Death of Hypatia®

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  • Know Thyself #162

    Know Thyself through POETRY

    I found a poem a wrote a while back and I thought it wasn’t terrible…

     

    Horse Hair

     

    Upon Dreaming I sought refuge on the grass.

     

    I yearned for the support of a thousand blades, surfaces, and snowflake intersections.

     

    Notice the difference apparent alongside on the manufactured path.

    All bits slammed together;

    no pores,

    no spaces,

    no room,

    no movement,

    no changes,

    no growth.

    One frozen form, void of beginnings, and without soul.

    If ice takes hold here, its evolution I fear

    will be slippery and periling.

     

    On grass I Learned arguments for trees,

    under obelisks with roots, branches, and leaves

    If damaged, the mass continues to sustain,

    flex,

    And live.

    Like cloth, chainmail, or rope together banded,

    transferring energetic tension;

    Healthier because OF its’ parts.

     

    Thrust swords into sand, individual grains are not overcome;

    they swallow your sword.

    But if that sand were tortured, boiled, and melted into

    a made thing,

    void of characteristics,

    oddities,

    and humanities.

    It, artificial and translucent,

    Illuminating others’ possibilities;

    Arresting others’ freedoms.

     

    Thrust this false power into something real and watch it

    shatter,

    separate,

    and be no more.

    Upon Reflection I prefer trees to swords,

    and find kindred among those in the grass.

     

    Not great, but I know where I was when I wrote it, so I forgive it; I was mad at all the things we made, mad at all the things we ruined, and I just wanted to feel safe again, like in the grass, where it’s real.

    Have YOU ever written poetry or have poetry  that someone wrote to YOU from any point in your life? Try and find it and read it. Can you remember what it meant to YOU when you wrote it or received it? What does it mean to YOU now?

    … more “Know Thyself #162”

  • WIBCI Post #161

    WIBCI we APPRECIATED HISTORY

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If there was more GUMPTION in our Government?

    Had you heard of The Saturday Night Massacre? I hadn’t until recently. The full Wikipedia link and main description are below, but in a nutshell….

    • In 1973 amidst a scandal the President requests that the special prosecutor drop a subpoena for audio tapes intended as evidence in possible impeachment proceedings
    • The special prosecutor refuses
    • The President orders the Attorney General to fire the special prosecutor
    • The Attorney General refuses and resigns
    • The President orders the Deputy Attorney to fire the special prosecutor
    • The Deputy Attorney refuses and resigns
    • The President orders the Solicitor General to fire the special prosecutor
    • The Solicitor General fires the special prosecutor and intends to resign but per the Ex-Attorney General and the Ex-Deputy Attorney General is persuaded to stay on
    • The American public does not dig this
    • Congress does not dig this
    • Congress initiates impeachment process 10 days later
    • 5 days later the US district judge rules the dismissal of the special prosecutor illegal
    • The President resigns

    I mention appreciation and gumption at the top because in comparison….I’m impressed.

    Think about it, WIBCI if TODAY we had: DC Men with Power who did what’s right as opposed to what’s right for them, Civil Servants who put standards before personal security, Politicians who put country ahead of party, a World where the Public was listened to, A Justice System that was just, and Our Government did what was BETTER FOR THE MOST?

    I think that Would Be Cool……If.

     

    Per Wikipedia: The Saturday Night Massacre was:

    a series of resignations over the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox that took place in the United States Department of Justice during the Watergate scandal in 1973. The events followed the refusal by Cox to drop a subpoena for the Nixon White House tapes at President Richard Nixon’s request.

    During a single evening on Saturday, October 20, Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned effective immediately. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox; Ruckelshaus refused, and also resigned. Nixon then ordered the third-most-senior official at the Justice Department, Solicitor General Robert Bork, to fire Cox. Bork carried out the dismissal as Nixon asked. Bork stated that he intended to resign afterward, but was persuaded by Richardson and Ruckelshaus to stay on for the good of the Justice Department.

