1/. "Here Comes The Heat"......an excellent and disturbing article from Bill McKibben.
El Nino is on the way.....it was actually in the Western US last week !
I am (mostly) going to take a break from writing about the war for a day, because big though it is, it’s not quite the biggest thing happening on our planet. Or rather, its widespread destruction is taking place inside a larger context. Trump’s endless folly (first tariffs, now a desperately stupid war that has closed the Strait of Hormuz) has caused what everyone is beginning to understand is widespread economic damage. As the Times reported today, “this is the big one,” and “the fallout is rattling households and businesses in neighborhoods all over the globe.” On a stable planet, though, the damage might be contained and repaired; someone as incompetent as Trump (who is now describing his war as a “short excursion” and insisting that the Strait is in “very good shape”) will eventually (please God) burn himself out. Our bigger problem, as we’re about to be reminded, is that the planet is the furthest thing from stable. The backdrop is about to become the foreground, and with that the drama will shift once more.
2/. We have ALL got this!
3/. This is a damn good question from Thom Hartmann......"Does Trump Have a KGB Card?"
Eight of our American service members are dead and over 140 wounded because Iran’s military has suddenly gotten really good at targeting our soldiers, Airmen, and Marines. News reports say they’ve been able to hit us with such precision because Russia is using their extraordinary spy satellite, spy plane, and advanced radar capabilities to help Iran’s military.
The Washington Post, which first reported on this, quoted a Russian military expert as saying that Iran is now “making very precise hits on early-warning radars or over-the-horizon radars,” seeming to validate the concern. The article added:
“Iran possesses only a handful of military-grade satellites, and no satellite constellation of its own, which would make imagery provided by Russia’s much more advanced space capabilities highly valuable — particularly as the Kremlin has honed its own targeting after years of war in Ukraine…”
4/. And just in case you had any doubts......
The United States on Thursday temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil that is currently at sea, allowing it to be shipped to buyers around the world as the Trump administration scrambles to contain energy prices that have been soaring because of the war in Iran.
The exemptions, which were issued by the Treasury Department, will be in place until April 11. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimated that freeing Russian oil could add hundreds of millions of barrels of crude to global markets, curbing prices that have been hovering near $100 per barrel as a result of the Iran conflict.
The decision was a significant turning point in America’s effort to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine.
5/. The SNL cold open.....pretty good!
6/. Did you watch the Oscars? Me neither, nor did Bob Lefsetz, and he explains why.....
The movies lost touch with the populace two decades or so ago. One can point to “‘The Sopranos” as the true beginning of the end. This series was better than any film in the theatre, and in addition it had many episodes a season and had many seasons. This is what fans are truly looking for, depth. They want to find something and marinate in it. There’s this myth that today’s generations have short attention spans when nothing could be further from the truth. Which is that they have incredible sh*t detectors, they will not settle for mediocre, and when they find excellence, they have unlimited time for it.
But you cannot convince the older generations otherwise.
I remember when “The Sopranos” debuted in 1999, I told everybody I knew about it, but they pooh-poohed it, because how good could television be? Well, now we know that television is where you go to see human stories, the basis of the great films of yore. Big studio movies are spectacles. Often detached from reality. And I won’t say they can’t be enjoyable, but rarely do they move the needle culturally. In fact, few people see them in the theatre, if they see them at all. Sure, they end up streaming on TV, but a while after the initial hype. There’s a tsunami of product that buries them, there’s always something new. https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2026/03/15/the-oscars-11/
7/. Very popular in MAGA-land....."White Flight".....2 amusing minutes.....
8/. Is your house ready for prolonged heat? Good story by Angus Peterson......
When officials tell 5 million people to stay inside for 34 hours because the heat outside has become dangerous, the first question is simple. Inside what kind of house?
That warning went out in Southern California during an unusually early March heat event that pushed inland temperatures deep into the 90s, with some areas nearing 100. Forecasters said the heat could outlast the formal advisory window. For a lot of households, that still lands as weather news: drink water, close the blinds, take it easy.
