Month: May 2020

Athenae, Current Affairs

The Sound of Kids on the Streets Outside

Allison Hantschel

I know people who were there in ’68, and not just there as in lived through it, but THERE there. A friend who spoke at my wedding was in the National Guard during Kent State, left soon after. Colleagues were in the streets, getting beaten and gassed. I know people who fought in Europe in World War II. I knew, many years ago, a man who went to Spain to fight the fascists there after writing about it for years. Their eyes go somewhere else when they talk about it. When they gather, and someone takes a photograph, it’s not … Continue reading The Sound of Kids on the Streets Outside

Adrastos, Art, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Mad Men Recaps, Music, Odds & Sods, Television1 Comment

Saturday Odds & Sods: Is That All There Is?

Peter Adrastos Athas
Self Portrait After The Spanish Flu by Edvard Munch.

My sleep pattern remains wacked out. This lifelong night person has become a morning writer. I’ve even awakened before Dr. A a few times and fed the cat. Both she and PD were disoriented. Such is life during the pandemic.

I decided to use one of Edvard Munch’s lesser known works as this week’s featured image. It’s a reminder than one can survive even the worst pandemic. It also explains why he was such a Gloomy Gus. Of course, he was Norwegian; it goes with the territory.

This week’s theme song was written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller in 1968. They shopped it around before finding the perfect singer: Peggy Lee. I’ll have more about Miss Peggy Lee and our theme song after the jump.

We have two versions of Is That All There Is? for your listening pleasure: the Peggy Lee original and a swell cover by the woman whose name I cannot stop saying, Chaka Khan. It’s a mantra in my family and it should be in yours. Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan.

Our next musical pairing involves a title that’s similar to Miss Peggy Lee’s last hit. To add to the needless complexity of this post, they’re different tunes.

You say this, I say that. Let’s call the whole thing off.

Now that we’ve questioned everything, let’s take a dubious leap of faith and jump to the break

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: Is That All There Is?”

Athenae, COVID-19, Race1 Comment

The Long Tail

Allison Hantschel

One legacy, leading to another and another:  The era of slavery was when white Americans determined that black Americans needed only the bare necessities, not enough to keep them optimally safe and healthy. It set in motion black people’s diminished access to healthy foods, safe working conditions, medical treatment and a host of other social inequities that negatively impact health. This message is particularly important in a moment when African-Americans have experienced the highest rates of severe complications and death from the coronavirus and “obesity” has surfaced as an explanation. The cultural narrative that black people’s weight is a harbinger … Continue reading The Long Tail

Free Republic, The Darnold, Tommy T1 Comment

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Pelosi-guided missile edition

Tommy T

Short one this week, good people. Nancy Pelosi: ‘Morbidly obese’ Trump shouldn’t be taking hydroxychloroquine washingtontimes.com ^ | May 18, 2020 | Victor Mortan Posted on 5/19/2020, 12:44:31 AM by Berlin_Freeper … She said taking that drug was not a good idea for the president because of his “age group and in his, shall we say, weight group,” which she described as “morbidly obese.” ” Rosie (O’Donnell) ’s a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie.” The Darnold, 2006 To: Berlin_Freeper Has the ice cream eating Botox princess opened … Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Pelosi-guided missile edition

Uncategorized1 Comment

Not Everything Sucks

Allison Hantschel

Can’t stop the celebration signal:  A huge part of Ramadan is about the community, Ismail said. Not just getting together with family and friends for iftar meals to break fast at the end of the day, but eating with strangers and gathering with large groups to celebrate in the mosque. He wanted to try to emulate that in a game that has been so appealing to people in quarantine precisely because of the community aspect. He put out a call on Twitter, offering to host people to celebrate Ramadan on his island, and very quickly got a lot of responses … Continue reading Not Everything Sucks

Athenae, COVID-194 Comments

Selfishness

Allison Hantschel

Yeah: In retrospect it’s clear that the biggest mistake public officials made in the early weeks of this pandemic was to ask the public to be considerate of other people. All the safety measures should’ve been framed as selfishness. — Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz) May 23, 2020 I mean, as much as anything would shut the NRA crowd up, maybe a message of WEAR A MASK SO A FOREIGNER DOES NOT GIVE YOUR WHITE DAUGHTERS THE PLAGUE would have helped. These hissyfits almost never make sense, though, so I’m hesitant to attribute the behavior of the president’s fanclub to actual … Continue reading Selfishness

Adrastos, Comedy, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Odds & Sods, Political Crack, R.I.P., Sports, Television

Saturday Odds & Sods: Shapes Of Things

Peter Adrastos Athas
Abstraction by Rolph Scarlett.

I don’t have a helluva lot to add to what I said as the 13th Ward Rambler earlier this week. I’m still keeping my head down during the lockdown. We’ve had a few front porch visitors, which breaks the monotony and allows Paul Drake to make goo-goo eyes at company and get his nose prints all over the lower glass panes of our front door.

