Big Blue Huddle

Of all the various mythical "legends" out there, including things supposedly of this earth like Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster etc and also extraterrestrial type stuff, one that I have always been quick to dismiss as pure fiction is Bigfoot. For the simple reason that we are talking about this supposedly massive creature, and yet if he exists, how come nobody has ever come across a carcass or even old remains of one. I mean we have found ancient remains of dinosaurs for crying out loud. We can't even find a single bone of a sasquatch, which supposedly is roaming the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the world in the present day? Total nonsense.

I will confess to being completely surprised by this story. I would have thought that even if the romance side of things was gone from their marriage, they were something of an institution and, if nothing else, had in common the passion for all the work they have done and continue to do on their foundation. And I think there are plenty of people in their 50s-70s who would say that their marriage is strong, but that it is more of a "best friends" or "partnership" thing than it was when they were in their 20s and 30s. In the case of the Gates, if another woman (or man) is involved, then that is a clear reason to split up though. I read some vague stories about that but nothing solid.

In any case, at least their children are grown at this stage, and hopefully it does not interfere with the work they are doing on their foundation. Hard to believe it won't have at least some sort of impact though.

Quote from: MightyGiants on April 26, 2021, 07:13:29 PM



So I am hardly the only one who recognizes reality.  People on both sides of the aisle see it.

MG,

I am certainly not denying that there are kooks on the right. There is no question about that. But there are on the left as well. There are plenty of extreme and misguided individuals and groups on both sides of the aisle. I don't know a single fair-minded adult who thinks otherwise. Anyone on either side who claims that their side is populated solely by well-meaning, sane, reasonable individuals and that the other side is all crazies and propaganda spreaders is biased and lost to the point of being incapable of having a rational discussion about any political topic.

Any individual will have the end of the spectrum with which they most identify, and that is obviously fine, but once they go down the road of claiming/implying anyone else with an opposing view is irrational or spreading propaganda, all while ignoring or even condoning similar behavior on their own side, loses credibility quickly with any reasonable, fair-minded adult. This to me qualifies as an ad hominem attack, which as we know is a fallacious line of reasoning in any debate. Further, I think it is condescending and wrong to claim that anyone who has different beliefs from those one favors has been brainwashed by a supposed propaganda machine, implying that this individual is too stupid or weak to think for himself and formulate his own viewpoints, unlike the individual making the accusation who of course has thought everything out for himself.

People are always going to disagree. Right-leaning people are not going anywhere, and neither are left-leaning people. They will have to continue to co-exist. I would prefer, and hence I try to promote myself, a less accusatory and less caustic tone in the national discourse than what I am seeing from both sides lately, particularly in the last five years or so. I don't see how constantly pointing the finger at the other side and claiming people are brainwashed or are spreading "propaganda" promotes any sort of constructive dialogue. Rather, I try to listen to the other side, disagree respectfully when I disagree, summarize my rationale for disagreement, and then have a thoughtful and fair discussion. Name calling and complete close-mindedness to any remotely different view does not seem constructive to me. Sadly, so many people on both sides don't seem to agree.

MG,

You consistently refer to the "right wing propaganda machine." Are you really suggesting the conversative message is more prevalent in mass media than the liberal one? I wholeheartedly disagree with that. The liberal message is dominant in:

-Basically every major news network except one
-The vast majority of major newspapers like the NYT, Washington Post, Boston Globe, LA Times, Detroit Free Press, etc.
-Virtually all of Hollywood
-All of Big Tech (this alone is huge)
-Music industry
-Television and streaming services

Etc etc etc.

The country may be half conservative, but the same does not apply to mass media that we are all exposed to everyday. So when you use the word "propaganda" and claim that it only applies to the right, that sounds astonishingly biased and isn't really backed up by facts, given the disprportionate share of exposure we all have to the left wing message.

And I feel I am being reasonable in using the word "message" where you choose to insert the word "propaganda."

Quote from: MightyGiants on April 25, 2021, 09:10:18 AM

We don't teach kids in kindergarten about sexual intercourse because their young minds are not yet ready to comprehend and understand what you are trying to teach. Yet you are advocating ingrain racial stereotypes into young minds with the use of otherwise nice children's books.  What exactly is the benefit???????    It would be different to have this discussion with HS students where you should pictures like that to them while discussing the evolution of race relations and racism.  HS students (or better yet college) would be better able to understand and appreciate the lessons and the messages.   

I am truly baffled at your assertion that 3rd graders should be given these images (they could get these books in their school libraries) with no guidance or explanation.   We have some serious race issues in our nation.  You seem to be insistent that we shouldn't change a thing.  So how do we improve the problems of racism?     Seems to me we need to change something if we want things to get better.   

I see the whole "it's part of history" claim the right's repackaged for better appeal  of the classic "we always did it that way" argument

Nowhere did I suggest that we "not change a thing." Not sure where you got that idea. Maybe you think that because I am less desperately obsessed with trying to rewrite the past than I am to want to change the present and future.

