Arthur@AmeriNZ Archives - Page 3 of 49

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor

more than “flex”

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, RIP.

There are approximately 7.9 billion people on earth. Less than 10 percent are over 70, so more than 7 billion people living today have known only one British monarch. The queen ascended the throne before I was born.

I’m fascinated less by the queen’s passing than by the various reactions. Mark Evanier has decided, “The Internet Era has created people who were famous for being famous… And in these times, that’s all ‘royalty’ is.” Huh. I understand anti-royalist vitriol or adoration of QEII, but I was not expecting her to be cast as Zelig.

When Elizabeth became the queen, the British Empire contained 70 overseas territories with hundreds of millions of people. But the number of territories shrank by 80% during her lengthy tenure. That she could keep most of them within the Commonwealth is no small feat. President Biden ordered all United States flags to half-staff on September 8, 2022, through her interment circa September 19 in her memory.

Elizabeth would likely never have become queen if not for the abdication by her uncle Edward VIII in 1936. This made her father, George VI, king until his untimely passing in 1952. So it’s a bit of luck that she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

The announcement of her death came just two days after the queen was photographed while appointing new Prime Minister Liz Truss at the Scottish estate. Truss is the 15th prime minister the queen had sworn in, with her first being Winston Churchill.

I’m impressed with how quickly information was updated on Wikipedia. Vanity Fair had a nice obituary. Here is some queenly trivia.

The Hollywood Reporter shared 15 Stars Who’ve Played the British Monarch. Incidentally, The Crown paused filming after QE II’s death.

The AmeriNZ take

Arthur is an American-born blogger living in New Zealand for more than a quarter-century. What he wrote on Facebook reflects my thoughts quite well.

“I’m personally saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth, even though I’m a firm republican (lower case “r”). She devoted her life to public service, and I admire her for that… For most of us, she is, at the very least, a link to a constancy within our own lives: She was always there. Presidents and prime ministers come and go, but the Queen was constant.

“As we get older, we all lose the links, the anchor points, that have kept us, for lack of a better word, moored in our own lives. But everything and everyone ends, and so, too, do those moorings… While I may not be a fan of monarchies, I can nevertheless admire the Queen for a job well done. London Bridge is down. Farewell.”

Feeling for Charles

The new king, Charles III, will never be as popular as his mother. This is partly tied to his messy divorce from the popular Diana, followed by her tragic death 25 years ago. Nor is he as well-liked as his heir apparent, his and Diana’s son William. Some folks, before Elizabeth’s death, expected that Charles would abdicate in favor of William. This would make little sense, as William’s successor, George, is currently nine years old.

statement of Charles III

I was puzzled when someone I know, in response to the posting of the statement above, posted on Twitter, “It’s hard not to see this as a flex.” First, I had to look up the definition of flex in this context. “To talk in a boastful or aggressive way” or “to make an ostentatious display of something: SHOW OFF.” I do not agree AT ALL.

King Charles III vowed lifelong service in his first address. But it is inevitable that the monarchy as we know it will shrink. The Skimm noted: “The royals remain a symbol and a living embodiment of Britain’s past, which includes centuries of planning and profiting from colonialism and slavery — which they’ve never formally apologized for.

“Meanwhile, the newly proclaimed King Charles III has said he plans to scale back on the pomp and circumstance. This means fewer working royals, reducing the taxpayer money needed to support them. But in the 21st century, it may become more difficult to justify the public footing any bill. Especially as the UK faces its most serious economic threats in a generation… And as scandals (think: Prince Andrew) continue to tarnish the royal family.”

God save the 73- year-old King.

Happier Now Sunday Stealing

Hembeck, ADD, AmeriNZ, Forgotten Stars

The Happier Now Sunday Stealing questions this week are all over the place.

What flavor Popsicle is the best?

I haven’t had Popsicles in years. But I remember that I favored grape, lime, cherry, and orange, in approximately that order.

Do you have a DVR feature with your cable?

Yes, and increasingly it’s the ONLY way I can watch television. It’s not only much faster – JEOPARDY! in 18 minutes – but I also get to avoid the plethora of advertisements for prescription drugs that are ubiquitous on American television. I’ve been told, and someone can correct me, that the ads are banned everywhere except in the US and New Zealand.

How many drawers does your dresser have?

Five. Or not nearly enough.

Is your closet a mess?

Actually, I have an armoire. After our daughter was born, the room with a large closet became her bedroom for a time. Now it’s my wife’s office. So no.

Have you ever solved a Rubik’s Cube?

No, but I haven’t tried in decades.

Describe your favorite pair of pajama pants:

They’re blue and have moose on them.

What color is your wallet?

The brown color of probably faux leather.

Do you find flea markets and thrift shops enjoyable?

Not really. The cost (of time)/benefit (the find) is too unbalanced. Sorry, Eddie.

AMAZING

Have you met amazing people online?

