Phew, we made it to Friday. It was questionable there for a minute!
Ugh.
3 charts show how far Covid delta variant has spread around the world
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/06/covid-charts-show-how-far-delta-variant-has-spread-around-the-world.html
If only there was some way to fix this?
US ranks last in healthcare among 11 wealthiest countries despite spending most
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/05/us-healthcare-system-ranks-last-11-wealthiest-countries
Whisky you can’t drink, because Mike Pompeo already did.
A $5,800 whisky bottle Japan gave to Mike Pompeo is missing. The State Department is looking for it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/05/whiskey-pompeo-japan/
Stonks!
JPMorgan, led by bitcoin skeptic Jamie Dimon, quietly unveils access to a half-dozen crypto funds
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/05/bitcoin-jpmorgan-led-by-jamie-dimon-quietly-unveils-access-to-a-half-dozen-crypto-funds.html
Sprots!
Dallas Oberholzer: the 46-year-old Olympic skateboarder who fended off a jaguar
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/05/dallas-oberholzer-the-46-year-old-olympic-skateboarder-that-fended-off-a-jaguar
Opinions?
Have a great Friday!
Well, well, well, it looks like Andrew “Handsy Andy” Cuomo had his own Ghislaine Maxwell hiding in plain sight! And we, the ever-beleaguered New York State taxpayers, were paying for all this complicity:
https://nypost.com/2021/08/04/cuomo-aide-derosa-emerges-as-enforcer-enabler-in-sex-harass-report/
As for Mike Pompeo’s missing whisky bottle, does anyone have a guess who the thief might have been? I suppose in the chaotic “Evacuation of the Embassy at Saigon”-like “transition” it could have been anyone.
I’m betting Pompeo drank the whole thing in one go to try and blot out the memory of how many times he debased himself for his idiot boss, blacked out and now thinks it was stolen.
This just in, from CNBC (not to be confused with CNN, which gives Handsy Andy’s brother Fredo an entire primetime hour every night):
“A longtime business ally of the governor [Cuomo] said there is a growing group of people trying to persuade him to remain in office.”
Oh, I bet there is. Those Buffalo Billions don’t spend themselves.
I read about DeRosa yesterday. In a lot of ways, she’s more creepy than Cuomo is. I hadn’t drawn the Maxwell parallel, but you’re right. She definitely functioned as an enabler, and the reports of her “attempts” to remonstrate with Cuomo don’t ring very true.
Her background is a lot like his, her father was a longtime power player lobbyist who was tight with Mario Cuomo … I think they have a certain kinship over that, plus the usual “power attracts climbers” that’s always in play for people like that. His staff all take on his bullying, blustering personality and act as his — and I say this mostly because I know it pisses him off so much — consiglieres.
CNN should burn everyone involved in the decision to keep Chris Cuomo. Jeff Zucker has already announced he’s moving on, but they need to have security escort him out today and cut the strings on his golden parachute.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-details-emerge-about-how-cnn-anchor-chris-cuomo-advised-n1275839
There are other Cuomo enablers in the James report who need to be dumped from their jobs as well. I don’t think you should purge anyone who ever dealt with the freak, but the people who actively participated in his many, many coverups need to go.
They thought of themselves as tough guys. Now they should see how that works from the other side.
Who the fuck is Mike Richards?
Not really, but he’s not scandal-free, either.
retired hockey player?
OMG you guys gotta watch this. Not all heroes wear capes:
That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in days. I’m dying here. The sound effects are the best part.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Smells like regret.
Ahh…the Nirvana follow-up that never was.
Thank you for making my day much brighter.
I’ve watched it so many times.
I want this guy hosting Jeopardy or at least be my new best friend and narrate my life! I do have a question though, I have never seen a flight attendant of that size. When I worked for an airline we had rules about weight. This guy doesn’t look like he could easily walk down the aisle. I am assuming that he was much thinner when he was hired?
I think he’s a comedian not an actual flight attendant.
