Hollywood Lifestyle

Nellie Bly, left us on this day in 1922. She thinks being crazy to be put into the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island. She later wrote a book about it, 10 Days In a Mad-House. She also went on a round-the-world trip, mirroring the one written about by Jules Verne, to show it would be done. She was an inventor too, with patents on milk cans and trash cans. I guess she focused mainly on cans. Quite a life!

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This pug came to live with us today! Zuzu named her Hollywood, which morphed into Hollywood Chubby-Chonka Kreider.

January 27, 2022

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Did you catch the new GOP talking point? 

Remember that insurrection at the Capitol that left people dead and the place in ruins, that the president egged on, at the exact time Congress was confirming the victory of his opponent, and then sat quietly for the first time in his life through the several hours that it was happening, only chiming in afterward to tell them how much he loved them? Yeah, THAT insurrection. That was SOOOOOOOO early January! This is LATE January, time to let bygones by bygones. And besides, if you want the country UNITED, then you have to accept everything the last president did.

January 27, 2021

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Want to hear my ridiculous plan for the midterm elections? Moderate Republicans are afraid that they're going to get primaried out by Qanon-style Republicans, so EVERYONE can register Republican and then primary out all 211, maybe let 10-20 of the more reasonable ones stay. No law against it!

January 27, 2021

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What do you do when life deals you persimmons? Make persimmon sorbet with a blackberry on top.

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So this wall will cost $20-$40 billion. To put that in perspective, all of US intelligence costs $53 billion.

January 27, 2017

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I've wondered where my interest in James Dean stemmed from. Just found my 12th grade Interpersonal Communications folder with a James Dean quote, apparently a quote-of-the-day, and a note from my teacher alluding to conversations we had about him. So thanks, Stanley Deen, who has in a sense bridged the gap between life and death.

January 27, 2017

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Trump could become the most honest man on earth if he'd just make one simple change. He just needs to begin every sentence with, "Although there's no evidence, I believe..."

January 27, 2017

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My first book. Spoiler alert: they run into some trouble and E.T. saves them.

January 27, 2017

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Trump the great negotiator. "Mexico has to pay for wall or it's not even worth meeting with them." Mexico now refuses to meet since he put their president in a position of political suicide...imagine if Canada said that our rapists and drug dealers were the ones immigrating, that THEY were going to build a wall, WE were going to pay for it, and that there was no reason to meet until we agreed. It would have exactly zero US support. Would it be political suicide for Trump to then meet with them? Yes. Trump's negotiation skills- "Give me your milk money." Maybe Pence is a good negotiator.

January 27, 2017

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Nadal fights off two break chances, breaks back, and now serves for the match... and he wins!

January 27, 2017

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Today I went to have some blood drawn and the nurse asked if I'd allow a student to do it. Friends, if anybody ever asks you that question just tell them you promised a friend you'd always say no. Just pretend they are asking if you consent to being tortured. Just kidding, I didn't really mind, and ever since the pin cushion testing factory burned down, appropriate jobs for its former employees are few and far between. Glad to do my part.

January 27, 2016

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What sort of fiendish plot do you think she's cooking up?

January 27, 2016

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It's pretty inspiring, all these middle easterners and africans risking their lives to stand up and protest their governments. It's a great reminder that without support of the people, a government has no power.

January 27, 2011

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A Zen story, in honor of miscommunication

Trading Dialogue For Lodging 

Provided he makes and wins an argument about Buddhism with those who live there, any wandering monk can remain in a Zen temple. If he is defeated, he has to move on. In a temple in the northern part of Japan two brother monks were dwelling together. The elder one was learned, but the younger one was stupid and had but one eye. A wandering monk came and asked for lodging, properly challenging them to a debate about the sublime teaching. The elder brother, tired that day from much studying, told the younger one to take his place. "Go and request the dialogue in silence," he cautioned. So the young monk and the stranger went to the shrine and sat down. Shortly afterwards the traveler rose and went in to the elder brother and said: "Your young brother is a wonderful fellow. He defeated me." "Relate the dialogue to me," said the elder one. "Well," explained the traveler, "first I held up one finger, representing Buddha, the enlightened one. So he held up two fingers, signifying Buddha and his teaching. I held up three fingers, representing Buddha, his teaching, and his followers, living the harmonious life. Then he shook his clenched fist in my face, indicating that all three come from one realization. Thus he won and so I have no right to remain here." With this, the traveler left. "Where is that fellow?" asked the younger one, running in to his elder brother. "I understand you won the debate." "Won nothing. I'm going to beat him up." "Tell me the subject of the debate," asked the elder one. "Why, the minute he saw me he held up one finger, insulting me by insinuating that I have only one eye. Since he was a stranger I thought I would be polite to him, so I held up two fingers, congratulating him that he has two eyes. Then the impolite wretch held up three fingers, suggesting that between us we only have three eyes. So I got mad and started to punch him, but he ran out and that ended it!"

January 27, 2010

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Pope Clement VI gave support to the use of indulgences on this day in 1343. Martin Luther protested it 200 years later. That might be the greatest marketing scheme in history- literally paying money to get into heaven.

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Auschwitz was liberated on this day in 1945. Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank, was one of the 8000 who were freed. He spent the rest of his life promoting Anne's diary.

Elie Wiesel, Night- "To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time."

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On this day in 1980, six United States diplomats who were trapped in Iran escaped with the help of the Canadian government and the CIA, by pretending to be a film crew. It was known as the Canadian Caper and inspired the film Argo.

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It's the anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire which happened on this day in 1967.

Buzz Aldrin, January 27, 2023- "I’ll never forget the Apollo 1 tragedy of 1967, when my friends Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were lost in the capsule fire. I think of the quote ‘ad astra per aspera’ meaning “through hardships to the stars.” We remember them today, as they did not perish in vain."

