Music Friday: "Space Wrangler"

It's been ages since I've listened to a Widespread Panic album while working at the office. 

This tune came on SiriusXM's JamOn station when I was driving today, and it reminded me I need to go back these great albums. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Politico reports that there's a massive trade deal brewing among Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Pacific Rim countries: "Carney Constructs a Mega Anti-Trump Trade Alliance." 

That forthcoming alliance cannot be for American farmers and manufacturers. 

Please join the resistance against this administration. 

I know a bunch of people are selling the car decals with a loon as a rebel resistance symbol, but this one works for all the subsequent places President Adolf and his goons are going to terrorize. 

I got one on my car and one on my office door. 

Pam Bondi is protecting pedophiles. Here's some excellent work from M2Bulls. 

Talking about the DOW during the House Judiciary Committee hearing is one of the best examples of a red herring I've seen in a while.

Music Friday: "Song for the Dead"

I'm pretty sure I've featured this song before, but I'm featuring it again. I listened to this album this week. 

Musing of the Moment: Bertrand Russell & The Dunning-Kruger Effect

This week's Existential Comic features the point by Bertrand Russell that the wiser the person the less sure they tend to be. 

 

Russell's advice is that "So whenever you see someone proclaiming that they have all the answers with total confidence, think to yourself: This guy is probably a total idiot." 

His advice relates to the Dunning-Kruger Effect, as explained by Psychology Today.  

The Decision Lab also has some details and advice: "Why Do We Fail To Accurately Gauge Our Own Abilities?" 

The section on politics is topical because way too many politicians present solutions to systemic problems with confident assertions. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In this troubling world and in this troubling country run by an absolute lunatic, I need some positivity in my life. 

One of ways to combat all the negativity out there is reading The Optimist Daily. I highly recommend it. 

As I've seen repeatedly on TikTok, all kinds of people are selling the loon in the symbol of the rebel alliance (Star Wars) in solidarity with protests in Minneapolis. 

Instead of getting one of those, I purchased a regular Rebel Alliance symbol for my car (see below) and one for my office door.

I hope the use of this symbol spreads because we are truly going up against evil people, the dark side of America. 

Prior to the election, there was one house on one of my dog-walking routes who engaged in some satire in response to their neighbor having a Trump-Vance yard sign on their lawn. 

They countered with Palpatine-Vader yard sign. Brilliant. 

I haven't watched any of the Winter Olympics yet. I don't know if I'll watch any of it. 

I did like the video I saw of J.D. Vance being booed at the opening ceremonies. 

Music Friday: "Long as You Know You're Living Yours"

I discovered recently that Branford Marsalis put out a new album last year. It's titled Belonging by the Branford Marsalis Quartet. I've listened to it often this week. 

Here's the third track from the album--the album version and performance. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Before Sunday I had no idea what a scorpion kick was, but now I know. Thanks Dominic Solanke. 

And COYS. 

In another special election, this time in Texas, Taylor Rehmet won a State Senate seat in a conservative district that President Adolf won by 17 percentage points. Rehment won it by 14 percentage points: 57 to 43. 

I'm looking forward to all whining about the Super Bowl halftime show with Green Day and Bad Bunny performing. 

MAGA supporters are truly American idiots. 

President Adolf and his lawyerly goons just had another federal judge hand them a loss in trying to shut down a wind farm that is 35 miles away from the coast of New York state (Montauk Point). The Interior department argued that the wind farms were somehow a threat to "national security." 

Nonsense. 

What a bunch of nitwits and losers. They are 0 for 5 in shutting wind farm projects on the east coast. 

Where I live in east central Illinois got a lot of snowfall like most of the upper Midwest this winter. However, unlike where I grew up in Iowa, my town has no law that homeowners who have sidewalks on their property have to shovel them. 

That fact pisses me off. 

I walk my dogs in the winter unless it's unbearably cold, but I'm reduced to walking up and down my cul de sac when sidewalks are not shoveled. And my dogs need walked for a good length of time. They're not being walked very long right now, and they're driving me crazy with having to go out in the backyard so often. 

Plus, as I'm driving around town, because sidewalks are not shoveled, people are just walking on the side of the street, which is dangerous. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I find it odd that there a people around who wear cowboy hats on a regular basis who do not ranch or work on a farm in the West. It's so silly. 

When I grow my beard during the winters, I have tons of gray hair in my beard, whereas I don't have a lot of gray hair on my head. 

I wondered why that was and queried the InterWebs why. 

Apparently this phenomenon is quite normal: "Why Beards Turn Gray Fast." 

I will not dying my beard. That's just silly. 

And here's a video.

One of this guy's recommendations is reducing one's stress. Good luck with that. The irony is that I seem to have less stress now than I did when I was younger. So the stress I had then created the gray hair I have now.  

I will be embracing the gray in my beard though like he recommends. 

Years ago I subscribed to Ode Magazine, which was a really good magazine that focused on positivity and solutions in a troubled world. 

The magazine morphed into The Optimist Daily, which is now an online magazine. 

Here's a recent post from the magazine: "A Big Win for Parents: Free Childcare Is Coming to San Francisco." 

As various people on TikTok and other social media have opined, Greenland should rename itself Epstein Island. 