    The political and public reactions to Nixon’s actions were negative and highly damaging to the president. The impeachment process against Nixon began ten days later, on October 30, 1973. Leon Jaworski was appointed as the new special prosecutor on November 1, 1973, and on November 14, 1973, United States district judge Gerhard Gesell ruled that the dismissal had been illegal.

    The Saturday Night Massacre marked the turning point of the Watergate scandal. The public, while increasingly uncertain about Nixon’s actions in Watergate, were incensed by Nixon’s seemingly blatant attempt to end the Watergate probe. Congress, having largely taken a wait-and-see approach regarding Nixon’s role in the scandal, quickly turned on Nixon and initiated impeachment proceedings that would end in Nixon’s resignation.

    … more “WIBCI Post #161”

  • Know Thyself #161

    Know Thyself through LITTLE VICTORIES

     

    Learn new things about old friends.

    – me

    If you get to experience this, it’s like finding a cherished object you didn’t know you lost. It rounds out a little bit more, your image of this person; an image that only you can see.

     

    … more “Know Thyself #161”

  • WIBCI Post #160

    WIBCI we listened to LARRY DAVID?

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we learned from comedy?

    Comedy has to be based on the truth. You take the truth and put a little curlicue at the end.

    -Sid Ceasar

    If you don’t know who Sid Caesar is, look him up. He knows what he is talking about. His comedy career spanned 60 years on television and the big screen; from ‘Your Show of Shows‘, to ‘Cannonball Run II’, to ‘Vegas Vacation’.

    Recently I watched Larry David’s new show called ‘Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness‘. In this show American history is given a comic edge, Larry David style. I found it hilarious, ambitious, and ballsy. I like that there are still artists in this country who are willing to put their necks on the line to shine a comic light on what is unwell in our country.

    Below is a GREAT example:

     

    Narrator (Samuel L. Jackson):

    ‘George Washington was nearing the end of his second term. and though the Constitution allowed for unlimited re-election, Washington thought that it was best for the country that he step aside, proving to his fellow citizens that his commitment was to democracy instead of power. Washington also warned against the rise of political factions. He feared that if people voted in line with party loyalty instead of the common interest of the nation (Better For The Most), it could promote a spirit of revenge, leading to the rise of cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men who would take the reins of government… 

    but that could never happen.’

    Next we pan down to a reenactment of Washington’s concession speech. The part of George Washington is played to perfection by the late, great, Rob Reiner:

    ‘My fellow citizens, I stand before you today as your President to announce that I shall not be seeking a third term.’

    The gathered crowd in 1790’s garb gasp in astonishment and someone yells:

    ‘Your country needs you!’

    The President continues:

    ‘No, in order to assure the success of our fledgling democracy, I believe that no man should serve more than two terms as president. And I hope that future presidents will follow my lead.

    A spectator of the seeming merchant class (Larry David) speaks up:

    ‘What if some future President doesn’t follow your lead and runs for a third term?’

    The President responds:

    ‘There are remedies for that. The Congress can pass a constitutional amendment that would prohibit that’

    Merchant counters:

    ‘What if there was some asshole in office, some narcissistic prick, who doesn’t follow the Constitution?’

    After some grunts and ‘yeahs’ from the crowd, George retorts:

    ‘I understand your fervor sir but perhaps you could temper your language.’ 

    Merchant:

    ‘My apologies Mr. President. You know, I…this really gets up my dander, this stuff.’

    President:

    ‘I understand, but rest assured, even if this future president violated the Constitution, then the Congress of the United States and the United States Supreme Court would not allow it.

    Merchant:

    But what if the Supreme Court is a bunch of yes-men and Congress is a bunch of pussies who care more about party than country?!’ 

    President:

    ‘I can’t even fathom the existence of such men but to further ensure the success of this grand experiment, I would suggest that after every presidential election, there be a peaceful transfer of power….where the loser accepts the results of the election and full-throatedly endorses the victor.’

