This has been one of those weeks when craziness piled 20 tabs high in the browser. It’s one of those weeks it’s especially clear that the world out there is not only rapidly going nuts, but is fragmenting into specialized segments of insanity, all threatening war with each other.
Category: Mind and Spirit
Spirituality, moods, feelings, and thinking free to live free.
No surprise at all: economic freedom creates personal happiness. One documentarian’s fight against the absurd (and profitable) copyright on “Happy Birthday.” Looks as if she now has some powerful ammo. Love it. A rogue Dairy Queen has been going its own way since 1949 (though why it doesn’t just go independent and avoid the franchise fees is a question). (H/T Jim B. in comments) As jed noted when he sent this item: good news, but not fast enough. 🙂 Bovard on how disability law went nuts Lessons learned (although probably mostly not learned) from the stupid, lying, inept drug raid…
Sorry I don’t have much for you at the moment. Been a weird week. When not feeling inert (probably lack of sleep + gray weather) I’ve been busy beginning or resuming long-delayed spring projects. Picked up another 75 pounds or so of broken glass and rusted metal from the lot across the street. Scrubbed stale cigarette scuzz out of Old Blue. Am gradually de-nailing, cleaning, and sanding 150 pieces of beadboard for my ceiling project. It feels good coming to life again. If I do too much my ankle reminds me to slow back down. And unfortunately the ankle’s idea…
Eleven things to quit right now. (Might be more helpful if that list came with some how-tos …) Theodore Bikel has died. He was one of those amazingly talented people. The late Dr. Seuss has him beat, though. He’s managed to come up with a “new” book years after dying. (Amazon link) Judge bans Bong-a-Thon from the town of Stoner — yes, Stoner — Colorado. (H/T jed) Yet another reason to prefer older cars. Remember those bootable drives with the prep info? Mark, aka Greylocke, their creator, is adding files of surgery basics. And he’s still looking for somebody to…
I’ve lost count. How many “anti-violence” activists and “anti-violence” groups have been busted now for weapons violations, assaults, or homicides? A big number. The fedgov can’t manage to charge a single mega-banker for wrecking the U.S. economy through fraud and malfeasance. But the state of New York (via the ever-present, ever-righteous Cyrus Vance, Jr.) can manage 184 counts against a tiny, family-owned bank that was apparently just trying to police itself. Uh oh. No surprise. Sandra Bland, that young woman who “committed suicide” in police custody last week was reportedly a vocal activist against police brutality. Well, guess they showed…
So I linked to (yet another) article about small houses. Which led Joel to link back to me and also to a very funny blog about people who actually live in the things. Which reminded me of tidy-up celebrity Marie Kondo (because you have to be mega-tidy to survive small-house living).
Which reminds me that, now that I’m living in normal-sized houses again, it’s time for another perspective in tiny-house living.
Okay, these small houses may not be “tiny” in Tumbleweed terms. But boy, I’d take any of ’em in a heartbeat. What a diaper-wetting crybaby. Using the government to ease his hurt feelings, of course. Upon his 85th birthday, Thomas Sowell looks back on the uneducated people who helped raise him above his roots. People who radically change their spending habits via radical rethinking. They’re inspiring. Entertaining. Great examples. But how come they always seem to be young urban dwellers without, you know, gigantic house remodel projects going on? Or six kids to feed? Don’t get me wrong; giving up…
“Sorry folks, Independence Day is canceled.” But on the other hand, America isn’t becoming more liberal. It’s becoming more libertarian. (H/T MJR) Now, if only the message could get through to our growing corps of social justice warriors, inflexible bureaucrats, authoritarian congressthings, thuggish cops, etc.
Our cultural cold war is about to boil into open conflict, thanks to last week’s Supreme Court decisions. Some of us think we’re ready, but we’re not.
I’m not saying we’re going to be shooting each other by next Tuesday or even next year. Just that the last remaining bridge between the old culture of America and the new culture of elite America got blown to smithereens. Last week was a point of no return with the Supreme Court’s Obamacare (“the Constitution is whatever we want it to be”) decision and gay marriage decision.