First Looks category archive

It turns out that some tweets are good for us. Needless to say, that aren’t from twits on Twitter.

Psychologist Daniel Fryer reports on a recent study.

The recent study, led by academics from King’s College London, found that hanging out with birds improved not only the moods of people with depression but also the moods of the wider population at large (i.e., pretty much everybody).

The two-week study involved participants from the UK, Europe, the U.S., Australia, and China, so it’s pretty safe to assume that birdsong is of a cross-cultural benefit.

Act quickly, though. My local rag reports that

More than half of bird populations are sharply declining across the United States, and dozens have been added as tipping point species. Others, such as swans and geese, are doing fine.

Tipping point species are close to threatened or endangered because they have lost half or more of their populations in the past 50 years. The State of the Birds Report, by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, used five different sources of data, including the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Follow the links for the full stories.

The NBC University Theater of the Air at the Internet Archive.

These dramatizations of classic literature are extremely well done and quite worth your while.

Mangy comments at the Youtube page:

Mangy Fetlocks is not afraid to admit that Wisconsin’s senior Senator, Ron Johnson, is remarkable in many ways. He is remarkably dull, remarkably dense, and is remarkably lacking in transparency. After engaging in the insurrection for “only a few minutes”, he’s remarkably unashamed of backing Trump and The Big Lie. Among his brilliant plans for Wisconsinites (and all American retirees) is to put Social Security up for a vote each year, knowing that, since he is rich and will be on a very plush Senate retirement plan, he needn’t give a damn about how other retirees live. (if they live at all.)

Not far from where I sit is a street named Witchduck Road, which ends at Witchduck Bay.

In my local rag, William Huber writes about the witch who was ducked.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gene Collier is not sanguine. Here’s a bit from his article, in which he defines “Trumpian Democracy”:

Lest you’ve become confused on the principles of Trumpian Democracy, let me again disambiguate them: Votes for Trump, Trump-supported acolytes, or down ballot Trump wannabes and/or lickspittles, are wholly legitimate, while votes for anyone else are obviously fraudulent.

That’s essentially what the two masked men outside a Maricopa County ballot drop box were “thinking” Friday night as they sat with their tactical gear and what elections officials described as weaponry watching Arizona voters, um, vote.

Follow the link for more.

So I’m listening to an episode of That Hammer Guy, a Mike Hammer radio show, at The Old Time Radio Theater (one of my favorite websites), and find that it was sponsored by Trix Cereal, Camel cigarettes, and Esquire Magazine.

Camels and Esquire I can understand, but Camels and Esquire and Trix?

I sense an inconsistency.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Gregory Jantz reminds us that “social” media too often isn’t. Here’s a bit from his introduction:

On the one hand, when used responsibly and in moderation, social media makes life easier and better. It can provide consistent connection and communication with friends and family, and reduce feelings of isolation among the elderly. Social media also creates opportunities to promote a small business and promote awareness about a worthy cause.

On the other hand, misuse of technology and social media can be anything but social. Used unwisely or without discernment, they can be instruments of hatred, hostility, misinformation, and exclusion.

You don’t have to see more than one or two news items about malicious “Tik-Tok challenges” to know that the latter condition is far too common. And don’t get me started on the Zuckerborg . . . .

Follow the link, where he expands on his thought as to how “social” media debases dis coarse discourse.

Aside:

I was once married to a nurse who, in part of her career, was an OR nurse. (She was a very good nurse.)

She was always delighted when drug reps came to the hospital, because they treated the staff to a nice lunch.

But the harsh truth is that, for The Pusher Men, it’s all about the Benjamins.

The AP takes a look at how mis- and disinformation is flooding “social” media and what various platforms are doing to combat it.

My reading is that, of all the platforms mentioned, Facebook’s efforts to ferret out falsehoods are by far the most feeble. Follow the link and decide whether you agree.

Of course, the article does not address “social” media platforms created to foment falsehoods, such as Parler and Truth (sic) Social.

For what it’s worth, I think that Casablanca is the finest movie Amerca has ever produced.

Read more »

At the Idoaho State Journal, Michael Corrigan argues that

Being “woke,” however, if it means becoming aware of injustice and the need to correct it, is a virtue.

Follow the link for his reasonsing.

Aside:

As I’ve mentioned before, “woke” means “aware.” Draw your own conclusions about those who don’t want us to be aware.

I’ve drawn mine.

Michael in Norfolk argues that Herschel Walker is a fitting standard bearer for today’s Republican Party. A snippet:

Frighteningly, in today’s Republican Party where the truth and morality no longer matter, no conspiracy theory is too insane, and holding power is all that matters, Walker is the embodiment of the Republican Party.

Florida Man.

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With apologies to W. Somerset Maugham, one the great writers of English fiction and long one of my favorite authors.

At the Portland Oregonian, Steve Duin wonders why anyone would support keeping Democrats in power in state and local elections, given what he sees as a poor track record*. He comes to a disturbing conclusion.

Why reward the party in power by passing the torch to Democrat (candidate for governor–ed.) Tina Kotek, the long-time speaker of the Oregon House?

Perhaps because Republicans, nationally, are a menace.

Follow the link for his reasoning.

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*I don’t know enough about local Oregon politics to have an informed opinion.

My uninformed opinion is that, however poor the Democrats’ track record might be, the Republicans’ would certainly be worse.

Rex Stout:

One of the brain’s most efficient departments is the one that turns possibilities into probabilities and probabilities into facts.

Stout, Rex, Too Many Clients, (New York: Bantam, 1971), p. 123

At AL.com, Dana Hall McCain reflects on the Alex Jones damages award. A snippet:

The modern digital media culture has given rise to figures like Jones, who have become wealthy by saying whatever outrageous thing generates clicks and views that translate to cash. That money is a strong drug, incentivizing media figures to go further and further with little regard for the truth and how the lies they promulgate damage innocent people.

Methinks she is onto something. Follow the link for the rest.