    Merchant:

    ‘Anyone who wouldn’t accept the results of a free and fair election is a sociopath, a madman. A man like that could even foment an insurrection rather than just admit that he lost.’

    The crowd is riled up by this and one of the men yells:

    ‘What a cocksucker!’

    Merchant continues:

    ‘He could use the presidency to enrich himself and his family. He could send troops into American cities to terrorize and even kill American citizens, all to distract from the fact that he’s friends with a pedophile! He could attack universities, even the free press, silencing anyone who dares to criticize him.’

    Here the Merchant is interrupted by another onlooker (Jimmy Kimmel):

    ‘Ah Come on. That could never happen.’ 

    Merchant:

    ‘That’s what you think.’

    On-Looker:

    ‘Are you suggesting that the President would taketh the time to challenge anyone who dare make fun of him, as if he were a big baby?’

    Merchant agreeing:

    ‘A big baby!’

    On-Looker:

    ‘I don’t see it.’

    President:

    ‘No! What duly elected president would do such a thing!’

    Merchant:

    ‘An insecure, lying asshole! He would cheat at golf!’

    Crowd murmurs:

    ‘That’s sick!’ & ‘That’s vile!’

    President:

    ‘What is golf?’

    Merchant:

    ‘It’s a game they invented in Scotland. It’s a lot of fun’ 

    President:

    ‘What kind of man would cheat at this golf?’

    Crowd:

    ‘A sick man!’ & ‘An Asshole!’

    Merchant:

    ‘And did I mention that he’s best friends with a pedophile?’

    President:

    ‘Please citizens, be calm. He is only talking hypothetically. In reality a man of such poor character would never be elected president in the first place.’

    Merchant:

    ‘I’m just spitballing here, Mr. President, but what if he was a deeply corrupt con man, a pathological liar who preys on people’s prejudices?’

    President:

    ‘Are you positing that our electorate is a collection of dupes that would be swayed by such a scoundrel?’

    Merchant:

    ‘Yes Mr. President! That’s exactly what I’m positing!’

    … more “WIBCI Post #160”

  • Know Thyself #160

    Know Thyself through DAZED AND CONFUSED

    Dazed and Confused is a 1993 cult classic film, called the ultimate ensemble film about the beer and drug infused initiations and exploits of rising high school freshmen and departing seniors on the last day of school, in May 1976, written and directed by Richard Linklater, and with the tagline:

    It was the last day of school in 1976, a time they’d never forget… if only they could remember.

    This movie is a cornucopia of quotes with an amazing soundtrack. Alas, my favorite quote is not, ‘Alright, alright, alright’. Although this is classic I prefer what the teacher says as the students exit her classroom for the summer. Plus the movie is about the summer of  1976…… the bicentennial, and here we are ON the 4th of July celebrating 250, so it seemed appropriate:

    Okay guys, one more thing, this summer when you’re being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating, and that’s the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.

    Ha! Great movie. I had some teachers that helped me think like that…..… more “Know Thyself #160”

  • WIBCI Post #159

    WIBCI you NOTICED WHAT THEY WERE SELLING?

    Picture a commercial where a young woman is pictured in a montage:  bored out of her head in the dreariest of offices and dispiritedly watching the spin cycle at a laundromat too dull for color, self hair-cutting in a bathroom, and a cup-o-noodles rip-off rotating in a microwave oven.  The sheer volume of toothbrushes points to multiple roommate habitation and the noodles in styrofoam are an obvious nod to a frugal lifestyle. The narrator says:

    You work hard. You save your money…

    so you can have all this…

    by the time you are like….. 87?!

    Then it hits you.

    This final three lines above are narrated over rapid fire images of: a very white wedding on the beach at sunset, a very white woman watering the roses in front of her twin swan topiaries (she appears to be wearing curlers and borrowed a dress from Mrs. Cleaver), a family photo of mom, dad, eldest bro, little sis, and a non-binary infant, an elderly couple NOT very white holding hands and running on the beach, cuddling, and laying a loving head upon husband #3’s shoulder. The dream crashes to reality at the word ’87 when the young woman standing on a metropolitan intersection regains her footing after a death defying brush with a speeding city bus and noticing the guy across the street spinning a life insurance policy placard in a scream mask/costume. the Narrator continues:

     

    Life is short.

