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So Much For Nostalgia

So much for nostalgia. Lately I’ve run across a few—admittedly very few—CDs that glitch out when played on my vintage player that I was gushing over a few short weeks ago. (Honestly, with everything going on in the world should I be surprised?)

So I hauled out the Yamaha player I bought new in 2023, and of course it played anything I threw at it. I prefer the looks of the older Yamaha, but what I really prefer is that whatever unit I use works.

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Apologies

I know a few of you are having difficulties with the site loading.  I’ve been working with my provider, but they’ve been unable to track down the problem. It takes upwards of 30 seconds for my WordPress editor to just come up. So I feel your pain.

I went ahead and increased my storage allotment by 50GB, thinking this will remove some of the bottleneck, but so far its had no effect.

I don’t know what to do other than to try and find another host, or wipe the site and start fresh, neither option being ideal…

The fact that this shit isn’t working comes as no surprise, considering the entire world is falling apart around us.

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Midweek Tiedrich

barely a day goes by when America’s Mad King — or a member of his royal court — doesn’t find some new way to cordially invite We the People to go fuck ourselves.

this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. not one thing any of these goniffs do makes us safer, or healthier, or more financially secure. it’s been that way since day one, and it will remain that way until every last one of these thieving bastards is finally removed from power.

what is surprising, however, is when one of these shit-sticks admits it.

which brings us to today’s Exhibit A: White House Energy Vampire Colin Robinson Kevin Hassett.

let’s watch in astonishment as Colin Robinson Kevin Hassett actually says the quiet part out loud.

“if [the war] were to be extended, it wouldn’t really disrupt the US economy very much at all. it would hurt consumers, and we’d have to think about what we’d have to do about that, but that’s really the last of our concerns right now.”

there it is — Colin Robinson Kevin Hassett gives away the whole game right there in those last few words.

helping consumers who are hurting is ‘really the last of our concerns right now.’

no fucking shit, Sherlock, we’ve noticed. everything Donny does is for the benefit of himself, and his gazillionaire cronies. are you a tech bro, or a media baron, or an oil magnate, or a crypto scammer? awesome, you get a seat a the table. try not to let the Space Nazi bother you. he’s higher than a fucking kite right now.

are you a consumer, struggling to make ends meet as the price of goods and services skyrockets? well, then fuck you. you don’t get a doll.

do you think Colin Robinson Kevin Hassett even takes notice of the price of gas? absolutely fucking not, he’s got a driver whose job it is to keep the limo’s tank full.

every time one of Donny’s dipshits opens their mouths, they practically write a Democratic campaign ad. it’s a fact that’s not lost on California Rep. Ted Lieu.

“I’m going to quote for you what the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, said on national TV. he said that hurting consumers is, quote, the last of our concerns.’ so I want the White House to send Kevin Hassett to every single TV channel and to every single swing House district where he can tell the voters of America that hurting consumers is, quote, ‘the last of their concerns.’”

word.

by the way — have you noticed that every time Colin Robinson Kevin Hassett is on TV, rain or shine, he’s standing on the grounds in front of the White House?

I shit you not, check it out:

do you know why that is? it’s because Colin Robinson Kevin Hassett is indeed an energy vampire, and that’s the thing about vampires: you have to invite them in. otherwise, they have to remain outside. don’t ask me what that’s all about, I don’t make the rules.

Holy Mike Johnson can’t help but mumble the quiet part out loud, either.

reporter: “can you give one example of fraud in a previous election that the SAVE America Act would stop?”

Holy Mike: “look, we’re not gonna litigate all that.”

god bless the reporter who asked that question, because it really cuts to the heart of the matter: this fucked-up election-rigging SAVE Act will do nothing to prevent election fraud — because election fraud is not a problem. there is virtually no ‘election fraud’ in America. it’s a rounding error away from zero. Donny has been convicted of more felonies than there have been proven cases of ‘election fraud.’

every reporter needs to be asking every Republican the same question Holy Mike couldn’t answer.

now it’s Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s turn to say the quiet part out loud.

the SAVE Act is in the Senate now, where it seemingly has a snowball’s chance of passing — because there just aren’t 60 votes in favor of it.

the MAGAsphere is screaming at Thune right now to shitcan the filibuster, so the SAVE Act can pass— but Thune’s got a good reason for not nuking the filibuster, and he’s not ashamed to admit it.

