tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10729749717591263232024-03-18T14:03:12.943+11:00Little AustraliaAn American writer moves to Australia. And unfortunately continues writing.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.comBlogger555125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-51695656621543679232021-09-30T14:50:00.012+10:002021-09-30T15:31:06.643+10:00DON'T FEAR RABIES SHOTS!<p>I was just reminded - by a <a href="https://twitter.com/dremilyportermd/status/1443421712893218823" target="_blank">sad contemporary repeat of this</a> - of a post I made many years ago over at <a href="https://littlethomsblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/dont-fear-rabies-shots.html" target="_blank">my even older inactive blog</a>—and it is still needed today! So here it is again:</p><p>People are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/alberta-has-first-human-case-of-rabies-in-2-decades-1.631654" target="_blank">still afraid to get rabies shots:</a></p><blockquote>The man — who lives east of Edmonton — did not get vaccinated after he was attacked in August 2006 and is now in serious condition in hospital, said Dr. Karen Grimsrud, a provincial health officer. Grimsrud said the Alberta man woke up in the middle of the night when the bat bit him, but he didn't show any symptoms until January. <b>"Once you develop the neurological symptoms, there's very little that can be done," Grimsrud said Friday. "All we can do is make them comfortable."</b></blockquote>It used to be 26 shots—directly into the stomach. And it hurt, they say, a lot. <b>BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED.</b> <a href="https://www.health.nd.gov/diseases-conditions/rabies/rabies-faqs" target="_blank">Read</a>:<span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="color: #0e1a30; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span><blockquote><b>Are the rabies shots given in the stomach?</b></blockquote><blockquote>No, the rabies vaccine has not been given in the stomach since the 1980s. For adults, it should only be given in the deltoid muscle of the upper arm (administration to the gluteal area is NOT recommended, as studies have shown this can result in a less effective immune response.) </blockquote>That's my community service report for the day. Best of luck and health to the poor guy in Edmonton.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-72268468129331697082020-01-03T12:22:00.000+11:002020-01-03T12:22:02.507+11:00Music Room<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDJDr9LCt_A35vl_4xwyfBLtkZI0O_TLKVvVFtyQUc7u4Rd_FpnWC7hUuIQzpAlYCWwHxRT1aD5BVQNEVDR9DhotBau12JXctqo0t-Z-NRCaB4YqZ9zy5vN2siwcGfpg3uzCAji__-GU/s1600/0-2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDJDr9LCt_A35vl_4xwyfBLtkZI0O_TLKVvVFtyQUc7u4Rd_FpnWC7hUuIQzpAlYCWwHxRT1aD5BVQNEVDR9DhotBau12JXctqo0t-Z-NRCaB4YqZ9zy5vN2siwcGfpg3uzCAji__-GU/s640/0-2.jpg" width="580" /></a>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-43535881635466163542019-11-29T11:15:00.004+11:002019-11-29T11:21:23.025+11:00Thanksgiving Day (US) 2019Just seeing this article from 2017 for the first time: <a href="https://psmag.com/social-justice/how-many-death-row-prisoners-are-disabled" target="_blank">How Many Death Row Prisoners are Disabled?</a><br />
<br />
Opening:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: merriweather, serif; font-size: 16.2px; margin-bottom: 30px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;">
When Kenneth Williams was a child, his father beat him regularly with a belt. <a href="http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/columnists/david-waters/2017/04/28/david-waters-arkansas-execution-38-years-making/100986060/" target="_blank">One time, he threw Williams against a wall, injuring his brain</a>. Besides the trauma stemming from this abuse, Williams was also forced to witness similar violence against his mother and siblings. In school, Williams was diagnosed with severe learning disabilities, perhaps related to the brain injury, or from exposure to toxic chemicals and drugs. Although three experts examined Williams and determined that he met the criteria for the definition of intellectual disability, which should have protected him, the Supreme Court declined to stop his execution. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/27/arkansas-executions-kenneth-williams-fourth-final" target="_blank">He died on April 27th</a>.</blockquote>
Found <a href="https://twitter.com/sophienotemily/status/1200183984078102529?s=20" target="_blank">here</a>.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-5293740844120944942019-09-24T08:38:00.001+10:002019-09-24T08:38:07.721+10:00A Conversation About Climate Change, and Climate Science<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Dude: My car's broken.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: What's it doing?</div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px;">
D: It won't shift out of first gear.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: Dang. Sounds like a transmission problem. Better take it to a mechanic.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
D: A mechanic?! I'm not taking my car to some witch doctor!</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: Witch doctor? WTF?</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
D: You can't diagnose what's wrong with a car! It's a mystery!</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: Dude. Mechanics study cars, learn how they work, and learn how to fix them when they stop working.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
D: Yeah, right! Like mechanics aren't part of a global scheme to make us all think there's something unnatural about cars breaking down!</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: Dude. Mechanics fix cars all the time.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
D: Mechanics just say they know how to fix cars because they want money!</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: Mechanics have to eat, pay rent...</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
D: George Soros wants us all to give our cars to they government and become slaves to the big government highway!</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: So, you just going to keep driving around in your broken car?</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
D: I'll adjust! Pretty soon we'll be able to drive all the way across Antarctica in the winter time!</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Me: Uh, don't leave the metaphor, man...</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
D: WARMER WEATHER MEANS BIGGER TOMATOES!!!</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-14920437361316923052019-08-28T07:16:00.003+10:002019-08-28T07:16:39.815+10:00Pollenlegged Bee (Sydney, 8-19)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsSU3Anq2KoCPPnH9KGJX_WdCR_z6gdAepZsYNzjNa50foNK3gvYV8y_CdKVjPZd2AoPu0uNButjIskfdcRWPoa5ESnOSGuWJFAT6qQkt91tmp_PWfUvpVwGwxhg2-nY1nNDbkROtRoY/s1600/IMG_20190827_121726.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsSU3Anq2KoCPPnH9KGJX_WdCR_z6gdAepZsYNzjNa50foNK3gvYV8y_CdKVjPZd2AoPu0uNButjIskfdcRWPoa5ESnOSGuWJFAT6qQkt91tmp_PWfUvpVwGwxhg2-nY1nNDbkROtRoY/s1600/IMG_20190827_121726.jpg" /></a>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-4330502215192235602019-08-02T15:07:00.002+10:002019-08-02T15:15:12.496+10:00When it was All TogetherBigger than Soviet Union
<br />
<br />
Formerly
<br />
<br />
Remember the Soviet Union?
