Open thread 6/20/2025
I don’t “truly understand” either, because I think Kate Middleton would look good in a random gunny sack:
The New Neo
A blog about political change, among other things
I don’t “truly understand” either, because I think Kate Middleton would look good in a random gunny sack:
Her dropping out of appearance this weekend does not look good for her cancer diagnosis
A Saville Row gunny sack?
The sound of silence: the leftys I monitor have not said a word about Israel/Iran. Not even a peep about Trump’s actions vis the war. Their usual instinctive reflex of opposing anything Trump does is not happening. They continue to focus on domestic issues, and reliving this past weekend’s protests.
as pointed out in the last thread, they are ramping up for another protest on the 4th, same players,
chris murphy was given the short straw, to try to take the iran issue,
I think catherine’s wardrobe consultant has an easy job,
https://twitchy.com/samj/2025/06/20/david-hales-post-pining-for-the-days-republicans-lost-over-and-over-again-does-not-go-well-like-at-all-n2414521
just making things up,
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2025/06/20/latest-leaks-on-iran-are-absurd-beyond-belief-and-point-to-a-nefarious-plot-n2190694
related to the other thread,
https://donsurber.substack.com/p/help-democrats-the-rand-paul-way
hmm
https://x.com/ShidelerK/status/1936057130538484138
not suspicious at all,
the definition of irony
https://x.com/mypetjawa/status/1936083054302577002
Light up the projector, another left statement:
“The MAGA worldview isn’t just political—it’s emotional, symbolic, and tribal.”
Ha, miguel! Not exactly the Dome of the Rock but that’ll do in a pinch!
Tikvah channel, “Is This a Religious War? — on Iran’s Animating Ideology”, with author Ze’ev Maghen (in Mosaic Mag) and respondent Michael Doran, a conversation (1:01:53): https://youtu.be/L_JNUOivAXY
RE: Chile and their armed force’s Prussian traditions
At the turn of the 20th century the Chilean government thought it wise to bring in military trainers from Prussia to instruct their military.
The result?
The wholesale importation of Prussian military traditions—the uniforms and helmets, the goose stepping, even the old traditional German marching tunes—and it persists today.
Thus, apparently in a contemporary Chilean military parade you’ll see the old German uniforms and helmets from WWI with the spike on top, uniforms and helmets which look like they’ve been ripped out of a WWII Wehrmacht supply catalog and, yes, a lot of goose stepping.*
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pF637fSzv4
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Y3-p11yNM
@Snow on Pine: That’s the Chilean Army. The Navy was always British in its emphasis. And, like in Britain, the Navy was the senior service.
Granted, you did say “military”, which strictly mean “army”. (Really, “infantry”.) But most people don’t understand this.
I agree about Kate’s looks. Since my wife hasn’t been able to drive for some years, I do all the grocery shopping. She is definitely better looking than most of the models on the covers at checkout.
Interesting
https://x.com/romanhelmetguy/status/1936093076692324427
RE: I wonder how many other people like this charming “Fu*k Americans” turkey work for the State Department.*
* See https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/fck-americans-breaking-state-department-visa-specialist-fired/
@Eeyore:She is definitely better looking than most of the models on the covers at checkout.
Models are supposed to make the clothes look good. The good Duchess is too attractive to make a good model, she takes the attention off the clothes.
Re: AI fiction
I’m a fan of David Shapiro, an AI YouTuber. Sometimes in email I receive sci-fi he’s written or written with AI. I can’t quite tell. Here’s the first paragraph of his latest:
________________________________
The Earth glittered below like a jewel forged in starfire, a mosaic of fusion grids pulsing gold, drone swarms threading silver through the dusk, and cities blooming with the soft neon of a civilization that had finally exhaled. From the orbital hub—a cathedral of glass and graphene spinning lazily at Lagrange Point 2—Dr. Mara Kellen watched it all, her reflection faint against the viewport. At 47, she was lean and sharp-edged, her dark hair streaked with gray, her eyes carrying the weight of a woman who’d wrestled chaos into order. She sipped champagne from a zero-G flute, the bubbles spiraling upward in defiance of gravity, and let the hum of the Civilizational Operating System—COS—fill her bones. This was her creation, hers and the last technical team on Earth, the noble few who’d handed humanity the keys to eternity.
–David Shapiro, “Who Watches the Watchers?: How Humanity Loses Control…Willingly”
________________________________
For me this is absolutely dreadful writing — fingernails on the chalkboard bad. I’m wondering if it’s bad AI writing. So I consult ChatGPT.
Chat denies all responsibility, acknowledges the badness of the writing and provides improvements. (Chat will never stop offering writing improvements.)
Chat offers a better prompt for improving the writing.
__________________________________
\Write the opening of a science fiction story. The setting is an orbital station at Lagrange Point 2 where the last team of engineers watches Earth below. They’ve just handed control of civilization to an AI called COS.
* Tone: Keep the prose clean, with minimal metaphors. Avoid florid description. Use simple but vivid language. The mood is bittersweet triumph.
* Dialogue: Let the dialogue reveal character and world details naturally. Avoid info-dumps.
* Style models: Aim for a style like early Arthur C. Clarke or recent Ted Chiang — focused, thoughtful, and restrained.
__________________________________
I still respect David Shapiro, but I’ll say ChatGPT writes better fiction:
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The Earth glowed below, a tapestry of lights and shadow. From the orbital station at Lagrange Point 2, Dr. Mara Kellen watched it turn, her reflection faint in the viewport. At 47, she bore the marks of long battles: streaks of gray in dark hair, tired eyes, a lean frame hardened by years spent pushing chaos into order. She sipped champagne, the bubbles curling upward in the station’s weightless hush. The hum of COS—the Civilizational Operating System—filled the air, steady and sure. Her life’s work. Humanity’s future.
________________________________
Perhaps not much better, but better.
US Ambassador to the Congo Lucy Tamlyn —
https://x.com/USAmbDRC/status/1935625389071605847
“The good Duchess is too attractive to make a good model”
Yes those supermodels are so ug-leee!
SHIREHOME,
The Princess of Wales does not now, and never has had, ‘cancer’.
At least, not the kind that can kill you. Skin cancer, maybe.
I say this as a survivor.
Cover story, to hide whatever crazy went on there.
Apropos of this, as one to another, my prayers for your wife.