Random Notes from a Crank

The Washington Post has an interesting article up about how the building industry should learn from the work of the ancient Romans: "These Old Roman Buildings Could Unlock How to Build in a Warming World." The basic premise is that you can reuse a lot of building materials rather than destroying everything from a previous building and dumping it in a landfill. 

As the author says, "demolition, today, is a perverse luxury of economies where materials are cheap and labor expensive. It is a ubiquitous part of the architectural cycle -- building, erasing, and rebuilding -- with thought to the reuse of old materials, or the environmental cost of creating ever new supplies of concrete, steel, and gypsum board." 

As I am sure other left-leaning pundits have opined, if you are a Democratic candidate for a competitive House or Senate seat in the midterms, whether for federal or state office, you surely want to Elon Musk to campaign for sychophantic GOP candidate. 

Or at the very least the Democratic candidate needs to show how much Musk donated to the GOP campaign. 

The guy gets people angry and motivated. 

Unfortunately, the actor Val Kilmer died. On one of the SiriusXM stations I listen to regularly, the host recommended the documentary about him simply titled Val. 

I enjoy reading newspapers outside the U.S. to get a good perspective on things: "Trump Goes Full Gameshow Host to Push His Tariff Plan - And Nobody's a Winner."

Random Notes from a Crank

The strip from today for Rabbits Against Magic has it right. 

The MAGA hat should be referred to as a "Ku Klux Kap." 

Moscow Don and his minions are calling what's happening to Tesla dealerships "domestic terrorism." No, it's vandalism. 

Domestic terrorism is what happened on January 6th. 

Or what one of Moscow Don's supporters did to protesters in Palm Beach County. That move, albeit at a slow speed, is reminiscent of what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

What a jackass. 

In related news, Tesla sales are dropping like a lead balloon in Europe as reported by The Guardian: "Tesla's Europe Sales Drop Nearly 45% amid Row over Musk's Trump Links." 

I follow the US Men's National Team. They had a terrible week by losing to both Panama and Canada. I thought Pochettino would take them to another level, but I hope these are just growing pains.  

Poch's comments after the game basically related that it's better for them to find out what they need to work on now rather than later. At least this summer the coaching staff should have a full month or so to work with the players they select for the Gold Cup. 

Musing of the Moment: "Up and Not Crying"

Mrs. Nasty posted a reel from "wanderingbird.adventures" on social media that I also posted after I saw it.

Here's what it says: "In Norway 'up & not crying' is a standard response to 'How are you doing?'--and I think that's a very reasonable standard to hold oneself to these days." 

I agree.

I've read or heard that Norwegians have a reputation as the Scandinavians who are the most depressed. So that response "up and not crying" tracks. And I guess you can tie in seasonal affective disorder. 

Yet the saying flies in the face of the reputation of Nordic countries scoring the best on happiness surveys, which they do according to the World Happiness Report.

An article in The Guardian from 2018, "Nordic Countries 'Happy' Reputation Masks Sadness of Young, Says Report," shows some figures. And the numbers support that those countries are doing much better than other countries in Europe. 

Regardless, I like the black/dark humor of the saying.  

Random Notes from a Crank

In what has become normal for the GOP, they focus on stupid issues. 

For example, the Texas Lieutenant Governor, instead of focusing on the measles outbreak in his state, is more concerned about renaming a cut of beef to be called "Texas strip" instead of "New York strip." 

Read about this lunacy in The Guardian: "Texas Republican Focuses on Rebrand of 'New York Strip' amid Outbreak." 

It will always be Gulf of Mexico, people. 

Distractions keep people focused on the wrong issues. 

I know a guy who works in some kind of government program that's linked to Veterans Affairs. He's a big supporter of Moscow Don. I wonder if he lost his job. That'd be ironic.  

The Executive Branch is clearly a puppet of Russia. At least that's what the Kremlin is saying: "Washington Now "Largely Aligns" with Moscow's Vision, Kremlin Says." 

I got a package today from this company. 

As a Star Wars fan and as a big fan of the character Chewbacca, I dig it. 

Random Notes from a Crank

A while back one of the words of the day was "kakistocracy," which means "government by the worst people."

With Adolf's number of executive orders and with the GOP having majorities in the House and Senate, that is the country the U.S. is living in, unfortunately, 

It's all very depressing. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert helped get me through his first administration, but I haven't girded up my emotional loins to watch the program since Adolf took office. 

But what can we expect with 54% of Americans reading below a sixth-grade level?

One of the better editorials I've read is from Bernie Sanders in The Guardian: "What Trump Didn't Say in His Inauguration Speech." 