<br />
<br />
When it was all together?
<br />
<br />
The Soviet Union
<br />
<br />
When it was all together
<br />
<br />
Before they decided<br />
<br />
We gotta call ourselves “Russia”
<br />
<br />
When it was all together<br />
<br />
They wanted to be that
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Was always their dream to be<br />
<br />
The biggest in the world</div>
<br />
Then it became “Russia”
<br />
<br />
And you know what?<br />
<br />
They’ve done a good job with energy<br />
<br />
And so has Saudi Arabia<br />
<br />
Done a good job with energy<br />
<br />
But we’re now bigger than Russia<br />
<br />
[<a href="https://twitter.com/pattymo/status/1157118822211620865" target="_blank">actual transcript</a>]
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-90033298809513924452019-07-26T10:14:00.003+10:002019-07-26T13:39:30.278+10:00The Dowdening of America, AgainFor no special reason, here's a new blog post, inspired by this tweet, posted yesterday by noted American news person Howard Fineman:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybGiBkFV7-A1ZSGYTL0dlmeDA0q9BGwkBHNQhja7vpQnvAPWQWo96v9LyQ80TFOvNMsWexRc6THznJWLN4R_babWbqN9vCn1jCfhHPE5yKgSJWG1_z_R0CEBnyBcGFMM2V6i-rrlAo5I/s1600/Dowdening.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybGiBkFV7-A1ZSGYTL0dlmeDA0q9BGwkBHNQhja7vpQnvAPWQWo96v9LyQ80TFOvNMsWexRc6THznJWLN4R_babWbqN9vCn1jCfhHPE5yKgSJWG1_z_R0CEBnyBcGFMM2V6i-rrlAo5I/s400/Dowdening.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<br />
<br />
When that tweet was derided by lots of smart people, Howard deleted it, and this morning posted this:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Tonight I tweeted a pic of a Georgetown party hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/maureendowd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@maureendowd</a>, attended by <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerPelosi</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenSchumer</a> and DC journos. In the old days it would’ve been a benign big-shot brag. No more. It was viciously ratio’d by left and right. I deleted it. All establishments are hated.</div>
— Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) <a href="https://twitter.com/howardfineman/status/1154247258856206337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Chaser:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
And that, my child, is why America collapsed. Because the ones tasked with holding truth to power were dazzled by the glitter, intoxicated by the proximity to something they’ll never have. To Howard Fineman, and all the other fluffer-stenographers of the ruling class, eat shit. <a href="https://t.co/bi5i6Jg3by">pic.twitter.com/bi5i6Jg3by</a></div>
— Xeni (@xeni) <a href="https://twitter.com/xeni/status/1154382591568617472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-4743213825279211762019-05-22T08:45:00.000+10:002019-11-29T11:26:57.533+11:00Random Oliver Sacks NuggetSecond volume of posthumous Oliver Sacks, <i>Everything in It's Place: First Loves and Last Tales</i>, reviewed at <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/06/06/truth-beauty-and-oliver-sacks/">NY Review of Books</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 17px;">His childhood nickname was “Inky”; he started writing in journals from his teens and never stopped. He wrote in cafés, in bars, on his bike, even at concerts. He almost never read the journals; they were sketchpads he used to work out his themes, to find his form, to articulate his story. </span></blockquote>
"To find his mind" might have been just as fitting.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-25359304498722469382018-02-20T07:06:00.001+11:002018-02-20T07:06:57.373+11:00The, U.S., Australia, and Guns: The Nib<a href="https://thenib.com/australia-enacted-gun-control-1996-mass-shooting" target="_blank">The Nib</a>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-36877124257647419322017-04-08T09:21:00.001+10:002017-04-08T09:21:07.410+10:00"Good Bones" <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYq85xyNG9hYq39Mnzx5SmvgScLoUyjy1jT5DHSJy2afjwT0yxxel-cET8VUOb8-josHKORhGYnbolc5_QA-7rDoyN6jbqKmdPMUhHlMIkfw6CewBjd4MR3RWbBYB9nU0aiLfoFIfsM4c/s1600/C82InwAVwAA013M.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYq85xyNG9hYq39Mnzx5SmvgScLoUyjy1jT5DHSJy2afjwT0yxxel-cET8VUOb8-josHKORhGYnbolc5_QA-7rDoyN6jbqKmdPMUhHlMIkfw6CewBjd4MR3RWbBYB9nU0aiLfoFIfsM4c/s640/C82InwAVwAA013M.jpg" width="523" /></a>
<br />
<a href="https://maggiesmithpoet.com/" target="_blank">Maggie Smith</a><br />
<br />
Found here: <a href="https://twitter.com/tomtomorrow/status/850486152037584899" target="_blank">@TomTomorrow</a>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-73004396641529978042016-11-10T10:34:00.000+11:002016-11-10T12:43:09.015+11:00My Fellow Losers:I can't stand sappy do-gooder posts that purport to offer an injection of hope to people feeling like they've been kicked in the gut.<br />
<br />
So, uh, yeah - here's one now!<br />
<br />
My fellow losers:<br />
<br />