“throughout history, it has protected Republicans and conservative priorities and principles a lot more often than it has protected Democrats.”

it’s true. Republicans have perfected the art of using the filibuster to block any legislation that would improve the lives of We the People.

isn’t that right, Glitch McConnell?

Glitch? hello, are you there?

as for Little Donny No-Filters, there’s no such thing as the quiet part.he’s just a lizard brain-stem hard-wired to a set of vocal cords that talk first and think never.

it’s taken Donny only 48 hours go from ‘someone please help me win this war’ to ‘everybody’s coming to help me win this war’ to ‘fuck you, I don’t need anyone’s help to win this war.’

Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

that is hysterical. not one of our allies wants to bail Donny out of his disastrous Operation Epic Bed-Shit, and the sudden realization of it is causing him to him melt all the way down. he’s like a child going ballistic because he just found out he didn’t get invited to a birthday party.

YOU CAN ALL GO FUCK YOURSELVES, BECAUSE DONNY NEVER WANTED YOUR HELP IN THE FIRST PLACE.

fuck you, NATO — you don’t get a doll.

fuck you, too, Japan — no doll for you. same deal, Australia and South Korea. you all fucking suck, and nobody gets a doll.

who know who else doesn’t get a doll? Ireland.

reporter: “the Irish president has said your war against Iran is illegal and an attack on international law.”

Donny: “who said that?”

reporter: “the Irish president.”

Donny: “look, he’s lucky I exist. that’s all I can say.”

he?

Donny has no idea that the President of Ireland is a woman, Catherine Connolly.

Donny doesn’t know shit about shit — and he doesn’t care. he never does the reading, never prepares, and has the attention span of a coked-up squirrel.

he’s an embarrassment to his country — and to the entire world — every single day of his shithole presidency.

but at least the ignorant fuck wore a nice green tie on St. Patrick’s Day. so there’s that.

which bring us quite smoothly to our heroes of the day: the good people of Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland, who put the Dead Pedo Bestie Files front and center during their St. Patrick’s Day parade.

fuck, yeah — let’s gif that shit for posterity’s sake.

this is going to be my closing message for the foreseeable future:

practice self-care. do what you need to do to keep sane. if that means you need to disengage with my daily posts for a while, I get it. this community of ours will still be here when you return.

to all the people who have signed on in the days since the election, welcome aboard. settle in as we all try to deal with the shitfuckery that’s ahead of us.

we are all in this together, and we are all here for each other.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

A little splash of emerald magic in the middle of a Chicago! 🍀

Each year, during the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the river running through Chicago transforms into a ribbon of Emerald green. The tradition began in 1962, when members of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local 130 figured out a way to use a special dye to color the water as a tribute to the city’s proud Irish roots.

The color only lasts a few hours, but the spectacle feels like a bit of playful urban alchemy. Boats pause, crowds lean over the bridges, cameras flash, and suddenly the river looks like it wandered out of a Celtic legend.

Today the dyeing is one of the highlights of Chicago’s massive St. Patrick’s celebrations, right alongside the parade and the sea of green hats, scarves, and laughter that fills the streets.

A river turned shamrock. Not bad for a Saturday morning tradition. ☘️✨

Happy St. Patrick’s Day & May the luck of the Irish be with you.☘️😉☘️
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I Rather Like This One

…although I do have to ask who is that skinny old man, and why is he following me around in mirrors?

I’ve been overweight for most of my adult life. That’s why seeing myself like this is more than a bit of a shock. I’m currently about 5 lbs. more than I was in 1980 (22 years old) when I moved out of my parents’ house and into my first apartment. How do I know that? It’s because I bought a digital bathroom scale (it was the future, baby!) and the number that flashed on its blue fluorescent display is forever burned into my memory. Right now my goal is to simply maintain this weight and not lose any more.

Last night as I was drifting off to sleep, I was listening to Forever by Flight Facilities, and the last thing I remember was the song Heavy. I was suddenly  the young man above, vibrant and full of energy, dancing and twirling to the beat. I felt the wind blowing in my hair and it was wonderful.

