Thursday, July 12, 2018

This 'N That, Friday Edition

Okay, this is a bit one-sided, but still ... the music (meh):



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Just when you think the Muh Russia investigation by Mueller's Special Council can't get more ludicrous, there comes this, courtesy of CNN:

(CNN)The US Office of Special Counsel has opened a case file on whether Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke violated the Hatch Act when he tweeted a photo of himself wearing socks featuring President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.
The internal federal watchdog agency opened the file in response to a complaint from the government watchdog Campaign for Accountability.
"Breaking in new socks on a hike with the governors today," the official @SecretaryZinke account tweeted on June 26 with a photo of Zinke's "Make America Great Again" socks, according to the complaint.
That tweet was later removed from the account and replaced with an apology tweet -- which also no longer appears on the account.
"Earlier I tweeted a pic of my new socks not realizing it had what could be viewed as a political slogan. I've deleted it and apologize for the mistake. I remain excited about all the incredible policy work POTUS is doing," Zinke wrote in the tweet, according to the complaint, accompanied by the same picture with the "Make America Great Again" text blocked out.
Office of Special Counsel spokesman Zachary Kurz told CNN on Monday, "I can confirm that OSC received the complaint and has opened a case file. However, I'm unable to comment on or confirm whether an investigation has been opened." 
Yes, believe it or not, Interior Secretary Zinke tweeted out a seditious picture of himself on a hiking trail wearing a pair of MAGA socks.  I know.  How could he???  Aside from toe jam, a pair of MAGA socks is one of the few things sure to erode the pillars of our democracy.  It took CNN to spot it.  Thank God for them.  How else would we have known?  If you want to see a video of this seditious hiking trip, go here.

It's a sickness, folks.  Avoid it at all costs.


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Here's what I love about abstract art, in this case, Jackson Pollock's On Arches (oil on canvas, 1950):  after 68 years, the painting still doesn't represent ... anything ... other than a harbinger of postmodernism ... which I dub epistemology on a paintbrush.  Here's what he did, in essence:  he painted a smile without lips.  Or then again, maybe he didn't.  Who are you to say?  I'm not joking.  What you want to see is what you get, nothing more and nothing less.  So why can't it be a smile without lips?  Some people call it art.  And I suppose it is, since a paintbrush was involved.  Obviously, it takes great skill.

I wonder how long it took to complete it?  I also wonder why.  Fortunately, the sheer abstractness of it means that even you and I can comment on the painting intelligently, and others can disagree with us intelligently, and nobody is wrong.  Plus, someone can pay a lot of money for the original.  What's not to like about that?  We all get a trophy.  Or such is how I understand abstract art.

No offense to abstract art afficionados everywhere, who I'm sure have a real life, but this painting looks to me like various lava flows from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii as they close in on nearby dwellings, lakes and sundry black holes, at least when viewed through night goggles from outer space.  I know this just by watching The Weather Channel in my underwear while wearing 3-D glasses.  No art class needed.  But, hey, that's just me.  Others think it expresses magnetic resonance imaging over Moscow shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Or, again, as someone else said, "Don't drink and work."  Decide for yourself:



Okay, enough educational stuff.  Now back to our regular programming.


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Based on comments I have received, some people think I have nothing better to do than write stupid blog posts on certain topics, such as abstract art.  That  is false.  I have lots of other things to do.  I just don't do them.

Anyway, since you're here, enjoy more of This 'N That, Friday Edition.

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Okay, kids, don't try this at home (operative term:  L.I.O.N.), but enjoy:



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Some thoughts from Mark Twain, who said:

Never regret anything that made you smile.

and,

Never argue with stupid people.  They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

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On a personal note, I mihgt aslo aks:




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Now, go, while the day is young.


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