Here are the last two ¶s of the opinion piece, but I recommend reading it all. 

Bottom line: as we enter the new Trump presidency, we have got to remain focused. We can’t panic. No matter how many executive orders he signs and statements he issues, our goal remains the same. We have got to educate. We have got to organize. We have got to bring people together around an agenda that works for all, not just the few.

Now more than ever, we have to fight to create an America based on economic, social and environmental justice. Let’s get to work.

He's right. 

But what's happening is damn depressing. 

Nothing like "backing the blue" when you release the Jan. 5 insurrectionists.

And repealing civil rights protections. 

Musing of the Moment: State of Tottenham Hotspur

I came across this article, "Son Heung-min Often Eclipsed by Kane but Can Dazzle in His Own Right," in The Guardian about Tottenham's Son. He's a huge star in his native land, but he has taken the backseat to Kane. As the author states, Son is "a Tottenham man to his bones, and one who actually wants to be there." 

If I ever buy a Tottenham jersey, and I'd get an away kit, it'll be a Son jersey. 

And as we saw in the second leg of the UEFA Conference League match, Kane is back. We'll see if the January transfer window tempts Man City to actually lodge a suitable offer for him. In Kane's statement, he said he's staying this "summer." 

My hope is that Spurs win some hardware finally this season, and that result makes Kane stay for good. 

Regardless, Dele looks like he's revived his career after being in Mourinho's doghouse during that failed regime. 

We'll see what happens at the end of this transfer window, but from the sound of it, all of the French-speaking players look like they're potentially on their way out of N17. 

Ndombele will the most difficult player to move because of his huge wages. 

The sad deal with him is that he's a fantastically talented player, yet he never seems to impress any of the managers. Jose got some good performances out of him, but from the look of it, Nuno isn't putting up with his crap. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The Guardian has an interesting article that ties in habitat loss, loss of biodiversity, and climate change to the likelihood of more pandemics. It's good reading: "Protecting Nature Is Vital To Escape 'Era of Pandemics.'" 

Because of my area of east central Illinois spiking in cases, our region now can't have eating in at restaurants, and bars will be closed. 

Even Russia is mandating masks in contrast the dumbass that is Moscow Don: "Trump's Ideal Strong Man, Putin, Orders Nationwide Mask Mandate as US Flounders Under Weak Leadership." As Cole notes, "But in the US, the mask refuseniks are about half the population, and they are led by the denialist-in-chief, Donald Trump."

"Mask refuseniks" is great phrasing. And Cole puts it well toward the end of the post: "Trump has confused ignorance and genocide by neglect with machismo." 

Random Notes from a Crank

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam wrote "Bushleaguer" about Generalissimo Dubya. I wonder if he's working on any song/s about Moscow Don? 

Mrs. Nasty got a new car, and it has Sirius XM radio. I was pleasantly surprised to see that under the rock category there's a Pearl Jam radio along with stations devoted to Springsteen, Tom Petty, and some station that presents live performances often from "jam bands." I hadn't listened to Yonder Mountain String Band and moe in a good while. 

Swedish officials mocked Moscow Don's bullshit. Check out this article from The Guardian. It's not surprising that 45 takes his policy nonsense from FoxNews because he's unlikely to read anything that has depth and decent analysis. We now have a country being steered by the crap presented by FoxNews. Margot Wallstrom is smart as a whip: “Both functioning democracy and constructive cooperation between states require us to speak with, and not about, each other, to honour agreements and to allow ideas to compete. They also require us to respect science, facts and the media, and to acknowledge each other’s wisdom.”

The former prime minister tweeted this: “Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound." I doubt Moscow Don is a smoker of Mary Jane, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did or does cocaine (remember all that sniffing during the debates?). Regardless, the real drug is the programming on FoxNews. 

And here's an article of real journalism from the Washington Post that shows that crime is not on the rise in Sweden and Germany. Facts vs. Bullshit. Link: "Here's What's Happening There." 

Stay Positive: Food Activism in France & Donating Food to Those Who Need It

Today I read about a new law in France in The Guardian. France recently passed a law that mandates supermarkets donate food that would have gone into dumpsters to people who need it. 

"Should It Be Illegal for Supermarkets to Waste Food?" in The Atlantic presents a more nuanced perspective though. 

The activist who started the movement in France wants it to spread to other countries, which is perhaps a noble goal. However, as the author of the article relates, the US has a good infrastructure in place to promote food donations (though I would venture to guess that it could improve), so it remains to be seen whether a law on the books would help. 

Regardless, supermarkets and organizations that donate food to people in need is a good deal. And it's more sustainable.