Category: Picture This

Honeysuckle in Bloom

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In Closing: let the mental health circular firing squad of mostly half-baked ideas begin (but too many people my age and better remember these asshats for any real reform that involves hospitalizing more people); A few stray NSA and Snowden items for you; slipping away; real median household income; “choose between Satan and Lucifer”; yeah, maybe your doctor knows more than Wikipedia; the crushing weight of sex offender registries may force California to consider sensible changes; a startling video; an amusing video.

Red Oleander

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In Closing: Slippery slope; Empire in decline; ok sure, have some NSA, Snowden, spying, and bonus Homeland Security links; Yellen at nothin; deny it all you like; yeah right, it might result in a very nasty bit of commentary but populist revolt??; it’s almost like math teachers get bored and try inventing new ways to add and subtract (and places like Kumon and Sylvan make more money….); and better figure it out, Eric.

Comics and Fun Stuff

Let’s start with the CDC: “If you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake, or terrorist attack.”

A History Lesson or two.

Is Sovereignty right for you?

Enjoy Juanita’s potpourri.

Oh yeah, and you gotta get your Snowden, Snowden, Snowden, yet more Snowden, privacy, and NSA links someplace! Have a bonus NSA comic.

Just starting to come up for air. Hopefully back to more normal posting next week.

Indy says….

“It belongs in a museum!”

 

Regrettably not my original picture. Some pics were lost in a server upgrade. It still says “museum model,” trust me.

See, says so right there on the side: “MUSEUM MODEL”.

This little lovely is at the National Atomic Testing Museum. Worth visiting, don’t bring small children, don’t pay extra for the Area 51 exhibit. These are my opinions, your mileage might vary, driver carries no cash.

In Closing: original Porsche electric car; more than one in four American families had trouble paying medical bills in 2012; turns out the safety argument is bogus; your usual assortment of NSA, spying, privacy, terror, blah blah and related links; fox would like job guarding henhouse; still might be worth laying in some extra supplies; “oh, gee, maybe that factory sealed bottle from the duty free store isn’t a flight risk after all”; yeah, I think I’ll skip the “wearable tech,” which is somehow mostly about sex and food. I think the Twitter Bra is the most ridiculous item.

And Happy End of January.

Go ahead, buy premium. You know you want it.

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I realize this one is subtle. But if you look at the directions, the hand is pushing the middle button. The middle button on this pump just happens to be the expensive stuff.

In Closing: ok, you’ve done without your NSA, privacy, government spying, Ed Snowden, cover-ups, terrorism over-reach, and related stuff links for far too long; a nice collection of health, health care, health insurance, Affordable Care Act, and hospital issues links; the magic of adjusting portion sizes (did you notice that 2 Oreos is now a serving when it used to be 3?); race, school discipline, and getting arrested; it turns out most people work because they want to get paid; and burgers.

Shhh, Ancient American Secret!

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On one hand, enough it known about “America’s Secret Agencies” to devote a special issue of Time to the topic.

On the other hand, enough Americans want to know what the heck is going on that this can be at the checkout stand right next to cover stories about the Kardashians and Prince George. These issues aren’t going away.

In Closing: oh, you know I wouldn’t skip an opportunity to share some really choice NSA, Snowden, and privacy links!; TSA and LAX; Megabus; by the corporations, for the corporations; yeah, maybe an armed Neighborhood Watch isn’t such a good idea; well, he’s a Democrat so obviously the system works [/sarcasm]; prison reform; completely unprepared; food stamps; and the filibuster.

Crosswalk to Nowhere

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Yes, apparently you have to push the button to legally walk down the sidewalk here. It’s been driving me nuts all semester.

In Closing: oh come now, we can all use more NSA and privacy links, particularly when it’s starting to garner international outrage; speaking of international laws, looks like America doesn’t care about them too much; well, I guess a good ad campaign can’t hurt; how much of the stock market is made up by computers?; outrage; a little too true; the crooks in Washington are still trying to figure out how to steal your mom’s money; the USPS; spitting in the wind; the only demographic group that doesn’t favor legalizing pot by a majority is people over 65, of whom 45% still think it’s a good idea; this exists; it turns out “the 13 year old tricked me into having sex with him for drugs” is a lousy defense; bad idea, Sheldon; The Grinch is in Washington; and Mike Tyson.

Conflicted Feminist

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I’m a feminist. By that I mean that I believe in equal –not better — rights, opportunities, and safety for men and women within biological limits. I am not a man hater or a bra-burner. I realize that this might well put me out of step with parts of the modern feminism movement and I don’t give a [expletive]. Moving on now.

Labor Day is over and the Halloween costumes are on the store shelves. Sure it’s early September, but gotta move those costumes early so there will be room for Christmas decorations in October. Do not question retail-logic. Hence, the lovely little Wonder Woman costume above. The package contains a shirt, headband, and cape.

I have mixed feelings on this item.

There are a number of things I like very much about it. First, it does avoid sexualizing a child. The costume is much more modest than that worn by Linda Carter years ago, shows infinitely less bust than this version, even if it’s not as “hip” as some of the most modern interpretations. The shirt doesn’t even hint at skin above that golden WW. Second, it’s practical as a costume. Sure, it can be worn with a cute little short skirt, or blue leggings suggested by the package, or even jeans. This is double-good considering the fact that Halloween is at the very end of October. Oh yeah, Halloween can be cold up north. If the jersey is of sufficient quality — no way to know from the packaging — the shirt can even circulate into school-wear after the big day. Finally, it’s simple. There’s nothing fiddly that will take a half hour to get into place before going out in this costume. No fancy accessories that are likely to get lost or broken. No pressure to buy a “completer kit” like those damnable Star Wars costumes from a few years back. No complicated stage make-up. Put on shirt, put on headband, add cape if you feel like it, and go!

Now for the one, single thing I hate. Would you just look at that silhouette? This Wonder Woman is built to Barbie proportions. It’s not a figure that a healthy adult woman has, even if she works out and eats right, even if she gets a boob-job. Even most cartoon women are drawn more realistically than that. I’ve never been one to over-react to body image issues, but this might just be sending the wrong message: “Sweetie, you’re never gonna look like Wonder Woman so don’t even try. Just put on this tent with a sexy chick drawn on it.”

So what’s the verdict: am I supposed to love or hate this costume?

In closing: “a growing number of sailors feel more comfortable reporting an assault and believe something will be done about it when they do;” nevertheless, I think I’ll just roll my eyes next time somebody says America has a “culture of rape“; glub; food; HIV; some random items on employment.

Oh, and one more thing. This guy told me one: “What’s the difference between 9/11 and a cow? You stop milking the cow after 12 years.”