I'm not a woman or minority, so I won't scold or talk down to anyone with strong, emotional, giving-up reactions to yesterday's election result, but I saw something just now: <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/11/09/don_t_mourn_over_the_election_find_a_charity_and_help_it_now.html" target="_blank">"Don't mourn over the election. Find a charity and help it now."</a><br />
<br />
That's good, but I've got a better idea:<br />
<br />
Maybe all us losers could choose to not let this get us too down, and instead decide to use this loss, and to dedicate ourselves to doing something concrete that over the next four years will make our communities, our country, and our world better. Just a little something. Regularly volunteer in a local homeless shelter, become part of a community outreach program to Muslims or refugees, volunteer in women's shelters, volunteer in group homes for developmentally disabled people - anything. Lots to choose from. Do something doable. Don't give in to the "Oh, what use is this goody-goody shit?" feeling. It's of a little use - and that's better than no use. Make a small community garden with some friends, invite your politically-different neighbors over for lunch on a regular basis, get disparate groups of people together for events like outdoor concerts or frisbee barbecues ("Frisbee Barbecue" would actually make a great band name), start a shopping-for-old-people-who-need-a-little-help group. Do things that focus on bringing communities a little closer together. Eras of division like this one could use that. Let's spend the next four years winning - in spite of losing.<br />
<br />
We could call ourselves "Losers For Winning Anyway Cuz Why the Piss Not?" (Maybe someone can improve on this. Just spitballing here.)<br />
<br />
Let's all take this on the chin, shake it off, and say "Meh." We can do the world a good thing for four years.<br />
<br />
I was trained six months ago or so to volunteer to teach English to recently arrived refugees in Sydney. Just one day a week, few hours of work. Our lives here got a little bumpy around that time, and I used that as an excuse to not do that somewhat challenging thing. Screw that. I'm back in. That's my start.<br />
<br />
<b>Important Note: </b>All you winners are welcome to join in, too. With open arms.
LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-72584092889559752042016-10-11T13:40:00.001+11:002016-10-20T11:04:18.674+11:00Newsweek's Kurt Eichenwald is Currently Losing His Marbles [updated; again Oct. 20, 2016)]Oy. This is happening right now, and it's quite convoluted.<br />
<br />
Quick intro:<br />
<br />
Newsweek writer Kurt Eichenwald has <u><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-sidney-blumenthal-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-benghazi-sputnik-508635" target="_blank">a story up</a></u> saying - well, a bunch of crazy shit. Primarily: that he has discovered a Russian news service story that carried a mistake regarding Eichenwald himself (Eichenwald is correct on this!); that the mistake proves that a Hillary Clinton campaign-related email that was recently published by Wikileaks was somehow falsified (wrong!); and that Donald Trump has apparently been fed falsified info related to that email—directly from Russia! (Whacky!)<br />
<br />
Let's start slow:<br />
<br />
Eichenwald's story is about a story that appeared this morning in the Russian news service Sputnik about an email from Hillary Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal to Clinton champaign chief John Podesta (the email actually says it's to "undisclosed recipients," but this if from the Wikileaks Podesta email dump), which was acquired by hackers, and recently published by Wikileaks. Sputnik's story - <u><a href="https://sputniknews.com/world/201610101046200602-hillary-benghazi-wikileaks-podesta-emails/" target="_blank">now deleted</a></u> - appears to have incorrectly interpreted/understood/transcribed that email, and incorrectly put Eichenwald's words in Blumenthal's mouth.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Then came the money quote: '"Clinton was in charge of the State Department, and it failed to protect U.S. personnel at an American consulate in Libya. If the GOP wants to raise that as a talking point against her, it is legitimate," said Blumenthal, putting to rest the Democratic Party talking point that the investigation into Clinton's management of the State Department at the time of the attack was nothing more than a partisan witch hunt.'</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Those words sounded really, really familiar. Really familiar. Like, so familiar they struck me as something I wrote. Because they were something I wrote. </b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Russians were quoting two sentences from a 10,000 word piece I wrote for Newsweek, which Blumenthal had emailed to Podesta. There was no mistaking that Blumenthal was citing Newsweek—the magazine’s name and citations for photographs appeared throughout the attached article.
