Tuesday, July 20, 2021

"Voila," she said


     I am among those Luddites who persist in purchasing music, something, for me, necessarily coming in units called “albums” etched onto plastic discs that spin. 

     No clouds for me, nope. 

     To this day, I routinely purchase such discs—and thus I have hundreds of them, mostly on shelves. 

     My CD shelving maxed out years ago, and so lots of these discs are scattered about my place, like empty vodka bottles strewn about Ray Milland’s weekend hideaway. 

     Kathie, being the observant sort, has noted my shelving deficit and its resultant clutter, and so, a while back, she bought me a large and fine CD case. It came in the mail in a big box. 

     “Voila,” she said. 


     But that was many, many months ago. The dang CD case came in parts (in that box) that required some assembly, and so, what with my back going out and then my broken leg, the box of parts just sat there on the floor for all this time, cluttering things up even more. Kathie would visit, note the box, and then, in silence, experience a tiny bout of despair. There were several such visits, such bouts.

     But I have now addressed the situation! 

     Our pal Julio—a neighborhood fix-it man—came by today to open the box and assemble the parts. It took him about an hour. He even moved the case to the right spot and secured it to the wall. He charged me $50. 

     Somehow, none of this bothered Teddy, who sat nearby, intently watching Julio's progress. 

     The whole place now smells like an old sawmill, which is good. Teddy likes it.

     One of these days, I’ll start stickin’ CDs in there. 

     Here are some pics. And some music, too.


* * *

Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys that'd been away
Haven't changed, had much to say
But man, I still think them cats are crazy
They were askin' if you were around
How you was, where you could be found
Told 'em you were livin' downtown
Drivin' all the old men crazy

We skipped the light fandango

 

We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more

Conquistador there is no time, I must pay my respect
And though I came to jeer at you
I leave now with regret

Across the straits, around the horn,
How far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course,
And no one left alive.

Monday, July 19, 2021

Alt-right funder DEAD at 80


You'll recall that the late Tom Fuentes, who served as SOCCCD trustee from 2000-2012, was closely associated with Regnery Publishing. William's uncle, Henry, founded Regnery Publishing. I don't know to what degree, if any, William was associated/involved with that company. But what a family, eh? See "Kill it and Grill It"

William Regnery, who funded right-wing extremism, dies at 80 

AP 

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. (AP) — William H. Regnery II, the heir to a family publishing fortune who was known for his quiet but influential support of extreme right-wing causes in the United States has died at 80. 

He died at his home in Boca Grande, Florida, on July 2…. 

Cassie Miller, a senior research analyst for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in an email Saturday that Regnery’s material contributions helped to build networks of racist activists and a large body of pseudoscientific literature that Regnery hoped would legitimize his calls to build a white ethnostate. 

“Though he usually operated in the background, Regnery was an extremely influential figure in the radical right,” Miller said. 

In 2016, an Associated Press review of tax records found that the National Policy Institute, founded by Regnery, and three other groups at the forefront of the white nationalist movement had registered as charities and raised more than $7.8 million in tax-deductible donations over the previous decade. 

Regnery spent much of his life using his family’s money to build the institutional infrastructure that would support the so-called alt-right — an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and populism — and help to propel figures like Richard Spencer into the spotlight, Miller said. 

“Regnery’s real legacy is not what he built, but the immense harm that he caused,” she said…. 

In a 2017 article, BuzzFeed News said Regnery felt his ideas were redeemed by the candidacy of now former President Donald Trump. 

“I think Trump was a legitimatizer,” Regnery told the publication. White nationalism “went from being conversation you could hold in a bathroom, to the front parlor.”….

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Roy and his boy, Teddy, on this Bastille Day

Living on the floor, for now
(In this heat, Teddy & I lay below two big ceiling fans, and we're comfortable, if horizontal.)

Monday, July 12, 2021

Fifty years ago



 



We sailed for parts unknown to man,
Where ships come home to die.
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold,
Could match our captain's eye.
Upon the seventh seasick day,
We made our port of call.
A sand so white, and sea so blue,
No mortal place at all.

Saturday, July 3, 2021

There is nothing better than animal rescue

Meanwhile, bobcat mom and cub walked by

     Today, we in the canyon were honored with a visitation by the Kathster (our lady of Inland Subaru), who rolled in at about noon, finding me asleep on the floor with right leg akimbo. Teddy (the cat) definitely woke up, immediately focusing, anticipating walkies and worship and whatnot. 

     We eventually sat around under the big oak and discussed physics, abduction (in logic), and a cool German YouTuber named Sabine Hossenfelder. The air was slightly warm and the breeze was perfect. It really was some kinda paradise. 

    Then, with Teddy firmly ensconced on the Flintstonian "Jan-proof" couch, Annie rolled up with what I immediately dubbed "Mexico in a dish," and, accompanied by that fine aroma, we started jawin' about mostly silly stuff—including Annie's tales of hideous childhood evacuations—until, natch, I decided that it was time to tie on the feedbag. 

Two cubs at left

     Annie's Mex dish sure was tasty. 

     Eventually, moving things inside, I made the traditional popcorn-in-a-wok (despite my leg, upon which I still cannot stand) and we watched some warm and fuzzy animal rescue shows. Teddy likes those. 

     Eventually, Kathie, an avid animal rescuer, stood up and announced, "there is nothing better than animal rescue." Teddy and I, slightly intimidated, nodded. 

     For once, we took some pictures, which, I'm guessin', will show up on this page maybe tomorrow.

Are scientists led astray by their prejudice in favor of 

"beauty" (elegance, simplicity) in theory?

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...