Innocent Bystanders

For a True Warrior, a Rake Will Suffice September 30, 2017

Stole this from Sondrakistan. Never been much for robot wars, but this was funny and amazing.

A rake vs. high tech robotry.

Spike Lee Puts His Hands Over His Ears and Says “Ba-Ba-Ba…” September 29, 2017

Spike Lee weighs in on the NFL protests, managing to show no empathy or nuance in his arguments:

Two Gold Star parents challenged film director Spike Lee Wednesday night during a CNN town hall on kneeling during the national anthem.
…
The parents of Staff Sgt. Louis Bonacasa told Lee how they attended a ceremony for Gold Star parents and then went home and saw NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem, calling it a “slap in the face.”
…
Lee said that he was sorry for the Bonacasas’ loss, but said that their narrative was “false.”

“All these players have said, many many times, that they respect the armed forces,” Lee said. “They respect the flag. And they respect America. And this narrative that when they take a knee, it’s insulting your son who is no longer here, is not true. They’ve said that again, and again, and again.”

When you find yourself telling a significant portion of your audience that “That’s not what I meant. That’s not what I’m saying. That’s not what this is all about.” then perhaps you should reconsider the ways you’re encapsulating and delivering your message.

Just like “Black Lives Matter.” It was clear from the outset that the poor phrasing was problematic – regardless of how promoters meant it, the slogan was taken as exclusionary (i.e., other lives don’t matter) by many of their audience.

To put it another way:

Mr. Lee, we’ve told you again, and again, and again that when we can’t take the disrespect shown to the anthem and flag as anything but an insult to all that is good about this country. So your bleating about NFL players’ intentions is moot.

If someone poops on my yard to protest injustice, that’s a wonderful sentiment, but it doesn’t change the fact that they POOPED ON MY YARD!! Doesn’t matter how many times they tell me that they intended no harm to my yard and that they have the noblest of intentions, the fact remains that there’s poop right there in my yard.

It’s inappropriate and insulting, just like pooping on my country.

So Mr. Lee, is it we who are not getting the message, or is it you?

Quick Reviews of Sci-Fi TV Shows & Movies September 26, 2017

I’ve been watching stuff (old and new) whilst basking and imbibing (copiously) in the hot tub. Here are my takes on things I’ve watched in the last couple of months.

• Killjoys: Liked it through 3 seasons (despite the lead’s constant bleating of “Dav, Dav.”). It’s been renewed for 2 more seasons, which should finish the story.
• Dark Matter: Liked the first season (a lot), but it lost me very early in the second season. Not renewed after season 3.
• The Expanse: The hardest sci-fi out there (hard = more “sci” less “fi”). Outstanding through its first 2 seasons. It’s been renewed, so the fun will resume early next year.
• RIPD: Ghostbusters meets Men in Black and nobody gives a hoot. Could have been good. Wasn’t.
• Ghost in the Shell: There was a lot of controversy over the casting of Scarlett Johansson in an adaptation of an anime series (apparently those roles are restricted to Japanese actors). There should have been more controversy over how they made a cool anime clunky and boring. Bought it on Amazon, but couldn’t make it past 10 minutes.
• Lucy: Had I seen Lucy before Valerian, I would never have bothered with Valerian (which you may recall I (and the Geezers) panned a few months ago). Luc Besson has lost his magic and resorted to brainless treatments of sci-fi material.
• Van Helsing: Hated the movie many years ago, and now hate the current TV series for fresh and exciting new reasons. First, it ain’t about vampires – they’ve turned vampires into what are essentially zombies. Second, it drags. And drags. And drags. Third, it abuses flashbacks like Anthony Weiner abuses Twitter (or whatever social media thingy he likes to send his d-pics on).
• Stranger Things: Liked it, but only as a binger. Not watching Season 2 until all episodes are out at once.

…aaaannnddd I’m completely done with the NFL. Forever. (N/T) September 24, 2017

This is Cool, Too September 24, 2017

This is Cool September 22, 2017

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wGd3-maeuzM

Are Hurricanes Hitting Florida Harder and Faster Than Before? September 20, 2017

My daughter (the SJW of the family) was explaining to me that the recent spate of hurricanes was due to global warming. Guess I should buy her this book by Anthony Watts. Here’s his chart:

He’s only plotting Florida in his chart, but that’s where most of the American public’s attention is directed.

Maduro’s Point is Moot September 20, 2017

Maduro postures loudly with his usual impotence:

Maduro blasted Trump’s speech at the United Nations as an ‘aggression from the new Adolf Hitler of international politics, Mr Donald Trump’.

Reacting angrily from Caracas, he said the ‘tycoon’ thinks ‘he is the owner of the world’ as he warned: ‘Nobody threatens Venezuela and nobody owns Venezuela.’

Errmmm . . . that’s because there’s nothing left worth owning.

Whites: You Are, And Ever Shall Be, Racists! September 20, 2017

I’ve said the same thing before, but it’s becoming more true than ever: if I’m doomed to be a racist no matter what I do, say, or believe, why should I care about racism? Enter Ms. Ashleigh Shackelford to hammer the point home:

However, activist Ashleigh Shackelford does us all a favor by showing us just how far we are from ever seeing racial harmony.

**video insert wherein Ms. Shackelford carefully explains that “All White People are Racist”**

Ah, the old “all white people are racist” canard. We haven’t enjoyed this one in a while, now have we?

However, Shackelford takes it a step further by saying, “You’re always going to be racists, actually.”

Wow, really? I’m always going to be racist? Then perhaps she can tell us just why we should even bother worrying about racial equality if we’re never going to be anything but racist?

Despite Ms. Shackelford and her ilk’s unrelenting attempts to drive us into the arms of genuine racists, the fact remains that we do care about racism. We believe that all people should have equal rights and equal opportunities, that people should “…not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” and that actual racism should be extinguished from our country and hopefully the world.

But Ms. Shackelford’s special brand of racism isn’t going to get us there.

Circles Hiding Among Rectangles September 16, 2017

This isn’t an optical illusion exactly, but it’s cool nonetheless. Here goes:

Can you see the 16 disks in the picture below?

(more…)

Hillary! Is There Anything That Didn’t Stop Her? September 15, 2017

Gregg Jarrett at Fox read Hillary!’s memoir of her epic fail, and originally found 43 excuses she gave for why she lost the election. Amazingly, he went back over the past few days and found 13 more, for a total of 56 excuses for her loss.

In a rare display of morality I’m not going to steal his entire list, so here are the first 10 to whet your appetite.

1. Sexism

2. Racism

3. Misogyny

4. Xenophobia

5. Suburban women

6. James Comey

7. FBI

8. Russians

9. Vladimir Putin

10. WikiLeaks

Sadly, IB is nowhere to be found.

Rabbit Meat is a Socialist Treat September 14, 2017

When we watched Hugo Chavez nationalize Venezuelan industries some ten years ago, we were pretty sure that it would end very badly for the Venezuelan people. Now Venezuelans are having shortages of food, medicine, and pretty much everything else.

But don’t fret – Nicholas Maduro has a plan:

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has devised a “rabbit plan” to counter the economic war he says is being waged against his government by “imperialist forces”.

The president urged crisis-hit Venezuelans to breed rabbits and eat them as a source of animal protein.

Unfathomable that they have been reduced to this.

I recall Michael Moore’s awful “documentary” Roger and Me, in which he uses the example of a woman selling rabbit meat as an example of how capitalism failed the auto workers of Flint, MI.

Somehow I don’t think he’ll apply that same standard to Venezuela, which has made it government policy.