</blockquote>
<br />
Remember: this is Eichenwald quoting the Sputnik story about the Wikileaks email, not the email itself. But Eichenwald conflates the two, and has used the apparent Sputnik mistake to strongly imply (<a href="https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/785630792781144064" target="_blank">bonus tweet</a>) that the email released by Wikileaks was itself fabricated. That's wrong: <u><a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/2038" target="_blank">here's the email</a></u>. It doesn't put Eichenwald's words in Blumenthal's mouth, as the Sputnik story apparently did.<br />
<br />
This was, if Eichenwald is to be trused on what the Sputnik story said (I believe him), Sputnik's mistake. It does not reflect on the email at all. (And please note that if the email published by Wikileaks was falsified, or simply made up, Podesta and Blumenthal could and presumably would deny writing or receiving it. They haven't.)<br />
<br />
Eichenwald goes on to make a huge conspiracy of how Donald Trump came to get this story - he mentioned it in a speech just today - implying that he was fed it directly from Russia.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I am Sidney Blumenthal. At least, that is what Vladimir Putin—and, somehow, Donald Trump—seem to believe. And that should raise concerns not only about Moscow’s attempts to manipulate this election, but also how Trump came to push Russian disinformation to American voters.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[...]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This false story was only reported by the Russian controlled agency (a reference appeared in a Turkish publication, but it was nothing but a link to the Sputnik article). <b>So how did Donald Trump end up advancing the same falsehood put out by Putin’s mouthpiece?
</b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y86z3k5s8XY&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">At a rally in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania</a></u>, Trump spoke while holding a document in his hand. He told the assembled crowd that it was an email from Blumenthal, whom he called “sleazy Sidney.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“This just came out a little while ago,’’ Trump said. “I have to tell you this.” And then he read the words from my article.</blockquote>
The logical, not hair-on-fire, not nutty conclusion about how Trump got that info: the same way other people got it - on Twitter, where it was spread around by tons of people. (Here's a tweet - on the actual email - <u><a href="https://twitter.com/LoopEmma/status/784529376507486209" target="_blank">from October 8</a></u>. More <u><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=benghazi%20preventable&src=typd" target="_blank">here</a></u>.)<br />
<br />
Note: In case it's not clear, Eichenwald uses the fact that Trump "advanc[ed] the same falsehood" in the story as Sputnik as proof that Trump was fed the info from his best friend, Putin. And it's <u><a href="https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/785673299690946560" target="_blank">not even clear that Trump did that</a></u>. (Elaborated more fully by Marcy Wheeler <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/2016/10/11/provenance-putin-sid-blumenthal-story/" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
<br />
<b>Update:</b> Oof:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Re the Newsweek story, how do we know Trump was reading Sputnik story & not this viral tweet with thousands of RTs?<a href="https://t.co/Cq1lTj2PPO">https://t.co/Cq1lTj2PPO</a></div>
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) <a href="https://twitter.com/passantino/status/785682424860581888">October 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
And since that tweet has now been deleted, here’s a screenshot of it. Posted at 8:28 am PT <a href="https://t.co/5FftXcS7fB">pic.twitter.com/5FftXcS7fB</a></div>
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) <a href="https://twitter.com/passantino/status/785692409183150081">October 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
<br />
<b>Update II:</b> Eichenwald is now hilariously claiming to have not said what he did in fact say:<br />
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
so <a href="https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald">@kurteichenwald</a> which of these statements is true? Because they can't both be. <a href="https://t.co/QUvSz1xTBb">pic.twitter.com/QUvSz1xTBb</a></div>
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) <a href="https://twitter.com/adamjohnsonNYC/status/785806574740574209">October 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
<br />
Gleen Greenwald on this <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/10/11/in-the-democratic-echo-chamber-inconvenient-truths-are-recast-as-putin-plots/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Note, October 12 (Aus):</b> Eichenwald has drastically edited and added to the article in question. It now acknowledges that the Wikileaks email was in fact not doctored. (It's still dumb and silly in every other way.)<br />
<br />
<b>Update, Oct. 20:</b> <a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/10/did-newsweeks-kurt-eichenwald-use-threats-and-brib.html" target="_blank">Holy shit.</a> (You've got to read it to believe it. It's so crazy and convoluted it's hard to make sense of. The gist: the writer of the Sputnik story, an American in D.C, says he got the bad info via a tweet. And: <i>he contacted Eichenwald about that</i>. The response: pure craziness. Plus: the writer lost his job at Sputnik. His personal story <a href="https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201610171046431086-Newsweek-Eichenwald-Moran-Putin-Trump/" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-36180851539044328112016-10-03T12:42:00.000+11:002016-10-03T12:50:39.626+11:00Report: British Spy Agency GCHQ Gave Recordings of Dutch Citizens' Phone Calls to Australian Software CompanyThis is a <a href="http://www.itwire.com/security/75038-gchq-gave-private-dutch-data-to-australian-firm-report.html" target="_blank">crazy story</a>: it came about because a British woman working for the Australian company heard the voice of an ex-boyfriend in one of the recordings:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The private conversations of thousands of Dutch citizens have ended up in the hands of the Australian technology company Appen which develops software for converting speech into text.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[...]</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A report in the Dutch online site Volkskrant said telecommunications experts had opined that the only way this could have happened was by the British spy agency GCHQ tapping the information and then handing it over to Appen. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
According to Volkskrant, the matter came to light through a Dutch woman who had been employed by Appen in the UK. The company has four main offices: in Sydney, Seattle, San Rafael (California) and Davao City (the Philippines).
