Month: September 2020

Athenae, COVID-19, Education, Kids Today5 Comments

Maliciousness

Allison Hantschel

I’m never one to credit evil as an explanation where stupidity will do nicely, but as this post points out, this is starting to surpass the “wishful thinking” phase:  You pushed faculty to offer in-person classes or classes that could at least have an in-person component. Classes that drew students to campus and put butts in classroom seats were valued. You created all sorts of untested hybrid options with the idea that some personal interaction was better than none. Faculty objected and students went with online options when possible, but still you persisted. You created pokazukha websites and plans and fliers for … Continue reading Maliciousness

Athenae, COVID-19, Kids Today1 Comment

The Cannon Fodder Objects

Allison Hantschel

My first newspaper:  As more than a quarter of Wisconsin’s record-breaking 1,547 new daily cases came from UW-Madison students on Thursday, the situation in Madison is increasingly worrying. Continued spread among off-campus communities endangers all of Madison and Dane County, jeopardizing lives, local businesses and any return to normalcy. This doomed attempt to reopen will ultimately saddle local authorities with an outbreak that continues long after campus facilities close. In short, what we all had feared — what we knew would be inevitable — has come true. The exponential growth of COVID-19 cases, the lockdown of campus dorms, with the misdirection of faulting individualistic … Continue reading The Cannon Fodder Objects

Adrastos, Diary, Film, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Political Crack, Race, Sports, Television2 Comments

Saturday Odds & Sods: Six Months In A Leaky Boat

Peter Adrastos Athas
Blue Painting by Wassily Kandinsky.

It’s September and it’s still hotter than hell in New Orleans. Pandemic fatigue is widespread here just like everywhere else. Unfortunately, America didn’t do the work needed to suppress COVID-19 so we’re still muddling through.

The NFL season opens this week and I find myself utterly indifferent. I’m mildly amused by wingnut fans who say that they’ll boycott the season because the NFL has gone BLM on their asses. These are the same people who claim they want sports and politics on separate plains, make that separate planets. The Saints will be playing on Sunday at an empty Superdome. It’s hard to get excited about any of this. So it goes.

This week’s theme song was written by Tim Finn in 1982 for Split Enz’s Time and Tide album. It refers to the amount of time that it took British pioneers to sail to New Zealand and is also a metaphor for the songwriter’s nervous breakdown. That’s a lot of substance for a song that still rocks like crazy.

We have three versions of Six Months In A Leaky Boat for your listening pleasure: The Split Enz original; a 2000 live version by Tim Finn, Bic Runga, and Dave Dobbyn and a 2006 performance by a reunited Enz featuring some stellar keyboard work by the great Eddie Rayner.

Kiwi singer-songwriter David Dobbyn has his own nautical classic:

Now that we’re all seasick, it’s time to don a life jacket and jump to the break.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: Six Months In A Leaky Boat”

Michael F1 Comment

You Can’t Shred Digital Recordings

mmferry1965

And you can’t erase 18 and 1/2 minute gaps when someone else has copies. But let’s not slather Bob Woodward in praise while draping him with rewards and awards…as others note, he sat on quite a significant story for months while millions were infected and hundreds of thousands died. For me, this is just another example of how deep the rot is. We all know Trump is the lowest form of lying scum, a con artist and cult leader (aside: Gret Stet Senator/Cletis-The-Ignorant-Yokel wannabe/and cult initiate John Neely Kennedy all but squinched his eyes shut and put fingers in his … Continue reading You Can’t Shred Digital Recordings

Athenae, COVID-191 Comment

So Far, So Good: Pandemic Edition

Allison Hantschel

You ever hear the joke about the optimist who jumped off a building? Every floor he fell, he said, “So far, so good.” You ever hear something else? “You can do this during the day or not at all.” It worked. My mom is still furious because it would NOT have worked if she had said it, because it’s almost impossible to change a dynamic in an existing relationship, and surprisingly easy to be different for a new partner. — Nicole Cliffe (@Nicole_Cliffe) September 7, 2020 I thought of both of those when I read this: So basically America has … Continue reading So Far, So Good: Pandemic Edition

