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Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
3 years ago

A blessed Sabbath, Gerbil Nation!

The local paper reported on the annual hate crimes and hate incidents report put out by the county Human Relations Commission. Of course the headline was gloom and doom about rising hate crimes, but when you get into the meat of the matter we find the following: 30 possible hate crimes reported by police, with only 8 prosecuted as hate crimes. The bulk of the report deals with “hate incidents” which could be someone distributing a flyer that someone else feels is racist or a an anti-illegal immigrant video posted on social media. Of course they never give the race or ethnicity of the perpetrators for some reason.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago

It’s all fake, as such things always have been. Actual organized racism you can almost count on the fingers of one hand.

The five pillars of modern journalism. Look into what they are. Only one is legitimate. The other four are simply Marxism of one flavor or another..

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

It all depends on language and how you define “racism.” The left has done a remarkable job there.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  Just Sven

yup. It all began in 1914, but one phase of it began after WWII as Marxism began to seep into our institutions. Journalism added 4 Marxist pillars to the one that everyone thinks of as “What real Journalism really is or should be.”

There is a very interesting movie about that. In some ways the activist journalism is really a backdrop to the movie that you hardly notice unless you’re paying attention and know what to look for.

Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren, I think and one other famous female leading lady who played Gregory’s wife. I can’t remember the name of the movie. But they don’t tell stories like that anymore.

I doubt very much that this movie was a blockbuster, but it was a thoughtful piece, and except for the cinematography, not very glamorous.

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
3 years ago

It’s th’ annual Talk Like a Corsair Day! How could I forget? And swab the deck! And a very grog-filled anniversary t’ Fatwa and his bride, th’ lovely BrendaK!  

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago

Arrgh! Good morning, Paddy -- happy Sunday, GN!

The devil is in the details -- I’ll bet that the article relied heavily on percentage increases as opposed to actual numbers.

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  Just Sven

That and mixing percentages, percentage increases, and numbers together, without ever providing all of any.

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago

I picked up some meds at the local Rite Aid pharmacy yesterday. At the entrance there’s a sign that reads along the lines of “in accordance with CDC guidelines, customers that are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks while shopping” and so I didn’t mask up when I entered. There was maybe another 15 or so shoppers and I was the only one not wearing a mask.
No dirty looks -- no confrontations, but it seems to me that people are becoming accustomed to wearing masks as the norm. I look for every opportunity to not wear one. I keep seeing plenty of people driving around that are masked even while alone in their vehicle.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  Just Sven

I pretty much stopped wearing one in March or April of 2020. But In AZ we never really had a mandate, it was just an advisory. The biggest change has been that there are no 24 hour places, like WalMart or Denny’s, all have closing times. The grocery stores up here, close earlier than they used to.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  Mac

Yup. It’s like a cult.

The Branch Covidians.

(I can’t take credit for that one. I heard it from duckHK on Rumble, probably, can’t remember--possibly SaltyCracker or StyxHexenHammer666… or one of those guys.)

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

“Mask Davidians” sounds better IMO.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  Just Sven

sure, why not : )

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

Put them together: Mask Covidians.

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago

Winner winner chicken dinner!

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago

Happy Sunday everyone!

Our internet is still down. I’m thinking of ramping back the service, since I’m not streaming that much anymore, and getting a second internet of some kind. Years ago, I used to have DSL here, but it sucked, so I got cable. I have what used to be their highest tier, although they’ve added another tier since then for $20 more.

If DSL is still available and improved at all, it might be worth looking into. According to a website that categorizes internet service, in our area, Fiber is now available in some locales. DSL/fiber from CenturyLink might be better than it was 7 years ago. Certainly, Cable has improved, although this is the second box that died on me. I lost one last year, but it was because of a bad filter outside, that blew my last box.

This time, it just failed suddenly while I was posting on the wheel a couple of days ago. I made one post, and then when I tried another one, it was out. No amount of rebooting helped at all. Nor did their remote reset attempts.

So who knows what is up.

In Portland, I ran my own dedicated DNS server, and had cable internet and something called “Clear” which was a UHF broadband radio thing. These two internet services ran into a dual WAN router so the internet would never go down for our household, except that “Clear” was slower than the cable.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

so yeah, still using the cell phone on USB on this machine (Which does not have wifi) and cell phone wifi tethering on everything else.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago

Church was Hot inside, this morning. I helped with the sacrament in addition to setting up the Zoom session, which I usually do if I am there.

It was so hot in there, I couldn’t wait to take off my coat and tie and roll up my sleeves at the first opportunity. On my way home, I had a nice long chat on the phone with my mom. Who is having a tough time, as in fact, she always has, in one way or another. She has not had an easy life.

I sometimes pray that God will take my Brother home, so maybe Mom could have a few years of peace and quiet. But that’s above my pay grade. I feel he has a purpose for my crazy brother, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is.

Mental illness, you know…. But in his case, it was caused by a head trauma, so it’s not just some brain chemistry thing like it is with most crazies.

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

I have some extra prayers in me today, Dv8 -- I’ll so a few for you, your mother, and your brother if you don’t mind.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  Just Sven

always appreciated.

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

Hi dv8 (and Harper!) -- glad you were able to get to church and also that you had a nice, long conversation with your mom. I’m sorry to hear about your brother. I’ll add some extra prayers for your family.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago

thanks so much : ) It’s nice to be able to share a bit of my frustration with all y’all.

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

That’s what we’re here for.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago

Also:

RIP Norm MacDonald.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

Evidentially, he had some kind of cancer for almost 10 years, but never told anyone.

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago

Back to Dante.

Longfellow translation:
Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

Ciardi translation:
Midway in our life’s journey, I went astray
from the straight road and woke to find myself
alone in a dark wood

Perhaps it’s me, but I find Ciardi easier to read and comprehend, but then I’m more attuned to plot than I am to poetry.

Just Sven
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  Mac

There’s a particular skill to reading poetry and/or great literature, or at least a frame of mind or perspective if not quite a skillset. I don’t have it so a more modern translation, which may overlook the nuance and beauty of a more literal translation, may at least allow me to grasp the meaning of the words…if that make sense.

The lines I used as a comparison above are the first three lines of the first canto of The Inferno and I have to admit that the Longfellow translation was to me understandable. I’ll have to come up with some better examples.

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  Just Sven

I read a couple of Shakespeare’s plays in high school (including the obligatory Hamlet) and struggled with the language, cadence, etc., but found that it got easier the more I read. Later, in college, I took a course in Shakespeare and found that by the third play, I was “getting” it. I still needed to look at the foot notes and glossary, but the cadence was becoming more familiar and understandable.

ThePlagueFairy
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  Mac

Gentle Mac,

Whenever someone asks me how to gain an understanding of Shakespeare I tell them to watch Kenneth Branagh’s HENRY V for the same reasons you mentioned. The dialogue being spoken in a clear voice at the correct pace and by someone who really understands what they’re saying.

ThePlagueFairy
Editor
3 years ago
Reply to  Mac

I second that!!! I love it!

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago

Well, I’m having that staying up late thing going on. I should be asleep, but I’m going to try now.

Good afternoon, and good night, everyone.

Good night Mac,

Paddy,

and Sven, busy quoting Dante.

dv8
Editor
dv8
3 years ago
Reply to  dv8

and goodnight Fatwa, wherever you are.

And Good night Rabbit, Dream of Lettuce, Carrots, and Celery.