Saw this on the "just posted" page as soon as I posted my ICHC pic. Link from random vox user who linked to this story.
It's probably going to be quiet around these here parts for the next few days with all you amurricans out celebrating, eh? I hope you all have a great day and long weekend, kids. Remember to let go of the fireworks after you light them, okay? You'll need those fingers for posting all about your celebrating.
Or, the Dumbest Little Bunny in Kansas. Yup, guess who was in my window well when I got home from work. Not Angelina Jolie.
Teeny Bun strikes again. The good news: I'm getting better at wrangling him into a cardboard box. The bad news: I am tired of this shit.
from laughing SO HARD.
Thanks Lorelei.
That baby's voice reminds me of another video that had me rolling (LOTR funny voices).
More documentary footage on bee attacks:
So I've had this movie on my bookshelf for ages and I finally blocked out an afternoon to watch it.
I really enjoyed it. It's dated, but also quite modern: 1982's Missing, with Sissy Spacek and Jack Lemmon. (Music by freakin' VANGELIS! Talk about dated!)
The story is compelling (a young American journalist in Chile in the early 70s is kidnapped and the film chronicles his wife's and father's attempts to find him), but it's the portrayal of all the dubious activities done by the CIA and other US government agencies which holds the story together: their complicity and active involvement in the coup which put that butcher Pinochet in power.
It's based on a the true-life disappearance and execution of Charles Horman whose kidnap and murder has never been explained. Nor has the (apparently) deep involvement of the US government officials in allowing it (and even giving their stamp of approval) been explained.
It's only mildly surprising, I guess, that nearly 40 years later, the US government still hasn't declassified everything about their involvement in all this blood-letting in not only Chile but Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, etc. etc.
Anyway, the most interesting part of the movie is watching Jack Lemmon's character move from a stodgy, naive, middle of the road conservative American to having his eyes opened at all the brutality the US is involved in abroad. (They still are, obviously). Some things never change.
As in some other movies I've watched lately, I'm struck with how the idea of "the left" as a political force is largely dead today. Sure, we have liberals and people who call themselves "left" but it's so pro-establishment nowadays. There was a time when being "left" meant fighting for social justice and questioning what the government says (not just a Republican government either), what the party says, fighting for workers' rights. And in so many ways, people, the poor, the downtrodden, are far more exploited today than ever before, even in (particularly in) the US. Millions on the brink of destitution, 40 million+ with no healthcare, people eeking out a living with little access to good education or careers or power. Has American ideology crushed all true dissenters?
Not that I'm any better. It's a far cry from lamenting the sad state of affairs to actually DOING anything about it. Anyone with half a brain can complain. How do we resist today when we see all those who resisted so long ago just acquiescing to the system, continuing the system, accepting and resigning themselves to their place in the system. It's so depressing. Is resistance dead?
There used to be this avenue to subscribe to: there used to be an alternative vision of the world to ascribe to. There is no longer, I guess. Or at least it's radically changed since the 70s (and even well into the 80s). Young people used to become involved in radical political movements. Used to give speeches and resist the system and fight against what they as the corruption and duplicity of the right. Now young people think they're radical when they listen to Olivia Newton John or refuse to use Facebook.
Sigh.
Stopped by Trader Joe's yesterday morning to do a little grocery shopping and wound up buying myself some flowers. Seriously, how could I pass up a bunch of sea spray roses for $3.99. And the orchid, $12.99!!! <-- yeah, I'm that excited. I'd been eyeballing the selection at Joe's for a while...ever since the store opened over a year ago, actually. But none of them spoke to me like this one.
The ride home was glorious!
A few days back, I posted another round of "ask arbed anything". The lovely Val asked about songs popping into my head. Well, this very moment, the song that's in my head is Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence". And now, thanks to me, it's in your head, too. Are you singing along yet?
Yet another report from the Department of Symbolism Means More Than Action.
The U.S. Mint, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, is issuing a silver dollar with Braille on it. Ooooh! Aaaaah! "This is going to put Braille in front of people in a very dramatic way," according to Chris Danielson, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind.
No offense, Mr. Danielson, but how? This is a silver dollar and as such, it will only be purchased by coin collectors who are NEVER GOING TO TOUCH IT. It's not going to put Braille in front of anyone but numismatic nerds.
According to Associated Press: On the back of the coin, the Braille code for the word Braille -- or "Brl" -- is inscribed, above a depiction of a school-age boy reading a Braille book with a cane resting on his arm. Behind him is a bookshelf bearing the word "Independence."
"It really expresses the hopes, the dreams and the independent spirit," NFB Executive Director Mark Riccobono said of the design.
I want to have a feel good moment like these guys are having, but this is just symbolism masquerading as something meaningful.What would put Braille and the concerns of the blind in front of the American public is an actual dollar coin in circulation with Braille on it. Oh, and how about changing all the fricking paper money so that the bills are readily distinguishable by a blind person? All the spiffy colors and patterns, guess what? No help to a blind person.
To help the blind gain more independence, America could do what most countries do and manufacture bills of different sizes to allow the sightless to tell which bill is which. That way they don't have to depend on someone else to tell them--truthfully, one hopes--that this is a twenty, this is a ten, this is a five.