    So you start spending on today.

    More gentler montage of images of the young woman making purchases such as: a bougie fruity drink, a green and red cocktail for two with a sparkler in it, boxing lessons, a tuba, a washing machine (still in its box), and face and hand masks shown off masterfully, boxes that pile up from floor to ceiling swallowing what seems to be a doorman, and head banging like you just don’t care at a concert. Narrator continues:

    Which means you need a bank that was actually built for life today instead of,

    you know, then….

    At the word ‘then‘ we once again see the now ironical 1950’s curlers lady and the swan topiaries. The final image is of the young woman who obviously took this commercials advice and frivolously started spending like there really was no tomorrow at the peak of an endorphin high while running in a marathon.  The Narrator ends with:

    (bank name) Do it right.

     

    Um…what was said/shown that was ‘right’?! Is piling up a massive mound of debt ‘enjoying life’ that this target demographic is unlikely to ever shovel their way out of, really a responsible life plan to be angling to our youth? The same youth who may have incurred outrageous debt for an education that wasn’t really designed to employ them in a world that doesn’t have jobs for them. The same youth who have less cognitive abilities than all generations before them, not enough life skills, and will most likely be living with their parents for far longer than welcomed… you think this reckless, thoughtless, selfish campaign is the way to go?

    Sorry youth, the world sucks, be smarter.

     

    … more “WIBCI Post #159”

  • Know Thyself #159

    Know Thyself through RESISTANCE

    Per Wikipedia: Toi Derricotte (pronounced DARE-ah-cot ) (born April 12, 1941) is an American poet. She is the author of six poetry collections and a literary memoir. She has won numerous literary awards, including the 2020 Frost Medal for distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry awarded by the Poetry Society of America, and the 2021 Wallace Stevens Award, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. From 2012–2017, Derricotte served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She is currently a professor emerita in writing at the University of Pittsburgh. Derricotte is a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.

     

    Joy is an act of resistance.

    -Toi Derricotte

     

    I wholeheartedly agree. In Wikipedia the  1st definition for the word Resistance is as follows:

    the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding.

    4th definition for the word Resistance is as follows:

    opposition to an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into consciousness.

     

    To me, the word Resistance was chosen for a mashup of these two definitions.

    withstanding an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into consciousness.

    I think the poet likens the welcomed feeling of Joy to an act or resistance because Joy has become an unnatural feeling that we must fight to bring to our own notice.

    What do YOU think?

    … more “Know Thyself #159”

  • WIBCI Post #158

    WIBCI we IMPROVED in a year?

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If I looked back and felt BETTER about something I posted?

     

    On May 17, 2025 I posted my second in the Wouldn’t It Be Cool If vein…. here it is:

    • WIBCI Post #2

      Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we learned from LITERATURE?:

      WIBCI: AI only did things AI is better than humans at?

      AI should be doing computation and calculation, but that’s about it in my opinion.

      AI could be compared to Big Brother from George Orwell’s 1984, no? When all creativity and individuality was sucked out of human existence and everything was grey, how did that work out?

      I think it would be Better for the Most if we left some things to the humans, forever:

      • Art: REALLY? Art is pain, sweat, tears and emotions. It is the way someone screamed out what was going on inside them. Computers can not do this. If AI creating anything that ‘represents’ you, please replace it with something that came from the mind/fingers/soul of a person. AI will definitely end up charging you down the line, just wait and see….
      • Music: I can’t even.
      • Writing Books: Kill me. Books are the only thing out there uninterrupted by the rest of the world’s opinions, that you can start and stop at any time without commercial interruption. Where YOU picture the characters, admire who YOU want and learn more about yourself, unabated. Can you imagine what a world would be like if only computers wrote books?!
      • Communicating FOR YOU?: Are you, for real, so lazy that you can’t write emails by yourself, take notes in a meeting, or write your own resume/paper/blog post? It is YOU that you are offering the world, correct? Aren’t YOU the best representative of you? If AI is writing/reading/taking notes on anything FOR you, how do you get better at these essential life skills? Do you have to act like and become ‘AI You’ more and more…..that sounds sucky.
      • Customer Service: Humans BARELY do this job well, bots BLOW.
        • COMPANIES, I’m speaking directly to you: I believe it would be Better for the Most, that, if you provide the public a service, you use a human to support that service. AI is very terrible at customer service. It is like companies have a new toy….’AI! Wow, I have no idea really what it is, nor understand the repercussions to humanity and it actually makes my company’s customer experience worse….WOO HOO….sign me up!’

      Please stop, or at least show on your website the % of your customer service that is represented by AI.

      AI is Stupid.

      What do YOU think?

       

    Well one year + and I still think AI is Stupid, but in 2026 I now have even more reason.

    I wish to add a bullet to the above list. One that honestly, didn’t occur to me. An art form that to me IS human. It is someone’s words, emotions, and physical existence that they molded into a visual story so you may consider your words, emotions and physical existence. I never thought AI would create MOVIES?!

    The trailer for the ‘World’s First Fully AI-Generated film dropped, and per Petapixel.com:

    TCLtv+ Studios is a brand new production team and its first release will be a short AI-generated romcom featuring professional voice actors and an original script but the imagery will be generated with AI tools.

    The studio is a brand of TCL ( which stands for Technology Group Corp.), a partially state-owned Chinese company that predominantly sells consumer electronics including televisions, mobile phones, air conditioners, and more.

    Next Stop Paris appears to be a romantic story between a woman called Claire who meets a man while on a train to the City of Light and is described as an “AI-powered love story.” 

    Ick. I tried to successfully watch the 1min trailer but could only make it through 43 seconds. I couldn’t continue after the robot girl in the fuzzy lighting with the dead emotion-free mask was sitting as her ‘man’ recklessly rides off into the blurry Champs-Elysees traffic when he is clearly 4 times the size of the other ‘humans’ and their vehicles. She ‘yells’

    “Wait! Don’t Go!“

    It isn’t said like a first time brokenhearted white girl losing the love of her life would say. It is said like a HauseWife ordering a latte. Ugh.

    This can be no kids first movie…. I like movies just the way they were, can we just leave this quadrant alone?

    The fakey fakey atmosphere, the thoughtless dialogue, the pandering narrator telling you what to think, the lifeless ‘actors’….. you have to suffer through all this to hear a story that computers created?! Why would I give a flying fig about what metal, wires, chips, and electricity creates? How would a machines take on story telling ever have anything to do with the life I’m living?

    Not to mention MAKING A LIVING! Look at this from AcademicJobs.com:

    ASPECT HUMAN PRODUCTION AI PRODUCTION (NEXT STOP PARIS)
    Cost $50M+ $100K
    Time 2-3 years 3 months
    Team Size 200+ 5 engineers
    Creativity Human intuition Prompt engineering

    I’m cool with 200+ people having a job creating art from a human’s life experiences. I’m cool with all the locations that were compensated for, all the extras, the caterers, the make-up artists, interns, and best boy grips that were or were not accounted for in that 200+. I’m cool with restaurants and hotels at off studio locations making some money.

    And that final row in the above chart:

    ASPECT HUMAN PRODUCTION AI PRODUCTION (NEXT STOP PARIS)
    Creativity Human intuition Prompt engineering

    Maybe from a business aspect ‘Prompt engineering’ is a plus over ‘Human Intuition’, but the ASPECT for this row is: CREATIVITY.

    Where does CREATIVITY come from when Humans produce the film? It sprouts from Human Intuition.

    Where does CREATIVITY come from when AI produces a film? Well….it lists ‘Prompt Engineering’ which is less like a where and more like … more “WIBCI Post #158”

  • Know Thyself #158

    Know Thyself though SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

    Know Thyself flashback repost from 5/21/2025.

