September 4, 2017
"Every year about around this time it happens."
On the year, domestic box office is down 6.2 percent. The sky is falling
No basis for a system of government
A seven-year-old girl found a four-foot sword in Cornwall, England, in "the same lake where King Arthur's Excalibur was said to have been hurled."
“It's-a me, Mario!”
Is Mario a human? Yes. There is some disagreement. Is Mario a plumber? Not anymore, he's retired. Is Mario Italian or Japanese? Italian. What is Mario's last name? Mario. Are Mario and Wario related? Maybe? Not. Is Mario older or younger than Luigi? They're fraternal twins. And Mario is older.
And I'll go into people's houses at night and wreck up the place!
On Sunday, reports leaked of President Trump's plan to end DACA for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, with likely a six-month phase-in of the enforcement. Rebuking North Korea for their latest nuclear test, he also criticized South Korea for "appeasement" and on trade, and suggested he would cease trade with any country that continued to trade with the DPRK. Meanwhile, the Justice Department just admitted in court that Trump's much-disputed accusation that "Obama wiretapped Trump tower" was indeed false.
Our house had the biggest catio, our house had all the summer shade...
The Catio Is a Patio for Your Cat Because You Win, Cats. You Win. A what? The basic idea is to build a frame-and-wire enclosure that opens to a window or door in a home. From there, cats can let themselves in and out, but will not be able to roam beyond the enclosure boundaries. Take a look for yourself with 11 outdoor enclosures purr-fect for cats: Portland Catio Tour. Some catios are equipped with separate restroom facilities. Some cats aren't so keen on the catio in the winter.
There Is Power In A Union
Happy Labor Day USA! The holiday came about due to the 1894 Pullman Strike and Boycott in which national guardmen shot into a crowd and killed 4. Today, thousands take to the streets to demand higher wages (Twitter moment) as McDonalds workers in the U.K. enact their first ever strike. Canada wants the USA to get rid of union-breaking 'Right-To-Work' laws as part of NAFTA talks and the People's Policy Project (previously) presents a simple bill to pre-empt any Right-To-Work action.
Also, was there a strike in space in 1973?
Really not kidding about the chapstick
What Is Toxic Masculinity? - Doctor Nerdlove - part of what makes toxic masculinity so damaging: it ignores and diminishes anyone who doesn’t fit that narrow range of “man”. The only measure of worth is pain; who causes it and who endures it. We worship the hero but we ignore the caregiver. We praise the person who rescues the endangered, but not the ones who give to the needy. We admire soldiers, but spare few thoughts for the people who make sure that those soldiers don’t need to go to war.
Hieronymous Bosch piñatas
Life-sized piñatas representing some of the grotesque, odd, and intriguing figures of Hieronymous Bosch's painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights. (Website of the artist, Roberto Benavidez is here).
"I couldn't afford to go to film school; I learned from the library"
The trailer (post title), and The Guardian review of Ex Libris: New York Public Library: "The most prominent theme is the divide between rich and poor, and what the NYPL means in different neighbourhoods. The gorgeous main branch on Fifth Avenue with its marble lions serves a different function than the outposts in the economically disadvantaged outer boroughs. On Fifth Avenue, a “Books at noon” guest like Richard Dawkins will wax about the Enlightenment; off Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx, the community huddles up for job interview tips ... More than any other civic institution, it is a place for the betterment of everyone in every conceivable way, and if this ends up being Frederick Wiseman’s last film I can think of no better swan song." [more inside]
Clothes shop sells clothes
John Lewis (the British one) have taken the decision to remove gendered labels from all children's clothes. There has been some backlash. Piers Morgan weighs in, whilst others point out that this isn't new. [more inside]
Science, class, and democracy
"I’m going to repeat that dictate: 'In democratic times, one ties the poor to oneself more by manners than by benefits.' As the front row acts more like aristocrats, their ability to win the goodwill of the populace wanes. Period. You can’t just institute, say, a universal basic income and expect the rabble to shut up at last and love you. ... To the extent that scientists and researchers are enveloped in front-row culture, I think many of them are deeply unable to see this. A lot of my exasperated scientists friends wring their hands about the need to explain things to regular people. Few of them think about the need to connect with those people, on a democratic basis – not through representative politics, but through democratic interactions, as equals." [more inside]
Train ride to Coney Island, 1987
Lets take a ride back in time thirty years and catch the train to to Coney Island! Ankh necklaces! Big hair! Gnarly fashion and grungy train cars. On this, the last day of the summer high season in the United States lets get sentimentally throwback like we should at the end of summer. [SLYT: 7:18, a foreign and familiar America]
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