Here they are 12 days prior.

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On this day in 1995, Before Sunrise was released.

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Patton Oswalt was born on this day in 1969. On Jerry Maguire:

"In the middle of Tom Cruise’s speech, there’s this sudden, dramatic pull-in to his face, and there’s tears in his eyes, and he says, ‘We live in a cynical world.’ And that’s when my brother went, ‘FUCK YOU!’ at the top of his lungs. It was such a horrible, rude thing to yell, and I was laughing so hard I couldn’t get the air in to make the sound of laughter. People ask me, ‘What is your favorite comedy of all time?’ ‘Jerry Maguire, when my brother yells, ‘Fuck you!’ at Tom Cruise.’ It’s a 90-minute setup to one punchline. It’s like not jerking off for 10 years, and then painting the garage! ‘Oh, my God, I’m seeing dead kings!’"

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Other notable birthdays- Donna Reed (1921), John Roberts (1955), Frank Miller (1957), Keith Olbermann (1959)

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The poet Clare Harner left us on this day in 1977. She wrote this poem in 1934, at the age of 25 or so. I looked up her grave details, but they are unknown. Too bad, because this is one of the all-time great epitaphs.

Do not stand

          By my grave, and weep.

     I am not there,

          I do not sleep—

I am the thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glints in snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle, autumn rain.

As you awake with morning’s hush,

I am the swift, up-flinging rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight,

I am the day transcending night.

     Do not stand

          By my grave, and cry—

     I am not there,

          I did not die.

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André the Giant left us on this day in 1993.

"I don't like to speak badly of people. I have grown up thinking and being told that if you cannot say something nice about someone, you should not say anything at all. But I must break that rule in this case because I hate Hulk Hogan very much. He is a big ugly goon and I want to squash his face."

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John Updike left us on this day in 2009.

“Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why, one could say, be afraid of death, when death comes all the time?”

John Updike on Writing and Death

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/10/john-updike-on-writing-and-death/

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J.D. Salinger left us a year to the day later. 

"I hope to hell that when I do die somebody has the sense to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetary. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."

Looks like he got his wish.

Note that it's possible that his death was a ruse, and that he went into super-seclusion.

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One of the Great American historians, Howard Zinn, left us on this day in 2010.

"TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

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Pete Seeger left us on this day in 2014. Here he is talking about his 90th birthday.

"Well, normally I’m against big things. I think the world is going to be saved by millions of small things. Too many things can go wrong when they get big.”

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Very sad to hear that Cloris Leachman died. I first knew of her when she took over for Mrs. Garrett on The Facts of Life. Many years later I was blown away by her in The Last Picture Show. That performance might be the most touching in the history of films, so subtle and perfect. I've watch that film over and over, and could watch it any night of the week, for many reasons but largely because of her. You know what else she was good in? The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget a few years ago. 94 years old, and gone to soon.

https://youtu.be/vSVR_j10oLE

January 27, 2021

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Mother Jones- A Heartstopping Reminder Of Why We Have Asylum Policies

Trump is about to sign anti-refugee paperwork, think he'd be interested in this article?

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/holocaust-remembrance-day-trump-refugees-executive-order

January 27, 2017

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Buzzfeed- Here's A Running List Of President Trump's Lies And Other Bullshit

Great title.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/maryanngeorgantopoulos/president-trump-lie-list

January 27, 2017

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Distractify- Twitter Is Full Of Trump Voters Who Regret Their Decision And It's Bittersweet

This was very enjoyable, and awful. It was enjoyawful. Maybe they are right and the better word is bittersweet.

http://distractify.com/news/2017/01/26/twitter-trump-regrets

January 27, 2017

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Talking Points Memo- Dick Cheney Thinks Trump’s Muslim Ban Is ‘Against Everything We Stand For’

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dick-cheney-donald-trump-muslim-ban-extreme

Hey, Dick Cheney makes a lot of sense. And with that, world is now completely backwards.

January 27, 2017

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NBC Sports- Ryan Howard deserved much better from Hall of Fame voters

For 6 years, Howard averaged 96 runs scored, 44 home runs and 133 RBI's. You know who else did that? Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Sammy Sosa. I would have figured that would be worth 5% of the Hall of Fame vote to stay on the ballot. This article makes a pretty interesting point... Sandy Koufax was only dominant for four seasons and pretty regular the rest.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/phillies/ryan-howard-hall-of-fame-ballot-deserved-better

Jan 27, 2022 12:04:28pm

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Hunter S. Thompson- "Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on... So it would seem foolish, would it not, to adjust our lives to the demands of a goal we see from a different angle every day? How could we ever hope to accomplish anything... The answer, then, must not deal with goals at all... We do not strive to be firemen, we do not strive to be bankers, nor policemen, nor doctors. WE STRIVE TO BE OURSELVES. But don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean that we can’t BE firemen, bankers, or doctors...but that we must make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal... Beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life."

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Henry David Thoreau- "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

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Steinbeck, East of Eden- "No one who is young is ever going to be old."

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Muhammad Ali- “Joe Frazier is so ugly he should donate his face to the U.S. Bureau of Wildlife.”

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Karl Jaspers- "The essence of philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the search for truth. ... Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are more essential than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question."

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Attell- "You know, men and women are a lot alike in certain situations. Like when they're both on fire - they're exactly alike."

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Salinger, Catcher in the Rye:

Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be."

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Asimov- "Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know—and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use it to destroy ourselves? Even if that is so, knowledge remains better than ignorance. It is better to know—even if the knowledge endures only for the moment that comes before destruction—than to gain eternal life at the price of a dull and swinish lack of comprehension of a universe that swirls unseen before us in all its wonder. That was the choice of Achilles, and it is mine, too."

Wow!

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