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This woman was tasked with describing thousands of short audio excerpts in which she heard Dutch people chatting on the phone, with many of them being communications by cabbies in The Hague.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In one excerpt, she recognised the voice of an ex-boyfriend, who was speaking via Vodafone. He had not given the telco permission to share his calls with anyone and confirmed this to Volkskrant.
</blockquote>
Much more from the original story at the Dutch site Volkskrant - in English - <a href="http://www.volkskrant.nl/4386297" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
And a very interesting and related Twitter thread (to to tweet to see full thread):
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
I am not at all surprised. <a href="https://t.co/Br03GvpBXK">https://t.co/Br03GvpBXK</a></div>
— Paul D (@Paulmd199) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paulmd199/status/782041637337784320">October 1, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-39515360033472324562016-09-09T10:26:00.001+10:002016-09-09T11:49:55.522+10:00Wikileaks and the ".goy" Huma Abedin/Hillary Clinton EmailJulian Assange and Wikileaks are getting <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/774029957953716224" target="_blank">shit</a> from <a href="https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/774026405289930752" target="_blank">several quarters</a> today for promoting an email from Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—with a very questionable email address:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Emails show Huma Abedin in charge of Hillary Clinton's earpiece <a href="https://t.co/9dreUeDhZ9">https://t.co/9dreUeDhZ9</a> <a href="https://t.co/QZ8BpcZk2l">pic.twitter.com/QZ8BpcZk2l</a></div>
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/774023424498892800">September 8, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Notice that email address for Abedin? It has a copyright symbol instead of an @ symbol - and it ends with ".goy" instead of ".gov."<br />
<br />
Obvious fake - right? Proof that Wikileaks is doctoring emails - right? Also proof of anti-Semitism from Assange - right?<br />
<br />
Assange defended the email as real, and the typos as the State Department's:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/justinjm1">@justinjm1</a> No. Cut and paste the address from the PDF. What do you get? "state.goy". As we said, the typo is State's.</div>
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/774032246743310336">September 8, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
I decided to test it. (As I'm sure others have.)<br />
<br />
Here's a PDF of the email—not from Wikileaks, but right from the source: <a href="https://foia.state.gov/search/results.aspx" target="_blank">the State Department's FOIA reading room.</a> (Type in "earpiece" in the search box to get to the specific email. There are three results - it's the third one. You can also view it directly <a href="https://wikileaks.org/clinton-emails/emailid/14039#efmAGDAG2" target="_blank">at the Wikileaks website</a>.) Abedin's email address reads "AbedinH@state.gov," just as you'd expect.<br />
<br />
But highlight Abedin's email address in that PDF, copy it, and paste it - and this happens:<br />
<br />
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: large;">AbedinH©state.goy> </span></blockquote>
That's me - just copying and pasting that into this blog post, straight from the actual email record at the State Department's FOIA site. It's obviously just a reading error by the copy-and-paste machine (computer coding stuff that is above my computer coding knowledge).</div>
</div>
</div>
LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-40217111478934203292015-09-18T09:38:00.000+10:002015-09-18T09:38:45.690+10:00The Medieval BestiaryThe secret to successful blogging is to only post rippingly good stuff that immediately grabs people and makes them want to see more.<br />
<br />
And to only post every six months or so. Ahem.<br />
<br />
I bring thee the <a href="http://bestiary.ca/index.html" target="_blank">Medieval Bestiary: Animals in the Middle Ages</a>.<br />
<br />
A <a href="http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast244.htm" target="_blank">sample</a>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LclT0p724h59a3FNZ-7ZO20JAiY2G4nCpzV4amwwsZBydunjZUtQbinKPgqrdmDXdrI1jcItybXpv82KejPJ4a76d-NJH9vZbTLzisyni2uNyBn09HjGT5HfyQSAZiUVZxZlq2Z292I/s1600/MedievalBestiary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LclT0p724h59a3FNZ-7ZO20JAiY2G4nCpzV4amwwsZBydunjZUtQbinKPgqrdmDXdrI1jcItybXpv82KejPJ4a76d-NJH9vZbTLzisyni2uNyBn09HjGT5HfyQSAZiUVZxZlq2Z292I/s640/MedievalBestiary.jpg" width="580" /></a></div>
<br />LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-25246330756683472532015-03-14T06:59:00.006+11:002015-03-14T07:01:25.914+11:00Stunner: Earth Wind MapWow. This is something to see on any day, but it's spectacular right now - with Cyclone Pam churning over the South Pacific:<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="353" src="https://www.screenr.com/embed/j5IH" width="580"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Go <a href="http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-200.90,-17.29,1381,abcnewsembedheight=500" target="_blank">here</a>. It's interactive - you can spin the globe. <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/17/5219130/earth-wind-map-shows-our-planets-weather" target="_blank">Verge article</a>. And <a href="http://earth.nullschool.net/about.html" target="_blank">more</a>.<br />
