May rambling: Not Wisdom

RJ wins another SDMA

What I Can’t Show You (John Green visits Koidu Government Hospital and sees the Maternal Center of Excellence for the first time), and Despair is Not Wisdom (Hank Green).

The FDA withdrew studies showing that the Covid and shingles vaccines were safe.

Gas Station Drugs:  a world of questionable supplements and boner pills, and The Hadow Docket: a shortcut to the Supreme Court – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

I Was Told I Had 6 Months to Live. That Was 20 Years Ago. — Here’s what two brain surgeries taught me about public health and care access.

I caught myself thinking: “Some of these research papers are awfully good for what might be a student’s first effort.”

Some white nationalists swoop in after natural disasters, trying to soften their image while offering help (Lesley Stahl/60 Minutes)

8647

Demand destruction vs fuel-superseding infrastructure: Will FOTUS Hormuz us into the full Gretacene?
AI

Silicon Valley Is Bracing for a Permanent Underclass. AI is pushing millions of employees to the edge of a cliff as most sectors are racing to replace jobs with AI. As a wise friend of mine noted, “We need programs and plans to ensure everyone is active, connected, engaged with society when millions have no work. Some countries will get this right, while others will slide into a dystopian abyss of depression, isolation, and anger toward technology that will not bode well for a peaceful, productive humanity.”

I got punished for paying off my car loan two years early

A rare archaeological site in the Sonoran Desert was bulldozed by a DHS contractor involved in building the latest sections of the border wall.

Free Phone Calls Saved Incarcerated People and Their Loved Ones $622.5 Million

Young Boy Finds the First Ancient Greek Artifact Discovered in Berlin

New Musicals ‘Schmigadoon!’ and ‘Lost Boys’ Lead List of Tony Nominees

The Song That Puts You to Sleep (On Purpose) and The Cartoon That Shut Down Boston and Operation Mincemeat and The Part of Canada That Doesn’t Want You

MUSIC

Rounds by Jessie Montgomery, for piano and strings, inspired by poet TS Eliot

Moonage Daydream –  David Bowie

Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) – Bobby Womack

At The Ballet – Audra McDonald, Megan Hilty & Kelli O’Hara

All You Need Is Love – Peter Sprague,  featuring Rebecca Jade

 

Suffolk Suite by Doreen Carwithen

Man On The Moon – R.E.M.

Coverville 1579: Cover Stories for Lesley Gore and Christopher Cross

Horses and Divorces – Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert

This Year – the Mountain Goats

Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists (Series Four) #2: The Bonzo Dog Band and #3: Midnight Oil and

Bastards of Young – the Replacements

Theme from The Love Boat – WDR Funkhausorchester

Everyone’s Gone to the Moon – Nina Simone

Common – Maren Morris featuring Brandi Carlile

Time – Tom Waits

I Wish I Was the Moon –  Neko Case

Addicted To Love – Robert Palmer

Man On The Moon – Megan Moroney

Aloha Bossa Nova – Peter Sprague, featuring Allison Adams Tucker

Eclipse – Pink Floyd

8647

James Comey’s seashells

More often than not, recently, the conspiracy wants to win out. My most reliable MAGA follower wrote regarding James Comey’s seashells in the shape of 8647:   “Be arrested for ordering a murder on the President of the United States. That’s exactly what he did.  He ordered a hit.” Well, no, he did not.

From here: What Does 86 Restaurant mean? Discover This Vital Term with a Positive Twist!

The term “86” can be used in different contexts within a restaurant:

  • Out of Stock: When an item is “eighty-sixed,” it typically means it is out of stock or has been removed from the menu.
  • Expelled or Barred: The term can also refer to a person who has been expelled or barred from a restaurant or bar for inappropriate behavior.
  • Removal: More generally, “86” can denote the removal of any item or person from a particular setting.

The restaurant reference is by far the most common.

Alternatively

From here:

“In 1933, newsman Walter Winchell published a column where he referenced the term in a ‘glossary of soda-fountain lingo.’

“86 may have developed because it rhymes with the word nix, which means to cancel.

“Another story relates to a bar in New York City named Chumley’s. The bar is located at 86 Bedford Street. According to legend, unruly patrons would be thrown out onto the street, where they would see the 86 over the bar door. This became known as ‘being 86’d.’

“To keep cowboys from getting too rowdy, the bartenders would slyly give them 86-proof liquor instead of the standard 100-proof.

“Another story relates to Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice… [which] deals with soldiers who have gone AWOL. Another military origin story relates to a Navy coding system that designated items for disposal. The code AT-6 was assigned to those items for disposal. It’s easy to see how this might, eventually, get transformed into 86”.

You may remember the spy comedy Get Smart (1965-1970), created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Don Adams played Maxwell Smart, Agent 86. “Despite being a top-secret government agent, he is absurdly clumsy. Yet Smart is also resourceful, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, a proficient marksman, and incredibly lucky; all of this makes him one of CONTROL’s top agents. Brooks decided on Smart’s code number, 86, as a reference to the slang term, meaning to forcibly eject someone, such as a patron from a bar or casino.”

I’m SHOCKED!

Re 86: “Many of the Republicans who said they were enraged by the use of ’86’ had previously directed the term at their own political opponents. In a February 2024 tweet, Matt Gaetz, then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida’s 1st congressional district, wrote that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and Senator Mitch McConnell had been ’86’d’ from their leadership positions.” 

Heather Cox Richardson, a couple of days ago, on 86: “It is a common term, used by MAGA itself to refer to getting rid of somebody…until now. MAGA voices are insisting that this image was Comey’s threat to assassinate the president. [FOTUS] got into the game, telling Brett Baier of the Fox News Channel, ‘that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear…. [H]e’s calling for the assassination of the president…that’s gonna be up to Pam and all of the great people…. He’s a dirty cop.’ [His] reference to Attorney General Pam Bondi and law enforcement paid off: yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service are investigating Comey. He showed up voluntarily at the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., today for an interview.”
Aesthetics

I like the above design, which I stole from a guy on Facebook. One person thought it should be all dimes and pennies. Nah. 47 should be dimes and pennies, since it represents the rank order. But because 86 is a concept, I appreciate the quirkiness of the quarters.

Someone online joked that 8675309 threatens people living in ZIP Code 75309. Fortunately, ZIP Code 75309 “is not currently assigned to a geography.” But if it were, it would be in Dallas County, TX.  

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