Sunday, November 11, 2018

Random Thoughts

I shake my head...

● I 'love' the new LL Bean commercial. Apparently, the Crips and Bloods are meeting for a football game. (And yes, I know it's meant to be West Side Story, but it sure seems like Crips and Bloods).

● OMG do I despise this Geico ad with this a-hole who winnies about how great a day it was when he mowed his lawn and the last stripe fit his mower exactly and he... ug shoot me... posted it on social media and got 127 likes. Seriously, someone put this loser out of his misery.

● Scientists have now concluded (long after anyone with a brain should have) that we humans did NOT kill off the Neanderthals. Instead, we interbred with them and they ceased to exist. That's good sex. Anyways, this should have been obvious a long time ago as they can trace Neanderthal DNA through us and even linked Neanderthal DNA to things like autism. How did it get there if we didn't interbreed with them? Did our ancestors get it from sharing a toilet seat?

More interestingly, this now puts the lie to a liberal belief that underpins our evil nature: the idea of the killer ape. Liberals believe that humans evolved from a killer ape who wiped out all competitors. Hence, we are violent because we evolved from a violent ape. The idea that we wiped out the Neanderthals was part of this. But now that's not true. Suddenly, their understanding of human nature is faulty. Think they'll admit that? Doubt it.

● I have zero sympathy for the celebs whose palaces are being burned down. I'm sure they're all insured. And in the meantime, they can live happily in their vacation homes, as they lecture us about our carbon footprint.

● Trump apparently signed a law allowing families with terminal kids to try experimental treatments. Good for him.

● I've seen several investor reports recently that say that Victoria's Secret is dying. That doesn't surprise me. I think their vision of beauty is too elitist and doesn't really resonate with people.

● Isn't it funny how the voting irregularities and found ballots always happen in Democratic districts and help Democrats?

● Check this out. This is the advertising pitch for a watch company supposedly started by two normal dudes who found crowd-source funding and created this new company outside the system, man. When you read this, tell me if this doesn't sound like it was produced by a marketing robot:
In 2013, we started MVMT to disrupt the overpriced and outdated models of the fashion industry. Empowered by the people through crowdfunding, our original watch line set us apart by bringing you quality, minimalist designs at radically fair prices. Through social media we grew far beyond our Los Angeles home, becoming a global community of 1.5 million MVMT owners (and counting).

We’re inspired by the go-getters, the innovators, the dreamers; and our designs embody this very spirit. They’re built for adventuring, creating, and daring to disrupt the norm. Above all else, we create with the dream of enlivening our ultimate mission: to inspire you to live life on your own terms.
Ouch. That hurt my soul. So I'm supposed to be inspired to live my life by my own paradigm by buying a mass produced watch... because that will make me unique. Seriously, could you squeeze in any more marketing nomenclature?

● Finally, I'm pretty sure there is an ancient Indian burial ground under my driveway. Nothing else explains why it's the only driveway on the street where the snow won't melt. I need an exorcist... with a snow shovel.

24 comments:

Stacy said...

OMG...I needed this laugh. It's been a long weekend in the dementia ward (seriously, I work in a nursing home).

AndrewPrice said...

I'm glad that helped! :) That's a tough job. Thanks for doing it!

Rustbelt said...

And to make things even odder, the Big 10 West has been clinched and will be represented by... Northwestern??? Yes, following a win over Iowa, and a couple other dominoes falling into place, Nerd University, the originator school of the wildcat stripes, is going to Indianapolis.
Mario Andretti eat your heart out.

AndrewPrice said...

Rustbelt, These are strange times indeed. Though it looks like we're facing another Clemson v. Alabama final.

Rustbelt said...

Or as I call it, Decision Night. As in, do I decide to watch C-SPAN or paint dry? Either one would be mentally and spiritually more fulfilling.

Anthony said...

1) I really hate that KFC commercial where an old man dances with a bottle of syrup.

2) I never thought the origin of man was tied into modern political theory.

