Racist Luke Skywalker

January Jones was born on this day in 1978.

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This black hole is located 230 million light-years from Earth and is approximately three million times larger than our sun.

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I remember the days of my youth, when I didn't leave the gym in a sweat-drenched t-shirt in January.

January 5th, 2023

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A funny thing about the Mandalorian and the Book of Boba Fett is that the more they develop the Sand People's background, the more racist Luke becomes in the first Star Wars.

January 5, 2022

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Why do we choose Senators according to the popular vote of the state? That's stupid! We should choose Senators according to the electoral votes of the counties. And the number of county electors should be disproportionate to the state population. Yeah, that would make a lot more sense.

January 5, 2021

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The height of irony- if Trump worked as hard on Covid as he did to overturn the election, he would have won election.

January 5, 2021

A comment I took seriously, from Sarah: "You should seriously consider starting a blog with your nuggets of wisdom, genuine facts and common sense. Seriously."

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Trying not to get excited about these Georgia races, but what a fitting end it would be if the Democrats won because that big dumbass's election fraud ruse convinced a small but significant margin of Republicans that their vote is worthless.

January 5, 2021

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Oh dammmn... you hear what Ricky Gervais said about Tom Hanks after his Cecil B. Demille award speech??? 

"Amazing." 

I'm glad it wasn't my job tonight to heckle Tom Hanks. I would have failed too.

January 5, 2020

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Philosophy Matters- Today’s very bad and absurd pun.

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What do you think a two year old dreams about? Well in the middle of the night last night our two year old screamed out, "I AM NOT A BABY!" Didn't even wake up.

January 5, 2018

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Emma thinks I should throw away my 25 year-old hanky. MADNESS!

January 5, 2013

Postscript- 35 year-old hanky!

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As the years go by, 500 Days of Summer might prove to be my favorite movie of this past year. It has three transcendent scenes... and if you know nothing else about me, know that I never use the word "transcendent" loosely. Look for it to win best original screenplay this year.

January 5, 2010

Postscript- I saw the future.

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The German Workers' Party formed on this day in 1919 in Munich. It would become the Nazi Party.

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Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began in San Francisco Bay on this day in 1933.

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Buddy Holly released his final single, It Doesn't Matter, on this day in 1959.

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Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program on this day in 1972.

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Philosopher and novelist, Umberto Eco, joined us on this day in 1932.

"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom."

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The legendary Hayao Miyazaki was born on this day in 1941, the year that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

"You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two."

It's a strange thing to quote on the birthday of Nazism.

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Diane Keaton was born on this day in 1946, la-dee-da.

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Chris Stein was born on this day in 1950. A great guitar player, but the greatest photographer in history of the human race.

Perhaps it had something to do with his subject matter.

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Iris DeMent joined us on this day in 1961. She is so good in this duet with John Prine, on of my very favorite songs. 

In Spite of Ourselves: https://youtu.be/1bRt13ygKwE

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Phillies pitcher, Danny Jackson, who helped them make it to the 1993 World Series, was born on this day in 1962.

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Marilyn Manson was born on this day in 1969, about 8 months before Charles Manson made headlines. Some serious wisdom from him in Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. When asked what he would tell the kids who committed the crime, he said that he wouldn't tell them anything, he would just listen. 

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Other notable birthdays - Sam Phillips (1923), Robert Duvall (1931), Charlie Rose (1942)

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The inimitable Johnny Eck left us on this day in 1991. 

https://youtu.be/paCywWZU-O8

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We lost Tug McGraw on this day in 2004.

Larry Bowa- "Tug McGraw was the epitome of what Philadelphia was all about - a hard worker, dedicated, he never gave up. The picture of him jumping off the mound after the last out (of the 1980 World Series) is one of the most memorable moments in Phillies history. He was truly a great person, and he'll be sorely missed."

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Other notable deathdays - Calvin Coolidge (1933), George Washington Carver (1943), Rogers Hornsby (1963)

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A date in the 1950s.

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Today I'm exactly as old a Mozart was when he died.

http://dead.atyourage.com/

January 5, 2010

Postscript- I miss that website!

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An illustrated talk with Maurice Sendak:

https://youtu.be/TH2OaaktJrw

January 5, 2013

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It's not clear to me what would be worse for coal miners... losing their Obamacare, or actually getting their jobs back.

http://www.bluedotdaily.com/coal-miners-voted-for-trump-now-theyre-terrified-to-lose-obamacare/

January 5, 2017

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The Nation- A president who attempts to be on books that expose him should be impeached

If he had done nothing but this, get rid of him. A high crime.

"With his attempt to cause an author and a publisher to “immediately cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination” of a book that does not meet with his approval, Donald Trump has shown a callous disregard for the First Amendment to the Constitution. The Authors Guild is right: This is what tyrants do, not American presidents. And the proper response to American tyranny is the prompt application of the power of impeachment to a president who has abandoned the duty that extends from his oath of office."

https://www.thenation.com/article/a-president-who-attempts-to-ban-books-that-expose-him-should-be-impeached/

January 5, 2018

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Either Trump is the leading expert in like 50 prominent fields, or these are all somehow... lies? There's nothing like a montage to expose a bullshit artist.

https://youtu.be/07xU4JYPNKI

January 5, 2019

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Camus- "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life."

