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"Your new advisor is Departed Adv Pending-assignment Departed Adv Pending-assignment. Departed Adv Pending-assignment can assist with your wants and needs.... Whether you're continuing your existing plan or looking to start one, Departed Adv Pending-assignment is here to help you make sound decisions with confidence along your financial journey."
I can't tell you how much confidence that gives me....
I can't tell you how much confidence that gives me....
Why doesn't this fill me with confidence?
Jul. 4th, 2019 11:03 pm[at the end of a letter from my credit card company]
Sincerely,
STALIN
Customer Service Specialist
Sincerely,
STALIN
Customer Service Specialist
The biggest loser
May. 8th, 2019 09:04 amI was just saying to myself while walking the dogs this morning, "Calling Donald Trump a liar doesn't bother him, because he doesn't see anything shameful in being a liar. Calling him a cheater doesn't bother him, because he doesn't see anything shameful in being a cheater. Calling him a pussy-hound doesn't bother him, because he doesn't see anything shameful in being a pussy-hound. The only thing you could call him that would embarrass him is 'loser'."
Half an hour later, I read this: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/07/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
<GalaxyQuest>It's the little things you treasure...</GalaxyQuest>
Half an hour later, I read this: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/07/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
<GalaxyQuest>It's the little things you treasure...</GalaxyQuest>
Baby, it's cold outside
Dec. 18th, 2018 08:02 amWe're all familiar with the song, and many people (by which I mean me :-)) never thought of it as politically incorrect until the past year or two. It was just a funny, light-hearted, exquisitely well-crafted song. And it still is.
Wait, sexual coercion is funny? No, of course not; that's not what's funny. The wordplay is funny. The clever, unexpected rhymes are funny. The two people talking over one another, and occasionally landing in harmony together, is funny, in the great tradition of patter songs from Gilbert & Sullivan to Sondheim (with perhaps a detour by way of Robert Altman).
And, frankly, the conflicting interests and the attempts at persuasion are funny because they're so universally human. Scarcely an adult human on the planet has not, at some point, tried to persuade the object of hir romantic interest to stay around and do something together (whether sex or a movie or church or a ride in a surrey with a fringe on top). The other, "I really must go" side of the song can be interpreted in different ways: either she really unambiguously doesn't want to stay, or (as I've always interpreted the song) she's dealing with an id/superego conflict between a desire to have fun and concern over what "the neighbors will think." Both cases are, again, near-universal human experiences, and therefore fodder for a good song.
In either case, of course, what she ultimately does is her decision, not anybody else's. But as I pointed out here, there has to be a legitimate place for persuasion in a romantic relationship, or nothing will ever happen unless both parties independently think of the same thing to do, with the same degree of enthusiasm, at exactly the same moment. The problem is that the line between persuasion and coercion is extremely fuzzy, and extremely subject to differing interpretations. Parts of the song are clearly on the "persuasion" side, while other parts (most obviously "say, what's in this drink?") hint at coercion. How you feel about the song as a whole depends on how much coercion you perceive and how you weight it against the appeal of clever songcraft and universal human feelings.
Wait, sexual coercion is funny? No, of course not; that's not what's funny. The wordplay is funny. The clever, unexpected rhymes are funny. The two people talking over one another, and occasionally landing in harmony together, is funny, in the great tradition of patter songs from Gilbert & Sullivan to Sondheim (with perhaps a detour by way of Robert Altman).
And, frankly, the conflicting interests and the attempts at persuasion are funny because they're so universally human. Scarcely an adult human on the planet has not, at some point, tried to persuade the object of hir romantic interest to stay around and do something together (whether sex or a movie or church or a ride in a surrey with a fringe on top). The other, "I really must go" side of the song can be interpreted in different ways: either she really unambiguously doesn't want to stay, or (as I've always interpreted the song) she's dealing with an id/superego conflict between a desire to have fun and concern over what "the neighbors will think." Both cases are, again, near-universal human experiences, and therefore fodder for a good song.
In either case, of course, what she ultimately does is her decision, not anybody else's. But as I pointed out here, there has to be a legitimate place for persuasion in a romantic relationship, or nothing will ever happen unless both parties independently think of the same thing to do, with the same degree of enthusiasm, at exactly the same moment. The problem is that the line between persuasion and coercion is extremely fuzzy, and extremely subject to differing interpretations. Parts of the song are clearly on the "persuasion" side, while other parts (most obviously "say, what's in this drink?") hint at coercion. How you feel about the song as a whole depends on how much coercion you perceive and how you weight it against the appeal of clever songcraft and universal human feelings.
From 1600 Daily, the White House's daily propaganda e-mail:
It's an understandable mistake, for somebody whose career has been mostly in real estate (although that theory suggests that Trump actually had something to do with writing the proclamation), and whose knowledge of theology seems to consist of whatever somebody briefed him on five minutes before a scheduled address to a fundamentalist-Christian audience. When forced to choose between two tenants, are you more likely to get the rent from the one who makes more money, or the one who says "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's"? Which one is likelier to hold noisy parties that inspire the neighbors to call the cops? Tough call.
In fairness, the official version of the proclamation on whitehouse.gov uses the word "tenets" instead. And then, in another presumably unintentional stroke of irony, the Proclamation on Religious Freedom ends: "IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen...."
Today is the 25th federal observance of National Religious Freedom Day. “No American—whether a nun, nurse, baker, or business owner—should be forced to choose between the tenants of faith and law,” President Donald J. Trump’s proclamation reads.
