1/. A mega drought in the West, severe water restrictions, extreme heat and it's only June. The fire season in the West is upon us....
An excellent story from David Wallace-Wells...
The forecast calls for fire. Photo: Kyle Grillot/AFP via Getty Images
“I personally know probably a dozen people in California, maybe 20, who’ve had to personally outrun flames.”
It’s early June, and I am speaking to climate scientist Daniel Swain, who grew up in the state and has become, over the past several, record-setting fire seasons in California, perhaps its single most essential science communicator on weather, disaster, and fire risk.
2/. If you keep a dry eye through this performance on America's Got Talent, you must be a Republican Senator.....a wow....
Even Simon Cowell was moved....
3/. Bill Maher makes the point that progressives are incapable of realising progress in social terms....he says we are victims of "Progressophobia".....9 pretty good minutes...
4/. George Packer with a fascinating article on how America is divided into four basic tribes....it's long, but
insightful and well worth reading....
ations, like individuals, tell stories in order to understand what they are, where they come from, and what they want to be. National narratives, like personal ones, are prone to sentimentality, grievance, pride, shame, self-blindness. There is never just one — they compete and constantly change. The most durable narratives are not the ones that stand up best to fact-checking. They’re the ones that address our deepest needs and desires. Americans know by now that democracy depends on a baseline of shared reality — when facts become fungible, we’re lost. But just as no one can live a happy and productive life in nonstop self-criticism, nations require more than facts — they need stories that convey a moral identity.
5/. Jimmy Kimmel with his opener, and he has the "My Pillow" guy on.....
Very funny, the whole segment is good but the "my pillow" skit comes on at the 7 minute mark....
6/. Ezra Klein with an excellent column, positing the rich want the poor to stay poor.....he's convincing....
I’m not going to pretend that I know how to interpret the jobs and inflation data of the past few months. My view is that this is still an economy warped by the pandemic, and that the dynamics are so strange and so unstable that it will be some time before we know its true state. But the reaction to the early numbers and anecdotes has revealed something deeper and more constant in our politics
7/. Tom Tomorrow with Joe Manchin....
8/. Al Franken with a very good article titled "Tax The Rich"....we love Al Franken, and he should never have resigned from
the Senate - he was set up by Republicans, and Kristen Gillibrand.......
I really liked President Biden’s address to the joint session of Congress in April. It’s as if he was saying, “Let’s do all the stuff we know we should do but haven’t done.” It was a long list. That’s because there’s a lot of stuff we know we should do and haven’t done. Like infrastructure, child care, making sure every kid’s K-12 education has adequate resources, and addressing the climate crisis. It’ll cost a lot. But then again, it’s all stuff we really can’t afford not to do.
And there is a way to afford it all. Tax the rich.
9/. I used to read a lot of science fiction, and I am very open to believing in UFO visitations
but I am afraid I'm with this guy....a sceptic....
here is a tidal wave of interest building up around an imminent Pentagon report on the subject of UFOs, or, as they are often referred to now, UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena). A sense of heady enthusiasm has swept over the UFO community, whose members, after suffering years being marginalized as harmless eccentrics, finally feel a sense of vindication and excitement for the coming disclosure.
10/. Some funny moments from SNL commercials....five good minutes!
11/. And speaking of sci-fi [#9], here is the Guardian's list of good recent science fiction and fantasy......
Widowland by CJ Carey; Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir; This Fragile Earth by Susannah Wise; Rabbits by Terry Miles; This Eden by Ed O’Loughlin; The Colours of Death by Patricia Marques
12/. The Daily Show skewers Fox News on Biden's recent visit with Putin.....remember Trump and Putin?
13/. Here's one to argue about.....do you agree with these Times critics who list the best TV comedies of the century?
In today’s bumper crop of TV comedy, what funny is not is simple or monolithic. So picking our 21 favorite American comedies of the 21st century — the tango partner to our list of the 20 best American dramas since “The Sopranos” — involved hard choices and tricky questions. What even counts as a comedy, in an age of dramedy and comic drama and depressed cartoon horses? How do you account for changing times and mores, jokes that aged badly, stars’ less-than-amusing offscreen offenses? Is there more to a great comedy than how many times it makes you laugh?
14/. Stuart Varney on Fox Business News....what an idiot.....one minute...
