BTW, for those who care … today is the 60th anniversary of the death of James Dean. Yes, it’s a tragedy to die young, but it’s quite a feat to achieve lasting glory (and become an eternal symbol of Troubled Youth) on the strength of just three movies. Impossible to imagine James Dean living to 84. I used to commemorate this day faithfully every year to the point where it became a running joke for my friends. Been lax about it lately. But sixty years dead and still going strong; that deserves some notice.
11 CommentsMonth: September 2015
Part I. Part II runs tomorrow. Really. It’s already written and in the post queue.
T.
I ran into T. the other day. I was arranging to buy two heavy bookcases at an estate sale and he was there helping the lady who held the sale move gigantic sofas and king-sized beds.
For many years T. has been the area’s go-to guy for yardwork and miscellaneous donkey hauling.
Thing is, T. is a fragile little guy, well into middle age now. To see him, you’d think he belonged in the third desk from the right in some bureaucracy, but he’s … just not there.
7 CommentsGlorious day. Seventy-five degrees under a blue sky, but still a distinct feel of fall. Our walks in the woods have been short and halting since May — first because of my ankle and increasingly because Robbie’s getting so old. I walk a little bit, slowly, while Ava runs ahead. Then I stop to wait for the old boy. Not to wait for him to catch up, but just to come into sight. He’s fine on the familiar old roads with their high banks of berry bramble; can’t wander off and get lost. But he’s good for only a few…
24 CommentsWere it not for its nosebleed-high price the Blackphone 2 would be starting to tempt me in the direction of a smartphone. Here’s another person who disappeared and still managed to have a regular life. Details, media people. Details, please. (Though in this case the woman clearly doesn’t want them known.) Gun store moves three blocks. Causes hysteria. Sigh. Nice idea. S’pose it’ll have any result? And sometimes the “good guy” isn’t. OTOH, since he’s nowhere to be found, how can anybody be sure that the alleged (inept) “good guy” with the gun ever actually intended to be helpful? Maybe…
13 CommentsYou and Gun Rights. Thanks to everybody who beta tested the poll concept last week. That helped. we’re going to try to put up a new poll every week, near the beginning of the week, and close the polls on Friday afternoon. Given that TZP is a cat herd of volunteers, this schedule may not exactly be carved in stone.
Leave a CommentSo … a gigantic Sunday morning linkathon … The technology is ancient. Mark Twain knew all about it. But making gunpowder with urine is taking the gun blogs by storm. Smoky black powder it’ll be. But one more way that all the self-righteous bans in the world won’t end firearms. We all know not to talk to cops, but in a moment of surprise and stress, the temptation to “cooperate” is enormous. The astute Ken White explains the WHY of things in a way that might help us zip our lips. The Motley Fool test drives an Elio. Another way…
22 CommentsNicki says, “Hey, Snowflake!” you don’t have a government-enforced “right” to a wider airplane seat for your super-sized butt. Well, we’ll see about that. When I had the recent infamous medical procedure, they stuck me into a wheelchair wide enough that I could have invited several friends to share the ride. The tech who wheeled my groggy self down the hallway said they have only one “normal” sized chair now. And yes, the reason is what you probably think. —– “My Dog, the Paradox.” An oldie but goodie from The Oatmeal. —– “Scientists” (that is, social scientists again) survey youth…
17 CommentsDon’t say I never post anything nice about cops. Seeking a job isn’t supposed to be a crime. So why should it make you a criminal suspect? Willie Nelson’s new pot brand gets private equity funding. 🙂 Speaking of cannabis … slowly, slowly even politicians are beginning to see the real effects of drug bans. Selfies: deadlier than sharks. Why are Muslims allowed to do what Christians are not? Ha ha. And Mark Zuckerberg thought $100 million would change the government school system in just one city. Oh well, he’s young. He might still learn. Another big “surprise.” Kids are…
9 CommentsChasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs
By Johann Hari
400 pages
Bloomsbury, 2015
This is a remarkable book. If it were widely read and heeded, the drug war would end tomorrow. Maybe yesterday.
12 CommentsCan’t really speak to the merits of the lawsuit. But the notion that it’s it’s your own fault if you get murdered while in public housing is … novel, to say the least. This should hardly need saying. Flipping off a cop might not be the smartest thing someone could do, but it’s still free speech. Job of government: keep business people from succeeding. Now this is weirdly interesting: you cannot ride the backward-brain bicycle. Via A.G. in comments: What refugees carry in their bug-out bags. Concealed carrier stops a bank robber. A very sensible take on Ahmed and his…
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