the competitive and environmental context within which future strategic choices must be made — but it is a diagnosis that clearly identifies where the decisive strategic battle will be fought."
I found it fun and interesting to read two reviews on The Odyssey movie - both from National Review, and in complete disagreement. I do confess that I quite often do enjoy Armond White's reviews if for no other reason than he is funny - even if in the way Ignatius J. Reilly is in Confederacy of Dunces.
The two reviewers bios and a representative quote are below. I am sure we will see the movie, and enjoy it. The nihilistic chaos in Christopher Nolan movies can be mesmerizing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giancarlo Sopo is a cultural writer exploring the intersection of cinema, politics, and the conservative imagination.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/nolan-honors-the-gods/
"Nolan Honors the Gods. He has delivered an epic that treats the metaphysical with moral seriousness, and honors the ruinous cost of crossing the divine."
Armond White is National Review’s culture critic and received the American Book Award’s Anti-Censorship prize.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/07/the-odyssey-the-twisted-epic-we-deserve/
"Christopher Nolan’s unheroic epic alters the history of movie-watching. This version of The Odyssey as an adventure spectacular goes against notions of survival, quest, intelligence, masculinity, civilization — foundational principles of the West that Nolan’s previous films all destroyed through his emphasis on chaos. Here, Nolan indulges chaos once again."
I think it would be helpful if Homer himself weighed in...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UpRk4EvWMdQ
Doh!
That reminds me to be embarrassed at some of the schlock we used to spend time on. But then, maybe that was clever self-deprecating satire after all.
Dear R. Rice,
Well, this is not the Odyssey, this is the well known Sirtaki by Mikis Theodorakis: https://youtu.be/BvvSnASmhlQ?is=bQ9vTVZ0Jkofb-zQ
Unlike the Odyssey, there can be no disagreement about the artistry of that. Though I wonder what it is that drew 9.5 million views! What explains that?
The shoes.
Cute performance. The shoes and the military band give it a 1940s USO show vibe.
Dear CynthiaW,
Russian orchestra and dancers, in ... Russia. 🫡 The Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Orchestra.
Golly, they need to get a grip.
Gosh. Literature, including the dramatic-epic kind, is literature and meant to be appreciated and enjoyed. I majored in that stuff, so I get how to read it, or view it if it's made into a movie. Some people are just trying too hard to figure it out.
I think that, if you're a writer about movies, you need to come up with a lot of Important Stuff to Say instead of, "I really liked (or didn't like) this movie."
It's good if they can provide two or three reasons, so I can decide how those related to my preferences. If a reviewer says, "The best thing about this movie was the non-stop action!" then I know that I don't want to see it, because that's not what I enjoy.
IDK if I'll go see it; it's awfully long. As a journal editor I grade on the "length to contribution"; 50 pages to same the thing as a 30 page? I go with the latter. A long movie that really provides depth and context, provided it's well done is probably okay.
I'm frustrated by the lack of good reviews, and errors. Elliott page plays Sinon, not Achilles, although I suggested Achilles in the underworld (showing Achilles being reduced from a near perfect specimen to a ghost of himself would be powerful). Gotta be honest; I don't see Matt Damon as Odysseus. Maybe I'll be proved wrong.
I listened to The Rest Is History podcast - two episodes - reviewing the story and tangentially the movie. If one is looking for a easy, interesting review of The Odyssey story, without the investment in time of the movie, this was enjoyable.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786?i=1000775966069
Right. Or if one of their reasons is it's not politically palatable to them, and I know I don't share their politics, I know that objection is not relevant to my enjoyment.
Smoke update: My windows were open overnight to let in the fresh air. As of 9 a.m. we have a reading of 49. This is green and categoriezed as "Good" with the statement "Good time to go outdoors." I plan to do that. This evening some more smoke is due to enter the area. I'll shut my windows just before it does, and mostly stay in tomorrow. Shifting winds should push it out of here by Monday morning, and I doubt it will be as bad as Thursday and Friday were.