I may be an old fart whose body is seemingly disintegrating around me now, but that young man still lives inside.

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Further Praise For The Humble Compact Disc

I was chatting with my friend Ken earlier today about our mutually-shared passion for hifi equipment (he was the one who got me hooked on all this shit back when we were in high school), and after him sending me some reviews for impossibly high-end equipment (including the latest Technics turntable), I remarked that since I’ve gotten back into CDs and MiniDiscs over the past couple years, despite my huge vinyl collection, I’ve played maybe two records in that entire time—and that was to dub the records onto MD.

As the discussion progressed, I went on to say that even though I rationally understand how optical digital media works, to this day I’m still amazed that it does at all—especially when considering the level of precision engineering and miniturization  that went into MiniDisc equipment. It’s no wonder that in my nerd world I still sit back in wonder whenever I put on one of those shiny discs and music comes out the other end.

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This Is How Far We’ve Fallen As A Country

What happened to our “Can-Do” attitude?

What if one of America’s boldest “new” ideas for affordable housing was hiding in plain sight…in a 1930s suburb outside Cincinnati? Meet Greenhills, Ohio – a New Deal–era “greenbelt town” dreamed up during the Great Depression (construction started in ‘35 and residents moved in ‘38) as a federal experiment in healthier, lower‑cost living for working families…as part of a resettlement effort, Greenhills was one of only three model communities (Greenbelt, MD and Greendale, WI) built by the U.S. government to test whether good design, green space, and modest rents could tackle overcrowding and slum conditions in nearby cities…curving streets, superblocks, and shared courtyards pulled homes away from traffic…simple brick and stucco rowhouses, duplexes, and houses face parks instead of parking…the idea was radical and controversial: community first, cars second…rents were set to be affordable to working‑class households, but what residents “bought” went far beyond four walls…they got walkable access to schools, shops, recreation, and lots of open space…housing policy, urban design, and public health were all baked into the ideals of Greenbelts and the Greenhills plan…today, Greenhills is a National Historic Landmark and a case study in both the promise and fragility of design‑driven affordability, and early housing policy rooted in segregation and discrimination…in the past 10 years a struggle has emerged over those that want to keep it as originally designed and others that support demolition and redevelopment…housing—especially affordable housing—is a constant challenge, now and in the 1930s.

[source]

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PSA

If you are over 55, in the name of all that is holy, GET A FLU SHOT.

As I mentioned in my post from a week ago, Ben brought the flu home and graciously shared it with me. Last fall when I started seeing the ads for flu shots I thought “I really need to schedule mine,” but with everything else going on in our lives at the moment, we both kept pushing it off, and we’ve now both paid the price—me especially. (Ben is more or less back to normal at this point.)

I’ve been in the hospital since Tuesday. That morning I started hacking up stuff whose description is best left to the imagination and my O2 sats were under 90%, so together we ran over to Urgent Care. The doctor took one listen to my lungs and said, “You need to go to the ER immediately.”

So we ran over to the same hospital where I’ve had everything else done over the past year. To their credit, I was whisked immediately back and put in an isolation room and after meeting with a doctor, treatment was started. I stayed there for the next THIRTY EIGHT HOURS while waiting for a room to become available upstairs.

It seems my flu had morphed into bacterial pneumonia which—as we all know for people over a certain age—is a very dangerous thing to acquire. Since Tuesday I’ve been on some heavy duty IV antibiotics, multiple bdaily reathing treatments, and supplemental oxygen. I’m supposedly well enough to be sent home later today (with an oxygen concentrator to use as needed). Normally I’d be champing at the bit to go home, but as my Nurse Practitioner friend so succinctly put it, “You’re in the safest place you could be right now.”

So…if you’re an old fart, don’t ever forget that yearly flu shot. After all this, going forward I know I won’t.

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Taking A Break

Been under the weather for the last 48, and the last thing I want to do is be online. Don’t know if it’s the flu that Ben dragged home with him or a reaction to my latest infusion last Wednesday. The symptoms are similar so the timing was unfortunate. ​I’ve been camped out on the couch watching yard care, home renovation, stereo component repair, and Japanese ferry videos, and avoiding any and all mentions of the orange felon—because I just don’t need that in my life right now.