My point is that the general practice of white-washing or cancelling things from the past, just because they don't suit today's values, is not an effective form of education or means to affect real change. Should we pretend Thomas Jefferson did not own hundreds of slaves? Should we leave that part out in history books, or should we actually start teaching American kids that Thomas Jefferson was a terrible human being? Why is his face even on our currency, if we are going to start equating modern values to past ones? As you can see, this obsession with re-writing or cancelling the past can become an endless and ultimately fruitless pusuit.

I think the past should be an open book. The only way societies progress is by understanding the past, coming to grips with it, and not being doomed to repeat the failures of it. If you want to make certain books only allowed to be read by certain age groups, that is one thing, but just throwing anything and everything into the book burning bonfire that isn't precisely aligned with today's current values is a big mistake. Over the course of history, the book burning crowd has not been the one that has aged well.

My pleasure.

I can't really endorse the show yet as I have only seen one episode, but it is certainly promising and, like you, I like the genre. Plus I feel HBO does a good job with this genre. The actors are also first rate. Let's see how it unfolds.

Quote from: MightyGiants on April 25, 2021, 08:38:12 AM

As for your comments about what is not racist, I am not sure these racist stereotypes are good for a child's development






NOTE- in earlier editions the Asian man was yellow

You can take one of two basic views on this broad topic. One stance would be that it is in society's best interest to white-wash history and cancel as many objectionable books, images, statues, and even human beings as possible so that people see the remnants of past racism and inequality as little as possible and live in a sort of blissful ignorance about the past. That is certainly one approach, and it seems to be the approach that many in modern society currently subscribe to.

Another approach would be to use an honest discussion and representation of the past as a way of educating about the way things used to be and the progress that has been made since. And then tie that into the present-day and talk about how hopefully 50-100 years from now there will be much more progress and things will be far better than they are now.

I prefer the latter approach myself. I think denying history is (1) close to impossible as you can't possibly cancel everything you don't like, and (2) simply not the best way to educate people. I have always believed in understanding the past and studying past wrongs, so that we don't repeat them. Living in denial of the past and trying to forget everything is not in the best interest of present or future societies. So if a kid sees an image from an old book that is objectionable from a 2021 perspective but perhaps less so in 1937, depending on the age of the kid, I see this more as an opportunity for education than something to panic about and just white-wash. Historical context matters.

There are so many good ones and they're hard to actually rank.

My personal favorites would be Buscemi's character in Reservoir Dogs, Harvey Keitel both in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, and Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs. Clearly there are many other great ones though.

Fortunately for us, Tarrantino has tended to use great actors who have significantly enhanced the characters they are protraying.

We just watched the first episode. Kate Winslet is the lead, and Guy Pearce is also in it. Both top notch actors. Looks like your typical high quality whodunnit muder mystery that we often get on HBO. Past examples are "The Undoing" and "The Night Of", both of which were excellent. This looks to be the another of that genre. I thought it would be worth developing a thread as we did with the Undoing, as speculating on the killer can be fun.

Quote from: MightyGiants on April 24, 2021, 10:14:58 AM
Cancel culture is nothing more but a false framing device used by the right to defend the undefendable. 

MG,

I don't agree with this point. Cancel culture very clearly exists, and it can easily be attributed to both sides of the spectrum (as you yourself illustrated in your first post with your list). It is a by-product of our hyper-sensitive, overly politically correct present-day society. I feel it is also harmful as it devalues actual real examples of racism, sexism, etc that actually should be condemned. When you're constantly crying wolf all the time about anything even mildly controversial, like a Dr. Seuss book that was written many decades ago, you make it that much harder for actual real cases to be taken as seriously as they should be. So not only is it excessive to the point of absurdity, but much more importantly it is doing actual harm.

I'm sticking with it myself. I figure if it dips, that would be a dip I would want to buy, and I don't like to overtrade. Plus there may not be a meaningful dip.

With the Fed printing money in the scale and at the pace that they are, there is no surer way to get poorer than to be sitting meaningfully in cash.

Quote from: Slugs Narrows on April 06, 2021, 08:34:56 AM
I read they are now moving the game to Colorado. 

Higher taxes then Ga which will affect the players and the voting laws in Ga are actually better/more flexible then the voting laws in Colorado.  Now this is what I read I haven

There is something amusingly ironic about the fact that many people seem to want politics directly injected into sports, but god forbid anyone discusses politics in an internet chat room of all places. That of course is strictly off limits.

Any chance the PGA cancels the Masters? Or at least moves it to a different state?

Quote from: quacker on April 03, 2021, 10:50:29 AM
I'm in favor of MLB doing this. It is unfortunate but players are human beings and employees, the majority of whom do not support these voting changes.

Were the players polled on this issue?