Athenae, Economy5 Comments

It’s The Money, Stupid

Allison Hantschel

Yeah, we have known this: The problem is with the governance structure of the corporation. CEO pay is most immediately determined by corporate boards, who largely owe their jobs to top management. Furthermore, keeping their jobs depends almost entirely on keeping other board members happy. Board members who are nominated for re-election win well over 99 percent of the time. Since these jobs typically pay several hundred thousand dollars a year for a few hundred hours of work, board members generally want to keep their jobs. One sure way of pissing off other board members is asking questions like, “Can … Continue reading It’s The Money, Stupid

Free Republic, Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T2 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – mendacious mediocre militia morons edition

Tommy T

A short one this week, good people – bear with me. Militia members face gun charges, alleged to have come to Kenosha ‘to pick people off’ Fox News ^ | 9/4/2020 | Louis Casiano Posted on 9/4/2020, 8:38:56 PM by Blood of Tyrants A pair of Missouri residents connected to a militia group traveled to Kenosha, Wis., amid demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake “to loot and possibly ‘pick people off,’” according to a federal criminal complaint. Michael Karmo, 40, and Cody Smith, 33, both of Hartville, Mo., were arrested Tuesday at a hotel in Kenosha County on … Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – mendacious mediocre militia morons edition

Uncategorized

Happy Biden Things

Allison Hantschel

SUNGLASSES: According to Biden, he’s been wearing Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses for most of his life. “My lord, I’ve been wearing aviators since I was a freshman in college as a lifeguard,” he told the Skimm in 2016.  An image search for “Joe Biden sunglasses” does not disappoint and turns up some B. Barry Bamz as well if that’s your kink, I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to serve you political crack and if you don’t know that by now, you are in the wrong place. A. Continue reading Happy Biden Things

Athenae, Stupid Everything Tricks1 Comment

Threatening the Crafters Now

Allison Hantschel

For God’s sake, it’s like they WANT to lose: At first, Guzman-Rhea sewed masks for her family, but as cases started to be identified across the state later in March, she connected online with other Wisconsinites who, like herself, were itching to feel productive. They were motivated to contribute to an urgent need during a period of deep uncertainty and stress that left many Wisconsin residents homebound and feeling helpless. Guzman-Rhea quickly found herself organizing a regional crew of crafters as part of a massive statewide group that has coordinated the donation of hundreds of thousands of homemade masks to frontline workers … Continue reading Threatening the Crafters Now

Adrastos, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Music, Odds & Sods, Political Crack, Race, Sports, Television3 Comments

Saturday Odds & Sods: Turn It On Again

Peter Adrastos Athas
Tomato Soup Cans by Andy Warhol.

I’ve been rationing my Twitter use lately so I missed out on Trump soup canapalooza. This week’s featured image is my sole contribution now that it’s been beat to death. I’m also tired of talking about the Impeached Insult Comedian. It’s Joey Shark’s secret weapon in the campaign: people would like a break from politics from time-to-time. I’m not the only one suffering from Trump fatigue.

It’s time for a First Draft housekeeping note. The Friday Cocktail Hour was bumped so My Uncle Was A ‘Loser’ wouldn’t have to share the spotlight. I put a great deal of emotion and passion into that post. The reaction has been most gratifying. The Friday Cocktail Hour will return next week with a Duke Ellington song. Nothing but the best for my readers.

This week’s theme song was written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford for the 1980 Genesis album, Duke. Rutherford’s lyrics are about someone who watches way too much teevee and confuses it with real life. Much like the Kaiser of Chaos. So much for my avowed Trump fatigue.

We have two versions of Turn It On Again for your listening pleasure: the studio original and a live version:

One could even describe the character in this week’s theme song as follows:

Since we’ve reached a turning point in this week’s outing, let’s jump to the break.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: Turn It On Again”