But a 34-hour heat advisory is a shelter test. It tests the roof, the attic, the windows, the insulation, the ductwork, the air conditioner, the electric bill, the bedroom that takes a beating from late sun, and the adult in the house who is already keeping track of who starts feeling sick first when the rooms stop cooling down.
9/. This one is true......if you visit a site, their bots [and cookies] start tracking you!
10/. A little wordy, but a frightening video looking at the Chinese robotics industry and how much they are ahead of the world.
The last third of the video is about the US efforts....sad.
About 13 minutes.
11/. And a story on how BYD, the Chinese electric car maker,is about to destroy Tesla......
Tesla had the biggest head start in the EV market. The Model S launched in 2012, and it took six years for legacy automakers to offer anything that could even try to compete with it. Even then, Tesla’s charging network was light-years ahead of what anyone else was offering. Likewise, when the Model 3 launched in 2017, it had no genuine competition for over three years. At the turn of the decade, it looked like Tesla would extend this lead with new models and the ‘revolutionary’ 4680 battery. But that simply hasn’t happened, and now Tesla’s sales are crashing as every single one of their competitors now offers comparable or slightly better EV options. But the leapfrog moment has just happened. BYD have just annouced their 1,500 kW-capable Blade Battery 2.0 and the stupidly affordable EV it is going into. Now it is Tesla who is playing catch-up. So, what about this puts Tesla on the back foot? And why did Musk fumble the bag?
https://wlockett.medium.com/you-have-no-idea-how-far-behind-tesla-is-6d1b9d507f54
14/ An SNL piece about passing notes in school......
The kicker here is that Ryan Gosling and Ashley Padilla are given notes different from the ones they used in rehearsal.....
Amusing! 6 minutes....
15/. Tom Tomorrow with some Victory posters.....Trump style....
16/. And what indeed are they dying for....
17/. The whole world has figured out our Mad King.....
Donald Trump does not think strategically. Nor does he think historically, geographically, or even rationally. He does not connect actions he takes on one day to events that occur weeks later. He does not think about how his behavior in one place will change the behavior of other people in other places.
He does not consider the wider implications of his decisions. He does not take responsibility when these decisions go wrong. Instead, he acts on whim and impulse, and when he changes his mind—when he feels new whims and new impulses—he simply lies about whatever he said or did before.
19/. The Guardian lists the best sci-fi books....
The Library of Traumatic Memory by Neil Jordan (Head of Zeus, £20)
Better known as a film-maker, Jordan has never stopped writing novels. His latest opens in 2084 in rural Ireland, where Christian Cartwright works for the Huxley Institute in the titular library, secretly misusing its memory storage technology to talk with his dead lover Isolde, restoring her to a semblance of digital life. The story moves between Christian’s experiences and similar events two centuries earlier in the life of his ancestor, Montagu Cartwright, the architect responsible for the Huxley Mansion and local church, who owned an ancient obsidian mirror, believed to have been the famous scrying glass of John Dee. Lyrically written, brimming with ideas, sometimes sinister and often humorous, it’s an enchanting read.
The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan (Tor, £22)
20/. This looks interesting!
When I heard the Duffer brothers, creators of Stranger Things, had a new series on Netflix, I knew I had to watch – but I was not eager. I believe identical twins who make moving pictures are inherently creepy, even when those productions aren’t called Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. My nervous system won’t let me enjoy horror, and I don’t understand people who do. Is life not scary enough?
The first episode (out Thursday 26 March) – is that a working title or what? It’s like calling Mrs Doubtfire “Heartwarming Drag Act”, or Free Willy “Pelagic Marine Predators Do Not Belong in Captivity” – places us four days before the wedding of Nicky (Adam DiMarco) and Rachel (Camila Morrone), the central event of the story. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/21/something-very-bad-is-going-to-happen-the-duffer-brothers-horror-series-is-absolutely-terrifying?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
21/. Do you like "The Pitt"? Here's the Swiss movie version, "Late Shift".....
