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Sayōnara, Roe v Wade.

Leftovers & Links #61  

Gerard Broulard and Kathie Hilton were 1970s-era porn stars who met on a movie set, and fell in love after fucking. I’d never heard of either of them until today, and never seen their work, but it's art, of course. And ain't it delightful when people have a good time living out-of-the-ordinary lives?

Broulard and Hilton had a long-term open relationship and friendship, and decades later, a marriage that lasted until their deaths, and it’s all a beautiful and downright wholesome story that could be the best Hallmark movie ever.

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Court won’t stop Texas abortion ban, but lets clinics sue 

This is the ruling that overturns Roe v Wade — not explicitly, but that’s the intent, and that will be the effect. The headline’s last four words, “but lets clinics sue,” mean nothing, because the clinics’ lawsuits will be heard in the savagely right-wing 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has already upheld the obviously-unconstitutional Texas abortion ban — twice.

It's a decision that will kill people and ruin lives, as what's left of America grows shittier and crueler. 

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One-word newscast:

Good news:
Starbucks 

Bad news:
Covid 

Stupid news:
Money 

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An ode to getting old… 

See all the old-time hippies limping around town, getting old, and dying. Remember when we were lean, motivated, and vibrant, fresh-faced young people? What happened? When we were young we didn't think about growing old, working on our gardening projects out in the hills then letting loose on the dance floor with stoned smiles on our faces...

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The idea is, if you hold something in a precarious grip as you’re falling asleep, it will fall when you drift away, and the racket will awaken you again — but you’ve spent a few moments in the hypnagogia (N1) sleep state, so you’ll be momentarily brilliant. Sounds nuts, you might say, but here’s a study that suggests it’s true

I'm not going to try this strategy — sleep is too elusive for me to intentionally wake myself almost instantly — but we all know that good ideas (and sometimes bad) can spring from dreams.

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The US has somehow convinced a very gullible British judge that its prisons are humane, but still had to promise to imprison Julian Assange in Australia.

The ruling doesn’t extradite Assange to the US, but it makes his extradition much more likely. 

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Despite being created for television, the Monkees were a real band, and made some real music. Michael Nesmith was largely why — he’s the Monkee who chaffed loudest at being told they couldn’t record their own songs. And I must mention Head, the bizarre and trippy Monkees movie half-written by Jack Nicholson, that's well worth seeing if you haven't.

There was more to Nesmith than being a Monkee, though. There was Elephant Parts, Repo Man, Tapeheads, and maybe Timerider (I haven’t seen it, but always meant to). There was First National Band. He created PopClips, the 1980 TV show that inspired the creation of MTV.

And I wouldn’t know, but I suppose it’s possible he was also a human with dreams and aspirations, failures and foibles, loves and an occasional broken heart, like the rest of us. I’ll always remember him in his winter cap, though.

Sleep soundly, Michael Nesmith

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Christopher Becker, long ago of Factsheet Five, writes wistfully about the zine culture of the 1990s, and nails it. Of course he nails it — he was there, he was part of it.

Sometimes I see zines for sale online and they are very well produced, serious affairs for $10 or more. And you pay for them using an online pay service. And it comes as a PDF download. While they are not overpriced as payment for someone’s labor—and I’m glad someone can be recognized for their work and maybe even make some money off their passion—it does seem like a far cry from the immediacy and personal nature of zines in the ‘90s. There was something undeniably real and human about writing your address on a piece of paper, sending cash in an envelope, and then licking a stamp to send some small part of your body through the mail in exchange for a zine...

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As I was proofing the next bit (yes, I actually proofread this slop) it began to sound familiar, so I searched and found that I’d written sorta the same rant a couple of months ago. Oh well — this version is better, so I’m printing it.

Hey, it’s a lot of work squeezing words that make sense out of my brain, so I’m not putting them back in. That would be like un-squeezing a pimple.

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I believe in conspiracy theories, absolutely. There, I said it.

I don’t believe Lee Harvey Oswald worked alone in killing JFK, and I have my doubts about hijackers with boxcutters on 9/11/2001. I don’t know ‘the truth’ of such matters, though, and neither do any of the fools who talk and read and write about it all the time. We’ll never know the truth. I’ve accepted that, and moved on.

Unlike the QAnon idiots, I don’t believe that everything in every newspaper and every statement from every corporate or government leader is a lie. I try to apply some skeptical common sense.

But — hello? Only a fool doesn’t believe that the rich and powerful control almost everything in the world, that they’re up to no good and never announce it. When even two rich bastards are up to no good together, that’s a conspiracy, so yeah, the elites are plotting against us, constantly and everywhere. It's all a conspiracy!

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Like the last name 'Hitler', the first name 'Adolph' has gone out of fashion, but I work at an insurance company that deals with some very old people, so we still see an Adolph now and then. Saw a new policy for an Adolph this week, though, who was born in 1971 — to a family of idiots, of course.

After the last famous Adolph, only an idiot or a Nazi would do that to a child.

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Volvo developed the three-point safety belt, then waived the patent to allow other automakers to use the design. 

