Thumthin’ for Thursday

Cross-posted from Really? Seriously?

Good morning from my Hunker-Bunker overlooking this spectacular view of the Puget Sound last night. Still wonder why I live in Seattle? It certainly isn’t the people, that’s for sure. People are the greatest source of disappointment for me.

I’d like to claim this view as my own, but I took it from the deck of my neighbor across the street. I have this tree in front of my place that blocks my NW view.

I was thinking about doing some more “Spring cleaning” around the Hunker-Bunker. I’ve been wanting to do a “dump run” for weeks now, but have been too lazy to load the barely functioning pick-em-up. It needs a new ignition switch because some homeless cunt punched the ignition and tried stealing it a while back. (Hard to steal if you don’t know where the battery kill switch is) Maybe I will fix the ignition switch today… Who knows?

The news is just more of the depressing same crap. Trump this, and Biden that. Israel this and the rest of the world that. Some butthurt here, some butthurt there. China is “punishing” its neighbors by holding military drills, Putin is talking nuclear threats, and the US is going to allow Ukraine to send missiles into Russia.

Let’s get on with the news, such as it is.

Headlines That Caught My Eye This Morning

Item 1: Anger Does a Lot More Damage to Your Body Than You Realize

I’ve been noticing this a lot lately. If I get angry enough to get agitated, I can physically feel it as pain. Especially driving around Seattle almost invites rage. If vehicles had elbows, it would be like driving in a roller derby. I was recently run off the road in front of the police station by some idiot for Texas driving a car with dents all over it. Driving like it was a bumper car at an amusement park. I wanted to chase him down, yank his ass out of the car and beat him into a bloody pulp with my bare hands. The disconnect between what the brain wants and what the body can or will deliver is permanent at his point. You can fire the neurons but it will hit a faulty receptor sending an error message to the body itself as a reminder that you are no longer a young warrior buck.

In my case, this usually manifests itself into a general muscle and/or organ cramp that can last anywhere from a minute to an hour.

I’ve been learning to choose a different emotion.

Item 2: Another Provocative Flag Was Flown at Another Alito Home

The last I looked, Alito is a private citizen, and as such is allowed to have and communicate his own personal views. He is allowed to fly his freak flags — as long as they comport to the local HOA, of course. Should we freak out if a judge or justice has a Biden or Trump sticker on the bumper of their car? How about a yard sign? No, of course not.

But should they recuse themselves from cases involving their widely publicized views?

Item 3: The Washington Post Tells Staff It’s Pivoting to AI

Democracy Dies in Darkness

That’s their current tagline. I wonder what they will change it to once democracy dies.

Item 4: THIRTEEN conservative counties in Oregon approve ballot measures for SECESSION vote that would see them join non-woke Idaho – as they issue list of demands

I’d secede from Oregon too — and I don’t live there. If it were up to me, I’d blow up both bridges over the Columbia River to keep Oregonians out.

Item 5: Second human case of bird flu linked to dairy cows found in Michigan

Have we tried blood letting yet?

Item 6: Nikki Haley says she’ll vote for Trump, notwithstanding ‘birdbrain’ insult

If Nikki Haley wants to live to fight another day — like in 2028 — she has to get back in line now.

Item 7: ‘The Apprentice’ director shrugs off threat of Trump lawsuit over explosive Cannes biopic

“Inspired by true events“, or “Based on true events“. Historical figures and events often show up in fictional stories. Sometimes the author is true to the events, often they will take ‘artistic license’ with the facts. Similar to the new arguments about black character remakes. Soon we may have a black Batman and some people will lose their friggin’ minds. Someone might even sue.

Isn’t there a Biden movie or an Obama movie out there? I seem to remember a John Kerry movie.

Am I going to watch this thing? I can’t say I will never watch it, but I can say, right now, in this time and space, that I have no intention of watching it. It’s just something that doesn’t interest me. Unless they include time travel. THEN I would watch it.

Item 8: Netanyahu’s Warning to US Leaders: ‘You’re Next’

This is almost always the response of someone in a position of power being threatened with accountability. If our US leaders need to be held accountable, then they should be. The question is, WHO or WHAT does that accountability audit? What if OUR accountability procedure is broken?

Item 9: OpenAI didn’t copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT, records show

As long as the voice was provided from someone else, and/or the voice wasn’t being identified as Scarlett Johansson’s voice, then I don’t see the problem. I am sure there are thousands of people who could naturally talk like Scarlett Johannsson. Apparently OpenAI found one of them.

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What In The Hell Did I Just Watch?

Outlander – Starz

I’ve finally reached season 7 of Outlander. I just found out that season 8 will be out around the end of this year, beginning of next. It will be the final season.

I love time travel stories, mixed with real, historical events involving fictional characters such as these. And Scottish Highlander to boot? Now there’s MY idea of good entertainment.

I do have one personal “complaint”. I wish the sex scenes were a bit shorter, and less … boring. They take about three minutes each, and there seems to be a minimum of five of these scenes every episode, so they are basically wasting fifteen minutes to drag the story out. It seems like they fuck every time they get into a pickle. The house is burning down and they have found some nook to fuck in first before they get out…

I get it: the books this story was base on were basically a series of high-end historical romance novels. With the emphasis on romance. Good thing I can fast forward through some of those longer scenes.