<br />
And gah: Cyclone Pam <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31865001" target="_blank">wreaking havoc in Vanuatu</a> right now.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-65490607433566657342015-02-14T09:41:00.001+11:002015-02-14T10:14:30.110+11:00LifeHack: Stuck Screwtop TrickI've made a video showing a trick I came up with (although I'm very sure it's been done before) to remove a stubborn screwtop. Now you can share in the fun.<br />
<br />
Because I didn't put a single thought into production - I grabbed C. as she was walking by and said, "Hey! Hold this phone and video this!" - let me spell it out:<br />
<br />
• If you're having trouble removing a screwtop from some screwtopped thing—a bottle, jar, steam-cleaner canister, or whatever—get yourself a length of strong string. Thin, normal stringy-string will probably not work. A shoelace might do.<br />
<br />
• Tie a loop in the string that will fit snugly over the screwtop, put said loop over the top, and wrap the string around the top a couple of times. (You don't have to make a loop, it just makes it a little easier. If you like, just wrap the string around the top several times.)<br />
<br />
• Pull on the string - et voila - it should come off with a good strong pull that even a not-so-strong person could manage. (If you're doing this with a jar of pickles or somesuch, you're of course going to have to be careful about pickle juice flying around, so get your jar good and stable before pulling the string.)<br />
<br />
Here's the video:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="435" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DjFxB3jrbnU?rel=0" width="580"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
At the end of the video, the lovely and musical voice you hear is that of the lovely and musical C., saying, "This if for my clothes-steamer," meaning the canister. Just so you know.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-21478290091085261892015-02-14T07:30:00.000+11:002015-02-14T07:30:09.008+11:00Empty Field, Chair, Farmer, Trombone: CowsI have not posted on this outer planetoid of the intertubes for four months. Now, I must post.<br />
<br />
Behold:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qs_-emj1qR4" width="560"></iframe>
LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-13395238691286048922014-10-29T07:40:00.001+11:002014-10-29T10:13:41.180+11:00Couch Shadow (Home Geography)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPyh28ZktCrsT8EneFLeOqMHOxWDihdnM_fgZzd53YJzsHoFAk0keyVwPrF7C92LUjCXArbF5YMS7kNeQnLX4lLiDUX77c9CF9yXGQcI-rcdN5CD_1wTnqgUgcBUxq9zoHu4Ojlvli7Y/s1600/CouchShadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPyh28ZktCrsT8EneFLeOqMHOxWDihdnM_fgZzd53YJzsHoFAk0keyVwPrF7C92LUjCXArbF5YMS7kNeQnLX4lLiDUX77c9CF9yXGQcI-rcdN5CD_1wTnqgUgcBUxq9zoHu4Ojlvli7Y/s1600/CouchShadow.jpg" height="275" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Term:</b> Couch Shadow<br />
<br />
<b>Definition:</b> A geographical feature of the common home, describing an area of floor behind the slanted back of a couch that does not get foot traffic due to said slanting couch back. The length of a specific couch's couch shadow is generally equal to the length of the specific couch; the depth of a couch's couch shadow can vary, and is determined by the degree of slant of a given couch's back.<br />
<br />
Whether or not it is acceptable to leave footwear in a home's couch shadow (or shadows) is a subject of some debate. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">See related: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_shadow" target="_blank">rain shadow</a></span>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-82769261871780648702014-10-28T07:04:00.000+11:002014-10-28T07:05:12.381+11:00Blue Napkin on Lino, Collaroy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8OnzqP92Xn93cgkO3l4xWyHiXwH8FER6nL7bkMpHdFd1kRevSRVy0xB_4_WD7QqnhNlyu21hLVPZAw-6biy8AUmfhyDILR0FiNun7DLLcEuXpWh3Vfj72tWkINRBTWCiJ-tkeXrqeYI/s1600/Blue+Napkin+on+Tile,+Collaroy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8OnzqP92Xn93cgkO3l4xWyHiXwH8FER6nL7bkMpHdFd1kRevSRVy0xB_4_WD7QqnhNlyu21hLVPZAw-6biy8AUmfhyDILR0FiNun7DLLcEuXpWh3Vfj72tWkINRBTWCiJ-tkeXrqeYI/s1600/Blue+Napkin+on+Tile,+Collaroy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-22767635126793000262014-10-21T08:32:00.002+11:002014-10-21T12:00:01.077+11:00Map: Hardest Places to Live in U.S. - Note on OregonThe New York Times' <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/upshot/where-are-the-hardest-places-to-live-in-the-us.html?WT.mc_id=D-E-Keywee-SOC-MOD-LABORDAYSALE-NWS-0828-0905&WT.mc_ev=click&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409247693000&bicmet=1410025293000&kwp_0=3113&kwp_1=67870&kwp_4=22072&_r=4&abt=0002&abg=0&utm_source=Sightline+Newsletters&utm_campaign=dc10ea0bb1-SightlineWeekly&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_18df351f8f-dc10ea0bb1-291863981" target="_blank">The Upshot</a> published a cool map back in June, showing by color code where in the U.S. it's the relatively easiest and hardest to live. They explain the map's making, and the six data points used:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Annie Lowrey writes in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/magazine/whats-the-matter-with-eastern-kentucky.html?gwh=F0E1015199AD587A3EC5FDD2C6217FFD&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now" target="_blank">Times Magazine</a> this week about the troubles of Clay County, Ky., which by several measures is the hardest place in America to live.