I still get a little whiff of that chemical smell from time to time. My guess is that there was some settling of particles on surfaces indoors, and motion stirs them up. I put out some bowls of vinegar just in case that may do some good. It's supposed to help clear the air of cigarette smoke and cooking odors.
"171-Unhealthy" here in Rochester this afternoon -- despite the heavy rain we've had for the last couple of hours.
From my experience here, it seems that rain can be helpful, but it's more about which way the wind blows and where the fronts are. It turns out you do need a weatherman to know tha!!
Well played!
"The cold front and the associated thunderstorms are expected to exit our area between 7-8 PM CDT this evening with otherwise dry conditions expected for the rest of the night. Behind the front, north-northeast winds will begin to usher in another plume of wildfire smoke. While the latest smoke guidance continues to show the concentration to be less than what wasseen the past couple days, upstream observations are showing visibilities in the 1-3 mile range across northern MI and WI."
That one's name is Yack. There's another one whose last name is Doom--I've seen him quoted in newspaper stories. Whether garrulous or bearing bad news, they are worth paying attention to. I now have a pretty good handle on what time to batten the hatches.
(However, it should be either "between 7 and 8" or "from 7 to 8." The hyphen or en dash doesn't work in this sentence structure. They know their meteorology; I know my copyediting.)
The thing with the time is a very common type of error.
Of course. But those of us who remember the rules get called "pedantic" for our trouble. Funny how nobody accuses the meteorologists of pedantry.
I also want to say that I really appreciate the infrastructure already in place for the public to get AQI readings for their immediate vicinity. For something so granular--it displays readings each hour, and (at least in my case and most of the north side) for a point within half a mile of one's location--it is pretty easy to figure out and use regularly. So kudos to the people who worked together to develop that.
Here's the home page. Enter your location, then when the page with the circle comes up, select "fire and smoke map," enlarge it to zoom in on your immediate area, look for a dot near you, and then fiddle with it until it lets you click the dot with your little hand cursor. That should give the latest readings--sometimes there's a lag in what you see. If you do it right, there'll be a nice little popup with a handy color hour-by-hour graph.
https://www.airnow.gov/?
Dear C C Writer,
You can also burn some powder of Juniperus Oxycedrus, it is very good for purifying the air.
Of course, the difficulty might be the supply chain for it. 😉
I cannot get outside my home without finding loads of them, but Trump's tariffs make it impossible to send it to the USA. ☺️
I have some sandalwood spray, and also some incense, should I need it.
I am in Dallas seeing our new grandson. Everyone is doing well, but oh my gosh reminded how fortunate that we have the great medical care of today. Fifty years ago the mother would have been in dire straits.
Though we are Catholic, the mother's family is Jewish. The Bris is in a week. Last night at dinner with the family, I overhear the planning that I am to walk and present the baby to the procedure. Me... "wait, what?" Should I worry he will hold it against me forever more? Or is this a gracious attempt to include the gentiles for a sense of belonging? Both?
I’m just now reading this … 50 years ago the mother would have been in dire straits??
Breech birth? Large baby? My first was close to 50 yrs ago, breech/not only never turned but was sideways & was 11 lbs 3 ozs. Ex husband at that time was wanting natural delivery, cause that was cool, the right thing to say… - Dr told him, looking him in the eye, then you’d lose not just your wife but your son. Then when I had a c-section he couldn’t stay to hold my hand cage almost fainted. Poor baby. But so proud to have a son.
My.. 11+ pounds! Ours were 9, almost 10 pounds.
The mother is very small and the baby was getting big, so the docs wanted to induce a week or so early. The drugs or something caused blood pressure to spike, so more drugs for that. Then eventually a C-section. All the drugs, the long failed labor before they decided on C-section.. all of it has the poor momma all out of whack.
I wish them all good health and lots of rest.
