Recommended Viewing 0
We watched Barbie on HBO tonight.
I probably would not have opted for it on my own, as I tend to go for mysteries, but my friend wanted to see it, and, I must say, it is quite well done; it tackles very serious issues with off-beat humor.
It is simultaneously absurd and serious, or, perhaps more accurately, absurdly serious, or maybe seriously absurd.
Also, it was fun to see Rhea Perlman in her role as Barbara Handlier’s ghost.
After watching it, I’m not surprised that it has been nominated for so many awards.
I have to wonder, though, whether its creators expected such a reaction or did they consider that they were creating a bit of entertaining (and extremely marketable) fluff?
Afterthought:
Also, it had some great dance numbers.
Afterthought, Reprise:
The scene with the construction workers brought back memories.
When I was working in Center City Philadelphia, there was construction site whose workers were so obnoxious that women would walk blocks out their way to avoid it.
And so would men.
“Vengeance Is Ours,” Saith Republicans 0
At The Colorado Sun, Mike Littwin tries to make sense of the nonsensical. A snippet:
So why the official inquiry? Let’s go with the two most obvious reasons. One, because Donald Trump wants it. Two, because Johnson and his team, who can’t seem to do much of anything else, including passing bills to aid an embattled ally fighting off the Russians, felt they had to do something to justify their phoney-baloney jobs.
(Missing link found.)
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
The editorial board of the Bangor Daily News points out that supremacist courts are gutting out the Voting Rights Act explains why that is a bad thing. Here’s a bit their editorial (emphasis added):
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
More back seat politeness:
Guns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Methinks Atrios raises a valid concern.
Geeking Out 0
I finally got around to decorating for the holidays. For some reason, maybe that the weather’s been unnaturally warm because the climates they are a-changing, maybe that my country’s toying with fascism, I’m not really sure, but it’s been hard to get into the holiday spirit . . . .
That’s Mageia v. 9 with the Plasma desktop environment. The wallpaper is from my Christmas collection.
If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0
David highlights the hypocrisy (warning: short commercial at the end, which you needn’t watch, but what comes before it is well worth a listen).
Twits on Twitter X Offenders
0
The SPLC’s Hatewatch watches the hate sell.
Twitter suspended Jones’s account on Sept. 6, 2018, and archives show Jones with roughly 900,000 followers at that time. Jones initially signed up for Twitter in 2010. It took Jones eight years to reach 900,000 – and in span of days, he nearly doubled it to 1.7 million.
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy comments at the Youtube page:
If Donald Trump is successful in stealing the election in 2024, he will likely view his second inauguration as a royal coronation into his new position as King/Dictator for Life. Americans could suddenly lose the majority of freedoms they’ve long enjoyed, such as the right to criticize the government, the right to self determination, the right to travel at will, the right to own property, the right to choose their leaders, the right to personal autonomy, the right to free association, the right to read what they want, the right to fair trials by their peers, and on and on. Trump would be, as promised, a dictator on day one, and also on all days that follow. Pledges of loyalty to Trump will be REQUIRED. Children will be expected to tell authorities if their parents aren’t sufficiently true to Trump. Trump will replace Jesus, Buddha, and Allah as the required subject of adoration and reverence in churches. Jokes about Trump will land folks in prison or the cemetery and songs that are unflattering to him will be forbidden. Those who are more popular, smarter, funnier, more skilled, more articulate, more creative, more handsome, or command more attention and love than Trump, like Taylor Swift. Stephen Colbert, Stephen King, or Alexander Vindman, will be exiled, fined or imprisoned for ‘stealing attention away from Trump. All of this would be consistent with life under a narcissistic sociopath like Trump.
Mangy Fetlocks was imagining the forced displays of fealty and reverence that Trump’s shock forces would likely be required to organize, mimicking the displays that are often put on for other dictators like Kim Jong Un or Vladimir Putin.