"In a democracy (‘rule by mob’), those who refuse to learn from history will be the majority and will dictate that everyone else suffer for their ignorance."
Yep. That’s what Speedtest.net reported on my connection via Mediacom cable. Problem with that is that the Speedtest site took two tries to load. Timed out after a minute, then too almost another minute to load. After that it was able to report what is shown above.
Wonky, eh? That’s Mediacom. It was much better before recent “improvements.” Of course.
*sigh* This sort of thing used to baffle me, until I realized just how woefully subliterate (in general and especially historically) more and more people are nowadays. From a book blurb (for a book probably best avoided):
“. . . a cop finds a trove of ancient documents that may — or may not — be an undiscovered Shakespeare play. . .”
“Ancient,” used in reference to historical documents, almost always refers to Classical Antiquity — ancient Greece, Rome or the Middle East, etc. Sometimes it is loosely used in reference to medieval and earlier times, mostly by folks who are only moderately aware historically.
Shakespearean manuscripts could not be considered “ancient” by even the loosest, least meaningful sense of the term, since Shakespeare died just under 500 years ago, smack in the middle of the Renaissance.
Since these book blurbs for self-pub books are most often written by the “authors,” I’d say giving this book a pass might just be a sensible time saver.
. . .to be entertained by the pathetic behavior of some folks who have chosen The Way of Self-Enstupiation?
Sample: those folks who (apparently) cannot distinguish between accuracy in labeling, name-calling (which is actually, IMO, quite often appropriate when justifiably ridiculing someone who has drawn a target on their own back), and ad hominem fallacy. Those who lump these categories together indiscriminately rarely do so because of innate stupidity and laziness; no, it is usually because of hard-earned, willful stupidity and laziness that they do so.
Such folks may get one, two or three strikes from me, but quite soon my patience runs out and I begin giving them their due: guffaws and raucous ridicule, just about the only sort of criticism that can reach the self-enstupiated. Is such effective in ameliorating their behavior? No, not usually, but it does usually result in reactions that are just as stupid and intellectually lazy as the behavior that spurred the ridicule, and that’s amusing. Gives me more to mock.
Is that wrong? If so, I DGARA. It’s entertaining, and that’s about the best that can come from interactions with the self-enstupiated.
The responsible recreational smoker of marijuana will smoke with a plastic bag over his head and tied around his neck.
Thatisall.
Yeh, I know, “stupid” is redundant, right?
“The Broncos authored one of the greatest defensive performances in Super Bowl history. . . ”
Authored?
#gagamaggot
Sometimes, when I say “I DGARA” (and I have been known to do so), it’s not because I’m stingy; it’s because I really do not have a rat’s patootie to give.
Thatisall.
Every now and then, this just seems appropriate. . .
As poets have mournfully sung,
Death takes the innocent young,
The rolling-in-money,
The screamingly funny,
And those who are very well hung
–W.H., Auden
(Well, , if this is true, _I_ certainly ought to live forever.)
When Roger Simon wrote, “We don’t need elegant words, Republican John Kerry’s slavering all over us with diplospeak” in a recent column, I thought to meself, “Self, that would read much better with ‘dildospeak’ than ‘diplospeak.'”
Thatisall.
So, backtracking Sean Penn’s movements during his clandestine meeting with “El Chapo” Guzman, infamous Mexican “drug lord,” led Mexican authorities to finally REcapture Guzman. Again. Now, Mexican law enforcement is investigating/mulling over the criminality of Penn’s acts.
But wait! There’s more!
The U.S. has filed an extradition request with Mexico for Guzman to stand trial for crimes committed in the U.S. And Mexico has already said the request meets the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Mexico. Oh, why not? Mexico can’t seem to keep Guzman in prison (he’s escaped, what, three times?). Maybe the U.S. can.
But wait! There’s more!
Remember? Mexico ? investigating Penn’s acts? Imagine a prisoner swap: Guzman for Penn. Mexico trades a murderous head of a drug cartel for Sean Penn (’nuff said). We win that exchange.
As even ESPN Podperson, Dan Szymborski, notes, “Only Sean Penn can interview a murdering drug kingpin and somehow come off looking like the douchebag of the piece.”
Ah, a night of Elementary reruns to look forward to: actors mumbling dialog at high rates of speed combined with “atmo music” designed cover the mumbles.
Nah. This Old House reruns are better. (Damning TOH with faint praise.)
Homeowner on TOH detailing a problem resulting from ice-damming: “Water came pouring out and just wouldn’t stop! It was like a quart of water!”
So, it did pour, briefly, and then stop, and the leak referred to resulted in a whole quart of water! A QUART! *yawn*
I love this show. I watch for a while and don’t feel quite so badly about my own stupid stuff. *heh*