3) If the fire was just burning the empty homes of wealthy celebs there would be no problem. Unfortunately it is burning quite a bit more than that and killing people.I

4) It should be noted that the commendable law letting the terminally ill try experimental treatments applies to everyone, not just kids.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/may/30/trump-signs-right-to-try-law-terminally-ill/

5) I am fine with Victoria's secret (my ex was a lingerie model) but I get that increasing numbers of woman are not built that way. Sucks for Victoria's Secret but I'm cool with it. While there are limits (IMHO) beauty comes in a wider range than Victoria's Secret targets.

6) Something really needs to be done about Broward County.

tryanmax said...

Everyone knows that LBJ stole the election that put him in the senate. Unfortunately, Republicans seem to look upon Democrat ballot rigging as just part of the landscape. Broward County is behaving rather flagrantly in regards to the court orders against it, but somehow I don't think it will be enough to get any kind of a fix rolling.

AndrewPrice said...

On Broward County, they really do need to put an end to this and fix it. And if that means not counting votes, so be it. Elections have consequences and you voted someone in who is either utterly incompetent or a fraud. Now you pay the price. Cut off their votes.

AndrewPrice said...

Anthony,

A lot of science is very politicized, especially the closer you get to issues of race, religion, gender, evolution, and the origin of the universe. The study of the origin of man seems to be highly politicized with a true set of dogma rather than facts. Indeed, the most telling aspect of this is when new facts come up that contradict the existing dogma, scientist rush to microphones to tall us "gee, that means our current theory must be older than we thought" to explain away the new facts rather than rethink them. They also excommunicate people with unpopular theories. That's not science.

I think it's interesting Victoria's Secret has missed the more natural person look trend that has let their competitors blow them away. And I think there is a trend there to take note of.

Rustbelt said...

2020 is on! Just saw on the news that West Virginia state senator Richard Ojeda, who lost a congressional race last week, will run for Prez by supporting teachers (Big Labor), legal marijuana (but why stop with Big Weed? This is WV. What about Big Meth?), and caps on how wealthy (read: Republicans only) elected officials can be.
So,based on this and what Andrew has told us about hillbilly country, should I be, like, totally baked and stoked over this, man? The usual voices in my head are, like, taking too much time to decide and I need to be told...whoa. Dude, my hands are huge...

tryanmax said...

Well, now, here is something I didn't know much about. Apparently, in December of last year, the 1982 Consent Decree which barred the RNC from poll watching, as well as participating in many Election Day GOTV activities, was allowed to expire.

AndrewPrice said...

Rustbelt, His states goal is to restore the Democratic Party to it's roots (Jeffersonian slavery?). I would look at him as the last gasp for the Dems in West Virginia. When he fails, most will probably become Republicans just as in the rest of the South.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, I wasn't aware of such a consent decree.

AndrewPrice said...

BTW, The Wall Street Journal is convinced that Hillary will be running again. Ha ha.

Anonymous said...

Just read that Movado is buying MTMV for a total of about 170 million dollars after taxes. So much for all the crap in that add. It would have been more honest to just say we hopped when we started this company that it would become successful enough we could sell it for millions and retire. But I will say good for them, shows the real America still works.

AndrewPrice said...

Anon, That's funny. I am not surprised. And yeah, good for them.

Rustbelt said...

Just saw it last night. Truly sad news for all us geeks, nerds, or general pop culture fans.

R.I.P. Stan Lee, aged 95, 1922 - 2018

While I will always consider myself more of a DC guy, the characters, stories, enthusiasm, joy, and just plain old fun he brought to everyone will live on forever.

tryanmax said...

Andrew, news that it ended apparently made ripples in the leftwing press in January. I see articles on Politico, the Atlantic, NPR, HuffPo, The Hill, Slate, TalkingPointsMemo, Think Progress, Mother Jones, etc.

For a particularly breathless take on the consent decree's origins and it's lifting, check out MSNBC: LINK

Critch said...

A bunch of folks from Malibu were photographed holding rifles and standing behind a sign that reads: Looters will be shot on site! (I know, it's "sight". But what can you expect from the Left wing?)

The irony of a bunch of Hollywood types suddenly realizing what the right to arm yourself is all about is hysterical.

Anthony said...