More files have finally been released. 

Music Friday: "Haunted Man" & "Dance On Thru"

I discovered this week that Langhorne Slim has a new album out, and It's really damn good. It had me on the first listen. 

The album is titled The Dreamin' Kind.  

This album is different than his previous ones. The artist typically has a folksy vibe, but the new album has a distinct rock-n-roll vibe running through it. 

His new album is one of my favorites in the last few years. It's been in heavy rotation for me this week. 

Here are tracks 10 and 11 on the album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Countries are quickly learning that they can strike deals with other countries instead of dealing with the insane trade policies of President Adolf. They call it "'de-risking' ties with the U.S." 

Check out the Reuters article about this topic: "World Discovers It Can Hedge US Trade Risk." 

These moves make sense. Who wants to negotiate with a senile, crazy person?  

I recently subscribed to The New Yorker. I had a subscription years ago. I was inspired to get a subscription again after watching a documentary about the magazine on Netflix: The New Yorker at 100. 

The Phil Hands political cartoon reveals the hypocritical nature of the American Fascist Party, formerly known as the GOP. 

The videos of the two murders just show how despicable ICE and its supporters are.

No one is above the rule of law. And the complicity of members of the AFP in Congress and elsewhere is astounding. 

 Thanks for Clay Bennett for the above cartoon. Simple yet effective. 

Music Friday: "American Idiot"

It was recently announced that Green Day will be opening for Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl. 

So Brandi Carlile, an openly gay woman, is singing at the event. And now Green Day is opening, a group that openly mocks President Adolf's administration. 

Good choices for the times at hand.

Here's "American Idiot." 

Random Notes from a Crank

I had noticed this word before, but I didn't really get what the reference meant until I saw a TikTok video about it. 

There are a lot of chuds out there. 

I will be integrating that term into my lexicon. 

The U.S. is being run by a senile madman who is enriching himself on our dime: "The Great American Cash Grab."

The Republican Party needs to no longer use the acronym of GOP for Grand Old Party. It should change to AFP: American Fascist Party. 

Are maybe just CHUD? 

Here are some gleanings from the February "Harper's Index":

• Percentage of Americans who said that Trump and RFK Jr.'s policies would make the country healthier in 2024: 28
• Percentage who say that they have made the country healthier today: 19
• Portion of American girls and women aged 15 to 44 who say they want to permanently leave the country: 2/5
• Of American boys and men aged 15 to 44: 1/5
• Portion of U.S. sports betters who say they have taken out a loan from a friend or family member because of their gambling: 1/5
• Who say they have hidden their gambling debts from a loved one: 1/3
• Who say they have made wagers in the hopes of paying off existing gambling debts: 2/5

I'm surprised there are so many dumbasses who thought RFK's policies would make the U.S. more healthy. 

It does not surprise that women want to leave the U.S. 

I've been enticed by sports gambling, but I would be worried that I would get sucked in. And in general, I'm averse to gambling. It's just a really good chance to lose your money. 

Also related to sexism and the U.S., which is a probably reason why 40% of American women want to leave the U.S,  this season I witnessed some blatant sexism related to high school sports. 

My son's high school basketball team had an away game, and the cheerleaders are supposed to cheer at all conference away games. At this particular game, the girls high school team was going to play after the boys team played. 

Well, the cheerleaders drove all the way to cheer for the boys team, but they left before the girls game even started. 

That's women and a woman head cheer coach being sexist to other women. 

Astounding. 

Music Friday: "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around"

Because I'm living in a country run by a dictator who won't be held accountable by the craven GOP in Congress, I need something to stay positive about. 

This song come across my TikTok today.

If I remember correctly, I think Sting was referring to the threat of nuclear annihilation, so this song seems appropriate. 

As Juvenal said, "panem et circensas." Bread and circuses... 

Music Friday: "Blue Train"

Blue Train by John Coltrane has to be in the top 10 of the most iconic jazz albums of all time. 

Here's the title track. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Ben Rhodes has a solid guest column in The New York Times: "Trump Is Falling for a Trap We Can All See Coming." He's right. We're living under an autocratic ruler who thinks he's above the law, both national and international. 

Consider today, which is January 6th, the day his clones tried to overturn a free and fair election. And then he pardoned the domestic terrorists. 

As George Carlin is supposed to have said, "America is an oil company with an army." Indeed. 

This week's Existential Comic relates to the current administration's tactics. 

The past couple of months' (December and January) Harper's indexes provide some interesting stats and figures: 

• Number of U.S. households whose members lived full-time in an RV in 2021: 168,000
• In 2025: 486,000
• Number of Americans projected to enter poverty next year (2026) because of tariff-related price hikes: 875,000
• Estimated number of U.S. jobs created for every $1,000,000 the federal government spends on defense: 5
• For every $1,000,000 it spends on education: 13
• Average number of days that an American had to wait for a doctor's appointment in 2004: 21
• In 2025: 31
• Percentage by which more AI-generated articles were posted online last year than articles written by humans were: 3
• Estimated percentage of news-related queries that AI chatbots answer in a misleading or false way: 45

Instead of spending so much damn money on defense and AI shit, we need to fund education, affordable housing, and universal health care.