I can't remember what TV show it was, this was so long ago, but a subplot of an episode was that a Jewish man who was the good friend of a Christian family was invited to be a godfather. He was up for it, though he understood it was unusual. First thing he did when he stepped up for the church ceremony was put a yarmulke on his head. Nobody minded--it was how he was brought up to behave in the house of the Lord, so that made an ecumenical statement right there.
“Males will also make demonstration nests to show the females they aren’t totally useless.” That’s kinda one of the stories of my life. The effort often ends in failure.
But we ARE useless. No getting around it.
Well I occasionally make the effort to fool a few people.
If you've ever seen clubhouses guys build, you know it's not what attracts females!🤦♂️
A notable exception being Pete Nelson and his treehouse-building crew.
Man if that's not the truth.
Dear CynthiaW,
For those who appreciate David French, here are 53 minutes of him and Sarah Longwell complimenting each other (at the beginning and the end 😉), with some middle conversation about why character matters.
https://youtu.be/2g9wRXOXqKI?is=se8y-4nVvXE_HL3e
Lol! Should I have heard of Sarah Longwell?
Dear CynthiaW,
Another former conservative who has been turned away from the GOP in the last decade. ☺️
Okay, thanks.
Plovers! Cousins of the Montrose Beach Great Lakes Piping Plovers. They have things in common, like 4 eggs and vulnerability. Except the latter are endangered.
This is nice. More like this.... The world learning how and why America is actually pretty cool.
https://trk.wsj.com/click/46633246.440811/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud3NqLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvc29jY2VyL3RlYW0tdXNhLXdvcmxkLWN1cC10b3VyaXN0cy01OThlYTUwMj9tb2Q9ZGplbTEwcG9pbnQ/69bbad5e8eb35813c57bec48B19484f6b
They love us! They really love us!
Dear Kurt,
Ah... the "Europoors" being impressed by the wealth of the USA... 😉
Of course, the great majority of football supporters are working class, and therefore are among the poorer in Europe, and as we both know, no country is as bad (or as good), as it is portrayed on social media.
The WSJ a few weeks ago published an article based on the annual UBS global wealth report, claiming that Americans are much richer than Europeans, based on average wealth per adult.
However, the same report explains that individual wealth, without the distortion of corporations and a few very rich people, is much better represented by medium wealth.
Not only the main European countries have seen in the last few years a much higher increase of median wealth per adult than of average wealth, but it is the opposite in the USA. As we know, the US stock market has been mostly driven by AI and crypto-currency, which has increased average wealth, but not median wealth.
Moreover, when looking at average wealth per adult, the USA is indeed number 2 in the world, behind Switerland, but when it comes to median wealth per adult, it is 28th, well behind many European countries. For instance, the median wealth per adult in the USA is below 70000 USD, while in France, 14th on the list, it is above 120000 USD, in Belgium, 2nd, it is 277000 USD.
In some countries, the display of "wealth" based on personal debt, is not considered a good thing. But working class people coming from such countries might easily be impressed by such display, believing that it means something different from what it actually means: they are used to "iceberg" wealth, not "floating cork" wealth.
I do not have access to the body of the article which you quote, but on what do they base their conclusions? On anecdotal evidence of some social media accounts? (Some of which have been demonstrated to be fake)
I have worked for about 2 years in the USA, and it is not that bad, but it is not that good either. 😊
I glaze over with the statistical stuff; it's sublimated cock posturing. I just liked a piece that wasn't cranking on all the stupid stuff in America, and laugh that shitty ranch dressing out of a bottle impresses folks. After that, I don't care.
Dear Kurt,
the ranch dressing stuff is a perfect example of stuff which is wildly exaggerated, and that the TSA is "warning" people about it, simply shows that there is "official" propaganda behind these things.