Yes. I could write a whole blog post on this topic. When I first started blogging in 2005, I followed my friend Fred Hembeck’s now-defunct but still extant blog. I met a slew of great folks there, including Lefty, Gordon, the aforementioned Eddie, and even Greg.

I discovered the late Dustbury, who died in 2019. So I know fillyjonk because I knew Charles Hill.

I stumbled upon Denise Nesbitt’s ABC Wednesday, which I participated in for about a decade. I met Leslie and many other fine folks.

The local newspaper, the Times Union, used to have a blog platform. I still follow folks such as Chuck Miller and J. Eric Smith, the latter of whom is no longer in the area.

Then there are people for whom I have NO idea how I “met” them, such as Arthur and Kelly.

This doesn’t count all of the people I’ve become reacquainted with, including Steve Bissette, Alan David Doane, and a bunch of folks on Facebook.

Between the lines

Would you be happy if I colored a picture for you?

Only if it’s better than I would draw for myself, which is almost certainly going to be true.

What show do you think ‘made’ the 90’s?

Law and Order, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, NYPD Blue… I think I’m supposed to say Seinfeld or Friends.

Are you happier now than you were last year?

Yes, because 2021 was too COVIDy. An odd observation, I suppose, since I actually GOT COVID in August 2022. But I’ve gone to a few movies, attended plays, eaten at a few restaurants, and participated in the church choir in 2022.

What are you currently drinking?

Not alcohol, and that’s about calories, not any other consideration. Arnold Palmer.

Do you trust people easily?

Not especially. I don’t DISTRUST people out of hand, but when they’ve betrayed me, I always remember. I can forgive, but I seldom forget.

What are you looking forward to in the next three months?

My daughter will be home from her first semester of college.

Independence goes only so far

a MORE hostile regime?

My Independence Day meanderings.

“If you’re a Republican, you can’t even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent, or they’re coming after you.” Louie Gohmert (R-TX) said this during an interview on NewsMax. “They’re going to bury you. They’re going to put you in the DC jail and terrorize and torture you and not live up to the Constitution there.”

As CNN‘s Laura Jarrett noted in 2017: “Federal law makes it a crime to ‘knowingly and willfully’ give ‘materially’ false statements to Congress, even if unsworn – which is not to be confused with the more general crime of perjury for lying under oath.”

“It is also – surprise, surprise! – against the law to lie to the FBI. It’s right there in the US Code – and carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.”

But it may be unreasonable for Louie Gohmert to know these complicated details. After all, he’s only been a member of Congress since 2005. (Does he WANT people to lie to HIM?)

If I thought Louie was uniquely… operating on a different plane, I could laugh it off. But I see a lot of these folks in the halls of Congress.

Nowhere to go

I found a section of the post by Arthur about his realizations rather sad. “In the time since [his husband] Nigel died, I realised that I don’t feel ‘at home’ anywhere: He was my home in an existential sort of sense. In a physical sense, however, I’ve lived in New Zealand so long now—it’ll be 27 years in around five months—that this place is quite literally home.” I understand his pain.

Yet it also stirred a very different type of anxiety in me. “The reality is that after so many years away from the USA, the land of my birth feels like a foreign country—actually, far too often it seems like an alien planet.” And I haven’t been away from the United States, but too often, I get the same feeling.

“As we grow apart, as I grow older, and as events there make my homeland utterly unrecognisable to me, I suspect there may well come a day when I could be permanently separated, particularly if a more hostile regime comes to power in the future—and how could I possibly rule out that prospect when I can no longer say it’d be impossible?”

Yes, sometimes I feel similarly, but without the luxury of a second passport. “If the USA really does collapse, I’m safe here and also have an already well-established life. However, that’s also true even if the USA manages to shake off the disease it caught in 2016 and repair itself.”

I’m having serious doubts that self-repair is even possible. It all feels that too much is going in the wrong direction.

And yet

Yeah, I still try to study the issues since that’s what a citizen does. And certainly, I ALWAYS vote because I’m a stubborn old poli sci major who actually thinks that local elections are just as important as the national ones, if not more so.

It’s not optimism that drives me to try to change my little piece of the world. Maybe it’s having a kid who’s really not a child anymore, not to mention nieces. All that hokum that our children are our future? There’s some non-cynical part of me that believes it.

I suppose I could have opted for a rosier star-spangled Fourth. But this is the best I could muster.

May rambling: Uvalde, TX

1400th episode of Coverville

health_data_2x — **From https://xkcd.com/2620/**

Fourteen children and one adult are dead. The assault at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. school since a gunman killed fourteen students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in February 2018. Wait, now it’s 19 children and two adults murdered. The assault at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.

And… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) blames CRT? The time for politics – the politics of actually doing something – is now. Not, as Lee Goldberg points out: “The GOP’s answer is to have a third-grade teacher, armed w/a handgun, take [on a shooter]. Are they insane!?” Evil Stalks the Hall at the NRA. How the Uvalde police kept changing their story. The Weekly Sift guy repeats himself.

