NEW MATERIAL!

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

We just finished watching the 3rd season Virgin River. SPOILER ALERT! "Virgin" is a misnomer. Last night we started watching Star Trek Enterprise, a prequel to Star Trek. It stars Scott Bakula, one of our favorites, & looks promising. Also, yesterday afternoon I watched The Outlaw Josey Wales on Netflix. Lois is heading to MN for a week or so; I won't be able to keep up with Deep Space 9, Star Trek Enterprise, & Blacklist, so I'll have to browse Netflix for alternatives. 

I didn't think I'd have time to watch a movie last night. Thanks to my failure to read my calendar correctly, I drove to Columbus for a Sidewalk Prophets' concert, only to discover that the concert is scheduled for tonight. It wasn't a total loss, as I got to eat supper at Pizza Ranch. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah. I watched "Chinatown" last night, the classic movie starring Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway. Although I wouldn't say it was a waste of time, I came away mostly unimpressed.

WHAT I'M READING

I finished reading "Stalin's War," by Sean McMeekin. It recasts W.W. II as a huge victory for Stalin, thanks in large part to complicity by American & British leaders, including Roosevelt. Very disquieting but worth a read, if you enjoy reading about W.W. II.

TRENDING

"Unemployment up 800% among ethnic mascots." Babylon Bee

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"What pairs with beetle? Startups seek to make bugs tasty. Tiziana Di Costanzo makes pizza dough from scratch, mixing together flour, yeast, a pinch of salt, a dash of olive oil & something a bit more unusual--ground acheta domesticus, better known as cricket powder. Di Costanzo is an edible insect entrepreneur who holds crick & mealworm cooking classes at her West London home, where she also raises the critters in a backyard shed . . . " Omaha World Herald, 7/24 In related news, McDonald's has announced plans to market their new McCricket Sandwich.

"Body preserved in bog since Iron Age contains undigested last meal." Drudge Report  Crickets?

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE FLORIDA

"Naked FL woman, busted for skinny-dipping in stranger's pool."  Drudge Report, 7/22

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Compliments of Reader's Digest, May 2021

"Our teenage grand-daughter was thrilled when she landed her first real job waiting tables. But after one shift, the excitement seemed to have waned. 'How do you like being a waitress?' I asked. She shrugged, "It would be OK if people wouldn't keep asking for stuff." 

COVID

"As Americans navigate conflicting mask advice, 'everyone confused.' Drudge Report

HOLLYWOOD

"Wokeness has invaded Hollywood, which used to be a refreshingly amoral place where people cash-signaled instead of virtue-signaled. Posing is now currency. That’s bad, because when everybody was focused on money, at least we could buy them off. You could make something conservative because people would pay for it. But you can’t buy off people who are only interested in getting PC props from their fellow drones. As a result, today’s films and shows are dreary exercises in boring conformity that push a message of submission to the dominant paradigm. It’s all CRT strawmen villains and a diverse spectrum of tiresome protagonists who look different but are entirely the same." Kurt Schlichter, Townhall 7/22  Agreed! We've been watching The Eqaulizer, NCIS New Orleans, FBI, & FBI Most Wanted on cbs.com, & we noticed this past season how politically correct they all became. Not as much fun to watch them. Thank goodness for Blue Bloods, Seal Team, & NCIS.

ON THE BORDER

"How can anyone from your neighbor to officials in the Biden administration talk about this pandemic while completely ignoring the southern border?  But they sure are.  Constant harping on the rapid spread of a new variant and the irresponsibility of those who won’t get the shot, but never once acknowledging the hundreds of thousands of unvaccinated pouring across our borders illegally every month?

"These people are arriving not only unvaccinated against COVID, but it’s safe to assume unscreened for a whole host of maladies from whooping cough to head lice.  The government then scatters them like a handful of grass seed across the lower forty-eight states and we’re all supposed to pretend that doesn’t exacerbate the spread of a highly contagious virus?" Chris Stigall, Townhall 7/22

"Inspiring:  US women's soccer team to boycott scoring goals until racism is defeated." Babylon Bee

ROE V. WADE

"The justices may duck this argument but cannot refute it. The Constitution, federalism, the separation of powers, and moral truth all converge on an answer in this case, and Mississippi has just identified it. The justices should have the courage and integrity to admit that the Court has been wrong." The Editors, National Review Online

VALUES

"Indeed it seems readily apparent that much of what's changed in more recent times hasn't been for the better. Given the great disparity evident between the respectful social environment & traditional values that we inherited compared to the relative absence of fundamental principles governing life in the new century, that conclusion seems well founded for obvious reasons, to wit. The family unit has mostly disintegrated . . . The political class serves itself. The national mainstream media is hopelessly corrupt. Terrorism is here to stay. Washington, D.C., is an establishment swamp. Sanctuaries protect criminal alien who abuse Americans. Division reigns.

"'Education' is a despairing euphemism. Curriculums are nonsensical. Discipline in schools is virtually non-existent. Colleges & universities have become breeding grounds (no pun intended) for cause-oriented busybodies whose appreciation for constitutional rights reflects a rather perverse view of freedom. Liberal indoctrination rules--permeating education K-12 & beyond. Television, movies & technology have replaced the Sunday sermon as the principal vehicles of moral challenge & progress. Historical context is routinely excluded. Cancel culture has become the cat's meow, so to speak. Frames of reference involving the daily behavior of human beings center on the internet & whimsical (Facebook & Twitter) postings often having their origin in evil intent." Lee Hulm, Norfolk Daily News, 7/22/21

TURBINES

"Birds colliding with turbine blades is one of the main negative effects of onshore wind farms. But a nine-year study at a wind farm in Smola, Norway, has found that bird strikes can be cut by more than 70% simply by painting one blade of a wind turbine black. Scientists believe this reduces what they call motion smear, allowing birds to see the three rotating blades. Trondheim-baed researcher Roel May says further tests at other wind farms are needed to confirm the findings." Reader's Digest, May 2021