It is quite easy to procure in Europe: here it is at Tesco in the UK. https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/259872411?srsltid=AfmBOorNY4IsnjY3TcVjb0dnsMdo9-w-9iQpB2FZ3WASmTe2Gg4mN4XE
And here at Monoprix in France: https://courses.monoprix.fr/products/amora-sauce-ranch-245g/MPX_6945876?esl-k=sem-google%7cng%7cc802175479416%7cm%7ck%7cp%7ct%7cdc%7ca23688214293%7cg23688214293&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SEA_Jellyfish_GoogleAds_Shopping_Standard_courses-plus_All&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23688214293&gbraid=0AAAAADuVwv3ZMTNwR7NazhlvyF9qe2Ljk&gclid=CjwKCAjwyOzSBhBTEiwAmxvJ-i1w5epP-yczg76UgomeZCnAjdrJ1htmtjNErVddQKCmEoVOGCVFWRoCF74QAvD_BwE
Carerefore Express near the Pantheon doesn't have it. I actually looked. I was pleased to find Ambi Pur (Febreeze) available about a ten minute walk the opposite direction. But I went there Thursday, so i didn't look for Ranch dressing.
Dear Jay Janney,
Carrefour Express, is a very small supermarket, in city centers, with little choice and high prices. Most tourists only know these small supermarkets and have never been in the huge hypermarkets.
The ranch dressing at Monoprix is made by Amora, the same company which owns Maille (which I believe you find in the US), and Amora is the biggest condiment manufacturer in France (now owned by Unilever, but still "French"), so if Amora makes a "sauce ranch" it will be found in any large supermarkets (hypermarchés) in France.
I used to live near the Panthéon, in the late 70s, early 80s, I loved the neighbourhood.
All this talk about ranch dressing seems to come from Americans who have never been to Europe and pretended to be Europeans for the benefit of... Americans, and as soon as something get some traction on the Internet, people doing tiktok, etc., do the same, because it increases their views, likes, etc. It has nothing to do with what they really experienced or thought, but with what will bring them more views.
A false trend is very easily created and only sloppy journalists believe it is real. I believe it was Scott Lincicome at The Dispatch who wrote a lazy article, similar to the one in the WSJ, as well as Goldberg and Hayes in some podcasts who referred to ranch dressing.
All they had to do was to checl whether ranch dressing could be found in European supetmarkets, on their Web sites. Of course they have to realize to call it "sauce ranch" and not "ranch dressing" in France.
Unless they meant people who dress like cowboys. Yeeha !
Don’t be making fun of us folks who dress like cowboys & gals. But ya gotta know the real thaaang, ya hear?
what are the results of who's the most competitive at --- pick any subject ---
Addition: the Gini coefficient, which measures wealth distribution ( the higher, the worse), is 0.77 for the USA, 0.57 for France, and 0.46 for Belgium. Which confirms that Belgian people are indeed individually much wealthier.
"Yet fans flocked to the U.S. by the millions anyway—and what they found was an America that looked nothing like the one they’d seen on social media back home."
What they found was America [or China or Europe or...] was nothing like what is seen on social media.
The story was nice. Noting that it was in the WSJ not the NYT, it was safe to see somme of the readers comments too.
Yeah. The emphasis on "...what they found looked nothing like what they'd seen on social media." That's my operating thesis on China; people in the West don't have a clue because it's all media and social media driven nonsense. That's not to say Americans would like China, in fact I'd guess most folks wouldn't like it for lots of reasons, but that's not the same as not understanding what it is.
If they didn't like China upon visiting there, it would probably be for different reasons than what they expected.
There. That...that's kinda the basis for not liking something/anything one is unfamiliar with. Expectations. That was the key to my business...managing client expectations.
There's plenty of ways to burn out on China...like 1.4 billion of them. Just the nonstop sheer crush of humanity in almost all activities can wear one down if they're not ready for it.
Killdeer are ubiquitous here in WI. They seem to do just fine even with a 50% nest failure rate. Yesterday my dog breeder posted a photo on Facebook of a killdeer watching over her pond except she called it a kingfisher. Everybody commented “that’s a killdeer.” Oops. I’m getting real sick of this heat. I think it’ll break Monday or Tuesday.
Our forecast says there will be a change Wednesday. Thunderstorms would negatively impact our planned kayaking outing!