This week’s theme song was written by Paul Samwell-Smith, Keith Relf, and Jim McCarty in 1966 and represented a  sonic breakthrough for The Yardbirds. The tune’s Wikipedia entry is absurdly detailed and argues that Jeff Beck should have received a songwriting credit as well. It’s okay: Beck assumed de facto ownership of the song after recording it with The Jeff Beck Group on 1968’s Truth album.

We have three versions of Shapes Of Things for your listening pleasure: the Yardbirds original, the Jeff Beck Group, and David Bowie from Pin-Ups. They’re all shapely and thingy:

Now that we’ve shaped things and contemplated Jeff Beck’s guitar virtuosity, let’s jump to the break.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: Shapes Of Things”

Athenae, On Wisconsin, So Called Liberal Media, Stupid Republican Tricks5 Comments

You Don’t Understand, or You Do, And in Either Case We’re All Dead

Allison Hantschel

The Journal Sentinel’s editorial board:  But it’s not the court’s fault that the governor and top lawmakers can’t work together for the common good. Nor is it the court’s job to set public health policy in Wisconsin. That’s the job of the governor and Legislature. So do your jobs, Gov. Tony Evers, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Adopt clear rules for the state moving forward. Do so now, so the novel coronavirus is contained. The governor issued rules and Republicans and the State Supreme Court blew them up. Yelling at them all to do their … Continue reading You Don’t Understand, or You Do, And in Either Case We’re All Dead

COVID-19, Free Republic, The Darnold, Tommy T3 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Putrid Potpourri edition

Tommy T

Good morning, people! I wish I could social distance myself from the Freeperati – but the ISO suits make a big difference.

First up – Secret Disservice!

Eleven Secret Service Agents Test Positive For COVID-19 And Fears Of It Spreading Through The White House Are Mounting
Business Insider ^ | 5-10-2020 | Sophia Ankel

Posted on 5/10/2020, 7:37:38 AM by blam

Eleven members of the US Secret Service have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Thursday evening, according to Yahoo News.

Documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seen by Yahoo News, revealed that the agency has 11 active coronavirus cases and an additional 60 employees who are reportedly self-quarantining. On top of this, another 23 members have already recovered from COVID-19, the diseases caused by the coronavirus.

It is not known whether the employees who tested positive for the coronavirus worked at the White House or if they had recent close contact with President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence.

Both Trump and Pence get tested for the disease regularly but have not tested positive so far. However, Trump said this week that he would switch from having weekly to daily tests following the new cases, according to The Hill.

Justin Whelan, a spokesperson for the Secret Service told Yahoo News that the agency is following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

“To protect the privacy of our employee’s health information and for operational security, the Secret Service is not releasing how many of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19, nor how many of its employees were, or currently are, quarantined,” Whelan added.

The news comes as President Donald Trump revealed on Friday that Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus. Miller, who is the wife of Stephen Miller — Trump’s senior adviser, and primary speechwriter — confirmed her diagnosis with NBC News, adding that she was asymptomatic.

Ivanka Trump’s personal assistant has also tested positive for the coronavirus, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported.

1 posted on 5/10/2020, 7:37:38 AM by blam
Reactions?
To: blam
So when no testing is done, they shout there are no cases here!
Duh, motherfucker. And by “they”, you mean The Darnold.
They start testing and the percentage of those with wuflu explodes! Look, cries the presstitutes, it’s a pandemic. A pandemic right here. Right here in River City! A pandemic of epic proportions, and its coming your way. 🤦🏻‍♂️
4 posted on 5/10/2020, 7:45:17 AM by 9422WMR (WuFlu and democRATS are destroying the country.)
Coming?  I’d say it’s already arrived.
To: Travis McGee

 

I wan to know who snuck it to the SS. The press or someone else.

7 posted on 5/10/2020, 7:47:57 AM by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)

Scape that goat, baby!
To: VTenigma

 

SS agents go home to wives and kids, who are exposed to the world.

This is why the ChiComs calculate they will win the bio war they launched.

We are an open society, and that means open to their bio war infections, in a way that their leadership is not.

10 posted on 5/10/2020, 7:54:31 AM by Travis McGee (EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)

To: P.O.E.

 

Yeah, it’s all a hoax. Nothing at all. Boris Johnson was faking it. And Trump has nothing at all to worry about.

Flu bros are morons.

We’re in a bio-war launched by China, and you turn it into an excuse to attack Americans.

The ChiComs are laughing their asses off at us.

12 posted on 5/10/2020, 7:56:17 AM by Travis McGee (EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)

No, the “ChiComs” are scared shitless, as they’re at the epicenter of this one.
I’M the one laughing my ass of at you.
.
The flubros aren’t giving up without a fight :
To: Maris Crane

 

Just noticed…Business Insider…it has an agenda.

25 posted on 5/10/2020, 8:18:21 AM by Maris Crane

Yeah.
Business.
And you tagged yourself in that post.
Response?
To: Maris Crane

 

I think you should attend one of those corona parties where people intentionally get it. Please do. Then document how your body deals with it for us.

29 posted on 5/10/2020, 8:24:29 AM by RummyChick ( Yeah, it’s Daily Mail. So what.)

Shazam
.
Lots more to come!

Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Putrid Potpourri edition”