The Upshot came to this conclusion by looking at six data points for each county in the United States: education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree), median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity. We then averaged each county’s relative rank in these categories to create an overall ranking.</blockquote>
The obvious <i>upshot</i>: the American south, notably the most politically conservative region of the country, is a gigantic shit-pot for people who don't have a gigantic shit-ton of money. But I noticed a less obvious one, and highlight it here, for my old friends in Oregon.<br />
<br />
See that roughly rectangular bit of blue well-being in Southern Oregon, right on the California border? (Click on pic to enlarge.) I circled it in white so you could see it:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMCVBl9PaQV8W_0_3bQqUVg9R8AIygZNnfJQiV6TUvBTeDWYCifZr1g8MQ2vLG0AKq2IlW5R7jEr57pt3hvRr4tv25Cb37vwmPNjdWdA5GwkNFuD1kmlfe0OMcQm9C7GQNDoJ-Po3j5I/s1600/MapUS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMCVBl9PaQV8W_0_3bQqUVg9R8AIygZNnfJQiV6TUvBTeDWYCifZr1g8MQ2vLG0AKq2IlW5R7jEr57pt3hvRr4tv25Cb37vwmPNjdWdA5GwkNFuD1kmlfe0OMcQm9C7GQNDoJ-Po3j5I/s1600/MapUS.jpg" height="322" width="580" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
That's my old home of twenty years, the relatively lefty, liberal island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_County,_Oregon" target="_blank">Jackson County</a> (<a href="http://www.hippy.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=88" target="_blank">Hippy.com!</a>), in the otherwise very conservative sea of light orange that is Northern California and a huge chuck of Southern and Eastern Oregon. Us old hippies, we try to see that everybody does okay. We try, anyway.<br />
<br />
Here's a video on the map, by Dave Rubin, of the recently launched <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/01/dave-rubin-the-rubin-report-young-turks-_n_2786849.html" target="_blank">Rubin Report</a>:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="320" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Z83EgFcLcW4" width="580"></iframe>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-36573596626961698132014-10-18T19:36:00.003+11:002015-03-10T09:29:28.275+11:00"An Impolite Interview With Joseph Heller" 1962<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMftxxzB19KW6j5d9o5yrYa6F7V-RJAE91-dV0_9iNSeCeHb24Iag8ZQZxURUVh6OePGAPUFe8Xfy-6VKv3TK-oK_c2Zkq0IhNhBvg42w_-voTIleChVFMRIv8wvfDQTLmfXDYLO6pnU/s1600/Heller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMftxxzB19KW6j5d9o5yrYa6F7V-RJAE91-dV0_9iNSeCeHb24Iag8ZQZxURUVh6OePGAPUFe8Xfy-6VKv3TK-oK_c2Zkq0IhNhBvg42w_-voTIleChVFMRIv8wvfDQTLmfXDYLO6pnU/s1600/Heller.jpg" height="284" width="400" /></a></div>
Came across <a href="http://www.ep.tc/realist/90/" target="_blank">this November 1962 interview</a> in the now defunct <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Realist" target="_blank">The Realist</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krassner" target="_blank">Paul Krassner</a>, primarily about Heller's 1961-released <i>Catch-22</i>. Several pages long, fascinating, funny, often over my head, enlightening—including on the origin of the name "Yossarian" (it was meant to be from "an extinct culture, somebody who could nto be identified either geographically, or culturally, or sociologicaly..."). Haven't finished it yet, but I will soon—and I'm counting on it making me smarter, damnit.<br />
<br />
Update, March 2015:<br />
<br />
The link disappeared. I've replaced it. You have to jump to page 46 (use numbers up top) to get to the second page of the interview, and go on from there.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-53894542329670458072014-09-26T12:40:00.001+10:002014-09-26T13:00:13.672+10:00Australia: Cannibal Horses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2q_4b2A1jsCjKXiaTC9_LHoj3ytSYdYIUgZSWAzwWx14-tGm6Dmg61WuTI6WceCJPdxqhGsLIKiaeKiirRnu-msLcG9TaxGrr4y8pPNq_n6jXO_mJAxzjxAw22Grqet3W2pimuqznKgU/s1600/1280px-Horse-and-pony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2q_4b2A1jsCjKXiaTC9_LHoj3ytSYdYIUgZSWAzwWx14-tGm6Dmg61WuTI6WceCJPdxqhGsLIKiaeKiirRnu-msLcG9TaxGrr4y8pPNq_n6jXO_mJAxzjxAw22Grqet3W2pimuqznKgU/s1600/1280px-Horse-and-pony.jpg" height="385" width="580" /></a></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<br /></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
<br /></div>
<div class="tr_bq">
Holy gods, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/09/25/4094856.htm" target="_blank">this place</a>: </div>
<blockquote>
As Don Driscoll returned from a snow trip in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosciuszko_National_Park" target="_blank">Kosciuszko National Park</a> this winter, he was confronted with a disturbing sight.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