Thanks for clearing that up and DAMN YOU for changing my day plans to watch this man’s videos all day!
aw snap!
Still too funny tho.
His other spoofs are equally funny!
New President of Frontier Airlines or we r-r-r-riot!!
So I don’t care for the Dick Cheney “I have run the search committee for this job, and the best answer is me” method of hiring and running through a cycle of guest hosts while the producer plans to hire himself feels pretty cynical in retrospect … but a nobody game show host is a good choice for Jeopardy. Alex was so good at it that I think we forget that he was a nobody game show host when he started.
(Now if I had my druthers, “Who is Ken Jennings” is my answer, but … alas.)
I always assumed the auditions were ratings stunts and they already had a replacement in mind. Alex had been sick for a while, so there’s zero possibility that they hadn’t started considering replacements long before he died. In addition, some of the people who auditioned obviously were never going to accept a career slot in a game show and were clearly “stunt casting,” if you will.
Mostly I think it just creates some distance between Alex and his replacement, tamping down the resentment and letting people feel like others were actually considered for the job. I haven’t watched any of them, but reviews I’ve read said this guy did a good job without making it all about himself. A lot of celebrity game show hosts do that, and that’s a good thing if the game is particularly stupid, but Jeopardy has always been about the game. Alex was there to facilitate, not to star in it.
Alex had his “look at me” moments. Like his impeccably enunciated French. Or elaborating on a clue after it was answered, just so you would know how much he knew on the subject. But maybe that was supposed to be part of the nerd appeal.
The French seems to me to be a Canadian thing. Every Canadian I work with does the same thing. The elaboration may have been a running time issue. If things are moving too fast or too slow the producers probably primed Alex with info dumps that could be left in or cut out as needed. By all accounts, he was actually that smart, but everything I’ve always heard about TV production suggests that very little is left to chance.
He did it with all the languages. “Italiano” would become “No, the response we were looking for was, ‘Eeee-tah-lee-AHHH-no.’ Debbie, you’re up.” I found it kind of charming. Or maybe it was a timing thing.
Once the correct response was Oberammergau, and he mentioned that that was where the Passion Play, the Passionsspiele, are held. My response was, “Now say it with a heavy Bavarian accent, Alex! Come on! You know you want to!”
Totally, but he also earned that over hosting the show for decades. When Alex did it, it was kind of charming; if someone new came in and started stunting on the contestants I’m sure I’d be like “Hey, WTF dickbag, get off camera”
…there’s a long running quiz show in the UK called university challenge which has been hosted for a long time by a guy called jeremy pacman…who’s also known for presenting a show called newsnight where he interviews politicians & there’s a certain amount of pontificating
…when students get answers wrong on the quiz show he generally manages to supply the answer with what always struck me as an unwarranted level of condescension…he might genuinely know some or even all of thos answers but when you have a producer talking to you in one ear & all the answers printed out in front of you…well, let’s just say it never came off to me as charming?
…there’s another show called QI (meant to stand for “quite interesting” & be sort of a pun on IQ in reverse) that’s more about being funny than scoring points & that used (don’t know if it’s still on) to be hosted by stephen fry…when he expounds on this or that bit of random trivia connected to a question or topic it always seemed quite plausible he just knew that stuff…even though I think the point of the show was a lot of it was obscure & probably the researchers prepared a bunch of that material
…so I guess I think a lot comes down to the way it’s done…or possibly the somewhat subjective extent of the presenter’s charisma?
…wow…just noticed the autocorrect/typo…that would be paxman…with an x…not pacman
I’d love to see a Jeremy Pacman. Paxo’s strength is more to repeat the same question over and over until politicians orchestrate their own undoing (cf. Michael Howard interview), not to be a trusted quiz master for a bunch of Uni boffins.
QI is still on, but Sandi Toksvig has taken over hosting duties.
I’m okay with this:
States, companies shift from carrot to stick on coronavirus vaccinations
“Cities and states — many of which have previously focused on incentives for shots ranging from free beer to scholarships and multimillion-dollar lotteries — are now boosting requirements or threatening consequences.”