    I wouldn’t change a thing…..

    • Know Thyself Post #5

      Know Thyself through PHILOSOPHY:

      Try this:

      Go outside into the analog world with no electronics.

      Stand on the closest thing to the Earth as possible.

      Look around until the voices in your head stop telling you about what you have to do. This could take awhile. Be patient.

      Look at the sky…..watch it.

      Stay outside until you notice something beautiful.

      What did YOU notice?

      Rinse and Repeat tomorrow. Maybe for longer.… more “Know Thyself Post #5”

    … more “Know Thyself #158”

  • WIBCI Post #157

    WIBCI we learned from Death of Hypatia® moments?

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If we learned from our mistakes?

    The documentary The American Experiment, per Netflick’s website is described as :  the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, a five-part historical documentary, released on June 24, reexamines the improbable achievement that was the nation’s founding, and the radical question at the center of the American Revolution: Can a people govern themselves? The American Experiment, now streaming, features a wide range of voices, including former vice presidents and cabinet officials, current and former members of Congress, a former Supreme Court justice, leading historians, tribal chiefs, military experts, and thought leaders across the political spectrum to present uniquely bipartisan and deeply informed conversations about the origins and future of American democracy.

    In one part Jelani Cobb the Dean of Columbia’s School of Journalism says:

    History is interred in the shallowest of graves. It is always closer to the surface than we recognize.

    What do YOU think he means by this? If true, what should we do about it, how do we learn from what is just under what is outward facing, waiting to bubble up again? Shouldn’t we analyze, anticipate, and proactively engage with the recurring mold, or ignore, cover it with a rug, and let it be someone else’s problem?… more “WIBCI Post #157”

  • Know Thyself #157

    Know Thyself AT REST:

    (per Dictionary.com):

    at rest / adj / as in comfortable

    1. In a state of inactivity or repose, either physical or mental. For example; The doctor’s clear explanation put her mind at rest . Chaucer used this idiom in Troilus and Cressida (c. 1374): “I mine heart set at rest upon this point.” Also see lay at rest .
    2. Dead, as in His soul is now at rest with his forebearers. This usage, employing rest to refer to death’s repose, is less common today. [1300s]

    Besides the dead part, being At Rest seems to be what I have longed for most in the world. I do not wish for the inactivity aspects, or the death part…. more along the lines of the as in comfortable part. Look at the following list of synonyms from Thesaurus.com for At Rest:

    Strongest matches: appropriate, complacent, convenient, cozy, easy, enjoyable, happy, healthy, loose, pleasant, pleased, relaxed, satisfying, serene, snug, soft, useful, and warm.

    I mean besides complacent, I’m on board to feel all those things as often as this world will allow. Serene? When was the last time you described anything in YOUR life as Serene. I mean I stumble into cozy, enjoyable and pleasant quite often, but I have only brushed against Serene for a few fleeting moments in the total of my existence.

    I would like it if people used any of the words above to describe me….. except in association with death and minus the word ‘complacent‘ no matter how misunderstood it claims to be

    After some thought I came up with some things that allow me to feel at least in the ballpark of the synonyms above: listening to records, cocktails on the dock, all things hygge (If you don’t know what hygge means see Know Thyself Post #85), anything French, playing the drums, Leonardo Da Vinci, old friends, traveling, Bill Murray, laugh attacks, dancing without wanting to impress, the smell of lilacs, pintxos, Mr. Darcy walking through the mist, Mozart, orgasms, chocolate, the color blue, the number 3, Charles Dickens, and spooning with my dog.

    What did/does/would make YOU feel At Rest?… more “Know Thyself #157”

  • Know Thyself #156

    Know Thyself though EXCESS

    The three best known Delphic maxims – “Know thyself”, “Nothing in excess”, and “Give a pledge and trouble is at hand” – were prominently located at the entrance to the temple, and were traditionally said to have been authored by the legendary Seven Sages of Greece, or even by Apollo. In fact, they are more likely to have simply been popular proverbs.