Jacinda Ardern talks about gun control on The Late Show and gives the 2022 Harvard Commencement Address. (Should we move to New Zealand?)

Also

The Rising Tide Of Color, a 1920 book, “is sometimes cited as the origin of Replacement Theory. It’s available for free at Project Gutenberg, but you need a strong stomach to read it because it’s unapologetically racist in a way you seldom see today.”

D’Souza’s ‘Big Lie’ Movie Is So Bad Fox Won’t Promote It

Subway franchises and Utilities: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

USPSTF Guidance Misses the Mark on Youth Suicide Risk Screening

How many lives could have been saved with COVID vaccinations in each state

He Donated His Kidney and Received a $13,064 Bill in Return

Rod Serling sitting around talking about writing

Big ‘Saturday Night Live’ Departures Will Test the Show’s Depth

Before Pixar’s ‘Turning Red,’ ‘Braceface’ and a 1946 Disney Short Tackled the “Taboo” of Menstruation

Now I Know: The Eye Shield That Keeps the Grumps Away and And He Couldn’t Use the Discount Anyway and The €222 Million Nap and The Mystery of the 175-Year-Old Battery-Powered Bell

Undamming the Hudson River

RIP

Roger Angell, Revered Baseball Essayist, Dies at 101

Into The Storm: Alan White, YES drummer

Ray Liotta Dies: ‘Goodfellas’ Star & ‘Field Of Dreams’ Actor Was 67

Fred Carter, the little-known Black artist behind Chick tracts of evangelism cartoons, Died. Those Chick tracks could be theologically… challenging.

R.I.P. Neal Adams, 1941-2022

MUSIC

Thoughts and Prayers – Drive-By Truckers

Beethoven Symphony No. 7, recast as a piano virtuoso work by Franz Liszt

Mr. Blue Sky and Kodachrome – Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

Field Of Dreams – The Place Where Dreams Come True/End Titles (James Horner)

You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lie – Dana Valery

Finale from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones by John Williams

Broken/Head Over Heels – Tears For Fears

Avatar suite by James Horner

Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You – Randy Rainbow

Coverville 1400: The Subject of this Cover Story is Talking Heads and 1401: Covers of 50-Year-Olds

I’m Alright – Jo Dee Messina

MARVEL Uptown Funk

The Untold Story of the White House’s Weirdly Hip Record Collection

Too many weeks “like this”

hitting things

In response to my most recent request to Ask Roger Anything, fillyjonk writes: Green says “I hope I don’t have a lot more weeks like this” after having several people in his life die and wow, I have had WAY too many weeks “like this” these past couple years. (ANOTHER friend at church lost her husband on Saturday). I’ve stared into the abyss altogether too much these past few years but find I have few answers

While I’m unclear whether it is an actual question or an observation, the narrative is compelling enough to try – emphasis on TRY – to answer it. The short answer is that I don’t know. Sometimes, I feel that I don’t know anything. But I keep throwing things against the wall, hoping some of them stick.

Releasing the rage

For one, I yell at the television when certain people are saying… the polite term is BS. This is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating perhaps from 2015. Lindsay Graham, for instance, is far more frustrating to me than people who are always awful, like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Josh Hawley. After expelling the anger, I feel better. No harm is done. Furniture and people are intact.

Recently, I mentioned to Arthur that a Dear Abby letter actually enraged me, much to my surprise. Basically, a family member thought another in his tribe was grieving for too long. She had “overstayed her time on the pity potty.” Abby for her part disagreed with the letter writer. Having allowed myself to be angry, it dissipated.

For far too long, I had tended to try to suppress my anger as “not nice” until I would blow a gasket. One needs to release the steam from the radiator.

Boy, I miss playing racquetball. That was a really good release of tension, hitting a bouncy thing with a fancy stick. I’m reminded that when I got really perturbed, I would find a stick, maybe a tree branch that had fallen, and strike it against a telephone pole or another item unlikely to be damaged. Therapeutic.

Can’t nothing be love but love

On a Vlogbrothers post titled Motivation in Hard Times, John Green noted that he used to operate out of anger and resentment. And for a while, that worked for him. He showed up his old writing teacher who said he wasn’t good enough to be in his class. Ha! He had books published and then turned into movies. But ultimately, and he is a tad embarrassed by it, he says it comes down to love.

In February, Dua Lipa interviewed Stephen Colbert on his show. She asked him about his faith. He said it’s “‘connected to the idea of love and sacrifice being somehow related and giving yourself to other people.'”

Surely, love is the optimal route. Yet you also need to find a term that’s become almost a cliche, self-care, whatever that is. It might be playing with stuffed animals or listening to music or reading comic books or getting a massage. Writing helps me somewhat. It’s naturally different for everyone.

I wish you well.