Ephemeris of Miscellany

Woody Allen was born on this day in 1935.  "There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly." ... Will Shutz, Profound Simplicity- "Sometimes my striving toward growth becomes the object of amusement to the part of me that is watching me." ... If you can't follow this simple advice, consider not going to the hospital if you get sick. November 30, 2020 Postscript- The hypocrisy is still mind-boggling- deny it, get sick, fill up the hospital, while others about to get sick are still denying it ... Why is it that people yelling "fake news" believe the fakest news? That's rhetorical, but I bet the answer lies ...

Enos the Chimpanzee was launched into space by NASA on this day in 1961, orbiting the Earth twice before splashing down. The was the third hominid in orbit, behind Yuri Gagarin and German Titov. ... One of the greatest nonfiction books of the 21st century is undoubtedly Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker. A massive book in support of the argument that contrary to our immediate judgment, violence has been decreasing over human history and we're currently living in the safest time of human history. If you don't have time to read or listen to a book like that, you are in luck. There's a 2-hour Nova special on it that just came out, The Violence Paradox. What have we done right to get to this point? If you like, watch it and find out! November 29, 2018 Comments -A scholar supporting the opposing viewpoint said, "but this is just not people's experience on a day-to-day basis." That's the type of person who says that there's no global warming on a ...

Ricky Gervais- "This proves there really is An Almighty Frog..." ... Daniel Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in economics for his work in psychology. I just bought his book at Goodwill for $2 although it still had a $1 price tag on it from a yard sale. It irritated me a bit, and I found myself wondering about my own psychology over that economic peculiarity. November 28, 2021 ... Gretel got two hissing cockroaches today... named them Twisted Hisser and Handsome Hissing Kisser. November 28, 2020 ... A perfect joke by Jerry Seinfeld: "According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy." ... I've become moderately obsessed with Jonestown and had a nightmare to end all nightmares last night. I hope this obsession didn't break my brain. November 28, 2018 ... From M...

Momma and Zuzu teamed up to draw a family picture. Zuzu's take on Emma, while lacking a fine touch, perfectly captured her essence. November 27, 2018 ... Perhaps the all-time greatest footnote, on the subject of not giving two shits. Thanks McWhorter. November 27, 2021 ... Took a nice walk by Chickie's Rock with Gretel today... she found a daddy long legs and some old soybean plants. November 27, 2020 ... Every day a new state certifies their election results, which feels like a new win every day. When Trump said that we were going to win and win and win and we were going to get so sick of winning we couldn't stand it, I don't think this is what he had in mind. Nevertheless I'm counting this as his fulfillment of a 2016 campaign promise. November 27, 2020 ... Colin Dickey, Ghostland- "Cities that are haunted seem to straddle past and present as though two versions of the same city are overlaid on top of each other." ... Zuzu picked an odd book for her bedt...

Casablanca, premiered in New York City on this day in 1942. Ilsa: That was the day the Germans marched into Paris. Rick: Not an easy day to forget. Ilsa: No. Rick: I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue. . Ugarte: “You despise me, don’t you?” Rick Blaine: “If I gave you any thought, I probably would.” ... Ilsa: “But what about us?” Rick: “We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.” I: “When I said I would never leave you.” R: “And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that.” ... Racquetball mantra- hit it where they are not. Deceptively simple. ... There's a poetic irony to the fact that the left seem...

Talked to a guy who is still hung up on the 2020 election. He read a book on the premise that the Delaware County election was a sham. He was really pressuring me to read the book. I was telling him that it was a total waste of time. Nevertheless, I wrote this out to email him, certainly wasting more time. 1. Bill Barr was the country's most powerful person in law enforcement and said he saw no evidence of fraud. He would have every possible incentive to call it out if he saw it.  2. Biden did worse in Philadelphia County, and better in many counties. That undercuts the central point the book is making. If there was a vast Democratic conspiracy, the least they could do would be to maintain the Democratic % of votes in Philadelphia County. Would you agree? 3. Sydney Powell's own lawyer said in court that, “no reasonable person would conclude that [her] statements were truly statements of fact.” That was her defense. Trump's lawyers could throw spaghetti at the wall, saying a...