Most of us dread the thought of entering the broken-down labyrinth that is the American health care system, yet we’ll happily watch hours of hyper-competent hospital employees bark jargon and scramble to save lives on TV. Medical dramas that tap into this high-stress environment frequently get rewarded with statuettes, eyeballs, and endless season renewals, and anyone entering the world of writer-director Petra Volpe’s Late Shift will immediately feel right at home. The film’s setting is a Swiss hospital. The hero — heldin, the German word for “hero,” was actually the movie’s original title — is a nurse on the verge of a nervous breakdown during a dusk-to-dawn rotation. The genre is the sort of recognizable staple that throws algorithm-dependent streamers into a tizzy. Love The Pitt? Check out this European art-house equivalent! https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/late-shift-review-1235534038/
Today's medical joke
One day, in line at the company cafeteria, Jack says to Morris behind him, "My elbow hurts like hell. I guess I better see a doctor."
"Listen, you don't have to spend that kind of money," Morris replies.
"There's a diagnostic computer at the drugstore at the corner.
Just give it a urine sample and the computer l'll tell you what's wrong and what to do about it.
It takes ten seconds and costs ten dollars...a hell of a lot cheaper than a doctor."
So Jack deposits a urine sample in a small jar and takes it to the drugstore.
He deposits ten dollars, and the computer lights up and asks for the urine sample.
He pours the sample into the slot and waits. Ten seconds later, the computer ejects a printout:
You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water and avoid heavy activity. It will improve in two weeks.
That evening while thinking how amazing this new technology was, Jack began wondering if the computer could be fooled.
He mixed some tap water, a stool sample from his dog, urine samples from his wife and daughter, and masturbated into the mixture for good measure.
Jack hurries back to the drugstore, eager to check the results.
He deposits ten dollars, pours in his concoction, and awaits the results.
The computer prints the following:
1. Your tap water is too hard. Get a water softener.
2. Your dog has ring worm. Bathe him with anti-fungal shampoo.
3. Your daughter has a cocaine habit. Get her into rehab.
4. Your wife is pregnant...twin girls. They aren't yours. Get a lawyer.
5. If you don't stop playing with yourself, your elbow will never get better.
Today's Library joke
A guy asked a girl in a library;
"Do you mind if I sit beside you"?
The girl answered with a loud voice; "I DON'T WANT TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH YOU!!!"
All the students in the library started staring at the guy and he was embarrassed.
After a couple of minutes,the girl walked quietly to the guy's table and she told him "I study psychology and I know what a man is thinking, -
I guess you felt embarrassed, right?"
The guy responded with a loud voice: "$200
JUST FOR ONE NIGHT!? THAT'S TOO MUCH!!!" And all the people in the library looked at the girl in shock and the guy whispered in her ears;
"I study Law and I know how to make someone feel guilty"
Today's Medical joke
A man returns from the doctor and tells his wife that the doctor has told him he has only 24 hours to live.
Given this prognosis, the man asks his wife for sex.
Naturally, she agrees, and they make love.
About six hours later, the husband goes to his wife and says, "Honey,you know I now have only 18 hours to live.
Could we please do it one more time?"
Of course, the wife agrees, and they do it again.
Later, as the man gets into bed, he looks at his watch and realizes that he now has only 8 hours left.
He touches his wife shoulder, and asks, "Honey, please...just one more time."
She says, "Of course, Dear," and they make love for the third time.
After this session, the wife rolls over and falls asleep.
The man, however, worried about his impending death, tosses and turns, until he's down to 4 more hours.
He taps his wife, who rouses. "Honey, I have only 4 more hours. Do you think we could..."
At this point the wife sits up and says, "Listen, I have to get up in the morning. You don't!"..
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