    I do not want to discuss Delphic Maxims, I’ll get to that eventually, but I would like to talk about ‘nothing INXS‘. Per Wikipedia, the expression ‘Nothing in excess’ was:

    The maxim has been said to have received its “ultimate expression” inAristotle’s theory of ethics, according to which every classical virtue occupies a middle place between the two extremes of excess and deficiency.

    So this has been a problem for awhile….

    In 1987 the INXS released the Kick album, on which keyboardist Andrew Farriss wrote the lyrics to the song “Mediate.”

    According to grokipedia.com the lyrics: ‘revolve around themes of emotional mediation, interpersonal compromise, and achieving balance in relationships and society through wordplay and rhythmic repetition.’

    I suggest you read the words with Andrew’s goals in mind when you watch/listen along with the song, you definitely need the beat. Then decide what you think about his cures and/or what YOU could do to achieve balance in your relationships and the current society. I highlighted words I particularly like…

    Mediate Video

    Mediate by Andres Farriss from INXS:

    Hallucinate, desegregate
    Mediate, alleviate
    Try not to hate, love your mate
    Don’t suffocate on your own hate
    Designate your love as fate
    A one-world state as human freight
    The number eight, a white-black state
    A gentle trait, the broken crate
    A heavy weight or just too late
    Like pretty Kate has sex ornate
    Now devastate, appreciate
    Depreciate, fabricate
    Emulate, the truth dilate
    Special date, the animals we ate
    Guilt debate, the edge serrate
    A better rate, the youth irate
    Deliberate, fascinate
    Deviate, reinstate

    Liberate to moderate
    Recreate or detonate
    Annihilate, atomic fate
    Mediate, clear the slate
    Activate, now radiate
    A perfect state, food on plate
    Gravitate, the Earth’s own weight
    Designate your love as fate
    At ninety-eight we all rotate

    Hallucinate, desegregate
    Mediate, alleviate
    Try not to hate, love your mate
    Don’t suffocate on your own hate
    Designate your love as fate
    A one-world state as human freight
    The number eight, a white-black state
    A gentle trait, the broken crate
    A heavy weight or just too late
    Like pretty Kate has sex ornate
    Now devastate, appreciate
    Depreciate, fabricate
    Emulate, the truth dilate
    Special date, the animals we ate
    Guilt debate, the edge serrate
    A better rate, the youth irate
    Deliberate, fascinate
    Deviate and reinstate

    Liberate, to liberate…

    … more “Know Thyself #156”

  • WIBCI Post #155

    WIBCI if we could do MATH?

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If there were more PROOFREADERS?

    I found myself recently baffled by a Lunchaballs commercial. Picture a middle school cafeteria, a boy takes out one of the aforementioned Lunchaballs and makes an offer,

    ‘I’ll give you 1/5 of my cookies for 1/3 of your pizza.’

    The obviously hard-nosed girl at his table counters with a jab,

    ‘Don’t lowball me Harold, 2/10.’

    Harold looks to a nerdy kid with glasses across the cafeteria, whom, apparently, is good enough to get advice from, but not cool enough to sit with. Friendless Poindexter shakes his head in an emphatic ‘No’ advising his client to counter the counter.

    ‘3/10.’

    Without hesitation, sassy girl in the overhauls accepts with a handshake and one word:

    ‘deal.’

    The commercial’s tagline is:

    ‘Willingly doing fractions, that’s the Lunchaballs effect.’

     

    Now I have some issue with this commercial. Let’s start with the fact the math is wrong.

    Harold offered her 1/5 of his cookies and she countered with 2/10…which IS 1/5, a fact that eluded Harold’s brilliant phone-a-friend. Then she accepts 3/10ths?! Show me 3/10ths of cookies please. Now let’s play devils advocate and say that overhauls was countering 1/3 of her pizza down to 2/10ths. But that doesn’t work either because after some intense bargaining, she accepts 3/10ths, which is basically the same as 1/3rd, which is where they started.