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Kipling- "I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all i knew); Theirs names are What and Why and When And How And Where and Who."

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Salinger, Catcher In the Rye- "When you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write, 'Fuck you,' right under your nose."

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Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens- "In fact, monotheism, as it has played out in history, is a kaleidoscope of monotheist, dualist, polytheist and animist legacies, jumbling together under a single divine umbrella. The average Christian believes in the monotheist God, but also in the dualist Devil, in polytheist saints, and in animist ghosts. Scholars of religion have a name for this simultaneous avowal of different and even contradictory ideas and the combination of rituals and practices taken from different sources. It’s called syncretism. Syncretism might, in fact, be the single great world religion."

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Henry Miller, Tropic of Capricorn- "I found that what I had desired all my life was not to live - if what others are doing is called living - but to express myself."

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Asimov- "Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."

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Hitchens- "The noble title of "dissident" must be earned rather than claimed; it connotes sacrifice and risk rather than mere disagreement."

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David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day:

Hugh consoled me, saying, "Don't let it get to you. There are plenty of things you're good at."

When asked for some examples, he listed vacuuming and naming stuffed animals. He says he can probably come up with a few more, but he'll need some time to think.

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Confucius- "If you hate someone, then you are defeated by him."

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Sarah Vowell, Take the Cannoli- "When I think about my relationship with America, I feel like a battered wife: Yeah, he knocks me around a lot, but boy, he sure can dance."

Addendum 

January 5, 2007

I demand you read this. There will be a reward.

I first learned of the Milgram Experiment from the best movie ever made on the subject of greed, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. I know what you cinephiles are thinking, "Nuh uh Ben, the best movie on the subject of greed is Greed, the 1924 Erich von Stroheim masterpiece... the extended edition." I respectfully disagree. I know about these things. Trust me. If I'm wrong I'll take full responsibility.

Anyway, the Milgram Experiment:

A "Learner" and a "Teacher" were introduced and put in separate rooms for a "learning experiment" that dealt with pairing words together. The learner was in on the experiment. The teacher was instructed to give electric shocks of increasing voltage to the learner each time he gave an incorrect answer. During their brief introduction the learner mentioned that he has a heart problem. During the experiment the teacher heard the learner's screams coming from the other room. At a certain point, the learner pleaded for the teacher to stop. The teacher was made to believe that due to his heart problem, the next shock may be strong enough to kill him. If the teacher protested, the experimenter (who was in the same room) gave him four successive commands.

1.Please continue.

2. The experiment requires that you continue.

3. It is absolutely essential that you continue.

4. You have no other choice, you must go on.

Additionally, if asked, the experimenter accepted full responsibility for the experiment. If the teacher still protested after the four commands, the experiment was over. Unethical? To be sure! It's purpose? To measure what percentage of people would set aside their own morality at someone else's authority. The experiment was done in the early 60's, just after the Nuremburg Trials where many high-ranking Nazis, such as Adolf Eichmann, used the defense that they were "just following orders", absolving them of feelings of responsibility for the extermination of the Jews.

Could that happen to us? You tell me. I demand it.

The makers of the Enron documentary were probing similar questions- Where does the responsibility lie when we choose to belong to a corrupt system... with ourselves, or with those that demand that we belong to it? We're taught to obey authority our whole lives- parents, teachers, the church, bosses, police, etc. By obeying authority, aren't we doing what society has told us to do?

What percentage do you think gave what they thought was a potentially lethal electric shock? Think about it. What do you think? I'll hide the answer between the next two sentences so your eyes don't drift ahead. This is the first sentence. (xxxsdriht owtxxx tuobaxxx) And this is the second sentence. Can you believe it???

They just had a special on the Milgram Experiment last night on some ABC news show. They did their own experiment too, but changed it so it wasn't so unethical. They told potential teachers that deception could be involved and that they could quit at any time. Do you think times have changed for the better since the original experiment? Guess how many finished the experiment now. I demand that you guess! Got it? OK. Here's the answer- the same as before... even with the caveats. The first experiment used only men but the new experiment used men and women. Yep, the women were just as bad.

By the way, when oil traders were subjected to the same experiment, they devised a way to use the shock devices to kill the learners' families and also blow the city's power grid. I swear on the power of my own authority that I am not lying to you.

Greed and authority, authority and politics, politics and religion, religion and power, power and greed... the answers to our troubles are in their somewhere amongst the causes. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Maybe that's it. Every religion and every culture has a variation of it, if that makes you feel better. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Except that it doesn't work for the sado-masochists. I wouldn't want them to do unto me what they would have done unto them.

And you just know that a majority of the authority-respecting two-thirds of the teachers are Christians who already believe in the Golden Rule. If they aren't hypocrites, they're doing exactly what they'd have others do unto them. In other words, they are sado-masochists. That goes a long way toward explaining our foreign policy. Strange to think that Kissinger wanted someone to dump some Agent Orange on his head. To each his own. And I guess killing 2 or 3 million Vietnamese was his cry for help. Too bad we didn't see it sooner.

So, let's talk about your reward. You're freed from any future participation in the Milgrim Experiment. They don't want subjects who know about it. You're free, like Ken Lay in his bunker. Trusting my authority gives you freedom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment