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Happy Weekend Widdershins!
Suspicion and paranoia (?) seem to be ruling the W.H. these days.
Trump, according to Comey, was fixated on the “pee-pee tape” thing to the point of asking Comey to investigate it so that Melania would be reassured it didn’t happen. Personally I could see it happening despite tRump’s protestations that he’s a “germophobe”. His hatred of Obama is so strong that I could see him wanting to watch two hookers urinate on the bed that Obama and Michelle slept on in that room.
There’s his fixation on the 2016 election and the electoral college. It’s been more than a year since he
Trust no one
became (ahem) President yet he keeps babbling on and on about it. And then of course there is “Russia, Russia, Russia” and “no collusion”. Add in his fixations with Sessions, Rosenstein and Mueller, plus the possibility that Michael Cohen might flip and the guy truly trusts no one.
So…let’s take a look at some songs about suspicions and add in a dash or two of paranoia. Of course your contributions are welcomed.
(1) Suspicious Look In Your Eyes~The Hollies
(2) Gonna Be More Suspicious~Robin Trower
(3) Different Finger~Elvis Costello
(4) P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)~George Harrison
(5) Another Town~Keith Whitley
“Somehow I’m a little bit suspicious in my mind”
(6) Paranoid~Black Sabbath
There ya go Widdershins – six songs of suspicion and paranoia.
Open thread and your contributions are welcomed and appreciated.
Busy Weekend/Short Post
Posted on: April 15, 2018
- In: lazy weekend | Odd News | Open Thread | You Tube
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GOOD SUNDAY TO YOU WIDDERSHINS!
As I said in the comments to DYB’s post, I’ll be busy this weekend doing my taxes and getting ready to send the forms and money to the I.R.S.
Nevertheless, I have a couple of funny or amusing, or sad stories for y’all.
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This first one comes from…Floriduh and concerns a new high-speed rail line that runs between Miami through Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm Beach. This is a private rail line that provides the service. It seems however that people there can’t seem to be able to…well…stay away from the tracks. (It appears that one of these cases may have been a suicide)
Sunday’s victim was the fourth person to be struck and killed by a high-speed train since service began in January. Among the other deaths: a 51-year-old man on a bicycle, and a 32-year-old woman, both of whom tried and failed to beat oncoming trains after the gates had lowered, police told the Palm Beach Post.
Honestly, I have never understood this “trying to beat the gates” thing that folks do around trains.
Patrick Goddard, Brightline’s COO and president, said in January that the company was working with transportation officials to raise awareness about the train/
“We implore the public to be patient and not circumvent the safety devices in place to keep you safe,” Goddard said. “Your life is worth more than waiting a few extra seconds for a train to pass.”
As I said, I don’t get it with the awareness thing. It’s a train. Those are tracks. In this case the train goes real fast. Don’t argue with the train.
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Okay this next one is truly amusing.
So you think you’re being a whole lot safer and “cleaner” by using those hand air dryers in the restrooms? Well, think again.
A study done by the University of Connecticut School of Medicine found that nope, that’s not true.
It turns out that those dryers in the bathrooms will help to spread around bacteria in those bathrooms.
Scientists comparing normal bathroom air to that blasted from hand dryer nozzles have found far more bacterial colonies develop in samples exposed to the latter. The results were published this month in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
And what type of bacteria do we find in bathrooms? (Need you really ask?)
“Bacteria in bathrooms will come from feces, which can be aerosolized a bit when toilets, especially lidless toilets, are flushed,” study author Peter Setlow told Newsweek. The simple movement of lots of people in and out of the bathroom, shedding microbes from their skin, he said, adds to the messy picture.
Hand dryers suck up bathroom air and spew it out at speed. So, in the brief moments your hands rest below the nozzle, they’ll be exposed to far more air than usual—and far more bacteria.
So what’s the solution?
For now, Setlow (the study’s author) is sticking to paper towels—as is the University of Connecticut, which has added them to all 36 bathrooms surveyed in the study.
Lastly, since I’m working on taxes, here’s a very old Top Ten List from David Letterman on Top Ten Ways To Annoy An IRS Agent.
Open thread for this, of course.
- In: Open Thread | Politicians | Politics | Republicans | Trump
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Good Wednesday Widdershins!
(NOTE: It’s difficult as hell to write a post a few days ahead and attempt to have the topic be timely. Ya just can’t keep up with this stuff)
Our madamab is once again traveling and as they say on the teevee “on assignment” so I’m stepping here to lend a hand.
In some of my online readings a few days ago I stumbled upon this piece in Politico which, as the saying goes, left me gobsmacked. In essence the piece says that according to a poll conducted by Monmouth University, more than three fourths of the respondents contacted said they believe that the “major news outlets” report “fake news”. Heavens-to-Betsy! I am so sick of hearing that phrase fake news.
From the Politico piece concerning the poll respondents said:
they believe that major traditional television and newspaper media outlets report “fake news,” according to a Monmouth University poll released Monday, marking a sharp increase in distrust of those news organizations from a year ago, when 63 percent registered concerns about the spread of misinformation.
And further, of those folks:
31 percent said they believe those media outlets spread “fake news” regularly, and 46 percent said it happens occasionally.
And guess what? It’s not just the Trumpsters and Repubs who believe this about fake news. From Monmouth:
The belief that major media outlets disseminate fake news at least occasionally has increased
among every partisan group over the past year, including Republicans (89% up from 79% in
2017), independents (82% up from 66%), and Democrats (61% up from 43%). In addition to the fact that a clear majority of Democrats now believe that traditional media outlets report fake news at least occasionally, the poll also finds that a majority of Republicans (53%) feel this happens on a regular basis (up from 37% in 2017).
I also found this information from Monmouth interesting:
Attention has also focused on the role of social media platforms in the propagation of fake news. Nearly 9-in-10 Americans (87%) believe that outside groups are trying to plant fake news stories on social media sites like Facebook and YouTube. More than two-thirds (71%) say this is a serious problem – including 81% of Republicans, 69% of independents, and 67% of Democrats.
I found that number of Repubs interesting since we all know now that a good bit of that fake news was generated to benefit the Repubs and the talking yam in particular. So I wonder if those Repubs who were polled know that yes there’s fake news because their supporters, backers and dark money sources were responsible for it? Perhaps not and it’s just typical Republican paranoia because the Monmouth piece also said:
[Note: the interviews for this poll were conducted prior to recent stories about Cambridge Analytica’s data mining of Facebook user profiles, which, while not directly a “fake news” issue, is related to the topic.]
So there’s that, I guess.
But further, what the hell even is “fake news”? Margaret Sullivan from Wapo attempts to answer that.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master — that’s all.”
Sullivan contends (and I agree with her) that the original idea of “fake news” has been twisted and turned around from its original meaning.
I’ve been arguing for more than a year that the term should be shunned because its original meaning — that is, fabricated stories intended to fool you — has been so purposely blurred and tainted.
Sullivan explains the difference (and btw, I think that some of the “fake news” stories can also fall into the category of clickbait ).
Are we talking about factual journalism that a politician doesn’t like (for example, The Washington Post’s reporting on the sexual misconduct of former Alabama judge Roy Moore, which his wife labeled “fake news”)? Or about flat-out lies such as “the pope has endorsed Donald Trump” that circulated on social media during the presidential campaign?
Altogether, this poll is not good news for the Fourth Estate. Let’s face it, the number of folks out there who fall into the category of Republican and paranoid is large. As the image at the top says, ignorance can be educated and crazy (paranoid) medicated, but that damned stupid…nope ya can’t fix that.
Open thread of course and also what’s on your minds today?
About the video below: Just because there’s a sign that reads “live music” doesn’t necessarily mean live music = good music. 
Weekend Light Fare
Posted on: April 8, 2018
Good Weekend Widdershins!
Once again, this is going to be a short post. But, I’ll be doing the Tuesday post for m.b. as she is covered up with work issues.
Still sore where I believe the oral surgeon gave me the injections and also still having pain in my forehead and around eyes (at the time I’m writing this post). The oral surgeon told me that the roots to the tooth were awfully close to my sinuses so I’ll attribute that pain to the forehead/eyes thing.
So here’s a quick youtube video to laugh at. I’ve set this to start right when Fields gets back to his dental office. I know some of the comedy and terms are rather dated but this was from the 1930s. Hope you enjoy!
* * * * *
Edited to add:
Open Thread of course.
- In: lazy weekend | Music | Open Thread | Weather | You Tube
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Since I may have not given this enough time last week
I’ll repost today so DYB can add some Madonna vids
HAPPY SPRING WIDDERSHINS (I THINK)
The calendar told us that Tuesday was the Spring Equinox but for some of us it still seems as if winter hasn’t gone away. Our dear northeast Widdershins had Winter Storm Xanadu or something like that this
week and I think I heard that there may be another one headed that way. Nevertheless let’s take a look at some songs about spring. Perhaps we will at least get in a springlike mood. And let’s face it: it’s a break from the vulgar talking yam and the insane crap he’s been pulling lately.
There are tons and tons of songs out there but I’ll include a few that I knew of and others that I found.
(1) Mendelssohn~Spring Song
(2) The Beach Boys~Spring Vacation
(3) Bill Evans Trio~Spring Is Here
(4) Billie Holiday~Some Other Spring
(5) Frédéric Chopin~Spring Waltz (although supposedly not Chopin)
(6) Ella Fitzgerald~I Got The Spring Fever Blues
So there you go Widdershins; a nice half dozen spring or springish songs. Please add your choices in the comments below.
Open thread of course.
Open Thread/Post
Posted on: March 25, 2018
The music post wasn’t going anywhere; just lying there like an embarrassing turd dropped in public.
So here’s a new post to discuss anything anyone wishes to discuss.
- In: Music | Open Thread | You Tube
- 129 Comments
Happy St. Paddy’s Day Widdershins
(note: this is a repost of a post written by our chatblu for St. Patrick’s Day. )
“I suffer from Irish-Catholic guilt. Guilt is a good reality check. It keeps that
‘do what makes you happy’ thing in check.”
– Irish American actor and director Edward Burns
Erin Go Bragh, Widdershins. ‘Tis St. Patrick’s Day, and time to get our playlist together. Despite my iffy back, I will venture out to celebrate my maternal ancestry with those of the ilk, which pretty much includes everyone by 9 p.m. So, load up on Bailey’s, Jameson’s and room temperature Guiness, and prepare to party.
Irish music is wild, sweet, and emotional – some bouncing and happy and others more than a little melancholy . She has a troubled history, and a terrible beauty. 26+6 =1 remains as much a political difficulty as it is a mathematical impossibility. Truly, it is a nebulous concept at best. The ongoing upheaval is well reflected in Ireland’s traditional music. Oddly, some of the songs sung lustily at Irish bars are word for word the same as those belted out at Highland games, with both sides vociferously claiming credit for the tune. Go figure, but since I had a parent from each line, I sang them loudly and proudly, as either way they are all mine.
Here’s my abbreviated list. Add yours to it, please, as well as anything else that strikes your fancy in this open thread.
(1) Wild Rover – The Dubliners
(2) Whiskey in a Jar – The Dubliners
(3) Back Home in Derry – The Young Wolfetones
(4) Wild Mountain Thyme = Don Williams and the Chieftains
(5) Molly Ban – Allison Krause and the Chieftains
(6) The Soldier’s Song – Irish National Anthem (Try this one with a wee drap of Jameson’s and a Southern accent.)
(7) The Sick Note – The Dubliners
Have a glorious day, and my Mother would have reminded you to pray for Ireland.
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