It’s time to stop pussyfooting around with this crap.
OK, speaking of nerdiness, misuse of the “carrot/stick” analogy is one of my pet peeves. A “carrot-and-stick approach” is not a system of rewards and punishments. It’s meant to evoke the picture of the guy on a mule-driven cart, and he has a carrot dangling from a stick in front of the mule’s nose, to keep it moving forward.
Don’t get me started. My list is so long now that I just have to let it go:
1. Towards is not a word. It’s toward.
2. The “l” in salmon is silent.
3. Joo-el-ree not joolery.
I could go on for days, but I think this is now going to be my next NOT. Unless somebody swipes it first.
George Carlin had a ton of these, though I have never tried to verify any of them. One of my favorites is they didn’t get to be “Indians” because Columbus thought he was in India. They were “indians” because he said they were a people who lived “en Dios” or “in God.” It’s a bit of a tough sell considering what he did to them. But maybe Columbus meant something different. I’d have to dig out that Carlin book again.
I thought it meant dangle the carrot on the stick or beat the mule with the stick?
that’s the neat thing about sticks, they are versatile…
This is how I’ve always taken it too! The stick could either dangle the carrot or whip the mule, that was the choice.
…mules (or donkeys, which I think is the non-horse part of a mule’s parentage) are obstinate enough that I definitely remember people bing described as “stubborn as a mule”…so I’m familiar with the image of the dangling carrot but I’ve always taken it as being the suggestion that it’s better to try encouragement first…but there being the other option in reserve…sort of like the thing about catching more flies with honey than vinegar?
My father used to tell me “don’t be mule-eared, Elliecoo”. Who me? Stubborn? Nah…
I’ve seen a lot of whimsical drawings and paintings of the former. They are never accompanied by a whimsical drawing of the latter.
…that’s fair…I think I have a vague memory of a cartoon with the mule/donkey munching on the carrot dangling from one stick while an exasperated guy on its back whales ineffectually on its backside with another stick…the guy looking like his head was about to explode & the animal looking entirely serene & 100% not moving
…pretty sure the punchline was along the lines of “know when you’re beaten” but I’d have no idea where to start trying to hunt for it?
…either way I don’t think you’re wrong about how that’s typically depicted
It’s Existentialist reward and punishment.
Instead of anything tangible , all that exists is figments of the mind, the brief illusion of a future reward that is met by the punishment of the creeping sense of despair caused by the realization that hope will never become actual.
The true stick and carrot also includes a pack of Gauloise cigarettes that the donkey and driver share during breaks while they make a dry remark or two about the pointlessness of Kant.
COTD!!!
“A $5,800 whisky bottle Japan gave to Mike Pompeo is missing.” @LemmyKilmister – were you in DC lately? Hmmm? Is a review of this bottle in our future?
It is $5770 over budget.
Not if it’s free it’s not
This is why it gets harder and harder to argue the both sides thing!
https://theintercept.com/2021/08/05/student-debt-cancellation-nancy-pelosi/
This research will either make you smile or keep you up at night!
“A future vision for our efforts? First-responder robotic squirrels, equipped with the physical and cognitive toughness and flexibility of a squirrel at a bird feeder.”
https://theconversation.com/we-used-peanuts-and-a-climbing-wall-to-learn-how-squirrels-judge-their-leaps-so-successfully-and-how-their-skills-could-inspire-more-nimble-robots-165524
Squirrels are geniuses. I tried to foil mine once by hanging the bird feeder from a rope. One of the little fuckers figured out how to sit on the branch and haul the feeder hand-over-hand into the tree.
This is ALSO why it gets harder and harder to argue the both sides thing!
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/08/biden-administration-interior-subsidy-arch-resources-coal-mining/
On the Jeopardy! situation, these sum it up best:
Better late than never – it’s Fur Face Friday!
https://backtalkvillage.blogspot.com/2021/08/fur-face-friday.html?m=1