It's an understandable mistake, for somebody whose career has been mostly in real estate (although that theory suggests that Trump actually had something to do with writing the proclamation), and whose knowledge of theology seems to consist of whatever somebody briefed him on five minutes before a scheduled address to a fundamentalist-Christian audience. When forced to choose between two tenants, are you more likely to get the rent from the one who makes more money, or the one who says "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's"? Which one is likelier to hold noisy parties that inspire the neighbors to call the cops? Tough call.
In fairness, the official version of the proclamation on whitehouse.gov uses the word "tenets" instead. And then, in another presumably unintentional stroke of irony, the Proclamation on Religious Freedom ends: "IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen...."
Mr Simon His Ground
Jun. 25th, 2017 10:32 pmA number of our favorite early-music recording artists (e.g. Ciaramella, Ex Umbris) have recently been slumming in the 17th century, playing ornamentation or improvisation over grounds such as Chaconne, La Folia, Passamezzo (of whatever age), etc. So after listening to some of these on CD this evening, I went to Home Depot looking for late-night cup-hooks and sand, still whistling variations on the Chaconne, and suddenly over the loudspeaker come the first notes of... "Bodyguard".
Where do staircases come from?
Jun. 5th, 2017 07:36 amWell, a mommy staircase and a daddy staircase love one another very much, and...
Who knew he had it in him?
Feb. 8th, 2017 07:43 amPresident Obama took years after entering the White House to publish a paper in a refereed academic journal.
President Trump seems to be on his way after only two weeks, with an illuminating example of the Alternative Facts approach to mathematical proof.
President Trump seems to be on his way after only two weeks, with an illuminating example of the Alternative Facts approach to mathematical proof.
Got an e-mail from the White House...
Feb. 5th, 2017 10:54 amSomehow I got onto whitehouse.gov's e-mail list, and my first e-mail from the Trump administration asks me to sign a petition supporting Justice Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court.
The e-mail includes this bit: "Judge Neil Gorsuch follows the same principled approach espoused by Justice Scalia. He carefully applies the statuary text and he follows the Constitution’s original meaning."
Seriously -- "statuary text"? I've heard of people viewing the law as an edifice, or as graven in stone, or as fixed and unmoving, but not literally as a statue.
The e-mail includes this bit: "Judge Neil Gorsuch follows the same principled approach espoused by Justice Scalia. He carefully applies the statuary text and he follows the Constitution’s original meaning."
Seriously -- "statuary text"? I've heard of people viewing the law as an edifice, or as graven in stone, or as fixed and unmoving, but not literally as a statue.
Immigration, Swedish style
Feb. 1st, 2017 07:39 amWe can all use
a note of humor regarding immigration policy....
a note of humor regarding immigration policy....
Dream journal
Nov. 1st, 2016 06:27 amThe teenaged female tomboy protagonist decided for some reason that a particular physical-fitness video game was her route to social acceptance. Determined to get really good at the game, she asked around on social media for exercises and challenges, and somebody suggested "for each level, pick a target number of points, and try to get as close to that number of points as possible, neither over nor under."
This is so 21st-century: rather than work hard to get actually physically fit, she works hard to get good at a video game about physical fitness.
This is so 21st-century: rather than work hard to get actually physically fit, she works hard to get good at a video game about physical fitness.
security theater
Nov. 20th, 2015 07:03 amFollowing up on David Friedman's post...
The Paris attacks left us all concerned about a similar terrorist attack happening to us, and wondering what we can do to prevent it. Let's look at the data. Almost all the attackers in the Paris attacks were either French or Belgian citizens, so we should certainly regard French and Belgian citizens trying to enter this country with extra scrutiny. And of the terrorist attacks that have actually taken place on U.S. soil, the vast majority were committed by U.S. citizens, so we should be especially cautious about allowing U.S. citizens to enter the U.S.
In fact, to be really safe we should kick everybody out of the country and only allow them back in one at a time after a thorough individual background check. Who will conduct this background check, I'm not sure....
The Paris attacks left us all concerned about a similar terrorist attack happening to us, and wondering what we can do to prevent it. Let's look at the data. Almost all the attackers in the Paris attacks were either French or Belgian citizens, so we should certainly regard French and Belgian citizens trying to enter this country with extra scrutiny. And of the terrorist attacks that have actually taken place on U.S. soil, the vast majority were committed by U.S. citizens, so we should be especially cautious about allowing U.S. citizens to enter the U.S.
In fact, to be really safe we should kick everybody out of the country and only allow them back in one at a time after a thorough individual background check. Who will conduct this background check, I'm not sure....
(no subject)
Sep. 3rd, 2014 08:16 amFrom the New York Times:
Robert L. Livingston resigned in scandal in 1998 just days before he was set to take over the House speakership. Now, as a prominent Washington lobbyist, he said he was advising [new majority whip] Mr. Scalise on policy and leadership issues.
“He doesn’t ask for it,” Mr. Livingston said of his advice. “I volunteer it.”
Such selflessness! Who ever heard of a Washington lobbyist volunteering his advice, free of charge, to a Congressional leader? That's the kind of civic-mindedness that America needs more of.
mis-heard lyrics
Jun. 29th, 2014 10:10 amWe're all familiar with "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy," "There's a bathroom on the right," "You're a mahogany tree, babe," and the like. This morning on our favorite folkie-singer-songwriter station was a song with a country-western vibe whose chorus tag-line seemed to be "She's a mixed up meshugginah girl". On further listening, I concluded it was really "She's a mixed up, mixed up sugar girl," which actually makes LESS sense than the mis-heard version.
I'm not sure if I've already posted this one...
( picture from a five-and-dime store )
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
Things that make you go "huh?"
Sep. 17th, 2012 08:19 am( picture )
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
