RIP Tommy Smothers
Tommy Smothers has died at the age of 86. I was an early fan, having seen him and his brother on some variety show or other, doing their number, “Chocolate.” I was a kid and I howled with laughter. They … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Arts
Critiquing AI’s song lyric efforts
Commenter “huxley” had AI perform an interesting exercise. He asked ChatGPT 3.5 to do the following: Write song lyrics like “Why Can’t a Woman Be More like a Man” based on “Why can’t a Nothing be more like a Something.” … Continue reading →
PTSD and survivors’ testimony
On YouTube there are a series of interviews of survivors of 10/7, done by the USC Shoah Foundation. The interviews are long, and I’ve only watched a few. But – unlike Holocaust survivor interviews, which I’ve also watched – these … Continue reading →
Open thread 12/15/23
I don’t know the year, but I estimate this to have been filmed about 100 years ago. Pavlova had a poor turnout and weak ankles; her technique would be utterly unacceptable in a professional ballet dancer today. But she sure … Continue reading →
Boston’s POC Christmas Party echoes Eddie Murphy’s famous SNL bus sketch in reverse
First, the old Eddie Murphy sketch. On watching it again after many years, I’m struck by the fact that, although I had remembered the first two bits – in the store; and the party on the bus – I had … Continue reading →
Tonight’s the first night of Chanukah
[NOTE: This is a heavily revised version of a previous post.] This is the first night of Chanukah, and I wish everyone a happy one. Chanukah is about a successful revolt and a miracle of light: The miracle of the … Continue reading →
Hostage psychology
Whether or not you think the hostage deals are a good thing for Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas, I don’t think anyone here doesn’t take joy in the family reunions and in particular the release of the children. I’ve watched … Continue reading →
Most women’s rights organizations are worse than worthless
Women’s rights organization are basically wholly-leftist boilerplate operations at this point. Maybe they always were, but whether or not that’s the case, it’s become abundantly clear as time has gone on that their principles are utterly changeable, and depend almost … Continue reading →
The Last Unicorn
Kids these days love unicorns. Unicorns are almost their emblems, their mascots. I’m not sure why, but I’ll go with it. Unicorns are a beautiful escape from reality, and a benign one. Even adults can use that now and then. … Continue reading →
Open thread 11/11/23
Evolution? More like devolution. Maybe the technique gets better, but who cares? The incomparable Fracci, the first on the video (1971), is the only one whose dancing really interests me. Notice also that she dances faster than the others. Over … Continue reading →
Looking ahead to 2024
I haven’t been feeling especially upbeat lately, and that’s an understatement. This is that time of the year when it gets dark early, especially up north where I live. Gloomy. October 7 and its aftermath have been horrendous. Tuesday’s election … Continue reading →
Stringers and collaborators: Hamas and elsewhere
This is unconscionable behavior: On October 7, Hamas terrorists were not the only ones who documented the war crimes they had committed during their deadly rampage across southern Israel. Some of their atrocities were captured by Gaza-based photojournalists working for … Continue reading →