15/. Anthony Hopkins in "The Father"....if you have a friend or relative with dementia or Alzheimers, you have to watch this - it's amazingly good. And even if you don't, Hopkins gives an Oscar winning performance in this moving and brilliant movie. Read this review, and there are no spoilers - you are seeing life through Hopkins' eyes....
It's on Amazon for $6.....one of the best films of the year.
Here's the trailer for "The Father"....
Today's video - classic Bud Lite commercials
The sea shell......
Clothing drive.....
Today's old guy joke
Two old guys, one 84 and one 87, were sitting on their usual park bench
The 87 year old had just finished his morning jog and wasn't even short of breath.
The 84 year old was amazed at his friend's stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy.
The 87 year old said, "Well, I eat rye bread every day. It keeps your energy level high and you'll have great stamina with the ladies."
So, on the way home the 84 year old stops at the bakery. As he was looking around, the lady asked if he needed any help.
He said "Do you have any Rye bread?"
She said, "Yes, there's a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?"
He said, "I want 5 loaves."
She said, "My goodness, 5 loaves ... By the time you get to the 3rd loaf, it'll be hard"
He replied, "I can't believe it! Everybody knows about this shit but me."
He replied, "I can't believe it! Everybody knows about this shit but me."
Today's postman joke
After 35 years, mailman George decides to retire. On his last day, he makes his usual rounds.
When he arrives at the first house, the whole family comes out, congratulates him, and sends him on his way with a tidy gift envelope.
At the second house, they present him with a box of fine cigars. The folks at the third house hand him a selection of terrific fishing lures.
At the next house, he is met at the door by a strikingly beautiful woman in a revealing negligee. She takes him by the hand and leads him up to the bedroom, where she blows his mind with the most passionate sex he has ever experienced.
When done, they go downstairs, where she fixes him a giant breakfast. As she pours him a cup of coffee, he notices a dollar bill sticking out from under the cup's bottom edge.
"All this is just too wonderful for words," he says, "but what's the dollar for?"
"Well," she says, "last night, I told my husband that today would be your last day and that I wanted to do something special for you. I asked him what to give you. He said, 'Screw him. Give him a dollar.' But breakfast was my idea."
When he arrives at the first house, the whole family comes out, congratulates him, and sends him on his way with a tidy gift envelope.
At the second house, they present him with a box of fine cigars. The folks at the third house hand him a selection of terrific fishing lures.
At the next house, he is met at the door by a strikingly beautiful woman in a revealing negligee. She takes him by the hand and leads him up to the bedroom, where she blows his mind with the most passionate sex he has ever experienced.
When done, they go downstairs, where she fixes him a giant breakfast. As she pours him a cup of coffee, he notices a dollar bill sticking out from under the cup's bottom edge.
"All this is just too wonderful for words," he says, "but what's the dollar for?"
"Well," she says, "last night, I told my husband that today would be your last day and that I wanted to do something special for you. I asked him what to give you. He said, 'Screw him. Give him a dollar.' But breakfast was my idea."
Today's Western joke...
An old prospector shuffled into the town of El Indio, Texas leading a tired old mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched throat.
He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail.
As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, can you dance?"
The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No son, I don't
dance... never really wanted to."
A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna dance now!" and started shooting at the old man's feet.
The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet.
Everybody standing around was laughing.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still
laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.
The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barrelled 12 gauge shotgun and cocked both hammers.
The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd
stopped laughing immediately.
The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly.
The silence was deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin 12 gauge barrels.
The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said;
"Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?"
The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir... but...but I've always wanted to."
There are a few lessons for all of us here:
*Don't be arrogant.
*Don't waste ammunition.
*Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.
*Always make sure you know who is in control.
*And finally, don't screw around with old folks; they didn't get old by being stupid.
He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail.
As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, can you dance?"
The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No son, I don't
dance... never really wanted to."
A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna dance now!" and started shooting at the old man's feet.
The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet.
Everybody standing around was laughing.
When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still
laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.
The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barrelled 12 gauge shotgun and cocked both hammers.
The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd
stopped laughing immediately.
The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly.
The silence was deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin 12 gauge barrels.
The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said;
"Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?"
The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir... but...but I've always wanted to."
There are a few lessons for all of us here:
*Don't be arrogant.
*Don't waste ammunition.
*Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.
*Always make sure you know who is in control.
*And finally, don't screw around with old folks; they didn't get old by being stupid.
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