    What I’m most mad at is that this commercial totes that eating their processed food will promote doing math at lunch. Do we not care that the math is wrong? Did none of the many adults that this copy passed in front of notice or question the maths? AI probably would have actually caught this one. I tried to watch it thinking that they knew the math was wrong, but was going an ironical, quirky route, but gave up on this as they never took the opportunity to do the wink-wink they would never pass up on. So did just no one think to think about the math? This failure failed to be noticed by anyone in pre, production, or post?

    huh. I feel It Would Be Cooler If someone noticed and stopped airing this one.… more “WIBCI Post #155”

  • Know Thyself #155

    Know Thyself through CLASSY ACTS

    As I have mentioned previously, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of this independent nation of immigrants. The land where democracy flourishes, freedom reigns, and the pursuit of happiness is in full vigor. How better to celebrate the sustaining of those morals and edicts of our founding fathers and all those that perished in the name of this great republic?…..

    Why Ultimate Fighting of course.

    UFC Freedom 250, as it is coined….ick, will celebrate our country’s heritage, grit, and resilience will conveniently landing on the Pressie’s bday, and nauseatingly happening on the grounds of the White House.

    There is already an expensive, secure, and unnecessary ballroom being installed, a restaurant in the rose garden, and now an outdoor auditorium for men to hurt each other with less rules than boxing.

    Nothing like commercializing and cheapening our historic governmental landmarks.

    What’s next dunk tanks in the Lincoln Reflecting Pool, lighting spliffs off of JFK’s eternal flame at Arlington, monster truck rally’s along the National Mall? The Pressie’s sexist comments stopped Olympians from visiting the White House, but put on your wife beaters and bust out some oppressive flags, cause we have Ultimate Fighters performing! Ugh. When the spectators need to piss will they go in the actual White House or will they just dig a trench around the roses?

    Classy… more “Know Thyself #155”

  • WIBCI Post #154

    WIBCI we learned from HISTORY?

    Wouldn’t It Be Cool If today were more like 1975?

    Netflicks is airing a Documentary called: Breakdown: 1975 ‘ Wikipedia which has a disturbing lack of info describes that it: explores the year 1975 through the lens of American arts and culture, directed and produced by (Oscar winner) Morgan Neville.’  In IMDB’s snippet it describes the documentary as: ‘America, 1975. An era of social and political upheaval inspires a wave of groundbreaking movies in this documentary from Oscar winner Morgan Neville.’

    Weirdly neither site really talked about the movie, not the guts of it. It is as if all the copy was written by AI, whom of course could not be expected to get the point of the movie. You need blood flowing through your veins to be able to feel the vibe of what 1975 blood must have felt like through 1975 veins.

    This was a crazy bananas time for the United States. 1975 included a recession involving the worst financial slump and the highest unemployment of the post‐World War II era and April 30th marked the end of American involvement in Vietnam due to the humiliating collapse of South Vietnam as the North Vietnamese captured Saigon.

    10 years of war and over 58,000 lives….for what?

    But in the bi-centennial of our country, when it came to the movies, the post-war-happy-ending-escape was no longer palatable or profitable. It was a time for renegades and mavericks to be let loose behind and infant of cameras. A time when the studios released reigns to filmmakers like Spielberg, Lumet and Scorsese, people who might not have expressed themselves so bluntly otherwise. But, to me, what was even better was that the people wanted to be told the ugly truth and wanted to think about it, discuss it, and rail against it. I find the vibe of the people of 1975 to mirror the melancholy of today, but we don’t quite have the awareness, the focus, and the willingness to be uncomfortable enough to work at changing it.

    In one part the Senator Frank Church, the Chairman of the of the Senate Select Committee says:

    ‘If this government ever became a tyranny, if a dictator ever took charge of this country, the technological capacity that the intelligence community has given the government could enable it to impose total tyranny.’

    This was in 1975….eeesh

    … more “WIBCI Post #154”

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