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Am I a little crazy, or a little sane? Does wondering about it make me more sane, or less? Does sanity even exist, as a precious commodity, scarce like albino bats or hobos with healthy teeth?

Got sanity? Maybe, around here somewhere…

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 Mystery links  — Like life itself, there’s no knowing where you’re going:

—①—
     —②—
          —③—

 Sing along with Doug:
Joanne, by Michael Nesmith & the First National Band


Sincere tip 'o the hat:
Linden Arden • BoingBoing
Captain HampocketsFollow Me Here
John the Basket • LiarTownUSA
Messy Nessy ChickNational Zero
Ran PrieurVintage Everyday
Voenix Rising

Extra special thanks:
Clayton Barnes • Becky Jo
Name Withheld • Dave S.

12/11/2021

Leftovers & Links 

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14 comments:

  1. Oh crap. The news reached me yesetrday about Roe vs Wade but I thought it was almost good news. Now I need to read more...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm a pessimist but it seems pretty plain to me.

      Delete
  2. I'll comment on the post later, if I have anything interesting to say. But I was waiting for a "Leftovers" post to say one thing:

    I have always hated pickle relish. My dadloved it, on almost any sandwich. I tried it maybe a dozen times, usually on hot dogs. Fucking gross.

    I'm 48 years old, and just this week saw, at the grocery store, Heinz Dill Relish. I almost doubted my eyes - I have NEVER, EVER seen a relish not labeled "Sweet Relish." Never. That was what I disliked about relish. I LOVE pickles, but not sweet pickles. Gotta be Dill. Well, I bought that Dill Relish, and it's fricking great! Exactly what I expected, goes great in my chicken salad.

    How have I not seen this before?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I rather agree that sweet relish and sweet pickles in general are abominations. Cucumbers should be marinated to become something sour, not a disgusting cucumber candy bar, and should remain pleasantly sour when mulched to a relish.

      However, I make a sandwich spread by the jar that's quite good, and the ingredients are low-calorie mayonnaise, a little mustard, lots of dill relish, and a small dollop of sweet relish. So sweet relish does serve a rare purpose.

      Delete
    2. That's a lot like my tuna or chicken salad, sans any relish (before now) - Tuna, mustard, chopped pickles, mayo. Maybe a little Smoky seasoned salt.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, dude, delicious! I toss in some salt and seasonings, too.

      And the same mix (without the tuna) improves any sandwich except peanut butter & jelly.

      Delete
  3. Nesmith's version of his own "Different Drum" song is something.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDgF-A_kGVg&ab_channel=LaraLeeCupcake

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  4. There is an evil that permeates our world, but it is not explained by an evil club of elite manipulators. It is explained by the almost complete separation of humanity from its natural state, which is said to exist as small tribes that depend on the wild nature. We have started an experiment in agricultural and technological control over the processes of nature. These control methods produce surpluses, growth, wealth, civilization, population surplus, slavery, complexity, smartphones. We are addicted to all these things. We are addicted to the ephemeral thrill of agrotechnical control over nature, the heights of "success" that these control mechanisms bring with them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are numerous evils permeating our world, and one of them is certainly explained as an evil club of elite manipulators.

      You're probably right about everything after that, though.

      Delete
  5. What do you think about the corona virus, millions of people dead and the world economy rocket, did it escpe from a lab in Whuan?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think maybe it was manmade, maybe it wasn't. The answer is important, but whatever the answer unless it's maybe I'll be skeptical.

      Delete
  6. Re: the Volvo three-point safety restraint.

    For decades, Volvo had every Volvo in Europe that had been involved in a fatal accident shipped back to Sweden, and taken apart, like the FAA reconstructs airplane crashes. The folks at Volvo simply wanted to know why people died in accidents and what could be done to prevent these deaths. Yup, the world got the three-point safety restraint directly from Volvo, and also, indirectly (and without revenue to Volvo) ABS, crumple zones, air bags, re-enforced door i-beams, highway redesign, and much more.

    In both 1979 and 1980, over 51,000 people were killed in automobile accidents in the United States. In 2019, that number is a little over 36,000, even though total miles driven has increased by about 50%. Europe has done better because they've redesigned more miles of high-speed roadways.

    Volvo wanted to save lives, and they've changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world without the people knowing it. They just went on living.

    I should mention here that Jonas Salk refused to cash in on his Polio vaccine patent. He would literally have made billions at a time when a billion bucks was worth something. He thought it was more important to vaccinate the children of the world quickly and cheaply. He was right. At least we know his name. His team (and Sabin's) was huge, working for academic and medical pay, which was pretty low in the 40s and 50s. I can't name a single one of them, but Salk and Sabin both made it clear that this wasn't a one man job. These men and women worked to reduce suffering and for the good of humanity.

    What does Trump work for?

    John

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trump.

      Being American, mostly dealing with American companies, it's hard for me to even comprehend a company caring enough to spend money to save lives without being forced to do so. I'd be driving a Volvo if they weren't so dang expensive.

      Somewhere in the long, long list of things I'm meaning to write about, I want to say thanks to Fred Banting, for discovering insulin and eschewing a patent, to save lives, including my wife's.

      Delete

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