June rambling: And They Lynched Him

1600 Black Lives Plaza

goofus and galliantMia Birdsong is the host of More Than Enough, a Nation podcast that uses the concept of universal basic income to start a conversation about dignity, deservedness, and the country America can and should be.

UMBERTO ECO: a practical guide for identifying fascists.

In Memoriam: Duane Ivan Todman.

Sudan: Anatomy of an internet shutdown.

People Who Tried New Quarantine Hobbies Tell Us How That All Worked Out.

Deciphering appliance error codes for washers, dryers, dishwashers, and ranges.

A Stroll Along State Street in Albany, New York, a stretch of road I know extremely well.

Kurt Thomas, U.S. gymnastics’ first world champion, dies at 64.

Triangles vs. Rectangles: What’s the Better Way to Cut a Sandwich? (it involves math)

She Gets Calls And Texts Meant For Elon Musk. Some Are Pretty Weird.

Ain’t it the troooth.

If you can’t find self-rising flour, just add 1.5 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt per cup of all-purpose flour.

Why Is It ‘Eleven, Twelve’ Instead of ‘Oneteen, Twoteen’?

Race in America

George Floyd’s Autopsy and the Structural Gaslighting of America.

The cascade of crises in black America.

The Mimetic Power of D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Mural.

Why The Small Protests In Small Towns Across America Matter.

The protests bring on a Me-Too reckoning and media reckoning on race.

This Is How It Feels To Be Racially Profiled.

From 2018, and still unfortunately relevant: Before You Call the Cops – The Tyler Merritt Project.

The Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List and Anti-racism books (NYT).

CNN/Sesame Street town hall on racism.

Lots of resources here and here.

What You Should Keep In Mind About COVID-19 If You’re Protesting.

Fox News apologizes for segment linking stock market gains to the deaths of unarmed Black men.

vlogbrothers.

Iowa Republicans Vote Out Rep. Steve King, the most overtly racist member of Congress.

Ella Jones Elected to Serve as Ferguson’s First Black Mayor.

The myth of the kindly General Lee.

#IMPOTUS

Blessed are the poorIf He Goes Even Lower, We’d Better Be Prepared.

The Regime Is Beginning to Topple.

History Will Judge the Complicit Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president.

Cockwomble (noun) – A person, usually male, prone to making outrageously stupid statements and/or inappropriate behavior while generally having a very high opinion of his own wisdom and importance.

This is your America.

NYTimes Op-ed warns of a ‘vaccine’ October Surprise.

The unemployment rate is really 3% higher than claimed.

Lincoln Project ads: Leadership and Steps and Mattis.

An idea: buy a postcard, send it to Temporary Occupant, 1600 Black Lives Plaza, Washington, DC 20500 (ZIP Code should get it there), and send your message of disdain. (Postage is 35 cents, but hey, spend 20 cents more, slap that first-class stamp on it, and support the USPS.)

The Bunker Boy – Randy Rainbow.

Now I Know

The American Civil War of World War II and Giving a Word a Different Spin and They Called it “Massive Resistance” and A Step Too Far? and Cherries, Helicopters, and Hair Dryers and High Altitude Flatus Expulsion and It Doesn’t Stand for “Eradicating Dangerous Mosquitoes”.

MUSIC

And They Lynched Him On A Tree by William Grant Still.

Lift Every Voice, Karen Briggs violin rendition.

Rise Up – Andra Day.

EK Ellington, W Marsalis, O Wilson.

No One – Kevin Flournoy ft. Rebecca Jade.

Jungle Love – Morris Day and The Time.

People Get Ready.

Lizzo.

Coverville 1311: Cover Stories for Outkast, Lauryn Hill, and Jack Johnson.

Took The Children Away – Archie Roach.

Flivver Ten Million by Frederick Shepherd Converse, performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Let The Sunshine In from HAIR Virtual Corona Version | 2020.

Sound of Silence – Dana Winner.

21st Century Schizoid Man – Toyah & The Humans, A tribute to Bill Rieflin.

Smile – Voctave A Cappella Cover.

Once in a Lifetime – Kermit the Frog.

Mr. Ed Theme Song, in German.

The small joys of life: a new dishwasher

That could NEVER have happened with the previous, clanky dishwasher.

We bought our current house in May 2000, about 51 weeks after we got married. But it took about 60 months before we could afford to buy a new dryer, refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher, no two in the same calendar year. All the kitchen appliances were by General Electric.

The washer is still fine. The stove is OK as long as you lie to it; if you want 350F, better to set it at 375F. The freezer door has not sealed entirely correctly since 2007, when I hit my head on it; to be fair, I didn’t expect someone to OPEN the freezer door while I was getting something from the main part of the refrigerator.

The new dishwasher, though, was how was a disappointment pretty much from the start. The biggest pain was the silverware section. It was attached to the appliance’s door, and one really couldn’t put in the knives, forks and spoons from that angle. One COULD remove the contraption, but it wouldn’t stand up on its own, so we had to wedge it between the kitchen faucet and the wall.

We would start to wash the dishes, but forget the silverware constantly, maybe a third of the time the first year. And one couldn’t put the knives in the back row of certain sections, because the rack then wouldn’t attach to the door.

Ultimately, though, the machine stopped working altogether. More correctly, it ceased cleaning the dishes well, and left water settled on the bottom of the appliance, which we had to suck up with a Shop Vac.

Then, for about a month, we gave up and started washing all the dishes by hand. This was fun at first – it was my primary task as a kid – but ultimately tedious. My wife and daughter went shopping and picked out a new dishwasher.

So I was overjoyed when the Bosch brand machine of dishwasher was installed. An hour a day regained for me! The only problem is that it’s SO quiet that I have inadvertently opened it while it was operating. That could NEVER have happened with the previous, clanky dishwasher.

And one of the best features – no, I have not been compensated for my kind words – is that top drawer you can see, I hope, where the large serving spoons and carving knives and spatulas can reside. It’s kind of cool.

I was having lunch with couple near-relatives recently, and we decided that we can tell we’re getting old when we write about our appliances and our lumbago.

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