Sunday, December 31, 2023

happy Hogmanay

 


Formally, the last day of the old year. More loosely, the entire period consisting of the last few days of the old year and the first few days of the new year. Tall, dark and handsome"First-footer" brings good fortune crossing the January 1st doorway threshold first carrying lumps of coal, which is a good fortune warm house symbol for the next year. Shortbread or cake also symbolizes no hunger in the coming year. Cadbury is too luxury for Presbyterians.

Saturday, December 30, 2023

mission: to serve mankind well

 


"I do not mistrust the future."
- Benjamin Harrison [1833-1901]

Friday, December 29, 2023

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Sunday, December 24, 2023

the german catastrophe

 

Better educated [e.g. 11 national daily newspapers], the highest intermarriage rate between Jews and non-Jews, and yet a quick collective coma.

Friday, December 22, 2023

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

the most inbred of all royals

 



Charles II's [1661-1700] family tree here.

spinoff

 

Sunday, December 17, 2023

half century reassessment



CBS provides intermittent video access.

human doctor

 


In the oath, the physician pledges to prescribe only beneficial treatments, according to his abilities and judgment; to refrain from causing harm or hurt; and to live an exemplary personal and professional life.

Zuckerbunker



"Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building a sprawling $100 million Hawaii compound — complete with an underground bunker and its own food and energy sources — in a secret project suggesting the social media mogul is trying to conceal his doomsday preparations."

Full story here.

Saturday, December 16, 2023

brew trillions

 

Friday, December 15, 2023

to boldly go ...


 Walter Isaacson boils down his recent Musk biography here.

Saturday, December 9, 2023

Friday, December 8, 2023

folk rock


 Michael Stipe [born 1960] updates us here.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Friday, December 1, 2023

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

tough


 
In 1953, Charlie Munger was 29 years old. Recently divorced. Lost the house. Huge social stigma of divorce back then. His 8-year-old son, Teddy, was diagnosed with cancer. The leukemia was incurable. No medical insurance - Munger paid for all his medical care. Charlie would visit Teddy in the hospital every day -- and then walk the streets crying. Teddy died at the age of 9. Charlie was broke, divorced and just lost his child. 99.9% of people would've turned to alcohol, drugs, or suicide. (And you'd understand why) Munger never did. Fast forward to 52 years old, a failed surgery left him blind in one eye with the potential of going fully blind one day. Charlie was an obsessive learner who read every book he could get his hands on. When confronted with the possibility of going blind and no longer being able to read he said: "It's time for me to learn braille!" The only thing that might be more impressive than his intellect was his actions. RIP.
  --------- Munger on Self-Pity:
Generally speaking, envy, resentment, revenge, and self-pity are disastrous modes of thought.
Self-pity gets pretty close to paranoia…
Every time you find your drifting into self-pity, I don’t care what the cause, your child could be dying from cancer, self-pity is not going to improve the situation. It’s a ridiculous way to behave.
Life will have terrible blows, horrible blows, unfair blows, it doesn’t matter. Some people recover and others don’t.
There I think the attitude of Epictetus is the best. He thought that every mischance in life was an opportunity to behave well. Every mischance in life was an opportunity to learn something and that your duty was not to be immersed in self-pity, but to utilize the terrible blow in a constructive fashion. That is a very good idea.

hierarchy of needs

 

Monday, November 27, 2023

fortune can be ephemeral


He has a big mortgage on Robbie Robertson's former LA area residence. 

former White House nuclear analyst

La Grande Armée

 

Sunday, November 26, 2023

captured 19th century Paris nightlife


"I have tried to do what is true and not ideal."

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Friday, November 24, 2023

cartography

 

Thursday, November 23, 2023

zebra stripe consumers

 

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

"Dr. Love"



"Change is the end result of all true learning."
– Leo Buscaglia [1924-1998]

Monday, November 20, 2023

problem solver


"When there's a person, there's a problem. When there's no person, there's no problem.”
- Josef Stalin [1878-1953]

explosion


"In 1970 there were 40 comics and 8 were good. By 1980 there were 40,000 comics and 8 were good."
- Jerry Seinfeld [b 1954]

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Oenophile

Friday, November 17, 2023

Monday, November 13, 2023

who needs a drink

 

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Saturday, November 11, 2023

friendly sign


Laughter predates language by 1 million years.

rivalry

 


"Everybody loves success, but they hate successful people."
- John McEnroe [born 1959]

why watches can be expensive

 

Friday, November 10, 2023

considered a loser

 


Leonardo da Vinci [1452-1519] was considered a "misfit" until he completed the Last Supper in his late 40s/early 50s.  

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

freak out


 "When someone has nothing to lose, they lose it."

Friday, November 3, 2023

standing out so as to be clearly visible

 


Rolex Sky-Dweller $50,450

"The point of a Rolex isn't to tell you the time. It's to tell others what time it is."

Thursday, November 2, 2023

set em up joe

 

taking pleasure in the misfortune of others


"It's not enough to succeed. Others must fail."
- Gore Vidal

why some hate you

 

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

"father of liberalism"



"What worries you, masters you."
John Locke [1632-1704]

150k waiting list

Monday, October 30, 2023

off the rack

Thursday, October 26, 2023

alpha dog

Monday, October 23, 2023

'Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs! '

 

internal mythology


"There are only three great institutions left in the world: the marines, the Catholic Church and McKinsey,"

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Monday, October 16, 2023

From Jesus to Christ

-------------

Friday, October 13, 2023

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Saturday, October 7, 2023

an elephant's life


18 hours per day eating.

There are three primary species of elephants:

African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana):Adult males (bulls) can typically reach a shoulder height of 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4 meters).
They can weigh between 10,000 and 13,000 pounds (4,500 to 6,000 kilograms).


African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis):These elephants are slightly smaller than their bush elephant relatives.
Adult males may reach a shoulder height of around 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters).


Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus):Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants.
Adult males can reach a shoulder height of 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters).
They typically weigh between 5,000 and 11,000 pounds (2,300 to 5,000 kilograms).

Thursday, October 5, 2023

so sneaky

 

Monday, October 2, 2023

Weasel



Hobson's Choice: illusory that multiple options are available.

Sunday, October 1, 2023

a place to eat in London

 

Saturday, September 30, 2023

How do you eat an elephant?


 One bite at a time.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

loathing


The Day of the Jackal here.

Thursday, September 21, 2023

on directing


"Find your marks, say a few lines."
- Clint Eastwood [born 1930]

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

live Las Vegas web cam

 

【LIVE】 Las Vegas Sphere | SkylineWebcams

Sunday, September 17, 2023

vocatus


"Oliver Reed died from a heart attack during a break from filming Gladiator in Valletta, Malta, on the afternoon of 2 May 1999. According to Gladiator screenwriter David Franzoni, Reed had encountered a group of sailors on shore leave from British frigate HMS Cumberland in a bar, and challenged them to a drinking match." He consumed 8 pints of beer, 3 bottles of rum and about a dozen whiskeys.

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Friday, September 15, 2023

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Saturday, September 9, 2023

proportional sensitivity

 


Penfield's Homonculus:  a 'grotesque creature' with large lips and hands and small trunk and legs depicting the representation of body-parts within the primary somatosensory cortex,


 

Saturday, September 2, 2023

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Sunday, August 27, 2023

or inferior



"Don't be better than you are."
- Eric Neumann [1905-1960]

90 years old with no end in sight

 


"If you slow down, you go down."
- Willie Nelson [born 1933]

Thursday, August 24, 2023

1941

 




Joel Cairo : 

 I certainly wish you would have invented a more reasonable story. I felt distinctly like an idiot repeating it.

dogs welcome

 


https://cypress-inn.com/

Monday, August 14, 2023

vital fluid



"Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you're donating blood.”
– Bill Murray [born 1950]

not living in the moment


"I prepare for the future every day."
- Chris Bianco, New York restauranteur post Covid

Sunday, August 13, 2023

the most famous unknown artist of our time

routine

 

In a standard night out, Andre drank 32 pitchers of beer and was unaffected.

Friday, August 11, 2023

Buddhist art

 

played for the glory of God

 

 


J.S. Bach [1685-1750]

Thursday, August 10, 2023

secular humanist

 


Ludwig van Beethoven [1770-1827]

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

where the elite meet to eat


 https://orsorestaurant.com/

attributes success to luck

 


"I had a harder time getting a waiter job than I experienced breaking into the film industry."
- Tim Burton [born 1958]

Harvard life

 

Monday, August 7, 2023

Psycho writer


"The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on."
Robert Bloch [1917-1994]

throw down

 

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Lord of Saltwood

 


"Courtesy is the foundation of civilization."
- Kenneth Clark [1903-1983]

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

comedy chronicle

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Saturday, July 15, 2023

Thursday, July 13, 2023

why you're hated

 Because they feel inferior to you:

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Saturday, June 24, 2023

friction and fog



"Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult. These difficulties accumulate and produce a friction which no man can imagine exactly who has not seen war."
- Karl von Clausewitz [1780-1831]

Friday, June 23, 2023

wanted to nuke China

 


"You're remembered for the rules you broke."

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

take the day by the throat and shake it.




"Never trust people who smile constantly. They're either selling something or not very bright."
– Laurell K. Hamilton [born 1963]

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Saturday, June 10, 2023

you think you have problems?

 Part 1

 

Part 2

 

Friday, June 9, 2023

comps go for 10x


 

For $225 by this small Detroit watch maker here.

formerly of Orange County Choppers


 Rick Petko now makes knives here.