At Dead Horse Gap, the Australian National University environment professor chanced upon a dead brumby, with three other brumbies standing around it. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<b>"Two of the horses had their snouts inside the gaping stomach cavity of the dead horse and they were eating out the insides of it," he said. </b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
"We were really quite shocked to see that, we just couldn't believe our eyes.</blockquote>
Pretty sure we'll soon find out they're venomous. And can fly. Because...Australia.<br />
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I must also note that "Dead Horse Gap" - well where else would you find cannibal horses?<br />
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• Photo, not of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brumby" target="_blank">brumbies</a>, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse#mediaviewer/File:Horse-and-pony.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-33505865472740315412014-09-26T07:59:00.000+10:002014-09-26T08:56:13.487+10:00Random Thought: We Are Their WorldYou don't get to succeed at the game of rolling out wholly invented, manufactured, international super-celebrities along the lines of Justin Bieber, the Kardashians, and the latest iPhone, unless you've successfully created an international framework through which and in which those products can so massively, and so perversely invasively disseminate and flourish, like so many maggots, parasitic wasps, and bacteria in a corpse bloating down by the lake.<br />
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Most unfortunately, and obviously: that framework has been created. And it's made of us. Countries and countries and countries of us. Just waiting for the next super-celebrity to come rolling out of the factory.<br />
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We are losing this one.<br />
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<b>Update:</b> This graph says <i>so much</i> about what I just wrote:<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
This is the most remarkable chart that I've seen in some time. An extraordinarily important trend: <a href="http://t.co/p5CpqdAc6k">pic.twitter.com/p5CpqdAc6k</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanlcooper">@ryanlcooper</a><br />
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinWolfers/status/514907147638157312">September 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1072974971759126323.post-24992724842938998282014-09-25T09:08:00.001+10:002014-09-26T08:17:05.773+10:00Yow! Blast From the Past: 1985, Athens VersionAn old friend just time-machined me, sending me a fragment from a time long ago:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D8rzd68tKOJcaEWdt1c5k00neMRV8Po9XDn8Ub_6HLfYkZjguklngyStts8Tgu1yF3Q-A-pRaTp47D9-Ckqjn1zVNiMHs_sVJCxt_ulp95DhoTlj0uedN8NS8isAJA0RdkogoLkCp2s/s1600/Annabels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D8rzd68tKOJcaEWdt1c5k00neMRV8Po9XDn8Ub_6HLfYkZjguklngyStts8Tgu1yF3Q-A-pRaTp47D9-Ckqjn1zVNiMHs_sVJCxt_ulp95DhoTlj0uedN8NS8isAJA0RdkogoLkCp2s/s1600/Annabels.jpg" height="435" width="580" /></a></div>
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Annabels was a legendary place in Athens, a fairly rundown favorite of buskers from all over the world, run by an English expat couple, John and someone. (Amanda?) I stayed there for some months in 1985, in the midst of a several year busking blur. (Counts to himself: 29 years ago. Ow.) We'd play on the city trains for a few hours in the afternoon, make enough for another night in the hostel, food, retsina, beer, ouzo, whatever else we needed, then—the night. Yow. Mostly unshareable memories. Beautiful, wonderful, musical, <a href="http://www.petekilkenny.com/" target="_blank">friend-filled</a> memories.<br />
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Annabel's is long gone, unfortunately. Glad to see the street name, though! Koumondouro Street, properly spelled, was <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Koumoundourou,+Athina,+Greece/@37.9846556,23.7248365,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x14a1bd2f83cb2553:0x1f6b302f9efe75f8?sa=X&ei=FEgjVNGaJ4PW7QbxsIGoCg&ved=0CBwQ8gEwAA" target="_blank">a hell of a location</a>, just a walk north of the Acropolis. Perhaps C. and I will walk down it one day in the not to distant future.<br />
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Thank you, Sara F. B., for that completely unexpected blast from the past!LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0