The shooting of that security guard who had stopped a shooting and was detaining the shooting at gunpoint rather than inflated numbers (people don't mention statistics too each other, they mention stories) is the sort of thing that makes many black people skeptical about cops.

The take in my social circle (which includes one ex-security guard) is that having a gun in hand when cops are coming in looking for trouble is not the key to a long life (nods respectfully to the cop who died responding to the recent bar shooting) but judging by social media and news coverage a lot of people seem to see it as the latest case of a guy dying for being black.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/security-guard-fatally-shot-officer-best-stop-active/story?id=59149374

"He had somebody on the ground, with his knee in his back, with his gun on him, like 'Don't move,'" Adam Harris told a CBS affiliate. "Everybody was screaming out 'Security!' He was a security guard."
Roberson was an organist at local churches including New Spiritual Light Baptist Church, WLS-TV said.
---------
Midlothian police said two of its officers had responded to the bar to help Robbins police. When officers arrived, Midlothian police said, they learned that there were several gunshot victims inside the bar.

AndrewPrice said...

Anthony, Two thoughts. First. This is a horrible tragedy. Whatever the reason, this man should not be dead and I feel horrible for him and his family. It makes me sick. What's more, if the shooter was careless, then he belongs in jail for a very long time. If he did this because of racial bias, then I think he deserve death.

That said, I am bothered by the "it's racism" response that always comes up. The fact that something bad happens to a black person does not mean it was because they were black. There really is no anti-black conspiracy as the black community thinks.

(None of this is aimed at you, by the way. You've never expressed these thoughts.)

First, I know white people. I've known thousands in my time. Few think about black people one way or the other -- they see them as just people like everybody else. Many have black friends and don't see them any differently than white friends. Lots of whites actually like to have black friends because they've come to believe that diversity is a moral issue. That said, I have met racists (fewer than I've met in the black community as a percentage, btw), BUT they tend to be white trash and are easy to spot. Middle class white America really isn't what the media or black groups want to portray them as. And it bothers me that this narrative keeps being pushed as fact because it's needlessly (purposefully, I think) raising tensions.

Secondly, the statistics just don't bear out the claims by black groups that black people are being hunted by cops, discriminated against for jobs, "held back" etc. Moreover, where there is statistical evidence of disparity, it's usually easily explained by the choices of the black people involved. When you point a gun at a cop, they shoot back. Somehow, this gets lost in the narrative that any black person shot is a victim. Black kids do poorly in school largely in districts with black teachers and black administrators. Other schools are run by liberal whites. Yet, it's "conservative white racists" who get blamed for the failure of black kids. Let me say, even putting teachers aside, I've run into many black parents now through my daughters and I can tell you that many of these black parents are a lot less involved with their kids than the white parents I've met. Black people don't pursue "quality" degrees in the same numbers whites do, yet we're told it's discrimination that there aren't more blacks in math or science. No, it's choice. And based on my oldest daughter and other things I've seen, it's because black kids are steered away from "white" schools and "white" degrees. Etc.
(continued)

AndrewPrice said...

(continued)
How in the world is black America ever going to be successful if they invent this omnipotent boogeyman of white racism as a means for explaining their own failures and avoiding self-analysis when it's their own choices that have led to those failures?

This, to me, is the truly sick and irresponsible thing about all of this. Whole communities are being destroyed because no one will stand up and say, "Getting a degree in African American studies is bullshit." "Retaining teachers who can't speak basic English is bullshit." "Telling kids they can't succeed because whitey won't let them is bullshit." "Why are you even putting yourself in a position where a cop wants to talk to you?" "Drugs, domestic violence are not fine." "It's unacceptable that thousands of blacks are killing other blacks every year." These are not racist thoughts. These are the thoughts the black community needs to start voicing to fix their own problems.

Unfortunately, tragedies like this security guard get misused to feed this narrative rather than being seen for the rare tragedies that they are.

(As an aside, this isn't a race issue per se, it's a political issue. Feminists are trying to drag women into the same mindset as are white nationalists trying to drag white trash men into it now. This is a poisoned mindset.)

tryanmax said...

Andrew, not to mention cities and states run solely by Democrats for decades blaming all their woes on Republicans.

Anthony said...

Andrew,

Good points.

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