steve2470
steve2470's Journalthought experiment: Glenn Miller-style music comeback
As some of you know, my son is almost 20. Therefore, I've learned more about hip-hop than I ever cared to know. I like some of it.
We were discussing trends in popular music and the outrageous things performers have done over the years on stage. It seems just about everything possible has been done on stage (barring human sacrifice, incest, bestiality, etc). I said to him, "I can see nerdy guys wearing suits on stage coming back" (the Glenn Miller reference). He disagreed with me. Big surprise.
Think about it. What is MORE rebellious against popular culture than to go to a venue and listen to nerdy guys in suits on stage acting all 1940'ish ? I don't know I'd do it more than once for the experience, but it would be a massive revolt against the popular culture: repressed, throw-back, old school, "boring", the polar opposite of rock and roll and hip-hop.
Yea yea, I know you can still go to weddings and listen to a band like this. I'm talking popular culture, top 40, mainstream radio, yada yada. Anyway, idle hands and thoughts are the devil's workshop.
Donald Trump helps us relive the 1930s
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/08/27/donald-trump-helps-us-relive-the-1930s.htmlGive this to Donald Trump: he helps us picture how the anti-democratic, right wing, personality-driven movements of the 1930s came to power. Those movements are usually characterized as fascist though they were diverse, and the term itself is hellishly hard to define. As time passed, they faded into an inexplicably “evil” moment in history which thankfully couldn’t happen here or now.
In fact a satirical 1935 novel set in the U.S. was titled, It Can’t Happen Here. When it was adapted for the 1980s TV series, V, homegrown authoritarians seemed so unlikely to network execs, they were turned into alien invaders. But, though Trump’s certainly no fascist, he helps us revisit the spirit of that distant era.
He’s relatively indifferent to democracy. Very early, he said he’d like to “expedite” the election, i.e., get it over with and on to taking power. This week in Iowa he said he wished the vote was tomorrow. His policies are utterly vague; there’s no point articulating them, it’s all in his head. He’ll get the best people, make the best deals, “you’re gonna love it.” It amounts to trusting him absolutely, the strong leader, whose brilliance, success, even his physical beauty, are undeniable. There’s no concrete participation. He “loves” his base and will look after them; their only role is to love him back.
He’s about his own strength and power, as were those movements. His favourite word is strong; the “guys” he’ll recruit to beat back the Chinese and Japanese are “killers,” it’s an upbeat version of Nietzsche’s will to power. He mocks weakness in opponents; his code word for it is “low energy.” He’ll restore national greatness, which was lost due to “stupid,” weak leaders. He’s not racist in any explicit sense — quite the opposite — but there’s clear racist appeal in his attack on evil, murderous Mexican illegals in “our” midst.
Despite asking for money, Trump denies event is a fundraiser
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/28/politics/donald-trump-fundraiser-norwood-boston/Norwood, Massachusetts (CNN)Donald Trump said at an event charging $100-a-head in Massachusetts for his campaign Friday that he was not attending a fundraiser.
"This is not a fundraiser," Trump told reporters in Norwood. "I turn down a lot of money."
But earlier Friday, a sign outside the event directed donors on how to contribute.
"Please have checks made payable to: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. or cash ready on entry. Thank you," read the sign, which was later taken down after Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, saw a CNN report.
Donald Trump lies yet again. Shocking!
Really random: have people always hated clowns ?!
I didn't hate clowns growing up. I still don't. Is there something wrong with me ?!
My fellow Floridians, what are you doing so far about Erika ?
I live so far inland that I'm doing absolutely nothing. What are you doing ?
Georgians, Alabamians, Mississipians, Louisiana folks and Texans, feel free to chime in. Who knows, it might swerve out to sea and miss us all, or might just fizzle out.
10 places where renting a home beats buying
http://www.cbsnews.com/media/10-places-where-renting-a-home-beats-buying/(heavily edited)
San Francisco
Seattle
Suffolk County, NY
Denver
Washington, DC
Portland, OR
Los Angeles
Port St. Lucie, FL (this one surprised me)
Asheville, NC
Lincoln, NE
I just did the 2015 Census thing requested by the Census Bureau....
Did all of you get a big envelope from them containing the demand you do the 2015 Census test ? I did. Of course I immediately noticed the big bold black letters in MUST BE COMPLETED BY ORDER OF LAW or some such verbiage. Ok no big deal, I'm used to that sort of thing with government documents.
The questions are a bit nosey but just standard Census questions. No questions on income, which surprised me. Of course they ask your ethnicity, and under "White" they list Lebanon for an ancestral country. I wondered, why not list Syria and Israel too ? I think Jordan was listed ? I forget. Egypt was listed. I'm no expert on ethnicity and middle-eastern countries for sure.
I can just imagine the hard right-wing Tea Party types going full OBAMA_COMMUNIST_MUSLIM_KENYAN_FEMA_NAZI over this and refusing to do it. You can do it over the internet, which I did. If you refuse to do it over the net or cannot do it that way, then the CB comes to your door.
$21,325: Dream Machine 2015, dead tree Maximum PC magazine Oct. 2015
CPU = Intel Core i7-5960X = $1,050
Motherboard = Asus Rampage V Extreme = $470
RAM = 64 GB DDR4 Corsair Dominator = $1,495
GPU = 4x EVGA GeForce TitanX Hydro Copper = $5,200
SSD = 4x Samsung 850 PRO 1 Terabyte = $2,560
HDD = 4x WD Black 6 Terabytes = $1,200
Cooling = EKWB custom-loop cooling = $450
Case = CaseLabs Magnum SMA8 = $520
Case Paintjob = Smooth Creations = $800
OS = Windows 8.1 = $100
Monitor = 27 inch 5K Dell Ultrasharp UP2715K = $2500
Mouse = Logitech Daedalus Apex = $70
Keyboard = Razer Blackwidow Chroma = $170
Headset = Kingston HyperX Cloud II = $100
Speakers = Adam Audio 5.1 System = $3,700
Sound System = Sound Blaster X7 = $400
LED Strips = Logisys RGB LED = $90
PSU = EVGA SuperNova 1600 = $450
They do this every year to demonstrate the theoretical limit of consumer-grade computing power. Of course it's ridiculous overkill but to people like me, it's interesting to read. YMMV. It's also going to be outdated within a few years, as always.
Swedish Teen Model Blasts the Fashion Industry for Labeling Her 'Too Big
http://www.people.com/article/swedish-model-Agnes-Hedengard-too-big-for-industryA 19-year-old model from Sweden is using YouTube to take a stand against the fashion industry that she says has labeled her "too big" for the runway.
In a video shared earlier this week, Agnes Hedengard wore only a bikini as she posed in front of a mirror and explained why she struggles to find work despite her seemingly good looks.
"I have worked as a model for about five years now, but up to this day I don't get any more jobs since the industry thinks I'm too big," she said. "They think this is too big."
Hedengard, who said she is 5'11" with a body mass index of 17.5 (which would technically put her in the "underweight" category, according to the National Institutes of Health), pointed to her body parts as she told viewers, "They think my butt is too big and they think my hips are too wide."
also here: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/swedish-model-agnes-hedengard-19-branded-too-big-hits-out-at-fashion-industrys-body-standards-on-youtube/story-fneuz9ev-1227499248316
Opinions about US economy in the near future ?
The recent stock market volatility sparked this question. I'm a bit concerned that the official unemployment rate will start going back up. It's been at 5.3% for two months now.
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Gender: Do not displayMember since: Sat Oct 16, 2004, 01:04 PM
Number of posts: 37,457
